Jing-reed's Musings from Thailand

Beethoven's "Hymn of Thanksgiving"

 

U.S. holidays are no longer a big thing with me, but do enjoy 'thanksgiving', not just for the delicious food shared with friends, but as a concept.  Personally I am thankful for still being alive at my age, healthy, and aware on a daily, minute by minute basis, of the beauty of the immediate bit of nature that surrounds me here in northern Thailand. And at this time of 'thanksgiving',  I am reminded of Beethoven's String Quartet No. 15 in A Minor, especially the third movement.

This string quartet was written to give thanks after surviving a near-fatal illness. Beethoven was completely deaf at this time, making the composition all the more remarkable.  But he was thankful for his mind and his ability to put on paper what he heard in his head and felt with his entire being.  The third movement of his string quartet opus 132, the "Heiliger Dangesang" is perhaps the greatest single short piece of music ever written.   Close to 17 minutes of pure bliss.

And yet Beethoven would be dead within two years, after completing the last of his string quartets, which many believe form the most sublime pinnacle of Western music.

     Part I

     Part II

And from Stanford University, "From Sickness to Health: Beethoven's Heiliger Dankgesang"

"Backed by Stanford University's Ensemble in Residence, the St. Lawrence String Quartet, Robert Kapilow, composer and radio commentator, explores the notion of illness as a potent source of creativity (e.g., appreciation for existence) through Beethoven's "Heiliger Dankgesang," which Beethoven wrote in thanksgiving after recovering from a life-threatening illness."

Heavy Rain & Swine Flu at Mecca

 

Heavy rain and swine flu fears hamper Hajj 

"Heavy rainstorms have hampered the start of the annual Muslim pilgrimage, the Hajj, in the Saudi city of Mecca.

The authorities have warned pilgrims to take care in the rain at the event, which usually attracts about two million Muslims from around the world.  Fatal stampedes have marred the pilgrimage in the past, and many of the visitors stay in tents. A senior Saudi official has also told the BBC that fears over swine flu may keep some 40% of local pilgrims away.

Four people attending the Hajj have so far died from the H1N1 virus, but officials have sought to play down the risk. The BBC's Shahzeb Jillani at the Hajj says General Mansoor al-Turki's admission that numbers might be down this year is the first official recognition that fear of swine flu may affect the event."

So Allah is unable, or perhaps just not willing, to protect the faithful, his loyal supporters, from a virus? And raining on his own parade seems a bit odd as well.  Guess I will just never understand the relationship between the world's various dieties and their followers. 

The [Lost] Book of Abraham

 

The Book of Abraham [Wikipedia]

"The Book of Abraham is a purported translation made in 1835 by Joseph Smith, Jr. of a set of Egyptian papyri purchased from a traveling mummy exhibition. According to Smith, the book was "a translation of some ancient records....purporting to be the writings of Abraham, while he was in Egypt, called the Book of Abraham, written by his own hand, upon papyrus". Smith's translation of the papyri describes a story of Abraham's early life, including a vision of the cosmos."

Small problem, Smith's 'translation' has no connection with the actual meaning of the ancient Egyptian hieroglypths according to contemporary Egyptian language specialists.  

"The Lost Book of Abraham is an award-winning documentary that investigates the remarkable claim that Mormon founder Joseph Smith translated a lost book of scripture from an Egyptian papyrus scroll he obtained in 1835. Hear the views of Mormon believers and World-class Egyptologists and decide for yourself."

Also worth investigating is Richard Peckham's site. More links with the truth about 'Mormonism' [LDS Church] than you could ever possibly follow up on, but all fascinating.  Peckham is a linguist and educator.  

Richard Dawkins on CNN

 

Dawkins: Evangelist an 'idiot' on evolution

"Speaking to CNN on the 150th anniversary of the publication of Darwin's seminal work "On the Origin of Species," Dawkins said the evidence to support the theory that life on earth came about through natural selection, and not design by God, was "now massively buttressed by molecular evidence."

And referring to U.S.-based evangelist Ray Comfort, who argues that the universe and life is the result of an intelligent creator, Dawkins said: "There is no refutation of Darwinian evolution in existence. If a refutation ever were to come about, it would come from a scientist, and not an idiot.

"Hunches aren't interesting, hunches aren't valuable. What's important is scientific evidence. It doesn't matter what mister whatever his name is, Comfort ... what his opinion is. It doesn't matter what my opinion is. What matters is evidence. And the evidence is clear. The evidence is in favor of evolution." .....

Rom Houben, Unable to Communicate for 23 Years

 

Man trapped in 23-year 'coma'

"A car crash victim has spoken of the horror he endured for 23 years after he was misdiagnosed as being in a coma when he was conscious the whole time.

Rom Houben, trapped in his paralysed body after a car crash, described his real-life nightmare as he screamed to doctors that he could hear them - but could make no sound.

