dddave

I had always thought of "Hurdy Gurdy" as something played on a 19th century street corner by a clownish fellow with a trained monkey. I discovered this master on YT and find his music to be absolutely compelling.

If it bleeds, it leads, especially if it's backed-up by video on most of the Thai news shows, especially Amarin (ch-34) & PPTV (ch-36). Not a night goes by without a domestic murder or two, several gang fights at gas stations along with any number of guys killing each other over beers. The more gruesome the video, the more times it will be replayed in endless loops.

My home state of Massachusetts was much like Thailand when I first began to drive in the 1960s & '70s. Crosswalks were routinely ignored. A pedestrian would attempt to cross a road and cars would just weave around them. I well remember when I took a road trip to the SouthWest, being shocked that cars would come to a stop the moment you stepped off the curb onto a roadway...and if you did it out of a crosswalk, they'd let you know it. Sometime in the 80s, after a few well publicized pedestrian accidents, Massachusetts finally began to strictly enforce crosswalk rules but it wasn't until they began placing plastic orange barrels in crosswalks, adorned with signs threatening $200 fines and police actively ticketing violators that crosswalk culture began to slowly change. Vehicles finally started stopping for pedestrians in crosswalks and it has continued for the most part. It wasn't an easy or quick change. It took a strong public information campaign and strict enforcement that didn't ease-off to make it work.

Until you need extensive health care! Hospitals up to western quality standards are scarce and VERY expensive; pretty much non-existent in the provinces. Compare the cost of both prescription and OTC medicines and the Philippines is much more expensive than Thailand with much less selection. Sad to say but all the best Filipino doctors and nurses work outside the Philippines.

Singapore also uses judicial caning, often held-up as the most advanced and sophisticated society in SE Asia.

I've worked in a lot of TV commercials and have had small roles in a few movies shot here in Thailand and have always been impressed by Thai film crews. There are no SAG work rules here. Shoots often go from dawn to midnight and not a lot of comfort provided yet the crews are always on point and fast at what they do. One of the pleasures for me working on set was watching lighting, set and camera crews transitioning from one scene to another, working fast but usually staying out of one another's way. Everyone has their own specific task and their skills are impressive. One shocking and disturbing thing is the total lack of work rules for young children. I have worked on several commercials involving large numbers of very young kids, from 3 to 6 years old and no allowance is made for them. They are expected to be available for costume and make up at 6AM (a parent always accompanies the kids and stays throughout the shoot) and shooting usually starts around 9AM. Getting large groups of young kids to stay attentive and act in unison is not easy and directors and especially assistant-directors can be pretty harsh at times...there are a lot of tears. It is not unusual for these shoots to last well beyond 6PM with minimal breaks. One commercial for an ice cream company started at 5AM and didn't finish until after 11PM. The kids (and parents) were totally blitzed. This could never happen in most Western countries.

I tried to buy a 70" Hisense TV from Shopee (B20,500) but couldn't find a way to pay. No COD, the VISA/MC approval system was down as it often seems to be. Though I have the Bangkok Bank mobile app, I do not have the Bangkok Bank online account and without that, one can not transfer to Shopee. I even drove a mile to a BKB ATM but no joy there as well as Shopee's ATM payment instructions did not match the ATM menu. A frustrating experience to say the least! (It was an expiring promo price, thus the frantic payment attempts.) Later, found the same exact TV on Lazada for B400 more but with a Hisense dorm size fridge tossed into the deal. Never knew I needed one but it's turned out to be handy. My niece was then able to find a further B1000 discount so net 19,900 including fridge. Delivery was free. Payment was 2 clicks and done. Delivered by seller to Jomtien the next day. They brought it up to my apartment but no unboxing or set-up. Unboxing with 2 people was easy as the carton lifts off rather than having to pull the set out of it. I does leave a LOT of cardboard and styrofoam to dispose of. Usually, I keep TV boxes but even flattened, this was too large to store anywhere. Set-up was pretty easy, took about 15 minutes. If one has a Google account on your mobile, it does practically all of it. I've had the TV for three months now and I'm very happy with it. The picture quality with the big display is incredible, great for watching sports and movies. Sound quality is so-so, not bad but not great either. No faults yet found. The Android system is easy to use. I would never have considered the usual B50,000+++ for a extra large TV but for just shy of 20K, quite an amazing price for the big screen experience.

