Meditated, Predicated, and Dedicated

I'm not the most overtly emotional person but, this one is for my friend. You know who you are.

This song ALWAYS makes me think of you.

You're My Best Friend
Queen

Ooh you make me live
Whatever this world can give to me
It's you you're all I see
Ooo you make me live now honey
Ooo you make me live

Ooh you're the best friend that I ever had
I've been with you such a long time
You're my sunshine and I want you to know
That my feelings are true
I really love you
Oh you're my best friend

Ooo you make me live

Ooh I've been wandering round
But I still come back to you
In rain or shine
You've stood by me,
God I'm happy at home
You're my best friend

Ooo you make me live
Whenever this world is cruel to me
I got you to help me forgive
Ooo you make me live now honey

Ooo you make me live

You're the first one
When things turn out bad
You know I'll never be lonely
You're my only one
And I love the things
I really love the things that you do
You're my best friend

Ooo you make me live

I'm happy at home
You're my best friend
Oh
Oh you're my best friend
Ooo you make me live
You you're my best friend

Bummer!

Well, as it turns out my Thai friend who was going to start blogging is not able to right now. She's in the process of transitioning out of one job, and about to jump into a new one. So, she's very limited in free time right now. She said she would try again in the future after she's settled into her new job.

I'll have to see if any of my other Thai friends are blogging, or interested in starting. They all have funny stories to tell about all of us silly foreigners running around in their country.

Musicality

Normally I'm the guy all my friends call when they want to know who sang what song. If it was 80's top 100 or even the 70's I had it down. I had a friend call me at around 4am one day;
"Who sang that song 'Rock me Amadeus'"?
"ZZZzzzzz" said I, "Falco. 1985. ZZzzz."
"Thanks dude!"
"Grumble...rrrhm...Zzzzzz"
I had no idea he called me until work the next day.

Remember that horribly kitchy song?

Ooo rock me Amadeus
Rock me Amadeus...
Rock rock rock rock me Amadeus
Rock me all the time to the top

Other nights:
"Favorite Shirt?"
ZZZzzzz Haircut 100

"Look of love?"
ABC...Zzzz

"If you leave?"
OM...zzz...D

Stay the Night?
Chicago....zzzzz

"Time after Time?"
Cyndi Lau...zzzzzz....per

Now, with that being said, there's a more recent song I wish to dedicate to all my friends in the USA I couldn't visit at Klinapalooza. I think of all of you whenever I listen to it! It should have been the theme for the recent get-together. (okay, ignore the part about a girls broken dreams, and just focus on the fact it's a funny-assed song!)

Group: BOWLING FOR SOUP LYRICS

Song: "1985"

Album: The Hangover You Don't Deserve
[Originally by SR-71]

Woohoohoo
Woohoohoo

Debbie just hit the wall
she never had it all
one Prozac a day
husbands a CPA
her dreams went out the door
when she turned twenty four
only been with one man
what happen to her plan?

She was gonna be an actress
she was gonna be a star
she was gonna shake her ass
on the hood of white snake’s car
her yellow SUV is now the enemy
looks at her average life
and nothing has been alright since

Bruce Springsteen, Madonna
way before Nirvana
there was U2 and Blondie
and music still on MTV
her two kids in high school
they tell her that she’s uncool
cuz she's still preoccupied
with 19, 19, 1985

Woohoohoo
(1985)
Woohoohoo

She’s seen all the classics
she knows every line
Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink
even Saint Elmo’s Fire
she rocked out to wham
not a big Limp Bizkit fan
thought she’d get a hand
on a member of Duran Duran

Where’s the mini-skirt made of snake skin
and who’s the other guy that's singing in Van Halen
when did reality become T.V.
what ever happen to sitcoms, game shows
(on the radio was)

Bruce Springsteen, Madonna
way before Nirvana
there was U2 and Blondie
and music still on MTV
her two kids in high school
they tell her that she’s uncool
cuz she's still preoccupied
with 19, 19, 1985

Woohoohoo

She hates time make it stop
when did Motley Crue become classic rock?
And when did Ozzy become an actor?
Please make this stop
Stop!
And bring back

Bruce Springsteen, Madonna
way before Nirvana
there was U2 and Blondie
and music still on MTV
her two kids in high school
they tell her that she’s uncool
cuz she's still preoccupied
with 1985

Woohoohoo

Bruce Springsteen, Madonna
way before Nirvana
there was U2 and Blondie
and music still on MTV (woohoohoo)
her two kids in high school
they tell her that she’s uncool
cuz she's still preoccupied
with 19, 19, 1985

SPAM, SPAm, SpAM, sPAM

Sir Spamalot, Spamalicious, Spambalama, spamapalooza, spamtastic, spamasonic, spamacalifragilistic

Guess what I had for lunch today? U Got it... Spam! You know I had completely forgotten about Spam. That much maligned mystery meat product. Did you know they make low-fat Spam? I was afraid to try it when I saw it in the local grocery store here in Thailand when I saw it start appearing on the shelves about one month ago. I thought Spam had gone the way of Tab cola, and pet rocks, but I guess if the Chia Pet is still selling then why not Spam?

