Nirvana

San Francisco Events Tonight

Something to do instead of TV.

TRANNY: Calling all butch bitches across SF and the Bay area! Every Tuesday female-to-male (FTM), transguys, butches, studs (i.e., your SFist editor!), genderqueers, two-spirited, third-gendered, questioning folks, trannyfags, trannyboys, boydykes, transmen, papis, transmasculine folks and, well, whatever else you call yourself, all of you are welcome to this new support group that mixes things up. It's like this: 1st Tuesday: General Support Group, 2nd Tuesday: Early Transition Support group, 3rd Tuesday: General Support Group, 4th Tuesday: Special event (speaker, activity, etc), 5th Tuesday: Movie Night. It's called Trans: Thrive. Check it out, kids.

6 p.m. // 815 Hyde // free

FILM: Rain drops keep falling on Paul Neman's and Robert Redford's head during tonight's screening of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969).

7 p.m. // Castro Theater (Castro & Market) // $9.50

CLUB: Over in the Mission, according to the SFBG, "dark and danceable punk and new wave classics like the Misfits and Siouxsie Sioux" fill the air at tonight's "Black Tuesdays."

10 p.m. // Delirium (3139 - 16 Street) // free

An American in Paris

Don't you wish you lived in San Francisco?

This Saturday the 27th, the San Francisco Film Society and the Presidio Trust are co-presenting the seventh annual Film in the Fog. This year they’re screening Vincente Minnelli’s 1951 film, An American in Paris, starring Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron. It’s a free outdoor screening on the lawn at the Main Post Theater in the Presidio (99 Moraga Ave), right near where they did Shakespeare in the Park weekend before last. The screening will be preceded at 5:30 by live entertainment from Pi Clowns: The Physical Comedy Troupe, and the screening itself will start at 7:00 with a vintage cartoon and newsreel before the feature. Quoth the Presidio Trust: “Bring a blanket, low lawn chairs and picnic under the stars! Food and drink from the Presidio’s Dish Cafe and Acre Cafe will be available for purchase.” Quoth the Film Society: “As always, it gets a little chilly in the Presidio this time of year, so bring warm clothes and blankets to sit on.” Quoth me: “Brrr!” And anyway, how can you picnic under the stars when the fog is obscuring them? Well, maybe we can give them that one. After all, it might be clear out after all.

Emotional Dog Video from China

Over one million hits in one day. A poor dog is killed in traffic in Hunan, China, and another dog refuses to leave the scene. I cried.

More still images here.

Larry King Interview

Nope, didn't work. This one of those animated gifs that should dance around in your browser, but they never seem to work here.

Sarah Palin Talks at UN Tomorrow

Why can't I talk at the UN? Or directly to Treasury Secretary Bernake? I've got a few things on my mind...like why homosexuals should not be allowed to marry, and why women should not have the choice to have an abortion. And that thing about banning books in libraries. Sarah Palin is a great and present danger to the freedoms of America, and she must be stopped.

Wonkette Reports

That gal with the lipstick is going to meet with Important World Leaders at the UN today, so naturally the McCain campaign did not want any reporters anywhere near that disaster. They said, “OK all you press organizations can get together and decide on ONE cameraperson to record the beginning of these meetings, before Sarah says something awkward about Hamid Karzai’s hat, but there will be no reporters to ask questions.” And for the first time in the history of ever, the press collectively told McCain to cram it. And then they took it back.

There was going to be a full-on press boycott of the whole awful event, which really only meant the evening news wouldn’t be running silent footage of Palin shaking hands with some random dignitaries. But the McCain folks said, “Fine you have have ONE pool reporter in with your camera guy,” even though usual protocol is to let in one reporter each from print, TV, and radio.

And the press said, “Ok,” so now there is one camera person and one reporter on the scene to maybe film stuff or ask a single innocuous question before Sarah Palin disappears into her dark lair with Ban Ki Moon and rips off her latex mask, revealing Dick Cheney in a leather muu muu.

John McCain Supporter and TV News Readers under the Age of 45

There outta be a law against TV news readers under the age of 45 (that's arbitrary) who don't understand or who have experienced history and can't remember the S&L meltdown/Charles Keeting scandal of the 1980s. Go back to school kids, and remember to wash behind your ears.

HIV Testing on Sukumvit in Bangkok

Public Service Notice: Bargain Priced HIV Testing on Sukumvit

Hope you don't need it, but any male engaging in sexual games in Thailand needs to get checked on a regular basis, and this place described by Werewolf seems to be well priced, honest and efficient.

Anna Kournikova in an itsy-bitsy yellow bikini

No reason for this nonsense, but Spike just posted this photo of Anna Kournikova in a yellow bikini, and I think it's noteworthy.

Thanks, Spike!

Jesse Moss (ImageThief Brother) Makes a Documentary

I've been reading the Imagethief (Willie Moss) since his days as a beer professional in Singapore (I think he was also working), but Will now lives in Beijing where he works (I think) and puts out great commentary on his blog. He once lived here in San Francisco, and his brother still hangs out on Market St., and is now a documentary film maker and artist at a gallery on Sixth St., and it looks like he might be the newest Michael Moore to look at the underbelly on our mission to Iraq.

Imagethief gives his Bro a Rec:

A note to San Francisco-based readers: The San Francisco Film Society is hosting a screening of my brother's documentary "Full Battle Rattle" on October 17. Details on the venue and a link to ticketing are on the San Francisco Film Society Website. The description of the film:

Deep in the Mojave Desert lies the Fort Irwin National Training Center, where soldiers about to go to the Middle East receive a unique type of preparation. In the space of 1,000 square miles are 13 simulated Iraqi villages and about 1,600 “role players,” soldiers and civilians acting out a variety of real-world situations in loosely scripted yet malleable scenarios. "Full Battle Rattle" focuses on one of these villages called Medina Wasl and the group of paid actors and soldiers who bring it to life. Among them is a diverse group of Iraqi Americans, including one who is undergoing deportation hearings, who all hope to prevent needless deaths of Iraqi citizens and American soldiers through their participation. Hearing them and the soldiers discuss their increasing involvement and investment with their characters illustrates the effectiveness of the process.

Directors Jesse Moss and Tony Gerber, who embedded themselves in Fort Irwin for a full training rotation in order to make the film, show the many layers and ironies of the simulation—the places where what is real and what is fake become incredibly blurred—and hint at the pivotal role they hope it will play in ameliorating tensions overseas. With precision, finesse and humor, they illuminate this fascinating and surprising war game taking place within our borders.

Barak Email Invaded

No not really, but it's a funny update on the news that the openly hacked Yahoo account of Sarah Palin was squeezed into by some dude who only used Google and Wikipedia to find the information to change her account login: name, date of birth, name of husband, where you met.

I mean really, Yahoo, is this security?

