Travel Update

I tell myself I prioritize quality over quantity, only leading to a stack of unpublished writings. Deadlines are important, and they'll keep popping up here on out. The imminent deadline now: tomorrow morning I fly to Thailand. Why?

I've been itching for some nomadism for a little while. Grad school opened my eyes to the beauty of nature, specifically biomaterials. And birds. As I read a bit about birds, I learned that the core land birds (Telluraves) evolved on two supercontinents. Australaves and Afroaves are two distinct genetic lineages. This divergence happened so long ago that some birds, like the kea, are only found in the southern hemisphere. It stands to reason that the southern hemisphere has some interesting birds, and that alone makes it worth an expedition. The more I thought about it, I realized the equatorial zone has the highest biodiversity on the planet at more affordable prices than New Zealand. Certainly one reason I'm traveling is to see old growth rainforests and fauna.

A critical issue facing the globe is climate change, effects of which are most apparent in warm coastal regions. Tropical island communities face pressure to adapt as seas rise and warm. Heat island effects plague cities in the tropics. Malaysia and Indonesia would be great destinations to witness human adaptation to climate change, I surmised. Throw contemporary anthropology into reasons I'm traveling.

Music. I can't forget that. A core reason for my being, music bridges the objective and subjective pictures of reality. Indigenous music warrants a listen, be it in the form of traditional styles or modern sounds. I have always enjoyed Asian pop music albeit that of colder countries. I bet, big urban centers in Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand have places with dope music. And dope food goes without saying.

If time and money permit, I'd like to do a few touristy things: visit temples, wild animal rehab, coral reefs. I'm not big on palaces or museums. They're fun to kill time, just not something I will seek. The region is big and diverse, filled with historical sights and natural beauty. It's also a popular tourist destination, so I imagine survival won't be too difficult despite my complete language incompetence.

That's all for this post. Here's a teaser of my draft backlog:

Mission statement (SMArt)

Dragonflies (science)

Mantids (science)

Mangaka profiles (art)

Esperanza Spalding (music)

I did miss my own deadline. Oops!