Some of you may have heard that there is a new movie out that people seem to really like, called “Avatar”. (It was actually released Dec. 18, over a month ago.)

Others may have heard that there have been people experiencing separation anxiety and withdrawal after “returning to Earth” from the magical lands of Pandora, the setting for the film.

On the fan forum site “Avatar Forums,” a topic thread entitled “Ways to cope with the depression of the dream of Pandora being intangible,” has received more than 1,000 posts from people experiencing depression and fans trying to help them cope.

This video might give those who have yet to visit Pandora an idea why people find it so enchanting.

With these facts in mind, it’s high time someone founded a support group to deal with the crushing reality that they may never, in fact, get a chance to visit Pandora.

Here is my list of “blue flags“, if you will:

• You have thought about taking language classes in Na’vi
• You’re hoping to trade in your gasoline-powered vehicle for a flying banshee
• Your bedroom is now glowing from “bio-luminescent” paint
• The phrase “I see you” is not just for playing Peekaboo anymore
• Your vestigial tail feels itchier than normal
• You refer to friends & relatives as “sky people”
• Your kids now live in the master bedroom; your kids’ tree-fort  is now your  “Hometree”
• And so on

The recovery process from such a state of mind is arduous. It begins by acknowledging that one is powerless over all things “Avatar” and that life (on Earth) has become unmanageable. It continues by turning one’s will & life over to Eywa.

I’ve yet to sift through all 52 pages of the support thread on the Avatar Forums site, but it can’t hurt to have another.

Until we can perfect the cryogenic travel that will enable us to get to the Pandora in the film, perhaps Avatar Anonymous is the only healthy way to deal with the yearning to travel to such beautiful lands & walk amidst its surreal flora.

As it turns out, Avatar is real: Pandora is in Central and South America. So, to answer your burning question, yes, “The Laughing Planet” will (continue to) go to Pandora to shoot video of these wondrous places for posterity.

Just try not to let the blues bring you down afterward.

OK folks, for anyone you might know who still foolishly says, “BRR! Global warming, my ass”, politely remind them that weather and climate are not the same thing. The warmest day in recorded history occurred this past weekend. This fact is true no matter how much snow you may have shoveled that day.

This short video (h/t greenman3610) uses recent footage and science to clearly show even the most intransigent troglodyte the errors of their ways.

Earth’s hottest day ever was this past Saturday, 1-16-2010.

This morning, like many of us, I woke up with a cup of jo and read online about the latest disaster to strike one of our neighbors to the south.

The tragic earthquake in Haiti has left many of us feeling helpless & wondering What can I do?

Well, in addition to sending aid during their time of urgent need, it is important to also think about the long term prospects of this impoverished nation & its environment.

http://www.coffeehabitat.com/

A recent article in the Christian Science Monitor reports that at least 10% of organic coffee farmers in northern Latin America alone have given up and are returning to producing coffee with chemicals.

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Wild Bactrian camels, Kyrgyz yurts, Tajik music. The far western frontier of China is as much a separate country as Tibet.

The term in the title is not mine, but one used by Matthew Teague in his article in last month’s (Dec. 2009) issue of National Geographic:

The Uygurs, Muslim people of China’s resource-rich far west, are becoming strangers in their own land as Han Chinese pour in. Like the Tibetans, who face similar pressures, some Uygurs see a chance for a better life, but others protest the disintegration of their culture, even at the risk of death.

The massive western region has become a flashpoint for unrest in modern China. Its natives, the Uyghurs, are increasingly unhappy with the heavy-handed governance by the Communists despite the dubious “autonomy” afforded to the region.

Join me for a look at the the Uyghur people, their ancestral land, and the current state of their plight.

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