Courage ?
He either fears his fate too much,
or deserts are too small;
That dares not put it to the touch,
to gain or lose it all.
James Graham, Marquesse of Montrose
Back to the motherland v2
Disclaimer:
If you haven’t yet read “Back to the motherland“, this post won’t really make much sense to you. You really ought to tho, its got pictures and pandas and everything. The rest of you who have and know what the heck I’m talking about, carry on….
End disclaimer.
Wow this visual content thing really works ! Don’t think I’ve ever received as many responses as quickly. Most of the fellas who’ve hit me back with comments (most of them of the tostesterone kind as you can probably tell from the aftermath of this post) made it very clear however that the image uploaded wasn’t exactly what they were hoping for. Hence….
Back to the motherland
Ok its been a while since I’ve written. True to my word this entire blogging phase didn’t last for much longer than 3 posts. The one thing any men is most vulnerable to however is the overwhelming power of “nagging”. Ask any wife. They fully appreciate the power of that particular verb (interestingly enough, most of the people who *were* nagging me were neither wives nor female….hmmmm I suppose leg shavers would be an appropriate Christmas gift for that bunch). In any case, Post #4.
Ok from many of the feedbacks that I’ve received, people these days don’t quite enjoy reading much and apparently one thing sorely lacking in my blogs is content of a more visual nature. Considering this particular post is ment to document my recent trip to China, I felt the inclusion of *some* digital imagery was merited. Thus……
In any case, I’m rather glad I made the trip to China. Growing up as I did in a world that strives to be ever more open minded and forward looking has led me to view some of the beliefs and practises of that land with some measure of ridicule and scorn. It is not until I’ve step foot upon those shores and witness the marvels of a culture that has weathered the seasons that I began to see them in a different light. Don’t get me wrong, I think a lot of what goes on there is a fair bunch of bollocks. But while I cannot bring myself to subscribe to their beliefs and their practises, at the very least I think I’ve learnt to understand it and appreciate the hundreds of years worth of history and culture that gave it birth.
At the end of the day, it is China, I am chinese and that was whence my forefathers came.
Ni hao !
Sawadee Khrab
Just got back from Bangkok in the wee hours of this morning. Great food, very nice people, and tho I've had the pleasure of travelling to and from Thailand a fair bit over the years, I never seem to tire of their hospitality. For those of you who are planning any sort of a trip there, you should be warned tho that communication is probably going to be a bit of an issue for those of you who don't speak Thai as the English language isn't exactly an ability that the common person on the street posses. To this end, allow me to bequeath to those of you who do not have my linguistic abilities the simple phrases you'll need in order to survive in the Land of Smiles.
Phrase #1
Mai kau chai (pronounced "Mai kau chai")
Means: I don't understand
Phrase #2
….that's really all I know.
It certainly helps tho if you combine that phrase with a beaming smile. For example, if you find yourself in a situation where you've….lets say run over someone's chicken. It'll probably be the difference between someone walking away, muttering curses under their breath about foreigners or someone chasing you down 20 streets with a cleaver in his hand.
In all seriousness tho, as I left Thailand last night, the Land of Smiles was preparing to celebrate the 60th year in which their current king has been in power. It is facinating to me how their monarch is able to inspire such passion and devotion from his people. Cutting thru the media hype, my own conversations with the average Thai that I've met very much enforces the sentiments of the nation in regards to their king. In a world where scandals and corruption has riddled global politics, I often regard those in power and in politics as worthy of no mention other than of weary resignation as one would to the inevitability of the changing seasons. It is truly point and case when my decisions during any elections would be governed by my desire for the lesser of two (or sometimes three) evils rather than for the greater good. In such a world, it is a novelty to me that a nation could be so united in its thanks for their ruler.
As such, to the man who has given 60 years of his life to the people he was called to rule. To the man who has dedicated his days to touching the lives of his subject, who gives them the courage to dream of a better world and of a better tomorrow, I salute you.
To his majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej, happy 60th anniversary.
Yuu spek anhy eeenleesh ???
I recently moved into my new place. Now being in a new place required that I get a new TV (which is incidentally an unwritten law of mankind. Death by stoning if you violate that sacred precept). After the dust has settled and I've removed that ballistic missle from my wallet, I started on hooking up the one reason I got that monster anyhow…..GAMES !!! (you didn't think it was for the discovery channel did you ?)
Yup, very much a gamer at heart (and in the lungs, pancreas and colon if you get technical about it). Hopping from a myriad of MMOs to console games to PC games to hopscotch…..but that's a topic for another day.
In any case, I was going thru my acrobatics routine – bending in angles that you won't find Jenna Jameson at – hooking up the composite cables, squeezing past the gazillion wires littered behind the cabinet and when I was finally done, there was no color !! OK I've been called enough names over the past few days but contrary to popular belief, I do not collect welfare cheques on account of my mental incapacities and the *first* thing I did was to check if the TV was set to the correct system (ie NTSC or PAL). Didn't work much tho.
So after hours of frustration, as a last resort I called up the vendor's technical support (hereafter referenced to as the Minions Of the *Really* Evil One or MORON for short). You know how it is with some conversations that after a first few seconds or so, you just know that things aren't going to go very smoothly ?
MORON: Theng kyuu, yu calling ** tekikal support. How yu wan me help ?
(I'm going to paraphrase most of MORON's contributions to the dialog from here on. Don't really want my readers to suffer from a brain hemorrage trying to dechiper his rather unique blend of what we know as "the english language")
Me: Hi I recently purchased a ** TV, hooked up my PS2 on it and the images shows up but there is no color.
MORON: Yes yes. You have a problem then ?
Me: ……I would classify that as a problem, yes.
What I really wanted to say: Not really. I enjoy paying thru my nose for a set that looks like it came from the 60s. No problem at all.
MORON: How would you like me to help ?
Me: ……….help me get some color on my friggin TV ?
What I really wanted to say: Well you could go sit on a cactus. That'll really help my rising blood pressure. And hey could you like stick your head in the oven at the same time. Think you could handle both of that at once ?
MORON: Ok I'll just go thru a list of questions (that apparently is a prerequisite if you were ever interested in a position as tech support…the ability to read from a list of questions)
Me: That's fine.
MORON: Do you have a TV ?
Me: !(@$*^(*@^%!(*
What I really wanted to say: !(@$*^(*@^%!(*
So in short, I have a TV that doesn't like my PS2 very well. If anyone out there can help me out, I'd appreciate it. Just go buy MORON a cactus and a faulty oven.
