《RHYTHMS MONTHLY》vol. 146 Contents

【Feature Story】
‧Greedy uninvited guests
     Apple Snails and Giant African
Snails

‧Beauty and Sorrow
     Two decades of observation on
the Arejinshan Nature Reserve

‧English Channel
     The on and off relationship
between France and the UK
‧Theyyam
     Ritual Dancers of Kerala’s
Malabar Coast

‧Between Reality and Virtual
Reality

     The Motion Capture System of
the Movie World

‧Peru’s Melting Gods
     Endangered glacier and religion
vol.146 >2010.09 Arejinshan Nature Reserve
Note: All links below are directed to Chinese text with more photo options available.

【Taiwan Invasive species】
Greedy uninvited guests
Apple Snails and Giant African Snails

Text – Hong Mingchen
Photography – Alberto Buzzola

Visit any rice field in Taiwan, and you will find Apple Snails (Pomacea Canaliculata), and their pink roe covering the stalks in clumps. The Apple Snails have been intruding the lush rice paddies of the island for over 30 years. Various prevention and management methods used to control this invasive alien species have proved ineffective. Perhaps the successful example of turning another pest of the rice plant – the Giant African Snail (Achatina Fulica) – into edible “Escargots” is a model to follow?

【Special Report】
Beauty and Sorrow
Two decades of observation on the Arejinshan Nature Reserve

Text and Photography – Wang Chihhong

The Arejinshan Nature Reserve in Xinjiang, China, is the largest inland reserve in the world. There are three endemic ungulate animals living in this part of the Tibetan plateau: the wild yaks, the Tibetan antelopes, and the kiangs. In Uygur language, “Arejinshan” means “a place of gold” where gold, iron and other rare minerals are found. With the constant arrivals of the gold-diggers, the Nature Reserve has been struggling between preservation and development.

【Straits of the World】
English Channel
The on and off relationship between France and the UK

Text – Chu Reiyuin
Photography – Alberto Buzzola

Thousands of years ago, the melted glacier drowned the isthmus between France and England. Since then, a strait named English Channel came into being. During the past few centuries, the channel was once a barrier, which helped England to resist the foreign attacks, and once a passage, where the people of the two countries fished and traded. As the continent is striving for the integration of Europe, separated by a strait, the United Kingdom, who joined the European Union for its economic profit, is still skeptical on the functionality of this immense political and bureaucratic machine.

【Culture】
Theyyam
Ritual Dancers of Kerala’s Malabar Coast

Text and Photography – Theodore Kaye

From November to May, during the “Theyyam” season, “gods” and “goddesses” appear in the Kavu, little temples built in the hearts of the forest in Kerala. The dancers bring stories of the Hindu and tribal gods, mythic creatures and natural spirits to life, and overturn the caste barriers in Hindu society. Performed exclusively by male members of indigenous, lower-caste communities, the dancers transcend into Gods and the caste equation is turned upside down. For once it’s the Dalits, the Untouchables, who are in control, while the upper-caste Brahmins worship them.

【Science】
Between Reality and Virtual Reality
The Motion Capture System of the Movie World

Text – Sherry Lin
Photography – Liu Tzucheng

The worlds of engineering and performance art are experimenting with movement for the motion capture system. Capturing real physical motions and translating these onto a digital model brings an animated character to life. Although this technique was introduced to Taiwan from the West in the 1990s, it has not been as widely employed here yet due to complications and limitations in Taiwan’s domestic movie industry.

【Culture】
Peru’s Melting Gods
Endangered glacier and religion

Text and Photography – Andrew McLeish/LightMediation

Peru’s ice-capped Andes represent 70% of the Earth’s tropical glaciers. As local people are heavily dependent on the ice-stocks, Peru’s glaciers are the heart and soul of the country. The Inca Empire considered the Ausangate Mountain in the region to be an Apu (a God or deity) and the glaciers that descend from this holy place to be a source of holy water. This belief sparked an annual pilgrimage in search of the sacred ice famous for its healing power. However, warmer temperatures are melting away the ancient glaciers, throwing the native communities into a spiritual crisis.

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