'I screamed, but there was nothing to hear,' said Mr Houben, now 46, who doctors thought was in a persistent vegetative state.

'I dreamed myself away,' he added, tapping his tale out with the aid of a computer." ....

I am not really knowledgeable enough about 'Facilitated Communication' to make an evaluation, but recall reading about a man in France who was similarly paralized and dictated an entire book by blinking his left eye.  The story was later made into a movie, The Butterfly and the Bell [Le Scaphandre et le Papillon] which I posted about in August of this year.

There is also a CNN report and video about Rom Houben.

  

A Jing-reed FAQ

1- Who or What is a Jing-reed?

Now 'Jing-reed' [written in Thai as จิ้งหรีด, 'cricket' ] is also known as: Igor, Gordon, Mumbo, Igordon, Игорь, and actually a bevy of other names. Some people collect stamps or seashells, this one, for as long as he can remember, has collected names. His mother started the process, but that is another story for another day.  He is also known to be, in colloquial Americanese, a 'geezer', i.e. someone who has been around for a long, looooooooooong, time.  

2- Where does Jing-reed currently reside?

Jing-reed is an 'expat', which the Oxford University dictionary defines as a shortened and informal version of 'expatriate', and someone who doesn't live in the country of their birth. Jing-reed's first memories are of Slovakia, specifically Bratislava [the capital] and later Nové Zámky. Of course at that time he was known as Igor.  A name he changed some years later to Gordon, after finding himself living in southern California. currently he lives in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Several religious groups think that a person has to die before encountering 'paradise'.  Jing-reed proved them wrong by finding paradise here on earth, and it is located in northern Thailand.  Before landing in Thailand he also spent time living in Slovakia, Venezuela, the U.S., Australia, Japan, and Mexico. 

3- What exactly does this Jing-reed do?

Well, he is retired from a substantial career teaching the youth about how to speak, read and write in English and all about the literature of their species, and now spends his days playing, a frequent pastime of both the very young and very old.  Puttering about in his home garden is a daily joy.  And as a 'net-gnat' he can also also be found fluttering about the Internet, that glorious place of unlimited information. Collecting, and sharing, information has been a lifelong pursuit. 

4- Does Jing-reed actually wear those fuzzy pink slippers in public?

Not usually. 

Japanese Game Show with Marshmallows

The whole point is for members of two opposing teams [in blue and red] to strap a rubber band to their face, which is firmly attached to a wall, and try to eat a marshmallow bobbing and swinging from a string.

If you are not familiar with Japanese game shows, this video is a wonderful introduction.  A knowledge of the Japanese language is really not necessary.  Strange, senseless, utterly bizarre..........and hilarious. 

Bananaman and Darwin's "The Origin of Species"

Comfort and Cameron have been passing out free copies of The Origin of Species at college campuses this week.

Naturally this free copy of Darwin's book has an introduction attempting to debunk the theory of evolution since it is anathema to their narrow fundamentalist views [and they deleted some 50 pages of the original].  Personally I wouldn't trust anything 'Bananaman' Comfort and his stooge Kirk Cameron were pushing.  

"Former teen idol Kirk Cameron is on a crusade to debunk evolution. CNN's Carol Costello reports."

If you haven't already done so, and are interested in reading  The Origin of Species  you can download a free pdf copy from the UK's 'The Complete Works of Charles Darwin'.  

A Mandelbulb Cave of Lost Secrets

         [click image for full size view]

All who pass this way will know of my fascination with fractal images, and the hours [days, weeks, years] I have spent playing with them. There has been a new development in the world of fractal design, and it appears it is entering a 3-D phase.  The pleasing two dimensional designs have been given a new dimension to exist in. 

The Unraveling of the True 3-D Mandelbulb

"The original Mandelbrot is an amazing object that has captured the public's imagination for 30 years with its cascading patterns and hypnotically colourful detail. It's known as a 'fractal' - a type of shape that yields (sometimes elaborate) detail forever, no matter how far you 'zoom' into it (think of the trunk of a tree sprouting branches, which in turn split off into smaller branches, which themselves yield twigs etc.).

It's found by following a relatively simple math formula. But in the end, it's still only 2D and flat - there's no depth, shadows, perspective, or light sourcing. What we have featured in this article is a potential 3D version of the same fractal. For the impatient, you can skip to the nice pics, but the below makes an interesting read (with a little math as well for the curious)." .....

Rare Spider-Silk Cloth

1 Million Spiders Make Golden Silk for Rare Cloth

"A rare textile made from the silk of more than a million wild spiders goes on display today at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.

To produce this unique golden cloth, 70 people spent four years collecting golden orb spiders from telephone poles in Madagascar, while another dozen workers carefully extracted about 80 feet of silk filament from each of the arachnids. The resulting 11-foot by 4-foot textile is the only large piece of cloth made from natural spider silk existing in the world today."  ......