Austria folk music accordion player Johann Pfuisi

Austria, Graz
Johann Pfuisi is one of Austria 's numerous accordion players. What makes him different from other is his accordion, which is made of fir ( wood ) by local carinthian craftsmen. Where technology has inundated our world, including that of musical instruments, the old craft of making accordions is still alive.

No sound of a modern accordion can match the old, full tunes of the fir wood accordion. Its price tag is accordingly, yet for music aficionados this price tag comes with the pleasure of listening to Austrian music as it always was, full resonance, the finest tunes. In tune with saying " 'The older the fiddle the sweeter the tune'.

I was drawn immediately to Johann s play and promised I will put him on u tube. One can see two of his plays on u tube

Let us hope that the craftsmanship will survive our modern times where time is everything in business, yet time is hard to find for oneself.

 

Thailands deluge

To describe the suffering of those afflicted, one has to enter the flood stricken areas of Bangkok and north of the capital. The scenes that come out from communities that have been inundated are horrific as can be. People lost their belongings and over 200 have so far lost their lives.

All efforts to stop the flood from reaching Bangkok seem in vain, water can not be stopped easily. Extreme efforts have been made by the government and people to stop the floods from reaching the capital Bangkok. Dykes have been built and canals have been dredged.

Yesterday the prime minister mentioned a horrendous figure : 8 billions of cubic meters of water is what is expected to roll towards Bangkok. By no accounts a small number.

We have seen the pictures. Some horrific scenes, almost unbelievable to the human eye.

Let us pray that the floods will recede and life will get back to normal soon.

 

 

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Laos

Laos coffee

 

What I can say from my recent Laos trip is : Love it. Not that this was my first one, no. But this was a trip with a different node, unseen before. We were hosted by a big friend of ours whose network stretches far, farther than you will guess.

Never mind the network, we enjoyed our stay. We went to Champasak and Paksong and saw some of the most breathtaking beauty Laos has to offer. It is good that Laos has no been discovered by mainstream tourists, for a reason. Many of the features found there reminded me of my extensive travels in Africa, in fact Laos is very close in this respect.

With the exception of people - as it seems - Laos has a similar ecology. Forests, vegetation, climate are nearly the same. Scorching heat wherever you turn, be it the forests, the savannah like bush has it all.

Laos was engulfed in the great American assault of Vietnam in the '70 s and the US dropped millions of Anti personnel mines along the southern borders with Vietnam. Those are still - 40 years after - claiming innocent victims. In spite of the millions of Anti personnel mines, the mighty power lost the fight in bitter shame. Laotians - like their counterparts in Vietnam across the borders - are a tough bunch. You can't beat them on their own turf.

I had the opportunity to visit some of the supply routes used by 'Pathet Lao' the Lao resistance who helped the Vietnamese during the war. Tough terrain, only rugged hills and mountains, with no paved roads until today.

Vietnamese and Laotians enjoy a very close friendship, understandably so. The Vietnamese are the No. 1 investors in the country, with China following closely.

 

 

We toured the country and what we found was marvelous : Laos paradise.

Enclosed are some pictures, you will see immediately what I'm talking about.

Laos beauty

Check out here : Laos pics