RIP Bert Jansch

Scottish guitar virtuoso and folk icon Bert Jansch died this morning at the age of 67. Jansch was a founding member of the seminal folk-rock group, Pentangle, and he released 23 albums as a solo artist. I was a dedicated fan of Pentangle during the early 1970's and have enjoyed Jansch's fine guitar work over the past 30 years. [NOTES: Clip shows Jansch performing "Black Waterside". His last solo release, Black Swan, provides the perfect background for doing blog posts].

Back to China

Off to China tomorrow to continue my research on the land-use dynamics of traditional Miao communities in Guizhou Province (see First Plot and Miao Landscape). Mist-covered mountains, terraced rice fields, and carefully tended stands of shamu trees (Cunninghamia lanceolata). Am looking forward to running more transects through this beautiful, yet intensive-managed, landscape - and sampling more of the delicious du yun mao jian tea from Guiyang.  

Elephant on the Road

Really hope they get everything straightened out in Kachin State (see Happenings in Kachin). There's nothing quite like finishing up an inventory transect, walking out on the road, and seeing an elephant come lumbering toward you. I miss Myanmar. 

Happenings in Kachin

Lovely photo from the 2005 Naga festival in Kachin State, Myanmar (see Naga Festival and Manau Leader). Real reason for this post, however, is that the Myanmar government has halted construction on the controversial Myitsone Dam on the Irawaddy River in northern Kachin State (click here for more about this surprising development). Financed by the Chinese, the dam would have been the first to span the Irrawaddy and was a showcase project of the previous military government. Victory for the dissidents in Kachin? A step in the right direction? Will I be getting back into the Hukaung Valley anytime soon? I'd love to know what is really going on here. [NOTE: Photo by U Tun Shuang (see Tea Break)].