ThaiXpatWriter

MY SCHOOL

2011-11-18T08:14:00.002+08:00

My school has been completely surrounded by water for weeks. No school this month. We may be cleaning up for months to come. I also can't make it home as my house is only one kilometer from my work and it is also surrounded by water. I'm so tired of hotels and waiting to get back to life. This is by far the hardest test of my Bangkok experience.

PHOTOS of ANCHOR

2011-10-26T09:51:00.007+08:00

The Anchor Magic

2011-10-26T09:45:00.002+08:00

It was truly an amazing journey to an awe inspiring place. I have lived in Thailand nearly 10 years and have made a point to get out and about to see the temples and ancient sites. But I had not gotten over to Cambodia to see the ancient ruines of Anchor. All I can say is when I was in this place, despite some serious emotional trials of late, I felt as connected to the world and the energies of this world as I have ever felt. I would like to encourage everyone to take the journey to this ancient kingdom and be open to the magic of the place. Believe me, photos and video do nothing to portray this place. I will, however, be putting up a number of photos and videos to show what I saw and what inspired me during my visit.

Exciting Times Coming to Martial Arts Films

2011-06-02T14:00:00.002+08:00

I had a long phone conversation last night with Marrese Crump. He is one of the premier martial artists on the planet today and he is soon coming to Thailand to take part in a couple of film projects. He is an amazing talent and everyone here is looking forward to working with him. The projects are still in development but shooting this year. Get ready for this guy he will amaze everyone and to think Panna is training him and Tony Ja. Truly where the best meet the best!

Porsche

2011-05-11T06:23:00.004+08:00

As things are coming together for my film FIGHTING FATE, one of the most important pieces of the puzzle has been working along side me to make it happen. Porsche, or as he is known by his buddies here in Thailand, Boad, is our leading man. He was the star of Bangkok Knockout and is anxious to prove he is more than just a stunt man. Acting coach Speedy Arnold will be working to polish his dramatic presence and considering his action ability this should create something very special.

He and I are bound together by one piece of bad fate, both of our father's died of lung cancer after lives of smoking. Maybe this tragic fact has brought us together.

I think movie fans are going to see that Porsche is a talent with a very big future. His father was an action star and his mother was an actress, so he has a pedigree and understanding of the sacrifice and hard work it takes in this business.

Get ready for Porsche playing an Interpol agent who returns to Bangkok to avenge the death of his mentor. Lucky for him, his mentor's daughter is being played by Nui Kessarin.

Somluck Kamsing

2011-05-10T21:32:00.003+08:00

It was a great honor to meet Thailand's first Olympic boxing champion Somluck Kamsing. I was scheduled to meet with Panna to discuss my film's action sequences, but when I arrived at his house I was told he's playing snooker with a friend. I had not expected it to be Somluck. Somluck is fighting a kick boxing match against John Claude Van Dam this year and I'm sure he's going to give him hell.

We also talked about him taking part in my film. If he can work it in while training for John then he's in. I think this is truly the best part of the film world, getting to meet people like Somluck, even if he takes a few baht off me on the snooker table.

2011 and FILMS in the works

2011-02-22T09:20:00.003+08:00

Just as 2010 finished with the release of Bangkok Knockout, 2011 has begun with the development of 2 film projects. 1 film I have written for Panna Rittikrai who is ready to direct his next film this year and it will be a brilliant exploration of Thailand and of Thai ACTION, but I have to withhold the title of this piece as it is a property of Sahamongcolfilm International at this point.

But FIGHTING FATE is the working title of our independent film and this is a film I am very excited to be both writing and co-producing. I'll be working with Nonthakorn Thaweesuk who will direct the piece. He has been in the film industry for 8 years working as an editor, director of photography, and a director. His experience and vision will offer a great deal to FIGHTING FATE.

We will have many of the action stars of BANGKOK KNOCKOUT involved in this piece, but as it is a romantic action story we have gone out and found the best FEMALE ACTION STAR we could find. Nui Kessarin will be joining us in this project as our leading lady. Please check out her martial arts and dance talents. I couldn't be more excited about this film. If you have any interest in investing we are going to be looking for both corporate sponsorship and individual investment so contact me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhsJoxGS_Qs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdGNOUgkkho

Holidays Were Special

2011-01-11T09:24:00.004+08:00

What a difference a year makes. 2010 was an amazing year. I think I had more fun and relaxed more about life than I have in years. I also think some very nice things have happened. Thailand did not go to war with itself, and that is very good news. The shuttle to the airport finished creating a fast and inexpensive way to get out to the international airport. A Coffee World opened up on Kaset Campus right across from the track where I jog and along side the fruit market where I buy fruit. New backboards and rims were put in at Satit Kaset offering us an amazing place to play basketball, okay, the rims are 10 inches too high, but glass backboards look so cool. I must say though my neck is killing me from looking up to these 10'10 rims.

My favorite class is in IP 12, so we're having fun putting in our final year together. IP 12 has been a blast to teach and as they head off to USA, Japan, and Chula, they will be missed. This class is going to make some major waves out there in the world.

And on my personal career notes I added a wonderful experience getting to work with legendary action director Panna Rittikrai in saving his Kot So Kot Su or Bangkok Knockout. The project was so challenging because he had already shot many of the action scenes before realizing the story was not working. "Sim, just write a story that can slip my action scenes in, other wise we may have to kill this idea." These words and then a CD with 7 action scenes were handed to me. I must have watched that footage 30 times, trying to figure out why they would be fighting, motivation, etc. What I came up with was not perfect, but it offered us a chance to save the film and that AMAZING ACTION that he is so good at. Action fans will love the film for those scenes, while critics will pan the story, but little do they know how hard we worked to save this project and to give a team of young stunt men a chance to be actors.

I will always be proud of our work and the friendships I developed during Bangkok Knockout. I must say too, driving around during the Christmas break I got a little tingle every time I saw our movie up in lights. We played for 3 weeks here in Thailand, but will be going to the US some time in 2011 so maybe we'll find a nice niche over there with action fans. I hope so.

Next film project is already under way and it will be AMAZING because we are all starting the project together! Just wait!

Chiang Dao Christmas 2010

2011-01-02T18:45:00.005+08:00

What can I say, life in the north of Thailand is different. Chiang Dao is a very special place where we have spent Christmas for the past 5 years. We love it there because it is cool, almost cold, giving us a break from Bangkok heat. It's also home to some very large Christian communities so the Christmas celebration every year is truly Christmas like, and when you are living over seas I don't care who you are the holidays will make you feel a twinge of homesickness. But Chiang Dao is really a blast and yet its the kind of blast where you had better find your own fun because there isn't that much to do. Considering the chaos of the past three months I could not have been more ready for a trip up north. The photos bellow are just some glimpses of the trip. The first photo is a typical meal, notice no one has an individual plate, but instead eats what ever they can scoop up with a ball of sticky rice. The second photo is a coffee shop called Haneebahoi where I did the majority of my writing during the trip. The other photos are of a night when we went up in the high mountains to see a very beautiful little village. On the way home we had a little trouble getting around this very territorial herd of cattle. Let's face it, life in the north is just different.

The Movie Premier December 13th

2010-12-23T14:13:00.006+08:00

I guess in the end everything came together and this was a chance for all of us to celebrate this achievement. It was a splendid night of seeing friends, but I must admit I was so stressed to see the editing decisions that at times I could barely watch. I would have edited it differently, no doubt, but in the end I think we tied it all together pretty well. Here are some photos of the evening. BUT, I must say one editing decision baffled me, near the end of the film our 3 sexy ladies enter a van, the scene that took place in the van was hot--a cat fight between 2 Thai girls and a Japanese super model. But after the editing we only saw them enter the van. I know the action around the van was fast paced and most important, but I was still disappointed to not see the two Thai girls rough up the Japanese beauty.

WEB SITE FOR MY BANGKOK KNOCKOUT

2010-11-18T16:25:00.003+08:00

Check out the website. It's a nice promotional tool I think. Just can't wait to see this on the big screen. What a long process, but sitting in the theater on the night of the premier is going make it all worth it. Bangkok Knockout is coming out on December 16th. Go see the movie!

Magnolia Has Picked up Bangkok Knockout

2010-11-10T15:39:00.002+08:00

Well teh USA will be showing Bangkok Knockout. The date has not been decided or announced yet, but the great news is that Magnolia is going to get the film out in the USA.

ตัวอย่าง "โคตรสู้ โคตรโส"

2010-11-06T00:42:00.000+08:00

B.K.O. Bangkok Knock Out

2010-11-06T00:41:00.000+08:00

Promotional Event Part II

2010-11-05T16:31:00.002+08:00

This was all done live in front of the press and done without wires. These guys are so talented. I can't wait to work with them on my next film project. PUNNA ACTION TEAM has a great future!
Bangkok Knockout opens December 16th.

Bangkok Knockout! Promotional Event!

2010-10-29T08:30:00.003+08:00

So it was nearly 6 months ago that I was asked to come on board and write the dramatic scenes for a film that had stalled out in mid production. At the time I saw it as a project that would be a blast. When I was a kid I grew up watching Hong Kong Action films and was, like most of my generation, awed by the amazing skills and power of BRUCE LEE. When Punna called and asked for my help I was surprised when he said, "We've already shot 80% of the action, but we need you to write the entire story." What? What? You've done what? But you need what?

The action was so good he couldn't leave this stuff on the cutting room floor so my task was to not only create a story that might appeal to both a Thai and an international audience, but to make sure and weave the story around action scenes that had already been shot.

I thought my eyes were going to pop out as I finished watching the action scenes for about the 30th time. Finally I had an idea and went to work.

What we came up with is Bangkok Knockout!

What I have taken from the experience is one of the toughest writing challenges of my life, one of the most eye opening about film and where I may play a part in it in the future, and most importantly a FAMILY atmosphere with Punna's Team that made me feel as if I had found home. After all Punna is from the rice fields of North East Thailand and I am from the corn fields of rural Nebraska.

Check out this promotional video and COME OUT and see BANGKOK KNOCKOUT coming to theaters all over Thailand December 16th.

WE are a WRAP

2010-10-15T22:56:00.006+08:00

Levels of Death is the working ENGLISH title for this film. The best I could come up with. The Thai name is โครต โส or Kot So. It is actually in the Esson language. Anyway, the film is finished shooting and is in the editing and promotional stage. I am technically the writer, but actually was brought in half way through shooting to develop characters and more of a plot. I did what I could and enjoyed the process more than I could have imagined. I was able to bring in a number of great actors who shocked me with their talent. As the film is now it is about 30% in English and 70% in Thai and of course sub titles. I think the best part of this film was the TEAM WORK. It was a great project for combining a team of veteran Thai film makers with my team of international talent. I think we all hope this is the FIRST of MORE to come!

During a HOT shoot the Stunt Men Wait

2010-09-29T09:41:00.005+08:00

Hurry up and wait is the life of the actor.

Shooting Day in Thai Heat

2010-09-21T21:00:00.002+08:00

A hot shooting day for LEVELS OF DEATH.

