I’m writing this post from inside Mandrake Linux running on my primary computer.
Yesterday I goofed around with the partitions, installed linux and today got the network up and running. I’ve been wanting to do this for a long time and I’ve finally done it.
I have to figure out how to install new applications, I have to figure out how to get it to run dual monitors, and I have to get my sound to function.
So far, so good however. At least I have a platform to work from now.
The Beatles? The Rolling Stones? U2? Beach Boys?
Nope.
They’re all pussies to be honest. They are far from “the greatest most awesome band in the history of the world” (TGMABITHOTW).
For a band to be considered TGMABITHOTW, you have to rock, and rock hard. Like 8.7 on Mohs hardness scale, hard. Like, head chopping, jaw dropping, accoustical assult on the senses hard. So that instantly eliminates the posuers like the Beatles, etc.
Beyond rocking hard, you also should have the following: bald German drummer, long haired european lead singer, quiet virtuoso lead guitar player who can play at Yngwie Malmsteen-esque rates, videos with flaming skulls, Molly Hatchet-esque album covers, and Christopher Lee doing narration.
There is one and only one band in the world who is even in the running for TGMABITHOTW, and that is RHAPSODY OF FIRE: Italy’s Film Score Metal Champions.
My discovery of RHAPSODY OF FIRE (I have to write it in all caps to do them justice), was totally by accident, and I believe was partially guided by mystical powers, probably a wizard.
One saturday over a year ago I fell asleep in the afternoon watching TV. When I awoke, Tivo was playing some music video that I had never seen before from a band I had never heard of. They were at a castle, and there was a guy dressed as a king, and there was a skull on fire. It was playing on the Bravo channel, which I never watch. How Tivo knew to tune in this video is beyond me, but it did.
At the time, the band was called just Rhapsody, but due to trademark infringement, they had to change it. If you have to change your name, where do you go from Rhapsody? Duh. The same place you go when you’re at 10…..11.
Thus was born, RHAPSODY OF FIRE.
I strongly suggest you check out their myspace site. Also, their videos are available at Yahoo Music (but you have to use IE. Why they would require this at this day and age is beyond me. I suggest getting IE 7 now if you haven’t already). Read the text on their myspace site to get an idea just how awesome this group is:
In 1997 a holy thunder rolled through the international metal scene as RHAPSODY, the Italian metal band, released their debut album, ‘Legendary Tales’……Turilli is the band’s lyricist, as well as guitarist. His lyrics often refer to mystical lore from the medieval age and the heroic valor of those times, reminding us of the everlasting fight between good and evil……..On September 27, 2004, the world of metal changed forever with the worldwide release of RHAPSODY’S latest album, ‘Symphony of Enchanted Lands II – The Dark Secret.” Metal will never be the same.
Indeed.
Mike Judge should drag Bevis and Butthead out of retirement just to watch these videos.
The URL for my trip website will be Everything-Everywhere.com. (nothing there yet. don’t bother checking)
The name is ambitious to be sure. Cocky perhaps. Obviously impossible.
The big question is, if you’re going to see the world, what exactly to do you set out to see? It’s not a trivial question. When faced with an almost infinite array of choices, what you do spend your time and effort on?
It’s a question that I’ve been giving an ever-increasing amount of thought to. There are certain things that are pretty obvious: The Great Wall of China, The Great Pyramid, etc. There are many more things that I probably don’t know about but should know about and would be really interesting.
One good starting point I’ve discovered are lists. I’m a list sort of guy, so its as good a place as any to start.
One of the first lists for travel is the Travelers’ Century Club (TCC). The club is, as you would guess, for people who have visited 100 or more “countries”. I put countries in quotes because defining what a country it isn’t as easy as it sounds.
The United Nations lists 192 member states. However, the list really doesn’t cover many of the places on earth you can visit. For example, Puerto Rico is represented in the UN by the United States, but Puerto Rico is linguistical, historically, geographically, to a certain extent politically separate from the US. They have their own Olympic team for example. There are lots of Puerto Ricos out there. The Falkland Islands, Tahiti, French Guyana, the Isle of Man, etc. None of those would be represented by the UN, so its not really good list for these purposes.
The TCC lists 315 “countries”. They make distinctions on the basis of geography and political divisions. According to their list, North America has 6 “countries”: Alaska, Mexico, Canada, the continental United States, Prince Edward Island, and St. Pierre & Miquelon (French controlled islands off of Canada).
Amateur Radio has awards that are given on the basis of contacting radio operators around the world. As of this moment, they recognize 337 “countries” and it doesn’t encompass all of the of the TCC list.
One guy in particular, Charles Veley, is on a mission to be the “world’s most traveled man”. He keeps a list that encompasses all the other lists and then some. He lists 673 “countries”, including every US and Mexican state, and every Canadian province.
This sort of travel really doesn’t appeal to me. Most of the travel for him consists of visiting uninhabited islands which costs a ton of money. Also, a visit counts if you spend one second there. Its hardly travel at all. Crossing the border from Hong Kong to China might cross “China” off your list, but you’ve hardly been to China.
