xylophone

Some people might think so, however the change in scenery from something which was clearly shot in the US, to a next scene which looks like it was shot on another planet, does stretch credibility a bit. The Clint Eastwood "spaghetti movies" were shot in Spain (and the studio) where the scenery resembled aspects of scenery in the US, and it didn't jump around to different locations, so the continuity was intact.

Well said @Walker88 and it astounds me how many Americans cannot see that which you have posted is in fact the truth. Even now there Republican senators who believe the election was "stolen", so how dumb does one have to be to be elected a Republican senator? I like your posts because you focus on facts, and you are not just an armchair critic because you have actually been in amongst the action defending your country, and for that I totally respect you and your views. There is only one way that a president like Trump was elected, and that way had to be that the supporters of this moron are not that bright (or as someone else said, "not college-educated") or indeed believe the right-wing rhetoric of the likes of Fox News. I despair for the state of the USA even though none of it is the fault of the current President, and he is having an extremely difficult time being able to get anything passed because of Republican blocking. And just to end, it shows the depths to which other posters will sink, when they try and blame the infant food formula shortage on Biden!! Beyond belief.

As Johnny Depp has been in the news a lot of late, it reminded me of a movie he made back in 1995, directed by Jim Jarmusch, which I thought was very good, so I downloaded again and watched last night. It is called, "Dead Man" (not to be confused with Dead Man Walking) and it is an unusual movie, shot in black-and-white, which actually adds to the "unusual aspect of it", and it has a few bit parts from famous actors like Jon Hurt, Robert Mitcham, Gabrielle Byrne and others, and IMO is well worth a watch. As an afterthought, Jim Jarmusch also directed another favourite of mine called, "Ghost Dog" which starred Forrest Whitaker and although again a little unusual, was very good IMO.

Downloaded the current eight episodes of a western called, "That Dirty Black Bag", and despite some reservations a little way in, I persevered, but have finally deleted the whole lot as IMO it was a mess! There were continuity problems and whoever was in charge of that did a terrible job, although not as bad as the huge faux pas in the Liam Neeson movie "Memory", but bad enough for me to have to go back through a previous episode (a few times) to see what I had missed, and I hadn't missed anything, just that some of the episodes really did not follow! I finally managed to get to episode eight which I thought was the last episode, however it appears it wasn't, hence deleting the lot. It had some good reviews in IMDb, but for me it was, as I said, a mess continuity wise, and also the scenery in some shots was quite clearly not from the USA.

Unfortunately there will be people viewing this who do not understand that it is a "send up" and that the whole video is meant to reflect upon the stupidity of many in the gun lobby. God help America.

With stats like this, and also those showing the $7,000,000,000,000 debt run up in Trump's presidency, it seems that a huge amount of the American population are dumb and care nothing about how the economy is at present, or how the 45 incumbent was responsible for running up the debt which will be a burden for many years to come. IMO it would surely be better to have "slow-moving Joe" as president rather than the lying, dumb miscreant that preceded him. True enough Biden is not going to set the world alight, but at least he seems the opposite to the former snake oil salesman/hustler in that position.

Yeah right........you cannot be that ignorant surely!

I think James105 summed it up well........and he mentioned nothing about "hate" (as "Yellowtail posted).

I never said that it was state-mandated that teachers should carry guns, only that it had been suggested by a former dumb president, and I provided the links to that.

Oh, so law abiding citizens don't commit these mass shootings? And it puzzles me why these folk want to own rifles that are designed to kill in battle?

Only that it was suggested by an ex US president who was not the sharpest knife in the drawer! President Donald Trump, after listening to a series of emotional stories and pleas to enhance school safety at the White House Wednesday, floated the idea of arming teachers and school staff…. https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/21/politics/trump-listening-sessions-parkland-students/index.html US President Donald Trump has said arming teachers could prevent school shootings like that which left 17 people dead last week in Florida. Teachers carrying a concealed gun could end attacks "very quickly", he said. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-43149694

Agree with your post, and maybe I'm being a little naïve or simplistic when I believe that the banning of automatic/semiautomatic rifles which were designed for warfare, would have an effect?? Raising the age by which gun ownership is allowed would be another step, and these two steps mentioned would in no way impinge upon the "right to bear arms" which the Americans hold so dearly. Also, IMO, the call for schoolteachers to be armed, is an absolute nonsense. Why?? Well, when I look back on my school days I cannot think of any teacher in any class, in any school that I attended who would be capable of shooting and killing someone. Imagine the interview process for a new teacher: – "are you prepared to carry a gun and kill if necessary?". What on earth is the world coming to.