Blasts From the Past

2010-09-01T14:15:00.002+08:00

Here are 2 videos that people have asked me about lately. They are probably only fun if you are a Satit Kaset Alumni, but perhaps anyone would enjoy. Both are from the year 2007.

Sound and Vision

2010-08-30T14:58:00.003+08:00

If good film revolves around STORY. Then home video should then contrast it by being a battery of memory and senses. Just as blogging, mostly nothing more than narcissistic sentimentality, contrast that of novel writing. So I have begun putting together some simple videos that have a smattering of eclectic sound and vision. The first of these is here.
Sound and Vision, of course inspired by David Bowie.

Little Friends

2010-07-14T15:45:00.002+08:00

Okay so I have not been sleeping and this little guy came to visit me and discuss human and insect relations. As he pointed out it is a bit of a one sided conflict actually. He left me with his dance and I believe I have new appreciation for crawly things.

IP 12 Class

2010-07-05T13:21:00.001+08:00

My kids in IP 12 are nerdy. I shot this video during their free time. I had expected them to all be playing around, but they surprised me--almost.

Punna Stunt Team Thailand

2010-07-05T09:41:00.002+08:00

Well I have been very quiet since the very difficult RED SUMMER. But life goes on. I have been brought into a team of film makers here in Thailand who are truly amazing. I was asked about 6 months ago to write a screen play for Punna the action director of such hits as Ombak, II, III, and many films before that. I wrote a few treatments for him that he turned down for budget reasons, but he liked the style of my visual script writing. Finally we came to my idea about TRUST and he believed in the story enough to want to make it.

We are just getting under way, but the great thing is he is putting together a team of all-star movie makers to do this project. I am just the writer, but he's allowing me to come on board and learn movie making from the best. Here is a video of Punna in action.

BBC Has A Nice Piece about Bangkok

2010-05-22T17:26:00.003+08:00

CLICK on the TITLE to go to the BBC article. I think they chose some good people to interview.

Thai Cats Jumping

2010-05-20T19:32:00.005+08:00

One interesting element of being trapped in our houses during this political unrest is that we are getting a lot of home time. This video is of Nan training with Black and Coffee our two cats. Coffee is the leaper and Black is the heavy cat who can't get off the ground. With the malls closed in Thailand, which means movie theaters, restaurants, shops, bowling, well just about everything, who knows how much we may all learn about ourselves.

Soldiers on Vipawadee Road Bangkok

2010-05-20T15:09:00.002+08:00

This video was shot on my way home from the store. The soldiers are searching for Red Shirts who are now on the run after the destruction of their camp down town. On their way out of the city they have burned down Asia's 2nd largest mall along with some 35 plus other buildings and businesses. The tension has not been relieved, but is instead spreading to the outer provinces. It is still not safe to come to Thailand.

Too Much Blood in Bangkok

2010-05-18T21:13:00.007+08:00

The Death toll has reached 65. Protesters loyal to former PM Thaksin have created the closest thing to a civil war Thailand has had in the modern era. Tonight, I sit typing this about a 30 minutes drive from the Red fortifications. On Vipawadee road outside my neighborhood soldiers with machine guns and shot guns patrol check points marked with swirls of barbed wire. As theatrical a scene I have never experienced first hand.

Still, most of us are going on about our day. I sat on my roof which looks out over the north side of Bangkok and other than the occasional sound of chirping birds I felt as if the city was sleeping. It is not, of course, in a state of rest. Truly the nation is a state of rebellion. Bangkok is the thrust of this movements attention, but cities outside the capital are also experiencing bombings, protests, and bloodshed.

I have always believed Thai people are the most peaceful on the planet. Their very nature is one of acceptance and tolerance, and yet the current stand off and escalating violence has proven to me that humans by nature are incapable of true peace.

I am not going to talk about what side did what. The sins of the many sides involved in this are mounting daily. What needs to be done is mediation and a serious look at the causes of protesters and government leaders. Most of us trapped in this ugly situation are scratching our heads as to the true requests and desires of all sides. When I listen to the government accept demand after demand by the Reds they seem far too wimpy for my American upbringing. Let's face it no such rebellion against the rich would be tolerated in the USA, look at the LA riots. You can burn a ghetto but don't head to Beverly Hills or you'll be met with tanks.

I come from the farm land of the US and so I do feel a sad kinsmen-ship for these REDS as they are mostly rice farmers, but I can't get a grip on what it is that they want the government to do. And I am tired of the fighting and disruptions they have caused my city. Protest if you want to, but from what they have been saying they did not come here to protest, they came here to martyr themselves and create chaos. How will they sway the people of Bangkok with this mindset. This only spreads fear and we are seeing now what fear brings -- 65 dead.

The photos I'm putting on here are AMAZING and I am taking them from the AP folks. These make me sad and I hope will let everyone who checks in on me through this blog see this tragedy unfolding in my adopted home.

We are currently excepting all prayers by all faiths!

Sadly it seems Bangkok is Getting Too Dangerous

2010-04-24T00:14:00.003+08:00

The New York Times article about the situation can be accessed by clicking on the title. Basically it is a travel advisory saying, it is time to cancel your trip to Thailand.

I have always had a lot of faith in the peaceful nature of Thai people during this stand off of political and cultural rivals, but it does appear that Bangkok is no longer safe.

There are efforts being made to bring an end to this ugly political turmoil; however, both sides have been suffering and my fear is that neither side is ready to stop the acts of violence that have been spinning off from the protesting. In truth the demands of the Red Shirts are so extreme it seems they are demanding a violent answer to their violent protesting. This is terrible for both sides.

Both sides need to stay calm and try to do their best to reign in the violent elements who have become far too vocal during the past few weeks.

MOM Siminoe WINS Service Award from UNSTA-NCTA

2010-03-16T09:20:00.002+08:00

Elaine Simionoe Receiving her Service Award.

When I called MOM to ask her about this award she was very humble saying that she probably did not deserve it, but it was very nice of them to choose her. She said it is great to see all of the growth happening at the Curtis campus. Certainly Dad would have been very proud to see his school growing. For those who don't know, Bill Siminoe was the first Dean of University of Nebraska School of Technical Agriculture which was best known as UNSTA. Bill was in charge there for 27 years and built the foundation for this agriculture based branch of the University of Nebraska. I grew up on this campus and if I was to sum it up I would describe it as the place where farm and ranch kids could come to learn about modern techniques in their field. It was a splendid place to grow up and it is wonderful to see that my father's hard work and dream is still alive.

Here Come the Reds

2010-03-09T15:05:00.003+08:00

For everyone in the city this weekend, The Red Shirt protests could become a crisis situation from Mar. 12 to Mar. 14, 2010.
Please avoid The danger routes on Mar 12, 2010

The United Front for Democracy ( Red shirt ) against Dictatorship plans to organise a mass rally in Bangkok. They will set up 6 Speech Stages in BKK.
Mar 12 At 12 p.m. the Northernerns will move to gather at Nakornsawan province, the North Eastern people will move to gather at Nakornratchasima province, the Eastearners and the Westerners will then move to BKK early on the morning of Mar 14.
Mar 12 The Red shirts will set up a Speech Stage in BKK in the 6 areas as follows :
1. Pitak Ratthathammanuun Monument or Prahp-go-bod monument,
over tunnel direct to Bang kayn zone
2. Tong-Song-Hong Station area, Gam-paeng-pet 7 Road
3. Bangna Junction, Bangna Zone
4. Rama VI Monument, Lumpini park area
5. Thai-Japanese Stadium Din Daeng, gate 2, Mit- mat-tree road
6. Pra-jao-taksin Monument area or Wong Wianyai Circular Junction, Thonburi zone

Big Trouble in Bangkok

2010-03-09T11:53:00.003+08:00

The word is spreading quickly through the city of Bangkok and the nation of Thailand that this new round of protests by the Taksin supporters, who wear the red and side vaguely with the communist element, are going to get ugly. My school has already announced that classes will be canceled Friday in order to keep students and staff safe.

You might wonder why would there be such a fear considering we have had protests going on for years here, well the answer is a simple one. Weapons have been stolen in a region of Thailand that is known to be loyal to the Taksin Reds. So perhaps the word STOLEN is not really the correct one. When weapons go missing at the same time as 100's of thousands of poor uneducated people are streaming to the capital to protest, fear will spread.

It really doesn't matter if you are a red supporter or a yellow supporter or one of the millions of neutrals in this country, it is obvious that when you mix a mob of uneducated (nothing to lose) poor with whiskey paid for by their ousted leader, and weapons such as hand grenades and automatic weapons, the fear is well founded.

The last time this mob got out of hand they tried to ram a police barricade with a bus loaded full of gasoline. This act could have resulted in a multitude of deaths and a plethora of retribution, but lucky the bus missed its mark.

Thailand is known for peaceful protesting. The nation has had the best history of diplomacy in S.E. Asia, so we must hope that the past repeats itself here and that everyone -- yellow, red, blue, and neutral -- all are safe.

Video from Pat and Poom's Day

2010-02-24T13:33:00.002+08:00

I would like to apologize for not capturing more of the wedding on video. I really was having too much fun to be a good photographer. I only did the chanting with the monks and the short parade, but of course at Thai weddings there are many events that are done. My favorite is the BED CEREMONY, where elder members of the party show the young couple just how it is done. It is a lot of fun. Sadly, at this wedding, they stopped after the poring of the water from the shell to bless the bride and groom. Too bad really, I'm getting old enough that I could have been of some assistance in the bed ceremony.

Pat and Poom Wedding Part 1

2010-02-22T08:55:00.007+08:00

Saturday February 20th, in the month of love, two of my closest friends in Bangkok decided to make it official and get married. We have all known, for a long time, that this union would be a special one. The wedding was held at an amazing Thai traditional venue and the feeling of love filled the air. Both Pat and Poom are very social people by both nature and occupation, so it was not surprising the guests were numerous and lively. Of course, when you offer an open bar with Jack Daniels, vodka and red wine, you will certainly draw a crowd. But truthfully, everyone was there to support and celebrate with this lovely couple. I have spent the last 8 New Years Eves with Pat and the last 4 with Poom, it is one of my favorite traditions. Now I'm excited that we have an anniversary to celebrate as well. I'll put together some video to follow in the coming days. Congratulations to Poom and Pat!

A quiet afternoon with Chinese Guests

2010-02-19T14:55:00.000+08:00

Random Photos of 2010

2010-02-17T09:35:00.004+08:00

These are some random photos from the 2010 thus far. Life has been busy with friends , visitors and local travel.

2010 Too Much Happening

2010-02-17T09:06:00.002+08:00

Well in truth it has been a crazy start to 2010. By the way happy New Year to all my Chinese Friends. I really have not made time to blog or update this blog over the last few months and part of the reason is a lack of motivation coupled with a lack of feedback on most of the things I post. If you have any reaction to any of my dribble, please comment and perhaps I'll get a bit more interested to cover the news of Thailand and my X-Pat experience.

I must say that 2010 is off to a very good start. I have been meeting a lot with people in the Thai film industry and enjoying connecting with fellow film enthusiasts. Of course they come from the perspective of making films and I come from the perspective of studying and teaching film. Still they are very respectful and curious about the film world outside of Thailand. I am learning a lot about the way film is made here in Bangkok. I must say, it is very exciting world.

