Siberian "farmyard rap"

YouTube link.

Created as a parody of a popular Russian hip-hop artist:

Local comedian and Monty Python fan Ayal Adamov (nickname Urui Ayalaa) and his team Suus Bies Suus decided on some gentle mockery of videos eulogising money and luxurious life beyond the reach of most people.

In particular they poked fun at Timati and the song GQ by visiting the village of Namtsy, 83 km from regional capital Yakutsk, and made this epic video.

'Six months ago, I heard the song 'GQ' for the first time, and thought, why not make a parody,' he said.  'Now all the popular videos are about money, a sumptuous life. Everything is so pathetic and I thought - why not to tell about simple things like the khoton (a cowshed in Yakutia, the largest region in the Russian Federation, also known as the Sakha republic) - and manure. Why not?'

"My cowshed is always fresh!
The dung is everywhere
It attracts money and dirt
It fascinates girls with flavor
Hey, baby, let's drink kumys
Oh, it's very tasty..."

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Ancient wooden statue found in Siberia

It may be older than the Egyptian pyramids:

This ancient example of human creativity was recovered in January 1890 near Kirovgrad but there remains uncertainty over its age, believed to be around 9,500 years old. Made of 159 year old larch, it is covered with Mesolithic era symbols, which are not yet decoded. Some 2.8 metres in height, it appears to have seven faces.

It was protected down the millennia by a four metre layer of peat bog on the site of an open air gold mine...

Now, German scientists secured a grant which they hope will provide the Idol's age to within half a century.

'There is no such ancient sculpture in the whole of Europe. Studying this idol is a dream come true', said Professor Thomas Terberger, of the Department of Cultural Heritage of Lower Saxony.

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Tattoos of the princess of the Sochi paralympics

The image above, broadcast worldwide on television during the Sochi paralympics, is a representation of one of the tattoos found on a Siberian mummy.  Her story has been featured three times in Siberian Times.  The first article, in August of 2014, provided this background:

The remains of the immaculately dressed 'princess', aged around 25 and preserved for several millennia in the Siberian permafrost, a natural freezer, were discovered in 1993 by Novosibirsk scientist Natalia Polosmak during an archeological expedition.

Buried around her were six horses, saddled and bridled, her spiritual escorts to the next world, and a symbol of her evident status, perhaps more likely a revered folk tale narrator, a healer or a holy woman than an ice princess.

There, too, was a meal of sheep and horse meat and ornaments made from felt, wood, bronze and gold.  And a small container of cannabis, say some accounts, along with a stone plate on which were the burned seeds of coriander.

'Compared to all tattoos found by archeologists around the world, those on the mummies of the Pazyryk people are the most complicated, and the most beautiful,' said Dr Polosmak. More ancient tattoos have been found, like the Ice Man found in the Alps [Otzi] - but he only had lines, not the perfect and highly artistic images one can see on the bodies of the Pazyryks. 

The mouth of a spotted panther with a long tail is seen at the legs of a sheep. She also has a deer's head on her wrist, with big antlers. There is a drawing on the animal's body on a thumb on her left hand.

On the man found close to the 'princess', the tattoos include the same fantastical creature, this time covering the right side of his body, across his right shoulder and stretching from his chest to his back...

We can say that most likely there was  - and is - one place on the body for everyone to start putting the tattoos on, and it was a left shoulder. I can assume so because all the mummies we found with just one tattoo had it on their left shoulders. 'And nowadays this is the same place where people try to put the tattoos on, thousands of years on.

The second report, later that month, offered more details re her garments and the burial chamber.

Now, thanks to pioneering work by academics in Novosibirsk, we also show how this ancient Pazyryk woman looked in real life and display not only her clothes but also the vivid colours she wore and her stylish headdress...

Archeologists even found items from her 'cosmetics bag', which lay inside her coffin next to her left hip, notably a face brush made from horse hair, and a fragment of an 'eyeliner pencil'. This was made from iron rings, inside which was vivianite, giving a deep blue-green colour on the skin.