Sarah Palin -- A World of Religious Wars

Watch this amazing video of how American presidents have always used Christianty to justify wars. And how Sarah Palin continues the tradition. I'm an atheist and have been since the age of 18. Are you?

Sarah Palin's Alaska -- The King of Pork

Sarah Palin, neoconservative, has provided more Federal pork to her state than anyone else in the nation. That's her political and economic agenda: get the big bucks from the Feds to keep her elected. It's bad enough that many Wall Street executives want to steal from the system, and get massive bonuses when they are fired, but it's another thing when a potential president supports stealing from the government to support the residents of Alaska.

Vote Obama. Don't elect the Pork Queen of Alaska.

Alternet has the story.

Palin is trying to appeal to the self-reliant, anti-government voters while her state is the most dependent on government pork.

In her latest comment on the "Bridge to Nowhere" controversy, Sarah Palin appealed to the self-reliant, individualist, rugged, anti-government image most Americans have of Alaska. "If we wanted a bridge," she declared, "we would build it ourselves."

Actually, much of Alaska long ago lost the tradition of self-help. Palin might be campaigning on an anti-government, do-it-yourself platform, but her state is the most dependent on the federal government of all 50 states. Washington sends Alaska more money per capita than any other state. Alaskans receive back from the federal government almost $2 for every $1 they send to Washington. It's a sweet deal.

And when it comes to government pork, Alaska is king. As USA Today noted back in March, Palin's state ranks number one -- no other state is even close. In 2007 Alaska received some 2.5 times as much as runner-up Hawaii and 15 times more than the national average.

Alaska has by far the most state government employees per capita as any other state and about five times as many as Obama's Illinois.

The part of Alaska not dependent on federal government largesse is dependent on big oil. Almost 90 percent of Alaska's general budget comes from royalties and taxes on oil, which explains how the state can be number one in state government spending while ranking far down the list in taxes its residents pay. Alaska has no income tax or sales tax. Recently, its legislature suspended the gasoline tax.

Up to a quarter of an Alaskan's family income comes directly from the profits of oil companies. This may need a bit of explaining.

Back in the 1970s, when liberal Republicans still roamed the earth, former Alaskan governors Walter Hickel and Jay Hammond led a movement to create a state trust fund to bank part of the revenue derived from a nonrenewable resource to be used later to ensure that Alaska would survive its inevitable disappearance.

In part to ensure the continued political support of the Alaska Permanent Fund, the legislature voted to use a portion of the fund's investment income to mail each Alaskan an annual dividend check.

Hickel and Hammond hoped the fund would be used to prepare Alaska for the day of reckoning. The day of reckoning is rapidly arriving, but contemporary Alaskan leaders like Palin aren't doing much preparing. Alaskan oil production peaked in 1988 at about 750 million barrels. In 2007 it was down to 250 million barrels, and it continues to fall. The exhaustion of its oil resources has not yet shown up in the economy or government coffers because of the fivefold increase in the price of oil since 1988 and by the relatively high returns the fund, now with more than $35 billion in assets, has earned.

Alaska has the most unbalanced and least diversified economy of all 50 states. Yet politicians like Palin do not appear to have the courage to change that imbalance. About 95 percent of the Permanent Fund is invested outside the state. Exxon Mobil Corporation is the fund's single highest valued stock holding. The state legislature has appropriated little money to diversify the economy and prepare for a new age of renewable energy.

This year Alaskans will receive a dividend check of some $2,000 for every man, woman and child. Palin requested that the legislature add another $1,200 to offset rising energy prices. Most legislators agreed. The check, to go out in a couple of weeks, will certainly boost her popularity before the presidential electioin, and Alaskan households are definitely hurting because of their high energy prices. But assuming that households use the money to pay energy bills, Alaska is sending part of the oil revenue it is receiving back to the oil companies to pay their customers' bills. That may be a short-term palliative. But Palin quickly quashed legislative proposals that money be spent in a way that might help reduce a household's reliance on oil.

Tina Fey as Sarah Palin

Saturday Night Live hasn't been funny in a long, long time, but with Tina Fey on as Sarah Palin, there is hope for the program.

John McCain and the Hanoi Jail

You know, it's just great when you collect randoms photos of events and news about SE Asia, and then suddenly those photos seem to have some meaning to breaking events. It happens. I have thousands and thousands of images from all the big players and sometimes the images fit the story I've found.

Approximately a dozen of the 472 prisoners of war held in North Vietnam accepted offers of early release, usually in return for signing statements expressing sympathy for communism, denouncing U.S. involvement in the war, and saying they had been treated well by their captors. Most who accepted were injured or near the point of death. (Early release wasn't offered to all prisoners.) Those who took the deal were then handed over to visiting anti-war groups, including American peace activists Tom Hayden and Jane Fonda. During their debriefing, most reneged on the statements they'd made to obtain release.

Tension still exists between those prisoners and other POWs. One notable exception to this is Douglas Hegdahl, who was explicitly ordered by the ranking officer in his prison camp to accept parole since he had memorized the names of many others in captivity. (For the most part, the North Vietnamese didn't release the names of POWs, so people in the United States had no way of knowing whether missing soldiers were dead or imprisoned.) Hegdahl was an enlisted man, but most POWs were officers and pilots. Many were older than the average U.S. soldier in Vietnam and had hopes of further promotion within the military—which would have been destroyed by the acceptance of early parole.
Slate

Paul McCartney and Heather Mills

I really hate this bitch.

Heather Mills' former publicist is finally opening up about working with Paul McCartney's ex-wife. And it ain't pretty.

"Heather is a calculating, pathological liar and the biggest b---- on the planet," Mills' former rep Michele Elyzabeth told Britain's News of the World. "She not only misled me, she misled the entire world." Elyzabeth stopped working for Mills six weeks ago when, she says, she realized the former model was lying to her.

According to Elyzabeth, Mills leaked false stories about McCartney to the press and bugged his phone calls. Mills once played a phone conversation she had recorded between the former Beatle and his daughter, Stella, for Elyzabeth while wearing latex gloves, the rep said. "She said she didn't want her fingerprints on it at all, so they couldn't trace it back to her," Elyzabeth explained. "I heard Paul say, 'Heather is really crazy, she's driving me nuts. She should be happy to get what she's getting she always wants more. She's never happy.'

"Then Stella made a joke, something like, 'She doesn't have a leg to stand on!' I think they both laughed." Mills, who lost a leg during a traffic accident, vowed to "destroy him" after replaying the message, Elyzabeth said. Mills won nearly $50 million in her divorce settlement from McCartney, but was called out by the presiding judge on her wiretapping and liaisons with the press.

"It is said that on June 25, 2006, the wife illegally bugged the husband's telephone, in particular a call in which Stella made very unflattering comments about the wife," the judge wrote in his ruling. "It is further said that the wife leaked the intercepted material to the press to discredit the husband." Mills also asked Elyzabeth to lie about McCartney's financial aid while she was going through the divorce, the rep says.

