They Killed Easter Island Too, You Know

Apparently there are detractors out there trying to debunk the idea of cannibal rats on the Lyubov Orlova. To which I say, nonsense, and it wasn't ice that got the Endurance.

Lyubov Orlova

Do you remember when G Adventures' "Little Red Ship" sunk back in 2007? I was a little jealous. I'd gone on then-GAP's inaugural Antarctica cruise in 2004 and they'd used a Rent-A-Ship via Quark Expeditions. While others got to travel on the ship that sunk, I had just been on your everyday generic ice-strengthened Russian ship.

But no more! Let them have their sinking ship. My ship is a RAT-INFESTED GHOST SHIP. It even has its own Twitter feed. 

Awesome.

Snow Day

I've lost my snow shovel, and my car is sitting out front in this.

I planned to drop it off in my garage, but the snow showed up early. And I can't figure out...did the mechanic take my shovel out of my trunk when he was replacing my car's bumper? Did I take it out, prop it up somewhere, and forget it was there and drive away?

I'm not looking forward to the walk over to Home Depot. Maybe the snow would just do me the favor of melting over the next few days instead. 

Fan Fiction

I've been working non-stop since right after Christmas. Before Christmas too. Pretty much since the day I got back from Mexico. There are still boxes in my apartment left unpacked—I'd moved them out so Yancey and his family could stay here while I was gone. At least I managed to relocate them from the garage to my dwelling. It's a start.

I am just sitting down to tackle the introduction to my latest Marvel book (I finished the interior already, but will be touching it up as more comments come in from the artists), and I noticed this on my friend Larry's feed.

Larry made a fan fiction film with a fan, based on his own work. Fantastic.

The First Travel Blog

Yes, he really did this first.

Here's writer Jeff Greenwald on the first travel blog. 

I wrote to him a few times right before undertaking MariesWorldTour.com in 2001. The fact that he'd already put out a book about going around the world without planes didn't stop me from trying to get one published, just as my trip didn't stop the guy who did it in the mid-nineties. Just as Peter Moore or Paul Theroux writing books about surface journeys from Africa's tip-to-tip in 2001 didn't stop me from making my own book.

I can't say that I was inspired to travel by Jeff Greenwald -- I was completely unaware of his existence when I planned my first massive journey. But I wasn't unaware by the time I left, because two different people had sent me his book. I wondered if there was a way to differentiate myself from him, but I ultimately decided that was silly. My trip was mine, his was his. Did it matter?

Not in the slightest.

I'm impressed. It's seldom someone can say "I did this first" and it's actually true. 

Now Luxury Condos on the Hill

Just tonight—only a few minutes ago—I realized I could see the old Jersey City Medical Center out of the back window in my apartment. 

It was built under the Hague administration between 1930 and 1941. 

That seems old until I remember the house I'm buying is at least 32 years older. Maybe even more. I have reason to suspect the 1898 date is based on a misreading of the width of the house on an old map. 

Holiday Cheer

It's Christmas and you know what that means...it's caganer season in Barcelona.

And in my apartment.

Here is a look at the caganer selection in front of the cathedral in the old city, from when I was there at holiday season just a year ago.

Snowmen and Santa

Kraiger is up at the Journal Square Holiday Market today.

He didn't make the handbags, but he made all the snowmen.

I Kick These Down the Hall on a Regular Basis

Someone in my building is kind of a smart-ass.

Chatty Me, and Fast-Chatty Too

More about me than you ever wanted to know, here on Brian Heater's podcast.