Clancy Tucker's Blog, page 90

18 February 2020 - KONG LOR CAVE IN LAOS

KONG LOR CAVE IN LAOS
G'day folks,
Laos is one of my favourite countries to visit, and here is a cave of some significance. A boat ride through utter darkness, lit only by headlamps, reveals an emerald green pool locals believe is sacred. 
Most visitors to Laos tend to focus on the north, but there are many reasons for venturing a bit farther south. Kong Lor Cave, considered to be one of South Asia’s geological wonders, is definitely one of them.  





Karst limestone caves are particularly appealing due to their unusual rock formations, but Kong Lor is no ordinary limestone cave. In fact, it was formed by the Nam Hin Bun River running through an entire mountain, sculpting the rock along its way. Inside, there’s a pool of water with an emerald-tinted glow that locals believe is sacred.

Visitors can hire a wooden boat and an experienced boatman who will negotiate the sprawling caverns. They’ll take you through massive passages with majestic stalactites and towering stalagmites. There are also narrow passages that require skills and intimate familiarity with the cave, the depth of the river, the strength of the currents, and, of course, the itinerary. Navigating the cave is usually performed in utter blackness, aided by only the feeble, flickering lights of headlamps.




Kong Lor Cave is still used by villagers to transport goods and, if visited at the time of harvest, tobacco as well. Located in Khammouane Province, in the geographical heart of Laos,  it can be reached by following a rural road from Ban Khoun Kham or by taking a boat from Ban Naphouak. 


Clancy's comment: I would recommend a visit to Laos. Beautiful people and so much to see and experience.
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17 February 2020 - JANEK SEDLAR - FORESTS IN AUTUMN

JANEK SEDLAR
 - FORESTS IN AUTUMN -


G'day folks,
When you think of a forest in autumn, you probably imagine trees losing their leaves, with lovely shades of yellow, orange, and brown, but until you’ve seen it with your own eyes, it’s hard to appreciate the true beauty. 
If you want to catch a glimpse of such magical splendor, take a look at the mind-boggling photography of Janek Sedlář from the Czech Republic, who captured the raw beauty of the forests of Moravia and the White Carpathians during the fall. For more of Janek’s works, check out his website.






















Clancy's comment: Yep, Autumn is a magical season for photographers.
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16 February 2020 - PAUL ALBANO - GUEST AUTHOR

 PAUL ALBANO - GUEST AUTHOR -
G'day folks,
Today, I interview an inspiring author who also happens to be a social studies teacher.
Welcome, Paul ...


1.      TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOURSELF AND YOUR WRITING JOURNEY.
I am a graduate from University of Connecticut and am currently a social studies teacher. During college, I started to write short stories and found that I really enjoyed it, leading to writing a novel after I received my bachelor’s degree. However, I view that one as a “practice novel” but would like to revisit the story in the future. I then went on to write several more novels and attempted to find a literary agent. Being that the business is so subjective, it was extremely difficult to find one, so I optioned for the independent route for now and self-published a novel in 2017 with a few more planned on being released in the near future. Just a couple of weeks ago, I had a manuscript accepted by Page Publishing, which should be out in six to eight months. It’s about a conman who escapes his life of crime and heads to Italy where he has family yet ends up getting involved with the mafia.


2.       WHAT TYPE OF PREPARATION DO YOU DO FOR A MANUSCRIPT? DO YOU PLAN EVERYTHING FIRST OR JUST SHOOT FROM THE HIP?
When I first started writing, I attempted to plan out a lot of the story. A list of overly-described characters. A laundry list of events. Exactly how the story would end. Yet, I found that my story diverted greatly from my initial outlines and they would actually become useless to me. What I do is simply have a list of characters, a sentence or two describing what the story is going to be about, and maybe a couple of major events that need to be embedded in the story. After that, I start writing and more times than not the story unfolds on its own. I will then write down important details that are a part of the story so to not have continuity errors and continue to write until I finish. Rarely do I ever plan out the ending anymore unless it’s without a doubt what I want and fits the narrative. In fact, a majority of the time I have no idea how the story will end while I’m writing it.

