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mdwatchestv · 7 years ago

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American Gods 1x03: Eye See You

There have only been three episodes of American Gods so far and yet I feel like I have experienced hundred of hours of storytelling from this show. That is 100% meant as a compliment for a show that has managed to take a massive magical universe and make it feel immediately accessible. This is due in large part to the number of vignette scenes, the "Coming to Americas" or "Somewhere in Americas" that are my personal favorite part of each episode. Honestly I could watch an entire series of these almost standalone scenes stitched together, one after the other, until the sky bear consumes the Earth. Very rarely do drama television shows have scenes that could stand on their own two feet outside the greater context of the series. American Gods boasts many of these scenes, even many of the scenes in the "primary" storyline with Shadow feel as if they could be appreciated independently. The strength of this storytelling means that what could easily be a daunting magical universe, is made easily digestible. But enough of that, let's talk about the collection of scenes that made up this week.

Instead of our usual Coming to America we instead had two Somewhere in America's. The first depicted a woman's accidental death and her journey into the underworld under the guidance of Egyptian god of death Anubis (Chris Obi). Anubis leads Mrs. Fadil into an afterworld limbo area where he weighs the deeds of her life against the weight of a feather. Even though this depiction of death is a somewhat peaceful one (especially compared to the other deaths witnessed so far) there is still an ominous element as Mrs. Fadil's sphinx cat unceremoniously pushes her spirit through a doorway into an eternal mystery plane. But that's cats for you. Students of Egyptian mythology or this book will know that cats are considered the children of the goddess Bast, and that in the context of this story...well let's just say sexy cat goddess is very on brand for me.

The other Somewhere in America was the big ticket item this week. Hyped as having what would be a seminal gay love scene, and also more on screen erections, the pressure was on to adapt this famously graphic scene from the original novel. If there is another thing I am loving about this show, it's that Fuller and Green are GOING FOR IT. If any element of American Gods fails, it will not be because anything was done halfway. In the case of Salim and the Jinn, the going for it is not just in the sense of explicitness or nudity, the story also "goes for it" in terms of emotional vulnerability and connection. Although LGBT sex scenes are more prevalent on television than they once were, they are still few and far between especially in portrayal of intimacy. As a result this scene's coupling of graphic depiction and heart wrenching romance was probably something most casual TV viewers had never seen before (I know I haven't and I am a semi-professional TV viewer).

What's more, showing such a scene between two Middle Eastern men is essentially a political act, and Fuller has made crystal clear that was his intent. This was also an example of the writer's taking a scene for the novel and successfully expanding it (in the book Salim just gives the Jinn a fiery blowie) which is a very positive sign for the future of the show. Also would like to recognize Omid Abtahi (Salim) and Mousa Kraish (Jinn) for their outstanding performances, and commitment to physical and emotional vulnerability. "But isn't that their job as actors? To do what is required to tell a story?" you ask. Valid, but you'd be surprised. Or maybe you wouldn't.

Eye

In some ways it is difficult not to compare this show to The Handmaid's Tale which is currently on Hulu. Both shows are airing at the same time, both cover topics of religion specifically in America, and both are aiming to expand upon their original source material. While there is a lot I love about Hulu's Handmaid's Tale (namely the spectacular performances), the past episode left me fearful that in an effort to appeal to a TV audience that expects the sensational, the series is starting to miss the meaning and intention of the original story (personally I think Hulu made a huge mistake not hiring a female show runner and it's starting to show. But this is another blog topic or you are welcome to @ me about it). American Gods on the other hand has been able to take the theme and tone of the book and expound upon it in ways that not only enhance the books original message, but also modernize it for a new generation (the book was originally published in 2001). Right now my money is on Gods to be able to produce continued successful storytelling in their world.

Phew, all of that writing without getting to Shadow and Mr. Wednesday's main story! A brief shoutout to Ricky Whittle whose performance of Shadow is getting stronger by the episode. Even as the caliber of co-star he has to contend with continues to sky rocket, Whittle is able to not only hold his ground, but also able to effuse just as much charm and charisma as the best of em. Yeah, I'm talking about the marshmallows line, it was adorable and we all know it. Anyway Shadow meets the third Zorya sister, Zorya P, who rounds out the crone, mother, maiden trio as well, the maiden. Zorya P likes standing around on roofs at night in nightgowns like a Victorian ghost, and I really appreciate that aesthetic. After admonishing Shadow for losing the golden "sun" coin he won from Mad Sweeney, she plucks the moon from the sky and gives it to Shadow as a new lucky coin. Flush with moon coin granted confidence, Shadow challenges Czernobog to one last game of checkers in order to grant a stay of execution. And he wins! Yay!

See

Mr Wednesday and Shadow then use a classic con to rob a bank, as one does, and Mr Wednesday entreats Shadow to think snow into existence. Which he does, or doesn't, or believes he does, or can't believe, and then is left to grapple with the disparity. But by belief, will, magic or all of the above, snow it does.

The pair also have a brief run in with Mad Sweeney who's luck has taken a turn for the worst. I'm not sure what sort of accent Pablo Schreiber is going for, but I am entertained by whatever it is, so I'm going to allow it. Mad Sweeney's misfortune though is a blessing for us all as it leads to getting to see a shotgun wielding Beth Grant, and Scott Thompson in a cameo that would make Hannibal himself crack a smile. Despite the chaos and bloodshed, Mad is able to make his way to Laura Moon's grave where Shadow left tossed his lucky gold coin. However upon arriving it appears as if the coin has burned right through the coffin lid...into an empty coffin! See I told you that coin flip was important for plot reasons.

