We never Talk anymore

Sound and vision create a bit of a mood video. A struggle between friends. A masterpiece in the background, created by David Bowie. One tornado of energy and one waterfall of power. Yet still, in the end, friends!

Bangkok Rain

Bangkok rains are hard and relentless. The street flooding is dangerous; however, a lot of fun to go driving around in. Whats a little rain without massive splashing!

The King is Naked

  I’m about ready to rant… Okay, so this is the thing. I’m sick and tired of name brands and labeling, packaging and marketing, spin and branding. In Bangkok today and sadly I would guess all over the world, the independent craftsman or restaurateur is disappearing at an alarming rate and being replaced by corporate foods and designer rehashing of all the same old fashions. Honestly I knew the sickness was spreading out of control when someone decided that the ugly brown and gold of LV was beautiful. Please, just throw the golden LV on a shit-brown purse or pair of shoes and girls will swoon. “Oh honey, I wish I could have a Louis Vuitton. It is so beautiful; it is such a remarkable color and design.”

I got to say I’m scratching my head here, am I the ONLY person on the planet that realizes LV, crafted in their ‘oh so tediously recognizable’ shit-brown color, is hideously dreadful? I’m not saying we should judge all things by its visual qualities, perhaps these LV bags have sturdy zippers or thread woven from the virgin butts of Martian worms or something, but the point is quality or not they are putrid pieces of rubbish to look at. 

   Come on planet Earth, put something on that looks good on you. I’ll let you in on a little secret; the factories in Asia which are cranking these products out are also making the cheep stuff sold at half the price. “Oh Sim, no there are made from a better quality of leather.” “What kind of cow is higher quality? Is this a cow that studied at Stanford or something instead of City College?” 
Here is my advice, tear those labels off. Wear something that looks good. Take the difference between the ugly stuff you were going to buy and the cheap stuff I’m recommending, and DONATE that money to www.siminoe.com , which is struggling to survive. My staff hasn’t been paid in months. I'm guessing LV doesn't need your money.

Husker Glory years and New Beginnings

It's August and College football camps have opened all over the USA. In honesty, I love my life here in Thailand, but there is nothing like a fall chill in the air and the smell of freshly cut football grass. I get homesick one time of year, and that is when the leaves begin to turn, the pads begin to pop, and the polls spur the only worth while discussion in America: WHO IS NUMBER 1?

Beware of the day the SUN goes away

WOW, August is coming in with a magical solar eclipse. This of course happens when the Gods of the ancient world have not been appeased by blood. It is important for people in Canada and norther regions of Russia and China, to quickly sacrifice an oxen or sheep in order to protect their village from this horrible event. Please check the video by National Geographic for more information, but don't take too long, as we all know if the sun leaves our planet we will all be FROZEN in seconds. Don't be responsible for such a disaster. KILL SOMETHING NOW!

Reality Is … So Unreal

The butterfly effect is a concept that really gets my mind reeling. It is the basic theory that even the smallest event or stimulus can create, over a long period of time or a short abrupt period of time, reactions somewhere else in the world. It all began with that famous quote about a butterfly:

"The phrase refers to the idea that a butterfly's wings might create tiny changes in the atmosphere that may ultimately alter the path of a tornado or delay, accelerate or even prevent the occurrence of a tornado in a certain location. The flapping wing represents a small change in the initial condition of the system, which causes a chain of events leading to large-scale alterations of events. Had the butterfly not flapped its wings, the trajectory of the system might have been vastly different. Of course the butterfly cannot literally cause a tornado. The kinetic energy in a tornado is enormously larger than the energy in the turbulence of a butterfly. The kinetic energy of a tornado is ultimately provided by the sun and the butterfly can only influence certain details of weather events in a chaotic manner."

Now something so infinitesimally small, so insignificant and minute, changing a tornadoes path could be seen as inspiring – shockingly so. Yet, I hold to this contemplative fear, "what if that tornado was supposed to miss me, and now it's headed right for my new 3.5 million baht home, 'to which I have no tornado insurance.'"You see when fate or cosmic karma is out to balance or unbalance the scale, it just might be me or you who is about to weigh in and that sucks. I mean every situation begins with something, in movies they say it's the plot point – you know our divergence from the normal into the drama of our story. Consequently, any time I start to feel bored and do a lot of thinking about what bolder in my life is teetering ever so ominously on some cliff I'm destined to walk beneath, I have to remind myself "maybe there is a super butterfly that could fly between me and that bolder and smash it to pieces with its little wings?" But then again, maybe not?