"I told millions of viewers Paul didn’t give her any money at all," Elyzabeth said, referring to an interview she gave with "Extra." "The media lapped it up."

In reality, Elyzabeth says, McCartney doled out plenty of cash for Mills during the divorce proceedings, but Mills still tried to get out of paying the publicist for her services. "I've asked myself many times what was Heather's motivation, but it all points to one thing — money," Elyzabeth said. "She's a gold digger. I’m certain her marriage to Paul was all about the money."

New York Daily News

Islamic "Honour Killings"

Not much honor in killing innocents.

DESPAIR among human rights workers in Pakistan over a rash of so-called "honour killings" intensified yesterday when it was disclosed that a girl forced into marriage with a 45-year-old man at the age of nine had been killed by her parents because she asked for an annulment.

The girl, 17, who had been fighting a lonely but successful legal battle, was coming out of court in the Punjabi city of Sahiwal after being granted the annulment by a judge when she was surrounded by a group of men and shot in view of police.

The death of Saira Nusrat Bibi has added further to concerns among human rights campaigners already outraged over the case of five women - among them three teenage schoolgirls - buried alive in the province of Baluchistan because they wanted to marry men of their choice in defiance of the wishes of tribal leaders.

The Baluchistan case was worsened by an attempt by a member of the country's national parliament, senator Israr Ullah Zehri, to defend it, telling colleagues that "these are centuries-old traditions and I will continue to defend them", The Weekend Australian reports.

Members of the religious Jamaat-e-Islami party rounded on Senator Zehi, declaring: "We condemn this barbaric act. This is against Islam, against humanity and against civilised culture."

Yesterday, the Government bowed to pressure and ordered an inquiry into the killings.

Details that have emerged from the village of Baba Kot in Baluchistan indicate that the three girls -- aged between 16 and 18 - and two of their elderly relatives were "shot at" before being buried alive.

"When the fuming elders of the Umrani tribe came to know about the intentions of these girls, they picked them up from their homes along with two of their elderly relatives," one account said.

"The crying girls were pushed into official cars and driven to a deserted area. There they were pushed out of the cars, made to stand in a queue, and volleys of shots fired at them. As the bleeding girls fell to the sand, the tribesmen dragged them into a nearby ditch and levelled it with earth and stones.

"As the two shocked elderly women tried to rescue the hapless girls, they too were gunned down and buried in the same manner. The killers after burying these women returned to their tribe like conquerors without any action taken against them."

News

Who Invented Instant Ramen?

Like you, I always assumed it was the crazy noodle guy on the 15th floor of ChungKing Mansions in Hong Kong, who I'd wave to as I worked my way down the decks since the minielevator was once again broken, after all the Indians and Chinese had loaded their illegal imports to take upstairs and change their characteristics.

But no, I was wrong. Instant noodles were invented by a Chinese guy from Taiwan who went to Japan and parlayed his notion into big bucks. Instant noodles in San Francisco cost 35 cents per package; 95 cents in your local jail.

Next time you’re in Osaka, consider visiting the Monofuku Ando Memorial Ramen Museum, a sprawling facility commemorating the achievements of the Taiwan-born Japanese inventor of instant ramen.

In the postwar years, Japanese were eating bread made with wheat flower brought in by the occupying U.S. military, and Momofuku (then operating a small business extracting salt from seawater) wondered why they didn’t eat noodles instead, which were more familiar to the Japanese people.

In 1957, a bank he was director of went under, taking his personal finances down along with it. In order to get out of debt, he returned to his idea about noodles, trying to find a more convenient way to prepare them. The result was Chikin [sic] Ramen, a delicious chicken flavored raman that’s still being sold after fifty years. (I had some for lunch today.)

At the museum, you can see different varieties of Cup Ramen from around the world, like broccoli ramen from Germany or curry flavored noodles from India, which are made without the soup base so that the noodles can be eaten with the hands, as is the custom in that country. Cup Ramen in all Western countries have noodles that are shorter than in Japan, to make them easier to eat with a fork.

The museum sports a virtual reality room showing what happens as ramen is made, from the viewpoint of the raman itself, and afterwards you can mosey up to the Instant Ramen Bar and order some ramen with custom toppings that you can specify. (One of the most popular flavors is Seafood Milk, ugh…)

Japundit

Beijing ParaOlympics 2008

Did you know that China spent $300M on the opening ceremony? No wonder the spectacle looked so good. If I had that $300M to spend on a evening entertainment, I could also probably put on a good show. And of course as well all know the Chinese government spent over $40B on the Olympics, but most of the critical international press coverage was over some false singing and fake Photoshops. And maybe those young, young, young girls used by China in the gymnastics.

And if you've spent $500M on your Bird's Nest Stadium, you should certainly host the Paraolympics.

BBC

Did McCain Make a Mistake?

A reporter recently asked Sen. John McCain if he had made a mistake choosing Gov. Sarah Palin as his nominee for Vice. President. He defended his choice, but his mannerisms uncover a different story, as covered by Asia Times Online.


Asia Times Online looks at the potent combination of an American war hero who bombed civilians from 20,000 feet and was shot down and jailed for over five years for bombing innocent civilians from over 20,000 feet and perhaps shouldn't be considered an American hero as much as a tool used by the American military to try and stop a Vietnamese liberation and unification movement.

"Starting in January, in a John McCain-Sarah Palin administration, we're going to lay more pipelines ... build more nuclear plants ... create jobs with clean coal ... and move forward on solar, wind, geothermal and other alternative sources."

This is how a 44-year-old woman, mother of five, governor of Alaska for only two years, pro-life, pro-gun, pro-oil, a mooseburger-eating huntress at war with polar bears who hasn't traveled outside of the US until last year, introduced herself to America and the world. Meet Sarah Palin, the lipstick pitbull.

She didn't stroll into the tacky stage at the Republican Convention
- more an insurance salesman's love fest than a plutocrat-cum-rural aristocracy special - clutching a puck, dragging a caribou carcass, or even a baby for that matter. But she positively beamed when she saw the highly choreographed "Hockey Mom" signs sprinkled around the Xcel Center in St Paul. "I love those hockey moms ... You know they say what's the difference between a hockey mom and a pitbull? Liptstick."

The first third of her speech was a cross between Opportunity Knocks and A Simple Life - rural, frontier, idyllic life; but then the pitbull bared her teeth and dilacerated everything in sight, from the Barack Obama-Joe Biden ticket to the "elitist" mainstream media (booed in unison by the audience).

She does remain under investigation for a very messy, personal affair in Alaska. Her Republican colleague, Senator Ted Stevens, has been indicted for corruption. She's actively courted the secessionist Alaska Independence Party - of which her husband was a member. And her (white) pastor is a counterpart of Reverend Jeremiah Wright - he also "damned" the USA.