You

Next week we finally get into the story of Laura Moon, the woman who set this whole plot in motion. Don’t know about you, but I am looking forward to more of the brazen fearlessness the show has presented thus far in it's search for the heart of America (aka "the only country that doesn't know what it is").

XO MD

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scienceblogtumbler · 5 years ago

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How growth of the scientific enterprise influenced a century of quantum physics

Austrian quantum theorist Erwin Schrödinger first used the term “entanglement,” in 1935, to describe the mind-bending phenomenon in which the actions of two distant particles are bound up with each other. Entanglement was the kind of thing that could keep Schrödinger awake at night; like his friend Albert Einstein, he thought it cast doubt on quantum mechanics as a viable description of the world. How could it be real?

And yet, evidence keeps accumulating that entanglement exists. Two years ago MIT Professor David Kaiser and an international team used lasers, single-photon detectors, atomic clocks, and huge telescopes collecting light that had been released by distant quasars 8 billion years ago to further refine tests of quantum entanglement. The researchers thus effectively ruled out a potential objection, that the appearance of entanglement might derive from some correlation between the selection of measurements to perform and the behavior of the particles being tested.

Yes, entanglement defies our intuition, but at least scientists can keep learning about it, Kaiser notes.

“Schrödinger could only stay up all night,” says Kaiser, meaning that theorists in the 1930s just had “pencil and paper and very hard-thought calculations and compelling analogies” to guide them, but little physical evidence. Today, by contrast, “we have instruments to study these questions in ways that weren’t even possible experimentally or empirically until recently.”

Now Kaiser, a professor of physics at MIT and the Germeshausen Professor of the History of Science in MIT’s Program in Science, Technology, and Society, has written a new history of the subject, “Quantum Legacies: Dispatches from an Uncertain World,” published this month by the University of Chicago Press. Moving between vignettes of key physicists, original research about the growth of the field, and accounts of his own work in cosmology, Kaiser emphasizes the vast changes in the field over time.

“There have been really quite dramatic shifts in the fortunes of the discipline,” says Kaiser, who says he aimed to present readers with “a different kind of story, with different through-lines, over a very turbulent century.”

The physics boom and the crash

Indeed, many histories of quantum physics have been telescopic in form, focusing on the field’s most well-known stars: the foundational quantum theorists Niels Bohr, Paul Dirac, Werner Heisenberg, and Schrödinger, with Einstein usually featured as a famous quantum skeptic. Before the physics community was thrown into turmoil by world war, these scientists developed quantum mechanics and identified its most baffling features — including entanglement and the uncertainty principle (the trade-off in accuracy when measuring things like the position and momentum of a particle).

We still struggle to interpret these concepts, but much else has changed. In particular, Kaiser emphasizes, physics witnessed a quarter-century of unprecedented growth starting in the 1940s, especially when students flooded back into America’s universities after World War II.

“We trained more people in physics in that quarter-century after the war than had previously been trained, cumulatively, since the dawn of time,” Kaiser says of this growth phase.

Meanwhile, massive particle colliders changed the methods of physics and yielded new knowledge about subatomic structures. Huge teams collaborated on experiments, strictly intent on grinding out empirical advances. More people than ever were becoming physicists, but seemingly fewer than ever pondered the “philosophical” problems raised by quantum physics, which became unfashionable.

“It was more than a pendulum swing,” Kaiser says. “Physics saw these quite dramatic shifts in what even counted as a real question.”

Kaiser carefully documents this shift through close readings of physics textbooks, showing how an ethos of pragmatic calculation became dominant. Textbook authors, he adds, are “always making a range of value judgements: What’s an appropriate topic, what’s an appropriate method? What should we be asking questions about? What is ‘merely’ philosophical?”

And then the physics bubble burst: Funding, enrollment numbers, and jobs in the field all dropped precipitously in the early 1970s, due to a slowing economy and decreased federal funding.

“Those numbers crashed for virtually every field of study across the academy, but none fell faster than physics,” Kaiser says.

The Tao of large colliders

Perhaps surprisingly, that 1970s job-market crunch helped revive interest in the quantum curiosities of the 1930s. As Kaiser detailed in his 2011 book ��How the Hippies Saved Physics” — which grew out of this book project — some key advances toward understanding entanglement came from then-marginal physicists who, lacking fast-track research opportunities, had relative freedom to explore neglected issues.

Such unconventional thinking soon began to influence teaching as well, Kaiser notes in “Quantum Legacies.” Fritjof Capra’s period bestseller “The Tao of Physics,” linking Eastern religion and quantum mysteries, is known today as a New Age staple — but it landed on academic syllabi in the 1970s, thanks to physics professors eager to lure students back to their classrooms.

Since the 1970s, quantum physics has seen multiple mini-eras zip by. Defense spending spurred a 1980s recovery in physics, but when U.S. Congress killed the Superconducting Supercollider project in 1993, physicists in some branches of the discipline could not generate many new experimental results — until the Large Hadron Collider came online in 2008. Multiple recent academic generations have thus experienced physics as a turbulent discipline, with its fortunes tied to distant politics.

“Sometimes people got caught out of sync, they entered physics during boom times and, through no fault of their own, the opportunities vanished before they got their degrees,” Kaiser says. “And we’ve seen that happen twice in this country in the last half-century.”

So while the likes of Schrödinger could make progress with a pencil and paper, the material conditions of physics matter immensely as far as contemporary progress in the discipline goes.

“The ideas matter a great deal,” Kaiser says. “But the ideas are embedded in a changing world.”