There was also vivianite powder, derived from an iron phosphate mineral, apparently to be applied to the face...

'She was dressed in a long and wide woollen skirt, made from three horizontal strips of fabric. The skirt was 144 cm long, 90 cm wide on the top, and 112.5 cm at the base. 

'Each strip of  the fabric was coloured separately: the top one was crimson, the middle very slightly pinkish-yellowish, and the third of a very rich Bordeaux colour. 

Many more details at the link; it's very interesting reading.  Of course, our attention is drawn to that remarkable hairdo.

The real eye-opener for Dr Polosmak was the high and  distinctive head wear. And the linked discovery that the 'princess' in fact had a shaved head, with no hair, but instead wore an elaborate wig, that remains intact to this day, enabling detailed study...

It was put on a shaved head. The base of the wig was a felt 'hat', with two layers of women's hair sewn into it. Between the layers was a black flexible substance, which helped to fix and hold the shape and the volume of the wig.'..

On top of this mop was worn a red 'nakosnik' (a braided decoration made from threads), and atop of this structure was a bronze pin with a deer, standing on a sphere. The deer was made from wood, and was covered in golden foil.'

Yet it was more intricate, still.

'The wig had another very important detail,' she says. Its crowning glory looked like a giant feather, 68.5 cm long, made from felt and covered with black woollen fabric, with a stick inside it to help it stand straight.' she says.

'This feather had the figures of 15 birds attached to it, which like in modern Russian Matryoshkha dolls with one inside another, were each of smaller size compared to the previous one. The birds had leather wings, tails and legs, and long necks, which most likely meant they were swans.

And more information:

Remarkably she concludes that the source of the dyes is around 3,000  kilometres from Altai...

'This area can be Eastern Mediterranean - the only habitat of Kermes vermilio Planchon, a tiny insect, which is a source of nape acid, used in Pazyryk textiles colouring, and a neighbouring territory of the Armenian uplands - a source of Carminic acid. The third colourant - a source of alizarin and purpurin - was made from madder' (a Eurasian plant...

The fusion of influences, seen in her clothes, of Ancient Chinese, Iranian and Mediterranean cultures 'make the Pazyryks indeed one of the most ancient examples of synthesis between cultures of East and West'. 

Several hundred years later Alexander the Great was famed for 'mixing people by the power of his will, trying to unite East and West by pushing them together, and gluing them with political methods.

'At the same time in the middle of Asia, on an immeasurably smaller scale, that process which the great warrior was only dreaming about, has been happening all by itself. That same mixing of cultures, and the mixing of Caucasian and Mongoloid....This synthesis, on a small scale, proved to be very fruitful, and resulted in a formation and rise of Gorniy Altai Pazyryk culture...

Finally, the article concludes with a discussion of the male's costume ('First of all, it had trousers - which, to remind you, was part of a wardrobe considered to be 'barbaric' by Greeks and Romans, who did not accept and did not wear them. ).  I won't abstract any more details because I feel guilty about appropriating too much material from my primary sources.  Please go to Siberian Times to read more about this fascinating story.

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A Siberian linkdump

The aerial photo above is of an immense geoglyph, thought to represent a moose.  Scientists there claim it is the oldest one in the world (c. 4,000 B.C.), based on analysis of lithic chipping in the area.  It was an immense project: "Initial fieldwork found simple techniques were used to create the moose, with turf and earth 10-metres-wide dug out to make its shape before being filled with stones. 'The figure would initially have looked white and slightly shiny against the green grass background,' he said.

 What is believed to be the "last" western Siberian crane ("snow crane") has arrived in Iran completing its 6,000 km migration successfully for the seventh consecutive year.  There used to be two others in this population, but over the years they have been shot.  There are still some eastern Siberian snow cranes.


A three-year-old girl and her dog survived alone for 11 days in the Siberian taiga, eating berries and drinking river water.  A separate article praises the mongrel dog, which finally left her and went for help.