I was having similar AM back pain. Physical therapist advised me to lie on my stomach with 2 pillows under my upper chest with my head slightly overhanging the pillows. Once comfortable, I would SLOWLY raise my head to the point where eyes look straight ahead no more than 6 times. Then I'd do 4 to 6 semi push-ups..upper body only, not regular push-us. Hold the position for about 15 minutes. Worked amazingly well for me.

I live in a condo overlooking Jomtien 2nd Rd. between Soi Wat Boon and Theprasit intersection. It is, day and night, a speedway with both loud motorcycles and cars treating it like a dragstrip. NEVER any enforcement. Also: never, ever trust a pedestrian crossing, especially those with traffic lights along Second Road.

Go to "My Account", tap small "settings" gear, top right. "Account Information" page comes up. Language is just under country selection.

I changed from "PureVPN" to "Surfshark" more than a year ago. Very happy, never an issue, very quick to connect.

I don't know of any service techs who do house calls. For competent and honest computer repair: Pro Corner Computer Repair Fortune Tower, 3rd floor.

My nephew and his wife had twins. I remember his wife saying the most useful gift they received was a nursing bottle kit designed for twins so the mother can feed both at the same time. Just look online.

Use the entire number, including the zeros.

Just in the last year there have been more than a few video clips on Thai news of motorbikes engulfed and crushed between the wheels large semi's. There was just one last week where the bike was in the middle of his lane and a container carrier driving alongside in the adjoining lane suddenly swung into him and crushed him under the rear wheels

My view of Thailand was totally reshaped from watching the nightly news on channels 34 & 36. They seem to always go with the stories with video back-up and there is no shortage of content. Every evening there are clips of live shootings, often several on a single broadcast and always looped over and over lest viewers miss any detail.

This performance of the Berlioz Requiem at a memorial concert for the late conductor, Claudio Abbado, conducted by his protégée, Gustavo Dudamel is one of the finest performances I have ever heard of this great requiem.

Actually, observations relating to Ms. Wang's non-musical attributes and her lack of reluctance to display them have entered the copy of normally staid classical music reviews, causing kerfuffle not seen since Charlotte Moorman played her cello while bare-breasted at a New York opera performance in 1967. On one of her first major US tours, Ms. Wang performed at the Hollywood Bowl clad in 6" stiletto heels and a dress best described as appearing shrink-wrapped to her body. Social commentators immediately seized upon the disparity in reviews of this concert that appeared in the local and international press, comparing the percentages of copy describing her performance vs. the amount of copy devoted to her attire. Even the usually all to correct New York Times found itself piously defending it's classical music critic's brief foray into fashion commentary: something along the lines of "As revealing as a second skin.. "

She is a hottie...and loves flaunting it to the deep despair of the classical establishment.

I'm 78 and have been riding two wheeled vehicles since my 'teens. I now live in Jomtien and have a small Honda Click 125 which suits my needs nicely. I do accept that I am not the same rider I was 25 years ago, or even 10 years ago. I'm not physically as flexible now so turning to look behind or at sharp angles to the side is more restricted. Situational awareness, such as at a really busy intersection (Like Soi Diana/Buakhow for Pattaya dwellers) takes more concentration and caution. I avoid fast and busy roads like Sukhumvit and especially those requiring multi-lane crossovers and U-turns. I leave a much wider gap between myself and vehicles in front of me and when pulling from a side soi into traffic, remind myself, I have nothing to hurry for and try to never cut it too close. I also stifle the impulse to speed up and make the green light as the countdown clock hits "2". One benefit of Covid has been much less traffic in the Pattaya-Jomtien area, especially the lack of hundreds of tour buses crowding every roadway. Just taking it nice and easy.

IMHO, Yuja Wang is the greatest piano player performing today. She brings amazing clarity, insight and power to whatever she plays. This is one of my favorites:

Do you know of Brandon Acker, master not only of guitar but a multitude of plucked instruments? I find his playing of the incredible Theorbo to be especially fascinating.

This version of "Im Abendrot" is the most achingly beautiful piece of music I know. When I listen to it it brings me close to my wonderful parents, now gone.

Gustavo Dudamel is one of the best conductors currently out there. His concerts conducting the incredible Venezuelan Youth Orchestra are landmarks to be enjoyed over and over, for example this performance of "West Side Story". Watch this and you can't help but smile.

I can't claim to like listening to entire opera's but I do love compilations such as this of arias and other operatic pieces. I especially enjoy those compilations that include recordings of great singers of the past. One recorded compilation I especially liked was a recording of a dozen different tenors from different eras singing the same aria: "Che Galida Manina" from "La Boheme". It gave me an appreciation of how the styles of singers have evolved over the years.