So currently I am working with an outstanding director, stunt coordinator, writer, and producer by the name of Panna. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panna_Rittikrai if you would like to take a look at his amazing occomplishments.

His best attribute is developing talent in the world of martial arts action stars. Currently he has two of the best in Asia in Tony Jaa and Jeeja. I'll post some videos of these two later.

So for anybody who is out there reading I'll try to get a bit more connected to the internet and throw a few more Thai bits of news up.

HAPPY 2010 and Happy year of the TIGER

Twilight Two is the same old GOO

2009-11-23T08:29:00.004+08:00

Movie going men around the world prepare for round two of the goo. Twilight 2 hit the theaters this last weekend and offers a true dilemma in our teen dating paradise. Our young heroin who in the first movie found herself in love with the most unusual of creatures, A VAMPIRE. Of course its not that unusual because in the 90's there was a TV show called Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Buffy was a human in love with a vampire named Angel as well, so I guess its not that original. Anyway, the glowing vampire of Twilight is an effeminate and handsome creature who offers our teenage female the option to date a man who is beautiful like a girl and soft and tender like a girl. Truly his androgynous is what has enthralled Asian audiences. He is something directly out of a Japanese or Korean comic, tall, lanky, pale white, and not so threatening or ominous as a beast like man. But of course, as young girls begin to wonder what kind of man they will give their first blood to, they also consider the alpha male of the muscle head or jock. So enter Mr. Muscles in the form of a werewolf alternative. If our vampire is soft and sweet, our werewolf is hard and full of raging passion for our teenage girl.

Oh since the first vampire tale by Stoker we see the metaphor of girls trying to decide who will turn them from child to woman by spilling their blood, metaphorically and literally. But today's teens get to see the true struggle acted out right in front of them. She loves Mr. Muscles, but chooses to stay with soft and sweet.

Guys don't fight this, if your girlfriend, best friend, or wife asks you to go this movie, and if your living in Asia they certainly will -- then GO. The women deserve a film once in a while as 95% of all films are designed from the man's point of view. This film series is unique because it is truly exploring the feelings of a teenage girl sorting through the complex emotions of teenage love and friendship. BORING? Yes, for guys your going to be doing a lot of wondering what the hell is going on, but sit through it because your female partner deserves her chance.

My advice to the guys. See the movie in Thailand where they serve beer in the theaters. Tip a couple back and let the film slide by. Also you may want to work out a few days before you go because basically nobody wears a shirt in this thing and you don't want to be the flabby boyfriend after she sees this.

In a far away land known as Nebraska

2009-11-20T15:17:00.001+08:00

Cambodia and Thailand Tension

2009-11-12T15:36:00.002+08:00

In the end I believe neither of these nations have true intent to go to war, but the saber rattling has become a little too much for comfort. There are issues being talked about, but most people believe a lot of political advantage is being seen for both sides to show a strong face to the enemy. In truth there are no issues here that are worth fighting a boarder war over, but considering Cambodia is trying to rebuild their nation and nationalism it seems to be beneficial for them to develop a neighboring enemy to bolster this. In modern day these two nations have not had a war, but there have been a number of boarder skirmishes over the years. For us here in Thailand our political instability has become a way of life and perhaps this government would also like to show a great deal of strength abroad in order to send a message to rival factions within the Kingdom. Sadly, it would seem most of this recent tension revolves around Thaksin messing with Thailand again, but this time he is switching to the Cambodian side of the boarder. I'm not sure what his motivation is, but without a doubt he has interests in Thailand that have brought him next door.

Loy-Krathong

2009-11-02T09:49:00.001+08:00

Happy Loy-Krathong to everyone! The most beautiful holiday in Thailand is an ancient fertility ritual. Families or lovers who aspire to build families will take to every body of water tonight to light a candle and float it away within a banana crafted pawn. This illuminates the ponds around Bangkok with a glow of love and peace. The tradition is ancient and is believed to have begun in the far north of the country where they were making an offering to the Nagga. If you visit Thailand I think this is truly a must see event, because it is done on such a local and rural level that you can truly see the Thai people interacting with each other on a communal and loving basis. It is not commercialized or catchy the way so many of the other festivals have become. I mean its really cool, buy a little banana float, light the candle, hold it with your lover and then set your troubles afloat in this symbolic representation of a better future! Lovely.

Nebraska Football's 2 greatest knights

2009-11-02T09:37:00.001+08:00

Husker football is making me sleepy again here in Thailand. The games are usually on at about midnight Saturday night for me. I tune them in on the internet and scream and yell and get all fired up and then usually can't sleep when the game ends at about 3:30 or so in the morning. Over all the season has been disappointing. We are only 5-3 after controlling 7 of our 8 games almost completely, but finding a way to lose 2 more games than we should have. Our offense is the worst I can remember, but there is a reason I can't stop watching these games and that can be simply summed up with two words, CRICK and SUH! Not since the Peter brothers who played for the Huskers in the 90's glory days have we enjoyed such hard hitting and fast defense linemen. They don't just create pressure for the quarterback to worry about, they get sacks, tip passes, create fumbles, and wear down offensive linemen. The create holding penalties, disrupt the passing flow of every QB and crush running backs who dare to run inside. Suh is the most amazing player we've had in years, but when the double and triple teaming happens it opens the door for Crick to be great and last week against Baylor he was amazing with 5 sacks. I know our offense is horrible so far, but its beautiful to watch a defense like this. I can't get enough. Bring on Oklahoma, we may not get a win, but we are sure going to have some BIG HITS!

Rich and Poor, there can not be one without the other

2009-10-28T09:03:00.003+08:00

The other day I was asked to slip down to the Bandara Hotel for a taste of one of Bangkok's finest chef's latest creations. Chef Pop is an amazing artist of the culinary arts and its always my pleasure and also my part time copy writing job, to go and test his food and then write about it for his press releases and such. The restaurant is Mason Chin and it is a beautiful venue where tables are arranged in a glass atrium where street lights glow outside allow passers by to look in with envy and allow those of us sitting within to watch the comings and goings of the bustling city folk. It's amazing.

The food, amazing. Nearly every dish is created with an international flare, spices coming from India or Thailand mixing with fish coming from the coast of Australia or even the United States. Meats imported from Australia and mixed with vegetables produced in Europe. Caviar from Russia and truffles from France, truly there is no limit to the extravagance of Chef Pop's kitchen.

We drank wine imported from Chili while enjoying 5 courses of delicious dishes. The other food reviewers were a mix of folks, I was sat next to an Indian Editor who was delightful dinner company. She was funny and seemed to know everything about food. Across from me was a young British writer. There was a Thai woman who had been educated in America and several Thai women who had been educated in England. So as we all indulgence ourselves with this delightful task, it occurred to me that there are people on the planet by the millions that will never in their life time experience a meal like this. Why? If we were paying for this meal it would have exceeded $150 dollars per person. That's not even taking into account the wine we were drinking or the tip we should be leaving. In America that wouldn't be that expensive, but imagine a nation where the AVERAGE worker makes $200 a MONTH. Because here in Thailand the guys preparing this meal are lucky to make that much. So is it right for those of us who HAVE to enjoy when so many HAVE NOT?

Hey, I was there to do my job because I have a mortgage, child support, and credit debt coming out of my ears. But lets face it, every once in a while I could splurge and have splurged for meals like this. Especially in my single days when a meal like this with the right girl probably increased my potential for success 10 fold.

My question is this, and I'll be blogging more about this in the coming days, CAN THERE BE RICH without POOR?

Husker Season Again

2009-10-02T10:31:00.001+08:00

Since the day I moved to Bangkok I have struggled with my love of Nebraska football. During my time in the states it was an absolute passion for me. I grew up with season tickets, because my father worked for the university for 27 years and I have so many amazing memories from Memorial stadium. While I was living in Denver I attended 9 straight CU vs NU games traveling either to Boulder or to Lincoln without fail. So coming here, where the games take place at 2 in the morning is very difficult. I really can't sleep when the game is on no matter how poor the opponent. The big games I can usually find on the internet, but for the little ones the radio is good enough.

I'm sure my Thai neighbors think I am a mad man hearing me crying and cheering with every play at 3 or 4 in the morning, but hey football season is just once a year. I love my HUSKERS and far from home or not, I keep up with my team and hope for a return to greatness!

Globe Trotters in Bangkok

2009-09-22T15:29:00.003+08:00

It was a real honor to have the United States Embassy extend an invitation to our school to come and meet the GLOBE TROTTERS. I remember as a kid how mesmerizing these hard wood magicians were and letting our Thai basketball players take a look at them was a lot of fun. I was most impressed with their skills, but even more impressed with how they worked with the kids who had come to see them. A class act all around! Thanks USA it was a nice event and the free red, white and blue donuts was a sweet touch!

CODY Gallas drawing

2009-09-21T09:34:00.003+08:00

Well an artist took a stab at drawing my character CODY GALLAS from the book THOSE WHO HEAR. I loved writing this book which I describe as MODERN GOTHIC. I am currently in the process of trying to bring this book and series to life in a more graphic way. My first choice would be a graphic novel retelling of the story, but would love to do a comic version or an animated version.

Any artist out there who would like to get involved in this project please contact me. I'll need many I think.

WELCOME to BANGKOK

2009-08-24T08:10:00.003+08:00

Welcome to the world Sa'ida Naree Siam (which translates into Happy/Lucky Woman from Thailand) Arnold. Our neighbors and close friends Speedy and his wife Dr. Arnold were surprised to find themselves rushing to the hospital 2 months before the scheduled arrival of their daughter. Both mommy and daughter are fine, but little Sa'ida will have to stay in the hospital this month to further develope. It will be an argues, but exciting month for the Arnold family.

For those who knew Bui

2009-08-20T08:20:00.002+08:00

POEM for my FRIEND

Ending Worlds

His entire soccer team came to his funeral,
Except for Kenny Zanky whose mother had him for the weekend.
His X-wife was there and his son, just a toddler, looking bewildered and a little scared from his uncle’s tears.
“He looks just like him,” someone slipped, and his mother cringed a moment.
The divorce and a new husband couldn’t change her son’s uncanny resemblance to his father.
He’d lost her – his wife – in the usual way, first it was her respect and then her love.
She hadn’t left him because he was sick.
The cancer came as a kind of toxic byproduct,
perhaps spawned from the ranker of their rancid hopes…
It grew and spread, and he weakened.