My Genius is in the Coffee

An article on MSNBC has confirmed a long standing suspicion of mine. My Genius may be a result of my massive use of coffee. Study sessions at university in which we crammed an entire semester and 3 or 4 text books into a 24 hour enlightenment period, always made me wonder, "is it the incredible effort I'm putting in which is giving me the good grades, or is it just the coffee?" Researchers created a list of 4 foods which help memory recall and slipping in at number 4 is every teacher's friend, every cop's life blood, black gold, coffee. Now this is wonderful news for me, because I've always indulged myself with coffee as a pick me up which can aid me through my less than stimulating day as a high school teacher. 

Now if they can just come out with a study that says watching movies and eating cake all day will help me to understand quantum physics, then I will be really happy. 

Article from MSNBC:

Coffee (adjust to your personal tolerance)
Good news for coffee lovers. About two years ago, researchers from the University Innsbruck in Austria found caffeinated coffee can temporarily sharpen your focus and memory. After giving volunteers the caffeine equivalent of about two cups of coffee, they observed that their brain activity was increased in two locations—one being the part responsible for memory. Results were observed using MRI technology. Without caffeine, there was no increase in brain activity. 

Then, earlier this year, another study published in a leading Neurology journal, found the effects of coffee may be longer lasting — specifically in women. This four-year long study involving about 7000 participants... all participants went through thorough baseline evaluations – cognitive function was tested, along with high blood pressure, high cholesterol and other vascular issues. Participants were re-evaluated at the two-year mark, and again at the four year mark. 

At the end of the four year period, researchers found that women age 65 and older who drank more than three cups of coffee per day (or the caffeine equivalent in tea) had 33 percent less decline in memory over time than women who drank one cup or less of coffee or tea per day. The results held up even after researchers adjusted for other factors that could affect memory abilities, such as age, education, baseline cognitive function, depression, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, medications, and other chronic illnesses. This caffeine-memory association was not observed in men — the authors hypothesize that perhaps that’s because men and women metabolize caffeine differently.

So if memory problems are a major concern for you, and if you don’t have a medical condition that precludes caffeine, feel free to indulge in a cup or two in the morning to jump-start your brain.

Luc Besson RULES with BEAUTY

The Fifth Elemnt she is "Perfect"

Recently I installed a projection system in my new home. It is so cool to see movies on a 92 inch projection screen and to hear the powerful surround sound, that I basically only leave my house for work and food. One of the great pleasures in having a new system to view movies is pulling out old favorites and watching them again. It has been during this glut of film indulgence that I have come to realize just how much I love Luc Besson. 

Luc Besson is one of my favorite film directors. I know every film school nerd loves to babble on and on about Kubrick -- yes, yes, the patience the calm, he is a brilliant director -- but for my box office bucks I love Besson. He certainly does not have the track record of a Spielberg or Lucas, but what is amazing about Besson is his ability to tell a story. To tell it to an audience that may or may not understand much about science or even fiction, and to use compelling characters to tell his stories. 3 of my favorite films of all time, and I've seen far too many films to make this statement, are Besson's famed jewels: La Femme Nikita, The Fifth Element, and Leon The Professional. Action films with a sense of humor, romance, color, and most importantly a human factor that far too many directors fail to access.  Leon is one of the most singular character in any film, and his relationship with his adopted young lady is magical.

If you have not seen all of his films, check his bio by clicking on the title of this article. You will be taken to an article about his retirement in 2006 which goes into great detail about his career. Chose one of his 10 films and rent or buy it and check him out. You won't be disappointed. 

Motorcycle Taxis go to WORK

It is the year 2551 here in the Kingdom of Thailand. Sometimes I feel like the nation is trapped in the 50's of the west. I mean there is an innocence here very similar to that of the 1950's in America. We have a steadily and rapidly emerging middle class, we have young people who are the first family member to graduate from a university, we have ice cream shops packed with students on giggly dates, movie theaters, ice skating rinks, and so much focus on teen life. But, in other ways I feel this county is way ahead of the west when it comes to technology. Phones here are, as a group more advanced for the money, banking is so much easier as everything can be done with the ATM machine.

So as I look to the future of the planet I think perhaps the planet will be looking at Thailand for its answer. You see for decades here we have had the motorcycle taxi. Now if you want to get anywhere at any time of day, there is really only one vehicle which can deliver -- the motorcycle taxi. These crazy people are willing to slip through seems in the gridlock that many needles would shy away from. When the street becomes completely impassable, the sidewalk or even fields beside the road can become a viable means to an end. As gas prices seem to be soaring beyond all expectations, and more hikes expected on a weekly basis, I will suggest for the rest of the world that you should introduce the motorcycle taxi. It's cheap, it's doable, and they can go to places your car could never dream of going anyway.