3.      WHAT DO YOU ENJOY MOST ABOUT BEING A WRITER?
I just love coming up with stories and being able to alter reality in any way that I want. With writing, limits do not exist. That is the beauty of fiction. I can create anything I want and, as long as it is something I am completely happy with, it will be totally acceptable.

4.      WHAT IS THE HARDEST THING ABOUT BEING A WRITER?
For me, the hardest thing about being a writer now is growing an audience. I know that eventually I will have a large audience and faithful following; I’m that good of a writer. What is hard is to get people to buy or check out a book from a relatively unknown author. It’s a risk on their part but they need to know it’ll pay off for them and they’ll have no regrets. They’ll keep coming back for more.



5.      WHAT IS YOUR GREATEST WRITING ACHIEVEMENT?
I have not yet reached my greatest writing achievement, but I know what it’ll be. There has been a story in the back of my mind for years, and I finally wrote the first novel of this particular story two years ago but am not planning on releasing that or any other novel in the series until they are ALL complete. It will honestly be one of the greatest tales ever put on paper, and I owe it to myself to make it perfect and not leave anything on the table or have any doubts in my mind when it is finally out there. I had mentioned the story to a reporter of a local newspaper that it may take as long as five years to see the light of day. That was two years ago; I suspect anywhere from five to ten now because it needs to be perfect. Anything less than that is totally unacceptable.

6.      WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON AT THE MOMENT?
Right now I have a few projects going on at once, which is something I’m actually not a fan of. I rather start and finish one before proceeding to the next story. I am currently building my author website and organizing at least four novels which will become Ebooks between now and probably March or April of 2020. It depends on when the book with Page Publishing is released. After that, I need to make a decision on what to do next with another completed novel and one that is close to being done. Following that, I am leaving it up to the people to decide which story they want next and will hold a vote on my website that will launch soon.




7.      WHAT INSPIRES YOU?
Music is one thing that inspires me. I’ll listen to the lyrics and automatically brainstorm how the song could be a device to tell a story. Movies definitely inspire me and influence my writing. I tend to sometimes study movies and figure out why a director does what he or she does or what the story itself is suggesting. One of my favorite genres to write is horror, and I love a good horror movie. Unfortunately, most of them these days are recycled stories or half-baked ideas that studios rush to make because horror is a cheap genre. A lot of it is just bullshit put on the screen. There’s a lot of originality out there but poor execution. I’m just thankful there are people like James Wan and Andy Muschietti who know what a good horror movie is and how to make one. Rob Zombie is another favorite of mine. His movies are gruesome and gory but that’s what you have to expect going in when it comes to his stories. His stories are original to say the least. I’d work with him in a heartbeat if he ever wanted to put one of my stories on the big screen. In fact I have a long novel already written that I realized would be perfect for him to film.

8.      WHAT GENRE DO YOU WRITE?
I know I can challenge myself to write any genre. My self-published novel, Since My Last Confession, is a story I never imagined myself writing, but I was given the premise and just went with it—though needing to add the murder mystery back story. But, I typically write thriller and horror stories. I think those are the best genres to write and read; it allows the reader to not know what to expect next and to keep them fully engaged to the end. I also enjoy writing crime, especially mob stories because of my Italian background. The large project years in the making will fall under this category.


9.      DO YOU SUFFER FROM WRITER’S BLOCK?
My writer’s block is unique and one of a kind. I suffer from not knowing which story to write next. I have a list of stories that have popped into my mind over the recent years. If I stopped coming up with new ideas and wrote one story a year based on my current list, I wouldn’t run out until I was 55 (I’m 29 right now). I sometimes even get pissed when another idea comes about at any given moment because I just don’t have the time to pump out all these stories. I jot down what it is and it gets added to list. Some ideas are more developed than others. A few that I thought about starting but put off are better for it; the idea just keeps developing into something better and better.