We had all been inseparable back in the day, my daughter and his son,
My girlfriend and his wife,
their brothers and cousins, in my house.
Our weekends were barbeques, video games, poker, and beers.
My house and their cooking.
He spoke sparingly making us hang on his thoughts, often unfinished.
He listened even less, nodding as his eyes squinted doubtfully, then completely disregarding what had been said.
We had forgiven each other.
I forgave the way he always arrived unannounced, drank up my beers, and drug me out.
I forgave him for the 7-Up he mixed with my 15-year-old bottle of French Bordeaux.
He forgave me for always calling his bluffs in poker and taking his cash, for my incessant advice about his finances, my meddling and how I always made him cook.
He taught my daughter to swim.
He told me the truth about my girlfriend, when no one else dared my temper. He dared, he stood right in front of me and made me eat the truth and then helped me drink it down.
Then it all, like a teetering inverted pyramid, fell to pieces: I kicked her out, she kicked him out, I moved away, sold my house, and from far away I heard the news – that it had all been too much.
Three years had passed since we’d spoken when I called him, and three weeks later he’d be gone.
He disregarded bravery, admitting the pain was becoming too much. Telling me there just was nothing to fight for.
I encouraged him to battle on, teasing him that no one made me noodles like him and that I’d pay for his ticket to come see me if he’d just get strong enough to cook, but this only made him cry.
And then I knew.
His brother took the phone and thanked me for the call, shyly saying he couldn’t talk anymore now – too many tears. No voice left.
We hung up and that world was gone.

BIRTHDAYS

2009-08-10T16:32:00.002+08:00

Oddly it seems there are a slew of birthdays this time of year. July and August seem to be filled with birthdays and of course they are filling my social calendar. I myself am often a bit sad around these symbolic days as lets face it, birthdays might as well be called the markers of the reverse or anti-calendar. We count from 1 to some undetermined number, perhaps 70 or 71, while acting cheerful about the gloomy reality of these numbers. We are doing a countdown, 10, 9, 8, 7... all the way to our oblivion; however, we are doing it HAPPY 30th BIRTHDAY, HAPPY 40th BIRTHDAY, Happy 50th Birthday, happy 60th birthday, and let's face it our jubilance subsides with each one to a point where we are just barely clinging to our existence like a grasshopper on a windshield wiper of a truck going 85. Anyway, happy birthday to SPEEDY, MOD, TED (Curtis), Sister Judy, Sister Cindy, Linz, and everyone else that is slipping my mind right now.

Feed Those Thai Fish

2009-07-20T13:35:00.001+08:00

So when it comes time to test the character of someone I like to take them to the river, stick a roll in their mouth, lean them out over the edge of the boat, and let the giant catfish rip the loaf from their mouth. Few have the courage, but this crazy blond American by the name of Laura, was up for the challenge!

Siminoe loves a little KISS

2009-07-16T16:13:00.002+08:00

All of us 80's children had one band on our mind when we were kids. The best band in the world, KISS! Enjoy this blast from Rock and Roll Past! And if you know the words, you--my friend--are OLD!

Screen Writing for ALL

2009-07-16T16:06:00.003+08:00

Well it is time for a push to action. Movies are a passion of mine. I love to watch them, analise them, talk about them, and especially I enjoy writing my own. If you share this love, I have found a very interesting and FREE site for downloading screen writing software. Good script software is super expensive, so I highly recommend you try Celtx. Click on the title and visit their site. You should feel safe in downloading their program and you will be amazed at how easy writing a movie can. Of course writing a good one is another matter all together.

Crepe in Thai style

2009-06-21T15:01:00.005+08:00

repes in Thailand are made on the street or in the mall. The process is simple enough, but they tend to add a little Thai style to the creation. When I have had a rough morning, I love to treat myself to a tasty Crepe. This girl works on our campus and she works 12 hour days 6 days a week. Her estimated pay is about 5,000 baht a month or roughly $125 dollars. But she is always smiling and friendly. What is our cost to buy one of these snacks? 25 baht or about 75 cents in US money. Far too cheap considering the heat she has to work in.

Loss of a hero

2009-06-11T11:15:00.003+08:00

Kwai Chang Caine's passing would have been difficult enough, but to think that his murder took place right here in the city of Bangkok has made this even worse. Bangkok is a very metropolitan city and has incredible wealth, so at times it is easy to forget that it is still in the 3rd world where hired guns are cheap. I can not speculate on why David Carradine was murdered, but I would like to express why I think it was such a horrible loss.

Kung Fu was an American TV sensation in the 70's. It was still a media world where Asian faces were not really allowed to be leading rolls. Carradine was not Chinese, and yet almost everything American's knew about Eastern philosophy and especially Kung Fu, comes from his portrayal of Kwai Chang Caine, the benevolent drifter who upheld the honorable antics of a great knight. He showed us in the west that the Chinese culture had a lot to offer and a lot to be respected for. It was this show that first inspired me to begin wondering about the far East and now some 30 plus years later I find myself living here.

Young people know him for his roll in the Kill Bill movies, and this was a wonderful exploration of his martial arts experience and his stage presence. Even in his early 70's he could still produce the kind of acting work that inspired the young and old a like.

He will be greatly missed by my generation. We loved Bruce Lee, and because David got the Kung Fu roll instead of him there are some people who hold a slight and silly grudge about that. But Bruce Lee was on a different path, a film path, that TV might have killed. David was perfect for the roll even if his martial arts wasn't as spectacular as Bruce Lee, his acting skills were spectacular and moving.

It is sad when our heroes die and even more sad when they die ugly. I hope the USA uses their influence to spur along Thai authorities and some leads are generated in his murder.

Siminoe dot com loves FREE RICE

2009-06-05T15:38:00.002+08:00

The free rice people are all about feeding the hungry. This sight is awesome! Huge financial sponsors have made an offer to donate rice for every vocabulary word that English learners get correct on their quiz. I spend hours on there trying to keep my vocabulary sharp, or at least a word or two ahead of my students, and helping to feed the WORLD! Come on check the site out by clicking on the TITLE.

Coloring my World

2009-06-02T08:15:00.005+08:00

"Let's just paint the living room," Speedy said, as his eyes bounced from corner to corner of my dingy down stairs.

"It really needs it. I think this white paint might have been the original paint," I admitted. "But won't it be a lot of work?"

"We'll knock this room out in about 6 hours. Three hours for the first cote and then three hours for a second cote. Good little Saturday really. You buy the beers and let's do it."

I hadn't painted anything since I was in high school and I believe I painted a barn for some summer money. It wasn't exactly like painting the living room of my home. I was hesitant, but the place certainly needed a new color and fresh paint.

"Let's do it!"

As fate would have it the Nuggets were playing the Lakers and our newest teacher at Satit Kaset Dameon was looking for a place to watch the game. "Dameon, I have a 93 inch screen at my house, would you like to come watch the game."

Dameon made the classic mistake of a new friend, "SURE."

"And oh we might paint one room of my house after the game, no big deal, but wear something for painting," I threw in as if I had forgotten the milk.

"Oh, well, yeah, okay."

Little did he know my front room is like some kind of cathedral with beams to be cut in and ceilings too high to be reached without a circus act on the wobbly ladder. But luckily, Dameon did come to watch the game and he did stay to paint. Even with three of us it took 8 hours. But man did it look better with a splash of color!

God bless Aung San Suu Kyi

2009-05-20T21:40:00.002+08:00

Aung San Suu Kyi is on trial for a bogus charge in her home nation of Myanmar. As the world watches, groans and mumbles, a court will gather and find her guilty of breaking the conditions of her house arrest. An arrest that never had a trial. She will be found guilty because her house arrest is set to end in about a month from now. So these charges will put her back in her place so that the military government can keep her from running against them in their "free" elections. Since her party won its land slide victory way back in 1990, she has been in and out of house arrest and her victory completely ignored by the ruling junta. A Nobel peace prize should have shamed this military into giving this great leader her freedom, but it merely hardened their convictions that she would forever be a threat to their rule. She is a symbol of hope for a nation that is no closer to freedom and democracy now as it was 19 years ago when Aung San Suu Kyi' party won the right to run the nation.

The situation in the country is so bad, so murderous and oppressive, that reporters who can sneak in and out of the country struggle to report the horrors they have witnessed. It is the worst outside the main cities in the rural areas where minority groups are being persacuted without mercy.

I have no idea how to help or what can be done, but I guess I just hope God will bless Aung San Suu Kyi and her troubled nation.

Nature in the north of Thailand

2009-05-19T10:13:00.001+08:00

Well my summer is over and I'm back to work. So I thought I would put up a little video I shot while up in Chiang Dao in the north of Thailand. My summer was very uneventful, but it was relaxing and I must say that down time is always good time.

Coffee and Black

2009-05-15T10:03:00.004+08:00

Well during April I ventured away from my blog. Just not in the mood to share, but I did do a lot of traveling and enjoyed some great day trips around Thailand. I will be putting these images up soon. But first I'd like to introduce my newest housemates, Coffee and Black. Nan and I found them in the church where we were married and so we thought they would be very good luck for us. Besides, we live in Bangkok where Rats thrive on lots of trash and Buddhist traditions don't allow them to kill them. Of course these two little guys have a way to go before they are killing any rats. For now they are just babies.

Nan is holding Coffee and I am holding Black. Yes they are twins, but Coffee has a thin line of white, like cream, so we decided he would be coffee and Black is pure Black so he gets the most obvious of names.

Yao Ming NBA's Most Popular

2009-05-10T18:33:00.002+08:00

The entire Asian region gave out a collective sigh of defeat when the news of Yao Ming's injury came out this morning. Is everyone in Asia Houston Rockets fans or something? No. But there is more than a BILLION Yao Ming fans in China who were getting very excited about their hero taking on America's Late Show the LA Lakers. When Yao pushed back trainers in game one and forced his way back onto the court to finish the game, scoring 6 of Houston's last 10 point, everyone began to believe this 7 foot 6 giant could bring down the giant Lakers franchise. Now, all over the Asian region, people are putting away their Rocket's banners and shirts for another year. It was obvious in game 3 that Yao was not himself and was not going to be able to finish the series. Without Yao or even a true backup center, Houston is finished.

Yao Ming is the WORLDS most popular player. You can argue all you want to about James or Bryant, but these two are the best players but far from the most popular. Kobe was cleared of a rape case a few years back that tarnished his very clean image until that point. No one believed he raped the gold digger he slept with, but does it really matter to his wife? And despite James having no serious drama so far, he also has no serious personality to back up his amazing talent.

Yao is a proud warrior on the floor. He is not the most talented, but he is one of the most amazing players in the NBA. He works hard and keeps his head up. Can you imagine being Yao and having a billion people watching, listening, and talking about you. In the US he is probably the most recognizable player anywhere he goes. In China he is an icon. Did they even have basketball rims in the nation before he arrived?

So it is a sad day for the NBA, Asia, and of course for YAO. Let's hope he can recover and return next year.

The Red Mob in Bangkok

2009-04-19T14:59:00.001+08:00

I’ve gotten a lot of emails lately about the current problems in Thailand and so I’m going to do my best to explain what I believe to be going on. Now I am putting together 3 local news paper articles, one TV panel discussion translated to me from Thai by Nan, and the word on the street from 3 of my better informed Thai friends. So this is a simplification at best because I myself have little interest in politics, but living in the middle of this turmoil these last few years I’ve been exposed to a lot and will do my best to give a simplistic look at the problem.

