Stawberry Fields Forever :)

 

Afghanistan is not short of beautiful and unique places, however I stumbled upon their opium poppy fields and felt flower fields deserved some attention.  Currently Afghanistan is the greatest producer of illicit opium (Myanmar is in second place), approximately 92% of the entire world's supply.  Production has been on the rise since 20001 after USA occupation.  On top of this, they are the largest producers of marijuana (hasish) in the world as well.  Poppy makes heroin other other illegal drugs and medications.  Afghanistan is now financially dependent on their opium production.  Unfortunately the country ranks extremely low in the United Nations Development Programme (173 out of 177) using a human development index involving infant mortality, life expectancy, literacy and nutrition.  Of course these factors encourage the production of opium with it's high rate of return on investment.  Sadly,  as economic gains can improve quality of life, the crops are also creating many new problems including increased addiction of local Afghanis.   Wealth distribution has also been altered leaving very young men with money in power resulting in less respect for their wise elders. Corruption and erosion of the law with plenty of bribing is common place.  These changes (affected also greatly by  war) have created a rapidly changing environment.  I suppose only time shall tell the future of this land and their beautiful, yet unfortunate people.

 

Goose Valley :)

 

Gasadalur (Goose Valley)  is a village located on the  island of Mykines , Faroe Islands. In 2004, a tunnel and road were built making access to this village possible for all (prior to that it was hiking and horseback).  From what I've read, the population is less than 20 and continues to be at risk for becoming a ghost town.  Hope not :(.

A River Runs Though It?

 

The Angelita is a surprising little swimming hole located in Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula.  From the surface it appears perfectly normal but after diving about 100 feet, you will find a little river flowing below.  This is do to the fact that Angelita is a cenote or a sinkhole that has exposed groundwater underneath.  Like most cenotes,  they are connected to a subterranean bodies of water with underwater cave systems.  The little river flowing below is truly just an illusion due to halocline, different layers of salinity within the hole.  The first layer is fresh water, the next hydrogen sulfide and the last layer is salt water.  The 'river' is truly is dense salt water at the bottom of the cave that appears as a different shade.    

 from the top

Would you know??

 

Stafford, England, oh noooo! How did you not know? James Billington had the entire town (including local businesses)of Stafford convinced that he was their mayor and all it took was a fake Twitter account. On March 8, 2014, James began his Tweeting. He posted pictures of himself preforming local ribbon cuttings (which he did!), radio interviews and various community events. James hid "I'm the Mayor" mugs around town making a bit of a treasure hunt for the locals. He even passed out "I'm the mayor" buttons :). Regardless of how over the top his act became, the locals continued to support and believe their 'fake' mayor. As all good things must come to an end, the Stafford Borough Council finally caught on to his antics and requested Twitter to shut down his account. The real mayor is actually a woman, Angela Loughran. James Billington is a comedian from Nottingham and has most certainly made a name for himself. Way to go James.. What can I say to the Stafford folks :)?

 

 

 

 

Tree Circus!

 The Circus Trees were originally created by Axel Erlandson (1884-1964) after immigrating to the USA from Sweden.   After his baby daughter was born, being divinely inspired,  he created his first special tree via grafting and careful bending.  He went on to create a total of 70 incredible trees.

Axel ran small tourist attraction called the "Tree Circus" outside of Santa Cruz, CA.  By 1957,  Axel's trees became quite famous in the media and all around the world after being featured in Life Magazine.  In 1963, Axel sold his trees do to ailing health and since then, the trees have had many owners.  At one point,   Disneyland was interested in purchasing the trees, however they were priced to high.  The trees finally made it to their current home, Gilroy Gardens Family Theme Park in Gilroy, CA. Unfortunately, only 29 fabulous trees remain.

 

Penis Park

 

Why don't we have parks like this in California??  This is Haesindang Park (해신당 공원), also known as,  Penis Park is located in the small town of Sinnam, Korea.  It's was created for joy, spirituality and sexuality.  There is a also a Folk Museum that exhibits art objects on sexual iconography over the ages in different cultures, shamanic rituals and also the history of the Korean fishing community.    This Strange Spot needs few words.. Enjoy! 

 

 

 

My Mini Vacation Spot

 

 

Haven't posted in a few days as I went to Borrego Springs, CA USA to star gaze and enjoy the desert (yes, in the heat of the summer).   Home now and have decided to share these strange sculptures found all around Borrego Springs and a bit about the area.   It's a small town surrounded entirely by the Anza-Borrego State Park.  The park happens to be the largest state park in California at 600,000 acres of pure desert.  While in Borrego Springs, we met a with a tour guide who hosted an informative star gazing tour with a high powered telescope in the middle of the desert.  It was amazing  and the first time I've seen the rings of Saturn (and many other things) with my own eyes.   It was also the first time my children had seen the Milkway's spiral arm in the sky.. it's light in southern California.  We are lucky to see more than a few hundred stars on any given night.

The average daily temperature for this month (June) is 103 degrees and the average daily low in December is a comfortable 69 degrees.  Borrego Springs is about 55 miles from the massive bright lights of southern California towns such as San Diego and it's California first designated Dark Sky Community.  Basically, all outdoor lights are kept to a minimum, must be very low intensity and pointing downward.

 

 

 

The Big Loo!

 

South Korea is home to the most bizarre, almost to the point of disturbing, theme park I've ever seen (I'm sure there is stranger).  The entire park centers around an everyday object that we all appreciate,  the john, the commode, the loo,  the crapper, the toilet. whatever you want to call it :).   The Restroom Cultural Park located in the city of Suwan is a large building with a main exhibition hall shaped like a toilet bowl and pathways leading to various sculptures and toilet art.   Initially the structure was home to the cities Mayor until his death.  The mayor ran a successful campaign in the 1980s to dramatically improve South Korea's toilet system.  The story of Mr. Sim, the mayor, is quite unique.  Apparently he was literally born in his grandmother's commode and this was ultimately the inspiration behind the theme of his home.  However humorous the park might appear, the park has an underlying theme to raise awareness about the conditions of public toilets in developing nations.  It is a cultural space that reminds people the importance of health, sanitation and water conservation.  Mr Sim believed the toilet was also a place for serious contemplation and founded the World Toilet Association in 2007.