A couple weeks back, I posted about the the Nepal government's new tourism campaign featuring 100 huge yeti statues designed by Ang Tsherin Sherpa to be painted by various artists and placed around Nepal and elsewhere. A delightful idea but as you can see in the video above from January 29, many people were unhappy with how their beloved yeti was depicted. As a result, the government has removed the existing statues and ended the yeti campaign. From Daijiworld:
Some people complained that the mascot looked like a Japanese sumo wrestler and others believed that the statues represented Hindu and Buddhist deities.
Some people even started praying in front of the statues that had religious pictures or symbols painted onto them. Pictures of women and children worshiping the mascot went viral on social media.
The statue placed at the Basantapur Durbar Square had an image of goddess Kumari painted on its forehead and back. The deity is worshiped by Hindus as well as Buddhists.
"The yeti is a mystical beast (and) this (the statues) has damaged the religious feelings of the people," Ganapati Lal Shrestha, a heritage activist, told Efe news.
(image: Visit Nepal 2020 news release)
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As part of the Nepal government's new tourism campaign, officials commissioned more than 100 huge yeti statues designed by Ang Tsherin Sherpa to be painted by various artists and placed around the world to build excitement about visiting the region. A very fun idea but many people in Nepal don't think the statue looks anything like their beloved beast. From the BBC:
"In folk tales, the yeti has been described as a big monkey-like creature," Ram Kumar Pandey (author of several books about the yeti) tells the BBC. "However, the recent logo depicts it as a sumo wrestler. This does not at all match with the mythical character that has been described in many folk tales..."
"I did not make yeti's sketch by reading any book," (yeti statue designer Ang Tsherin Sherpa) explains. "On the basis of stories that I heard in my childhood, and having Lord Buddha at the back of my mind, I made the design."
There was, however, at least one more practical reason behind his choice: Sherpa says he did not make it furry as depicted in yeti-related literature in order "to make it easier to paint".
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The Indian Army tweeted photos of Yeti footprints spotted by its team of mountaineers near Makalu Base Camp between Nepal and Tibet. Based on the image, this particular Yeti has only one foot. No word yet on whether the Indian Army is, um, joking.
The first Indian Army mountaineering expedition to Makalu in the Mahalangur Himalayas kicked off last month.
(CNN)
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Andrey Lyubchenko, reports The Siberian Times, encountered the creature on a trip to Yeti-infested Kemerovo. It posed for a sketch (above).
"The Yeti was about two and a half metres tall, with thick dark brown hair like a bear's - but a lot softer. He was holding a wooden stick, with bits of hair wrapped around it. But the main thing was his eyes, they were just like light-coloured human eyes."
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The holidays are here and everyone is shopping for their hams and turkeys. Enjoy this cautionary tale from The B-52s frontman Fred Schneider's side project, The Superions.
After you've learned the Disco Garbage Can (if you've watched the video above, you'll know what I'm talking about), give a listen to my hands-down, all-time favorite holiday song: Teddy and Betty Yeti, from The Superions' album Destination Christmas.
That's Teddy Yeti on the album cover. Everything about it is pure Christmas genius.
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The Bigfoot Show is the best bigfoot podcast you're not listening to.
LEGO's new Minifgure Series 11 includes its first female (lab) scientist character and a Yeti. Both are excellent additions to the minifig universe! I also appreciate that the scientist is holding Erlenmeyer flasks while the Yeti is gripping a popsicle.
UPDATE: Maia Weinstock writes that she "she's not the first (LEGO) female scientist... she's the first female LAB scientist." More background in Maia's SciAm piecec, "Breaking Brick Stereotypes: LEGO Unveils a Female Scientist" Read the rest
The reason you really know this was a seventies TV commercial? Children playing outside. Read the rest
According to this 1959 US Embassy document, it costs Rs.500 for a Yeti search expedition permit. You are allowed to photograph or capture a Yeti, but you are not allowed to kill one or shoot it "except in an emergency arising out of self-defense."
(Via Anorak) Read the rest
