Dost Mohammed Khan: Drinking and playing music

"The Sardar Dost Mohammed Khan was excessively found of drinking, and carried it to an extreme excess. It is said that he has emptied several dozens of bottles in one night, and did not cease from drinking until he was quite intoxicated, and could not drink a drop more. He has often become senseless with drinking, and has on that account kept himself confined in bed during many days. He has been often seen in a state of stupidity on a horseback, and having no turban, but a skull-cap on his head.

"It has been stated by the early companions of the Sardar Dost Mohammed Khan, and confirmed by his own mouth, that he had, and still has, an extraordinary taste for music. When pleased with drinking wine, he has often sung ballads and played upon the "Rabab," a kind of fiddle. His intimate friend and supporter was Gholam Khan Populzai; and both these persons were considered in Afghanistan the first players on the "Rabab." The fort of Nanchi was he favourite seat where Dost Mohammed Khan formed his pleasure parties."
(William Tait, Tait's Edinburgh Magazine, 1846.)

Rory Gallagher in concert

A video of A Million Miles Away, from Rory Gallagher. He really was the best blues guitar player, wasn't he?


Rory Gallagher, A Million Miles Away

Kashgar consuls George Macartney and Captain Shuttleworth

I am reading about George Macartney and Captain Shuttleworth the British Consuls in Kashgar during the period of the Great Game. These were the people who were present in Chinese Turkestan (called by the Chinese Hsinkiang, Sinkiang or Xinjiang) when the explorations of Aurel Stein took place, primarily known today for his acquisition of the Dunhuang manuscripts.

But what strikes me is how little information there is on Captain Shuttleworth. Every single source, including Wikipedia says the same thing and attributes this to Peter Hopkirk's book Foreign devils on the Silk Road. They say that Shuttleworth was acting consul in Kashgar in 1908 when Macartney was back in England. But I know for fact that he was there in 1909 as well. Isn't there some source that is more precise than Hopkirk's semi-popular books? This was an important period in both Chinese and British history, it would be useful to get the facts straight.

Bob Dylan: Slow train coming

Dylan's "Slow train coming" is definitely one of my all time favorite songs. I love the monotony of the heavy rhythm and I love the lyrics.

There is something very powerful in the image of a slow mass coming towards you with unstoppable force. No matter what you do, it will appear from behind the bend and will reach you.

Slow train coming: The lyrics

Sometimes I feel so low-down and disgusted
Can't help but wonder what's happenin' to my companions,
Are they lost or are they found, have they counted the cost it'll take to bring down
All their earthly principles they're gonna have to abandon?
There's a slow, slow train comin' up around the bend.

I had a woman down in Alabama,
She was a backwoods girl, but she sure was realistic,
She said, "Boy, without a doubt, have to quit your mess and straighten out,
You could die down here, be just another accident statistic."
There's a slow, slow train comin' up around the bend.

All that foreign oil controlling American soil,
Look around you, it's just bound to make you embarrassed.
Sheiks walkin' around like kings, wearing fancy jewels and nose rings,
Deciding America's future from Amsterdam and to Paris
And there's a slow, slow train comin' up around the bend.

Man's ego is inflated, his laws are outdated, they don't apply no more,
You can't rely no more to be standin' around waitin'
In the home of the brave, Jefferson turnin' over in his grave,
Fools glorifying themselves, trying to manipulate Satan
And there's a slow, slow train comin' up around the bend.

Big-time negotiators, false healers and woman haters,
Masters of the bluff and masters of the proposition
But the enemy I see wears a cloak of decency,
All non-believers and men stealers talkin' in the name of religion
And there's a slow, slow train comin' up around the bend.

People starving and thirsting, grain elevators are bursting
Oh, you know it costs more to store the food than it do to give it.
They say lose your inhibitions, follow your own ambitions,
They talk about a life of brotherly love, show me someone who knows how to
live it. There's a slow, slow train comin' up around the bend.

Well, my baby went to Illinois with some bad-talkin' boy she could destroy
A real suicide case, but there was nothin' I could do to stop it,
I don't care about economy, I don't care about astronomy
But it sure do bother me to see my loved ones turning into puppets,
There's a slow, slow train comin' up around the bend.

