Weather Preferences

It has come to my attention that I am somewhat of a strange individual to most people in my preference for cooler weather. For most, the ideal are hot and humid temperatures. I find this odd because you can only undress so much and even then, you could be quite uncomfortable. Also, hot and humid temperatures tend to bring out the sorts of insects which most people cannot stand, such as pests which invade your home and bite you, sucking your blood until you are anemic (not to mention the itching which results). And then there are those insects and other arthropods which simply make some people's skin crawl, such as tarantulas, which prefer hot climes. Therefore, I cannot understand why there are so many who prefer hot and humid temperatures. If there are so many problems associated with it, why search it out?


This week, there will be yet another poll; which type of climate do you prefer?
And if you do vote, do not hesitate to offer your comments on it on this post.

Back to Voluntourism...

Well, it has been a few weeks since I referred to voluntourism, but I have been researching it a bit. Last week, I found some new things about it which I had not considered before. For instance, I was somewhat surprised to find out that some people go for volunteer honeymoons, as described here: http://www.cnn.com/2010/TRAVEL/08/20/helpful.honeymooners.abroad/index.html?hpt=Sbin . I must applaud these people for willingly arranging honeymoon trips to help others when they would typically be spending these trips alone with each other.

In reading the article (or shall I say, the comments), I found several other voluntourism websites which I had not encountered before. One of these lit up my day; http://childrenraisethevillage.com/ . This site highlights children who have gone on volunteering trips willingly and other family voluntourism trips which they may have taken unwillingly. To see that there are still children and teenagers who are willing to be separated from their technology and designer clothing to help others gives me hope that perhaps they can change the world for the better.

I have also found a specific blog which focuses on the voluntourism industry: http://voluntourismgal.wordpress.com/ . Though perhaps not as...shall we say 'fun', as some of the other sites I have come across, it nonetheless seems important to check on occasionally so that one can be aware of changes in official voluntourism and it's status.

And last, but not least, I have found yet another website which has mini-episodes highlighting the voluntourism experience here, as well as other traveling tips and other things about traveling: http://www.traveltelevision.org/shows/. These should come in handy for anyone interested in traveling in general.

Wildlife News

Seeing as I am at a bit of a loss as to what to post about, I think this will be a compilation of wildlife/environment news from around the world, as I a particularly enjoy the topic, even if the news about it does worry me.

Attempts at breeding Nepalese rhinos:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-10983513

New species of monkey found in South America:

http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2010/08/13/red-bearded-monkey-discovered-but-risks-extinction/?hpt=Sbin

Pacific extinction of megafauna and humans:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-10970082

The importance of bees:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/collections/p007rdq3

Human business and the animal kingdom:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/world_news_america/8919616.stm

The green wall in Africa:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/africa/2010/06/100618_greenwall1.shtml

I know it is not exactly thought-invoking, but I still consider them interesting. I am slightly disappointed that the last article is not exactly the one I saw, but it will have to do.

Comments?

Happiness

I am sure that many people have seen the lists of the world's happiest countries. I have also heard that, as people travel, they find that people in poorer nations seem happier than those in their own more wealthy nations. Many may find this puzzling. But I believe it has much to do with consumerism, disparity in wealth, and family ties, as well as ties to culture. In countries where the people are more separated from their own history, I believe that they are more likely to be unhappy. Consumerism also does not help the matter. In many westernized nations, material goods (especially technology, it seems), are valued more than family ties or social networks (this does not include such thing as internet networking sites). This is part of the reason as to why Costa Rica beat out the wealthier United States--they have more ties to their own cultures and community than Americans. It has been proven that people are healthier and happier as they age if they have a true community which they physically interact with.

Unfortunately, rather than help strengthen human ties, technology seems to weaken them. Parents pay more attention to their Blackberries and high-tech phones and laptops than they do their own children and then wonder why their children do not speak with them. Children know more about the workings of computers than they do about their own family history. This is only making the gaps between generations widen.

Therefore, parents and children should put aside their computers and phones and video games and spend a few hours (or even an entire weekend, imagine that!) with their families without interruption from these technologies to really get to know one another and find what's most important.

And so ends my semi-rant. Do not be surprised if the idea of happiness comes up in future posts. However, as something of a codicil, I do not intend to harm anyone's feelings, this is simply my stated opinion. What is yours?

Something a little different this time...

This post shall be relatively unusual...and brief.

I recently lost my Sims 3 game. Since I have yet to find it, I have been playing my Sims 2 game. I really miss the lost game quite often because there are some things lacking in the second game (though this is also the case vice versa). In doing so, I have decided that I will take a slightly different route should I find the Sims 3 game again. I would usually simply play through a basic legacy. However, if I am fortunate enough to find it, I will try and do something a bit more plot inclined. Thus, in the future, I will be making another blog to post those stories, when I can finally play again. No worries for those who could not care less about such a thing, I will not sully your eyes with such things on this blog-unless they are related to something else I post about regularly.