Even after her no-holds-barred speech to the convention, preceding McCain's big night, Palin remains with no national experience and no international experience - although John and Cindy McCain as well as President George W Bush's wife Laura Bush swear she's got it. After all, they argue, Alaska borders Canada and Russia. McCain actually said this week, "Alaska is right next to Russia. She understands that. Senator Obama's never visited south of the border."

Former US ambassador to the United Nations and notorious neo-conservative John Bolton also seems to believe Palin is a foreign policy heavyweight: "I'm very excited by the choice of Sarah Palin ... I'm sure if he [Obama] wants to debate Sarah Palin on foreign policy we can arrange that."

What good does an affable, provincial, shotgun-friendly Miss Congeniality creationist like Palin bring to the embattled McCain's campaign? Well, talk about energizing your base. Chicago-based syndicated columnist Roland Martin has nailed it: " McCain desperately needed to focus on his base - evangelicals, social conservatives, they were not happy at all. He names Palin, they raise seven million bucks in one day, clearly he touched the right nerve among his voters."

After all, John McCain from 20,000 feet dropped bombs on innocent civilians who were only trying to liberate their country from control and domination from foreign forces such as China, Thailand, Cambodia, Europe, France, America, and they want to be free to make their own mistakes on their own time. John McCain dropped bombs on innocent Vietnamese citizens and probably killed many innocent Vietnamese citizens, and yet he is now called a war hero. Is this how America defines war heroes? Guys in planes who kill anonymous people from 30K feet? Is that the definition of a hero? John McCain is no hero.

Jimi Hendrix Burned Guitar Sold at Auction

I wonder what happened to the guitar that Jimi famously burned at the Monterey Jazz Festival?

The first guitar that rock legend Jimi Hendrix burned on stage fetched 280,000 pounds (345,000 euros, 495,000 dollars) at an auction in London on Thursday. Also sold was the first management contract signed by The Beatles on January 24, 1962, which bears the names "John Winston Lennon", "George Harrison", "James Paul McCartney" and "Richard Starkey" (Ringo Starr).

Hendrix set the 1965 Fender Stratocaster alight -- a gesture he later became famous for -- following a landmark performance at London's Finsbury Astoria in March 1967, and had to be taken to hospital to be treated for minor hand injuries afterward. At that point, the guitar was taken to the offices of his aide Tony Garland, and was kept at Garland's parents' garage in Hove in southern England, before Garland's nephew unearthed it in 2007.

Ted Owen, director of acquisitions at the Fame Bureau rock memorabilia firm, which organised the sale, described Hendrix's act as "a watershed in live performance". "He raised the bar of what could be expected and paved the way for a series of imitations and pastiche that exist to this day," Owen was quoted by AFP as saying.

Daniel Boucher, the 51-year-old American collector who bought the guitar, said it "changed music". "Obviously it is an investment, it couldn't not be an investment for that amount of money, but I bought it because I like it." He said he would have the guitar converted for right-hand playing -- Hendrix was left-handed -- so that he could play it himself.

The contract signed by The Beatles, meanwhile, fetched 240,000 pounds at the auction, and also bears the names of Harrison's father Harold and McCartney's dad James as their sons were under the age of 21. Manager Brian Epstein added his name on October 1, 1962, after getting the fab four a deal with EMI for the release of "Love Me Do". Owen described the document as "the most important music contract of all time" which "completely changed the lives of The Beatles". "There's no other (contract) that's going to be historically, socially or politically as important as this," he said.

Also in the auction was Jim Morrison's last notebook, which contains lyrics, poetry and musings from The Doors frontman, fingerprints of Elvis on a gun permit and the Bechstein piano used by The Beatles to record one of their biggest hits, "Hey Jude".

Antara

Bangkok Dangerous Reviews

Bangkok Dangerous with Nicolas Cage opened this week around the world, and the reviews are mostly concerned with his hair weaves and his constipated looks as he roars around Bangkok in the longtails or worries about the Thai military during filming on Soi Cowboy. The Pang brothers don't coming out smelling too sweet, either, as they are accused of going so far Hollywood that they've lost their unique Asian slant on movies.

Did you know that if you type Rotten Tomatos on your Google search you will automatically go to Rotten Tomatoes? Isn't the internet wonderful?

Rotten Tomatoes on Bangkok Dangerous

Throughout the movie Nicolas Cage wears a distorted facial expression that suggests the need for more fiber in his diet.

The National Enquirer Story on Sarah Palin

The National Enquirer has a story about Sarah Palin with scandalous accusations, but nothing really shocking and most of the story is just speculation. And boring.

A San Francisco blogger has posted the entire Enquirer story, but a real insight on how the Enquirer carefully laces their stories is found below in the comments:

Another incredible allegation emerging from the family war is that Palin, mother of five, had an affair with a former business associate of her fisherman husband, Todd.

This phrasing, from the Enquirer, means they have nothing. Their fact-checking is surprisingly rigorous, but it applies only to actual allegations presented as fact In a libel suit, it would be relevant that they don't state she had an affair; they only state that the allegation exists, and they furthermore give their opinion that the allegation isn't credible.

The phrasing is designed to be defensible in court while still giving the impression that this is reporting of actual fact.

Compare with the obvious recent example, their reporting on Edwards. Note that this story, unlike the Palin story, has no weasel words. The weasel words only come out when they have no real information, only innuendo.

The Most Polluted Place on Earth -- Linfen, China

I noticed this story over at Shanghaiist, and it's a great documentary in six parts about what the World Bank calls the most polluted place on the planet. After two weeks of razzle dazzle in Beijing, it's back to the ugly realities of life in China and how they have ignored their environmental destruction for financial progress at any price.

VBS TV Documentary on the Most Polluted Place in the World -- Linfen, China

Sarah Palin: Mayor of the Meth Capital of Alaska

It's not looking good for Sarah Palin, former mayor of the Alaskan town voted by local law enforcement agencies as the "meth capital of Alaska."

Wasilla Is Meth Capital Of Alaska, Of CourseLike Sarah Palin said last night, mayors have Actual Responsibilities, unlike community organizers who just help poor people stay alive after their steel plant jobs are outsourced. And Sarah Palin’s responsibilities included funding “the meth capitol of Alaska,” as Alaskan State Troopers call the Wasilla region: “When authorities surrounded a converted bus housing a meth operation in Big Lake in January, a 13-year-old boy who answered the door bragged that his mom cooked the best meth in the valley, according to the troopers.” See? In Alaska, “Hockey Mom” is code for “Arctic Meth Princess.”

We’ve received hundreds of photos and Photoshops in the last few days about either Sarah Palin, Sarah Palin’s spawn, or comical people in the Twin Cities for the convention. Since your male associate editor rarely wakes before noon, he misses many of these, but he’ll try to post some of the better ones here. The above graphic, for example, is probably the best of the 20-30 different Juno knock-offs (or “knock-ups,” HAHAHA WHEE) currently killing time in our inbox.