Most importantly the PRICE IS RIGHT! Motorcycles will be making a huge comeback in the coming decade, because cars and cheap fuel are about to become a thing of memory. Truthfully, who can spend 30% of their monthly earnings to cover transportation? This number was thrown out as an estimate of spending by middle class citizens on the planet Earth. I for one, moved closer to my work and plan to do as much WALKING as I can.

College Football's Most Memorable

I am a college football fan, and specifically I am a HUSKER fan. I was born and raised in Nebraska, so what else could I be. Recently Sports Illustrated did an article on the names that have survived long after their playing or coaching days were done -- legends of the game. If you came up with 10 names, what would your list be?

After you have thought about it, check out the live link by clicking on the title. You can see who they chose and who they did not. I was NOT HAPPY when Tom Osborn did not appear on this page, but most of the names were not surprising at all. 

Nuts Rule

I get a lot of grief from my friends about always chewing on peanuts, almonds, cashews, or any other squirrel feed I can find. I've just always liked it. But recently I read an article that has defended my love of this natural food. The article comes from National Public Radio's website and was entitled, CAN "BLUE ZONES" TURN BACK THE BIOLOGICAL CLOCK? It was an interesting piece about a study done on some of the oldest people alive today. Most of it was stuff I had heard before, such as exercise in small amounts often during the day seems to prolong life. Living in regions with less stress of course helps. Having an extended and supportive family is seems to give people a reason to live, but I had honestly never heard this one before. The quot below is very optimistic for me:

"One of the idiosyncrasies we discovered is that people who eat nuts four to five times a week, 2 ounces at a time, tend to live two to three years longer than people who don't eat nuts. That was a big surprise for us," Buettner says.

Two to three years is not bad at all!

CHECK out the story on super old people by clicking the title of this article.

Bangkok Protests Getting Bigger

Phot provided by the BBC: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7466221.stm

The tension is rising in the capital of Thailand. Please check out this link to see some video footage from yesterday's protests. It is looking like something is going to happen. I hope violence is not going to follow, but without a doubt tension is rising and people are starting to push it. You'll see in the video the protesters charged through a police checkpoint line and seem to be moving without any hard line resistance. I fear this may change soon. 

The basic issue at hand is that the congress, made up of Taksin supporters, want to change laws that will make it possible for Taksin to return to Thailand without facing any legal penalties. This group is out to stop that once and for all. It is an issue that is dividing Thailand nearly 50/50. It would seem the protesters are winning over a lot of people, but we can't forget that this government just WON the election a few months ago.  

Could I be Wrong about McCain?

I really do not like politics, but it is an election year in the nation of my birth. I did a great deal of thinking about the economics of a new president and, wanting the American economy to go further down so that my Thai baht will continue to climb, I had thought that McCain was the natural choice. I know he will continue to force the dollar lower, the price of oil higher, and the housing market will completely collapse. Now this is bad, I know, but then I could afford to come back to America and buy a house really cheap and that would be cool for me. A summer house in the United States and a winter house here in Thailand, this would be awesome.

BUT, Iraq is the other issue at hand in this election and honestly this is of far greater consequence than me having a cheap house back in the states. I am proud of my friends who have gone to Iraq and fought, risking all for a cause that our nation has seen as necessary to protect our freedom. Still, enough it enough. Iraq is never going to be stable. Sorry to be the voice of doom here, but we could stay there for 1 year or 30 years and Iraq will still be fighting. The only thing we have to chose between is this, will Iraqis be killing Iraqis or will they be killing Americans? I don't have a clue what the proper exit plan is, but I do know we need an EXIT plan -- now! As the saying goes, "Sometimes its better to be nowhere than to stay some place your not wanted."

I cut and pasted this from the John McCain website and this is the last straw for me. Please read below to see his views on the war of Iraq. Please click on the title to see all of John McCain's views on his official website.

Strategy for Victory in Iraq The Importance of Succeeding John McCain believes it is strategically and morally essential for the United States to support the Government of Iraq to become capable of governing itself and safeguarding its people. He strongly disagrees with those who advocate withdrawing American troops before that has occurred.It would be a grave mistake to leave before Al Qaeda in Iraq is defeated and before a competent, trained, and capable Iraqi security force is in place and operating effectively. We must help the Government of Iraq battle those who provoke sectarian tensions and promote a civil war that could destabilize the Middle East. Iraq must not become a failed state, a haven for terrorists, or a pawn of Iran. These likely consequences of America's failure in Iraq almost certainly would either require us to return or draw us into a wider and far costlier war.The best way to secure long-term peace and security is to establish a stable, prosperous, and democratic state in Iraq that poses no threat to its neighbors and contributes to the defeat of terrorists. When Iraqi forces can safeguard their own country, American troops can return home.