More to the point, who needs a girlfriend here when there are so many women to choose from if one wanted a dalliance!!

Cherokee, Sioux or Apache??

Absolutely, because in a myriad of controlled scientific/medical studies, ivermectin has been shown to be ineffective against Covid 19. But then again you will always find someone championing this antiparasitic drug because they want to believe in it, and don't want to be vaccinated for whatever reason. Pleased that you recovered anyway. PS. You recovered because your immune system was able to fight off the virus and you could have had a mild version. Confirmation bias is when one looks for reasons to find and believe that ivermectin works........when studies show that is doesn't.

It appears that the death toll from Covid is much higher than previously thought, and I am all for vaccines, having been born in the late forties and brought up when polio was rampant and tuberculosis was around, as well as having many other vaccinations, so I'm with you on the vaccination front, and the following is of interest: – 14.9 million excess deaths associated with the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021 New estimates from the World Health Organization (WHO) show that the full death toll associated directly or indirectly with the COVID-19 pandemic (described as “excess mortality”) between 1 January 2020 and 31 December 2021 was approximately 14.9 million (range 13.3 million to 16.6 million). https://www.who.int/news/item/05-05-2022-14.9-million-excess-deaths-were-associated-with-the-covid-19-pandemic-in-2020-and-2021

I went to Blue Beach Restaurant and café last night and had a lovely small pizza whilst I waited for some friends to arrive. We sat around chatting to another friend of ours who is associated with the restaurant/café before heading out to Bangla for a look around. Just entering Bangla from the beach area and I came across an horrific sight of a fairly large Russian (or maybe Ukrainian) woman who had undergone some face filling surgery and she could have had a starring role in a "Freight Night" movie as she was fugly in the extreme. Bangla was again busy and even Tiger 2 had punters sitting outside and also inside, although Soi Freedom was still fairly quiet, despite the ladyboys parading up and down in their finery, as well as accosting passers-by on the road itself. On that subject, Bangla now has many touts trying to lure punters into "sex shows" and the like, and they are very persistent to the point of being annoying, and I could see this happening from a vantage point I had taken up in Blue Lotus bar and Café on Bangla (formerly Smiley bar) where I sometimes like to sit and watch the world go by, whilst chatting to a friend. Caught up with another friend and the three of us trotted off to Red Hot where I was hoping to sing a song or two and although it was reasonably busy when we arrived at around 10:30 PM, it started emptying out a bit later on and I think I pinpointed the reason – – they had changed their song repertoire and the songs they were singing/performing didn't really resonate with the customers, although there were some dancing on the limited floor space, but that again thinned out as the evening wore on, and even a friend of mine commented on this as he realised that the band did not live up to my description of them. I did manage to get four songs off, and I had people giving me 100 baht tips as I was coming off the stage and I always put these tips in the tip bucket which the band has stage front, although one customer was adamant that she wanted me to have it and almost forced it into my pocket. Another customer did the same thing and I did manage to slip the hundred baht note to one of the band members before she could see what was happening. I left after midnight and the place had thinned out quite considerably and the only disappointment of the whole evening was the fact that the band had not performed to expectations with their new repertoire!! As usual. the motorbike taxi drivers were on hand to drive me carefully back to my apartment and they always drive slowly and carefully, which I ask them to do anyway, especially as they have a 95 KG old farang on the back, who may or may not be a little worse the wear for over-imbibing during the evening!

I meant to ask you about that restaurant, and its menu and food, because there has been a dearth of good restaurants around the place, however having said that, last night I wandered up Soi Sansabai and noticed a few more restaurants open, so a restaurant close to Bangla would be ideal for me.

Whenever I see folks who I believe are Nigerian, in Thailand, I automatically think, "what scam are these guys up to?". I worked in that country for a while and in all that I have seen and experienced over the years, I wouldn't trust a Nigerian as far as I could throw them (although I'm sure there are a few good ones around, although I've never found him/her yet!).

