Long Way Round

It's been quite a while since I posted. I'll kick off the comeback with a partial review. Long Way Round is a documentary of a motorcycle adventure undertaken by actors Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman. McGregor you know well from high profile Hollywood movies. Boorman is less known outside of the UK. Both actors decided they wanted to take their passion for motorcycles and adventure to the next level and travel from the UK to NYC via bike. They will of course be taking the long way around the globe.

The route they plotted takes them from London through Europe and into Ukraine. The route from there will go from Russia to Kazakhstan, China, then Siberian Russia. When they hit the sea they will take a ship to Alaska, push through Canada into the continental US then head through the northern states to NYC.

The first two episodes detail the preparation for the journey. Ewan and Charley set up a headquarters, contact film crew and gather equipment for both filming and riding. They test drive dual sport motorcycles from BMW and KTM. Ewan favored the BMW but decided to ride the KTM due to Charley's excitement over them. While waiting for the bikes KTM sent a representative out to talk about the trip. Upon his return KTM informed Ewan and Charley that they would not be providing bikes as they didn't believe they could finish their trip. Angry and disappointed Charley resolves to use the BMW and prove KTM wrong.

They start out their journey after hitting several snags and make various stops through Europe. They talk to people, get harassed by police and check out local sites. Most of what they see and do is pretty entertaining. It's not just hours and hours of two guys riding motorcycles. They take in culture along the way and meet some interesting people. One man in particular that stands out is a Ukrainian man who invites them to his home to stay the night. The guy is a nut; he comes downstairs carrying a guitar in one hand and a Kalashnikov in the other. He then starts to sing like an old school mariachi. It's completely insane; you can really sense how awkward Ewan and Charley feel.

The best part is episode 4 where they press on into Kazakhstan. You may recall the portrayal of this country from another Britain, Sacha Baron Cohen, also known as Borat. It wasn't exactly favorable. In his defense he was making fun of first worlder's ignorance of trans Asian countries but it still left many people with a backwards view of Kazakh. In reality it is a developing nation with a rich landscape. Ewan and Charley make an excellent assessment of it's culture and land to really open the eye's of the viewers as to what this country really is.

I have three episodes left. So far I've enjoyed the series and look forward to it's sequel Long Way Down which features a trip from Scotland to South Africa. I'll have the second part of the review up as soon as Netflix sends the disc.

Enlighten Up

Enlighten Up, a documentary from Kate Churchill, came up on my list of recommendations on Netflix. The synopsis-

"Filmmaker Kate Churchill is determined to prove that yoga can transform anyone. Nick Rosen is skeptical but agrees to be her guinea pig. Kate immerses Nick in yoga, and follows him around the world as he examines the good, the bad and the ugly of yoga. The two encounter celebrity yogis, true believers, kooks and world-renowned gurus. Tensions run high as Nick’s transformational progress lags and Kate’s plan crumbles. What unfolds and what they discover is not what they expected."

What the discover really wasn't much. We didn't get any answers one way or the other; however there were some interesting insights revealed by some of the people involved. Nick is our protagonist, the man we can relate to. He's a skeptic who is willing to give Yoga a try. After stumbling from one western yoga school to the next we end up with the same impression, Yoga is a franchise that makes money and no one can tell you what the hell it is for.

Nick and Kate do some traveling and it's not until we get to India that we start getting some answers. Nick gets a chance to speak to a Yogi who sets it out for him: Yoga isn't about any one thing. It's a way to attain some sort of spiritual enlightenment, but enlightenment of what? Hinduism? A Maya type entity? Nothing? The Yogi says yes to all these things. He says it's not so much the vehicle (yoga) to the goal but rather the why. He uses the example of cooking. If you cook for yourself, cook for a friend, cook for a lover or cook for someone you hate you are still cooking. It's the reason why you are cooking that matters; to eat, to be nice to a friend, to make your lover happy or to earn a living. This is true with Yoga as well. Use it for what you want; to gain health, enlightenment, control of your body, happiness in life. If Yoga doesn't work for you then don't do it. This holy man blew my mind, he didn't give a shit if you believed in his method or in Krishna. He simply wanted to teach what he could if you wanted to know. I wish more religious people were like this.

Anyways, back to what Yoga is for. What you commonly see in the west is Asana Yoga which is the pretzel like crazy poses. These poses are good for building strength and health. It seems to work for many people and I'm even thinking about using it myself to help strengthen my back and limber up some. Actually what I'm looking at is Pilates. This regimen uses poses and stretches taken from physical rehab and yoga that are proven effective scientifically. It was developed originally for soldiers in WWI healing from injury.

One neat quote from the movie though. "The sum of a man's habits is the total of his nature." How true is that? I had to look up the rest of the passage from the source online.
"It has come about as a result of his GIVING himself over to the bent
of his MIND.
Unwillingly he has BECOME the creature of his own MIND, wonted to
RESTLESSNESS."

Wow. Gonna have to reflect on that a bit.

Return to Blogging.

It's been quite a while since I last blogged. A few things that have happened in the past few months:

Got in better shape.
Hurt my back.
Fell back out of shape FAST.
Also met a girl named Betsy. She's a softball coach and lives in New York. We hit it off really well and have been talking long distance for a few months. We have lots of common personality traits. I really like her and that's not something that happens much.
Lastly I've been hammering out Paramedic school. It's going fine so far. The material isn't hard to digest and it makes sense to me.