“Quantum Legacies” has drawn praise from scholars; Nobel-winning physicist Kip Thorne of Caltech praises the book’s “remarkable set of vignettes about major developments in physics and cosmology of the past century,” which “beautifully integrate science with human history.” Award-winning novelist Nell Freudenberger notes Kaiser’s “talent for uncovering connections between otherworldly ideas and the social and political worlds in which they take shape,” which, she continues, makes for “a simply spellbinding guide to the mysteries of the universe.”

For his part, Kaiser hopes readers will ponder the “doubleness” of scientists — they hope to find eternal answers, despite being bound by their era’s tools and assumptions. And while “Quantum Legacies” explores the lives of some individual physicists, such as Dirac, Kaiser also hopes readers will appreciate how thoroughly quantum physics has been a collaborative enterprise.

“In science there is a tradition of writing about the single genius, but quantum mechanics from day one has required an ensemble cast,” Kaiser says, adding, “When we study institutions, generations, and cohorts, I find that more valuable than thinking about these unattainable geniuses on the mountaintop — which is always a fable, but it’s an especially poor-fitting fable for this set of developments.”

Consider, he says, that more than 15,000 physicists published papers relating to the Higgs Boson — exploring how subatomic particles acquire mass — over a 50-year span. But only after the Large Hadron Collider started running could scientists find evidence for it.

“It makes me think about my own [work] in a different way,” Kaiser says. “What have I not been able to think of, that the next generation will open up? I find that much more exciting, as a human story, as a conceptual story, than focusing on a single lone genius.”

source https://scienceblog.com/515963/how-growth-of-the-scientific-enterprise-influenced-a-century-of-quantum-physics/

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dorcasrempel · 5 years ago

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How growth of the scientific enterprise influenced a century of quantum physics

Yes, entanglement defies our intuition, but at least scientists can keep learning about it, Kaiser notes.

The physics boom and the crash

“We trained more people in physics in that quarter-century after the war than had previously been trained, cumulatively, since the dawn of time,” Kaiser says of this growth phase.

“It was more than a pendulum swing,” Kaiser says. “Physics saw these quite dramatic shifts in what even counted as a real question.”

And then the physics bubble burst: Funding, enrollment numbers, and jobs in the field all dropped precipitously in the early 1970s, due to a slowing economy and decreased federal funding.

“Those numbers crashed for virtually every field of study across the academy, but none fell faster than physics,” Kaiser says.

The Tao of large colliders

Perhaps surprisingly, that 1970s job-market crunch helped revive interest in the quantum curiosities of the 1930s. As Kaiser detailed in his 2011 book “How the Hippies Saved Physics” — which grew out of this book project — some key advances toward understanding entanglement came from then-marginal physicists who, lacking fast-track research opportunities, had relative freedom to explore neglected issues.

So while the likes of Schrödinger could make progress with a pencil and paper, the material conditions of physics matter immensely as far as contemporary progress in the discipline goes.

“The ideas matter a great deal,” Kaiser says. “But the ideas are embedded in a changing world.”

How growth of the scientific enterprise influenced a century of quantum physics syndicated from https://osmowaterfilters.blogspot.com/

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larryland · 5 years ago

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by Roseann Cane

Transcendent.

If you prefer a big, splashy musical with acrobatic choreography and catchy, hummable tunes, The Band’s Visit may not meet your expectations. It far exceeded mine. I’d been curious to see this multiple Tony-Award-winning show because of the praise it’s garnered. I’d imagined a sweet, clever storyline. What I got was an uplifting, humane, simple yet elegant experience of theater I shall treasure. I’ve never seen anything quite like it.

I’m reminded of William Blake’s Auguries of Innocence:

To see a World in a Grain of Sand

And a Heaven in a Wild Flower

Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand

And Eternity in an hour…

In The Band’s Visit, the Alexandria Ceremonial Police Orchestra has just arrived in Israel from Egypt. They have been invited to perform for a local Arabic organization, and are awaiting a welcome from a representative of that organization in a Tel Aviv bus station. No one shows up to greet them, and the band’s rather reserved leader, Colonel Tewfiq Zakaria (Loren Lester), asks one of the younger officers, Haled (Joe Joseph), to purchase tickets to the city of Petah Tikvah. The Israeli clerk misunderstands Haled’s Egyptian accent, and instead sells him tickets to the town of Bet Hatikva.

The band members find themselves in an isolated desert town, where they approach two cafe workers, Itzik and Papi (Pomme Koch and Adam Gabay), to ask for directions to the Arabic cultural center. Confused by the request, Itzik and Papi summon the owner of the cafe, Dina (Bligh Voth), who realizes the mistake, and since there isn’t a bus to Petah Tikvah until the next day, offers the band members a meal and lodging arrangements at several different homes for the night.

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The beauty within this show emanates from the human connections that develop. The story develops through a series of vignettes, in which residents of Bet Hatikva, frustrated but accepting of the monotony of their small-town isolation, reveal their stories to the members of the band. The band members, in time, share theirs. All, of course, have experienced love and grief, but the cross-cultural lines all but disappear as their common humanity becomes apparent.

The Middle-Eastern music is haunting and lush. I’ve had opportunities to attend some wonderful shows at Proctors, but once again, I was frustrated by the acoustics. Although everyone in the cast had a lovely, powerful voice, the music overpowered them, making the lyrics difficult to hear. Even so, the ensemble is, to a person, spellbinding and eminently relatable. We are helplessly drawn into their lives because we all have experienced love and grief. Because the Israeli townspeople and the Egyptian band members, speaking to each other in English, cannot fully express themselves through verbal language, the music fills in the linguistic gaps and profoundly enhances the emotional connection not only between characters, but between the actors and their audience.

