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Haha, oh man... "systematic" as in you're going to go through them one by one? Bring it on.

I love exploring abandoned places. I guess you'd call it "urban exploration," if you know that term. I don't know if I can put into words what exactly fascinates me about them. Well, for one thing, I think there's something incredibly artistic about decaying buildings, because they're halfway between humanity and nature. But even more than that, I think that... that urban exploration is one of the only ways we can truly explore in this day and age. You know what I mean? There are no blank spots left on the map anymore. You can google the most obscure country on the face of the earth and find dozens of travelogues from people who have already been there and taken pictures. No place on earth remains untouched. Except... when I wander through an abandoned building, I can sort of regain the feeling that I am seeing something humans have never seen before.

That, and I love the artifacts you can find in those sorts of places. Old papers, little machine parts, giant boilers submerged in a flooded basement. I went to an abandoned insane asylum once, and there were old metal-frame beds and patient records and inmates' crayon pictures still hanging on the bulletin boards and holy christ it was very creepy to feel myself in the presence of these tortured people from the past. And then I met up with Blastdav and Whitefang later that same day and told them all about it.

These are still two of my favorite urban-exploration pictures. One is of a ship graveyard, the other is of a Gingerbread Castle.





Alexandre, I don't know what Calico is, so, uh, never fear. Is it a ghost town for the tourists or something? I'd love to visit an actual, abandoned ghost town one day. We have one in New Jersey, sort of, but it's right below an interstate and all the buildings have been restored by the historical society to the way they once were. BOOO-RING

[NOT]

Sounds like you love them the same way I do, but I just can't go into those kind of places anymore. I've had close calls that make me need to be armed if I ever go "exploring" again.

Oh man. Story time, Kalo.

[NOT]

Oh man. Story time, Kalo.

  *tells big, long, dramatic, out-of-character story that no one really wants to hear and is too much drama for anyone to enjoy.*    And that's why we hide the eggs...

Well now after that, lets move on shall we? *Checks the list* "Always Wearing Hiking Boots"?

I love boots too, but they don't always have to be hiking boots, am I correct in assuming this has something to do with your inquisitive nature regarding abandoned places?

Oh man, this has been open in a browser window for like a week and I forgot to respond.

am I correct in assuming this has something to do with your inquisitive nature regarding abandoned places?

Sort of. It's more like, I always wear hiking boots wherever I go, because wherever I go, I somehow manage to get myself into situations where hiking boots are necessary. I've been known to do things like go out for a gallon of milk and end up in the middle of the woods searching for forgotten historical cemeteries, or to go out for lunch at work and come back with grass-stained khakis and mud all over my dress shoes. Hiking boots are... just something I find to be valuable, lol.

Here in NJ, we voted last Tuesday in the primaries for the governor's race. So instead of driving to my polling place, I decided to put on my hiking boots and walk there via the shortest route possible, i.e. bushwhacking through the woods behind my house. It was a lot of fun, even though it ended up pouring. (a lot.)

Ask me some more questions, people! ^_^

[NOT]

Okay, in honor of you, lets go off the beaten path. Whats the deal with lighthouses being in your list?

Due to Arbutus eating a NEW member in this thread:
http://forums.furtopia.org/index.php/topic,36646.msg711606.html#msg711606
........I regret to inform everyone that Arbutus has been placed on a two week ban. BAD BUNNY!  
As further punishment:

*pours chocolate sauce all over Arbutus*

Ok, kids, you can come in and have a taste of the belatedly late Easter large chocolate rabbit.
*opens a door and watches as a kids rush forward to grab a chunk of the large chocolate bunny, some of the kids brandishing forks, knives, and even.........chainsaws... to get a piece of the bunny*

[NOT]

*watches the kids*
Wait'll they find the chewy center.

[Pet's name:]

what did i miss who ate who.

*eats kobuk*

HA!, a husky eating a husky!

wait, does that count as canabalism if i eat a fellow husky?

Hey; cough up that husky. *Gives Kiboe the heimlich maneuver.*

I can now officially say that the 2 week ban which was placed on Arbutus (Read Post #106 above) has now ended.

*gets a fire hose and sprays Arbutus down and washes all the chocolate off of his fur, then sticks him in a dryer*

30 minutes later........



Oooops.  I accidentally used the "fluff" cycle on the dryer.  Anybody got a comb?

