OldChinaHam

presently rediscovering short fiction with 'The Stories of John Cheever'...check them out as the reader will surely find at least one story that he's read elsewhere like 'The Enormous Radio'...

F A N T A S T I C Man!

I am a HUGE fan of Cheever,

Always have been.

I love this man to death.

Not that way, though.

Just tell me where you can find his books for free on line. The man is dead already.

He won't care if I read for free.

He has written so many wonderful stories about the New York Burbs, and the upper middle class commute on trains to outside the city.

I have read everything he wrote, not hard to do.

I also read his autobiography, and it is pretty candid.

Then there is the biography written by his daughter, I think, but could be wrong.

So, where can I get his stories?

They are just not popular enough to be readily available.

Thanks.

Up (the movie)

Up-The-Down-Staircase (the movie)

Down

Down (the up)

Warren (Rabbit)

This theory has long been discredited but still enjoys wide usage amongst pop psychologists. Aside from the obvious political implications (e.g. if you are very, very poor, you are incapable of philosophical reflection or not concerned about higher level needs), it is just plain neither valid nor useful - except for cosmo readers and such.

It is possible that you are underestimating the power of the concept. It is important to keep in mind that we can achieve more, collectively, if we stamp out poverty.

Just for example.

The answer is very much depending on your upbringing and on your personality (ego). "Basic life needs" as Maslow put it in his 8-level tree later in his studies depend on what you had in your childhood. The requirements for "social needs" (love, belongings) heavily depend on your personality, loners will require much less. Also depending on your personality, self-esteem might be more important so some people than love needs.

Yes, understood, but the question is not why, because there are as many why's as there are people - the question is 'where to individuals see themselves on the pyramid?'

i tried hard, but i don't see myself anywhere on this pyramid.

Maybe, you are inside the pyramid,

In one of the secret passages,

Formerly frequented by,

King TutenKamin,

Of Egypt.

"Most of those who have tried to take their lives have jumped from the fourth to the first floor near Gates 7-10, she said."

This is just impulse jumping. Not thinking before they leap.

It is a known fact that if we attach large mirrors on the walls of subways/undergrounds, opposite the platform, across the track,

This cuts down on the jumpers.

It gives the jumpers a chance to see themselves and realize what they are doing before they leap.

Most people regret jumping on the way down, when they realize what they have done.

I wonder if they just posted signs on the 4th floor, "Go To Another Building If Feeling Suicidal", whether or not this might work as well.

It is worth a try.

Inside'er

The question is:

Where to get the Green Cardamom?

Where do they grow it? What is Indian anything without Cardamom?

Why not take a good book, sit in the back of one of those RotDengs for 3 hours as it cruises around picking up and off-loading passengers, from 7pm to 10pm.

No way is it going to be like Tom Cruise on the subway at 3am, but it will be interesting and you are bound to meet a few nice girls.

You can probably work something out with the driver to let you sit on the bench for about 100Baht or something as it cruises around.

Quite a good cheap way to meet many people.

No doubt the driver will let you stop for a beer, or you could use a hip flask.

Don't get too tipsy though,

You will miss the sights.

If it ain't Thai, or Thai related,

I ain't reading it.

But here is one title I especially enjoy these days:

Writing and Reading Thai

by Ponmanee

It is kinda a slow read at first,

But then it gets interesting and picks up the pace.

It is non-fiction, because

I am not into novels anymore,

After passing that age when I no longer have time for drivel.

Although, I once did.

The last novel I read was way back in history,

Not Love Story, nor Jonathan Seagul, or something.

I read something Ironical, like

Look Homeward Angel, or Candide.

Probably it was The Good Soldier Schweik.

Yes, it was that book by Hasek which I re-read.

Try it out, the Hasek book.

Well deserved "vacation"?

GuestHouse

I for example can recall serious long term illness and being right their struggling on the bottom."

