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Wednesday, January 20, 2010
solo ride
i took a solo ride last night since eliot is still out of town. i've got my bags more-or-less 80% packed, with everything where it will be while we're in india. the bike was very heavy and the weight was poorly distributed so there's some work to do. as it stands, i'm carrying the cameras, first aid kit, tent and books so i may have to distribute some of that over to eliot's bike. on the other hand, he's got to carry the cooking gear, food and his own stuff to boot so maybe i just power through it. the big thing to do is weigh the gear and distribute it evenly.
i also took the opportunity to test out my helmet, pants, shirt and shoes like i'll be wearing them in india. it actually worked well - i'd prefer not to be wearing a cotton shirt but as eliot says, we're going to look enough like aliens as it is without wearing shiny bike shirts. and as i say, bike gear is expensive. time to t-shirt it up, india!
overall, i'm really happy with the gear. the bags seem to be working well - the pants, while silly, are totally comfortable and airy. also, after yesterday's crash-course on mosquito-related death, i'll be happy to have legs on my pants and not, you know, hot pants. the EXstream water bottle works well although the amount of water you get at a go leaves alot to be desired. still, it is filtering on the go and when i need the water so i suppose it's a worthwhile trade. given enough time, i could fill my other bottles with the EXstream. it'll be a good time-killing camp-activity to filter water, i guess.
after a little sewing, i'll be able to disassemble my bags from the racks and reassemble them into a backpack which will be HUGE when we're trying to move through train stations, on and off busses and in cities. i'll take some pictures when i get them up and going.
i also took the opportunity to test out my helmet, pants, shirt and shoes like i'll be wearing them in india. it actually worked well - i'd prefer not to be wearing a cotton shirt but as eliot says, we're going to look enough like aliens as it is without wearing shiny bike shirts. and as i say, bike gear is expensive. time to t-shirt it up, india!
overall, i'm really happy with the gear. the bags seem to be working well - the pants, while silly, are totally comfortable and airy. also, after yesterday's crash-course on mosquito-related death, i'll be happy to have legs on my pants and not, you know, hot pants. the EXstream water bottle works well although the amount of water you get at a go leaves alot to be desired. still, it is filtering on the go and when i need the water so i suppose it's a worthwhile trade. given enough time, i could fill my other bottles with the EXstream. it'll be a good time-killing camp-activity to filter water, i guess.
after a little sewing, i'll be able to disassemble my bags from the racks and reassemble them into a backpack which will be HUGE when we're trying to move through train stations, on and off busses and in cities. i'll take some pictures when i get them up and going.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
well, that's just great
man, i'm so glad catnip oil is ten times more effective at repelling mosquitoes than DEET. i also love the fact that kitties are attracted to you when you where it, it smells great and it's totally inexpensive.
wait, one of those statements was a bold-faced lie. LITERALLY. meanwhile, for the same price, you can get whole catnip ... 5 pounds of it.
so, who wants to have a catnip oil-pressing party?
dagger-faced little buggers
went and got my arm shot up with chemicals today at the travel clinic. picked up Hep B (unlike e-man) in additional to typhoid, H1N1 and my malaria pills. unfortunately i don't have enough time (or, cough, money) to get japanese encephalitis which killed (cough) 578 people in Uttar Pradesh province. so, it's time to look into ways to prevent mosquito bites!
apparently, catnip oil works up to 10 times better than DEET:
http://curezone.com/blogs/m.asp?f=634&i=…
http://www.essentialoil.com/catalog/defa…
http://www.essentialoil.com/catalog/adva…
Also, 80% of bites happen on the ankles so we gotta wear socks. And apparently 80% of bites happen the hour before dusk and the hour after dawn. So turn in early and sleep late. but if even ONE of those little buggers gets you, you can get all kinds of degenerative, horrible diseases that leave you bleeding and shooting fluids from every orifice before you keel over and die in gooey shame.
I don't want to die from japanese encephalitis.
apparently, catnip oil works up to 10 times better than DEET:
http://curezone.com/blogs/m.asp?f=634&i=…
http://www.essentialoil.com/catalog/defa…
http://www.essentialoil.com/catalog/adva…
Also, 80% of bites happen on the ankles so we gotta wear socks. And apparently 80% of bites happen the hour before dusk and the hour after dawn. So turn in early and sleep late. but if even ONE of those little buggers gets you, you can get all kinds of degenerative, horrible diseases that leave you bleeding and shooting fluids from every orifice before you keel over and die in gooey shame.
