ratogi.net

Spending the past few months dealing with academics and airplanes hasn’t lent itself to keeping this space up to date. But life has gone on, and now the photo gallery has largely caught up with it.  Recent additions are the Hoover Dam, the holiday Panama Canal cruise, Missouri, Seattle, the final Space Shuttle launch, and Kenya (with side trips to Tanzania and Uganda, and a layover in Dubai… more on the work behind this trip and its follow-on soon).

A compilation of favorite songs from different places on the globe.  (Note that many of these are not official videos, but fan-assembled compilations of still images… sorry.  The music is still there though.)

Khumbula (South Africa), “Sibali”
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzyFW7mnqKo

Tribalistas (Brazil), “Carnavália”
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pp7IVMGllUE

Ali Farka Touré and Toumani Diabaté (Mali), “Gomni” (also check this one)
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjtfcSWmBmA

Sara Tavares (Portugal), “One Love” (also check this one)
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDBpJOIuQ30

Rodrigo y Gabriela (Mexico), “Diablo Rojo”
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUibjcu2L_s

Yungchen Lhamo (Tibet), “Happiness Is…”
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ee58iv63M2A

Tinariwen (Mali), “Amassakoul”
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-t6-XY7C7A

Yothu Yindi (Australia), “Tribal Voice”
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZ-hbpWlXNQ

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (Pakistan), “Sweet Pain”
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVZcPSRqpHk

Ulali (Native American), “Wah Jhi Le Yihm”
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WEVtwQnU9w

Angélique Kidjo (Benin), “Babalao”
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCWVipbM-aU

Idan Raichel (Israel), “Mima’amakim”
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0PWukxRV8U

Rachid Taha (Algeria), “Barra Barra”
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUbzX3izyw4

Mediaeval Baebes (UK), “The Snake”
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNbL8r96KXc

Keali’i Reichel (Hawaii), “E O Mai”
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P88LUs2qAi8

News organizations throughout the U.S. are giving extensive coverage to the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.  Which is interesting for me, since now is the first time that I’ve seen and heard a lot of the stories of the destruction that the hurricane caused.  When Katrina tore through the Gulf Coast in 2005, I was traveling in Spain, Portugal, and Morocco.  (Side note: Traveling from the U.S. to Spain involved a layover in Miami; our flight to Madrid left Miami less than a day before Katrina arrived there.) So instead of nonstop coverage on three 24-hour news stations, I only got bits and pieces of the story — an online article over a low-bandwidth satellite Internet connection here, an American television interview dubbed into Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic, or French there.  Not nearly enough to convey the overall magnitude of the tragedy or the effects on individual lives.  So in a lot of ways, the current retrospective is an introduction for me since I didn’t have access to the blanket news coverage that helped Stateside folks communally experience what happened while it was happening.

Which I think is, to a large extent, the same experience that Americans are having with the current flooding in Pakistan.  Of course, there are periodic updates on the tragedy there on television, online, and in print.  But obviously, there isn’t the same level of coverage here in the U.S. that there was of Katrina.  So given the same lack of continuous, visceral news coverage in Pakistan that I had with Katrina, I wonder to what extent folks will remember that the individual stories and grand mosaic of destruction and loss brought into their living rooms five years ago have new counterparts today.

Another season, another blogging hiatus. This time, much of it has been spent in different time zones; stay tuned for photos.  Meanwhile, for folks who are serious about their flying, a few sites may be of use. SeatGuru gives you the lowdown on your seat (such as legroom, power outlet availability, and annoyances like noisy MD-80 engines right outside your window).  FlyerGuide is a wiki with information on frequent flyer programs for several airlines.  ExpertFlyer may also help you get a business-class upgrade, though it is subscription-based.  And of course, travel site aggregators like Kayak are good for doing quick, detailed searches for the best airfares, hotel rates, and rental cars.

“Bring It On” by Seal