Putin delivering the Judo chop ... in socks

Ever noticed how Vladimir Putin (yes, the Russian president/prime minister) wears socks on this famous photo in a judo uniform? To be sure, the socks are white and match the judogi but Judo is one of those rare sports, like swimming, that is done without socks.

And on the second photo, he is not even wearing a uniform. Again, the blue socks match his all around blue clothes.

Identifying rats and mice

I am looking at this chart called "Field identification of domestic rodents" which is essentially a picture of different kinds of rats and a mouse. I never knew how they differed and, lo, here is a nice and clever visual aid to show what the difference between the various kinds is.

The only problem is that to me they pretty much look alike. The Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, who prepared this helpful aid, apparently used the same clipart picture to show the rats. They only resized them and, looking at them on the screen, I can only visualize sizes in comparison. So to identify a rat in real life, I would have to see at least two different kinds at the same time. Perhaps even more. I see the little scale at the left bottom corner but I am just not good at these abstract things.

So I started looking for differences. This is like one of those games where you have to spot seven differences between two images of Clint Eastwood or whoever. And I found that the Norway Rat has a slightly blunt nose and a smaller ear. You can really only see the differences when you read the text. Then you notice the length of the tail, etc.

Whale explodes in Taiwan

A dead whale exploded in the city of Tainan, located in southern Taiwan. The photo shows how internal organs are splattered all over the street. The explosion was due to putrefying internal organs which created gases and the mounting pressure eventually burst the dead whale open. People living and working in the neighborhood had to wear masks to cope with the overwhelming stench.

I know that a whale is not a fish but it might still smell like one. And the smell of rotting fish in a warm climate is definitely not a pleasant thing.

I guess this shows that whales are meant to rot on the streets of a large city, it is not their real habitat. I am sure Taiwanese bypassers will not want to eat whale meat for a while (even though this particular whale was intended to be not eaten but researched).

Oh, and before you get all excited about current events, this happened four years ago, in January of 2004. I am only posting what happened here because I like whales.

Slave trade in Yunnan

This description of the slave trade in Yunnan is over 130 years old.

Tali-foo, as well as Yunnan-foo, were also famous as slave markets to which dealers from Canton, Soo-chow, near Shanghai, and even Pekin itself, resorted for the purchase of female children, numbers of whom were brought for sale by the different tribes visiting the annual fairs, who in their wars look upon women and girls as valuable booty. Caravans, sometimes numbering several hundreds of girls purchased in the neighbourhood of these cities, started regularly every year for the different places I have mentioned, and so great became the traffic in girls, that the authorities in every large town along the routes from Tali-foo to Yunnan-foo appointed officers whose duty it was to inspect the caravans before they were allowed to enter the towns, so as to guard against the introduction of epidemics to which the human merchandise was too often expressed, as they were exposed in the journey to all kinds of privations, fatigue, and cruelty. Although the laws of China do not countenance slave dealing in the true sense of the word, the caravans of girls which left Yunnan were a source of too great wealth to the mandarins for them to enforce the strict letter of the law.

When a caravan was found to be infected with any contagious disease, admission into all towns and villages was forbidden them, and then, dragging along their weary journey by day in all weathers, ill-clad and ill-fed, the older girls might be seen carrying the smaller ones, who were either sick or too young to walk and keep up with the caravan ; and at nightfall, when encamped under the canopy of heaven, the poor creatures, after a scanty meal, would huddle together, the sick with the sound, and thus day by day the caravan would proceed, leaving behind it a long trail of dead and dying, who, by way of burial, became a prey to the packs of hungry wolves which always followed in the rear of the caravans.

(Geographical Journal, Vol. XV, 1870-71, p. 165).

Pictures of Nana Natsume

Nana Natsume is a Japanese AV model and idol from Osaka. Here are some pictures of Nana.


Nana as an ordinary girl on the stairs.


On the cover of a magazine.


All in white.


Aloha style.

Chinese eating rice

Came across this picture of a Chinese man eating rice. I think it is quite realistic, I remember seeing scenes like this when travelling in China, only the bowl was significantly bigger.

What can you say, the guy is hungry...

Giant centipede

And I thought I knew what a giant centipede looked like! But this thing is really huge, isn't it? Or maybe it is only the camera angle that is enlarging it.