I don't want to die from japanese encephalitis.
rat surfing
in a follow up to yesterday's post about Ganesh(a), i thought i'd include this little story about the elephant-deity himself.
Kartikay was Ganesh's brother. He has his own amazingly psychedelic story - for example when he was born, six different goddesses were so enamored by him that each wanted to nurse him. In response, Kartikay grew six heads. Naturally. He was also the scientist of the Gods (similar in some ways Hephestus), a brilliant general, and a slayer of demons. While Kartikay embodies all the ideas of science, reason, and pure logic, Ganesh symbolizes spiritualism and wisdom. It's no coincidence that they both sprang from Shiva - the model of asceticism, introspection and withdrawl from the world.
Getting back to the story: one day Kartikay and Ganesh decide they're going to race around the whole universe 'cause, you know, why not? Kartikay, full of reason and purpose mounts up his magic peacock and starts the race. Meanwhile, Ganesha walks in a circle around Shiva and Parvati, declaring that the whole universe is really just these two. Everyone applauds and Ganesh wins.
Now, the real question is: why did Ganesh win?
Kartikay was Ganesh's brother. He has his own amazingly psychedelic story - for example when he was born, six different goddesses were so enamored by him that each wanted to nurse him. In response, Kartikay grew six heads. Naturally. He was also the scientist of the Gods (similar in some ways Hephestus), a brilliant general, and a slayer of demons. While Kartikay embodies all the ideas of science, reason, and pure logic, Ganesh symbolizes spiritualism and wisdom. It's no coincidence that they both sprang from Shiva - the model of asceticism, introspection and withdrawl from the world.
Getting back to the story: one day Kartikay and Ganesh decide they're going to race around the whole universe 'cause, you know, why not? Kartikay, full of reason and purpose mounts up his magic peacock and starts the race. Meanwhile, Ganesha walks in a circle around Shiva and Parvati, declaring that the whole universe is really just these two. Everyone applauds and Ganesh wins.
Now, the real question is: why did Ganesh win?
check out Kartikay cruising around on his serpent-eatin' peacock rocket in the background there!
Monday, January 18, 2010
jana gana mo-mana, fee-fi-fo-fana, maaaa-naaa!
this is the indian national anthem, which is called Jana Gana Mana. while most westerners will stifle a laugh (hey, i had to) it's a totally important song - duh.
here is a more-or-less official estimation of the song into english:
Thou art the ruler of the minds of all people,
Dispenser of India's destiny.
Thy name rouses the hearts of Punjab, Sind,
Gujarat and Maratha,
Of the Dravida and Orissa and Bengal;
It echoes in the hills of the Vindhyas and Himalayas,
mingles in the music of Jamuna and Ganges and is
chanted by the waves of the Indian Sea.
They pray for thy blessings and sing thy praise.
The saving of all people waits in thy hand,
Thou dispenser of India's destiny.
Victory, victory, victory to thee.
alright, now get this: you know how india has 820 million hindus who all have different gods, 12 million muslims and a whole slew of christians, jains, sikhs, jews and other religions? The "Thou" and "thee" referenced up above? NOBODY CAN AGREE WHO IT'S REFERENCING. pretty cool right?
India is alot like America - tolerant, opression-fightin', religious-freedom lovin' former british colonist that we are. Just like how our national anthem doesn't mention any particular god (or even the word "god" - unless you get to the fourth verse that no one sings, anyway), no one seems to know who this guy (or gal) is who is the "ruler of the minds of all people." it's an open ended question that everyone can participate in.
kind-of an amazing metaphor for the whole country.
here is a more-or-less official estimation of the song into english:
Thou art the ruler of the minds of all people,
Dispenser of India's destiny.
Thy name rouses the hearts of Punjab, Sind,
Gujarat and Maratha,
Of the Dravida and Orissa and Bengal;
It echoes in the hills of the Vindhyas and Himalayas,
mingles in the music of Jamuna and Ganges and is
chanted by the waves of the Indian Sea.