Wonkette

Tina Fey as Sarah Palin

The votes are in: Tina Fey MUST PLAY SARAH PALIM.

The resemblance is remarkable and Tina can do that Republican born-again crap better than anyone else. Please, Tina, it's time to come back, if only to save the nation.

Google Search for Sarah Palin and Tina Fey

Sarah Palin Offical Promo Clip (never shown)

Who could not love Sarah Palin? She's sexy and smart and great on TV thanks to her photogenic personality and days doing reports on local Alaska television. But what about her politics? Ban books cause of dirty language? Isn't that against the constitution? Ban women from having abortions, even if they have been raped or subjected to incest? That's just plain cruel. Teach creationism in schools? That's voodoo religion, not science. Her political beliefs are just right of Joseph Stalin, and that's why you shouldn't vote for her. Cute, yes. Right, wrong.

The clip below about Sarah Palin is wonderful and uplifting, and I include it to provide some information and background about this remarkable lady. Too bad her politics are wrong; she would have made a most attractive Democratic candidate.

And I think she's a secret Mormon, born in Idaho. Now a fundamentalist, but I suspect there's more to her religious background than has been revealed.

I was raised as a Mormon and went to BYU for two years. Both of my parents are Utah Mormons. My Mormon ancestors pushed those carts across the plains to Salt Lake City. A Mormon ancestor was working at Sutter's Mill when gold was discovered (there were only two guys working that day), and it's fairly likely he was the first one to pick up the nugget. The second governor of California was named Bigler, and my father's middle name is Bigler. I've seen the Bigler portrait in the State Capitol in Sacramento.

Roots and history to California? Carl Parkes has got your back.

Uh, No, Senor McCain, this ain't Walter Reed Army Medical Center

First, it was the Green Screen of Death, then a background image of a school in Los Angeles that befuddled John McCain insisted was the Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Even after aids tied him down and administer massive dosages of Thorazine, McCain insisted that he had visited that structure and told all 12,000 inmates of his ordeals in the Hanoi prison.

Then he went to sleep.

America laughed again last night as a terrible “green screen” once again appeared behind John McCain, during his big speech at the RNC. Well, the “green” was actually the lawn of a school in North Hollywood, California. And the school is called “Walter Reed Middle School.” And the random idiot assigned the task of picking John McCain’s video background during the biggest speech of his career was apparently told to put a picture of Walter Reed Army Medical Center on the screen, and ineptly googled this utterly random California school picture, instead. And nobody knows what Walter Reed Hospital looks like, anyways, so everybody just assumed it was another one of his mansions. The school is about to release “a statement” damning McCain for inappropriately using the picture of this innocent school. All of this, as Josh Marshall notes, is exactly what happened in the movie Spinal Tap.

McCain Told His Hanoi Captive Stories Here...over, and over, and over

Was Sarah Palin once arrested in Alaska on charges of C/F? And what about these tinted windows? What kind of criminal has the Republican party nominated to be vice president and just a heartbeat away from the presidency?

And I hear that her Alaskan hometown was called the "meth capital of Alaska" in 2002.

Location: Dillingham Name: PALIN, SARAH, HMS
DOB: 02/11/1964 Case #: 3DI-93-00217CR
Case Type: State Case Title:ST VS PALIN,SARAH
Attorney 1: Date Filed: 06/28/1993
Attorney 2: Type Person: Defendant
Criminal - Offense: C/F W/O PHOTO ID Criminal - Statute: 20AAC05.115
Criminal - Dispo: Dismiss Criminal - Date Dispo: 08/25/1993
Criminal - Felony/Misdemeanor: Misdemeanor Criminal - SIS Date Dispo:
Location: Dillingham Name: PALIN, SARAH, MS
DOB: 02/11/1964 Case #: 3DI-93-00249CR
Case Type: State Case Title:ST VS PALIN,SARAH
Attorney 1: Date Filed: 06/26/1993
Attorney 2: Type Person: Defendant
Criminal - Offense: CRIM NEG FAIL REG NT Criminal - Statute: 5AAC06.370(A) (Registration - Bristol Bay - Permit-Register Sites)
Criminal - Dispo: No Contest Plea Criminal - Date Dispo: 08/25/1993
Criminal - Felony/Misdemeanor: Violation Criminal - SIS Date Dispo:

11/02/2004 Corrected and Dismissed 0.00 0.00
11/02/2004 Surcharge (3PA) Due within 10 days of sentencing Charge #1: 13AAC04.223: Tinted Windows 10.00 0.00
11/02/2004 Fine Due (3PA) Charge #1: 13AAC04.223: Tinted Windows 150.00 0.00
11/02/2004 Minor Offense Citation Filed. Due 5 days from date of offense or defendant to appear in court on date listed on citation.

Giant PAD Spider Attacks Government House

The PAD protesters are getting really creative with their machinery inventions. Can they be stopped? Will Samak serve up some of his som tam and tun yang kung? Is this the end of Thai democracy?

But Wait! There's more! Here's Samak singing Dust in the Wind:



And in keeping with the theme of giant spiders and ghouls singing Dust in the Wind, here's the acceptance speech by Sarah Palin:

Slate Video Tour of Wasilla

The place where Sarah Polin picked up most of her political experience.

John McCain asks Sarah Palin to be VP

The quip about mooseburgers and poppping out babies was good, and Tina Fey should certainly return to Saturday Night Live to do imitations of Sarah Palin, but this rare video got the wrong guy for McCain, since McCain is very old, old, old, and could never have so much enthusiasm and his phone call to Sarah somewhere in Alaska.

Still, pretty damn funny.

Sarah Palin Speech Written Weeks Ago?

Reason proposes an interesting idea, that political speeches are written weeks in advance and that tonights introduction by Sarah Palin was perhaps written well before she was even chosen. The Stepford Wives have more freedom of choice, but then freedom of choise isn't really the catch phrase of Republicans.

Sometimes you catch a bit of a news report or a piece of text from an article that beautifully frames what a phony game all this convention business really is. Happened to me this evening while reading the Washington Post, with this passage:

Sitting around a dining room table, the McCain team has talked to her about Iraq, energy and the economy but has focused on what she should say in her speech, struggling almost as hard as she has to prepare for what will be, along with a debate in October, her main opportunity to shape the way she is viewed by voters. Not anticipating that McCain would choose a woman as his running mate, the speech that was prepared in advance was "very masculine," according to campaign manager Rick Davis, and "we had to start from scratch."

Few politicians write their own speeches anymore. But even my jaded eyes bugged at the idea that McCain's campaign had already written tonight's speech before they knew who the running mate would be

.