[Pet's name:]

I can now officially say that the 2 week ban which was placed on Arbutus (Read Post #106 above) has now ended.

*gets a fire hose and sprays Arbutus down and washes all the chocolate off of his fur, then sticks him in a dryer*

30 minutes later........



Oooops.  I accidentally used the "fluff" cycle on the dryer.  Anybody got a comb?

heck yea thats uber cute. nice one kobuk

[NOT]

A comb takes too long, lets just shave him.

*coughs up kobuk but his foot comes out* uhh, yea, i may meed some helf here, i got a footpaw hangin out my mouf! (sounding with his mouth full of husky paw)

[Pet's name:]

*coughs up kobuk but his foot comes out* uhh, yea, i may meed some helf here, i got a footpaw hangin out my mouf! (sounding with his mouth full of husky paw)

grabs kobuks footpaw and yanks* hows this

*Kiboe doubles over and gags*  Oh god the dew bottles are coming next! Everybody run!

*don't want to double post but...*


I thought of you the second I saw this.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsJom_QDLp4

Welche spräche hast du unvollendet gelernt?

And if German isn't one of them... what languages have you partially learned?

Here's a picture I got today.  Thought of you.

Eeee, I just had to stop myself from squeeing in the middle of a public library! That's so cute! I love baby rabbits!!! (Human babies annoy me.)

Oh man, how did I never answer your question about languages up there? I apologize for that.

Let's see, my English is pretty good.
Other than that, I've probably reached my most advanced level with Russian, though I was never able to speak it confidently, to be honest. Too many vocabulary issues, and it doesn't help that I've forgotten a lot of my vocab at this point. I studied it for two years in college, though, and then spent a semester in St. Petersburg.
At one time, I could also speak Czech at like a high-beginner low-intermediate level or something, but I was only in Prague for a semester so I never got the chance to dive into it really deeply. I think I could still hold a tremendously awkward conversation, though.
As for Spanish, I used to take it in high school, and I got pretty good at it, but I've since forgotten a TON. I can still muddle through magazines and stuff, but if I try to actually speak it it comes out as Russian. Not even kidding.

And if you want a REALLY loose definition of "partially learn," you can throw German, Dutch, and Slovak on the list too. And I have courses for about five other languages on my bookshelf that, I swear, I will get around to one day.

Oh man, how did I never answer your question about languages up there? I apologize for that.

No biggie. I get sidetracked all the time with, well life, among other things.

Yeah, apparently we have a nest under one of those bushes in the front garden.  There's 4 babies. That day they were just sitting out in the yard, chilling. That's the only one that let me get near it with the camera. I think it got used to my presence, and it eventually let me get the camera just inches from it.

Then tonight, we looked out front and saw the mother out there. Then two of the babies came out, and started nursing. It was quite a sight.

German is the only other language I know. Finished my minor in it freshman year. Unfortunately, haven't used it much since.  I remember most of the vocab, but some of the little grammar rules get me.  I even got to go over there for 3 weeks right after high school.

But our German professor in college had learned like 8 languages, and is basically fluent in all of them. And I think he was working on like 3 more...

Hey Arbutus, I'd love to see some more pics/stories of your long trecks to places no one goes, especially abandoned buildings.

Hey Kruzer! Well, you've seen the pictures I shared up above, and you saw my other pic in front of the turnpike tunnel, right? I don't know if I've actually uploaded pics from my other adventures. Oh no wait, I take it back - I posted on Furtopia once about my trip to an abandoned viaduct!

I'm sure there's some amazing urban exploration to be done in Philly... lots of disused factories in the blighted old industrial neighborhoods north of here. But honestly, I haven't worked up the will to check them out it yet. The idea of exploring abandoned buildings somehow isn't as compelling when you have to worry about running across crackheads and crazy people.

If I do have any adventures soon, though, I'll definitely tell you about them!

Wow that viaduct is just amazing! Nothing like that or the tunnel you posted before exists in Australia.

Have you considered blogging your adventures? One of my acquaintances runs this blog (http://perth6000.blogspot.com) if you want some ideas. As you can see, our abandoned sites are far more tame than what you'd find in the US. Land values are very high in aus.

i'm sure i don't need to tell you to always keep as safe as possible and take a few precautions when exploring. Oh an also, are you are a fan of commie / public housing tenements?

Have a good weekend, dear bunny.

K