They pray for thy blessings and sing thy praise.
The saving of all people waits in thy hand,
Thou dispenser of India's destiny.
Victory, victory, victory to thee.
alright, now get this: you know how india has 820 million hindus who all have different gods, 12 million muslims and a whole slew of christians, jains, sikhs, jews and other religions? The "Thou" and "thee" referenced up above? NOBODY CAN AGREE WHO IT'S REFERENCING. pretty cool right?
India is alot like America - tolerant, opression-fightin', religious-freedom lovin' former british colonist that we are. Just like how our national anthem doesn't mention any particular god (or even the word "god" - unless you get to the fourth verse that no one sings, anyway), no one seems to know who this guy (or gal) is who is the "ruler of the minds of all people." it's an open ended question that everyone can participate in.
kind-of an amazing metaphor for the whole country.
sticks and stones
you've probably seen / made fun of this guy:
that's Ganesh and, point of fact, a super-important deity in hinduism. hinduism's gods are amazing both in number and depth of meaning. you know how christians have that the big guy and his kid and a ghost that want you to be nice to each other and help the poor? Hindus have like 3 million more, including this guy who is fat and has an elephant's head. But i'm getting ahead of myself.
for now what you need to know is that there are alot of stories as to how ol pachyderm-head got that way. the most widespread one is that Parvati (the embodiment of feminine Shaki - man this is going to get complicated. Look, for now just think of Shakti like the Force from Star Wars, okay?) got it on with Shiva (lord of destruction - not necessarily a bad thing) and the offspring was Ganesh. Later on, Parvati self-immolated out of shame because her dad, Daksha, did not approve of her marriage. Shiva got bummed out and lost interest in worldly matters (and took up drinking) (not really) (maybe?).
Anyway, one day Ganesh came between Mom and Pop and Shiva lopped his noodle off. It's up to interpretation but there is an implication of Oedipal son-lovin' going on here. In another version, Parvati keeps Ganesh secret from Shiva so he doesn't recognize him and think he's a would-be usurper to Parvati's love - reverse Oedipal style! Anyway, Shiva feels bad about killing his kid so he brings him back to life (MAGIC!) and then replaces his head with that of an elephant because "that's all he could find." I find it hard to believe that a guy who can bring people back from the dead and destroy the whole universe can't find a human head for his own kid but, you know, whatever. In other stories it's Vishnu, the four-handed blue-skinned god of preservation who finds the elephant head.
In a totally different version, Shiva laughed so hard that Ganesh came flying out of his belly. Shiva thought he was too pretty looking so he gave him a big belly and an elephant head to spite him. Shiva is a jerk, apparently.
In what is undoubtably the BEST version of the story, Parvati is showing off her baby to the other gods and Saturn accidentally looks at him with HIS LASER BLASTING EYES and blows up his head. I am not making this up.
Anyway, so then Ganesh had an Elephant head, which is SUPPOSED to look silly. This is really important. See, Ganesh is seen as the friend of businessmen (and travellers!) because he is "The Remover of Obstacles." He's also the "Lord of Beginnings" and people envoke his name at the beginning of everything from long trips to religious ceremonies. He starts things off and makes sure things go smoothly, in other words.
Why? Well, much like the western popularized "Elephant Man", Ganesh got dealt a crummy hand - smoked by his own dad and made into a freak of nature (or blown up by some random dude's laser vision, take your pick). Originally his name meant "one tusk" because his other one got broken off. So from the start, Ganesh has been an ugly, fat, broken dude. But Ganesh kept it cool and went on with life because he's got a good outlook.
Incidentally, most of the Gods in Hinduism come with a mount (or "vehicle" - just like M.A.S.K.! ), and usually (like in other mythologies) this is their faithful companion and helper. There are awesome dogs, tigers, even birds and dragons. Ganesh? He has a rat. Rats are thieves, scavengers and disease-carrying little hairballs, right? Yup, just like elephant-headed gods can't possible be taken seriously. See, in Hinduism everyone has vighna or an impediment they need to get over. Ganesh has an elephant head. Rat-Dude has a bad rep. Deep down, their both just who they are, greater than their reputations and just working through their karma, regardless of what people say or think.