So, in addition to this blog, I am also posting a poll on the side. Do you prefer Sims 2 or Sims 3 (if you play)?

North American Destinations

Since I am having a difficult time coming up with a topic for this post, I shall simply make it a continuation of the last. Here is a list of the destinations I hope to travel to within the North American continent. Again in no particular order:

Canada

Montreal

Vancouver

Toronto

Newfoundland

Fundy National Park

Acadia Park

Saskatchewan

U.S.A.

Colorado

Montana

New Hampshire

Vermont

North Carolina

Hawaii

Baltimore

New Orleans

Boston

Seattle

Atlanta

Savannah

Grand Canyon

Yellowstone Park

Yosemite Park

Channel Islands

Virgin Islands

Of course, these will probably end up changing seeing as I have not done all that much research just yet, and who knows what other goodies I may find in my search.

My Top Countries to Visit

Well, a few posts back, I mentioned that I might eventually post a list of the countries I wish to visit. Now would be as good a time as any, I suppose. This is just a rough list of the nations I would like to visit, categorized by continent. In the future, I will post a more comprehensive list containing specific destinations in each country I would like to visit, in no particular order. Whether these will be in lists such as this one or whether they will be separated into their own posts is yet to be seen...

N. America

1) Canada

2) The United States

S. America

1) Peru

2) Chile

3) Ecuador

4) Costa Rica

Africa

1) Kenya

2) Tanzania

3) Rwanda

4) S. Africa

5) Madagascar

6) Ghana

7) Mozambique

Asia

1) Japan

2) China

3) Singapore

4) Hong Kong

5) Bhutan

6) India

7) Taiwan

Europe

1) Ireland

2) Germany

3) Poland

4) Italy

5) Spain

6) Sweden

7) Denmark

Australia

And since I am not entirely sure where this would be considered, New Zealand.

Comments? Questions? Recommendations?

Voluntourism

This may become a regular topic in the future. While discussing travel on the forum, one of the people who responded to my post recommended volunteering in other countries. I eventually found out the shorthand term for this was voluntourism. Per my curiosity, I decided to research the topic and see what I could find. In my search, I realized that this was something I could definitely do in time. Also in my search, I came across internships in other countries which counted as voluntourism. One of these opportunities I found was teaching English in China or Thailand, available from several English-speaking countries. Though I personally would not be able to do it in the next available timeslot, I brought up the topic with a friend who has been having a difficult time finding a job. Though she had never really heard about voluntourism and had never considered teaching as a job, it seemed to pique her interest since she has wanted to travel. Well, this as well as the fact that she would be paid, which is quite the plus when she is having difficulty finding a job. I shall see what her decision is in the future. I definitely plan on trying voluntourism when I am able to.

Have you tried voluntourism? If so, would you recommend it and is the experience worth it in comparison to regular travel? If it is worth it or you have tried it, do you have any recommendations?

The Early Bird Gets the Worm?

In this world, there are early birds and night owls. I personally am a night owl. For whatever strange reason, though I may be tired during the day, once the sun goes down, I happen to become more energetic. Although I admittedly do not stay up beyond 2 AM or so, the hours prior are spent fairly awake. I dread waking up earlier in the morning than 8 AM, and even at that time, it is difficult for me to completely function coherently. Needless to say, I am not very talkative and instead communicate through gestures.

Are you a night owl or an early bird? Now there's a poll!

Breed-Specific Legislation

As a dog-lover, my heart sinks whenever I hear about yet another dog attack. Nine times out of ten, it is what is considered a 'dangerous' breed--it is not often that you hear good stories about them unless they have been abused and found. Unfortunately, those are few and far in between in comparison to the attack stories.

I know that the constant publicity specifically aimed at portraying certain breeds as dangerous does more harm than good to all involved. Dogs then become abused because people think they are dangerous and must be kept in place through force. Then, when the dogs attack the people who are hurting them, it only reinforces this misled mentality. Therefore, people make it a self-fulfilling prophecy. Both parties are harmed as a result.

Breed-specific legislation is not the answer to stopping dog attacks. There will always be rogues of all breeds, from Pomeranians to German Shepherds to Fila Brasileiro. BSL may cut down on the attacks of one breed, but not all. When dog-fighters and people who train animals to be vicious can no longer get a hold of that breed, they will find another to fill the void. The only way I believe that dog attacks can be lessened would be through careful screening of dog owners, regardless of what breed a dog is.