Everything does come back to Thaksin the former prime minister of Thailand, self-made billionaire, and now self-exiled globetrotter. He was found guilty of vote rigging or buying, conspiracy, tax evasion, and if he were to return would face a grocery list of other charges, which is why he is in no hurry to return while the current government – his rivals – are in power. They would certainly prosecute him to the utmost of their ability. So Sim, if he’s a billionaire why doesn’t he just go off and enjoy his cash? Well the Thai government has confiscated nearly 1 billion dollars of his cash and assets in the Kingdom. Simplistically put, he wants it back. He needs a government in place that would see him as a victim of a cue and of a conspiracy to take his cash rather than a criminal who was run out of town after taking far too much from the national cookie jar. When he became PM people thought here is a man above the bribery and back dealing of previous administrations because he was already so rich, but the people failed to look at the obvious oddity of this man. He was a police general in the north of Thailand, clue here being golden triangle, before somehow amassing millions of dollars, on that robust 200 dollar a month pay cops get, and buying his way into the media business until he had satellites providing services to his phone companies, TV stations, radio stations, and well to put it mildly his media empire. During his first summer in office more than 700 alleged drug dealers were killed by the police without trial and the citizens of Thailand cheered this, but some were asking the question who was choosing which drug dealers to die. Allegations were made that in general these were Thaksin’s rivals from his old days of northern POLICE WORK. A nationally sponsored vendetta massacre, well some believe so. This was the first red flag.

Another came much later as rumors of bizarre land schemes leaked to the press. Here was how it worked, Thaksin’s plan has always been to sway the common man, the poor, and the uneducated. Thailand has an amazing amount of wealth, but as most emerging nations it is controlled by a very small group of rich elite. Of course the poor workers have nothing to lose following Thaksin, he does help them at times, but usually when it helps him more. The land deal was very crafty. They went to farm areas close to the city and offered the poor FREE LAND for having worked this land. The government provided these lands and again the people cheered this generosity. Then these new land owners were told an amount their land was worth, pennies on the dollar of course, and then select wealthy families were told that for a set amount to the Thaksin people these lands could be purchased for half their value from these poor farmers. The deal was so smooth, the poor got a lump cash payment, the rich families acquired land at a huge discount and with the means to develop it, and of course the Thaksin people got their big cut.

This deal included too many people though and the press picked it up and ran with this story. Well the list goes on and on, but lets focus on TODAY. The power struggle is dire for the following reasons. Thaksin’s followers are not limited only to the poor and uneducated, although these minions are certainly the ones we saw dressed in communist red outfits and rioting in the streets. He also has connections back to the police and navy. These two branches still would probably lean to supporting Thaksin if he could stage a return. The Army is made up of hundreds of generals each with personal alliances and agendas. There really is too many leaders in the branches to understand the complexity of this chess game. We know this, the red shirt mob was trying very hard to pick a fight with the current government. The current government and new PM showed an amazing amount of restraint and did not fight back. The red mob spun out of control, killing 2 citizens and wounding many others. The Thai nation is now grumbling angrily about this chaotic and violent display.

So our problem as it stands. The red mob went home, vowing they were not done, and sure enough two days later, they shot one of their rival’s political leaders in the head and as I write this, we don’t know if he will live or die. Thaksin is furiously looking for an opportunity to return. There are loyal generals to the current government, but believe me many are still loyal to Thaksin. Only action exposes which way they will swing and so it can be very difficult to know until the moment is at hand.

We know this, that loyalty to the King has kept the peace in this Kingdom for decades and so we can only hope that this loyalty will keep the peace again today.

Is it safe to be in Thailand? I would take my chances here over say The Bronx or South Central Las Angles, nearly every African nation, Afghanistan, Iraq, Gaza, Houston, Detroit, probably Moscow, so safe is a relative term. I feel safe, but I’m not naïve enough to think all is calm in the kingdom of smiles, big money can buy a lot of loyalty and a lot of trouble. Picture a Hollywood movie where two rival gangs were going to war over 1 billion dollars and you have makings of a blockbuster right, well there you go. Life is always crazier than fiction. But one thing is for sure, whether it is in a movie or it is a political struggle if you want to know what is going on, look for who is going to benefit, who is getting that CREAM and you’ll find the spoon that stirs the pot. (Cash Rules Everything Around Me) Most importantly, if you want to find the source of the trouble, figure out who’s going to lose their CREAM if they don’t fight.

Examples, gun lobbyists, cigarette lobbyists, fossil fuel lobbyists, and the list goes on. If change might take away your $$$$ not to many people will accept this without a fight.

Doi Inthanon Thailand's Highest Point

2009-04-17T18:21:00.002+08:00

Well Easter for us was spent up in the north of Thailand. Doi Inthanon was a new adventure for me. It is located in Chiang Mai province, but is a bit further from the city of Chiang Mai so the crowds were much less than Doi Setep which is on the edge of town.

I really love the north. The air is cleaner, the hills are green and full of waterfalls and wildlife, and the people are amazingly friendly. Bangkok is a city of diversity and it is teeming with nearly 10 million people. In Chiang Dao, a district just north of Chiang Mai, there are only 88,000 people in an area about the same size as Bangkok proper. It's so quiet at night the breeze coming through the trees and the sounds of night bugs hum you to sleep. Since my wife's family home is up there it has become our solace from the hustle and chaos of Bangkok.

Enjoy our video of Doi Inthanon!

AMERICAN SALE on SIMINOE BOOKS

2009-04-17T13:58:00.004+08:00

Some of you have asked how you can get copies of my books. They are pretty available on line at Amazon and my website, but expensive because they are shipped from THAILAND. NOW, special for American residents only I can gladly offer ECHO POOL for $10 and THOSE WHO HEAR for $8.

This sale is possible because of my good friend KELLEY who smuggled 20 of my books in his suitcase back to the USA. Without massive shipping, the books are not so expensive!

SEND A CHECK to:

Elaine Siminoe

107 Cedar Street

Kearney, Nebraska 68845

Tell her which book you want and give her your return address. THIS OFFER ENDS WHEN THE 20 BOOKS ARE SOLD!

ECHO POOL is an adult novel about my life in Thailand, Nebraska, Colorado, and my father.

THOSE WHO HEAR is a bit of fantasy which takes place all over the world, but begins in Denver.

The Wall of Love

2009-04-16T17:09:00.003+08:00

On Thailand's highest mountain there is a set of pagodas that tower above beautiful gardens. I visited there last week and found one very interesting wall which I called the Pimp Wall. Most of the wall art was about religion, but this wall seemed strangely out of place and extremely interesting. Take a look!

Protests Turn UGLY in Thailand

2009-04-14T08:53:00.002+08:00

I am very fortunate to be in the far northern village of Chiang Dao for the week celebrating Chiang Dao's 100th year as a separate district, Easter, and Sangkran. Here things are wonderfully undisturbed, joyously ruckus with water fighting everywhere, pageants, contests, a fair, and more smiles than you can imagine. But the news from Pattaya and Bangkok is very grave. At least 2 people have been murdered by the red mob simply trying to protect their businesses. Government troops acted well, but they were way behind the curve. The red mob has seriously damaged relations with all of the Asean nations as the military did not act to protect their diplomats who were visiting for the Asean summit in Pattaya. I do not believe in any way that the red mob wanted to hurt these foreign diplomats although it does seem a part of their focus to drive out all non-Thais. They are a mix of communists, poor, and uneducated who are opposed to the current government and apparently the monarchy. I myself am loyal to the King. His spiritual leadership has kept this nation in peace during an era on the planet filled with war. I can not believe that the red mobs philosophy of distributing the wealth could possibly be coming from the Taksin they are following. He was always Thailand's richest man, well at least once he had a few years to rule the nation, strangely his fortune TRIPLED while he was in office.

From the news this appears Taksin's desperation to be back in power mixed with a communist group that has been ignored for decades of financial success here in the Kingdom. In general the red shirts are taxi drivers, farmers, and poor folks who are being given a little cash to make trouble, but this is very dangerous. The yellow mob was noticeably different in its makeup as it was made up of middle age ladies, college professors, students, and were peaceful for hundreds of days in a row. They gave lectures and talked about their complaints with the government. These Reds are blowing up stores, throwing fire bombs and killing Thai merchants who just want to go to work the next day. This group is wrong!

Video of the week #6 Jimi Hendrix

2009-04-02T09:52:00.001+08:00

The legend of Jimi Hendrix is usually focused, and I believe completely unfairly, upon his drug use and chaotic life as a superstar. In truth, he may have been one of the greatest musicians of his time. He certainly could play guitar! This is a blues piece he did and I think it shows a milder more melodic side of his turbulent existence. Man could he play!

Chris and Koi's Magical Night

2009-03-30T20:11:00.001+08:00

I met Chris about 7 years ago when I first came to Thailand. He and his crew of friends were a big reason I chose to live in this country. I mean they were so friendly and so welcoming to me I found myself feeling at home within months of moving here. Over the past 7 years this group has been my support and teachers about this kingdom. I'm so happy for he and Koi, she's a special lady and they deserve the happiness they have found together.

It was a crazy night of old friends, families, three live bands, John singing some of his hits, wine, and in the end Tequila. Yikes!

I really apologize for the sound quality, especially for John who is a professional singer and star here in the Kingdom of Thailand, but my camera is just a little point and shoot so his voice is not done any justice. I will say it sounded great live.

Congrats to the bride and groom! Best of luck and all the love!

AIG can burn

2009-03-23T18:54:00.003+08:00

F.U. AIG

Here's a little story I've got to tell about one lovely company we know so well, they started way back in history and now we all own a piece of them 'oh why me?'

Our government says let's bail them out,

if we don't have AIG then we have no clout.

With all our tax money going into their account,

they began to dance, scream and shout. "We're rich again on US money, this is so easy and oh so funny."

"We never paid off when people needed us, but now we need the people's cash and they just wrote us a blank check."

"Ha ha ha USA, we're the boys of AIG and we're here to say, our bonuses are big and we deserve every cent, because in a socialist state it don't matter what you spent. We got the cash, the courts, and bonuses too. So step off citizens we are in charge, that's why are bonuses are so damn large."

"If you want some success we can show you the way, screw up, blow all your cash, and some government guy will say, 'we need AIG they insure my yacht how we gonna live with out them I need them a lot.' So in comes the money oh it really can't be."

But if you don't believe you don't have to listen to me, take a journey to America's car city. Up in Detroit nobody drives, in Washington by Jet every car executive arrives. "Oh we're broke, our cars don't sell if we don't get the US money my G5 I'll have to sell."

But we all know its the US socialist state and we're going to bail you out and without any wait. executives shouldn't worry they are the ruling class and in the USA it's all about the cash. Even if you lose someone else's money, it's okay, it's alright, it's all so funny. We'll reset the game, start you off fresh, that's why we send out the IRS. They'll collect the money from all those poor drones, and none of them will do anything but bitch and moan. Ask Mr. Snipes in his prison cell, if you don't pay for bailout's you go to hell.

Bangkok's Floating Market GATEWAY STYLE

2009-03-18T15:39:00.002+08:00

Last weekend Marisel de Guzman of Gateway High School fame, arrived in Bangkok for a bit of rest and relaxation. I was never Marisel's teacher, but we have many mutual friends and have known each other since she was in high school and I was teaching high school. It was amazing to see her all grown up and happy. She has been traveling Asia with her boyfriend Paul and they left their final leg for Bangkok. I was very excited to see her and her gentleman caller. Paul was very nice and I thought very quiet until I got to know him a little bit better. By our final day together he was feeding fish out of his mouth and chucking bread rolls at Chinese guys trying to eat some soup in peace. I guess people from San Diego are not as conservative as I thought.

