#polar exploration stuff

[the-fear-of-art]

Losing my mind at the beauty of these color enhanced photographs of the Endurance expedition by @babelcolour on Twitter. The fact that these are color enhanced and not color added makes their existence even more remarkable. You understand why those first explorers couldn���t stay away.

[worstjourney]

Anne Strathie, biographer of Bowers and Ponting, and chronicler of Terra Nova men in WWI, has a new book out, following a thread through two centuries of polar exploration (both poles!) via 50 carefully chosen objects. She's giving a talk about it at the RGS on Monday, 27 Jan 2025, 14:30 GMT, which you can attend on Zoom if you're not convenient to London. Register to reserve a seat or be sent a Zoom link! It's completely free either way!

You can get a copy of the book here, or at your local bookshop ...

UPDATE: They have sold out the live event, so you can't book a ticket online, but if you email the email link provided on the page, they will get you on the Zoom list.

[charlesemersonwinchesteriii]

I do really want to terrorpost but I don't feel qualified to be in that fandom man...... everyone is so smart and creative and they all have advanced degrees and I'm just sitting here like I think the lieutenants are in love :3

[chiropteracupola]

“He could see it distinctly; a human eye it appeared to be, for surrounding it was the small part of a dead white face..."

[incesthemes]

this is fun!! thank you @saintmarywinchester for tagging me to show off 9 books i plan to read this year!!! 🥺🙏

i actually just finished my herman melville/nathaniel hawthorne rpf book last night (yes they DID kiss) so i can cross that one off the list 💗 some other ones are ummm

some of my Old Books which don't have very (or any) descriptive book covers to share, and therefore relegated to the honorable mentions section:

The Ghosts, and Other Lectures – Ingersoll (1878)

Memoria Tecnica; Or, a New Method of Artificial Memory – grey (1781)

and books i'm reading through substack newsletters this year:

moby dick – melville (won't be finished this year)

maurice – forster

les miserables – hugo

the divine comedy – dante (won't be finished this year)

don quixote – cervantes (not a substack specifically but a guided reading list all the same)

i'm being quite ambitious this year!!! and hoping that i can read even more than this tbh. i have no idea what to follow up the herman melville rpf novel with. that's a really strong start to the year i have to say 😵

ok i will tag @i-already-know-im-going-2-hell, @captainmicaptain, @hoshimagico, @zaegreus, @theastralbeast-cometh, @rottenarmour, @roaldamundsen, @venomousmaiden, and @wincestuously-charged 💖 i liked kostas's stipulation that fanfic counts so i'll apply that here too!

[nomilkinmyteaplease]

[crancisfrozier]

Saw the Franklin memorial at Westminster Abbey today!! I had no idea there was also a memorial to McClintock and John Rae beneath it?

[sastrugie]

ok im back into my polar obsession - i know i missed alot in these fice years BUT im happy to know the fandom is still alive AHHHH

so - please reblog/ like this if you are interested in

antarctica

arctic

polar exploration

scotts expeditions

shackletons expedtions

fridtjof nansen, amundsen and co

belgica

terror the series

and polar stuff in general

cant wait to talk to yall <3

[mytortoisegotstuckinatupperware]

if anyone needs niche polar expedition knowledge hmu

[crustaceousfaggot]

Does anyone know of any active Terror/Franklin Expedition/Polar Exploration Discord servers that are currently accepting new members? Feel free to DM me

[buildoblivion]

underrated part of being a polar explorer person is getting into a new cold boy only to stumble upon a bottomless pit of conspiracy theories

[apocalypticdemon]

nine people i want to get to know better!!

i was tagged by the lovely @clandestinegardenias!! thank you!

Last Song: I-E-A-I-A-I-O by System of a Down! i've been branching out of my heavy metal rut of the last 6 months, but System of a Down still slaps really hard.

Favorite Color: hmmmm i really like lush jewel tones, so i think i have to go with like a deep burgundy right now, but the green of spring vegetation in full sun is a very, very close second

Currently Watching: well. i'm in the middle of a The Terror rewatch right now (again....) but the literal last thing I just watched was the IndyCar Grand Prix in Laguna Seca Raceway in Monterey, CA. but in terms of new shows, i'm not watching new stuff rn.

Last Movie: Mad God. what a fucking trip that film is. jesus. stop-motion horror film. visually gorgeous. disgusting. it was my second time watching it, and it was again really gross and not super linear and 100% up my alley. it was so bizarre, but i am CAPTIVATED by the music (since there is no dialogue; it's only music and sfx) and i want to write a paper on it so so sososo badly.

Currently Reading: currently juggling Captain Crozier: Last Man Standing, Les Miserables, and The Wager! They're all good in their own respects, but very very different from one another, as well. The Crozier bio is a little bit lighter than I was expecting, The Wager more narrative than I was expecting, and Les Mis thus far has just been slow, but i'm in the early pages for everything but the Crozier biography, so i'm still getting used to them. Also I started Persuasion by Jane Austen last month, but haven't gotten very far yet.

Sweet, Spicy, or Savory? they all have their place, but i have such a bad sweet tooth. it trumps almost everything for me. i love sugar.

