Walker88

Strawman

Absolutely true. It's also absolutely true that we all have opinions and we are allowed to express them. You are welcome to disagree. By the way, I'm also not fond of guys who look 8 months pregnant because they lack the discipline or self control to take care of the one body they get, and with which they can do whatever they want. I'm a nasty, opinionated SOB. Now this might come as a surprise, but I have met many people who wonder what the heck they were thinking when they inked up. One has a large middle finger salute on her tricep. Another has "F U" spelled out in full on her hamstrings. A third has a gun on her belly pointing to her groin, and she hates it. A dear friend looks as if she had a box of stickers, tossed them in the air, and got inked wherever they landed. She has been trying to find new work but says she is told by Thai employers her tatts disqualify her. Yes, that isn't fair, but it is currently how Thai society looks at folks who are heavily tatted. I do not share my views of tatts with anyone who chose to get them, save for on a Forum whose PURPOSE is to post opinions. That being said, I think it might be of benefit if those in the market to permanently disfigure themselves (my opinion) due to a fad should think about 1) what they will feel about it when they inevitably age or have different tastes, and 2) that it could cause mortal harm.

Fad, fade, or faded.......I think the fad fades, but the tatts are forever. Anyway, I'll fade that fad (fade is an old trader term for taking a position against the current market trend or against what a market guru suggests doing) As I wrote in my original post, tatts were fringe. Bikers had them. My grandad had an anchor on his arm he got during the war when he served on a naval vessel, but it wasn't normally on display. Suddenly most bargirls have them, young Westerners are adding them, and even elderly expats in Thailand are getting inked. It screams FAD, like shoulder length hair during the Hippie years or the Saab 900 during the Yuppie years or heavily padded shoulders on women's fashion during the years of strident militant feminism. Like those former 'must haves' the tatt fad will fade away. (Just having fun. I know the 'e' was unintended.)

Funny how this topic brings out odd comments. In point of fact I don't really care that much one way or the other about tatts. I'll never get one and I do think most look really silly, but only occasionally do I give them any thought. As the fad picked up I obviously notice them more, to some extent have gotten used to seeing them, but remain of the opinion---that's the key word on a Forum: OPINION---that nobody looks better with a tatt. I have a good friend who keeps adding to her 'art' as time passes. What was once on each thigh and on one arm, has morphed into both arms, her chest, her entire back, one hand, and even her butt. Underneath all of that 'art', she has, or had, astonishingly beautiful skin. Sadly---to me, not her---it's mostly all hidden now. I remain just as fond of her as always, as what's inside is what makes her her. Tatts aren't the driving issue in today's world, but Forums exist to elicit opinions, so I offered one after reading an article on medical research noting the carcinogenic nature of many of the inks and solutions used in the process. It struck me that there are young people, caught in the fad, who are going to die because they just had to have that special something on their arm or leg or back or wherever. For something so banal, that seems a shame. By the way, I do always wear freshly laundered boxers. Heck, I even iron mine, fastidious type that I am. Pima or Sea Island cotton only, too. One never knows when that bus or meteor is coming to take me out, and I want to be as fresh as possible when it happens.

Yes, opinions are like buttholes: everybody has one. In fact, that is the entire point of Forums. Tatts, on the other hand, are a choice, and as a member of a Forum I can offer an opinion on them. Sure it will offend some people, just as an opinion about politics or religion or smoking will offend some people. Welcome to the world of internet Forums. I don't expect to change anyone's mind, nor do I care to. I wrote an 'opinion', which is to say I followed the point and purpose of a Forum. I see you have offered over 7000 opinions as a member of this forum, yet you insinuate I cannot offer this one about tatts.

The vast majority of tatts are 'art' like tigers painted on black velvet or dogs playing poker are art, despite coming 'a loooooong way'. They aren't the Pieta. What makes true art special is its uniqueness as well as the skill involved in imagining/creating it. There was one Michelangelo; within a ten minute walk from my condo there are twenty tatt shops, all producing the same banal stuff. Also, get tired of a painting and one can simply remove it. Tatts, or their scars, are forever. Yes, to each his own. I suspect lots of folks got caught in the fad and will come to wish they never inked up once the fad goes away or the person ages and the tatt migrates due to sagging skin. Now seeing that the inking itself is carcinogenic just makes it worse. Is a fad worth dying for? Maybe for some it is.