Patrick McCollum’s choreography is at turns witty and seductive. The scenic design by Scott Pask makes clever use of a rotating floor and changes seamlessly (we find ourselves in a bus station, a small town cafe, several different apartments, and even a discotheque); Tyler Micoleau’s lighting design skillfully intensifies each scene.

At the curtain call, as the thrilled audience rose to cheer and applaud, the two audience members seated directly in front of me and my companion skedaddled out of their seats and rushed to the exit. I am all too familiar with the problems of navigating out of the crowded parking garage, but the exquisite work by this sterling ensemble really did more than earn our gratitude. Besides, the two audience members can’t know what joy they missed; after the curtain call, the band graced us with their concert. It was a knockout. These actors are great musicians, and while hearing the live music, clear and elegant, made the contrast between the over-amplified music within the show and the crystalline live music that much more obvious, it was a glorious gift.

The Band’s Visit at Proctors January 3-5, 2020. Music and Lyrics by David Yazbek, book by Itamar Moses based on the screenplay by Eran Kolirin. Directed by David Cromer. Choreography by Patrick McCollum, scenic design by Scott Pask, lighting design by Tyler Micoleau. CAST: Loren Lester as Colonel Tewfiq Zakaria, Joe Joseph as Haled, Pomme Koch as Itzik, Adam Gabay as Papi, Bligh Voth as Dina.

REVIEW: “The Band’s Visit” at Proctors by Roseann Cane Transcendent. If you prefer a big, splashy musical with acrobatic choreography and catchy, hummable tunes, …

#Adam Gabay #Bligh Voth #Joe Joseph #Loren Lester #Matthw Murphy #Patrick McCollum #Pomme Koch #Proctors #Proctors Theatre #Roseann Cane #Schenectady NY #Scott Pask #The Band’s Visit #Tyler Micoleau

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advexp2023-blog · 8 years ago

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The Curious Case of De Nga

View from the ridge above Longdo Nye (Panch Pokhri) lakes

Explorations on the watershed between Lachen chu and Ringi chu, North Sikkim

Text: Anindya Mukherjee Photos: Aloke Kumar Das

It was the third week of November,2015 and Kolkata was showing no signs of cooling down. Autumn was clearly gone and winter was still hesitating to enter into our space. Being gangetic, we understand this. Winter and Bay of Bengal are eternally engaged in a ‘cold’ war. Just like us Bengalis, they do not agree with each other- ever. But I could see and sense from experience that the weather pattern in the eastern part of the Himalaya was moving towards a clearer, stable state. News of new snow on the ridges of Singalila was bringing promises. I was getting restless. Long time, no mountain! And suddenly a plan was in the air.

As soon as the plan did surface, I met Aloke Das, my companion on Nanda Devi East in 2013[1]. I knew, Aloke, a senior mountaineer of Bengal belonged to a very different school and was new to this style I was about to propose. Preposterous, exploratory climbing is not blitzkrieg! Perhaps that will be his remark, I thought, but secretly hoped that he would be game. I said, 8 days and that is all we got in order to crack this thing and come back. We shall have to force our way through dense forest and rhododendron thickets right from the river bed, climb steep slopes covering nearly 1000m a day while sleeping under overhang rocks. There will be fewer leeches at this time of the year but be sure to expect plenty of deer ticks. But the good thing is the threat of ticks will be for the first 2 days only and then on the 3rd day we should be able go above the tree line and get near this 5000m mountain. And finally, if we do get there and if the weather gods are kind, we will try and climb this thing. I paused and looked at him. My old pal was smiling and I knew what that meant. Reassured, I resumed.

We shall have only one day at our disposal to climb. No rest days, no bad weather allowances. Since we will be starting our hike from a very low altitude of 700m approximately we should not worry too much about acclimatization I guess. But since time is of the essence and the approach march cannot be shortened really; we get only one shot at it. By the way, did I mention that I do not know what this mountain looks like? To be a little more specific I do not even know if this is a peak or a pass? Aloke seemed lost now. Lost but not surprised. There is not a single report or images published in any journal as presumably no mountaineer or trekker has been here. But in Kekoo Naoroji’s book ‘Himalayan Vignettes’ I saw a map[2]that referred to it as De Nga (5060m). ‘De Nga’ is definitely a Bhotia sounding name and must have had its influence from the inhabitants of Lachen valley lying to its immediate east rather than the Lepcha sanctuary of Dzongu that stretches to its south. In this map, it is shown on the watershed of Ringi Chu in Upper Dzongu and Lachen Chu. If you know where Lama Anden is then perhaps it will be a bit easier to imagine. It is on the ridge serpenting down south from Lama Anden (5868m).

Map with 'De Nga' peak marked

Toyoshima’s map shows this ridge in detail, but no peak named as ‘De Nga’ is marked here. What it shows instead in the same position are two passes with identical names-Thepa la. The northerly one is of 4575m and the other of 5064m[3]. Interestingly enough, this higher Thepa la is approximately in the same position and altitude as De Nga in Kekoo’s book. So, in short, the objective of this trip will be to locate De Nga and Thepa la and end this confusion of entity and title between peaks and passes. Pack your ice climbing gears nevertheless as we honestly do not know what to expect- a scramble or a climb. The meeting was over. I realized both of our smiles were turning into grins now. The glorious uncertainties of exploratory climbing in Sikkim have always been the ultimate lodestone for me. Now my old friend is about to get a taste of it. The spirit is contagious. If the medium is right it can pervade and permeate without much effort.