So, anyway the wife was interested in finding out what pre-processed meat in a can was like and we bought some. Took it home, fried it, toasted some bread to go with it... had it with cheese, tomato, mustard, cucumber... had it with jelly on a biscuit, had it a couple other ways. You know what? It was damn tasty! So what exactly is the deal with all the bad press about Spam over the years? Does anyone remember? I mean, people eat chicken McNuggets... that meat is as mysterious as it gets! We all eat lots of processed products with no redeeming value - who out there likes white bread? Uh-huh! See? Personally I hate white bread, but that's a topic for a different day.

Today... SPAM! Spamford and Son, Spama-lamma-ding-dong, Spamticipation, Spam-o-matic, make mine to go!

Waiting for the cows to come home

Ever wonder why people in India don't eat beef? Have you ever seen bovines in India? If you do, you'll never wonder again.

I'm in India previously to do some network upgrade stuff at the US Embassy. The driver who picks me up from the hotel and takes me home each day offered to take me on a tour of old Delhi. It's was... enlightening to say the least. I enjoyed the historical stuff, but Holey Moley! what a mess, and the bovine population is just roaming around at their leisure, blocking traffic, snacking on the shrubbery and looking rather disreputable. Ne'er hath mine eyes beheld less appetizing critters than doth walk thither!

I asked the driver what they were (being somewhat unskilled in bovine identification).
"Those are being bulls", he replied.
"Hmmm... bulls?" said I. "You mean like water buffalo?"
"No sir," he replied with a bobble of the head. "Those are being bulls, like your American cattle."
My mouth opened. My brain froze. My mouth closed. My eyes watered (but that was just from road dust). My mouth opened again as if to say "uh...?"
He looked at me in the rearview mirror and laughed at the 'shocked disbelief 'apparently stamped on my forehead in large block letters.
Then he smiled and said, "Now you know why we are not eating them." Bobbled his head some more in self-satisfaction, and took me back to the hotel where I very carefully avoided eating beef for the rest of my trip.

These "bulls" don't graze in pastures. They aren't owned by any farmers. They just sort of wander around whither they will, single or in pairs, and are fully integrated into the anarchy New Delhians call rush hour.

Mangiest animals I've ever seen that were still up and moving under their own power, albeit with about as much motivation and energy a bear in hibernation. They all look in desperate need of caffein.

Feef's World

Feef's World! Party Time! Excellent! oh. wait. That's Wayne's World. Sorry.

Okay. So my Thai friend I convinced to blog at www.feefsworld.blogspot.com is suffering from writers block. She has promised to write some this week. She actually is a good writer. She has been working for a Thai magazine called "Praew" (don't ask me what that means 'cause I don't know and I'm afraid to ask! It's a ladyzine). She has written travelogues, interviews, and fashion reviews. She even worked on an interview with Donald "The Don" Trump. So I just know she's gotta have stuff to say!

What I thought was humorous is I told y'all to go check out her blog, you get there and see the blog title is "The Story of My Life" and then there's nothing there to read. Seems a pretty uneventfull life, eh?

Well you'll just have to trust me that Feef is a funny and talkative person. She'll get this blog thing going eventually... and HNT??? Now THAT would be interesting!

Name That Tune

"Homely-boobley-zeebley-boobley-homely-boobley-zeebley-BOP!"

More words from the song...

I'm just a _______,
And everywhere I go,
people know the part I'm playin'.

Pay for every dance.
Selling each romance.
Oooo' what their sayin'.

But there will come a day,
when youth will pass away
- - Buddy-oop - -
What will they think about me?
When the end comes I know I was just a ______
Life goes on without me.

I always loved that song. It's just fun!

Prepare yourselves!

To all my blogging friends out there, please welcome another blogging newbie, her site is at "http://www.feefsworld.blogspot.com/".

Feef is a very good friend of mine here in Thailand. We've known each other for about 7 years now. She's new to this blog-thing, but I convinced her (being my usually persuasive self) to join in the fun. She may not blog daily, but give her time, she does like to write, and I thought y'all might like to get some additional persepectives from a non-U.S.A. person. I told her y'all would probably get a kick out of some of her stories about dealing with all us crazy foreigners running around over here in her country.