Enjoy the video above. We shot it while floating around the water canals of Bangkok. If you are ever in Thailand I highly recommend you get up early one morning and enjoy this river cruise. You'll see the river people's lives up close and enjoy 3 different food markets. If you need some information on how to go, simply drop me an email and I'll help you set it up.

Enjoy!

Kindle me this and Kindle me That

2009-03-13T15:45:00.003+08:00

So the coolest feature of Amazon is probably the KINDLE device. This thing allows you to download books immediately. The KINDLE list is growing daily, as more and more best selling authors are offering their novels on this technologically advanced venue. But, who cares about those guys, the cool thing is they are putting up my novel THOSE WHO HEAR and ECHO POOL for electronic purchase.

I am very proud to be a part of the KINDLE family. Check out my 2 listings on Amazon's KINDLE offerings by clicking on the title of this article. It's really great because many people are a little short on cash and can not afford to buy my book, but with KINDLE I can offer it for about half the price. Basically all the shipping is taken out. So please, be the first to download and enjoy my books! Kindle me baby, YEAH!

Chinese Class

2009-03-12T08:32:00.004+08:00

For the past 4 years I have been asked to teach an English survival class to Chinese agriculturalists who come over to do research in Thailand. Thailand is the #1 exporter of rice in the world and one of the top fruit exporters in the world, so they come to study with the Thai professors. It is always a pleasure for me to get to work with them. I learn so much about Chinese culture and about the Chinese mind set as they emerge as a global power. This years group was full of spirit and in general they were a very fun group of students. The work ethic of Chinese people has always amazed me and it makes me feel like I'm a really good teacher when they improve so fast, even if it was more do to their hard work than do to anything I presented. I hope all of these students will stay in touch during their year in Thailand and when they return to their homeland.

The final point that we came to in our best discussion is this: China is rapidly becoming a free market society in which people who work hard believe they can find their way into the class above them. In other words, the Chinese are socially mobile as the poor work to move into the middle class and the middle class is endeavouring to become rich. And we decided that the United States, my homeland, has become a socialist state in which the government owns all banking and supplements all jobs by owning huge shares in all major manufacturing companies. So when I was in high school and Mr. Miles described communism and capitalism I think he made a critical flaw, given time all white becomes black and all red swirls into blue and all capitalists will turn communist if their capitalism is failing.

TV Dead and Well

2009-03-11T10:47:00.002+08:00

"I have never been one for inaction," Malcom X. I have given this quote to my students for years because I believe it makes a very bold statement and reminds them that the key to success or to even living life instead of waiting for death, is action! Action is the difference between the passivity of TV watching and the more self directed addiction of the internet. I will not completely defend surfing the net all night as far too many of us do, but I will say that it is a drastic improvement from the brain dead who sit idling watching TV for hours. Science has proven your brain is less active during TV viewing than sleeping and in essence while you WATCH your brain goes into a state of mild hypnosis. "What, sorry, I didn't hear you I was watchin' this." Sound familiar?

Many people are wondering just what it was that brought down the American empire, which many social scientists are calling the shortest lived empire in the history of the Earth. I believe it can be best described as addiction. Now drug addiction isn't helping anything, but as a society Americans are sickly addicted to flat screens, plasma screens, bigger and bigger their viewing technology gets -- fatter and fatter they grow -- and now suddenly, like a balloon being filled with a tire pump, the empire is BURSTING!

Look no further than passivity. Passive viewing, 26 minute stories sum up life problems with quips and giggles, canned laughter and guffaws and then roll credits. TURN YOUR TV OFF!

This is not a joke it is a public service announcement. At least if you are on your internet you are directing your experience. You select what you want to investigate, you read what you want to learn about. You can watch programs on the internet, but at least you searched them out. Sitting passively and allowing program directors to shuffle through their tired list of sleepy false reality TV shows is sad. Do people really care who got voted off what island? I'd like to vote the entire lot off of planet Earth to be honest.

Turn off your TV or simply throw it in the closet. I put mine away a couple years ago now and honestly I do NOT miss a thing!

NO TOURIST VISA NEEDED IN THAILAND

2009-03-05T08:52:00.004+08:00

Thailand may be the best shopping place in the world. It certainly can brag some of the biggest venues for this in the world. These mall monstrosities are usually between 4 and 6 stories of everything from name brand rubbish to locally made imitations of name brand rubbish. I myself am not much of a shopper, unless you consider being lost in bookstores for hours shopping -- actually that is more about my poverty as I usually am reading parts of books for free and then putting them back. But a new law is going to allow people into Thailand without a tourist visa. For the next 3 months it is gates open to the city of Bangkok. With no tourist visa restrictions the government is trying to stimulate some shopping growth. Great plan and good for all the guests of the Kingdom. So SHOP SHOP SHOP you consumers, and please dress nicely because I just might be in the mall and I'm not there to buy Gucky or Louey Sting Stong, I'm there to observe the beautiful people walking around in their little fantasy world. Very entertaining to watch them consume! It is like watching chickens pecking in the dirt for seeds, they strut around with their heads wobbling about as if they were searching for the holy grail, and then when they think they have spotted something they peck, peck again, peck and then begin the strutting again. Shoppers are very entertaining, the dance of the chickens pecking away.

Video #5 Peacemaker from Thailand

2009-02-27T10:42:00.004+08:00

This is the first Thai song I ever learned. It hit me so hard for some ineffable reason. I didn't understand any of it except the melody which is basically "I MISS YOU" and yet somehow the way it is said is so poignant, so heartfelt that it made me want to learn how to sing the song. I shocked my Thai friends one night in a Koreoke room when I took the microphone, something I almost never do, and sang this Thai song.

If you are not Thai you will not get the meaning of the song, which in truth is just one of a myriad of Thai pop songs which revolve around love. From what I understand the record labels here in the Kingdom don't encourage anything but love songs in the pop music world. It does get a little bit sickening to hear nothing but sappy and often sugary sweet songs of love, lost love, and yearned for love.

Detailed information about THOSE WHO HEAR

2009-02-25T15:10:00.007+08:00

unpublishedink.com/directory/article.php?id=15

The Astropaths series has struggled to get off the ground because book stores in Thailand are not sure what to do with the book. Asia books barely placed an order informing Bangkok Book House that YA and fantasy novels just don't sell. I had to laugh when I heard that considering Harry Potter is poised to pass the Bible in book sales in the next few years. Fantasy and YA doesn't sell? This seemed incomprehensible to me when we think of all of the block buster films out there based on novels in the fantasy or YA genre. Lord of the Rings and Narnia are two of the best examples of loved YA stories that have turned into gold mines for the film industry. Still it is their book stores and their shelves and so they have the right to put the books that they like in their stores. But I sincerely disagree with their assessment of what young readers and English readers here in Asia are looking for.

Now having griped enough about this, I'd like to mention that I hold the North American Copy Rights to Those Who Hear and the Astropath series. So I have begun looking for a publisher in the west who might be able to produce the book and get it on the shelves over there.

Please take a look at the link which my agent has put up to promote my book proposal. Click on the headline of this article to go directly to the publisher's promotional site. If you are interested in the series but have not yet purchased THOSE WHO HEAR on line, you can get lots of information about the book by looking at this book proposal.

S.N.U.G.G.L.E.

2009-02-25T10:21:00.003+08:00

Well I have been trying very hard to be the new me. I even came up with a nice acronym to better label my quest. The acronym is SNUGGLE and it stands for: Sims, new, universal, good, given, lovingly, everyday. So what this is about is the fact that everyone right now is feeling horrible, broke, and in a state of despair. We all need to give good feelings and give smiles and try hard not to get down or give a lot of our anger and frustration out to the world. Let's face it, when we glower at others it is a glower we are going to get back. Let's try to smile. Let's try to offer a kind word. Let's try to SNUGGLE our way through this global depression.

So day one of my quest went something like this. Bad luck for me. I have long feared that if I ever lowered my guard to the teeming masses around me that bad things would happen and sure enough, they did.

It began when I heard some people outside my front door. In front of our gate we had put our trash can out for the garbage collection. I have some plants close to there and so when people look through my trash I usually water the garden with my supersoaker and if a few sprays of water go errantly onto the people looking through my trash well I say "get away from my rubbish", but today I did not get out the water gun. I walked out to see who was out there.

A young girl of about 5 began to shout, "the farang (foreign devil) is coming grandmother run." She might have been sprayed before I can't be sure. "No," I said, "what are you looking for?" She held up a cardboard box. I knew this was my chance to do something nice. I ran inside and dumped out all of my wife's things, anything that was in a box and took the boxes out to the bewildered old woman. She nodded and smiled and I felt very good.

Later I was driving to badminton practice and saw the little girl and her grandmother going through the trash of one of my neighbors. I rushed to the V-SHOP and purchased 2 cokes because it was boiling hot out and I knew they would need something to drink. I took them the cokes and was thanked. The old lady then dumped out the coke, crushed the cans, and put them in her recycle cart. But okay, she seemed happy with my donation.

So now, as the Thai folks would say, I had offered some nice boons to the universe and it would seem that I should have a better day or perhaps some good luck. Nothing could be further from the truth.

At badminton I purchased 1 water and and a tea to quench my thirst after working out in 95% heat. I had a racket bag, my gym bag, and was trying to make change for the drinks. My hands were full, so I payed and then gathered my things and walked out to my truck. After I had pulled away and was nearly dead from thirst, I reached into my bag to find nothing to drink. I had left the drinks on the counter and the Thai workers, being too shy to say anything to me, had watched me walk out without saying a word.

It got worse. Monday I caught my first head cold of the year. I take about 2 sick days a year, and usually these are sick days where I need to get something done and just can't make it in, but by Tuesday I was so sick I couldn't breath. I missed work, and stayed home to rest. But it gets worse. It is currently HOT in Bangkok. I decided to recover in my movie room. Where better than this? But when I turned on the air-conditioner I heard a whirling sound and then a BANG. The motor had blown.

I guess the moral of the story is this, no good deed will go unpunished. If you want to snuggle those around you, don't do it with hopes of something good happening for you because it won't. Do it because you want to help others, because actually since I started this things have gone horribly. I am still sticking with it. I've got to try.

Leprosy is not Contagious

2009-02-22T15:29:00.003+08:00

I think we all know just how hard the year 2009 is going to be. The year of the ox may as well be known as the year of the goose egg, as in zero. It seems nearly every nation all of the world is declaring 0 or 1 % fiscal growth for the upcoming year. Zero is a more accurate descriptor also of the level of hope most people are feeling about their jobs, investments, retirement, ability to pay for health care, college funds, or just about anything related to our economy. Some oil baron got drunk, oh but not any more wink wink, and now an entire planet gets to enjoy his hangover. Thanks George Bush, we all needed a lesson in humility and your global policies have ensured us that no one is safe from your lesson.