Either way, I would not want to find one of these crawling over me when I wake up.

Ernest Hemingway writing

Ernest Hemingway writing. This is a stereotypical moment for a writer: to be caught in the act of actual writing. This being the point, it is likely that he is not actually writing Farewell to Arms or The Snows of Kilimanjaro in any of these pictures but simple correspondence. Or a check to PG&E, or the equivalent of that.


In this photo Hemingway is already old and he is writing out in the open. He has a little desk and chair so I would guess this was not on a hunting trip.


Immersed at work in his study.


At work again, only in a tent.

This photo shows Hemingway typing, with a book opened by his side.

Rembrandt drawings

I think that Rembrandt's paintings are highly overestimated and his drawings and etchings are way better. In the drawings, we do not have the noise of colors. Rembrandt derives his artistic expression from the contrast of light and shade -- everything else is just icing. To be exact, there is not a great divide between Rembrandt's drawings and etchings, there are plenty of compositions that have both drawn and etched versions.


A drawing of a sleeping woman.


A woman with a child. This is a very biblical type of scene, especially the observers in the background.


An ink drawing of a landscape with a river. These technically seemingly unfinished drawings are the best.


Drawing of a lion, obviously a study for one of his St. Jerome etchings. Rembrandt drew lions and elephants a lot, none of which are native in the Netherlands.

Albert King: Born under a bad sign

Albert King: Born under a bad sign

Born under a bad sign
I been down since I begin to crawl
If it wasn't for bad luck,
I wouldn't have no luck at all

Hard luck and trouble is my only friend
I been on my own ever since I was ten
Born under a bad sign
I been down since I begin to crawl
If it wasn't for bad luck,
I wouldn't have no luck at all

I can't read, haven't learned how to write
My whole life has been one big fight
Born under a bad sign
I been down since I begin to crawl
If it wasn't for bad luck,
I wouldn't have no luck at all

I ain't lyin'
If it wasn't for bad luck
I wouldn't have no kind-a luck
If it wasn't for real bad luck,
I wouldn't have no luck at all

Wine and women is all I crave
A big legged woman is gonna carry me to my grave
Born under a bad sign
I been down since I begin to crawl
If it wasn't for bad luck,
I wouldn't have no luck at all

Yeah, my bad luck boy
Been havin' bad luck all of my days, yes

Judo throws: Uchimata

Of all the judo throws, uchimata is probably the most confusing one for a non-judo player. It just does not look right, always appearing as if it meant kicking someone between the legs. But in reality it is all a matter of balance, the leg is not there to kick but to provide a powerful momentum. Since uchimata, next to seoinage, is one of the top competition techniques, a good uchimata is enough to drive someone's judo carreer to the top. A good example of this is Kosei Inoue who uses uchimata as his tokuiwaza.


Kosei Inoue and his uchimata at the Athens Olympics. He takes his time to get his grip but as soon as he does, he throws his opponent for an ippon.


Once again, Kosei Inoue executing an uchimata.


Uchimata is less common with women, especially light weights, but there is still quite a few of them on tournaments.


Uchimata and osotogari are the two major competition throws for heavy weights.


Even if the opponent puts an arm out, the spin will be enough to make the complete turn.


At this point it is fairly obvious that there is no turning back.


Yet another uchimata.