10.  DO YOU HAVE A PREFERRED WRITING SCHEDULE?
A majority of the time I write in the morning. If I’m at a very important part of a story, I will find time later in the day to continue. There was one novel that I would only work on very late at night. It is an extremely dark and twisted story, far too long for someone trying to find an agent. I believe I am going to divide it into three parts and create an Ebook trilogy out of it. But overall, I do not have a concrete schedule, just prefer mornings.

11.  WHAT IS YOUR GREATEST JOY IN WRITING?
My greatest joy is wondering where the story will take me next. I don’t find that I am the one writing these stories. I’m just a conduit, the messenger for the story. It winds up telling itself, and that’s why I hate outlines and haven’t used them since I first started writing. I tried this one method I learned in a creativity class in grad school, having a list of characters, their flaws, and their fate. Needless to say by the end of part one of a six-part story, everything changed. I love sitting at my desk, starting to write, and then becoming amazed as to where the story is taking me.

12.  WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE AUTHOR AND WHY?
I actually don’t have a favorite author. I read all different types of stories from all kinds of authors. When I first got into writing, I’d have to say one of my favorites was Stephen King. I love reading his old stuff, not much of a fan of his recent novels. Michael Connelly is another who has piqued my interest lately in terms of crime thrillers as well as Jeffery Deaver. Dan Brown wasgreat, but I have to admit he’s missed the mark lately. I try to find novels from authors I’ve never heard of and give them a chance because I’d want the same done to me. 99% of the time, I’m glad with my choices.

13.  WHAT’S THE GREATEST COMPLIMENT YOU EVER RECEIVED FROM A READER?
The greatest compliment I ever received was someone telling me they could not put down my novel. That’s exactly what I set out to achieve. I want my readers to keeping wondering what is going to happen and have no choice but to turn the page and find out. And then when they’re done with that book, I want them to need to read what I come out with next.


14.  WRITERS ARE SOMETIMES INFLUENCED BY THINGS THAT HAPPEN IN THEIR OWN LIVES. ARE YOU?
Yes. Many of my stories are either influenced a little or a lot. I won’t say how much per each story but eventually, I think people will start to figure out what is and isn’t a part of me. We will leave it at that.

15.  DID YOU HAVE YOUR BOOK / BOOKS PROFESSIONALLY EDITED BEFORE PUBLICATION?
I did have my first self-published novel edited and am currently getting a stand-alone and trilogy edited and prepared. Those are the four Ebooks that I mentioned earlier. I am also on working on editing my novels myself and studying how an editor looks over a manuscript, what the process is, and what I need to do to become better at that.




16.  DESCRIBE YOUR PERFECT DAY.
I wake up, probably early because I’m so used to getting up early I can hardly sleep in anymore. Workout, get ready for the day, and then definitely eat something. I have to eat in the morning. I don’t know how people can say they can’t eat in the morning. Then, I’d work on whatever I want or need to get done. Whether it’s a novel or something else based on my work. From there, the day is unpredictable and I’d just go with the flow.

17.  IF YOU WERE STUCK ON A DESERT ISLAND WITH ONE PERSON, WHO WOULD IT BE? WHY?
I’d have to say my future wife, whoever that may be. But since I’m not married yet, I’m torn between two people. Either Tom Hanks because that guy was a cast away for four years and could definitely provide some entertainment (he made a goddam volleyball come to life!). Or, I’m taking Gordon Ramsay with me because not only do I love to cook too but I’d want to put his skills to the extreme test. Let’s see what he can make from just a few coconuts and salt water.

18.  WHAT WOULD YOU SAY IF YOU HAD THE CHANCE TO SPEAK TO WORLD LEADERS?
Get your shit together.

19.  WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS FOR THE FUTURE?
My website will be launching soon after I self-publish my next novel called Five Ways to Kill, an Ebook that revolves around a hitchhiker getting involved with a hit-man and being driven around a horror-plagued city for the night. I have a thriller trilogy—more like a dystopia—that will be released at some point in early January, the first book that is. Hopefully I can start to really attract an audience and grow a fan base. I’ll commit to any publicity as well. All publicity is good publicity. What I intend to do the fullest is strive toward that ultimate goal of wring for a living.


