Stamps of the Last Shangrila

We (the mortals) choose our own poisons. Some of us get addicted to physical poisons like smoking, alcoholism, and binge-eating. And some of us get addicted to mental poisons (ego boosters) like possessions and prestige. Unfortunately, many of us manage to get a healthy (?!) dose of both!

Bhutan is apparently obsessed (ego boost for Napoleon Complex?) with postage stamps; at least, its monarchs are.

Some of Bhutan's stamps are made from steel, silk, even vinyl. Bhutan introduced the world's first talking stamp in April 1973. It's a tiny vinyl record, that when played at 78 rpm, included the Bhutanese national anthem and a brief history of this country.

Bhutan was the first nation to make a 3-D stamp. It was Oct. 30, 1967, and the stamps honored America's Apollo astronauts in space.

Bhutan is releasing a CD stamp. It'll include pictures, music and history. Yes, you can indeed send a letter with this stamp just as you can with all the others.

Bhutan was also the first nation in the world to have self-adhesive stamps. Today, almost every nation has followed Bhutan's lead with a self-stick stamp.

Bhutan is one of the most isolated and least developed nations in the world. However, Business Week rated Bhutan the happiest country in Asia and the eighth happiest country in the world. I guess Bhutanese are not rich, but are wealthy! Apparently, there are very few beggars (if any) in that country.

But how come this tiny, remote, and undeveloped country has this zest for philately? Surprise, surprise - an American conceived of a win-win situation with innovative stamp issuance business!

Another interesting tidbit about Bhutan is, it is surprisingly expensive for non-Indians to visit this country. Even though the tourist visa costs only US $20, the entrants need to sign up for a tour package, which costs a minimum of US $240 per day, for the entire duration of the stay!

Dancing Matt - 2008

This video is from Where the Hell is Matt? Loved the vibrancy this guy created with a simple idea. Also, I loved this song - melodious voice, and the lyrics that suited the theme as if they were tailor-made. Lyrics of this song Praan were adapted from the poem Streams of Life by Rabindranath Tagore (see below).

Streams of Life - Rabindranath Tagore

The same stream of life that runs through my veins night and day
runs through the world and dances in rhythmic measures.

It is the same life that shoots in joy through the dust of the earth
in numberless blades of grass and breaks into tumultuous waves of leaves and flowers.

It is the same life that is rocked in the ocean-cradle of birth
and of death, in ebb and in flow.

I feel my limbs are made glorious by the touch of this world of life.
And my pride is from the life-throb of ages dancing in my blood this moment.

Keep Austin Weird

Red Wassenich's new book, "Keep Austin Weird: A Guide to the Odd Side of Town," (like there's a side that isn't odd?) was printed in China, which makes me wonder what the printer said when he checked out the photos.

"America's a funny place. Why's a man in a bikini standing on the corner?" Hey, buddy, that's Leslie. Red, a librarian at Austin Community College, is worried that Austin is losing its goofy edge with all the monied interests moving to town and yuppying up the place. "I think the low point was a few years ago at the Four Seasons bar when they had a $95 margarita," Red said.

I bow to Red's expertise, since he coined the overused and increasingly trite expression "Keep Austin Weird" a few years ago when he called a radio station fundraiser and just said it. And sure, not everyone appreciates Austin's quirks. "That's always going to be the case — that's why we have Dallas," Red said. And an interstate to use to move back there.

But I really don't think Red has to worry. Some of Austin's new stuff is even goofier than the old standards. In his book, Red shows a photo of three people dressed in fuzzy, bright-yellow chicken suits for Halloween. Can that compete with the Austonian, the pricey condo tower coming to Second and Congress that will feature a doggie toilet on the 10th floor so Fido won't have to go outside to hike his leg on a transient?

Red's book also shows a South Austin backyard decorated with lots of baby doll heads. Does that play in the same league with Scott Roberts, owner of the Salt Lick in Driftwood, who is planning to build luxury homes with a spa near his barbecue place? Swell — meat meets massage. Maybe you can get rubbed down with the same rub they use on the brisket?

"Keep Austin Weird" (Schiffer Publishing Ltd., $24.95, available at BookPeople and other outlets) hits most of the old oddball Austin highlights. "It was great because it made me get off my (butt) and attend all these weird events," said Red, who spent about nine months researching the book. "Every weekend I had to go to some tattoo show."

He attended the classics, like Spamarama, the Spam cookoff. And he hit "some of the little more offbeat ones, like the Edible Book Festival, which happened to be at the same time as Spamarama." That would be a great weekend, huh? First you're eating Spamsagna, then you're choking down Grapes of Wrath. "They were both inedible," Red said of the two festivals.

The book has a lot of great photos with plenty of color. One photo shows a bright green entry in the Edible Book Festival called "20,000 Leeks Under the Sea." "It's a pan of Jell-O with some leeks underneath it," Red said. If you ever saw Stevie Ray Vaughan (the man and not the statue), the book offers few surprises. Leslie appears on Page 72. An Austin-weird book without Leslie would be like Rushmore without Lincoln. Nik the Goat, pardoned by Mayor Will Wynn so he could remain in his yard in South Austin, comes along three pages later. Sandwiched between them is Kinky Friedman. If I were Kinky, I'd move to another page.

Red won't get rich off this book. The publisher didn't pay an advance. Red took all his own pictures. "And I had to pay for the photography, so I'm out money." If the book sells he'll get some royalties. Not that he seems to care about the poverty. It's the aesthetics that concern him.

"One of my really favorite things is the Chicken (Poop) Bingo up at Ginny's Little Longhorn (Saloon) on Sunday afternoons," he said. "It's a really neat scene. It's one of the things I really like about Austin. It's a mix of old hippies and old kinda country people and punks, and you don't find that too often in Texas."

Oh, Red figures Austin will keep its weirdness if the economy sours. "We're in a boom now; there'll be a bust. There always is," he said. Me? I think Austin will stay weird even if the boom continues. It'll just cost more to see it. How many million-dollar condos do you know that have pooch commodes? Trust me. They ain't getting one of those up in Ithaca.

Article: John Kelso's column in Austin American Statesman on May 15, 2007.