But This is not about GW, this is about all of us finding a way to help everyone get through this mess. I have decided that I need an attitude adjustment. I am a teacher and try very hard to be nice to my students, some of the time, like when they are not being annoying. But I must admit at times I am a bit stand offish with my fellow man.

My friend Speedy was not very happy with me recently when a woman suffering from Leprosy butted in front of me in line and sort of rubbed up against me, I shouted "Leprosy!" and pushed everyone away from her as if I was rescuing them from a speeding bus. Leprosy is not something I give a lot of thought to, but I must admit I did think it was catching and that it was totally uncool of this woman to be out in public with her skin condition. But Speedy informed me that Leprosy is not contagious. Should I have shouted Leprosy and rushed to get away from this poor woman? Popular opinion with my friends is that I was rude and narcissistic. So I did a bit of checking and found out they were right, Leprosy is gross and disfiguring, but it can not be transmitted by touch. So I am going to try very hard to improve my attitude in dealing with people.

We are all in this sinking ship together, so we must try hard to be cool with each other and make everyone feel connected united.

I have decided not to cover my face with both hands when other people cough or sneeze. I will not run away and walk quickly around people with exploding acny problems or who are horribly obese. I will allow others, well those who have some basic grooming habits, to stand within arms reach, and in general I will do my best to simply keep my composer in dealing with people. Honestly I do like people, I mean like the ones that bring me a coffee in a coffee shop, or the people who give me a massage, or the laundry lady, or the cleaning lady, or the accounting women at my work who assist in the processing of my monthly pay, so it is obvious I have a lot of love for the common people. But I want to really go beyond this and attempt to offer a smile to all -- even people with skin diseases who cut in front of me in food lines.

But of course when I mean people, I don't mean the rich. Those monsters are on their own during this economic melt down. F*** them and their SUVs and their BMWs and their F****** hedge funds. Of course for the rich who are on their way back into the humanity of our planet do to bankruptcy we welcome you back with open arms.

Amazon Has Siminoe's Books

2009-02-14T16:21:00.005+08:00

Amazon dot com is the largest single books seller in the world. So I was really happy when I was able to list my books with them. The great thing is that they have the look inside program, so people can take a look at a couple of pages and see if the book is what they might be looking for. Right now I have 1 of my three novels, Notes from Manhattan, set up on look inside; however, within the next week both Echo Pool and Those Who Hear will also be look inside ready. So if you haven't purchased all of these books, go check me out on Amazon! The economy is ugly, but you deserve to read a good book! JUST CLICK ON THE TITLE OF THIS ARTICLE AND YOU WILL BE THERE!

Orchestra in down town Bangkok

2009-02-08T19:54:00.003+08:00

I love Bangkok, it really is a great city. We enjoyed this free performance of the Bangkok Orchestra last Sunday night. They did a lot of movie tunes. The music was splendid, and the company a lot of fun. Writers and tourists love to hype all of Bangkok's nasty little secrets, but not enough is written about the simple life here in one of S.E.A.'s biggest cities. There really is a lot to see culturally, museums and ancient temples abound, and there is a very international feel to the metropolis as people from all over the world work and travel here.
Of course, this was just a simple night with friends, but what's better than that?

Siminoe Video of the week #4

2009-02-08T19:03:00.003+08:00

Yo, sometimes when I'm not sure who to ask the hard questions of, I think of Lenny Bruce. The man was not the funniest comedian in the world, but he may have been the most profound. Take a look at his views on TRUTH.

John Updike has passed

2009-01-29T09:10:00.003+08:00

I will never forget taking my American Literature course during my undergraduate studies. The course was entitled: Hawthorn to Updike, a survey of America's greatest authors. I was raised in Nebraska, and so I had read Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Poe, and Bradbury, but I had never heard of Updike. Who was he? When our course began I recall being shocked that not only was Updike still alive, but that he was not all that old. In those days he was in his late fifties, still producing, and giving brilliant lectures on writing and literature. I immersed myself in his writing during university. One thing I learned was that the only way to read his work was with a dictionary in hand, because he would reach out to his readers with a vocabulary that spanned the English language. His incredible characters, their sexual endeavors, self loathing, and ever so common lives being blown into heroic proportions, reminded me of Shakespeare in the way that every character could be elevated -- risen to a pedestal of personal greatness -- before their inevitable fall.

His short stories were my favorites, and if you have never read any of his short stories you owe it to yourself to pick one up and read this master. What I loved was that his characters were us, the people around us, the us we recalled in our youth or the us we may someday be, and at every turn within his tale they stayed true to the human restraints and to human nature.

I will miss him. To honor him, I'm putting down the novel I was reading by John Irving, and revisiting some Updike pieces.

CLICK ON THE TITLE FOR A DETAILED REPORT OF HIS PASSING

Winner

2009-01-26T09:38:00.003+08:00

Whenever I'm feeling like things just aren't going my way. You know those times when you order a mocha and they give you a hot coco or you get a bad review or your students sit like zombies as you tell joke after joke or you fight your way through traffic only to find the mall's parking lot is completely full or you go to the sock drawer where you hide the emergency cash, only to remember as you pull open that drawer, that you blew that cash on lottery tickets because you saw the number 437 in your dream or you decided to get healthy so you brought a pocket full of vitamins only to find out in hot weather they sort of crumble and melt in your pocket or you hear the news about one of your friends and they are a huge success and you always thought to yourself, "at least I'll be doing better than that guy" or you smile at a pretty young lady and she smiles back, but as she gets closer you realize the she is a he (dang sex chances in Thailand are the best in the world) or you realize your 40 and all the cool kids now refer to you as pops or you find more hair in your brush than on your head. Well for any of these reasons really, I like to go to the Mall Namamwan and stand next to the furniture store with the big red sign that says: WINNER. I don't know why, but it always makes me feel a lot better! After all, life is all about perception. I feel like a winner!

Siminoe Video of the week #3

2009-01-25T21:45:00.002+08:00

Okay planet Earth. This SIMINOE song of the week is just where it's at. For everyone of us who is going to wake up tomorrow morning, hit the shower, and rush out the door to work for the man. Keep your head up and keep hustlin'!

BANGKOK IS TURNING TO ICE

2009-01-13T09:36:00.001+08:00

The temperatures in Bangkok are plunging, the locals are shivering, and we foreigners are rejoicing the break from the heat. It is actually COLD in the shadows around the city of Bangkok. Temperatures have dropped below 60% at night, and even during the day it has only been getting up to about 65%. Honestly in all my 7 years in the capital I have never experienced a streak of cold like this. I am loving it. My aircon has been off for days and it feels good to lay beneath a blanket at night. I am sure the heat will return with a blazing vengeance, but for now I'm enjoying the chill!

Ndamukong Suh

2009-01-02T18:05:00.003+08:00

What kind of 300 pound freak leaps above the offense line and blocks a chip shot field goal? The same kind of monster who sacks quarterbacks, catches touchdown passes, intercepts passes, and pretty much drives offensive coordinators crazy -- and his name is SUH.

Here in the city of Bangkok the Nebraska bowl game began at 1:00 AM instead of 1:00 PM, so blurry eyed, buzzing with coffee and a few beers, I tuned in TVU and projected it up on my big screen so I could watch the game. I would like to apologize to my neighbors, who I'm sure were all sleeping, but I was jumping around and screaming with every fumble, interception, and blown play. Nebraska played a fierce game on defense, but our offense looked -- at times -- deteremined to give the game away. Fumbles run for TD's and interceptions run back almost in for 6, it was maddening. Still, they fought on and finally in the second half they looked like the team that won their last 4 games of the year and challenged Texas Tech to an offensive shoot out -- something almost no one in the nation could do.

This was my wife Nan's first real experience with a Husker game, as often I can only tune in an internet radio station. But, last night the TVU picture was amazing and I got to see the entire game in full color and at full speed! Magical!

Huskers win 26-21 over Clemson in a nail biter. Welcome to Nebraska Bo Pellini, 9-4 in his first season. Now that is Nebraska football!

Thai politics welcomes the next PM

2008-12-16T13:50:00.003+08:00

Well, next up for Thai politics is a new PM. I suppose this is not surprising considering we have had a new PM about once every six months here. I would like to be optimistic and say that Abhisit does appear different than the others. First of all, he was born in England and is well educated, finishing at Oxford of all places. He is younger and seems to appeal to the public.

Now the PAD will leave the streets of Bangkok and declare a victory of sorts. They wanted Taksin's puppets out and it would appear they have done that. This guy is no Taksin puppet and has opposed him for most of Taksin's political life. So the PAD gets to go home and relax from all of their protesting and demonstrating.

So it's over right? Wrong! Now it is the RED mobs turn to protest and take to the streets in order to disrupt and destroy the current government. This will begin as soon as the King gives the approval to the new PM. Interesting, confusing, and oh so Thai.

But again, I'll take all of this protesting and vote wrangling over the way most South East Asian nations have solved their political struggles. Cambodia killed a few million in solving theirs, and Burma is still killing all opposition as if it was a Rambo movie, oh yeah it was. Vietnam had their war, one of the ugliest in the region. Thai's seem to always avoid the final outcome most nations fly to when power is confronted with resistance: FORCE.

Good luck Abhisit, if you can last a full term you will be the first in recent memory to do so. Well, technically Taksin finished a term, was re-elected and then Couped from office shortly after.

The vitals of PM elect ABHISIT VEJJAJIVA:

Born in Britain, educated at Eton and Oxford
Entered parliament in 1992 as one of its youngest members
Party leader since 2005
Opposed military coup that overthrew Thaksin Shinawatra
Profile: Abhisit Vejjajiva

Dancing Shrimp

2008-12-14T13:06:00.003+08:00

I love trying new food. Sometimes it takes a few beers to get me ready to try it though. In this video Nan and I are enjoying a Thai dish known as Dancing Shrimp. In reality they are uncooked shrimp served with spicy peppers which freak them out and make them jump around in the bowl. When one gets over the sheer oddness of the dish, it is very spicy and tasty. It is also supposed to, much like sushi, be more healthy as there is no cooking oils or grease used in their preparation. It is just herbs, spices, and shrimp.
Give it a try on your next visit to Thailand.

The night of the Smiling MOON

2008-12-02T09:51:00.003+08:00

It was the night of the smiling moon. December 1st Bangkokians rushed to their rooftops and backyards to check out an amazing event. Venus and Jupiter aligned just above a sliver moon and a smiling face peered down over a very troubled land of smiles.

Things have gotten worse here. The PAD in an act of desperation has lain siege to the two primary airports of the city and blocked all travel in and out. Hundreds of thousands of tourists and travelers have been stranded and even more than that have been blocked from returning to Bangkok. The PAD is trying to get rid of a tyrant, Taksin, who has pulled the strings of Thai government with bribery and political blackmail for years -- even thought officially he is a convicted criminal in exile -- he still has a lot of power here. I understand that the PAD stands against a government filled with corruption, but is this the way to do it? Now cancellations of tourists and business travelers are swamping local hotels, and my good friend at Bandara Resorts where I do some free lance copy writing, has basically informed me that they have had massive set backs for the next 6 months.