20.  DO YOU SEE YOURSELF IN ANY OF YOUR CHARACTERS?
Sometimes I do. Many times, though, when I’m writing, I try to be in the mindset of the character and wonder what he or she may do in any given situation, not necessarily what I would do. But there are a few characters that are like me in many ways. One future novel in particular has five characters, and each one represents a part of me. It is almost finished, but given the subject matter of the story, it has taken a toll to write consistently. The story developed out of nowhere. I was mindlessly typing away at something and then the story just grew out of three pages of nonsense. I breezed through the first 40,000 words in three weeks, but it has taken me over 8 months to have written the next 40,000 words. I hope to finish it before the year ends.

21.  DOES THE PUBLISHING INDUSTRY FRUSTRATE YOU?
Absolutely. I think it is one of the most unfair systems out there. It does not allow talented writers to showcase their work, only the lucky few that get representation and then get picked up by a publisher. I believe if you work hard at it like I do, then you should be able to do this as a living and not have to wait and wonder if it ever will.

22.  DID YOU EVER THINK OF QUITTING?
If I said “no” then I’d be a liar. A handful of times I’ve sat staring at my laptop wondering why the hell am I continuing to write, and this is after contacting hundreds of agents with either no reply or a generic rejection. Again, I blame the industry and what it’s become—far too saturated with people who think that just because they own a laptop they can type out a masterpiece. It doesn’t give the actual talent out there a chance.

23.  WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE MANUSCRIPT TO WRITE? WHY?
My favorite manuscript to write was the first novel in my planned crime saga that will take me years to complete. I look back at that manuscript now and realize a lot more work needs to be done, but it was a great accomplishment to finally get that story on paper. 

24.   HOW WOULD YOU DEFINE ‘SUCCESS’ AS A WRITER?
If you wake up every morning and know your one and only job is to be a writer—to come up with whatever you want and turn it into a story—you’re a successful writer. It wouldn’t matter to me how much I made as long as I could sustain a living off of my income as a writer. I don’t need to be a millionaire.

25.  WHAT SHOULD READERS WALK AWAY FROM YOUR BOOKS KNOWING? HOW SHOULD THEY FEEL?
They should know that even if the story is something they believe could never happen in a million years, there is truth hidden somewhere in that work of fiction. Whatever I’ve come up with should make them question their world, the people around them, and the choices that they personally make. Regardless if it is a crime, thriller, or horror story, I want to scare the shit out of my readers, psychologically mess them up as they read my book, and then make them crave more once they’re done with it. My readers should be both afraid and anxious for what I come up with next. Nothing shocks me, nothing frightens me, and I will write just about anything as long as the story warrants it. With that mindset, people should be terrified of and utterly curious about what I produce, unable to stop thinking about it until they’ve read the story for themselves.
And that attitude also goes with, hopefully, a number of future public appearances. I would love to engage with fans, fellow writers, celebrities, and TV show hosts. I do not have a filter and will say what is on my mind. That definitely keeps an audience engaged and to have to wonder what will I do, say, or write next. If the entertainment world ever developed a poll and voted on who is the most dangerous person to interview, I’d want that person to be me.



26.  WOULD YOU LIKE TO HAVE YOUR BOOKS MADE INTO MOVIES? EVER WRITTEN A SCREENPLAY?
Without a doubt. That being said, it would have to be agreed upon that I retain some sort of creative control, that I be a part of the filmmaking process. Too many times have I watched a movie and wondered if the filmmakers actually read the book. I understand there’s a difference in creative interpretation, but people go to see a movie based off a novel because they liked the novel. Take Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. That’s my favorite Harry Potter book but the movie is absolute shit. It was more like the students were on Temptation Island rather than at Hogwarts, the Bachelor and the Bachelorette combined.
Now having said all that, when I write my stories, I envision the scenes in my mind as though they were movies. I actually fantasize about writing and directing movies based off of my work, or at least working on the set of the film and being a part of making the movie. One director that I believe would be a perfect fit for the stories I come up with is James Wan. He doesn’t rely on cheap thrills or jump scares to put the audience on high alert; it’s the tone and manner he directs his movies that can definitely resonate with my work. I did attempt to write a screenplay for an original story but haven’t revisited it in a while.