Okay Feef. I've set the stage. The curtain is up. The rest is up to you!!!

Tripping the Light Thai Spastic

Politics in Thailand are somewhat amusing. In Thailand they have the Westminster Parliamentary system (England) rather than the U.S. bicameral republic system. It's one of those weird things where every time they have a national election, they form a whole new government... not just put the new guy in/kick the old guy out... Nope. They actually form a WHOLE... NEW... GOVERNMENT.

From my understanding, historically that means also writing a new Constitution as well. I think Thailand stopped doing that in 1994, but it's part of the Westminster system in general.

Anyway, in case those of you haven't heard, 5 years ago they elected the richest man in Thailand. Apparently they thought the fact that he was a self-made millionaire meant he knew what he was doing. He won by a landslide, and his party won so many seats in parliament, the opposition parties can never get enough votes to censure or impeach any member of his government. Sort of like a "make your own dictator" kit. Just add water, and voila! Instant despot!

Then last year, there was another national election. He won again (it's called buying votes) by promising some very bizarre things, like a cow for every farmer, and other weirdness. Ah, if wishes were horses, beggars would ride. But this time (2004) they lost some seats in parliament. Then they had a mid-year by-election last month, and the much vaunted TRT party's wall began to crumble. The opposition won enough seats to be able to censure and impeach.

The Thai people seem to be finally be realizing a cult of one doesn't include the unwashed masses. He doesn't give a shit about them, most of his plans don't work, he only fights government corruption when it's the opposition being corrupt, and acts like an adolescent when criticized by lashing out and making threats at the critics, and kicking out and blacklisting foreign journalists.

Here's a tidbit of info for you: When the Prime Minister was first elected in 2000 he was the richest Thai in Thailand, followed by a list of various and sundry other Thai notables. Now, 5 years into his reign of petulance, He's the richest, his wife in #2, his son is #3, his daughter is #4, etc. etc. etc.

Anyway, what makes me bring this up you ask? An article from the Bangkok Post regarding the recent by-election. Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, after two TRT candidates were defeated made the following statement, "As a straightforward man, I won't beat about the bush. The provinces that trusted us must get priority to be taken care of." Hunh?

There was actually more to what he said, but that sums it up pretty well. The PM has just anounced he will discrimiate against the Thai population based on where they live, and what political party represents that area. Now, by pledging to give priority to provinces that favour his own party, the PM has shown that he is not a true believer in democracy. Amazing Thailand.

Well, that's just my two cents.

Sharing...

Thought I'd share with all of you one of my all time favorite web resources... The Wikipedia.

Do any of you know of this site? http://en.wikipedia.org It's an online Encyclopedic reference.

"Wikipedia is a multilingual Web-based free-content encyclopedia. It is written collaboratively by volunteers with wiki software, which allows articles to be added or changed by nearly anyone. The project began on January 15, 2001 as a complement to the expert-written Nupedia, and is now operated by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation. The English-language version of Wikipedia currently has more than 800,000 articles. Wikipedia has steadily risen in popularity,[1] and has spawned several sister projects, such as Wiktionary, Wikibooks, and Wikinews."

Truly outstanding. You can find some truly obscure, difficult to locate references in there with bibliography on other sources as well. Try it.

As an example I've always been interested in Angelic mythology. Try looking up "Hierarchy of angels" in your local library... doubt you'll find anything. Wikipedia on the other hand has excellent info, and references to other sources.

It's one of my favorite sites to surf randomly when I need brain stimulation.

Cheers!

I give up...

Okay. I give up. I surrender. I formally acquiesce. I throw myself on the mercy of the cyber-gods. I pitch myself from the heights of achievement down upon the purgatory of state-run telecomm, and roll my way down the rest of the way, bumping and bounding, into the hell of internet never-never land...

...I can not post pictures on my blog! Strangely enough, I can attach photos to emails, but apparently our internet proxy system does not allow "upload" of photos to the internet. How it differentiates between a hotmail upload attachment, and posting pics on a web page... I don't know. Not my area of expertise anymore. Bugger it as a bad job and move on.

If I ever get broadband available in my neighborhood I'll make up for lost time then. Until that happens (shortly after the end-of-days I'm sure this being Thailand and all) you'll all just have to assume you remember what I look like (if you ever did) and be patient.

...and no JY, this is not an excuse to not participate in HNT (although it does give me more time to exercise first) ;-)