Is it too late to say, that I love absolutely everything about this post!? What a delightful irritation response!!! I'm embarrassed to say, we have quite a few of these self-important "heroic" types in my field, archaeology, as well. Characters who go on about their hardships for science (= excavating old sherds in politically highly dangerous regions), while really they are not only endangering themselves, but also the students (!!) they take along as well as the local guards.
So, the priggishness (pig-ishness, ho ho) of Mr. Potash resonated very much!!
Your first image somehow reminded me of Stanislaw Lem's piece "The Seventh Voyage" where a lone space explorer (not arctic, but also cold) gets into some kind of time-warp and encounters differnt versions of himself. So funny!
I got a peek into this world while working on that ‘great adventurers’ book. There’s an amazing photo (1970s maybe?) of nouveau colonial Fiennes posing shirtless with soldiers in the Oman desert. It’s hilarious. He’s like a cluelessly homoerotic David Hasselhoff. I almost managed to sneak an inspired illustration into the book but the editors told me to put a shirt on him.
Maybe not in the same b-movie vein but Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner is great, with an all-Inuit cast & crew.
Absolutely loved reading this and the comic made me laugh so much! As soon as I saw that first illustration under the header I thought of Dark Matter! Anyway, wanted to comment because I will take any opportunity to say OH GOD I LOVED THE TERROR. It was genuinely a highlight of the year - I was obsessed (I still think about it all the time? I am truly haunted.).
LOVE that you've included the Ice episode of The X Files too, it was one I watched over and over on VHS. Doesn't The Thing get a star rating? Anyway, this whole newsletter has delighted me so much this morning I'm off to share it everywhere.
You are so right! I want to join the mini vendetta.
There was a great series on Netflix called Losers (real life stories about people who came 2nd) in one episode a man called Mauro Prosperi does a desert marathon and gets lost for 9 days. There’s a national search for him, his family (he has a wife and three young children) think he’s dead, because who can survive without water for nine days but miraculously he does. You would think after putting his wife, his children, the search party, the nation through that he would stay at home but no he does the Marathon des Sables another 6 times! Wrong climate but definitely a risky self involved dubious achievement.
I would like to know the thoughts of the woman in the third photo!
Is it too late to say, that I love absolutely everything about this post!? What a delightful irritation response!!! I'm embarrassed to say, we have quite a few of these self-important "heroic" types in my field, archaeology, as well. Characters who go on about their hardships for science (= excavating old sherds in politically highly dangerous regions), while really they are not only endangering themselves, but also the students (!!) they take along as well as the local guards.
So, the priggishness (pig-ishness, ho ho) of Mr. Potash resonated very much!!
Your first image somehow reminded me of Stanislaw Lem's piece "The Seventh Voyage" where a lone space explorer (not arctic, but also cold) gets into some kind of time-warp and encounters differnt versions of himself. So funny!
I’m sure you’ve seen “The Thing”! Another polar horror!
Hahaha - the lone hero!
I got a peek into this world while working on that ‘great adventurers’ book. There’s an amazing photo (1970s maybe?) of nouveau colonial Fiennes posing shirtless with soldiers in the Oman desert. It’s hilarious. He’s like a cluelessly homoerotic David Hasselhoff. I almost managed to sneak an inspired illustration into the book but the editors told me to put a shirt on him.
Maybe not in the same b-movie vein but Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner is great, with an all-Inuit cast & crew.
Absolutely loved reading this and the comic made me laugh so much! As soon as I saw that first illustration under the header I thought of Dark Matter! Anyway, wanted to comment because I will take any opportunity to say OH GOD I LOVED THE TERROR. It was genuinely a highlight of the year - I was obsessed (I still think about it all the time? I am truly haunted.).
LOVE that you've included the Ice episode of The X Files too, it was one I watched over and over on VHS. Doesn't The Thing get a star rating? Anyway, this whole newsletter has delighted me so much this morning I'm off to share it everywhere.
Love it! And a snort popped out when I read, 'the gentleman in the balaclava'.
Check out Barry Lopez's Arctic Dreams. And how did I miss The Terror and Jared Harris? Great tip.
hahahahaha this is brilliant.
'the gentleman in the balaclava' line made me dun a lol.
Lonely arctic stories?... this sprang to mind Kevin Parry's (student! yeesh!) film...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PF8lJ00NGQ&ab_channel=KevinParry
You are so right! I want to join the mini vendetta.
There was a great series on Netflix called Losers (real life stories about people who came 2nd) in one episode a man called Mauro Prosperi does a desert marathon and gets lost for 9 days. There’s a national search for him, his family (he has a wife and three young children) think he’s dead, because who can survive without water for nine days but miraculously he does. You would think after putting his wife, his children, the search party, the nation through that he would stay at home but no he does the Marathon des Sables another 6 times! Wrong climate but definitely a risky self involved dubious achievement.
I would like to know the thoughts of the woman in the third photo!
Hilarious and brilliant Tor. Maybe if more people could put their irritations in comic form there would be fewer wars?
This really made me giggle (especially the Ooo good question). Terror was great wasn't it!
Don't forget The Thing, or is that onetoo obvious? Also why does substack sometimes squish my words together 🤔