What is in your cup?

[orlok]

Originally Posted by Latinandgreek

Glad to see you are safe, Stitchawl!

Ditto to that.

[Stitchawl]

The Cruel War is raging, Johnny has to fight
I want to be with him from morning to night.
I want to be with him, it grieves my heart so,
Won't you let me go with you?
No, my love, no.

Tomorrow is Sunday, Monday is the day
That your Captain will call you and you must obey.
Your captain will call you it grieves my heart so,
Won't you let me go with you?
No, my love, no.

( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwuMW2MYFBM )

Good morning, all. All's quiet on the northern front. For now. I've heard that demonstrations are planned here starting around the 15th of the month so that may change...

Originally Posted by CRussel

Good to hear there's no trouble where you are, Stitchawl. Bangkok appears to have been a bit disturbed by any definition.

Originally Posted by cromag

Stay safe, anyway!

Originally Posted by Latinandgreek

Glad to see you are safe, Stitchawl!

Originally Posted by orlok

Ditto to that.

Thanks, all. I appreciate the sentiment. I've managed to avoid getting shot for the past 67 years, despite all too often being in the wrong place at the wrong time. I'm probably good for a few more years. At least I don't have to worry about jealous husbands any more! Something to remember is that Bangkok is a huge city. (1,560 sq.kilo to be exact! A bit bigger than London.) Although there are demonstrations going on around a couple of government buildings, the rest of the city is peaceful. It's not as if the entire city is under attack. It's only in a few blocks, out of hundreds and hundreds of sq.kilometers.(Imagine a demonstration at London City Hall...)As long as people stay away from the demonstrations, life goes on as usual, with no disruptions of the lovely Thai way of life! It would take me 12 hours to drive down and get close to the disturbance. Northern Thailand is a lifetime away from the big city.

With that in mind, I have East India Company's "Royal Breakfast" tea in my mug this morning, and I'm just about to get dressed and go down to see the Food Lady. I wonder what delights she'll have for me today?


Stitchawl

[ProfCrash]

The way the news is reported around here, it sounds like the entire city is in trouble and who knows what is going on outside of Bangkok. ie Reporting inside the US sucks, reporting outside the US is even worse.

So we are going to be pains in the asses.

So there

(sits back to drink more Pu Erh)

[bjones6416]

Originally Posted by ProfCrash

The way the news is reported around here, it sounds like the entire city is in trouble and who knows what is going on outside of Bangkok. ie Reporting inside the US sucks, reporting outside the US is even worse.

So we are going to be pains in the asses.

So there

(sits back to drink more Pu Erh)

My niece is Thai, and her parents and extended family live in Bangkok. She is in communication with them, and she is worried. I think they live near the government center, though.

[Stitchawl]

When I lived in Vermont and my parents in Florida heard about a blizzard covering the north-east and several people dying due to storm related problems I would get emergency phone calls. The fact that all the people who were dying were octogenarians trying to shovel their drives didn't enter into their thinking. When we were living in Thailand the last time, and a bomb would go off in southern Thailand (20 hours driving away) they would plead with us to leave. I'd ask them if a bomb went off in L.A. would they think Florida was too dangerously close? Of course, by the same token, when I'd hear about a hurricane off the coast of Florida, I'd be on the phone calling them... even though the hurricane was up in the Florida panhandle and they were down near Miami. On the map it looks soooo close!

Every earthquake in Japan resulted in an e-mail barrage, and you KNOW how my in-box filled when the tsunami hit north of Tokyo (which was also a 12 hour drive from my house.) The world is pretty big but we don't think of it that way, especially these days of instant communication all over the globe.

Perhaps more importantly, it's in Big Media's best interest to keep things as vague as possible to increase market share of ratings. Right now, all the demonstrations are confined to a couple of different blocks inside a huge, sprawling city. You could drive around for days and not be anywhere close. On the other hand, you could also drive right into one of the demonstrations, so it pays to know where NOT to go. The whole city is NOT up in arms. The problems are measured in a few city blocks, not even whole neighborhoods. There are no demonstrations going on anywhere else... right now. We do know that several are planned for other major cities. Chiang Mai is a Red Shirt stronghold, so there certainly will be a demonstration here. But as there is really very little Yellow Shirt politics here, there is almost no one to oppose the demonstration, and it will be confined to a large sports complex outside the city itself. At the worst, I expect traffic jams. But we get them every day now anyway...

I'll keep you posted with information we receive from the embassy each morning and evening. So far, all they are saying is 'keep away from the government building if you see large crowds gathering.' Nothing more.


Stitchawl

[poohbear_nc]

Stitchy ... you are a magnet for disasters, upheavals, uprisings, etc.... Have you ever had your aura analyzed?
Stay safe .... Keep your head down ....


Heading towards a shot of Lagavulin ... or 2 ...

[Stitchawl]

Tall and tan and young and lovely,
the girl from Ipanema goes walking
And when she passes, each one she passes goes - ah
When she walks, she's like a samba that swings so cool and sways so gentle
That when she passes, each one she passes goes - ooh
(Ooh) But I watch her so sadly, how can I tell her I love her
Yes I would give my heart gladly,
But each day, when she walks to the sea
She looks straight ahead, not at me
Tall, and tan, and young, and lovely, the girl from Ipanema goes walking
And when she passes, I smile - but she doesn't see
(She just doesn't see, she never sees me...)

( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJkxFhFRFDA )

A little Bossa Nova to start my morning!

And a good morning to you all! Lovely day, with no chores to do other than trying to locate a new transformer for my wife's keyboard and a few hours of guitar practice. There is Ceylon 'Uva' tea in my mug, a good way get the day going, as I dance my way down to the Food Lady. I don't think I'll be eating a big breakfast today... I'm still full from last night's dinner buffet. If there is one thing the Thais do really, really well, it's food! And these giant buffets are unbelievable! There must have been 50-60 prepared dishes, another 70+ things that could be cooked on the charcoal hibachi on each table. Not bad for $6. The first time we ever ate at one I tried to eat a bit of everything. That didn't work... These days I'm satisfied to eat only 20-30 different things. I want to leave room for dessert...

Originally Posted by poohbear_nc

Stitchy ... you are a magnet for disasters, upheavals, uprisings, etc.... Have you ever had your aura analyzed?
Stay safe .... Keep your head down ....

I think you're right, Pooh. And it started early. I remember crossing the Atlantic by military transport ship when I was 8 yrs old, and getting hit with the tail end of a hurricane. Most of the adults aboard, my parents included, were in sick bay, getting fed via IV, while us kids ran around the ship having a ball! No grown-ups to tell us what not to be doing! Then living through a cyclone in Kansas at age 9, hiding from the storm in a metal culvert at the edge of a wheat field, tornadoes in Texas, the nightmare of Vietnam, two major earthquakes in California, one incredible Kobe earthquake in Japan, hostage taking in Malaysian Borneo, tsunami in Thailand, tsunami in Japan, the coup d'etat in Thailand, the list just goes on and on... But there is an old Chinese curse that says 'May you live in quiet times.' I wouldn't trade my life for anyone else's more peaceful one. For me, life is either an adventure... or nothing. Well... actually, I could have done without having Mrs. Foster as my 4th grade teacher... Now THAT was a disaster!

Time to go visit the Food Lady and get my day rolling!


Stitchawl

[VydorScope]

Had not heard about the "disturbances" over there, glad you are no where near them. Some how I would have expected you to be there, with your camera, if you lived closer to it though.

[Stitchawl]

After-diner mug of Assam tea, with thanks to the East India Company.

Originally Posted by VydorScope

Had not heard about the "disturbances" over there, glad you are no where near them. Some how I would have expected you to be there, with your camera, if you lived closer to it though.

I have no desire to be a war/misery/anger/frustration/unhappiness photographer. I like to take pictures of laughing babies, clouds, pretty flowers, contented animals, rainbows, naked women, etc., etc. There was a coup here in 2006, during which I did take some 'action' photos. Here's one of them. And this is about as heavy as the action got, which is why I consented to photograph it for my editor. He called this political action the "Ice Cream Coup" in his magazine article.



When the tsunami struck in Phuket in 2004, a magazine editor wanted to fly me down to photograph the holocaust. He was offering very good money for the assignment, but I turned down the job. I went there the next day as a volunteer to help dig out the survivors. That seemed to me to make more sense. Most people really don't understand the devastation one witnesses at times like that. What people see in the Media is the cleaned-up Holywood version. I'm going to attach a photo (not one of mine) that was shot in Phuket the day after the tsunami hit. This photo was never released to the public, and you'll understand why as soon as you zoom in. If you dare... open it, zoom in and see what it actually is...

WARNING: Do NOT open this spoiler if you have a sensitive disposition. Or if you are a normal human.

Spoiler:

Again... this is NOT easy to look at, and will cause many people to loose sleep, their lunch, or their faith in God. This is NOT a joke. This is real life, played by Big Boy's Rules.


Stitchawl

[CRussel]

Don't need to zoom in to see, and I'll leave it at that.

Meanwhile, the November rains never really arrived here, though we did get some. Just not the usual. And now we're in our first cold snap - temperature overnight was -3, and it looks like another couple of days of this, at least, with maybe even some snow by the end of the weekend. But I get to head off to Edmonton tomorrow for two days at -30 or so. (note to self, dig out the Farmer Johns tonight!)

Peet's Pride of the Port in my mug today. I used to drink a lot of this, but haven't much lately. Not sure why, it's a very nice blend. And I've still got quite a bit.

[cromag]

Tea #3.

[CRussel]

switching to diet coke for the rest of the day. Early to bed, I have to be up at 4AM to catch the 6:20 Ferry to catch a flight to Edmonton. The forecast has improved a bit, they're now saying -29C for Thursday. But clear and the wind has dropped down to more reasonable levels, so the airport should be in good shape.

[poohbear_nc]

I was up at 4:30 am this morning - for a mandatory meeting before work started .....

Guinness was in my now empty glass ...

[cromag]

Finishing tea #4.

[dreams]

Sumatra coffee in my cup.