I live in Montréal and in 2024 we had a total solar eclipse. For the occasion, I had made a metal eclipse playlist on Spotify.

Now, it's Spain's turn on Wednesday. I have been adding to this playlist whenever I stumbled upon songs relating to eclipses since, and if any of you will be in Spain, I thought you might be interested in this playlist.

Qorthon's project "Bathory" is the most highly regarded pionneer of black metal. He published three albums in this dark new genre of metal during the 80s, all about darkness, evil and Satan, and then a 4th at the end of the decade, "Blood Fire Death". While it was still black metal, and still dark, it included slower, longer, more epic compositions and themes relating to the old gods of the Norse.

After working on an album that was to be completely in this new epic style, he abandonned it due to thinking it wouldn't go well with the fans. Instead, he created his 5th album, Hammerheart, often considered to be his magnus opus. There, he developped that epic style more while staying black metal, and this style is now called "Viking metal" or "Pagan metal", though in my opinion very few after Bathory had a similar style. "One rode to Asa Bay" is one song of that album.

Always strongly opposed to Christianity, he decided to ditch satanic themes for pagan themes as he felt that Satan being a figure from Christianity, it was better to refer to the old gods that were outside Christianity.

When this album was published, the second wave of black metal had started in Norway, and Euronymous of Mayhem hated it. Undeterred by the negative reaction of some, the Swedish genius went on to publish 3 more albums in this style, and also finishing the abandoned album, before his premature death.

Asa Bay is the name of a fictional coastal town, and Qorthon would refer to it again on a few occasions on later albums.

It tells the dramatised story of Christianity coming to that fictional town.

cross-posted from: https://aussie.zone/post/34370513

Anon likes bikes

Ça date d'octobre mais il ne semble pas que ça ait été posté ici. J'entends rarement parler des éboueurs et j'ai trouvé ce reportage fascinant.

I've been reading on the Web for effective repellents against squirrels.

Alliums, mint, hot peppers, marigolds, water for drinking, things that look like predators (snake, owl...), urine and blood meal seem to have varied success. I'm interested to know what was your experience with any of those methods.

Another method with variable success is feeding them... but I think if you're doing this, you're going to feed an exponentially increasing number of squirrels with each squirrel generation.

One interesting idea I've read is having children participate in the defense, such as by clapping and yelling when they see them, and even using a water cannon.

It seems the only really effective things are:

• Physical barriers such chicken nets. I've read that drawbacks are the cost and the aesthetic. However what I don't hear mentionned is convenience... how do you work with chicken nets in the garden? Is it easy to open and close again? I feel like I would get too lazy and abandon my garden to the weeds.
• Don't have trees around. Of course I can't remove the city trees. And anyway, it seems to me like this method would encourage insects as there would be less birds around as well.
• Dogs, especially terriers.
• Outdoor cats, but this method is ecologically problematic (they kill way more, not just squirrels in your garden).

Two distinct issues seem to be biting the fruits (especially tomatoes) and digging. I wonder if you can have a mulch thick enough that squirrels will stop digging. Perhaps with branches?

EDIT: added a few more methods

The "Activism" section is fascinating.