Inspiration

Willfully Contemplating

/ Organikos / 1 Comment
A Boat in the Sea by Arkhip Kuindzhi, c.1875. Oil on canvas.

A Boat in the Sea by Arkhip Kuindzhi, c.1875. Oil on canvas.

We tend to favor action as a general rule on this site, but without contemplation where would we be? Two choice paragraphs from a recent philosophical musing in one of our newly favored  and now reliably interesting online publications:

…After three years, I was no wiser than when I started. Did we choose freely? Or were we just victims of larger historical, social and biological forces? It was impossible to tell. What I did realise was that philosophers had been struggling with such questions for thousands of years, but were no closer to understanding the answer than they were when they started out. Continue reading →

Gravity and Grace

/ Amie Inman / 1 Comment
Arsenale installation from the Venice Biennale

Arsenale installation from the 2007 Venice Biennale

During a recent visit to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City I was struck by a 3-dimensional piece that combines the opulence of a Gustav Klimt painting and the earthy elegance of Ghanian Kente cloth. The comparison isn’t as bizarre as it might appear when it’s understood that its creator is the Ghanian artist El Anatsui. Over a decade ago the sculptor found a bag of thousands of colorful aluminum screw tops discarded by a local distillery. The artist began by cutting and folding the bottle tops into flat pieces then used copper wire to stitch them together, creating patterns inspired by his country’s iconic cloth. Continue reading →

Turkeytails & Time

/ Milo Inman / 3 Comments

Trametes versicolor is a fascinating mushroom on many fronts – as a specialized organism within an ecosystem, as a beautifully variable natural art piece, and as  valuable medicine.  Fungi are an untapped resource in many scientific fields, and are vastly underappreciated as an entire natural kingdom. Food, medicine and art can all be created from but a single species alone, and the Kingdom of Fungi is one inhabited by thousands upon thousands of unique species, each of which has its own human uses and limitations.

 

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Human uses and limitations. Mushroom hunters (including myself) often inadvertently train themselves to ignore categories of fungi that don’t hold any immediate interest. Small, white polypores, for example, tend to be tough as bark, tasteless, or crumbly, so one simply doesn’t pick them. Little brown gilled mushrooms, on the other hand, are soggy and crumbly, and could be any of a million species. One usually does not pick these. However, human knowledge of fungi over the ages has waxed and waned – several ancient traditional medicines have made use of fungi with huge medicinal potential, but which modern scientists are unable to understand. That said, human industry has improved the lot of frustrated medical researchers by refining the process of mushroom cultivation to the point that almost any species is accessible for study.

 

Continue reading →

Plowshares, Swords And Wildlife Conservation

/ Organikos / 1 Comment

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Whatever your opinion about a military-industrial complex possibly running amok, you might agree that the state of endangered wildlife deserves some radical brainstorming. Today, sometimes the plowshares plunder while the swords save. It is slightly creepy to celebrate military tools, sponsored by corporations and conservation NGOs, being repurposed this way.  But these are truly times that try men’s souls.  We will chalk this one up as net-gain innovation.

Ambience, Raxa & You

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Photograph by Michiko Nakao accompanying “The Discreet Charm Of Ambient Music” from the New Yorker website’s Culture Desk

Raxa Collective, an affiliation of conservation-oriented enterprises employing 180+ people serving 25,000+ travelers each year, looks from some angles like it is in the resort business.  It is.  But it also is not.  Among its several founders there was much discussion at the outset along the lines of: does the world really need another of those?

Not really.  So it is not a resort business any more than it is a conservation NGO (which it is also not, but from some angles it might look like one), a learning laboratory (which it is and is not) or a distribution channel for ornithologically-inclined photographers (ditto).

If there were to be a book called Resort Confidential it would be an insider’s view of all that should change in the resort industry globally.  We would hope to write a seminal chapter in that book.  We would not want to write the whole book.  We love company.

