Jing-reed's Musings from Thailand

Why Does Evolution Matter ?

Why Does Evolution Matter ?

Evolution continues to have an impact on our lives -- the food we eat, our environment, and our health. Through the story of a multi-drug resistant strain of tuberculosis in the prisons of Russia, we see evolution in action today. This video illustrates how evolution is important to our understanding of disease prevention and treatment in Russia, and around the world.

Fundamentalist christians may not 'believe' in evolution, or bacteria for that matter, but it impacts their lives as well as everyone else on the planet.

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Karl Pilkington and The Titanic of the Desert

So Karl Pilkington, in his globe trotting TV series 'An Idiot Abroad',  continues in his world wide voyage.  In this clip he finds himself in the Jordanian desert and consistent with Karl's luck, the camel he is riding has a breakdown.

God, I love Karl with his perfectly sculpted and very round head, and curiously even his thoughts seem a bit round as well.  Absolutely brilliant comentator/philosopher, well, f you are especially fond of roundness.

 


"This camel's knackered, keeps stopping every 10 minutes. Camels have been around for years, the ships of the desert, that what they're known as . . . . . and we've ended up with the Titanic"..

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My Life In Travel: Simon Reeve

 

One of the joys of watching the BBC channel here in Thailand are the Simon Reeve programs.  I recently discovered that Simon has a YouTube channelwith past episodes of his intelligent, thought provoking adventures.

My Life In Travel: Simon Reeve

   First holiday memory?

Going to Bude in north Cornwall and watching my younger brother James crawling around scoffing sand. I remember thinking I should probably stop him, but he seemed so happy. He survived to enjoy other delicacies.

   Best holiday?

It has to be a trip to northern Borneo a few years back. Much of the south of the island has since been devastated, but the north was a magical place with extraordinary wildlife, beautiful beaches and glorious sunshine. I canoed down the Kinabatangan river, then visited the cathedral-sized Gomantong Caves, home to thousands of swifts and bats.

   What have you learnt from your travels?

Preparation is really important. I've had some bad experiences with illnesses abroad, so I make sure I get medical advice before travelling somewhere exotic. I'm now more careful about getting jabs and taking anti-malarials.

   Beach bum, culture vulture or adrenalin junkie?

A bit of each. I get to travel through some fairly hairy parts of the world while working, so on holiday I like to relax in the sun, and read and drink too much. ....."

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Trans-Siberian Railway Trip

           [click map to enlarge]

Moscow-Vladivostok: virtual journey on Google Maps

The great Trans Siberian Railway, the pride of Russia, goes across two continents, 12 regions and 87 cities. The joint project of Google and the Russian Railways lets you take a trip along the famous route and see Baikal, Khekhtsirsky range, Barguzin mountains, Yenisei river and many other picturesque places of Russia without leaving your house. During the trip, you can enjoy Russian classic literature, brilliant images and fascinating stories about the most attractive sites on the route.

 

Google Russia, in partnership with Russian Railways, is offering free "virtual journeys" along the entire Trans-Siberian Railway, beginning in Moscow at the Yaroslavsky Rail Terminal and ending in Vladivostok, a port on the Pacific Ocean. From Moscow to Vladivostok the Trans-Siberiand covers a distance of 9, 289 km [5,771 ml.].

The video shows the view from a train window on the rail route that spans two continents, 12 regions and 87 cities, and will cross 12 time zones. The entire trip takes days to complete and Google has provided audio entertainment for the virtual journey.

The YouTube video doesn't have any sound, but Google's Trans-Siberian Railway page provides numerous soundtracks including the sounds of the rumbling wheels, music from a balalaika, Russian radio, audiobooks of Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace, Gogol's Dead Souls, and Ilya Ilf and Evgeny Petrov's The Golden Calf.

Google Maps' Trans-Siberian Railway site also includes an interactive map that will show you where you are in your trip and bookmarks for you to jump to different sections of the train's path.

 

For more authenic sound, try listening to the soft rumble of the trains wheels and at the same time a bit of music, news and commentary provided by Russkoe Radio [the last button on the right hand side of their home page will open a small box which will provide real time sound for your entire trip].

 

The National Parks: America's Best Idea

Since I am supremely happy here in Thailand, it isn't often that I feel a sense of longing for the time that I spent in the U.S.  But recalling the considerable time spent in a large number of the National Parks, and the many nights I spent watching excellent PBS documantaries, both of these things provoke a lingering, sentimental nostalgia.

" PBS brings you an extended preview of the newest Ken Burns documentary series, THE NATIONAL PARKS: AMERICAS BEST IDEA. The 12-hour, six-part documentary series, directed by Burns and co-produced with his longtime colleague, Dayton Duncan, who also wrote the script, is the story of an idea as uniquely American as the Declaration of Independence and just as radical: that the most special places in the nation should be preserved, not for royalty or the rich, but for everyone...."

Some of the most exquisite photographs of the parks can be found at US National Parks    Pictures by QT Luong