IMO, the best music bar in Bangla/Patong is Red Hot at the opposite end (from the beach) of Bangla, with the live band being very good indeed, but remember that the alcoholic drinks are priced accordingly to take into consideration the fact that you have live entertainment! Kangaroo bar is always popular because it has some chatty girls behind the bar, and quite a few of them too. If you would like a little bit of peace and quiet with your drinks, and perhaps something to eat, whilst looking out over the sea, then the new Blue Beach Café and Restaurant on Beach Road (just to the right after exiting Bangla on the beach road) is a good choice as it is right on the beach. I haven't been into the Irish bar yet, so can't comment on it. Just to reiterate what another poster has said, Suzie Wong's is a good go-go place with some pretty girls prancing around semi-naked. A good place for a few lads to go and have a bit of fun.

I'm afraid that you are dealing with the "confirmation bias" posters, and those people who will believe anything and are easily led, and no matter what you or the vast majority of the medical profession say, they will always quote something from a far right/anti-VAX publication. Interestingly enough I have saved some articles from a medical journal to which I subscribe, called, "MEDPAGETODAY" (,https://www.medpagetoday.com/special-reports/exclusives) and that contains some absolutely horrendous quotes by the anti-VAX brigade, with one claiming that "hundreds of thousands have been killed by mRNA vaccines and many times more have been injured". Another person suggests that the vaccinations have seen "a dramatic spike in aggressive cancers amongst individuals", with absolutely no evidence to back that up, and in all of the quotes in the articles, there is absolutely no evidence to back up these preposterous claims. The author, Russell Blaylock, MD, has links to conspiracy theory blogs and quotes many of them, as well as quoting some physicians infamous for spreading Covid misinformation and being active in political movements, and these include the likes of Joseph Mercola and co. Thankfully there are is some action being taken against this misinformation and a California doctor, Jennings Riley Staley, MD, who prescribed hydroxychloroquine as part of a "Covid treatment kit" that he guaranteed would cure the disease, was last week sentenced to 30 days in prison and a year-long home confinement for this misinformation and in prescribing hydroxychloroquine. I did have a lot of positive information regarding the vaccinations and Covid, but I thought that this anti-VAX argument was just about over, but, sadly, it appears not.

Or a favourite saying of mine: "where there is doubt, there is no doubt".

In its day Soi Eric was probably the best Soi in Bangla, however from being absolutely packed most nights, with the bar owners having to put chairs and tables in the middle walkway to accommodate the punters, to slowing down to having many bars empty was fairly rapid, and the whole Soi completely closed over 10 years ago, to be replaced (latterly) by Soi Freedom, which does not enjoy the same success in any way, shape or form. The writing was on the wall some 10 years or so ago, and a very good friend of mine sold one of the most well liked and popular bars in Soi Eric, because custom was down big time, and I remember sitting with him when he was doing his books, and he said to me, "I can't make out whether I lost 10 baht or made 10 baht last night, and that's been going on for quite a while, so I think I'll sell the bar" – – and he did.

Good day MM, I have just about gotten through all of the wines I bought at Wine Pro, and a couple did stand out for me, but for different reasons: – a fruity/perfumed and lightish red from Italy, Barbera Piemonte (Sansilvestro) at 449 baht a bottle, and although I'm not too keen on some of the "lighter" reds from Italy, this was a cut above and was very enjoyable, and I will go back and buy some more. The other wine which I have just finished was very enjoyable indeed and it was an Australian red, MWC (MacPherson Wine Company) Shiraz, Mourvedre, 2019 from Victoria, and although it was 14.5 ABV (alcohol by volume) it didn't stand out as one that really assaulted the tastebuds with the high alcohol content, but the Shiraz certainly came through and although there is only 5% Mourvedre, it seemed to soften the wine a little. A classic grape mix in the Rhône, and sometimes in Australia is what is known as GSM, which includes the grape, Grenache, and there are some really stunning wines made with this blend, although the Grenache heavy wines are not always to my liking. It cost 590 baht plus VAT, and for me it will be worthwhile buying some more, not because it is a lovely wine, and still drinks very well the next day, but has some more ageing potential. I will probably pay a visit to the shop tomorrow to stock up yet again and try a few more wines.