One inspiration is Brian Eno. A reminder of this is in Joshua Rothman’s review of Eno’s pioneering role in the evolution of, and his most recent contribution to, ambient music. Excerpting that review, it could be said that we hope to accomplish with our activities at Raxa Collective what “Lux” accomplishes musically:

…Ambient music isn’t like pop music. It doesn’t want the spotlight, or to conscript your body and mind. Instead, it aims to transform and divide your attention in more subtle ways…At the ideal, low volume, you’re aware of the music. But you’re equally aware of the way that it frames the other sounds you’re hearing and making: the traffic in the street, your own breathing, the keys on the keyboard, the creaks in the floorboards, the rustle of your clothes when you move. You’re also more in touch with the small inflections in your own moods. Each key change, and each new instrument, with its new timbre, is an opportunity to measure the difference between the feeling of the music and your state of mind. “Lux” is fascinating as music. But it also makes the world more fascinating. It’s a catalyst for consciousness and self-awareness…

Loving company, we invite you to sample.

A Man, A Plan, A Grain of Sand

/ Amie Inman / Leave a comment

Newspaper editor Brendon Grimshaw bought an “abandoned” Seychelle island in the 1960s and spent the rest of his life lovingly creating the habitat that is now Moyenne Island National Park, part of the Ste. Anne Marine National Park.

Together with a Seychellois named Rene Lafortune Grimshaw transformed the island, planting 16,000 trees by hand, including native hard woods such as mahogany.  The trees attracted birds (some 2,000 make the island their home), and Grimshaw himself reintroduced over 100 giant tortoises, native to the Seychelles but almost hunted to extinction in the early 1900s. The labor of love resulted in Moyenne island now holding more than two thirds of all endemic plants to the Seychelles as well as the Seychelles government standing firm against the multiple advances offering millions of dollars to”develop” the island after Grimshaw’s death. Continue reading →

“The Wheelchair Is A Portal…”

/ Amie Inman / 4 Comments

In coordination with the 2012 Paralympics British performance artist Sue Austin has revised her 2008 project “Portal” into “Creating the Spectacle!”, a piece that literally sends ripples across the divide between spectator, audience, galleries and stage.

The focus of the project has shifted from being about transforming preconceptions about the wheelchair to a more global perspective that we all have issues to transcend… Continue reading →

A Learning Laboratory (Stop Motion Video!)

/ Chi-Chi Lin / 12 Comments

Yesterday, Jonathon, Siobhan, Milo, and I moved into one of the new Raxa Collective properties under development. As the four of us huddled silently under our covers, the backwaters of Kerala’s nighttime accompanied Jonathon’s ghost stories…

Instead of spooky tales, though, today I want to share with you another story Jonathon narrates, Raxa Collective presents “A Learning Laboratory.” It’s a short video, Jonathon (narrator), Sunnie (illustrator), Siobhan (director), and I (producer) put together with the help of all the staff and summer interns to highlight some of the best anecdotes of how Raxa Collective’s Cardamom County ecolodge has acted as a “learning laboratory” for its staff, international trainees, and summer interns.

Enjoy!

5 Lenses For Every Vacation

/ Chi-Chi Lin / 2 Comments

Hey guys,

All of us photobugs and travel-junkies have struggled with the age-old question: which lens should I bring on my River Escapes backwaters adventure or my Roman holiday or my trip to the moon?

As a casual photographer, I’m not crazy about specs. I don’t get the numbers and technical terms! JUST TELL IT TO ME STRAIGHT! I know there are people out there who are like me, so Ben, Milo, and I will make it as easy as possible to understand which lens YOU need to bring on your next vacation! We’d also love to know what YOU brought on your last vacation!

See which of description fits you best:

  1. I’m out to shoot wildlife. Tell me what I need to know.
  2. I love architecture and the built world. What should I bring with me?
  3. I’m a tourist who’s going to stick out like a sore thumb, but I really want to capture candid portraits of interesting people– help!
  4. I’m going to a naturey place filled with dust/humidity/dirt/whatever and I don’t want to constantly change my lens. What’s the best daily walk-around lens?
  5. I’m going on a service trip and I’ll be working on a construction site. How do I make it look epic?
Here’s what we’ll be introducing from our private collections today:
  1. Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USM with 2x extender
  2. Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM
  3. Canon EF 50mm f/1.8
  4. Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM
  5. Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS

ALRIGHT, I’M READY!! NOW SHOW ME THE 5 LENSES I SHOULD BRING ON MY NEXT VACATION!!!