Mongooses: The cobra's enemies

The cobra's enemies

"Mongooses are small carnivores of the family Viverridae. The true mongooses make up the subfamily Herpestinae and include 13 genera and about 30 species, almost all native to Africa. The Madagascan mongooses, a second group, constitute the subfamily Galidiinae and consist of 4 genera and 7 species. In addition, some of the banded palm civets, subfamily Hemigalinae, are also known as mongooses, including the Bornean mongoose, Diplogale, and the Madagascan small-toothed mongooses, or falanoucs, Eupleres. Conversely, certain mongooses are popularly called suricates, meerkats, cusimanses, or ichneumons. Mongooses typically have a pointed head, a long tail, and thick hair except on the lower legs. They are commonly terrestrial, diurnal, and solitary. The suricate, Suricata suricatta, of southern Africa, however, lives in colonies; the African marsh mongoose, Atilax paludinosus, is semiaquatic; and the little-known Madagascan mongoose, Galidia, can be found in trees. Mongooses feed on a wide variety of foods, including small mammals, reptiles, birds' eggs, and insects. Among the better-known mongooses are those of the genus Herpestes, which range from southern Europe into Africa and southern Asia. The Indian gray mongoose, H. edwardsi, which may reach 50 cm (20 in) long plus a 41-cm (16-in) tail, and weigh about 2.3 kg (5 lb), is the one portrayed in Kipling's Jungle Book. The similar gold-spotted mongoose, H. javanicus or H. auropunctatus, was introduced into the Hawaiian Islands and to the West Indies and other Caribbean islands to control rats and snakes; although it did feed on rats and snakes, it concentrated on and seriously depleted populations of native birds and mammals. Mongooses of this genus are famous for their snake-fighting ability and are often portrayed fighting a cobra. Research has shown that although the mongoose is tolerant of small dosages of cobra venom, it is not immune to it. Mongooses are almost always victorious because of their speed, agility, and timing and also because of their thick coat."

Maki Horikita update: The school girl syndrome

Some more pictures of Maki Horikita, in her favorite role of a school girl. She was born in 1988 so she is no school girl anymore but somehow people love to see her like that. (I don't know who, I am not one of them.)


Maki Horikita in school girl uniform, looking bored behind a school desk.


Maki by the window on a train, wearing a school blouse.


Getting dressed for school.


Looking innocent at practice.


Drinking from a fountain?

Giant sea monster

"On the 6th of July, 1734, there appeared a very large and frightful sea monster, which raised itself so high out of the water, that its head reached above our main-top. It had a long sharp snout, and spouted water like a whale; and very broad flappers. The body seemed to be covered with scales, and the skin was uneven and wrinkled, and the lower part was formed like a snake. After some time, the creature plunged backwards into the water, and then turned its tail up above the surface, a whole ship-length from the head. The following evening we had very bad weather."

The above is a statement of the Rev. Egede, whose journal of the Greenland mission is "a masterpiece of accuracy."

Natsuo Kirino's first book in English: Out

I just finished reading Natsuo Kirino's new crime novel called Out and, despite the good reviews, was not impressed. According to the inside cover, this is her first novel that appeared in English but otherwise she is a major crime story star in Japan.

Well, maybe but I did not find the novel so articulate or particularly exciting. It is about some housewifes slaving away at a fast food factory who, when one of them chokes her husband with a belt in a fit of rage, decide to help their friend dispose of the body. The "obvious" solution that comes to their mind is to chop the body up in the bathroom and then put the chunks out in the trash.

The best part of the book was when having gone through all this they began getting similar work from some yakuza connection. They started a business of disposing bodies by chopping them into pieces. I thought this was a much-needed addition into the otherwise uninteresting narrative. This part had some humor in it.

A million miles away, by Rory Gallagher (1973)

Rory Gallagher, Irish Tour

This hotel bar is full of people, the piano man is really laying it down
The old bartender is a high as a steeple, so why tonight should I wear a frown?
Million miles away, I'm a million miles away
I'm sailing like a driftwood on a windy bay
Why ask how I feel how does it look to you?
I feel hook, line and sinker, I lost my captain and my crew
I'm standing on the landing, there's no one there but me
That's where you'll find me, looking out on the deep blue sea
This hotel bar is full of people, the piano man is really laying it down
The old bartender is a high as steeple, so why tonight should I wear a frown?
The joint is jumping all around me and my mood is really not in style
Right now the blues want to surround me but I'll break out after a while
Well, I'm a million miles away, I'm a million miles away
I'm sailing like a driftwood on a windy bay
Why ask how I feel, well, how does it look to you?
I feel hook line and sinker, I lost my captain and my crew
I'm standing on the landing and there's no one there but me
That's where you'll find me, looking out on the deep blue see
There's a song on the lips of everybody, there's a smile all around the room
There's conversation overflowing, so why must I sit here in the gloom?
This hotel bar lost all its people, the piano man has caught the last bus home
The old bartender is asleep in the corner, so why must I still be here, I don't know
Well, I'm a million miles away, I'm a million miles away
I'm sailing like a driftwood on a windy bay