You know, Mr. GuestHouse, this is one of your better more introspective topics, though who did not already know you were a thinking man's man.

Interesting that you mention illness and being at the bottom. I have been there in the past, and only experience like this can teach one what the pyramid means at the visceral or gut level.

I recall a bum we students used to call Vent Man, because he sat on the vents near the U of P Hospital in the winter time. Some wiseasss actually wrote a story for The Almanac about this guy after "interviewing" him for a few days.

Most people here do not know what it is like to be on the bottom rung of the Maslow ladder. Probably even Maslow himself does not know.

I think it is better to be homeless in Thailand than sitting on a vent in the wintertime in Philly, any old day.

But I also think it is nice to have aircon, internet, and running water in Thailand, if you are a bit higher up on the pyramid.

I consider myself very blessed to be in Thailand, doing exactly what I truly want to do.

Who knows, in Thailand, maybe even I can become self-actualized.

We'll see.

Again: Nice topic, which I often think about, when I have nothing better to do then reminisce about the good old days, when we studied Maslow, and researched why chimps could never vocalize Thai, or any other human language.

Having been provided time to think about this problem further, I think I know the answer:

Swivels ----- That is right, the hose and the shower head do not rotate. I mean, if there was a "joint" between the hose and the heater, then the hose could easily swivel, and would not stick out, but would always hang limp.

The reason the hose will not lie down is because it is torqued and flexed. But if this rotation were eased a bit and allowed to rotate, then everything would be Sabai-Sabai.

Now that I recall, I am almost sure that there is an extra "coupling" of the hose and the heater to allow rotation. There is obviously a good reason for having this.

Any thoughts from the plumbers out there if I am right in my thinking?

If I am right, then fixing all these hoses is easy. Just buy a few couplers and couple away until all hoses have been satisfied, each with its own coupler.

I should have thought of this solution before.

60 is the new 40.

How I wish But in my case that is just not true.

Not sure whether I am having a better time now than in my 40s...I think I am though...

I was relating to health issue/state of body. I would agree that quality of life is better as I have been living here in Thailand for almost 20 years and the warmer climate helps my arthritic joints. I also have a quality life partner, sole mate, and business partner - my long suffering wife

I can relate to that.

I find that at over 60 I am really interested in looking at girls, and talking to girls, more than I ever was at 20.

Maybe it is because at this age I feel that they will not allow me to do with them what I once did with them at 20.

I can still do what I did to them at 20, but for some reason I enjoy, almost as much, just talking to them and looking at them.

I get real pleasure from this, and sometimes I think they enjoy talking to me, too.

Maybe some of you people over the age of 60 know what I am talking about?

Welcome back OCH ... you were missed ... well, be me anyway ... can't speak on behalf of the other good folk.

How's that hip/back/leg ... I forget which was ailing you?

What doesn't ail you when you reach the 6th decade in this world of ours?

I am just trying hard not to feel too overly nihilistic when I think about the black hole that awaits me when this ordeal is at an end.

But seriously, how can anyone continue to have these thoughts after reaching this fair shore and safe haven, right in the middle of a bunch of countries which are just plain not comfortable to live in.

If you live in Thailand, you are not living in North Korea. So there is nothing to complain about.

But Thailand goes many steps further by providing us everything we need to be happy and sappy as we get to be really old, just a few years from now.

I think I have found heaven on earth here in Chiang Mai.

So, yes, sometimes you can't walk.

But big deal,

You can still study Thai,

Which is worth not walking for a while.

I have one leg shorter than the other now,

Or, maybe I should say two.

But this is a small price to pay for having been compelled to come to Thailand when I thought I did not want to.

Sometimes, life just gives you Manaao.

And, I like Manaao.

I am just a sourpuss who can easily see the sweet side of life in Thailand.

What, me worry? No. I just have two legs shorter than the other now.

As long as you are alive,

Then there is hope.

Or, if you know you are alive,

Then there is hope.