Recently I pulled some clinical rotations in the operating room. The purpose of these is to practice and perfect the skill of intubation. After performing the technique a few times the anesthesiologist started to quiz me on some of the procedures involved. After answering his questions he asked me why I wasn't planning to go to school for something more than paramedic. After much lecturing he convinced me. I'm looking into a BS in nursing and possible CRNA school beyond that. It certainly offers more of a challenge and better pay in the future.

Well that's that for now.

Ant Hill

The first book I read on my Kindle was Ant Hill by E O Wilson. Wilson is a rather well known biologist and naturalist who was born in Birmingham and grew up in Washington DC, spending some time in Mobile, AL. He was a controversial scientist in the 70's but has since been shown to be quite on the mark in his findings in sociobiology. He has a vast amount of work published along with his own books written to help illustrate his ideas and research. Ant Hill was the first work of fiction he penned as well as the first book of his that I have read.

Ant Hill is about a young boy named Raphael (known as Raph) who spends his childhood exploring a natural wood and wetland area know as the Nokobee forest. This fictional forest is placed in the area somewhat near the Conecuh forest and the Mobile Delta. Raph grows up with a father whom can be described as a working class man who has his faults but does what he needs to raise his son. His mother was born into a family of privilege but married a man who was not- it is noted that she regrets the decision and only stays with him for Raph's sake. Raph develops the curiosity of a scientist and naturalist with the help of a FSU professor and mentor all by exploring the Nokobee forest and learning about everything within it. When Raph is older he is given the opportunity to go to FSU by his uncle on his mother's side; an attempt to bring him into the privileged life and restore his mother's status in southern society of Mobile. Raph really has no interest in his uncle's plans but accepts. Raph wants to study science and biology. The compromise is that he will later attend law school. Raph agrees and the story tells of his motivations to succeed later. Nokobee is threatened by development and Raph wants to use the law to stop it. Much is written about his culture shock at Cambridge and the experiences of a young man coming into his own.

Where the book diverges is in the narrative of the Nokobee ants. Raph's senior thesis is written about the ants that inhabit the forest and takes up about the middle third of the book. It is actually an anthropomorphic account of the social structure of ant colonies and their struggle against each colony to survive. It's a great method of illustrating the ideas behind sociobiology and the motivations behind the organisms described.

Much of the book is an examination into the different types of people you encounter that are either proponents or opposed to naturalism. Raph is mixed up into a world of people who are naturalists because it's a rebellious trend, naturalists who share his passion, developers who think commerce is more important than conservation and even religious fanatics who believe that land is meant to be used up by man in a manifest destiny sort of fashion. They in fact believe that to protect it is to prolong the time before the second coming. If it sounds absurd that's because it is but unfortunately I've met fanatics in real life that believe that very same thing. It's more than apparent that E O Wilson is writing about his own struggle to find acceptance for his ideas in Alabama and I sympathize. He's a man who seems to appreciate the Alabama that was and resent it at the same time. He sees the old southern culture as both interesting and absurd. I think his view is more of an appreciation of cultural heritage but a recognition that no one outside of your social circle really cares. He sums up very accurately the difference between the good people he affectionately calls rednecks and the minority of alienated whites better know as "white trash." If you live in Alabama you immediately think of people you have encountered that certainly fit the description.

Ant Hill is a good read for those that are interested in conservation and naturalism in the South. A good story with some science thrown in and even a little action towards the end leads to a very enjoyable novel. Give Ant Hill a try and let me know what you think.

My Mind Rebels at Stagnation

It's been a slow year for me so far. I haven't done much of anything exciting. No adventures. No diving. Only one camping trip. Haven't even been riding the bicycle.

A big letdown is getting out of shape and the monumental task ahead of me to get out the door is intimidating. It's not that I don't want to; it's that it hurts. For some strange reason my back spasms have hit me full force. For over a month now I have struggled just to do mundane tasks. I eat Bayer like candy to get through work. I finally broke down and scheduled an appointment with a chiropractor tomorrow. I'm hoping that with his help I can start strengthening my core muscles and start stretching out into new activities from there.

One nice thing I've been doing in my idle time is reading. I purchased an Amazon Kindle and absolutely love it. It's going to make an excellent companion on any future trips as it is light weight and stores so many books. It also runs for almost a week on one charge. I'll be touching on a couple of books that I've read in later posts.

At the end of the month I'll be starting Paramedic school at Wallace in Dothan. Fortunately I will be going on A shift, my normal work schedule. I won't miss any time on my off days and I'll be getting paid to go. I can't get a better deal. Studying will be consuming alot of my time so the next year will be a little slim on trips. Paramedic isn't something I intend to half ass like many others have done; lives are in your hands and it's irresponsible to not know your job inside and out.

February Sipsey Trip

My friend Jennifer and I made a trip up to Sipsey Feb 3 for a couple of frigid nights. Icicles hung from the canyon walls and made for quite a sight. We camped atop Fall Creek Falls and hiked to the Big Tree. The Big Tree is the oldest tree in Alabama and is quite impressive. It's in the bottom of the E Bee Branch Falls canyon. We only ran into one couple the whole trip, otherwise we never saw a soul. It was a great trip! I'm happy that the weather is warming up, everything is starting to bloom and the green is returning to the trees. I'm looking forward to a Spring full of Geocaching, hiking and cycling! I'm hoping to get a dive trip in and plenty of fishing as well.