27.  HOW MUCH THOUGHT GOES INTO DESIGNING A BOOK COVER?
Right now, the nice thing about self-publishing is I can come up with the book cover on my own and tell a designer exactly what I want on it and what can be left to interpretation from the artist’s perspective. I think a lot about book covers and what I want each one to look like. I know the old saying about not judging a book by its cover, but I want my covers to be badass, and the hitchhiker story I mentioned earlier has an amazing cover. It’s simple but it’s unique.


28.  WHAT’S YOUR ULTIMATE DREAM?
My ultimate dream is to wake up every day and know my job is to tell stories. It doesn’t matter to me how hectic my schedule is on any given day. Whether it’s to just simply sit and write that day or go on TV to do interviews, travel nonstop for a period of time, or be active on a movie set telling one of my stories, it would be a dream to do that.


29.    WRITING IS ONE THING. WHAT ABOUT MARKETING YOU, YOUR BOOKS AND YOUR BRAND? ANY THOUGHTS?
I’ll take all the help I can get to have my name and stories shared with as many people as possible. It’s a challenge to be unknown by the masses and to get people to read your stories. I think there needs to be a more efficient way for someone who wants to write for a living like myself to actually achieve that goal. This career is not like others where you can apply and interview for a position as a full-time novelist. You have to be selected and it’s not even based on credentials but rather if one specific person likes that one specific story you came up with. It’s bullshit but that’s just how it is. So I need to keep fight toward that goal of becoming a full-time writer and getting the attention of as many readers as possible.

30.   ARE YOUR BOOKS SELF-PUBLISHED?
As of right now, yes. I have the one self-published paperback and am going to release probably four Ebooks in the next several months. However, I am still hoping and trying to find representation. Or, another idea I have is to grow my company, Option 13 Entertainment, into a business that employees independent-contracted agents and expand from there.


31.   WHAT IS OPTION 13 ENTERTAINMENT?
It is an entertainment company that I founded earlier this year. Every one of my future novels will have an “Option 13 Entertainment Presents…” page followed by the title. Think of the way a movie’s opening credits begin. That’s what I envision. It’s also a promotional platform. Once I start to launch my website and other social media accounts, I plan to have separate accounts for Option 13 Entertainment. I honestly don’t know what it may become but the possibilities are endless. In a perfect world, it will be both used to publish and promote stories and also serve as a film studio company.

32.   WHY THE NUMBER 13? ISN’T THAT BAD LUCK?
I am 100% Italian, and in the Italian culture, the number 13 is their lucky number. It’s actually the luckiest number and brings about the best fortune, so that’s why I chose it. Also because the number 13 is creepy and gives off that curious vibe. That’s reflects my writing so it’s a perfect fit.

33.  DESCRIBE YOURSELF IN FIVE WORDS.
Never going to stop writing.

34.  WHAT PISSES YOU OFF MOST?
That’s a long list to choose from. I guess I’d have to say the writing industry. Not to repeat myself but, holy shit, it is not easy to get started in that industry at all, and it does piss me off to put in a lot of effort and time into a story only to be rejected by someone because it simply did not appeal to them at first glance. I hate it when the criteria for submissions say something like: “send your first five pages.” And that’s it! Yeah, I know the start of the story has hook you, but I’ve read more than few novels where the beginning is generic or bland or boring as hell, but the story as whole is great and those details in that initial tedious beginning were actually necessary and paid off in the end. I sometimes find myself thinking that I could write better than what’s in my hands. BUT someone gave that author a chance and it all worked out in the end. Agents and publishers need to take more risks and branch out to reach independent authors; they are missing out on some great talent out there.