Special Blog 1--Afghanistan

With this post, I start my special blog series. These will be the blogs which are off my regular schedule which I believe require immediate attention rather than wait for the following week.

As those who watch the news on television or follow it online have likely heard, Americans have found a fortune in mineral wealth in Afghanistan, now estimated at somewhere around 807 billion EUR/1 trillion USD/674 billion GBP/over 1 trillion CAD/over 1 trillion AUD/over 91 trillion JPY, I am sure you get the picture.

This is most definitely a disaster in the making. Certainly, this fortune could help the country, but it will most likely harm it instead. This has been the case ever since humanity began looking outside of its own community for resources. Being greedy creatures (particularly those who are delusional with concepts of immortal grandeur), they are not willing to use diplomacy as a first means of gaining access to the resources, but instead prefer to use force, uncaring of the effect such action could have on others. It is only when their actions negatively impact themselves that they even remotely consider cooperation.

Therefore, with this discovery of mineral wealth in a hotly contested area of the world which could help the people within that country, other nations will undoubtedly be eyeing it for their own benefit. Since there is already a war going on there, it will most likely get worse as the Afghan people hope to defend these resources to further their own country's development while other nations will try and take it from them in order to widen the gap between their own development and Afghanistan's. I will not even start discussing the environmental problems which await the exploitation of this discovery, it would make this post far too long.

Let the tug-of-war begin...

International Music

While discussing travel, and with the recent start of the FIFA World Cup, my mind has been wandering to the international music that I listen to. Though I am hardly a music connoisseur or even a consistent listener of music, I have heard my fair share of enjoyable music from around the world. I find that listening to music from other countries can be much more enjoyable than listening to the popular music of one's own country. Though I may not understand each language, An example of the sort of songs I listen to:

Anggun (an Indonesian singer who sings in three languages): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLAB94SyFl4

Within Temptation (Netherlands): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcwO0VS9FVo

A. R. Rahman (India): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZ6XLg_39Mw

Nightwish (Finland--it has had two main singers over the years however):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6UztEfwHt14

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlr82KonSww

Younha (a Korean singer who also sings in two other languages): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZK-6E3MJKYE

Secret Garden (an Irish-Norwegian duo): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCYgh4UYoUs

Abingdon Boys School (contrary to the name, a Japanese group): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EP62-bncFgw

I have yet to get the World Cup album, but I plan on doing so very soon.

Let me know your opinions of these songs if you listen to them.

Do you listen to international music? If so, who would you recommend?

The Destruction of Traditional Art

I have been a regular visitor to the site deviantart.com, or DA as it is called by those who have been longtime viewers. Over the years, I have watched in disappointment as the amount of traditional artwork done by the artists has diminished. Now, the majority of it is done through tablets and computer programs. Even those who had started as traditional artists eventually decided to stop doing it as their worlds had become more technological and they began to feel pressure to start using their computers for their work. This became especially conspicuous when animated shows began to switch over to CGI graphics, deciding to forgo traditional 2-D animation. Though it is understandable that it is more labor intensive to do work by hand, I still feel that the most satisfaction can be received through doing so and all the flaws make it that much more unique.

Thus, each time I see the front page of the popular section of DA and the profusion of CGI, I cannot help but think back to the old days. I know there are still those who admire hand-drawn work, since I have read comments on the rare traditional piece I come across praising the artist for using non-technological materials. Now if only those admirers would speak up more often...

Requisites for Travel

Never having had much money, I have never had the opportunity to travel outside of my home country. As a result, over the years it has become a near-obsession for me to find a way to travel and visit other places; the sooner, the better. This has especially been the case with the rise in the cost of air travel. I would like to get 'out there', so to speak, and visit these other parts of the world before travel becomes so expensive that only the most wealthy are capable of it.

Therefore, I ask any readers to provide me with tips about travel for a first-timer so that I may make the necessary preparations. What are some important things for a first-time traveler to do or keep in mind before they board that plane, train, or automobile? Which nations or cities do you recommend visiting for those without much money who love culture and history and wish to make the most of a visit?

Welcome to Manifold Musings

Hello and welcome to Manifold Musings, a blog about whatever comes to my mind.

Rather than join the social networking phenomenon of Facebook, I decided this would be simpler, less risky, and less of a hassle. I wouldn't need to be concerned about privacy issues, constantly changing policies and formats, and making sure that my farm animals are fed. There are more important things in the world.

This leads to potential topics of future posts. Should a news event catch my eye and I feel the need to say something and get feedback on my thoughts, such posts will be here. There is also the potential of requests of my readers (should I get any) as to what they think would be the best course of action for me to take and I am more than willing to offer my own advice if anyone would like an outside opinion. However, I cannot predict what the future may bring and who knows what sort of random things I decide to put up. For instance, my next post will be about traveling...