See, Ganesh is all about getting over and around things. Somebody blows your head off, don't sweat it. Trouble at work with your boss? Keep it cool, baby. Blow a tire on a poorly-maintained Indian road? Time to put a spare on and keep trucking. Trying to find enlightenment (or reach salvation) by reading stuffy old books, falling on your knees and staring at your navel?
Check out the goofy elephant-headed god; maybe you're taking things too seriously.
that's Ganesh and, point of fact, a super-important deity in hinduism. hinduism's gods are amazing both in number and depth of meaning. you know how christians have that the big guy and his kid and a ghost that want you to be nice to each other and help the poor? Hindus have like 3 million more, including this guy who is fat and has an elephant's head. But i'm getting ahead of myself.
for now what you need to know is that there are alot of stories as to how ol pachyderm-head got that way. the most widespread one is that Parvati (the embodiment of feminine Shaki - man this is going to get complicated. Look, for now just think of Shakti like the Force from Star Wars, okay?) got it on with Shiva (lord of destruction - not necessarily a bad thing) and the offspring was Ganesh. Later on, Parvati self-immolated out of shame because her dad, Daksha, did not approve of her marriage. Shiva got bummed out and lost interest in worldly matters (and took up drinking) (not really) (maybe?).
Anyway, one day Ganesh came between Mom and Pop and Shiva lopped his noodle off. It's up to interpretation but there is an implication of Oedipal son-lovin' going on here. In another version, Parvati keeps Ganesh secret from Shiva so he doesn't recognize him and think he's a would-be usurper to Parvati's love - reverse Oedipal style! Anyway, Shiva feels bad about killing his kid so he brings him back to life (MAGIC!) and then replaces his head with that of an elephant because "that's all he could find." I find it hard to believe that a guy who can bring people back from the dead and destroy the whole universe can't find a human head for his own kid but, you know, whatever. In other stories it's Vishnu, the four-handed blue-skinned god of preservation who finds the elephant head.
In a totally different version, Shiva laughed so hard that Ganesh came flying out of his belly. Shiva thought he was too pretty looking so he gave him a big belly and an elephant head to spite him. Shiva is a jerk, apparently.
In what is undoubtably the BEST version of the story, Parvati is showing off her baby to the other gods and Saturn accidentally looks at him with HIS LASER BLASTING EYES and blows up his head. I am not making this up.
Anyway, so then Ganesh had an Elephant head, which is SUPPOSED to look silly. This is really important. See, Ganesh is seen as the friend of businessmen (and travellers!) because he is "The Remover of Obstacles." He's also the "Lord of Beginnings" and people envoke his name at the beginning of everything from long trips to religious ceremonies. He starts things off and makes sure things go smoothly, in other words.
Why? Well, much like the western popularized "Elephant Man", Ganesh got dealt a crummy hand - smoked by his own dad and made into a freak of nature (or blown up by some random dude's laser vision, take your pick). Originally his name meant "one tusk" because his other one got broken off. So from the start, Ganesh has been an ugly, fat, broken dude. But Ganesh kept it cool and went on with life because he's got a good outlook.
Incidentally, most of the Gods in Hinduism come with a mount (or "vehicle" - just like M.A.S.K.! ), and usually (like in other mythologies) this is their faithful companion and helper. There are awesome dogs, tigers, even birds and dragons. Ganesh? He has a rat. Rats are thieves, scavengers and disease-carrying little hairballs, right? Yup, just like elephant-headed gods can't possible be taken seriously. See, in Hinduism everyone has vighna or an impediment they need to get over. Ganesh has an elephant head. Rat-Dude has a bad rep. Deep down, their both just who they are, greater than their reputations and just working through their karma, regardless of what people say or think.
See, Ganesh is all about getting over and around things. Somebody blows your head off, don't sweat it. Trouble at work with your boss? Keep it cool, baby. Blow a tire on a poorly-maintained Indian road? Time to put a spare on and keep trucking. Trying to find enlightenment (or reach salvation) by reading stuffy old books, falling on your knees and staring at your navel?
Check out the goofy elephant-headed god; maybe you're taking things too seriously.
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