35.  WHAT IS THE TITLE OF THE LAST BOOK YOU READ? GOOD ONE?
The last book I read was called The Demonologist. It detailed the paranormal cases of Ed and Lorraine Warren. I am a huge fan of The Conjuring movies and have always been interested in those sorts of topics. It was a great read and will serve as part of my research for a character I plan to develop an on-going series around. I won’t divulge more than that because it is a very unique character and something that isn’t really seen in the literary world. I think it’s because people are either too afraid to write about it or they simply lack the ability to make it worthwhile.


36.   WHAT WOULD BE THE VERY LAST SENTENCE YOU’D WRITE?
The End.
37.   WHAT WOULD MAKE YOU HAPPIER THAN YOU ARE NOW? CARE TO SHARE?
It’s simple yet redundant: to be happy. I won’t bore you with what will help me achieve that but what will make me happier is to be happy. But rest assure, my writing style and storytelling will never, ever change.

38.   ANYTHING YOU’D LIKE TO ADD?
I know that I can be successful in the literary world. Right after I self-published my first novel, my cousin joked and said “Now you’re the Godfather of the Literary World.” I laughed it off at first, but realizing how much work I put into my writing and continuing put forth the effort to make every story perfect, my cousin was 100% right. I don’t want to be the next this author or the next that author. What happens then is people will automatically assume you are going to not only mimic the type of stories they tell but mimic their success, and after one little bump in the road (they happen to everyone), the public will second-guess you in a matter of minutes. I don’t want to be the next anything. I want to be me because I know that’s when I’m my best, and I am the Godfather of the Literary World. They just don’t know it yet.



AMAZON


Clancy's comment: I'm very pleased to have interviewed the Godfather of the Literary World. Happy to be your right hand man, Paul. Well done. 
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15 February 2020 - Vịnh Mốc Tunnel Complex, Vietnam

Vịnh Mốc Tunnel Complex, Vietnam
G'day folks,This network of tunnels housed an entire village for years, and even had a hall for screening movies.   There are a handful of Vietnamese men and women, roughly in their early 40s, who share a very unusual distinction: They were born in the Vinh Moc tunnel complex in the Quang Tri region, while their families took shelter from bombs raining down on their village during the Vietnam War.    

The tunnel network was created in the Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone in 1965-66, starting at 32 feet (10 meters) underground. The U.S. military believed that the residents of Vinh Moc were supplying food and ammunition to Con Co island, a nearby North Vietnamese military base; to force the villagers to move out, American forces rained up to 500 rockets a day on the region. Instead of fleeing, the villagers went underground.   What began as a few tunnels expanded to a network of around 5,200 feet (1600 meters), with 13 entrances leading from the beach and inland hills. The tunnels were divided into three levels, the deepest at 75 feet (23 meters) deep. Around 400 people from 60 families frequently took refuge there until 1972; their longest continuous stay underground was for 18 months.






Today the tunnels function as a museum. Visitors can see how the two lower levels housed the family quarters. There was a communal kitchen and washrooms, a maternity room, lookout posts, and even an 80-person meeting hall where films were screened, all carved out of hardened clay. One of the key architects of the caves was Le Xuan Vy, whose first son was born in the caves in 1967. 

While life and birth went on for months and years underground, the huts and buildings in Vinh Moc were leveled. But the tunnel complex served its purpose—no lives were lost in the subterranean village. 



Clancy's comment: So simple, but it worked. 

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14 February 2020 - 'ALEC THE GOOSE' - NORTHERN IRELAND

 'ALEC THE GOOSE' - NORTHERN IRELAND -
G'day folks,This statue honors a beloved bird that once roamed St. George's Market.   “Alec the Goose” is a sculpture dedicated to a popular goose who used to waddle around this area of East Belfast in the 1920s. During his short life, the goose was a regular at St. George’s Market, as he belonged to a local poultry vendor.




The beloved bird is depicted with a young female companion because it’s said he used to walk the local schoolchildren to school. Tragically, Alec was hit by a truck one day and died, so perhaps his tendency to accompany children onto the street wasn’t the wisest idea. 