While I don't eat bacon, those who do benefit because of the protein. Tatts are useless, so it is jumping on fad or fashion for something of zero biological benefit but perhaps with a severe cost.. Like smoking, it's an unnecessary thing that involved some sort of discomfort just to acquire something---tatt or tobacco addiction---that can kill you. It epitomizes human idiocy. Darwin smiles. Someone who might develop a fatal cancer can look at himself and say, "Well, my tribal tattoo made me look like a bad man, so it was worth it".

It's a fad now. Just because a Bronze Age guy had one doesn't make them special. He also likely believed in bloodletting. He had no access to medical journals or NIH publications, so most of what he did stemmed from abject ignorance and superstition.

And having the heart pulled out of your 6 year old daughter had religious and spiritual significance to Aztecs. Gods, however, are a foolish superstition, so whatever done on 'their' behalf is a colossal waste of time and effort, and offers nothing except it feeds silly beliefs. Tattoos are absolutely a fad in most societies now, far removed even from their superstition. Ten years ago, few Thai women had tatts. Maybe some had the usual left shoulder tatt, but most had clean skin. That they don't now = fad. Fads, die off. In five years people will be embarrassed that got Maori warrior tatts or tribal tatts, of "F U" tatts.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/study-finds-almost-half-tattoo-040222632.html The article notes that some of the pigments or solutions used in creating tattoos can be broken down by bacteria or UV light into carcinogenic compounds, and also some particles in the ink can be small enough to migrate into cell nuclei and lead to cancer-causing genetic mutations.. How anyone would think injected dye into the skin might not cause some sort of issue is more of a surprise than this new research. Is that 'special memory' injected into one's body worth dying for? Admittedly I am not a fan of tatts....not on me, not on anyone. I understand tatts have joined politics and religion as topics not to be discussed in polite company, but an anonymous forum doesn't necessarily qualify as polite. It is a place for opinion, and while I appreciate people will have differing opinions, this is mine. Others can add their opinion, and a discussion results. While 'some of my best friends' have tatts, I do not think anyone ever looks better with a tattoo. I know for some cultures they have religious significance, but there was a time when sacrificing one's young virgin daughter to some god had religious significance. That doesn't make it special and being opposed to such a thing doesn't make me culturally insensitive. Tatts in the West were once a fringe thing. When a fringe practice becomes mainstream, the word for it is 'fad', and fads have a shelf life. Unfortunately, tatts do not. A mullet or a mohawk can be cut when the owner decides the fad is dead, but tatts are forever. At best one will have a scar if later someone decides they no longer like it. At worst, the tatt causes cancer, which is a high price to pay for a fad. (Aside, I see lots of elderly expats now sporting tatts, and because of the style, I know the tatts are new. A guy who wants to look like a warrior or a 'bad boy' would be better off cutting back on the beer and hitting the gym than getting inked like a Maori. Tatts, and maybe a "man bun" on old expats might be the midlife crisis for guys who cannot afford a Porsche.) I appreciate many wonderful Thai women have tatts. My opinion is every last one of them would look better absent the tatts, but of course I wouldn't hold a tatt against a woman, especially if she was willing to hold it against me. Their body, their choice. Still, I guess I am more in line with ancient Greeks who believed tattoos were a sin against the gods for defiling the beauty the gods gave a person. Toss in this new medical news about carcinogenic ink and perhaps the fad finally goes the way of the mullet. Also, while tatts might have become somewhat mainstream, at least for a while longer, most of Thai society still looks down on them (despite one really famous person with an almost entirely tattooed body). Have the tatts often associated with bargirls, and one is not going to get hired by a bank or anywhere that tries to create an image of hi-so-ness. Fair? No, but it is what it is. Tatts limit options in Thai society. Per an earlier thread, tatts may not not equate with 'bad girl', but the more tatts one has often does equate to 'bargirl', and there may come a time when a woman might wish to erase that part of her past. Still, to each his or her own. Just know the risks----of being stamped with yesterday's fad or---according to this new research---a cancer victim.

I have noticed a lot of 'economic optimism' among those who have money and need to justify having money (IYKWIM). The problem is that such people become competition for real entrepreneurs who need to consider the bottom line. What often happens is the market gets over capacity, and businesses that are trying to survive actually running a business do not have a large enough customer base to survive. This type of situation isn't the only thing impacting Thai business currently, but it is important. Another issue is migration of FDI to neighboring countries as PP&E in Thailand comes to the end of its useful life. Vietnam is opening its doors and offering incentives. Over the next few years, absent better leaders in Thailand who understand these trends, UE will take a hit, which has knock-off effects in consumer spending. Yet another issue is that Thailand's 'economic boom' from 2011 until Covid was almost exclusively debt-fueled. Bank lending, corporate bond issuance and household debt all increased at a multiple of GDP growth. (Thailand is hardly alone in this.....from 2016 to 2020 in the US Federal National Debt grew by more than $7 trillion while GDP grew less than half that). These separate issues---excess capacity, business migration, record debt levels---demand an innovative and expert response, which the current government seems incapable of delivering. There might even be brain drain if Thailand doesn't offer opportunity to its best and brightest. Thais are resourceful, so decline is not guaranteed, but it will take an integrated approach to solve, which will include tax incentives, better education, going after the corruption that skews wealth and indirectly leads to over capacity, and more judicious use of credit so that the banking system doesn't become more hobbled than the last decade has made it. This is more than 'brick and mortar', though the move to online shopping has added to the bad debt issue.

