BBC: Tiger Team Marks Twenty Years of Conflict Resolution

One of the biggest problems facing wildlife conservationists today is human-predator conflict -- not the one-sided conflict between poachers and game, but rather that of ordinary villagers faced with large carnivores that venture ever-deeper into human territory, because they have nowhere else to go, by virtue of the destruction of their natural habitats and human encroachment onto their natural lands. Often, such stand-offs result in aggressive measures on the part of the human villagers, including resurgence of poaching in areas that would otherwise not engage in such activities.

This Russian Tiger Response Team reduces the instances of aggressive retaliation by giving villages recourse -- they deal with tigers in a humane, safe, and effective way -- and have been doing so for twenty years:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_9313000/9313098.stm

It's heartening to see. 

NYTimes: Gifts of Hope

As Christmas Day draws near, many last-minute shoppers are scrambling to buy the gifts they have forgotten to get. This is my public service announcement, in more ways than one -- here are some options you might consider, ones that would benefit more than just the recipient:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/19/opinion/19kristof.html?src=me&ref=general

The New Adventures of Queen Victoria: Edgar Allan Poe's Attempts at Levity

Victorian literature joke (humour me, okay?):

http://www.gocomics.com/thenewadventuresofqueenvictoria/2010/10/04/

I thought it was funny...

Unintentional Humor at the Chinese Supermarket, Part II

One of the first things my family did, upon arrival in Los Angeles, was go to a Chinese supermarket and buy a week's worth of food. My sister and I wandered off after a while, and this is what we found:

This was in the cosmetics aisle. It says, if you can't quite make out the blurry lettering, "Smash Fixer". Well, if your face just got smashed, I'm not sure a pot of powder or whatever would do you much good.

This isn't so much Chinglish as just a "huh?" moment. It's like saying to someone, "Don't throw kiwis at stop signs", when the addressee is neither outdoors nor in possession of kiwis. Or something.

I am told by my sister, who is learning Spanish, that "bonita" means "pretty". The sign was on a display of rather unexceptional dead fish.

Only Asians would package dried mushrooms in flower-festooned cardboard boxes.

These are durians. They smell really bad, but actually taste pretty good. They also look like abnormally large hedgehogs. We were amused.

I'm not sure if crackers that are "cheerful" seem any more appetizing than crackers that are glum, or annoyed, or indifferent. Maybe they meant... cheer-inducing crackers? Errr...

Asian supermarkets seem to favor consistently poor choices of adjectives. "Silky" is no more palatable than "cheerful" -- perhaps less so.

Umm...  "idiot" steak?

Well. It appeared to be body wash (or at least, it was in the section labeled as such).

Panda milk seems a little too exotic, not to mention, illegal.

And this is a watering can. Cute, if disturbingly so.

Sonnet 130 (by William Shakespeare)

I haven't posted any poetry in a while, so here's some more Shakespeare. This is another one of my all-time favorite sonnets:

The 1609 Quarto Version

My Miſtres eyes are nothing like the Sunne,
Currall is farre more red, then her lips red,
If ſnow be white, why then her breſts are dun:
If haires be wiers, black wiers grow on her head:
I haue ſeene Roſes damaskt, red and white,
But no ſuch Roſes ſee I in her cheekes,
And in ſome perfumes is there more delight,
Then in the breath that from my Miſtres reekes.
I loue to heare her ſpeake,yet well I know,
That Muſicke hath a farre  more pleaſing found:
I graunt I neuer ſaw a goddeſſe goe,
My Miſtres when ſhee walkes treads on the ground.
    And yet by heauen I thinke my loue as rare,
    As any ſhe beli'd with falſe compare.

And a modernized version, with the typesetting and spelling "cleaned up" a bit:

My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun;
Coral is far more red than her lips' red;
If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.
I have seen roses damask'd, red and white,
But no such roses see I in her cheeks;
And in some perfumes is there more delight
Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.
I love to hear her speak, yet well I know
That music hath a far more pleasing sound;
I grant I never saw a goddess go;
My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground:
     And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare
     As any she belied with false compare.

At first glance, it reads as though the Bard is complaining about his mistress's rather plain looks -- but upon closer inspection, the poem is really about love in spite of, or in acknowledgment of, one's beloved's flaws. It's about love as acceptance of all of another person, not just the appealing parts. Everyone has a dark side, however small or non-apparent. Love that embraces that dark side is love with eyes wide open, a truer love than the rose-tinted infatuation that poets are so inclined to extol. Such is a love I would wish for myself.

NYTimes: Senate Repeals "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"

A major victory for civil rights -- on the order of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, some have said:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/19/us/politics/19cong.html?_r=1&ref=global-home

At long last, military honor. It's something to celebrate this season.

Knitting over Winter Break

The last batch of yarn, barring any major catastrophes:

I bought the four skeins directly above the half-finished scarf two days ago; the others are from a while back. I plan to finish seven scarves over break, which will cover the rest of the friends I plan to give them to when we get back to school. I have about eighteen days. I don't think it's unreasonable, given the (admittedly short) plane rides and (longer) car rides ahead.