Map with Thepa La (two of them) marked

The very next week after this meeting took place, a drive of around 5 hours brought us to Passingdong, a tiny village in the lower reaches of Talung chu valley. Parties that trek to Kishong lake via Tholung gompa has to drive past this village and proceed a bit further to the west till the unpaved road ends at Be. From Be, they more or less have to hike up north following the Ringi chu keeping the Lama Anden- De Nga ridge to their east. Coming back to our trip, while driving up from Siliguri; we had a short stop at Mangan and bought food and fuel for the trip from the local market. Neither the overnight sleeper train from Kolkata, nor the drive from Siliguri was bad. It took fewer hours on the bumpy road than we had imagined. At this time of the year the roads of Sikkim had less traffic as Durga Puja and Diwali vacations were over and the towns were quieter again till Christmas. No sooner than we had lugged our bags down from the car my friend Mingdup Lepcha appeared and lent us a helping hand to carry them into his house. Mingdup has been a close friend since we had forced our way up the Talung gorge back in 2011[4]. That evening we poured over copies of maps and its contours. I tried to explain to Mingdup the curious case of De Nga and Thepa la. It turned out that Mingdup had never heard of De Nga, but the name Thepa la rang a bell. Soon after close inspection of his description we understood that Mingdup had crossed the northerly Thepa la (4575m) before. But never went up its higher namesake.

Mingdup also mentioned that further down south on the ridge there are several lakes. Lepchas call them ‘Longdho Nye’, which means ‘pond upon a rock’. This reminded me that Lepchas call themselves ‘Mutanchi Rong Kup Rum Kup’, meaning ‘beloved children of mother nature and God’ and they are the original indigenous race of the region. Lepchas have language, literature and script of their own. In fact, before the Tibetan rule in Sikkim and British rule in Darjeeling, the language of the whole region was the Lepcha. Even during the early period of the British rule all administrative works of the acquired land were carried out in Lepcha[5]. There is also another name for the lakes in Nepalese however these days and that is ‘Panch Pokhri’. There is a faint trail up to Panch Pokhri. This was good news as this meant we do not have to hack our way up all the way from Passingdong.

At the end of the discussion, with a deep and mysterious voice, Mingdup said to me, I knew you were up to something strange again. We all laughed. Mingdup’s remark however reminded me of Hercule Poirot’s statement in his last case Curtain. ‘Where you see a vulture hovering there will be a carcass. If you see beaters walking up a moor, there will be a shoot. If you see a man stop suddenly, tear off his coat and plunge into the sea, it means that there, there will be a rescue from drowning...and finally if you smell a succulent smell and observe several people walking along a corridor in the same direction you may safely assume that a meal was about to be served’. And soon we were all walking along the wooden stairs of Mingdup’s house down to the kitchen ourselves. A delicious meal was on the table. I felt thankful for all the wonderful friends these mountains have given me. The blessing of friendship is all I have.

Next morning Mingdup bid us good bye and wished us luck. He could not join us as a close relative’s wedding was up around the corner of his calendar. We wished him a grand time and healthy ‘chhang’ drinking advices were exchanged. We crossed Talung chu and the started hiking up. After an hour we passed a deserted looking small village called ‘Leekh’. Another couple of hours of steady uphill hike brought us in the realm of Sikkim’s dense forests. The foliage and flora resembled strikingly with central African rain forests. We toiled up for another couple of hours and as soon as we found a little clearing and narrow stream nearby, we decided to camp. Across the valley we saw the village of Lingthem. Interestingly, this was the same village where Geoffrey Gorer had spent three months in 1937. Gorer’s observations and comments are an invaluable contribution to our knowledge of the Lepcha community even today[6].

At night Mangan’s lights flickered in a distance below and across the Teesta. Next morning we were up early and after a quick breakfast we were back on the forest trail. In places it became hard to find our way as the undergrowth had everything covered. Not a lot of trekkers hike up to Panch Pokhri, we thought. After a gruesome 6 hours climb we reached the top of a ridge. Crossing the ridge we traversed up north for another hour and then next to a beautiful waterfall and below an overhanging rock we made our second night’s shelter. Firewood was collected, water from the stream was as clear as it could be; and soon we had a fire going. A quick meal followed a few rounds of tea and soon we all found our private sleeping spaces below the rock and prepared for the long night ahead.

Morning of Day 3 began to show a lot of cirrus cloud accumulation high up in the sky across to the west. Climbing through the scree of a dry stream we could see the NE flanks of Pandim (6691m) and its ridge extending towards Tinchinkhang (6010m), Jopuno (5936m) and Narsing (5825m) in the distance. At the end of the scree we reached the top of a sharp ridge. We figured, in Toyoshima’s map this point is marked as an unnamed pass of 3700m. We realized then that we were now on the ridge itself. On the same ridge further up north lies the higher Thepa la. We tried to see if we could spot a pass or saddle like feature from where we were standing. But our view was guarded by 3 rocky peaks. Further consultation of the maps revealed the these three peaks were respectively 4334m, 4593m and 4292m. They were obstructing the higher Thepa la (5064m) from us. To our immediate east was the deep valley of Rahi Chu. Looking alarmingly at the steady progression of the cirrus gathering we kept climbing north. Another good three hours of steep climb brought us higher up on the same but closer to the Panch Pokhri and we decided to pitch our tents. We were now just above 4000m. The evening transformed into a magical scene as the clouds decided to settle down in a low level stratus formation down the valley. The full moon appeared from somewhere over and above the mountain ranges of Tangkar la (4895m) and Dopendikang (5359m) to the east and south east. We knew just beyond that ridge was Chumbi valley. To our west were of course the great Kangchenjunga with all its majestic neighbour peaks. All the peaks in the map appeared before us. The peaks of the Singalila ridge starting from Talung (7349m) to the Kabrus (7338m and 7317m) lay to the furthest horizon. Proximal to that, were the peaks from Pandim (6691m) to Narsing (5825m). Then came the great east ridge of Kangchenjunga itself. We could make out distinctly the Zemu peak (7730m), the Simvu twins (6811m and 6812m), Siniolchu (6887m) and its Rock Needles (5712m). To add a sort of sense of completion to this map reading delight, the twin summits of Lama Anden (5868m) appeared further up north. We realized what a grand panoramic view point this was.