It's 2022. In case you missed it, it's long time past when anyone should grasp Stone Age superstition and idiocy promoted by people who didn't even know the Earth is round. Being 'stuck in Western thought' is another name for Reality. Adults live there. Even children eventually figure out Santa Claus isn't real. Time to throw away ghosts, demons, deities, magic and spells. Or you can engage in bloodletting and have a shaman read the entrails of a slaughtered pigeon under a blue moon while buck naked and high on kratom. One will begin to let you solve your problems, while the other will just let you sink deeper into the weeds. Up to you.

Well that's some serious generalizations ! What about beauty in the eye of...... never mind. And why are corrupt hi-so Thais superior to rural Isaan women? As for superiority and hierarchical social structure, anyone who feels superior to another simply by birth is, in my opinion, inferior by choice. I was born in a Western nation. Should I feel superior to all Thai people because not a single invention, discovery, or addition to the body of human knowledge has ever come out of Thailand, despite it always being in the top 25-30 of population size in the world? Or maybe I can't feel superior because I'm not Newton or Faraday or Maxwell or Kilby or Poincaire or Feynman. so no better nor worse than anyone anywhere? Maybe, just maybe, we would be wise to judge people by their character and kindness, not birth circumstances over which they had no control?

So what? I might date an accountant back home and run into a former boyfriend in a restaurant. Big deal. If I were in love, and she loved me back, I really couldn't care if I went to a football match and every single person in the stadium was a former barfiner. None of that affects what she and I feel for each other. Plus, I'm likely much better in the sack that anyone she ever met (what I really mean is that my ego isn't affected by what pleasure another man might have given her).

Should I ever choose to marry, I really don't care what work she might have done before, even if she worked in a bar. I'm not a virgin, and I would neither expect nor want a virgin for a wife. I had my share of virgins when I was 16, and I can say it was not the best sex I ever had. Do we get along? That is infinitely more important. Can we bridge the cultural gap? That would concern me more than how many partners she had, for pay or pleasure. If there is anything long term visitors or residents to Thailand come to understand, it is that being judgemental about sex is something best left to the gods, and I don't believe in gods. No one is hurt in a sexual assignation between consenting adults, so whether it was done for pleasure or profit is of no import, nor does it reflect negatively on the players. If two people fall in love, that is the only thing that matters. I've met couples here who have made it work. Given the odds of a successful marriage are not great anywhere, no more should be expected of a marriage between an expat and a former bargirl. That many of these marriages do work says no one should be hesitant if the mutual attraction/affection is there.

These self-appointed types have much in common besides self-importance and low IQs: they also think Mig-29s or submarines makes their junk bigger.

Well, the right certainly is funny. I mean they have this mendacious, bloated, obese, corrupt, fascist, racist, willfully ignorant orange-face clown and they equate him with every messiah every Bronze Age superstition has ever fabricated. That's pretty funny stuff.

Once you get the nightlife out of your system, it's all beaches and temples from there on out. Or so I've heard. I really truly want to reach that transcendent state where I no longer have desire, but I think I first have to be 100% certain I do not want anything like carnal pleasures. I mean, the gods no doubt want me to be sincere, and how will I know I don't want it if I haven't tried it?

I'll have a glass of that port, if you don't mind.