Continue reading →

“Suzuki, Samurai, No Problem”

/ Meg Chatham / Leave a comment

I frantically grabbed the phone and dialed the front desk.  I hastily told the night auditor of my situation and begged him to send help.  Within minutes, not one but two maintenance men were at the entry path leading to my room to redirect the furry night creature that (in my imagination, at least) seemed intent on spending the night too close for my comfort.  A few minutes later “it” had exited back to the forest, and I had met three new members of Cardamom County, one of whom managed to gain my trust through a single phone call: Faruk.

He works the night shift at Cardamom County and is quite a remarkable person.  This gentleman is oft my unfortunate sounding board when I can’t sleep or arise before the rooster crows (a reality next to the beautifully quaint farm here).  He was manning the reception desk after my enlightening night visit to the kitchen.  When I wrote about meeting Jimmy he said if I ever were to write about him I should use him as an example of night shift mishaps, laziness, or incompetency.  I didn’t think much of his suggestion at the time, but in hindsight, I scoff at the thought of doing such a thing; Faruk is likely the furthest thing from the aforementioned negativity. Continue reading →

“I found love when I was 6”: A Story of Tattoos and Love

/ Chi-Chi Lin / 1 Comment

There are many things I could have named this blog post, but I decided it should sound scandalous, it should sound crazy, it should sound epic. I mean, what is more scandalous, more crazy, and more epic than falling in love when you’re is only 6 years old?

Getting a tattoo? No.

Getting a tatttoo at 6? No.

Getting a tattoo of your true love at 6? Now that, my friends, is crazy.

Kamal's Tattoo of his wife's name, Meena

Kamal’s Tattoo of his wife’s name, Meena

Continue reading →

Not A Creature Was Stirring…Or So I Thought

/ Meg Chatham / 1 Comment

Like many people that can’t sleep at two o’clock in the morning, I let my nose lead me into the kitchen.  In the wee morning hours, I was surprised to find one, lone and hardworking chef, Jimmy, preparing the morning’s breakfast buffet.  I was drawn to the beverage station where I stood aghast, hoping my drip coffee machine would appear.  As I looked pained with an overwhelming desire for caffeine, Jimmy’s hospitality ensued.  He lowered the heat to his Aloo Bhaji, grabbed a saucepan, and began making me some coffee the “old fashioned” way with only a pot, water, ground coffee, and a sieve.

With my fuel source performing caffeinated magic, I observed his hard work ethic, learned how to make Kozhukattai, and had good conversations despite my poor and minimum Malayalam and his frequent inability to understand my East Texas “twangy” accent.  I was filled with respect when I found he alone prepared the delicious breakfast for the guests of the retreat.  I grew greater appreciation for my Wusthof knives; and, once again, I was, and continue to be, awed and inspired by the hospitality and giving character of the people I’ve met in Kerala.

Rarely do I find such great rewards for sleepless nights, but this night I found gold.  I’m thankful and I “remove my hat” to Jimmy of the Allspice Restaurant.  It’s people like these in this culture that increase my fondness for this state of India and strengthen my wish to stay or repeatedly return.

Reflections in the Rain

/ Meg Chatham / 1 Comment

The song of the rain washes over me.  It soothes my soul and calms my buzzing thoughts.  Never would I have imagined forming a sense of respect and admiration for this wet, and often noted, overwhelming natural phenomenon.  Yet, the monsoon rains of Kerala are magically revitalizing, relieving, and so much more.

Like blessings the droplets fall on my skin, awakening my soul from its lazy trance.  I am increasingly able to understand how artists find it inspiring, how birds find it song-worthy.  I am as thankful as the parched earth that I relinquished many of my hesitations towards the rain; my mind is open and ready for more.

When the rain ceases and the sky reveals the sun’s rays, it is a rainbow I hope to see.  I find its colors in the cheerful tunes of the birds, the slow rustle of the leaves, and the intermittent chirps of the emerging insects.  These few, along with many other, “colors” create a reflection of hope in the puddles of my mind.

As my days increase, I do not expect my puddles of misunderstanding, disbelief, or hesitation to completely dissipate.  I only desire that, like I have with the rain, I am able to find positive and inspiring reflections within them.