Next morning was a total anti climax to this. It seemed the valley clouds had an overnight change of mind and now they were determined to make life a little less rosy for us. It started snowing and within a couple of hours it was 4 inches deep. We knew we were pressed for time. We pushed further up north, along the ridge and as we got near peak 4334m, we dropped down to the east from the ridge and moving a bit further up north we decided to camp. We understood we were probably located a bit south of peak 4593m and hoped that this weather would change the next morning and if that happens we would climb peak 4593 and have a look at the higher Thepa la and the confusion of De Nga once and for all. The scheme seemed fine but the weather gods decidedly had other plans for us. It started snowing heavier that evening and continued all night. Morning brought no promises but 6 more inches of soft new powder. The intensity of snowfall lessened, but by then we knew that we were out of time. We packed our bags and wet tents and with a shrug of our shoulders headed back down. The curious case of De Nga remained unsolved. Well, until next time[7].

Observation: Approaching the problem of De Nga or Thepa La would be much easier from Lachen as the slopes are of easier gradient and almost devoid of the dense forest cover that one encounters while approaching from Dzongu. We also learnt ( and saw evidences) that the residents of Lachen do come in the vicinity of ‘Longdho Nye’ (Panch Pokhri) and the upper reaches of the Rahi Chu valley to gather Yarsa Gomba[8], not to mention the occasional poaching trips for Musk Deers and Himalayan Tahrs. This proved our presumption on the ease of access to this ridge from Lachen but increased our concern for the well being of the nature and wildlife nevertheless. We sincerely hope that the authorities of Kangchenjunga Biosphere Reserve will be a bit stricter in their regulations in near future as this area now falls under ‘Tholung-Kishong Conservation Zone’ as per a notification in the Sikkim Government Gazette Extraordinary dated 15 December 2006.

Postscript: Aloke seemed happy and satisfied with what we achieved as well. Well I will never know that for sure of course. As may be, deep down in his heart he is still screaming, didn’t I tell you so? Exploration climbing is not blitzkrieg after all!

[1] HJ 69 p.212

[2]See map 1, source: ‘Himalayan Vignettes- Kekoo Naoroji’, Page 232

[3]See map 2, source: ‘Sikkim Himalaya’ by Tadashi Toyoshima, 1977

[4] HJ 67, page 30

[5]‘Lepchas: Past and Present’- Dr. D.C.Roy, page viii

[6]‘Himalayan Village- An account of the Lepchas in Sikkim’-Geoffrey Gorer, First published 1938

[7]See map 3 for route described in this report

[8] Caterpillar Fungus, Ophiocordyceps sinensis, Chinese name: Dōng chóng xià cǎo, meaning ‘winter worm, summer grass’

#Sikkim #Ringi Chu #Panch Pokhri #Lachen Chu #Kangchenjunga #Exploration #De Nga

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touhoujukebox · 8 years ago

Text

TH08 - Imperishable Night Master Post

All music from Imperishable Night. Click each song to find their post and listing!

Title Screen - 永夜抄　～ Eastern Night [Eternal Night Vignette ~ Eastern Night]

Stage 1 - 幻視の夜　～ Ghostly Eyes [Illusionary Night ~ Ghostly Eyes]

Wriggle Nightbug’s Theme - 蠢々秋月　～ Mooned Insect [Stirring an Autumn Moon ~ Moon Insect]

Stage 2 - 夜雀の歌声　～ Night Bird [Song of the Night Sparrow ~ Night Bird]

Mystia Lorelei’s Theme - もう歌しか聞こえない [Deaf to All but the Song]

Stage 3 - 懐かしき東方の血　～ Old World [Nostalgic Blood of the East ~ Old World]

Keine Kamishirasawa’s Theme - プレインエイジア [Plain Asia]

Stage 4 - 永夜の報い　～ Imperishable Night [Retribution to the Eternal Night ~ Imperishable Night]

Reimu Hakurei’s Theme - 少女綺想曲　～ Dream Battle [Maiden’s Capriccio ~ Dream Battle]

Marisa Kirisame’s Theme - 恋色マスタースパーク [Love-Coloured Master Spark]

Stage 5- シンデレラケージ　～ Kagome-Kagome [Cinderella Cage ~ Kagome-Kagome]

Reisen Udongein Inaba’s Theme - 狂気の瞳　～ Invisible Full Moon [Lunatic Eyes ~ Invisible Full Moon]

Final Stage - ヴォヤージュ1969 [Voyage 1969]

Eirin Yagokoro’s Theme - 千年幻想郷　～ History of the Moon [Gensokyo Millennium ~ History of the Moon]

Kaguya Houraisan’s Theme - 竹取飛翔　～ Lunatic Princess [Flight of the Bamboo Cutter]

Eirin / Kaugya’s Last Spell - ヴォヤージュ1970 [Voyage 1970]

Extra Stage - エクステンドアッシュ　～蓬莱人 [Extend Ash ~ Person of Hourai]

Fujiwara no Mokou’s Theme - 月まで届け、不死の煙 [Reach for the Moon, Immortal Smoke]

Ending Theme - 月見草 [Evening Primrose]

Staff Roll - Eternal Dream　～幽玄の槭樹 [Eternal Dream ~ Mystical Maple[

Last Word - 東方妖怪小町 [Easteern Youkai Beauty]

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touhou-music · 4 years ago

Audio

Album Name: 東方名曲蒐 (Touhou Music Collection, I believe?)

