Mysteries of Montreal

 Front page of Le Soleil after the 1925 earthquake I felt my first earthquake this morning. I was woken up by at at 12.15am this morning. I say it is the first I felt, as there has been at least 1 other earthquake since I arrived here, but where I was at the time meant I didn't feel it (although others in the same building did). These happen from time to time, as Montreal is on a fault line of sorts. Actually, there are a couple of seismic zones in Quebec, with Montreal being situated in the Western Quebec Seismic Zone .     Historical Earthquakes in the Region The earthquake last night was registered at 4.5. Not large enough to cause damage, but large enough to be felt in quite a large area. There have been stronger earthquakes in the region in the past, which are summarised in this article . The largest being an estimated 7 on the Richter scale, on the 5th of February, 1663 where: Epicenter most likely in the Charlevoix-Kamouraska seismic zo...

From the Internet Archive, via the Californai Digital Library (by way of the Yog-Sothoth forums, as per usual) I bring to you The Dominion of Canada, with Newfoundland and an excursion to Alaska. Handbook for travellers (1922)  by the Karl Baedeker of the Baedeker company who then, as now, specialise on travel books. All major formats are available, including, the most useful for me, pdfs and kindle files. There are detailed inventories and travel routes to reach Montreal from both New York, and Boston, both the main east coast U.S. headquatrers for PCs. Also, there are travel options from both New York and Boston to Quebec City, and Portland Oregan to Montreal and Quebec. There are also possible routes mentioned from Europe, with entry to the ports of Montreal and Quebec. The section on Quebec runs to about 50 pages, but most of the details included are how to get from one place to another within the province. The pages on Montreal and it's env...

A  sunfish  has been found washed up on the banks of the Saint Lawrence river near Sainte Flavie, Quebec. This tropical fish was far from its normal habitat. Claude Nozères, a biologist from the region stated, « C’est un poisson que l’on retrouve aux États-Unis. Il a dû suivre le courant chaud, et avec les températures plus élevées de l’été dernier, il s’est approché du golfe Saint-Laurent » " It is a fish found in the United States . It had to follow the warm currents, and with higher temperatures of   last summer,   it made it to the Gulf of St. Lawrence" Of course, once the fish reached the colder water of the St. Lawrence, it was unable to survive. He added, « Il aurait pu rester longtemps sur les berges sans être mangé par les goélands. C’est un poisson qui ne se mange pas. Lui-même se nourrit de méduses » "It could have stayed long on the banks without being eaten by gulls. This is a fish that can not be eaten .  They feed on ...

Two posts in one day? Inconceivable! I'm not usually one to post this kind of advert but I would like to suggest that you all go and buy the Maelstrom Anthology: Tales of Madness and Horror. Why, well 1. it's for a good cause, as the profits are going to help flood victims in the aftermath of Hurricane Irene, and 2. a very good friend of mine has written one of the tales (and there's also some other good authors in there, some of which are big names in the RPG and Lovecraft communities). Now to figure out how to convert epub files to a kindle friendly version. What are you waiting for? Go buy it now ! EDIT: Kindle happily accepts epub files (also, I have now read this anthology, and it rocks!).

On this day in 1922, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks came to Montreal. Whilst here, these two holiwood stars visited the City Hall, and signed the 'livre d'or', which I assume to some kind of visitor book for the city. Whilst the couple were here, they stayed at the Ritz Carlton where: When Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks booked rooms at the Ritz-Carlton, crowds thronged outside to see them. Fairbanks would climb out onto the hotel’s balcony above the sidewalk to acknowledge the ardent admirers. ( Source ) Pickford and Fairbanks at the newly built CKAC studio in Montreal ( Source )

Not only did the Horror on the Orient Express Kickstarter make it's goal amount to be funded, but it made all it's stretch goals too. I recieved this email this morning: Congratulations! Thanks to you and 1372 other backers, Horror on the Orient Express: Call of Cthulhu by Chaosium has been successfully funded. Amazon will now charge your credit card. Pledge Summary Amount pledged: $150.00 Reward: Conductor—CANADA— Copy of the final product, Orient Express T-Shirt, Orient Express tote, and four Limited edition Orient Express tickets, a set of Chaosium dice, and a pack of extra handouts for extra players or for your Call of Cthulhu collection, plus a Horror on the Orient Express keeper's screen. Your name listed on the contributor page of the book. **THIS LEVEL INCLUDES SHIPPING** Estimated delivery: Aug 2013 When your reward is ready, Chaosium Inc. will send you a survey via email to request any info needed to deliver your reward (mailing address, T-shirt size, e...