World’s Best Beaches

From National Geographic.

Beaches are a great thing.  Sun, surf and bikinis.

James Bond Island

Khao Phing Kan or Ko Khao Phing Kan is an island in Thailand, in Phang Nga Bay northeast of Phuket. The islands are limestone karst towers and are a part of Ao Phang Nga National Park.

About 40 metres (130 ft) from the shores of Khao Phing Kan lies a 20-metre (66 ft) tall islet called Ko Ta Po or Ko Tapu. Since 1974, when they were featured in the James Bond movie The Man with the Golden Gun, Khao Phing Kan and Ko Ta Pu have been popularly called James Bond Island.

The Man with the Golden Gun is a 1974 spy film and the ninth in the James Bond series produced by Eon Productions, and the second to star Roger Moore as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. A loose adaptation of Ian Fleming’s novel of the same name, the film has Bond sent after the Solex Agitator, a device that can harness the power of the sun, while facing the assassin Francisco Scaramanga, the “Man with the Golden Gun”. The action culminates in a duel between them that settles the fate of the Solex.

The production team chose Thailand as a primary location, following a suggestion of production designer Peter Murton after he saw pictures of the Phuket bay in a magazine.

USNS Comfort arriving into NYC. March 30, 2020.

The USNS Comfort arrived in New York on Monday, bringing a massive Navy hospital ship to help relieve city hospitals overwhelmed by coronavirus patients.

The 1,000-bed floating hospital docked Monday at Pier 90 on Manhattan’s West Side, and is set to begin treating patients Tuesday.

The Navy hospital ship USNS Comfort docks in New York, Monday, March 30, 2020. The ship has 1,000 beds and 12 operating rooms that could be up and running within 24 hours of its arrival on Monday morning. It’s expected to bolster a besieged health care system by treating non-coronavirus patients while hospitals treat people with COVID-19. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Langur Monkeys Orange Babies

The François’ langur, also known as the Francois’ leaf monkey, Tonkin leaf monkey, or white side-burned black langur is a species of lutung and the type species of its species group. It is one of the least studied of the species belonging to the Colobinae subfamily.

The species is distributed from Southwestern China to northeastern Vietnam. The total number of wild individuals is unknown, but fewer than 500 are believed to be left in Vietnam and 1,400–1,650 in China. About 60 langurs are in captivity in North American zoos. The species is named after Auguste François (1857–1935), who was the French Consul at Lungchow in southern China.

Infants are born with bright orange coloured fur, which fades to black throughout the period of infancy lasting several months. It isn’t known why their coats are so conspicuous, but current hypotheses suggest it may elicit attention, protection and caregiving by adults.

 

 

Rubjerg Knude: The Lighthouse Buried in Sand

Rubjerg Knude Lighthouse is an abandoned lighthouse located on the coast of the North Sea in Rubjerg, in northern Denmark. The light in Rubjerg Knude Lighthouse was lit for the first time the December, 27, 1900. The lighthouse was built on the coastal slope’s highest point 60 meters above sea level and a good 200 meters inland.

The lighthouse tower is 23 meters high, and when it was built there were no large dunes around it. But with time the sea moved in closer and the wind blew large amounts of sand up from the cliff. The sand piled up in front of and around the lighthouse, filled the well and ruined the kitchen gardens.

To suppress the sand pine grates were set in and lyme grass and helmet was planted in the dune, but the efforts went vain as the sand dune continued to grow. At last the sand was so high that at times it was impossible to see the light from the sea. On August 1, 1968 the struggle was given up and the lighthouse was lit for the last time.

Since then the lighthouse has become a popular visitor attraction on the Jutland coast. For a number of years, the buildings were used as a museum and coffee shop, but continually shifting sands caused them to be abandoned as well in 2002. It’s predicted that the lighthouse will fall into the sea in 15 to 20 years time.

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California County Debates Resolution to Protect Bigfoot

In a bizarre bit of local politics, the supervisors of a county in California recently had a lengthy debate over whether or not to pass a resolution that would punish any individuals who purposely kill a Bigfoot. The strange matter came up during an otherwise routine meeting of the Trinity County Board of Supervisors last week. Alongside mundane governmental issues such as increasing the animal control budget and awarding a liquor license to an area restaurant was an eyebrow-raising proposal aimed at protecting Sasquatch.

Specifically, the resolution argued that “there is evidence to indicate the possible existence in Trinity County of a nocturnal primate mammal variously described as an ape-like creature or a subspecies of Homo sapien” colloquially known as Sasquatch, Yeti, Bigfoot, or “Giant Hairy Ape.” Noting that the purported presence of this creature in the region has not only drawn interest from researchers, but also gun-toting individuals looking to take down the beast, the bill called for “any premeditated, willful and wanton slaying of Bigfoot” to be punishable by a fine of up to $1,000 and/or imprisonment in the county jail for a period of one year.

Political junkies who are also paranormal enthusiasts will be delighted to know that the actual meeting in which the Trinity County Board of Supervisors debated the issue was broadcast on YouTube. The surprisingly long and decidedly amusing conversation can be seen in the video above. It begins with board member Bobbi Chadwick, who put forward the proposal, reading the resolution to her colleagues and then opening up the floor to questions or comments. After a somewhat uncomfortable spell of silence, fellow board member Keith Groves laughingly asks “why is this on the agenda?”

In response, Chadwick explains that there is “enthusiasm regarding the Bigfoot” throughout the county and that the purpose of the resolution is “to help facilitate the well being of this creature, we don’t want anyone hunting or shooting” Sasquatch. Groves’ concerns about the unorthodox nature of the proposal were echoed by another board member, John Fenley, who told the group that he had “received quite a few emails” from irritated constituents wondering “what the heck is going on with all of this” and groused that “I got beat up.”

Despite the pushback from her colleagues on the board, Chadwick posited that there were possible educational and tourism-related benefits to the bill. Fenley simply responds, “I get it, but my constituents just…” before bursting into laughter. Following some positive comments from members of the public who attended the meeting, the final debate over the proposal takes a surprisingly heated turn when Groves declares that, rather than being hilarious, “I actually find the resolution to be insulting” as it “encourages laxity in the use of firearms.”

“I’m not sure if we’re trying to be funny or if we’re trying to be serious or what we’re trying to do here,” Groves says with an air of exasperation, “we have spent more time on this than we should.” A few moments later, he somewhat dramatically spins around in his chair as if to say that he is finished discussing the matter. Ultimately, the nearly 20-minute-long debate concludes with a majority of the board agreeing to table the resolution so that it can be resubmitted as some kind of proclamation rather than an actual law.