Siberian scientists (and residents) are concerned about flooding resulting from climate change as the permafrost disappears. "The process of warming in Siberia goes faster than elsewhere; it is not just hypothesis, there is data and observational evidence to prove it. Siberia is warming faster than any other place in the world," Mr Meleshko told the The Siberian Times.

YouTube video of a Siberian throat-singer.

Photos of a man going swimming at in "Oymyakon, the coldest inhabited settlement in the world. The air temperature as he swam had dipped to minus 60C. " 

"A 26 year old Siberian woman is facing 15 years in jail after strangling a man with her bra after he refused to lend her money for a drinking binge."

A Siberian firm located in a city above the Arctic Circle offers pizzas delivered by drone. "Yulia Ignatova, 25, said: 'Syktyvkar became one step closer to Futurama today, hurray! I was there and ate pizza. The pizza was delivered in just 20 minutes, while usually it takes about an hour or even longer.'"

This restaurant will shatter your preconceived notions of Siberian life and cuisine:

"European, Japanese, Soviet, Russian home style cuisine... Whether you want a meal with friends, to enjoy a live rock, Irish or country band, watch live sports at any time of the day or night, or hold that key business lunch, Beerman & Grill offers all these possibilities, and more besides."

It's not Milliways (The Restaurant at the End of the Universe) (but you can see it from there).

Readers who would like to share other interesting links about Siberia are welcome to post them in the Comments section of this post.

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Sigiriya

Sigiriya must be an awesome place, both in terms of geography and in the way it has been modified.  I first learned about it in an article at When On Earth.

In Sri Lanka, ruins of an ancient city can be seen lying on the steep slopes and summit of a 200-meter high peak. This awe-inspiring city is called Sigiriya and is located at the Matale district near Dambulla in the Central Province of Sri Lanka...

During the 11 years of staying in Sigiriya [in the 5th century], Kassapa transformed the rock into a magnificent complex.  The rock-turned-city possessed areas designed for its defenses but it didn’t forget to be a place of beauty and splendor. Ramparts and moats were built around it. Royal Pleasure Gardens Water Gardens, Fountain Gardens, and Boulder Gardens can be found within its inner city...

You’re almost at the rock’s entrance when you see a stone staircase that takes you to the fortress, but be better prepared, for it has 1200 steps.

In 1150 AD, it was abandoned but during the 16th and 17th century it served as temporary outpost for the Kingdom of Kandy. In 1831, it was discovered by Major Jonathan Forbes of the 78th Highlanders of the British Army that led to the beginning of its archaeological work in the 1890s.

There are photos at the link, but for those interested I highly recommend the webpage of SriLankaView.  I opened a couple thumbnails and found myself clicking through scores of the several hundred photos, including these:

Access to the site is now provided by modern staircases, but note that adjacent to the stairs are hand-cut stone steps and cavities for ancient wooden railings and supports.

This is too far away to fit into the budget of my bucket list, so I was glad to be able to tour it online.  Amazing.

Here is the Wikipedia entry.

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I was never invited to "chicken pox parties" - updated

"Chicken pox" (varicella) was in the news last month [November 2011] when offers for infected lollipops were posted on the internet:

Wendy Werkit, of Nashville, offered to send other parents a "fresh batch of pox" on lollipops or cotton-buds in return for $50 (£31) via PayPal...

Her advertisement was placed on a Facebook page intended to help parents find a "pox party" in their local area, where children can mix and pick up the virus, which can be more dangerous if suffered later.

Advice for the best way to send chickenpox emerged in a thread of postings on the site. "Tuck it inside a ziplock baggie then put it in the envelope," it said. "Don't put anything identifying it as pox." 

The photo above comes from a detailed article at Inhabitots, which discusses the pros and cons of naturally vs. vaccine-acquired immunity.