Stardust Musings: Good Non-God Blog with RSS

If you happen to be a non-believer in organized religion, then you might want to pay attention to Stardust Musings. Stardust has a RSS feed, so you can put the feed into your Bloglines or Google Reader and get some uplifting almost daily news about why God is such an absurdity and why religion only screws up the planet, whether it's the blond-haired blue-eyed Christ guy, the Mohammed desert fellow who lusts and marries girls well under the age of 13, Jews still afraid of shellfish and Palestinian rights, Hindus killing Muslims, and Muslims killing Buddhists. Gad.

Stardust Musings

Links on SE Asia Stories

I can't really bear to just dump these links to stories about SE Asia, but the folder is bulging and so I'll put the links and some stories here for your reading pleasure.



Helping AIDs Girls in Angeles City

ANGELES CITY - Apple strode in, wearing a blouse printed with Disney cartoon characters. Angel came like she was ready for a volleyball match, while Naomi looked every bit a fashion model bound for the ramp.

"Pusit kami," Apple said casually before plopping into a chair. Rushing to clear the confusion, she added: "I mean we're not squids or octopuses." As it turned out, "pusit" is their abridged term for "positive." They laughed at their naming game.

"We're HIV positive," Apple said, crossing her forefingers in a plus sign. HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) is a virus that attacks the body's immune system and causes AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome).

Silence lingered. This was their first time to talk to a reporter. They laughed at the thought.

"Are our lives worth a story?" Angel asked.

Sumet Jumsai Talks about Thai Historical Memory in Postbag Letter to the Bangkok Post

Bangkok Post

I can't help but fret over our shortcomings in history and culture as listed below.

1. My father, who spent years in the archives in France back in the 1960s, has the French map, or a microfilm of it, showing the "kink" from the watershed line to exclude Prasat Khao Phra Vihara from Siam. The said map was appendiced to the border agreement between France and Siam. This is something which nobody in Siam knew about when M R Seni Pramoj took the case to the World Court, and my father told me that it was obvious that Siam had to lose the case because of this map.

2. After the Court's deliberation, Field Marshal Sarit refused to cede the temple to Cambodia. A higher authority called him in to say that the country is bound by the said verdict and there the matter rested.

3. Thais have never been good at keeping historical records, and we have to go to the archives in Paris, London, The Hague, Cornell, etc, in order to do our PhD's in Thai history!

4. Without the sense of real history, Thais are vehemently nationalistic, which is dangerous. For example, school textbooks still teach Thais that we came from the Altai Mountains and founded the Nanchao Kingdom, which Chinese scholars dismiss as pure nonsense.

5. Few Thais realise that the Khmer Empire used to cover much of present-day Thailand and Laos, as evidenced by Prasat Muang Sing to the west on the Burmese border, and the Khmer ruins in Sukhothai in central Siam, and Laos. The Thais, having wrested from the Khmers their outpost town of Sukhothai in the 13th century, took over the Khmer language - the Thai script being a simplified form of Khmer - and in the early Ayutthaya period adopted, with variations or aesthetic licence, Khmer architecture, classical dance and other facets of Khmer civilisation which were then unwittingly exported back to Kampuchea by the French in the 19th century. (Witness the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh which is a mediocre copy of our Grand Palace).

6. Kampuchea to Siam (or to history-less Thailand), is like ancient Greece and Rome to the rest of Europe, or 3rd century BC China and the T'ang Dynasty to Japan. That much do we owe to the Khmers!

7. In the end, a great monument like Prasat Khao Phra Vihara doesn't belong to any particular country. It belongs to the world. Only this or that country has the obligation to look after it on behalf of mankind.

8. History is the future. When people refuse to understand this, with a tinge of humour, they have to start from the beginning again and again.

SUMET JUMSAI

Chang Noi at The Nation discusses the Reality of the King Narusen Legend...and it ain't pretty.

The story of the story of King Naresuan

In the popular history of Siam, King Naresuan is the big hero. Than Mui's new series of films takes this to a new level. But Naresuan did not always play this starring role. The story of how he got the part is a drama all of its own.

The raw material was not promising. Naresuan did not hail from the capital, but from Phitsanulok, a provincial outpost. His family was installed on the throne of Ayutthaya by the Burmese (imagine an Irish king installed on the throne of England by the French). He spent so little time in the capital that he hardly functioned as a monarch. His dynasty lasted only 23 years after his death, and is the shortest in Siam's history.

The two earliest chronicles dating from the 17th century (Luang Prasert and Van Vliet) do not make a big deal out of him at all. The only European account that dates from his reign does not portray him as a hero.

Naresuan was first promoted to star billing around 200 years ago. After the disastrous fall of Ayutthaya to the Burmese in 1767, the chroniclers wanted a story showing that Siam could stand up to Burma. In their new version of the chronicle, the section on Naresuan is far longer than that focusing on any other king. It does not read like an historical account but a grand historical novel, full of stirring tales, riveting incidents, memorable dialogue, and deft insights into character. The whole thing is designed to sweep the reader along on a tide of emotion.

Naresuan was launched as the star of Siamese history, but once Burma ceased to be a threat, the story was no longer a box-office draw. In the histories compiled later in the 19th century, Naresuan is again nothing special.

The first revival came in the late 1910s, when Prince Damrong authored Thailand's first modern-style history book. Damrong had been a leading architect of the new European-style nation-state in Siam. In his book, he gave that nation a history, with Naresuan in the starring role.

The climax of Damrong's portrayal is the incident in 1584 when Naresuan breaks with Hongsawadi (Pegu). This incident does not appear in the oldest Siamese chronicle. Naresuan just goes to help his old Peguan patron in a local spat and then returns home after two of his elephants get into a tussle. In the early Bangkok rewrite of the chronicles, the incident became a much more elaborate, romantic tale. The King of Pegu fears his old protege is getting too big for his boots, so plots to have Naresuan killed. Naresuan finds out and stomps off home with this fine parting speech: "Because the King of Hongsawadi has not adhered to the ways of faithful friendship and royal tradition ... Ayutthaya and Hongsawadi shall not form a single golden kingdom as in the past, but shall be totally divorced from each other from this day."

This is the language of courtly politics, of king against king, of fealty. When Damrong rewrote this scene, he made a subtle but momentous change. He added a line stating that Naresuan had "declared independence". With these two words, he moved Naresuan out of the old world of kings and fealty and into the modern world of states and nations. He placed Naresuan alongside Thomas Jefferson and Giuseppe Garibaldi as a leader fighting for the independence and unity of a nation.

Prince Damrong's history book was a huge popular success, and became the main source for school textbooks down to the present day. Even so, Naresuan was still not assured of star billing because fashions change. After the absolute monarchy was overthrown in 1932 and the Army took power six years later, many dramas and films were written to celebrate the heroic role of the Army in Thai history, but they steered clear of Naresuan, and cast ordinary folk in the leading roles.

