MetaFilter posts tagged with Himalayas

Parahawking

homunculus — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 19:47:23 -0800

Hawkman of the Himalayas. British falconer Scott Mason and friends have combined paragliding and falconry into the art of parahawking. [Via]

Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck

homunculus — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 12:33:01 -0800

Bhutan crowns a new King.

living the high life

nickyskye — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 22:02:07 -0800

High Peaks: aerial panoramas of 18 famous Himalayan mountains, from the Digital Himalayas Collections, which include all kinds of interesting things: old and new photographs, short films from the 1930's, maps, rare books and manuscripts, songs and stories in the languages of the locals in these remote parts of the world at high altitudes.

Art of the Kathmandu Valley

homunculus — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 12:20:13 -0800

From the Land of the Gods: Art of the Kathmandu Valley. [Via Plep - NY]

Extreme Housewives

SixteenTons — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 11:39:57 -0800

"On 5 May 1958 the three women climbed into their long-wheelbase Land-Rover in London, and drove through ten countries in six weeks, then walked for 21 days to Padam, the capital of Zanskar, in the highest inhabited region in the world."

Science in the Himalayas

homunculus — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 20:25:45 -0800

Science in the Himalayas. [Via Gristmill.]

Buddha Paintings Found in Nepal

homunculus — Sun, 13 May 2007 10:06:08 -0800

Paintings of Buddha dating back at least to the 12th century have been discovered in a cave in Nepal. Tipped by a local shepherd, a team of international researchers climbed to some old caves where they found a mural with 55 panels depicting the life of Buddha, reminiscent of the artwork of the Ajanta Caves in India (possibly NSFW). There are probably many other forgotten caves in the Mustang area (previously discussed here,) but they may be threatened by a planned trans-Himalayan highway.

Chortens, Pagodas and Stupas

homunculus — Thu, 26 Apr 2007 23:15:38 -0800

The stupa (aka the chorten or the pagoda) is Buddhism's universal piece of symbolic architecture. Borobodur in Java is probably the most famous, while Burma's Shwedagon Pagoda is the largest, and the Kyaik-htiyo Pagoda on the Golden Rock may be the most precarious. They're common across the Himalayas, and sometimes hidden in caves.

If you meet the Buddha downtown, kill him!

hermitosis — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 12:12:37 -0800

Holy Madness! (Flash interface.) The Rubin Museum of Art in New York City has launched a website that allows you to pore over and compare Tibetan Buddhist artwork from their exhibits. Use the "Decode" feature to pick paintings apart and learn about their intricate components.

See also: their ambitious calendar of events.

Look up.

stbalbach — Sun, 14 Nov 2004 19:30:42 -0800

For 60 years the skeletal remains of more than 200 people, discovered in 1942 in a remote Himalaya region, have puzzled historians, scientists and archaeologists. Now they think they know what killed them around AD 840. "The only plausible explanation for so many people sustaining such similar injuries at the same time is something that fell from the sky".

Monasteries of Mustang

homunculus — Sat, 27 Dec 2003 16:24:21 -0800

A restoration project has been underway since 1998 to restore the 15th-century Tibetan Buddhist monastery wall paintings of Lo Monthang, a city in the kingdom of Mustang in northwest Nepal. The results have been very impressive. Mustang is also home to some amazing cave temples.

Blog from the top of the world

turbanhead — Mon, 28 Apr 2003 07:17:26 -0800

Blog from the top of the world A blog from Everest could prove to be the most remote location for a web diary yet.

Tibetan Art

plep — Sat, 29 Mar 2003 10:59:05 -0800

The Himalayan Art Project. An online collection of Himalayan visual arts and heritage, '...containing over 8,000 records, 10,000 images and 700 thematic sets'. The exhibits page is good: here's a collection of photographs of Tibet as it was in the 1950's, and here's an essay on the history of 'visual Dharma'.
Some related links :- Mongolian stories and anecdotes about politics, religion, sport and horses (Mongolians belong to the same religion as Tibetans); a privileged witness to a sky burial (via the Tibetan Studies Virtual Library); the Tibetan game of rebirth.

popkick — Mon, 19 Aug 2002 01:25:43 -0800

Coke paints the Himalayas red. Will this finally boost soft drink sales in the region?

homunculus — Wed, 06 Feb 2002 21:05:13 -0800

An interview with photographer Nancy Jo Johnson about Tibet. Johnson paints a depressing picture of the state of Tibetan culture under Chinese rule. Adding insult to injury, China is building a new monument to commemorate the 1951 "liberation" of Tibet in front of the former winter home of the Dalai Lama.