Paradise

Bougainville Police Officer Victor Sihung, attached to an Australian Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal team, assists with the removal of World War II mortar rounds in the Torokina district during Operation RENDER SAFE 14. (From an earlier post)

Richard Fernandez writes about the recent attacks on oil tankers in the Persian Gulf, and he mentions the Battle of the Coral Sea. In the Wikipedia article, one of the first places mentioned is New Guinea, which reminds me of the photo above. (Checking, I found Victor survived his close encounter with unstable explosives.)

Moving on, Joseph Moore is writing a science fiction story:

I’m attempting to deal with the central problem Star Trek solves by its most egregious handwavium: in a super cool high tech socialist paradise, what do people *do*? Some tiny percent explore strange new worlds, etc., but most, it is implied, become Trobriand Islanders, only with better toys and manners. They have no hope to better themselves or the world in any objective sense, so they raise yams, figuratively, and screw, trade ‘art’ to reinforce social standing and improve self-esteem , and scheme for enhanced social position.

Trobriand Islanders live on the Trobriand Islands (duh) which are down in the South Pacific near New Guinea (!). The introduction to Wikipedia's article on these people has some interesting bits.

The people of the Trobriand Islands are mostly subsistence horticulturalists who live in traditional settlements. The social structure is based on matrilineal clans that control land and resources. People participate in the regional circuit of exchange of shells called kula, sailing to visit trade partners on seagoing canoes. In the late twentieth century, anti-colonial and cultural autonomy movements gained followers from the Trobriand societies. When inter-group warfare was forbidden by colonial rulers, the islanders developed a unique, aggressive form of cricket.
Although an understanding of reproduction and modern medicine is widespread in Trobriand society, their traditional beliefs have been remarkably resilient. For example, the real cause of pregnancy is believed to be a baloma, or ancestral spirit, that enters the body of a woman, and without whose existence a woman could not become pregnant; all babies are made or come into existence (ibubulisi) in Tuma. These tenets form the main stratum of what can be termed popular or universal belief. In the past, many held this traditional belief because the yam, a major food of the island, included chemicals (phytoestrogens and plant sterols) whose effects are contraceptive, so the practical link between sex and pregnancy was not very evident.

Living in a High Tech Socialist Paradise reminds me of:


"Weird" Al Yankovic - Amish Paradise (Official Parody of "Gangsta's Paradise")
I've heard Al's version, but have I ever heard the original?


Coolio - Gangsta's Paradise (feat. L.V.) [Official Music Video]
Which leads to all kinds of connections:
In case you don't recognize her (I didn't) the blond in Coolio's version is Michelle Pfeiffer. The blond in Al's version is Florence Henderson. Michelle get's mentioned in Uptown Funk. Coolio has been mentioned here before. Coolio got his tune from Stevie Wonder.