Audio Length: 07:25

Collaborator: GROOVE COASTER

Genre: Vocal, Instrumental, Pop, Electronic, Rock

Song List is below.

01. tete+a+tete -FULL EDITION- (03:43) [C.H.S.] - Arrangement: t+pazolite - Original: Septette for the Dead Princess (Final Stage Boss Theme: Remilia Scarlet) - Source: 東方紅魔郷 ~ Embodiment of Scarlet Devil

02. そして誰もいなくなった -GAME EDITION- (And Then There Were None) (02:01) [IOSYS] - Arrangement: void - Lyrics: 黒田椋子 - Vocals: あにー - Original: U.N. Owen was her? (Extra Stage Boss Theme: Flandre Scarlet) - Source: 東方紅魔郷 ~ Embodiment of Scarlet Devil

03. クリスタライズ！ -GAME EDITION- (Crystallize!) (01:49) [石鹸屋 (Sekken’ya)] - Arrangement: ��三 - Lyrics: 秀三 - Vocals: 秀三 - Original: Crystallized Silver (Stage 1 Boss Theme: Letty Whiterock) - Source: 東方妖々夢 ~ Perfect Cherry Blossom

04. IN MY LIFE -GAME EDITION- (03:29) [発熱巫女～ず (hatsunemitsuko’s)] - Arrangement: Tim Vegas - Lyrics: Laura April - Vocals: Ark Brown - Original: Diao ye zong (withered leaf) (Stage 2 Boss Theme: Chen) - Source: 東方妖々夢 ~ Perfect Cherry Blossom

05. Material of Puppets -FULL EDITION- (02:55) [Silver Forest] - Arrangement: NYO - Lyrics: Silver Forest - Vocals: 奏瀬いちこ, 星河さきち - Original: The Doll Maker of Bucuresti (Stage 3 Theme) - Source: 東方妖々夢 ~ Perfect Cherry Blossom

06. Finder -GAME EDITION- (04:35) [EastNewSound] - Arrangement: 黒鳥 - Lyrics: くまりす - Vocals: 紫咲ほたる - Original: Deaf to All But the Song (Stage 2 Boss Theme: Mystia Lorelei) - Source: 東方永夜抄 ~ Imperishable Night

07. ジンガイクライシス(feat.ytr) -FULL EDITION- (Inhuman Crisis) (04:11) [TAMAONSEN] - Arrangement: Coro - Lyrics: ytr - Vocals: ytr - Original: Plain Asia (Stage 3 Boss Theme: Keine Kamishirasawa) - Source: 東方永夜抄 ~ Imperishable Night

08. GROOVE IT LUCKY (グルコスMix) (03:30) [A-One] - Arrangement: ELEMENTAS - Lyrics: Yassie - Vocals: あき, 越田Rute隆人 - Original: The Road of the Misfortune God ~ Dark Road (Stage 2 Theme), Dark Side of Fate (Stage 2 Boss Theme: Hina Kagiyama) - Source: 東方風神録 ~ Mountain of Faith

09. 東方地神律 -GAME EDITION- (Touhou Law of Earth Gods) (02:17) - Arrangement: COSIO - Original: Native Faith (Extra Stage Boss Theme: Suwako Moriya) - Source: 東方風神録 ~ Mountain of Faith

10. カリソメ -GAME EDITION- (Transiency) (02:00) [BUTA-OTOME] - Arrangement: コンプ - Lyrics: コンプ - Vocals: ichigo - Original: Hartmann’s Youkai Girl (Extra Stage Boss Theme: Koishi Komeiji) - Source: 東方地霊殿 ~ Subterranean Animism

11. LOVE FOR YOU -GAME EDITION- (04:05) [暁Records] - Arrangement: ACTRock - Lyrics: ACTRock - Vocals: Stack - Original: Green-Eyed Jealousy (Stage 2 Boss Theme: Parsee Mizuhashi) - Source: 東方地霊殿 ~ Subterranean Animism

12. 鼓動、零れぬ酒 -FULL EDITION- (My Heartbeat and Unspilt Sake) (03:57) [Yuuhei Satellite] - Arrangement: HiZuMi, 奥山ナマリ - Lyrics: かませ虎 - Vocals: senya - Original: A Flower-Studded Sake Dish on Mt. Ooe (Stage 3 Boss Theme: Yuugi Hoshiguma) - Source: 東方地霊殿 ~ Subterranean Animism

13. 揺蕩うLove (feat. らっぷびと) -GAME EDITION- (Fickle Love) (03:30) [TAMAONSEN] - Arrangement: TINY PLANETS - Lyrics: らっぷびと - Vocals: らっぷびと - Original: Beware the Umbrella Left There Forever (Stage 2 Boss Theme: Kogasa Tatara) - Source: 東方星蓮船 ~ Undefined Fantastic Object

14. Sad Rain -FULL EDITION- (03:29) [REDALiCE] - Arrangement: REDALiCE - Original: Emotional Skyscraper ~ Cosmic Mind (Final Stage Boss Theme: Byakuren Hijiri) - Source: 東方星蓮船 ~ Undefined Fantastic Object