The statue was rather poorly received when it was unveiled in 2009. The Markets’ Development Association accused the Department of Social Development of choosing to splurge on the artwork instead of funding social and environmental improvement projects.



Clancy's comment: Long live Alec.
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13 February 2020 - HANG SONG DOONG - THE WORLD'S LARGEST CAVE IS IN VIETNAM

THE WORLD'S LARGEST CAVE IS IN VIETNAM
G'day folks,
World's largest cave was only discovered in 1991, and now offers tours to the public.  Hang Son Doong — which roughly translates to Mountain River Cave — is the world’s largest cave and it is so large that it could hold a modern-day skyscraper inside of its caverns, and has its own small jungle.    Located near the Vietnam-Laos border, the cave was found by a local man named Ho-Khanh in 1991. The locals, it is said, were too afraid of the cave to go exploring because of the sound coming from the fast-moving underground river, as well as the huge vertical drop. 




In 2009, a group of scientists from the British Cave Research Association began an extensive survey of the cave’s depths. According to Howard Limbert, the man leading the survey, the cave is five times larger than Phong Nha, which once held the title of the largest in Vietnam. The biggest chamber, his team found, is over five kilometers long and 200 meters tall.






The jungle found inside of the cave has formed underneath a collapsed roof in one of the caverns. After the roof collapsed, enough light spilled into the cavern that vegetation was able to creep in slowly from outside. As the vegetation took hold, larger and larger plants began to grow, and now hornbills, flying foxes, and monkeys dwell in its branches. 




In 2013, public visits started to be offered by Oxalis that offer the chance to spend days inside exploring, as well as camping, in this massive cave. 


Clancy's comment: Wow!
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12 February 2020 - PARK TUNNEL, NOTTINGHAM, ENGLAND

PARK TUNNEL, NOTTINGHAM, ENGLAND
G'day folks,
I am always looking for odd things to post. This might be one of them. An engineering error ensured this cavernous 350-foot-long subterranean thoroughfare was never used as intended. 





An unlikely entrance in an office parking lot leads to a cavernous hidden sandstone passage beneath the city. The tunnel was built in 1855 as the main access to an exclusive Victorian residential area, though thanks to a mistake, things did not end as planned.
In the 19th century, the Duke of Portland, who owned nearby Nottingham Castle, wanted to convert some of his sizeable backyard into an exclusive residential development of palatial dwellings for Nottingham’s burgeoning middle class. To the west of the rapidly industrializing city and known as “The Park,” many impressive residences were constructed in the neighborhood by Nottingham’s competing architectural prodigies, Watson Fothergill and T.C. Hine.




The Duke commissioned Hine to excavate a tunnel through the city’s soft and crumbly sandstone substrate, creating a grand and impressive approach to the wealthy new neighborhood from Derby Road, a main city thoroughfare. He specified a maximum incline of 1 in 14 along the tunnel’s length to allow the heavy horse-drawn carriages of the day to pass. Unfortunately, after the project’s completion the incline was found to be 1 in 12, making it too steep for even the strongest horses to haul a carriage, so the tunnel was abandoned.
 An alternative road entrance was created for The Park, leaving the tunnel to languish forever as a little-used but incredibly grand subterranean footpath accessed by steep Victorian staircases, its crumbly sides held up by high brickwork. Today, after many decades of urban development, this ultimately doomed, yet startlingly grand, infrastructure terminates in the most unlikely manner at a parking lot shared by a convent and office buildings.
Clancy's comment: Amazing, eh? Cool looking tunnel though.
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11 February 2020 - PHOTOGRAPHER HIGHLIGHTS HIS PATIENCE

PHOTOGRAPHER HIGHLIGHTS HIS PATIENCE
G'day folks,
I have often told people how you must be patient when taking photographs of wildlife. You also need to know a bit about the creature you are photographing so you can perceive what they will do. This photographer has obviously been very patient. His name is Dick van Duijn.
Van Duijn’s pictures capture the unseen beauty of the natural world and his skills in taking photos of animals, especially squirrels, are legendary. Once again, van Duijn is making headlines in newspapers with his amazing new squirrel photo shoots and majestic animal pictures that capture the essence of Autumn.
Let's check out his brilliant work.






