Not getting vaccinated against chicken pox can result in some serious health issues. For example, anyone who has gotten chicken pox naturally in their life (not been vaccinated) can later get shingles. While the chicken pox vaccine doesn’t guarantee immunity from shingles, it increases the odds you won’t get and if you do, it makes the disease less severe...

It's not a new topic; "Inside New York Chicken Pox Parties" was published in 2009.

More kids stopped by throughout the afternoon to play and rub elbows with the sick celebrants. The younger kids passed the time chasing each other, playing make-believe games about forest animals and gnomes and watching Snow White, while the older kids kept busy reading books, playing video games and practicing the guitar. " The 12-year-old son was joking about how, normally, his mother tells him to cover his mouth," Penelope says. "Now all of a sudden, his mom's trying to spread his germs. He was enjoying pointing out the hypocrisy of it all." On her way out several hours later, she had an idea. "I have a friend who couldn't find a pox party, so a mother in California overnighted her son's pajamas to her. Her kid slept in them and got chicken pox," Penelope says. "So I asked, 'Do you mind if I borrow some [dirty clothes]?' The mom gave me a pair of just-worn pajamas. My daughter slept in them that night and then I mailed them back." Alas, Dr. Gershon says this plan isn't likely to work: "Chicken pox does not spread by clothing. It requires being in direct contact with a person with active chicken pox or shingles." And, indeed, after all the trouble, Penelope's daughter remains pox-free, though she plans to try again.

Those of you with children may want to read more at one of the links.

Addendum:  Reposted from 2011 to incorporate this report of "measles parties."

She was approached recently by a friend who knew her kids were unvaccinated. The friend offered to help set up a play date with another child who was sick.

“She said, ‘I know someone who has the measles, would you like to be connected with them?’” Schiffman said.

Measles parties and chicken pox parties are practices that developed in eras before vaccines for those diseases were available... “People did this with chicken pox all the time,” said Art Reingold, an epidemiology professor at UC Berkeley who worked at the Centers for Disease Control in the 1980s. “Parents would have kids lick a lollipop and give it to other kids, or mail it to other kids.”

The chicken pox vaccine was licensed for use in 1995; for measles in 1963. Today, some parents are still deliberately getting their kids sick because they don’t believe in vaccines.

“The basic notion is ‘this is my opportunity for my kid to get immune the old fashioned way, the way God intended,’” Reingold said. “’The way nature intended.’”

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I challenge you to a game of 2048 - updated

This will be the only post today, because this morning I found 2048 and have wasted an inordinate amount of time studying/playing it.  As noted by the embed above, so far my highest score is 3408.  (After another hour, 5616).  After another day 16,176.

I have to get some work done this weekend and can't afford to waste any more time.  But I don't mind wasting your time.

Have a go, and feel free to post your best score (and strategy tips) in the comments.

The embedded image is just a screencap.  THE GAME IS HERE.

??is there a way to predict in which empty square the new tile will appear?

Update:  Using the strategies outlined by readers in the Comments, I was finally able to view the 2048 tile -

- and maxed out at 33,800.  Finally I can quit and go do something productive.

Update 2:  Here is a near-perfect pre-2048-tile-appearance board:

Starting at the second 2 of the top row (or, in practice, at the top 16), one can then sweep all the way down in a sinuous curve to convert the 1024 into a 2048.  This kind of configuration is not necessary to generate a 2048, but it certainly is esthetically pleasing.

Update 3:  This will me my final addition to this post - a view of the black 4096 tile...

... which I finally saw on my way to a final score of 50,936.  I'm done with this game.  Time to move on.

Final (?) update:  I was informed by reader Jan Reynolds that a "Super 2048" now exists - an 8x8 board with immensely higher potential scores and time-wasting capability.  I gave up after creating the 16,384 tile:

 and then (wisely, I think) opted NOT to "keep going."  Jan reported that she had "been beavering away for several months, have a score of 128,386,728! Have 2 tiles with face value of 2,097152 which would give me the magic 4,194304 tile but they are not near each other :( "

The game is here (and other variants from the pull-down menu). Discretion advised.

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