Science Has Spoken: The Sherman Brothers Must Die

Thanks to the playlist in the studio's common area* this morning, I have come to the concrete conclusion that all Disneyland music is fundamentally annoying. Especially when heard outside the park.

*which is a short distance from my Cube of Solitude

ETA: I felt like I should add that the scratchy 30s dance music that plays in the Indy ride lineup is actually pretty cool, though it is helped by the juxtaposition in setting. And I smirk enough at the not very family-friendly tune in the Main Street loop that that one doesn't annoy me much either.

Oh, and, say what you like about Haunted Mansion Holidays but the music played outside the Mansion during the season is surprisingly bitersweet.

But aside from that.

Gentlemen of Adventure: The Prequel

So I missed Hourly Comics Day, which I regret. But it is not too late for I Wish I Were Kate Beaton* Day!

Because ...

ONE HUNDRED YEARS AGO TODAY

Campbell's 'Eastern Party' had a bit of an exchange day with the Norwegians ...

( The Story, and a Comick )

CORRECTION: In all likelihood, this last bit didn't actually happen, or at least it is heavily belied by the primary documents, which adds up to the same thing. Research is here, behind a paywall alas, but that's where it is. Check your sources, kids!

Various people keep trying to get me to play into the Scott/Amundsen rivalry game, but I won't do it. I don't begrudge Amundsen the Pole: he made all the right preparations, had the better plans and the better team,** so he absolutely deserved to win. I don't love the British expedition more because I think they should have won, or because I wish they'd won, or even because I speak the same language as them (though it does make it easier in regards to primary documents) – I love that side because their story is just mind-blowing. 'Make a plan, execute the plan, succeed' is a great way to go through life – and survive in Antarctica – but it's not a good story. It's much more exciting to read about plans going horribly awry and having to cope with obstacles thrown up by nature, fate, your own weaknesses or character flaws, etc. Adventure may be bad planning, as Amundsen curtly said, but it's what literature is made of. A perfectly executed plan is just a manual.

I also love the British team because they're just so gosh-darn lovable, but that's beside the point (for today) ...

Thanks to a timely reminder of this anniversary I didn't miss it – Scott is still out laying depots and making poetic observations on trekking through snow. They'll find out about Campbell's little adventure in a month or so ...

*I don't actually, because I quite like my life, and all that pressure to be funny would take all the fun out of being snide. But it would be nice to play at that level sometimes, just to know what it feels like ...
**And the better luck – not only was his ice shelf HQ not blown out to sea, but on the way south he discovered a previously unknown glacier that allowed him access to the Polar Plateau with his dogs.