Just got an email from Rahila, who I met while in Urumchi, Xinjiang, a few years ago. We spent a weekend at Heavenly Lake, in the Tian Shan Mountains outside of Urumchi. It was truly heavenly.


Gorgeous Rahila (right). Honey, Nefertiti can't hold a candle to you!

Just when you thought it was safe to go back outside: Asteroid Heading for Earth, May Hit in 2014. (But see When To Cancel Armageddon for an update on the downgrade.)

"Look at me! I'm a Burkhan!

Bavsai taking cover under a space blanket on my recent Khangai Mountains trip. Ms. Thanh gave me this space blanket during our Tibetan sojourn last winter. Both Bavsai and I thank you, Ms. Thanh! See more photos see Khangai Mountains.

For the latest on the Iraq's missing WMDs see Weapons of Mass Destruction. See sure to read the message carefully. Buy Weapon of Mass Destruction Boxer Shorts.

Was Nefertiti a Drag Queen?: see Mummy Thought To Be Nefertiti May Be A Man. Nefertiti, all of you Egyptologists will recall, was the wife of the Pharaoh Akhenaten.


My photo of Nefertiti from the Egyptian Museum in Berlin, Germany

An emailer has pointed out that the trekker in the photo below does not really look like me. You are right, it is not me. I would never wear such a goofy-looking hat.

Why I never got married, Part II, see Wife Kills Husband In Testicle Attack.

Why I never got married: see Hell Hath No Fury - Bride Erupts. (The brides's tattoos tell the whole story.)

Some people have wondered why there are no photos of myself on my blog. So here is one of me trekking.

Bavsai (right) and his brother-in-law

And you thought a hamburger was just a hamburger. From the NYTimes article"Evolution on the Meat-Sex Exchange": "Leonard Shlain, a surgeon, is the latest to jump in with "Sex, Time and Power," in which he makes a case for concentrating on women and their need for the mineral iron as the key to understanding our past. Women need high stores of iron, Dr. Shlain says, because they menstruate every month, become pregnant and nurse. In our evolutionary past the best way to restore depleted iron was to eat meat. But women were probably not hunters, and so they must have manipulated men with sexual favors to bringing home a blood-soaked dinner. This manipulative move, Dr. Shlain suggests, then set into motion just about every aspect of human behavior."

Khokh Nuur (Blue Lake), deep in the Khangai Mountains. We camped here for two days. One night three-foot high waves appeared on the lake, even though there was no wind at all. This completely freaked out my horseman and translator, who wanted to leave immediately. They were convinced sinister forces were at work . . .

Bavsai (right), from whom I rented horses and who served as horseman on my trip through the Khangai Mountains, and his mother. (Note to Big Al: notice that Bavsai is wearing traditional Mongolian headwear, and not the ubiquitous baseball cap, although the shades tucked into the brim distract somewhat from the truly traditional look.)

Just returned from a 100 mile horseback trip across the crest of the Khangai Mountains in central Mongolia. Details to follow . .
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Searching for a pot of gold in the Khangai Mountains

My impression of the English countryside has always been influenced by the movie "Tom Jones". I thought the country was inhabited by robust, ruddy-faced peasants engaged in wholesome activities like sheep-shearing. Now it turns out the place is a sleazy mosh pit infested with party animals with names like Pippa Joynes, who is apparently not related to Tom Jones. For the sordid details see "Wild Beach Parties Ruin Lord's Island Retreat".