Relationship: single! i've been single since like.... my sophomore year of high school? and i'm halfway through my master's now, so it's been.... i think i'll have been single for a decade exactly this year, on my birthday. but also i'm extremely aromantic so. that does contribute to that, lmao

Current Obsession: oh it's definitely The Terror. Very much so. but IndyCar is also a quiet sports obsession of mine and i am starting to get In The Weeds for it this year. i deliberately chose to pay more attention after the 500 this year, but i've been meaning to follow the full season for a few years now, and it's been a blast! really nice to watch tbh. it's fascinating stuff, and one of the only sports i can really, truly sink my mental teeth into. also i have been crocheting like mad recently, bc it keeps me entertained and Makes Things!

Last Googled: tire strategy and regulations in IndyCar races, the differences in those regulations between oval and road courses, and the literal difference in composition between alternate and primary tires. very cool stuff. to me, at least, lmao

Currently Working On: jotting down ideas for the next two terror fics i want to work on/sketching out the plots and adaptations for both of them, getting fully trained at my job, and like 3 separate crochet projects. i have. a very scattered brain. also mentally gearing up for my second year of my master's, which is frightening, considering that i have to Write A Thesis soon lmao

oh lordt i don't know if i have 9 people to tag, but i'll tag a few: @imwritesometimes, @jbloopers, @sweetenby, @silkenbutterfly7 - if any of you want to participate, please do!

[tigerballoons]

🌧️ January books 🌧️

New year, new reading goal: we're back on 36 total, after making allowance for disruption last year and then massively exceeding it. 😃

🔹Erebus by Michael Palin - 3⭐

I don't think I'll ever get over @jamesfitzjamesdotcom calling this "Error-bus" 😂 It's fine as an introductory work, but the number of mistakes throughout is frankly embarrassing.

🔹 Scum Villain's Self-Saving System volume 2 - 3⭐

This series continues to be entertaining. I like it, but it doesn't have insane-making powers for me. 🤷

🔹 River Kings by Cat Jarman - 4⭐

A great exploration of the impact of Scandinavians in the east during the early medieval period. It starts with the familiar in Britain and works its way step by step through to Constantinople and ultimately India. A refresher for anyone already knowledgeable about the period and an accessible starting point for people who want to learn. Also topical because I'm going to the British Museum at the weekend to steal look upon the Galloway Hoard jar my beloved.

🔹Greenmantle by John Buchan - 2⭐

Recently I inherited a box of beautiful red and gold hardbacks. They're very aesthetic™️, but obviously I can't use books as decor without also reading them. This is the first... It's an entertaining yarn but you can tell it was originally published in 1916. Some wild comments that are no doubt period typical, but unacceptable today. I don't think it has enough literary merit to balance that.

[chiropteracupola]

as part of the delightful wonderful @sailorpants' birthday boy king taskmaster extravaganza, I present to you the Most Dramatic Letter Written Home from a Polar Boat Journey Which Is Going Horribly.

Dear Mother, If this letter reaches you well I am not sure how that happened given that all who remain to post this home are penguins & leopard seals & the horrible dr Fred Cook. I am some where near the South pole but I know not where on acct. of the Captain has thrown all our navigational equipment into a crevasse to prevent us turning back. Alas by then we were Three days since our last sight of the ship so we are about lost. After this occurrence the Bosun was set up on [sic] by two of the Meteorologists as [illeg.] the steel legs he had received after the war might be used for compasses. They were disciplined by being thrown into a crevasse by the Captain. The remaining men who had not been drowned frostbitten taken by consumption [illeg.] trampled by ponies got food poisoning ect. mutinied against Capt. & threw him into the crevasse. We regretted this for we found that he had hidden all of the food in his coat. In the next days the horrible dr Fred Cook & I drew lots among the men — we killed and ate the master's mate the cabin boy two ABs & my good friend [illeg.] Thomas who I once fucked in our berth for lack of any otter [sic] companionship. Very much afraid that the horrible dr Fred Cook will eat me next in order to survive as he has been eyeing me in a creepy way of late. Giving this letter to a penguin — shall now walk out into the ice to die — I lay this is a better fate for me than being stabbed with a marlinespike & being eaten raw and warm by the horrible dr Fred Cook. I am yr loving son always, Thomas Thomas Williamson, AB

[tristanaef]

Royal Navy Records

Thought I'd try here: I am researching the careers of the Franklin Expedition. I am looking for service records of the crew and muster lists for related ships. I have started with what's scanned online from the Kew National Archives, but if this work has already been done I'd love to find it.

I started transcribing what's online of ADM 196 (Royal Navy officers), but the scans and/or records themselves seem to incomplete. (Non-officers are of course much harder to find as well.) If anyone is aware of existing transcriptions or other resources I'd be very grateful!

I'd also like to contribute to a wider effort like Global Maritime History or Naval-History.net for ~1815-45 if one exists!

Edited to add a link to a post that goes into a little more detail about the purpose of the project, and where I'll be collecting resources as I find them: Franklin Expedition Careers Project

[explorers-central]

Scarlett - The Collector

I feel bad for her, she was isolated her whole childhood and taught that she was owed the world. She never learned empathy for others because it was never demonstrated to her, I hope in the future of the series someone can get through to her.