I find that at over 60 I am really interested in looking at girls, and talking to girls, more than I ever was at 20.

Maybe it is because at this age I feel that they will not allow me to do with them what I once did with them at 20.

I can still do what I did to them at 20, but for some reason I enjoy, almost as much, just talking to them and looking at them.

I get real pleasure from this, and sometimes I think they enjoy talking to me, too.

Maybe some of you people over the age of 60 know what I am talking about?

They say this is from Thailand.

I can spot a fake anytime.

The lips are nice, though.

Too cheap, and too many key chains. This is Northern Thailand, but too far up there.

I want something I might expect to see my Vogue Girls wearing.

I like fantastic looking broads wearing high fashion chokers,

Skinny and tall,

If possible.

Thai jewelry is some of the most beautiful I think.

And also:

Why do so many here like the jewelry that looks like some type of "medals" or something.

It is nice, but I would think it might make you feel like you were dating a cop,

Because some jewelry looks like they are police badges.

These chokers are nice, but they are too traditional and sort of too mountainy for me. I am looking for something far more upper crust.

"I was happy when I met a group of women with metal rims on the legs and hands. They wore impressive earrings and metal chokers with house keys."

Does anyone here still remember the stylish chokers that I remember to be so popular in the latter half of the 1960s?

Today, I went to the hardware store to buy some leather belts to hold up my pants, and then I saw all the other hardware and I thought of the chokers.

You probably remember James Bond in "From Russia With Love", 1963, when James pulled on the bow of the black choker that Romanova was wearing.

I saw that film when I was 11, so ever since I have been really interested in chokers.

Let me first show you what I mean, because these are probably different from what you are thinking if you did not grow up with me:

The above is the "DIY" style you can make from the parts you find in local hardware stores.

But I am also wondering about where I might go in Chiang Mai to find some really classy women's chokers, costing mucho money, Thai style,

Either old antique jewelry or stylish Thai new fashion.

The choker makes a woman look sexy without showing any cleavage.

Thank you.

OCH

(Please feel free to post some photos of what is available here.)

There's nothing wrong with a black and white world

Perhaps I should've said 'Monochrome'

I think a lot of people here cannot appreciate subtlety. I know this from the Television. Booing!

(I felt obliged to put that in, so that people realised that I had made a point.)

Very, very good point.

Peppers appear in all shapes and sizes, as well as colors.

MLK discussed this and also dreamed about it.

All peppers are beautiful,

In their own way.

The only thing that I do not get:

You have a 14 million dollar house.

You have a house that is 1,384 sqm.

You have a selling price of no less than "(USD 23,800) per sqm."

============

So how much is the house?

1,384 x 23,800 = $32,939,200

Is that not 32 million clams?

Sometimes, I think we farang take ourselves far too serious.

Also, we don't do enough to build a common sense of camaraderie with the non-farang folks of Chiang Mai.

So I have a proposal here to make:

Will someone be willing to appoint themselves an organizer of a eating contest for farang only,

Maybe at some prominent point around the city of Chiang Mai.

Our food of choice will be soft and over-ripe guava fruit, the really ripe ones with the skin that has turned a lighter shade of green.

Guava is one of my favorite fruit, besides the Gao Mung Gawn DragonFruit.

But the guava eating contest is what we should start with first to show people that farang are people too,

Having the same sense of humor and fun loving nature as almost anyone.

And that farang are good at eating anything,

Especially ripe guava.

Of course, we will need a sponsor and some legal advice.

We can either sell tickets or we can put on a show at a big box store,

And just have the money that rolls in go directly to a good Chiang Mai cause.

Then we will need to choose some music or a band for the venue......

I have it pretty much worked out in my own head,

How we should do most of it.

I just need some good input from you and also,

I need some support,

Which I rarely get even when I do ask for it.

So thank you and this time,

Remember it will be for a good cause.

Tks.

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