wednesday's quote

"If you not living on the edge , you taking up too much space.."

Kayden Kleinhans

Tuesday's quote....

" To cherish what remains of the earth and to foster it's renewal is our only legitimate hope of survival"

Wendell Bery.

Quote for the day...

"Reality is not a shared state of consciousness"

Daniel Ried

My quest through Borneo to find the elusive Rafflesia flower..( Amoldi )

In 2007 a magnetic force took hold of me with such intention and purpose it was impossible to ignore , that force was Borneo and it's elusive, seductive Rafflesia flower ( Amoldi ) this particular flower , the largest in the world , only grows in a very select few locations on the planet , in Borneo , The Malay Peninsula and Sumatra .

I was lucky enough to "stumble" upon my first Rafflesia flower on my Sumatran adventure a few years prior , completely mesmarised by the intense beauty and contrast in colour it has to it's jungle surrounds, I felt it's natural invisible claws inbed themselves within me , quite aware of the fact these claws would once again beckon my return to this beautiful part of the world.

Determined to discover new varieties of the Rafflesia I turned my attention to the mountain of Kota Kinabalu on the island of Borneo. Now the Rafflesia flower only grows at extreme altitude so this particular adventure would require my bicycle to be packed as light as possible in order to achieve the altitudes required to reach the habitat of the Amoldi.

At roughly 2000m above sea level and 4 days of non-stop climbing , I reached an area on the side of Kota Kinabalu mountain , perfect habitat for the Amoldi , another 2 days of leech infested mud and trekking through the jungle I am finally rewarded with what I can only descibe as a visual orgasm , one of the most insanely gorgeous sights I have been lucky enough to see.

There she was ... the Amoldi in all her perfect glory lighting up the jungle floor like a ball of fire , one of those little moments in life where you take that extra long breath , goose bumps engulf your skin like a swarm of butterflies. hmmm...

This gorgeous gift from nature is being threatened by logging and deforestation in the region , I think of that moment I shared with that flower , how hard I worked to see it , how much value it added not only in the moment but still today and feel this moment should be there for others to enjoy on their quests.

Where do we draw the line? Do we really need to loose more species to gain timber ?

EARTHQUAKE DESTROYS PADANG ( SUMATRA )

Sometimes it's just not fair ......

Whilst cycling through Sumatra , Indonesia ( northern most island in the archipelago) in 2006 I was pick pocketed in a market in Pariaman unbeknown to me until 2 days later when rolling into Padang the fishing port on the west coast of Sumatra, the only town with an ATM I'd seen for weeks , I realised my missing bank cards and a few other odd's and ends were gone.

With about R80 ( $10 ) to my name I found myself in a bit of a pickle....
So off to the local police station to try and forge the way forward , about 45 minutes of sign language , gesturing , broken Bahasa and a touch of English I manage to get directions to the local Western Union money transfer office ,which also happens to be the local post office, internet cafe and convenience store...lucky me.

A bottle of water for the parched cyclist and a few minutes on the net to let the family know the score and I was spent. Julius , a gentleman that had overheard me waffling about my plight wonders over and in his broken English says to me " If honest I help" I continue to sign and babble across my situation for a few minutes... Then out of the blue Julius takes my hand and beckons me toward the ATM where he proceeds to draw all his savings to give to me to rectify my problem.

Completely humbled and taken aback by this beautiful soul and his sincere gesture I swiftly jump into action with my newly acquired funds ( $15) making calls , cancelling cards , sending emails , all the relevant bullshit one needs to endure in such a scenario.
So now both myslef and Julius are tapped out , there's a 3 day wait for a money transfer so Julius invites me back to his home to sit it out.

We meander through walkways and side roads, over small bridges and through tiny tunnels till we arrive in his Kampung ( village ) where I am introduced to the "family" consisting of 6 men and 4 woman all of us will share the 1 roomed dwelling for the next 3 days and nights ."Kubu" in the red t-shirt in the photo above had also fallen on hard times and been adopted into this warm welcoming sanctuary that seemed to provide refuge for the needy. "Sniper" on my immediate right another of the adoptee's ,out of the bunch Julius , Kubu and Sniper had the most profound effect on me over the following three days.

Over the remaining days and nights we would laugh , cry ,sleep and eat together in this most humble of spaces all chipping in what we could for the daily meal and odd beer here and there.
Moments passed I still think of regularly today , a true,pure example of the beauty of people and human nature , being taken in and looked after during my time of need by complete strangers.

Padang was recently crushed by an earthquake and thousands have died , I have lost contact with my "family"

I start to wonder if mother earth is getting just a little bit pissed off , this incessant quest for bigger houses , more money and faster cars , our destruction of forests and raping of the oceans...taking us further and further from the natural pure beauties that once surrounded us in our most simple and most humble form .

192 nations converge for the planet

United Nations Climate Change Conference


December 7–18, 2009
Location:
Bella Center, Copenhagen, Denmark

The most important gathering of the powers that be since Kyoto.
Watch this space...

today's quote

" where ever you go , no matter what the weather, always bring your own sunshine"

Anthony J. D'Angelo

selfish like shellfish...

rough , tough be the skin
jelly within
move without thought ,conviction ,intent
translucent repent
selfish like shellfish


no predator in sight
no daily fight
governed by the tides
in numbers they hide
selfish like shellfish


consume , deplume this space
the perfumed trace you leave
mother earth grieves
selfish like shellfish


oceans rise , imminent demise
squandered resource , belated recourse
fear not , she'll play by your rules
your belly is full
selfish like shellfish

QUOTE FOR THE DAY

"Ah , summer, what power you have to make us suffer and like it."

Russell Baker

A LITTLE DIG @ THE SYSTEM.......IRE!

the higher conspire to fool the buyer
to force the buyer to fuel the fire

retire that liar that exposed the higher
that fooled the buyer to fuel the fire

"our system is solid fail proof , fire proof
dont listen to that liar , liar , liar

his vision is dire no ambition he doesnt aspire
no house , no car , no golden attire"

the inescapable choir of the higher
all day , all night , admire , desire , expire...

our forests a mire
how many fish do you honestly require?

so you tell me brothers and sisters
who's the liar , liar , liar

FREE WHEEL...

nomadic , sporadic
gypsy juice flood these veins

to move , groove freely

emerge from a tunnel
these thoughts I funnel

finetune, i am immune to friction
this diction my tune

you cant deplume this psyche
for i see, i see you there
further , ever closer to the lair

consume you it will

fill the void with choice
love ,sister ,brother ,mother earth rejoice

light burns
incandescant , flourescent
a vision turns
a new leaf
disbelief , relief

wheels turn , feet no longer burn
share this ride with me
dont hide brother come see