Today we have an opportunity to reflect nostalgically on the Trans-Siberian railroad, and also practice our past tense! So…. Russia had a rail line that cut through the remote Siberian wilderness. A true marvel of engineering, at one point it had a 9.5 mile tunnel (the Severomuysky Tunnel). Since this was a critical piece of […]
Category: Europe
The Severomuysky Tunnel (Russian: Северому́йский тонне́ль) is a railroad tunnel on the Baikal Amur Mainline (BAM), in northwestern Buryatia, Russia. It is named after the Northern Muya Range it cuts through. The tunnel is 15.34 kilometres (9.53 mi) long, the longest in Russia (excluding metro lines).– Wikipedia Anna From Ukraine Says Hello Anna from Ukraine […]
The book Ministry of the Future is still rattling around in our collective WLBOTT heads. How can people not see the undeniable? Author Kim Stanley had to place himself in a very dark place to understand the “burn it all down” attitude. He understands Our Republican Friends’ response to climate change: “The Götterdämmerung Syndrome, as […]
Courchevel Altiport (French: Altiport de Courchevel) (IATA: CVF, ICAO: LFLJ) is an altiport serving Courchevel, a ski resort in the French Alps. The airfield has a very short runway of only 537 metres (1,762 ft) with a gradient of 18.6%. There is no go-around procedure for landings at Courchevel due to the surrounding mountainous terrain. […]
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Mother Bulgaria
Today’s stream of consciousness: Unicorn => National animal of Scotland => Country personifications (Uncle Sam, etc) => Mother figures/national personifications (Lady Liberty, etc) => Mother Bulgaria => Mother Bulgaria Pantheon Memorial => Gurgulyat, Bulgaria => Sofia, Bulgaria => Rage against the Soviet Union Many countries have personifications to symbolize aspects of their national character. An […]
I just realized – The Queen of the Night Aria probably represents the most universal of human experiences: a teenage girl has her mom down to her very last nerve. [watch on YouTube] Elena Moșuc Soprano Elena Moșuc plays the queen. How ’bout this for keeping the dream alive! Ms. Moșuc sings at the Zurich […]
While exploring Calais (Maine), and Calais (France) in a recent BLOTT, we came across the incredible sculpture The Burghers of Calais and it’s amazing backstory. The Story Behind the Famous Calais Sculpture The Burghers of Calais is a sculpture by Auguste Rodin in twelve original castings and numerous copies. It commemorates an event during the […]
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Calais Maine
We had planned to feature two notable people from Calais, Maine (and hope to very soon), but we were detracted by the town itself and it’s sister city and namesake, Calais France. If you want to get a head start on Andrea Gibson‘s incredible poetry, check out their YouTube channel. Roger Lyndon was a mathematician […]
UC#2 is the WLBOTT staff papyrologist, and brought to our attention an exciting event taking place right now! Staff Papyrologist Jean Maspero Joseph von Karabacek Note: despite the resemblance, these are not images of UC#2. Please help us stop the spread of this false information. Congratulations, Luke!!! Just two days ago (10/12/2023), a young computer […]
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Orpheus
So…. Let’s talk about Orpheus. This was all new to me, but it turned into an interesting rabbit hole. Orpheus – the man, the myth, the legend. According to ancient Greek mythology, he was musician, poet, and all round adventurer. His music could tame the wild beasts, and even stones. The legend probably had its […]