I'm also, if there's some yarn left over (and there should be!), thinking of knitting something small and eminently practical for my father.

Nationalism

I've spent the past quarter studying, in part, the development and evolution of nations in various classes. One of the recurring themes that really struck me was just how easy it was to get the masses to subscribe to, kill in the name of, fight and die for, an idea. On many occasions, it was the concept of the nation -- whether it was a piece of land or an ethnic group or a shared history. And then I found this quotation, which explains a whole lot:

Nationalist pride, like other variants of pride, can be a substitute for self-respect.

~ Eric Hoffer

It because many people want something to believe in, something to belong to, some higher purpose; we see it all the time with religious zealots and political extremists (the two often overlap). The nation is another such concept. People, I believe, can be good, or can think themselves good, if given even the slimmest chance to elevate their position. Nationalism is one such outlet.

There is such a thing as healthy nationalism, moderate and rational nationalism. It is only when people depend too much upon that one belief, when it becomes all that they live for, when they place all their hopes and dreams in it, that it becomes a vicious, dangerous force. Fanatics are the most dangerous sort of enemy, because they believe wholeheartedly that they are right, that they are defenders of the cause, that anyone who disagrees is mistaken at best, and evil at worst -- they are not easily dislodged by minor setbacks or lost battles. They become one with their purpose, so to speak, and are destroyed, heart and soul, with the defeat of their cause. It is a law of the nature to fight against one's own destruction, and laws of nature are more powerful than the laws of man.

NYTimes: Centuries-Old Rifles See Use in Afghanistan

Apologies for disappearing for a week; finals happened. Anyhow...

I've always had a certain fascination with antique weaponry. My area of interest lies more in pre-modern weaponry (before guns, or at least, not much later than the arquebus), but this is pretty interesting:

http://atwar.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/12/10/rifles-of-advanced-age-remain-in-use-in-afghanistan

They're using Civil War-era rifles! And they still work!

And the Martini-Henries! I'm sad, though not especially surprised, that they've fallen into such disrepair, though. Old rifles (of the Civil War era) tend to be finicky to maintain, I've heard, if they actually see use.

And the comment at the end about firearms and ammunition being a system is very true -- you see it in ballistae and their bolts, too, though of course, ballistae bolts are easier to modify to fit.

Frank, Wendy, and Sarah's Epic One-Act Opera

Soprano: I love you!
Tenor: You're dying of tuberculosis -- how can you hit those high notes?!?!
Soprano: By George, I am! *dies*
Tenor: Alas! *flails* I will have vengeance!
Baritone Sidekick: On tuberculosis?

(Five points for spotting the wordplay.)

Camera Mounted on a Peregrine Falcon

I would recommend skipping this one if you have severe motion sickness.



One of my dearest childhood wishes was to be able to fly, under my own power. I loved the Daedalus and Icarus (or more properly, Daidalos and Ikaros) story. I used to try to fashion wings for myself, out of cardboard, popsicle sticks, Halloween faerie wings, whatever else I could find. I can imagine -- almost remember -- my father being tolerantly amused (he had been an engineer, once upon a time), and my mother rolling her eyes and cleaning up the messes that must have ensued.

I wish I could show my five-year-old self this video.

NYTimes: A Hundred Ways to Be a Frog

A very interesting slice-of-life article about herpetologists (I love that word!):

 http://scientistatwork.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/28/a-hundred-ways-to-be-a-frog/

I would wager that the title is a reference to the Wallace Stevens poem "Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird". Stevens is one of my favorite open-form poets; I don't generally like open-form, but he is proof that it can be done extremely well.

BBC: Runway Opens at World's First Spaceport

This happened a little over a month ago, so it's not exactly breaking news, but considering I was... otherwise engaged for the duration (which sometimes feels like I was cryogenically suspended for all of November), I think I can be excused a little bit of news-lag. Anyhow, this is really awesome:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-11611630

I've been following the exploits of Virgin Galactic and its fellows for a while now, and hoping that they will eventually achieve more than charging a few rich guys a ridiculous (though, I suppose, not terribly unreasonable) sum for a few hours of spaceflight. This gives me hope that these companies have more to them -- that they'll contribute to building the awesome, scifi future we've all dreamed of. Or maybe just the nerds like me.

NYTimes: Pompeii -- Archaeologists' Dream, Conservationists' Failure

And now, back to our regularly scheduled programming:

This is scary. Really scary. For a historian and a (lapsed) Latin student, and an avid museum-goer, the idea of such artifacts, such a goldmine of Roman archaeology, being destroyed simply because of human incompetence and negligence, is a travesty:

http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/30/another-collapse-at-pompeii-renews-calls-for-better-care

I want to go to Pompeii sometime. I've never been, and I hope that by the time the opportunity arises, it won't be too late.