Clancy's comment: Awesome. Just awesome. Squirrels are one of my favourite creatures, but man they are so quick.
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10 February 2020 - LOTUS LAKE - Tambon Chiang Haeo, Thailand

LOTUS LAKE 
- Tambon Chiang Haeo, Thailand -


G'day folks,
Here, stunning wetlands ablaze with pink lotus flowers. 
A true surprise in Thailand’s Northeast - often considered to be solely a rice-farming region - these wetlands remain predominantly hidden by tall elephant grasses that belie the expanses of water lying beyond them, and are known for the most part only by the local villagers who venture out to fish and to collect snails and lotus stalks for use in the preparation of their daily meals.
Best visited in the cool season from December through February, these shallow, limpid waters may only be visited on a wooden boat belonging to the local fishermen and villagers. Having cleared the elephant grasses, a thick carpet of pink lotus blooms suddenly confronts you. A constellation of millions of startling, flamingo-pink lotus flowers dance above the crystalline waters of the Lotus Sea.





This is quite literally the land of the lotus eaters! The seeds and stems may both be eaten, and the flowers are an important Buddhist symbol. If the lotus plant does not seduce you from a culinary standpoint, then do try the fiery local cuisine with its spicy salads, lime-bathed fish, and fresh meat dishes: the food of the Northeast has now become a favorite among the Thais and may be found throughout the kingdom.




The wetlands are home to around 80 species of bird, including the endangered grey heron, purple heron, and black kite. Other rare species include the Brahminy kite and the cotton pygmy-goose.

Clancy's comment: This is on my photographic bucket list.
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9 February 2020 - Bavaria: Land of Beautiful Castles, Palaces and Fortresses

Bavaria: Land of Beautiful Castles, Palaces and Fortresses
G'day folks,
Germany is a beautiful country and is always worth a visit in general, but one particular region in this country piques the interest among tourists, Bavaria. 



The land of castles, picturesque Alpine landscapes and rich history and traditions, Bavaria is one of the most-visited places in entire Europe, with an estimated 94.4 million travellers paying a visit to this magical place every year. One of the main reasons why visitors come to this region and venture far beyond its capital, Munich, are the hundreds of castles, fortresses, and palaces scattered throughout Bavaria, each one more splendid and breathtaking than the other. So, let’s have a look at them. 



Considered one of the most beautiful castles in the world, Neuschwanstein is also the most visited one. Apart from being a work of art by itself and famously inspiring the Disney logo, Neuschwanstein offers an unbelievably picturesque view onto lake Alpsee. The castle is situated on a hill not far from Schwangau village, and booking a tour to the castle ahead of time is the only way to visit Neuschwanstein.
Despite its resemblance to a medieval fortress, Neuschwanstein was built in the 19th century at the initiative of Ludwig II, the king of Bavaria infamous for being more interested in building beautiful palaces than ruling his kingdom. The king commissioned the castle in honor of Richard Wagner, the famous German composer, and the interior of the castle is full of frescoes depicting myths and legends that inspired Wagner’s operas.





Yet another of King Ludwig’s lavish commissions, Herrenchiemsee is an exquisite palace located on an island, namely Herreninsel, the largest island in lake Chiemsee. The palace was erected in place of an existing monastery and being the last of King Ludwig’s projects, it was never completed. 




The oldest castle on our list, Burghausen was built around 1025 or even earlier as a means of protection against the Turkish invasion. Burghausen lies on the Salzach river close to the Austrian border, and it’s the largest fortress in Germany and the longest castle in the world.
Burghausen is a true medieval fortress and looks nothing like the heavily adorned and fairy-tale-like Romanesque castles we’ve introduced earlier. So if you want to visit a real gothic castle in Bavaria, Burghausen is your best bet. 
 Now, here are some more.









Clancy's comment: Wow. Extraordinary structures, eh? Thank God I'm not the cleaner.
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