Given that there are a few folks here who do enjoy a good wine, there are a few major suppliers here who mostly sell to restaurants and hotels, but will sell to private customers if you buy sufficient quantity. They have excellent selections and---at least once clearing Customs---store the wine properly. Also, for folks living here, one can buy at a reasonable price a pretty good 'wine cellars' to hold wine at the proper temperature and humidity. Buy enough wine, and one not only gets the wholesale price, but also may get a discount of up to 20% for cash purchases. As I stated in an earlier post, the prices for medium and higher quality wines are not much different from the US, especially for Italian wines, since importers under declare or pay 'a little tribute'. The reason I wrote my first post in this thread is because I felt the article is wrong in that the duties Thailand imposes are less visible as one moves up the price point, owing to under declaration or tributes. Maybe European prices are better, but US prices for certain price points are no different than what I pay in Thailand, and since some readers here are from the US, that info may be of use. This is especially true of mid to higher priced Italian wines. Everyone has his or her own price point and taste. While some argue that few can tell the difference between plonk and something special, that is not always the case. It's funny that wine tends to bring out two extremes, while beer does not. People who are really particular about beer never get scolded by those who say few people can tell the difference between cheap beer and, say, a Belgian Trappist brew, but when it comes to wine many get their panties in a twist if someone dares to enjoy a good Barolo or Brunello and can tell it from plonk. Folks are quick to criticize US beer (based on a long ago time when the choices were Bud, Miller and Schlitz vs today when the typical liquor store has 5000 different microbrews) and say their German or Czech or Belgian is vastly superior, but anyone who chooses a decent wine is criticized as overspending for something he cannot actually appreciate. Drink enough wine and one can tell the difference and one gets accustomed to the good ones. One need not be a sommelier to tell good wine, just go through lots and lots of bottles. Maybe that's a curse and one is better off being pleased with plonk, but if folks can bark about their beer, why not wine?

There's a wide range of wine drinkers in Thailand, so I assume also on this site. The market here caters to all income ranges, and since the article is about excessive prices in Thailand, I noted that it depends on one's price point. Medium to higher price wines---at least Italian ones---are no higher in Thailand than the US. Nobody knows me, and never will, so if I'm 'showing off', it's for a crowd of 1. Drink whatever the eff you want.

Depending on the type of wine one drinks, prices are not necessarily higher in Thailand. I pay the same price in the US as I do in Thailand for specific wines like Le Volte (about $30/1100 baht) and il Bruciato (about the same). For Barolos and Barbarescos in the $50-100 range, prices are also about the same. Ditto for Super Toscanas For higher end Italian wines like Sassicaia and Solaia, Tignanello, Guado al Tasso and that ilk, prices are lower in Thailand than the US (because importers under declare the cost and most Customs officials are unfamiliar with these wines). if one buys in bulk, discounts are available from major importers. I enjoy a good wine with a meal, so I load up on favorites. Where the price impact is felt the most is with less expensive wines, as their price is low enough that true price is declared and the tax/duty is added on. The wines at Wine Connection tend to be cheap wines, so the full markup is felt in Thailand.

I can be convinced that inflation is just a temporary problem, and what is coming is the opposite: deflation. Perhaps even hyper-deflation. Here's why I might think this is the case: In most industrialized countries the fertility rate is tumbling. In South Korea it is .9, which means not even one half of a couple replaces itself. Population is becoming an inverted pyramid. That is going to be felt the most in fixed asset prices, particularly housing. Fewer people means less demand. Also, since so many seniors did not save well for retirement, reverse mortgages will fund their golden years. That means banks are going to be assuming lots of homes, and they will be trying to unload into a shrinking population. There is also excess productive capacity worldwide. China has added more steel production capacity since 2011 than existed on Earth before 2011...but there isn't another China to build to absorb all of that production. Plus, any new plant and equipment will utilize the latest technology, which means less human labor, which will eventually evidence itself in rising UE across the industrialized world. High UE impacts demand, which impacts prices. I agree that food and water will be a counteracting issue, but I think overall we're more likely to see deflation in the next 20 years. I end with a kind of Biblical quote that considers both sides of this issue, inflation or deflation? Assets to ashes or debts to dust......

So brain-addled has the repub cult become that the Senator older than Methusaleh (chuck grassley) actually claimed Biden was hiring IRS agents to lock and load their AR-15s to go to Iowa and shoot middle class taxpayers. If I give grassley the benefit of the doubt I would say his problem is Alzheimers. Truly, a sickness has taken over repubs. I think back to a patriotic and righteous repub Senator, Howard Baker, and wonder what he would think of the demise of his party.

Perhaps you are unaware of the US legal system, but NOBODY is above the law. NOBODY. That should be comforting, but for reasons that escape me, far too many people on the right think the US is, or should be, an autocracy. Long ago, when the US was being founded, there was a slogan that is as applicable today as it was in 1776: "We bow to no Earthly king" The Constitution, written by Madison and Jefferson, could have just piggybacked off the Magna Carta. Those men knew better. They knew the inherent evil of allowing anyone to be above the law. It is high time for repubs to re-learn the founding principles of the US.