The real question as far as I’m concerned isn’t where do you want to go, its what do you want to see when you get there. Thankfully, there are other lists I can turn to for guidance.
Howard Hillman, a travel writer, has created a site of the wonders of the world. He lists 1,000 including the top 100 in order. This is a far more interesting list than just a list of countries. For starters, it recognizes both natural and historical places. While the list of 1000 is pretty comprehensive, it recognizes that not all places are equal. Italy, China, and Egypt will have more sites listed than Chad.
Another interesting list is the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites. They list 830 locations around the world based on cultural and natural criteria.
The one thing I hope to do via the website is to get user suggestions on places to visist while I’m on the road. I know there are tons of things I’d like to see that you wont see on any “best of” list.
In my trip to Hawaii in May, I had the pleasure of visiting a place which few tourists ever get to see. It’s literally off the beaten path. There are no paved roads. You have to walk or take a 4-wheel drive to get there. There are no signs pointing to it. There is nothing noting its existence once you’re there other than observing the color of the ground. It is one of only two places on Earth like it (the other being in Guam). Even though I didn’t spend more than two hours there, its probably one of my favorite places on the planet.
Its the green sand beach of Papkolea.
You can tell from the satellite photo that the sand actually has a green tint to it. The reason why its not totally green is that the sand is made out of the mineral olivine (Mg,Fe)2SiO4. Iron rich olivine is called faylite and has an amber color to it. Magnesium rich olivine is called foresterite and it has a green color. Gem quality olivine is commonly called Peridot. (Birthstone for August. Go August!) Individual grains can be anywhere in between the amber and green end members.
Olivine is actually one of the most common minerals in the Earth. It comprises a large part of the upper mantle, but its very uncommon to find on the surface. Like diamond, olivine is stable under high pressures and temperatures. You only find it in places where it was taken to the surface by volcanoes. I easily found olivine embedded in basalts along the roadside on the big island.
You’ll notice in the photo (not taken by me. I forgot my camera) that the layers are sloping downwards towards the land. This is because the entire beach is the eroded remains of a cone. The peak of the cone would be about 100-200 meters off the coast. The ash and basalt eroded away faster leaving the green olivine and the beach.
The great part about the beach is its isolation. Not only is it out of the way from most tourists, you also have to climb down into the beach. There is no easy walking path. There might have been 4-6 other people there while we we’re there, and we were a big group. The enclosed nature of the beach makes the waves strong and great for swimming and snorkeling.
If you ever find yourself on the Big Island of Hawaii, take the time to drive to South Point (the absolute southern most point in the 50 States) and walk to the green sand beach. You will not regret it.
If you showed up at least one day for a high school history course, you know that at one time the British Empire controlled a very large chunk of the earth. Enormous swaths of Africa, modern India and Pakistan, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and assorted islands around the world.
Since its apex at 1921, the British have been letting the empire slip away by giving everyone independence. Egypt, India, Malaysia, Singapore, South Africa and Ireland, among many others, went their separate way.
Here’s an interesting question: What was the last piece of real estate claimed by the British?
Answer: Rockall Island in 1955.
Rockall Island isn’t much of an island. It’s only claim to fame in history was being the cause of several sea disasters. (its pretty small, so even if you know its there, you could easily hit it) Its about 80×100 feet wide. No humans have ever established a permanent presence there.
In 1955, the British Navy sent a ship there, dropped some guys off via helicopter and had a little ceremony. They raised the Union Jack, said some words, and left a plaque with the following:
“By authority of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of her other realms and territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith, and in accordance with Her Majesty’s instructions dated the 14th day of September, 1955, a landing was effected this day upon this island of Rockall from HMS Vidal. The Union flag was hoisted and possession of the island was taken in the name of Her Majesty. [Signed] R H Connell, Captain, HMS Vidal, 18 September 1955.”
That, my friends, is how empires are built.
We American are not immune to building our empire in this way either. If you think of what comprises the United States you will probably come up with the 50 states, Washington DC, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam and American Samoa. That indeed does cover most of it, but we also own our own share of rocks sticking out of the water.
Among the uninhabitated islands we own is a little thing called Kingman Reef. Kingman Reef has the unique distinction among overseas territories of not existing most of the time. Its usually underwater. Always has been.
How did we come get this spot of sometimes land in the Pacific?
In 1922 one Lorrin A. Thurston landed and read the following proclimation:
Be it known to all people: That on the tenth of May, A.D. 1922, the undersigned agent of the Island of Palmyra Copra Co., Ltd., landed from the motorship Palmyra doth, on this tenth day of May, A.D. 1922, take formal possession of this island, called Kingman Reef, situated in longitude 162 degrees 18′ west and 6 degrees 23′ north, on behalf of the United States of America and claim the same for said company.
That’s it.
They also stuck the proclamation and other artifacts in a jar and put the jar under a pile of coral rubble. That was to make it more official I guess.
