Burning Man Approacheth

by Erik Olsen on

Yes, dear people, the official countdown has begun. The raggedy hordes are assembling, brightening their tattoos,
oiling their dreadlocks, and buffing their bongs, and soon the vast, scarred desert will play host once again to the
pagan ceremony of the Burning Man. The desert air will be tinctured with the
sweet scent of pheromones as ripe young men and women surrender their inhibitions to the raging moon. Drunk on estrus
and California wine, they will congregate in tents and teepees, yurts and lean-tos, limbs and lips entwined under the
raw black sky. They come to celebrate, to rejoice, to leave behind the dreary trappings of domesticity, and for one
long, curling cacophony of time, they trumpet their hopes and desires to their god, the golden calf of the desert, the
man who burns.

Yes, people, it is nearly THAT TIME again.

Burning Man.

(disclaimer: this was written under the influence of a Starbucks venti red-eye. No verbs or adjectives were hurt
in the writing of this post. We employ professional stunt verbs and adjectives only.)

Going to Guyana

by Erik Olsen on

When you think about it, there aren’t many countries left in the world like Guyana. The country still has a fairly vast rainforest teeming with exotic life, and tourism there has remained pretty low due to the political situation and the overall lack of infrastructure. But that may be changing.

I enjoy posting pieces about off-the-beaten-track locales as often as I can. I discovered this piece in a terrific Canadian magazine called Outpost that talks about how quickly Guyana is becoming one of the top eco-tourist destinations around…or at least it is for the more determined and dedicated eco-tourist types (you know, the ones that actually know a hundred species of bird and enjoy gnawing on tree bark for breakfast). The article takes you (via a Toyota land Cruiser) on a visit to the village of Surama, one of the half-dozen or so Amerindian villages in Guyana’s interior that have recently started to cash in on the eco-tourism thing. There the author deals with stealthy snakes, nosy tapirs, monkeys, birds, and a particular golden frog whose nerve toxin is “160,000 times more powerful than cocaine.” (Important safety tip: Don’t lick the golden frogs).

Of course, with the rise in eco-tourism there, it is easy to be concerned about the degradation of the very environment that is being appreciated. Increased tourism will lead to more development, which will lead to forests being felled. So perhaps now is the time to follow the article’s advice and see Guyana for yourself. For more on Guyana’s rainforests and eco-tourism opps, check out this link.

More Burma: NPR Interview with Emma Larkin

by Erik Olsen on

Having just blogged about an interesting Web site on Burma, I also came across
this wonderful interview with Emma Larkin (a
pseudonym) whose book, Finding George Orwell in
Burma is making some waves. Larkin lived in Burma for several years and chose to use a pseudonym because she was
afraid that the government would seek retribution against the people she talked with there. In the (somewhat short)
interview, she reads an excerpt from the book (another is available on the NPR Web site) and she talks about how the
people there experienced a catharsis in telling their stories to her, stories that would otherwise not see the light of
day.

The Irrawaddy: a Myanmar Web Site

by Erik Olsen on

When we talk these days about corrupt, oppressive regimes one country seems to get short shrift in the American
media: Myanmar. I’ve never been there myself,
but I got close to the border way back when I was living in Thailand, and I confess I regret not making the extra
effort to go inside. Myanmar, or Burma, as it is probably better known to most of us (especially
Orwell fans), is an extremely odd, and sad, place. Run by a
military junta for the last decades, Burma is one of those regimes that should have gone on the Axis of Evil list…even
if that list was an incredibly stupid idea.

Probably the most famous Burmese in the world today is a slight, attractive, and ferociously independent woman named
AUNG SAN SUU KYI, who is currently under house arrest in Burma for her opposition to the ruling junta. She also happens
to be a Nobel laureate.

All this talk about Burma is to bring your attention to a Web site that I found while noodling around
Carl Parkes‘ (aka Friskodude) Web site. Parkes brings to our attention a
website called The Irrawaddy, which is produced in Chiang Mai by Burmese
refugees and Western journalists, and who, despite the dreariness of life inside the country, have made their little
publication a rather entertaining (and sometimes depressing) read. Spend some time there, and learn a bit about what
Parkes calls “most unusual and fascinating nations in the world”.

Australia: The Friendly Country

by Erik Olsen on

America is in serious need of a self-help guide…or a better PR agency. Why? Because we are getting our collective
butts kicked when it comes to global attitudes towards our country. Sure, the Iraq War and an intransigent
administration is the main cause of the world’s negative attitude towards us, but most Americans are genuinely nice
folk…welcoming, loving, giving, a bit dense at times, both in terms of bodily girth and understanding of the wrold
outside our borders…but come on, overall we’re quite nice.  Isn’t there something we can do to boost our
image?

What I’m talking about is
a new
report that was released yesterday analyzing countries as
global brands. (btw: this link was sent to me by an Aussie buddy working here in the states…did you get that?
Working in the states.). It seems most people around the globe favor the Australians when it comes to issues
like investment, immigration, tourism and people. Australians? Now I love Aussies as much as the next guy. Good folk.
And I understand Sydney is a very nice place. But number one? Don’t people know Rupert Murdoch is Australian? And in
this consumer-oriented, product-based world, I would have thought that any study of global brands would stem in part
from brands a country exports. What does Australia sell to the world? Fosters beer and…um…well, Fosters beer. As the
article here points out, the main Australian export is coal. Maybe I missed something and people really dig Australian
coal.

Of course, I’m just having some fun at my Aussie buddy’s expense. But I am dead serious about the need for Americans
to take it upon themselves to salvage our global image. We’re really very nice. And aspirations of global domination
notwithstanding, we really would like to teach the world to sing…with a Coke in each fist, of course.