The global economy is in turmoil and a nation like Thailand does not have the resources to offer infusion packages and bail out plans. That is a lie only the big nations can tell. So this gamble by the PAD to force something to happen just may come back to haunt them. I must say I agree with their political ideals and hopes. I respect their sacrifice. I am just very concerned that now, even if they win, they may have coast the Thai people any hope of a decent economy in the coming 2 years. Sometimes in winning the battle we lose the war. Let's hope there is a result, a leader who can join this two factions and connect the Thai people again.

Video of the Week #2 DAVID BOWIE

2008-12-01T23:17:00.002+08:00

David Bowie has been my favorite musician for a greater part of my life. What has been amazing to me is that I have progressed as he has. What I mean is that Bowie has not settled over his more than 40 year career in music. He continues to evolve, change, and make magical pieces of music for every decade. Sadly, most people stick bowie in the 80's with his "Let's Dance" and "China Girl" efforts. Good songs, don't get me wrong, but far from his best work.
Bowie has done it all from punk, hard rock, disco, soft rock, and through it all he has never forgotten to be David Bowie. I chose this video from his long career because of visual elements and the songs very odd but interesting lyrics. He just never fails to make me think.
ENJOY THURSDAY'S CHILD, by David Bowie!

Husker Magic at the End

2008-11-30T13:35:00.003+08:00

It was a very well played game by both teams. CU brought more than I expected in this boarder war. The series totals certainly doesn't show it, but CU always plays the Huskers tough. This game was so close it took a school record to get the Huskers on top. But the icing on the cake was a 300 pound Defense Tackle smacking a quarterback in the mouth and walking into the end zone. Well done HUSKERS.

Look out Big 12 conference, we will be back!

An 8-4 finish and a BIG TIME BOWL GAME for the BIG RED. What a difference a BO makes.

PAD close the international airport

2008-11-26T09:34:00.003+08:00

The PAD has struck their biggest blow against the government. This will force the hand of the government one way or the other and so truly, tension is rising. By shutting down the international airport they have blocked the travel of tourists and Thai people alike. It is time for the government to act, and in my opinion, to take the action of stepping down.

It is a scary time right now for everyone, but the yellow PAD is well organized, well protected, and seem resolute in bringing about change. True peaceful demonstrations continue, and I believe if they can continue to disrupt in a truly peaceful fashion they must be respected and heard. FIGHT ON YELLOW SHIRTS!

Thailand is in Political Turmoil

2008-11-25T13:16:00.004+08:00

Please click on the title for up to date information about all the political unrest in Thailand. The PAD, truly are beginning to win this peaceful war on the government of Thailand. Often the western media portrays them as trouble makers, which makes me sick. These people are risking everything, they are giving up their time and for many their income to fight against one of the most corrupt leaders in the history of this nation. They are patriots, right or wrong, and truly believe in changing their nation by peaceful protest. Westerners stay out of this issue! You don't understand that they are trying to remove, from now forward, the powerful families who have put this nation in a strangle hold of bribery and corruption.

So long as they can do it peacefully, my admiration and respect go to the PAD. Fight on Yellow shirts, change is coming.

Thanksgiving in the United States

2008-11-25T12:48:00.004+08:00

Nebraska
vs. Colorado

Series history (46-18-2)

It's Thanksgiving weekend in the United States, and although I am far away from the turkey, stuffing, beer, and football, I am very excited about the coming show down between my rebuilding Huskers and the hated Colorado Buffalo. My family is from Colorado, so this is not about hating one of the best states in the union. I love Colorado, it was my home for 12 years. But, I am a CSU fan when it comes to Colorado. The evil trust fund babies of the CU clan have long detested my midwestern rooted Huskers and this rancor has turned to a mutual dislike for most big red fans.

We are not the big red of old, but with Bo coaching our current team it is obvious that we are going to rebuild and we are going to improve. I think the buffalo chips are headed for an old fashioned HUSKER thumping.

I PREDICT SOME SERIOUS PAIN FOR BUFF FANS:

HUSKERS 45

Colorado 13

1st WEEKLY VIDEO of the WEEK

2008-11-21T09:19:00.003+08:00

Hey, a few Siminoe.com fans, not that there are many or anything, but those that do check it out once in a while, have been asking me two questions. 1st why don't you offer movie reviews and suggestions, since you've been teaching script writing and movie analysis for 15 years. 2nd what was your musical preferences of the past and why did you listen to that crap?

So let me be honest, life in Thailand on a daily basis is sort of like that Twilight zone episode where the guy gets everything he wants all the time until he realizes maybe he is not in heaven. This is not a place with a lot of struggle, although politically things are heating up a bit. So I think I will try to sprinkle into my Thailand stories, some blasts from my past musically, and some film critics and suggestions. I know, everyone reviews movies, well yeah, but most of them are idiots.

So here is my first selection. A song that I absolutely loved in the 80's and a song that might remind you of the more energetic and somewhat innocent sounds of the 80's.

SO TURN IT UP and enjoy WALL OF VOODOO!

Sukhum's Cousin's Noodle Factory

2008-11-11T10:43:00.003+08:00

Have you ever wondered how we get all those delicious noodles. In Thailand one of the primary staples of our diet is noodles. We of course have rice, but many Thai people eat noodles far more often than rice. The primary reason for noodle popularity is availabilty and price. A bowl of noodles in a soup, with some pork balls or fish balls tossed in for nutrition is only about $.70 and adding lots of peppers and hot sauce is free. We eat noodles here to fill you up cheap, but in truth they are a delicious part of most Thai people's diet. In Thai we say, COAT DE O, to order noodles.

My House in Bangkok

2008-10-28T09:56:00.001+08:00

For some reason this video is TOO light, but I don't have time for a serious edit. At least you can see a bit of my new home. Send me any decoration ideas you might have.

Big Wedding and Beautiful Guests

2008-10-23T16:43:00.008+08:00

October is the month for weddings. Actually in the education business there are two months that seem to hold all of the weddings: October and April. These two months are important for teachers because we are not teaching and so we have time to either participate in or attend weddings. This October our school has 5 members of our staff tying the not. What's kind of cool is that 4 of the 5 are getting married to each other. Confusing? Well love in the work place here in Thailand is not really looked down at so long as it is proper, or in other words leads to a wedding at some point. What is amazing about weddings in all parts of the world is that everyone who comes wants to be as beautiful as they can, and of course this is the big reason we all go to weddings. I love to see everyone all dressed up. I guess it is like the adult version of the prom.

Last week my golfing buddy Ajarn Sak got married to my classroom partner Ajarn Pang. The events was attended by about 400 guests. The venue was wonderful, the food was delicious, and the ladies showed up looking marvelous. I think I'll just let the photos say it all. Enjoy.

Obama gives US a grand opportunity

2008-10-21T09:41:00.004+08:00

The other day I met my good friend Mark for a coffee and a chat. Mark is Irish and visits Thailand to write and enjoy himself before the chilly winters of Dublin begin. He is putting the finishing touches on his PhD in French Philosophy, and is especially interested in the United States because many of the ideals that Americans hold as base values today, actually come from the French revolutionaries who preceded the construct of the U.S. I guess an obvious and natural curiosity would be here, because as a historian it is always fun to look back at ideas and see if they came to be fulfilled and fully developed.

Mark admitted he, like most Europeans, were shocked when 4 years ago the American people did not get rid of George Bush. He said it was a huge disappointment to most of the world. The thing is, America is no longer the educational power it was, technological power, or manufacturer was, but it is still a massive economy and military power. In essence the world watches our elections and hopes that those of us with the privilege to chose this world leader will chose one that can bring our nation forward and in essence bring the world forward.

Here is the thing, we as Americans have a massive opportunity here to elect a man of color to the greatest office in our government. We can LEAD AGAIN, by proving we actually value some of the words which are written in our great documents -- such as "all men are created equal" -- and we can show the world that we are not afraid of CHANGE!

By the year 2040 white America will lose its majority standing. That is still a long ways off, but that doesn't mean that white America can not benefit from a leader who is not white. This is a man who has studied hard the historical baggage of our nation, felt it first hand, and followed the fundamental beliefs of our nation all the way to this point.

Can we then, as a people, take the next step with him? Can we look past a name and a color that is not the same as every leader who has come before?

What an opportunity to show that WE CAN! In truth, we must. At every turn during the past 8 years we have marginalized people's from around the world by our extreme politics. While our leadership has been unwilling to change, grow, and accept a new leadership in the world, enemies have flourished and been able to recruit at record levels. Peace, and partnership reigns across Europe now and yet still we separate, draw lines in the sand, and make demands on nations we don't understand.

Let's take a step toward global leadership. Let's find a way to bridge gaps with nations who fear and don't believe we are truly an integrated nation who stand for peace and economic growth. In my opinion, Obama is the answer to this.

Obama for president!

Cambodia Clash -- From the Nation

2008-10-15T21:17:00.002+08:00

Cambodia claims Thailand violated airspace
By Deutsche Presse Agentur
Phnom Penh - Thailand violated Cambodian airspace hours before a border skirmish erupted on Wednesday, Cambodian officials said.

Cambodian and Thai soldiers on Wednesday exchanged gunfire in a disputed zone near the ancient Preah Vihear temple on the Thai-Cambodian border called Eagle Field, or Eagle Terrace, 300 kilometres north of the Cambodian capital, which is an important strategic point for access to Preah Vihear.

"The Thai injuries were worse, but there were casualties on both sides," the director-general of Cambodia's Preah Vihear authority, which oversees the site, said by telephone.

"The Thai fighter jet came 8:50 am and again at 10.07 am to disturb our airspace. Cambodian soldiers wanted to fight then, but they were placated for a while.

"I do not know why fighting happened at 2.15 until 3.30 pm because I was not there," the head of Cambodia's Preah Vihear authority, Hang Soth, said by telephone from a meeting in Phnom Penh.

He said there were casualties on both sides, but that the Thai side had borne the brunt of duel M-79, B-40 and AK-47 exchanges.

Cambodian authorities said all civilians had fled the area and it was now regarded by both sides as a conflict zone.

The Wednesday shoot-out at Eagle Terrage is important to the ongoing dispute over the Preah Vihear temple because whoever controls that area controls access to the temple, which is sacred to both sides.

A similar clash at the same site on October 3 left two Thai soldiers and one Cambodian wounded.

Thailand VS Cambodia

2008-10-15T21:05:00.002+08:00

What the hell is going on? Thailand and Cambodia are still arguing about this boarder dispute, but now guns have been drawn. Small arms fire erupted today along the Thai - Cambodian boarder. There are no reports of any dead, but wounded Thai soldiers were air lifted back to Bangkok today.

This sucks! Two Buddhist nations fighting over Buddhist temple lands. Am I the only one who sees the irony of this. Hey, Christians, Muslims, and well basically every other major religion have been killing each other since their religions were born, but come on, this is no way for Buddhist nations to act.

Here is the sad part, I believe the real problem is simply money arrangements which have been made for the future tourism of this location. Both sides have already made deals and now they fear the consequences if they can not make good on those deals. I don't know the real story, but I do know everyone needs to chill. Thailand should have no fight with the Cambodians, because they share a religion and they share a boarder that has been peaceful for generations.