15. イニシャルイニシャルエコーエゴー -GAME EDITION- (Initial Initial Echo Echo) (04:23) [凋叶棕 (diao ye zong)] - Arrangement: RD-Sounds - Lyrics: RD-Sounds - Vocals: Meramipop - Original: Youkai Girl at the Gate (Stage 2 Boss Theme: Kyouko Kasodani) - Source: 東方神霊廟 ~ Ten Desires

16. コノハズク -FULL EDITION- (03:17) [BUTA-OTOME] - Arrangement: コンプ - Original: Shoutoku Legend ~ True Administrator (Final Stage Boss Theme: Toyosatomimi no Miko) - Source: 東方神霊廟 ~ Ten Desires

17. マーメイドダンス -GAME EDITION- (Mermaid Dance) (02:03) [IOSYS] - Arrangement: void - Instruments: void, john=hive - Original: Mermaid from the Uncharted Land (Stage 1 Boss Theme: Wakasagihime) - Source: 東方輝針城 ~ Double Dealing Character

18. INCOGNITO -FULL EDITION- (04:18) [ZYTOKINE] - Arrangement: 隣人 - Lyrics: 隣人 - Vocals: Nana Takahashi - Original: Lonesome Werewolf (Stage 3 Boss Theme: Kagerou Imaizumi) - Source: 東方輝針城 ~ Double Dealing Character

19. FEEL MY BEAT! -More Rock Extended- (01:58) [TatshMusicCircle] - Arrangement: Tatsh - Lyrics: 黒田椋子 - Vocals: 黒田椋子 - Original: Primordial Beat ~ Pristine Beat (Extra Stage Boss Theme: Raiko Horikawa) - Source: 東方輝針城 ~ Double Dealing Character

20. 完全の模様を刳り貫いて -GAME EDITION- (Perfect Hollowed Pumpkin) (04:20) [shoujo fractal] - Arrangement: 神奈森ユウ - Lyrics: 奥山ナマリ - Vocals: 天宮みや, 柚木梨沙 - Original: September Pumpkin (Stage 2 Boss Theme: Ringo), The Lake Reflects the Cleansed Moonlight (Stage 2 Theme) - Source: 東方紺珠伝 ~ Legacy of Lunatic Kingdom

21. Dream Coaster -FULL EDITION- (03:37) [A-One] - Arrangement: ELEMENTAS - Lyrics: Yassie - Vocals: 越田Rute隆人, あき - Original: The Mysterious Shrine Maiden Flying Through Space (Stage 3 Theme), Eternal Spring Dream (Stage 3 Boss Theme: Doremy Sweet) - Source: 東方紺珠伝 ~ Legacy of Lunatic Kingdom

22. ジョーカー・ジュンコ～永遠の純化 -FULL EDITION- (Joker Junko ~ Eternal Purification) (02:40) [COOL&CREATE] - Arrangement: ビートまりお - Original: Pure Furies ~ Whereabouts of the Heart (Final Stage Boss Theme: Junko), The Sea That Reflects One’s Home Planet (Final Stage Theme) - Source: 東方紺珠伝 ~ Legacy of Lunatic Kingdom

23. 東方外魔伝 -GAME EDITION- (Touhou Outer Demonic Tale) (02:20) [ZUNTATA] - Arrangement: MASAKI - Original: Pandemonic Planet (Extra Stage Boss Theme: Hecatia Lapislazuli) - Source: 東方紺珠伝 ~ Legacy of Lunatic Kingdom

24. 孤独な花 -GAME EDITION- (Lonely Flower) (02:53) [BUTA-OTOME] - Arrangement: コンプ - Lyrics: コンプ - Vocals: Ranko - Instruments: - Original: Deep-Mountain Encounter (Stage 2 Boss Theme: Nemuno Sakata) - Source: 東方天空璋 ~ Hidden Star in Four Seasons

25. 秘神マターラ-HYPER TECHNO MIX- -GAME EDITION- (Secret God Matara) (02:09) [ZUNTATA] - Arrangement: YS - Instruments: Kou Ogata - Original: Secret God Matara ~ Hidden Star in Four Seasons (Final Stage Boss Theme #2: Okina Matara) - Source: 東方天空璋 ~ Hidden Star in Four Seasons

26. Captain Murasa [Tracy vs. Astronomical Mix] -FULL EDITION- [Amateras Records] - Arrangement: Tracy, Astronomical - Guitar: UK - Original: Captain Murasa (Stage 4 Boss Theme: Minamitsu Murasa) - Source: 東方星蓮船 ~ Undefined Fantastic Object

27. ぐる☆ネーション -FULL EDITION- (Guru (Teacher/Master) Nation) [森羅万象 (ShinRa-Bansho)] - Arrangement: kaztora, Hedonist - Lyrics: Caral - Vocals: あよ - Original: Love-Colored Master Spark (Stage 4 (uncanny) Boss Theme: Marisa Kirisame), Eternal Night Vignette ~ Eastern Night (Title Screen Theme) - Source: 東方永夜抄 ~ Imperishable Night

#groove coaster #groove coaster x touhou #東方名曲蒐 #touhou #touhou project #vocal #instrumental #electronic #pop #rock #audio #some of the song translations might not be correct as i translated them myself #it also took quite a while to write all this down haha...#i had to write it all in a separate document in case tumblr decided to delete my post :))#it was fun doing all that research tho!!#if there's one thing i love doing in my spare time it's reasearch （人´∀`*）

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