The next Naresuan revival began in the 1960s. Thailand again faced an external threat, this time from the communist states to the east, and a growing revolutionary movement in the countryside. Palace and Army again looked to Naresuan as a great historical symbol of Thailand's ability to defy its enemies. Statues of King Naresuan were erected all over Thailand in places historically associated with his name. Many were built by the army, and some major ones were inaugurated by the King.

The statues and stories of this era did not focus on the declaration of independence which Damrong played as the climax, but an incident eight years later. A massive army led by a Burmese prince invades Siam and reaches the outskirts of the capital. The Siamese army is much smaller, and when the Burmese attack, it dissolves in total disarray. Naresuan becomes detached from his forces and surrounded by the enemy. All seems lost. But Naresuan challenges his opponent to single combat on elephant-back and wins against all the odds. The massive Burmese army promptly packs up and goes home.

The story is improbable in all sorts of ways. Historians are unsure whether it happened, where it might have been, and how the war was truly resolved.

But such matters are immaterial. Against the background of the massive threats against Thailand in the Cold War, this tale was portrayed over and over again in print, in statuary, and on murals.

After the Cold War ended, the enthusiasm for Naresuan faded, but only a little. It revived when Thailand again seemed under attack in the 1997 financial crisis. The focus of the story shifted again, to Naresuan's sister Princess Suphankalaya, who was taken hostage by the Burmese, as the Thai economy was taken hostage by the International Monetary Fund.

The fact that Than Mui's films are launched when Thailand is again ruled by the military might be seen as pure coincidence … or as no coincidence at all.

chang noi

The Foreign Correspondents Club of China



The Pattaya Ghost Bangkok Bar Crawl

New Bangkok Blog - Connecting the Dots

The Pattaya Ghost on Bars and Nightclubs for Sale in Pattaya<

Nomad 4 Ever on the 10 Most Popular Food Dishes in Asia

10. Fish Balls

Fish Balls are probably for Asians what Hot Dogs are for Americans. They are not the testicles of fish, as one could suspect, but pulverized or pressed fish meat, eaten on a stick or as soup, mainly available at Asian hawker stalls or street vendors everywhere in the region. They are served cooked, fried or steamed and are considered as small, cheap snacks for in between or in some countries even as a ‘poor-man’s-dish’.

Although there are restaurants for instance in Hong Kong, which specialize in Fish Balls, which can be then quite expensive as well - I’ve yet to see a Westerner who considers Fish Balls a delicacy.

Nevertheless, Fish Balls are very popular in Asia. Mainly they are eaten on their own, marinated, dipped in a sauce or when coming in a bowl - mixed with ‘kway teow’ noodles, tofu or even rice.

Fragrance and taste is added in the form of vinegar, garlic, sweet soy sauce or spring onions.

9. Laksa

Laksa is a spicy noodle soup, which is claimed to be invented by Singaporeans, although it’s more likely to be derived from Chinese/Malay culture. The origin of the name Laksa is unknown, but it’s now widely popular not only in Malaysia and Singapore, but as far as Australia and beyond.

If you tried Laksa, you would know why, as it as mainly an explosion for your taste senses, mixing sweet (coconut) tastes with sour (lemon grass or citrus) influences with more standard fare (thick noodles, egg, tofu). Sometimes Laksa is done more watery like a soup, while some prefer it as thick as possible, with as few liquids as possible. I’m sure Singaporeans can write whole essays about the right essences of Laksa and I hope for plenty of comments describing the proper and one-and-only ingredients.

Most Laksa lovers agree on the following main ingredients: thick noodles, coconut-based curry sauce/soup, tofu, fish sticks, shrimp and bean sprouts. Sometimes the seafood elements are substituted with chicken or hard-boiled eggs are added, although all ingredients can wildly vary. There are Laksa wars out there, where people discuss what are the right ingredients and what not. Singaporeans are famous for driving for 20 Dollar from one end of their country to the other to try out the best 3 Dollar Laksa over there. Just logic among food lovers, isn’t it?

8. Hainanese Chicken Rice

This is a simple, plain and straight-forward dish, mainly eaten in Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore and China.

It’s boiled, plain-white chicken served with white rice and condiments like cucumber, eggs or lettuce. Hainanese Chicken Rice is one of the lesser spicy Asian dishes, but nevertheless its creation is a science on its own.

It can come with a clear chicken soup or broth as accompanying soup and is one of the signature dishes claimed by more than one country. The chicken is mainly boiled in its own broth or stock - complete with bones and everything - which is used over and over again to gain the desired taste. Sometimes dips consisting of chopped chili, sweet soya or ginger are used to add taste.

7. Spring Rolls

Westerners would associate Spring Rolls as mainly Chinese dishes, but ask any serious chef in Asia and they would probably rate Vietnamese Spring Rolls as the best. That doesn’t change the fact that Spring Rolls are popular in most Asian countries, with China, Vietnam Philippines, Taiwan, Indonesia topping the list.

Spring Rolls are mainly fried rolled pastries that are filled with all kinds of raw or cooked meats or vegetables. There are versions which are not fried as well, mainly eaten in Taiwan.

Depending on the country your are in, the ingredients for Spring Rolls can be raw, boiled or blanched.

The most popular ingredients are minced pork, carrot, bean sprouts, fresh garlic chives, vermicelli noodles, shitake mushrooms. Soy sauce, peanut powder or fish sauce are sometimes added to better tickle your taste buds.

6. Dim Sum

Chinese dishes are very popular in most Asian countries. After all, the Chinese as avid travelers and migrants since ancient times form substantial parts of every population in Asian countries.

They brought plenty of their favorites from back home and amalgamated them with local dishes. One of those favorites is Dim Sum, wish are light, but hard-to-describe delicacies, popular in all Asian countries from the Philippines, to Vietnam, Laos or Malaysia and Indonesia. Oh yeah, of course in Singapore with its 60% Chinese population as well.

Dim Sum derived from a Cantonese phrase meaning ‘a little token’ and describes little treasures of food, hidden away in small steamer baskets, various types of filled, steamed buns or plenty of little dishes served on small plates.

Dim Sum are mainly served with tea and can have a hearty, sweet or plain taste. The servings are of small portions but with plenty of varieties.

It seems one of the goals is to try as many different tastes as possible in a very short time. Dim Sum usually can be ordered from a menu, chosen from a buffet or is wheeled around on trolleys by servers.

You take what you like and pay only what you eat. Included are mainly rolls, paus, dumplings, meat balls, sweet desserts, cakes, tarts and puddings - in short an explosion of different forms, tastes and kinds of food.

5. Fried Rice (nasi goreng)

Rice is the staple diet in every Asian country. Mainly it’s cooked plain white, with coconut sauce or saffron added and eaten fresh or right away with whatever meat or veggies come along. So what do you do with the rice leftovers a few days later? You guessed it right!

