Juxtaposed: Religion

As far as Art goes, I quite like this....

5,084,000,000 people 5,360 pages 3,700 years 243 countries 7 books 1 shelf

San Francisco designers Mike and Maaike have created JUXTAPOSED:Religion the first in a series of Juxtaposed curated bookshelves for blankblank.
“For the first time, the world’s most influential religious texts are brought together and presented on the same level, their coexistence acknowledged and celebrated.”
(I don't agree with that emotional fluff, but I like the resulting art)The shelf is made of reclaimed hardwood and is offered in a limited edition of 50.

mikeandmaaike.com
blankblank.net

Taking on the world

I read a good book about once a year. I mean a paperback type book. Maybe twice a year if I am lucky, but generally I don't have enough regular spare time to have a good book on the go.
So, usually when I have the chance to have a vacation(a relaxing type, not a visit-the-family type), it is time to buy a good book.
On our recent trip to Phuket, I didn't have anyidea what I was looking for, but I spotted "Taking on the world" by Ellen MacArthur.
I've watched a documentary on this remarkable woman a while ago, and the book is an autobiography of her journey up to and including her first solo yacht race around the world.
Ellen's book is a great read, and I couldn't put in down til it was done. Very inspiring, and really got me thinking about buying or building a yacht at some stage in the future. (I'll just add it to the list shall I?)

Ellen MacArthur's Site

The Long Way Round

I bought this 3 DVD set a couple of weeks ago in Vancouver. It is 10, 1 hour episodes of "The Long Way Round" as produced for TV.
It is the best $24 I have spent in a while.

Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman are best mates, and they decide in April 2004 to set off on 2 BMW R1150GS's on an motorbike journey of epic proportions from London to New York overland going east. 115 days.

I won't say too much about the journey to spoil it, but there really are some remarkable and interesting places in far eastern europe. The "Road of Bones" for example, is a 2000km stretch of Siberia from Yakutsk to Magadan that was built by prisoners during the Stalin area. It is said that every meter of road required the death of a prisoner, and the bones of 100s of thousands to possibly millions of people's remains lie embedded in it today.

One thing that bothered me a bit about the journey is the amount of support they had. It really was a large team going across the world, but it was just those two guys that were filmed mostly. I have no idea how much that would have cost, but it would be in the millions, and that fact alone makes a trip exactly like that out of reach for most of us. Just having the crew behind them a couple of days made all the difference I reckon. I felt it would have been more incredible if they had gone it totally alone. I guess, Ewan doing that trip would have been a nightmare for his agent.
Count the times Charley says "Fantastic!"

My Singapore based mate Brent and I have talked about doing an epic Journey on bikes, but I think ours would consist of flying to Hanoi and buying 2 new Russian Minsk 100s (About $600USD new), and riding with all our gear down Vietnam, into Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and down the Malaysian peninsula to Singapore, where I think we'd set fire to the bikes on the causeway (I don't think they'd let us ride them in - it is Singapore, you know). I don't think we'd have cameras strapped to our helmets. Much.

Minsk Owner in Hanoi
Minsk Factory

Ewan is such a dude, he really is one of those guys that we all see part of ourselves in on this journey. Some times I found myself a little confused as to why people recognised him, he seems so down to earth you forget how much of a star he really is.
Talented guy too. I still think his version of "Your Song" in Moulin Rouge is one of the most passionate spine tingling songs I have heard, and considering he's not primarily a singer that is quite an achievement.
I recently saw him in "The Island" and while I am not big on sci-fi, I though that movie was great.
Oh, he's Scottish too, and most Scot's I have met are alright. (there you go Sandy)

Ewan's Bio/Filmography etc
Long Way Round Official Site