Simply throw everything into a Wok, fry it nicely with vegetable oil, add some soya-sauce, garlic, shallots or other spicy food to cover the plain taste and serve it as a separate dish. Hah!

While that is certainly done to not let any food come to waste, fried rice is also a delicacy on its own. It’s a cheap and tasty dish in all Asian countries and comes with veggies, meat or different sambals. Add eggs, satay, rice or prawn crackers (krupuk) and you can have a full meal on its own which fills you up nicely and brings you through the day.

Some would say that Nasi Goreng is the Paella of Asia, but I’m sure the Spanish would protest that.

In the western world, the name ‘nasi goreng’ is nowadays connected with any Asian style of fried rice. I remember that my first encounter with it was a canned version in Germany, many years back. Simply heat in up and fill your stomach. Oh man!

4. Tom Yum

Originated in Thailand, this watery something in a bowl, is now very popular all over Asia, but especially in Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. It can come as an appetizer, thin soup or main dish, eaten with or without rice, but has almost always a more spicy-sour taste with heavy use of smashed lemon grass, tamarind and lime.

Add different meats of seafoods to it, the most popular like prawns, squid or fish pieces or nowadays even mixed with chicken (who came up with that?) or vegetables, like oyster mushrooms or coriander leaves.

If you a Westerner wanting to boast with your home-cooking skills, but aren’t able to produce that typical hot-spicy-sour taste at home, you can simply buy Tom Yam paste in most Asia Shops back at home and produce a close-to-the-real-thing experience.

3. Chicken Curry

Chicken Curry is an universal dish you can find on almost every menu in Asia. After all the original spice islands some Portuguese sailor named Magellan was looking for in the name of the Spanish crown, are located strategically between the Philippines, Indonesia and Borneo Malaysia.

Curry powder in all kinds of variations, tastes and colors are readily available all over Asia - and heavily used to create those heavenly curry dishes. Though what you will have on your plate later in the name of curry can look and taste surprisingly different, depending on the country you are in.

Everyone knows the heavy masaman (some call it mama-san curry, ahem!) or chicken curries of Thailand, made of heavy masala curries which are used by Indians as well.

Added are usually coconut, saffron and ginger for most distinctive tastes. Indonesians love their ‘Kari Ayam’ thinner, with more watery sauces, while Malaysian don’t seem to be too decisive about their curry thickness, depending if they live closer to Thailand or more to the south of the Malaysian peninsula.

And yes, curry dishes are not only restricted to chicken, but those seem to be the most popular.

I Love Geylang

Puppet Nuseum in Nakhon Si Thammarat

The house of national artist Suchart Sapsin in the southern province of Nakhon Si Thammarat is open for visitors to experience the shadow play, a local form of entertainment, which has been handed down from generation to generation over several hundred years.

Well known shadow puppeteer Suchart Sapsin said it’s believed the shadow play has been performed in Thailand since the time of King Narai in the Ayutthaya period, or about 300 hundred years ago.

While the story of shadow play is influenced by the Ramayana epic from India, Suchart adapted it to attract today’s audience and preserve this southern folk art.

“I’m worried the shadow play will disappear from our culture. The stories of my shadow play are various and contemporary to attract people and preserve the art. The play will be performed differently, depending on my target audience,” said the master shadow puppeteer.

The Office of the National Culture Commission held a worshop to pass on the art to the younger generation. About 100 students and novices participated in the workshop held at Suchart’s shadow puppet museum in the compound of his house. Young people learned about the history of the shadow play, carving shadow puppet figures, and performing a shadow play.

The museum displays shadow figures including a rare 200-year-old figure and those from neighboring countries. Here, visitors can see shadow play – making demonstrations and enjoy a shadow play in a small theater.

“I normally see cartoons on television. This is the first time in my life to see a shadow play. I like it. Shadow play VCDs are available. People who can’t come here can buy it and watch it. It’s fun,” a student said.

Suchart’s house received a 1996 Thailand Tourism Award for best cultural and historical site from the Tourism Authority of Thailand.

Sarah Palin -- More Nutcase News

Bored in Cagayan Jil has a few choice words on the incomprehensible choice of John McCain.

I thoroughly enjoy listening to McCain's campaign staff explain how this woman, Sarah Palin, has so much "executive experience". They claim that being governor of Alaska makes her more qualified to be President than Obama's vice presidential pick, Joe Biden, with 36 years in the Senate (or even John McCain, apparently, by association). They seem to think that 20 months of governing the 4th-least-populated state in America (fewer people than Memphis, Tennesee) combined with a minor in political science from The University of Idaho is all that a person needs in order to be President of The United States. (I won't even get into the "governing Alaska which is right next to Russia and Canada = more foreign policy experience than Obama" idea some conservatives are trying out.)

Sarah Palin Images of our Possible Horrible National Nightmare

Need a few images of Sarah the Wolf Hunter for your website or blog? Here's a few....I collected today. Yes, in just one day I stumbled across these images of the former almost beauty queen doing her thing. I'd post more, but Google Blogger limits each post to just five images. More will certainly follow.

Yeah, I've downloaded Google Chrome, but then completely forgot about it, as I use a custom design meld of Firefox 4.6, Linux, Opera 5.6, Safari 9.9, and run it through my unique Perl and SQUZA format before uploading each and every of the blogs you read here. So Chrome might be OK, but hard to leave all my open source Firefox codes behind and expose myself to the evil spying of the Big G. We'll see.

Sarah Palin: Joke of the Day

From an article in Time, we learn that she's into book censorship.

Stein says that as mayor, Palin continued to inject religious beliefs into her policy at times. "She asked the library how she could go about banning books," he says, because some voters thought they had inappropriate language in them. "The librarian was aghast." That woman, Mary Ellen Baker, couldn't be reached for comment, but news reports from the time show that Palin had threatened to fire Baker for not giving "full support" to the mayor.

Palin can cough up nonsensical religious hokum with the best of the holy rollers. Here, she talks about her church: the fundamentalist, non-thinking, Pentacostal church.

"Pray for our military men and women who are striving to do what is right. Also, for this country, that our leaders, our national leaders, are sending [U.S. soldiers] out on a task that is from God," she exhorted the congregants. "That's what we have to make sure that we're praying for, that there is a plan and that that plan is God's plan."

I think I'm going to get sick.

MSNBC interview with McCain's PR hack shows the impossible quagmire of defending Palin.



Say, this good looking gal who supports shooting wolves from helicopters and describes it as a "safari" might just be an endless source of good humor over the coming weeks and months.

Almost anything is better than trying to follow the complete absurdities of Thai politics. Thailand. Where nobody needs to grow up beyond the age of 14.

I'm sick of Thai politics, which has disappointed me so many times over the last 20 years that I'm starting to feel like a disgarded whore from Nana Hotel. Anyone else know the feeling? Thailand. When you grow up, please give me a call.

In the meantime, I'm going to ignore your ass.