GammaGlobulin

Yes. You are CORRECT. This topic is about Super Yachts. Following the Nord, a magnificent boat. And, maybe, the intrigue behind the recent movements of the Nord. And, is it likely that the Nord might escape in this shrinking world of ours, as did The Bounty. Will the Nord's crew find their own Pitcairn Island, and live happily ever after? The Nord has been burning up hundreds of thousands of dollars of fuel since it left Hong Kong. What is life like on board, I wonder.

What are the several points which you might think that I am trying to make? Have I been too subtle here? Super Yachts Super Race Dictators Renegade Rulers Let Them Eat Cake Etc., Etc., Etc.

On a much lighter note: Always look on the bright side....On The Good Ship Lollipop. Sometimes, men go down with their ships. On the other hand.... At least, we have this cathedral dedicated to all fallen seaman.. Such an amazingly beautiful building. Seaman are not always forgotten, apparently...

Advertising is, by its very nature, untruthful. If you get fooled by false advertising, which is ubiquitous in this day and age, then you are also likely to be fooled by padded bras.

So many Russians coming to Thailand with love. Maybe fewer than there once were, however.

Dear Friends, Have you been watching the drama of the Russian Super Yachts, recently? My favorite is this yacht, Nord. It's possible to track superyachts, using available apps, until they go dark. Sometimes, while following this drama, such as the Nord drama, I am reminded of Goldfinger, and Jill Masterson. It's quite intriguing, at least for me. Have you been following along? Such drama, we rarely see. Some yachts go to Hong Kong, and others go elsewhere. Maybe one might come here? That would be rather exciting, maybe. Anyway, Goldfinger at Albert Hall, is still amazing... Regards, GammaG

Pulp fiction is still better than no fiction, at all. Thank you for your output. Read on the john if you must, but read.

You just can't find this stuff in the Metaverse. Humans and Animals are just so unpredictable. But, without books, then how would you even know?

If we can only read books, girl, there is a better place for me and you.

I grew up in a household in which television sets were completely banned. This resulted in having far more time for reading, introspection, and reflection about almost anything. We were permitted to listen to the radio, even to listen to guys like Thelonius Monk, such a felon of jazz. The problem with Social Media is that it dumbs down society, as a whole. When I spend time watching social media, I get this sick feeling in my gut. But then, when I read beautiful sentences written by Philip Roth, I realize that he is a true maniac, and my time reading him has not been ill spent. We have only a finite amount of time here. My time with guys like Roth has been well spent. It doesn't matter if you might prefer reading about dialectical materialism or stories about the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. It only matters that, somehow, we will find a way to forsake Fkrbergerger's zombie vision for our New World, and, somehow get back to the garden of books, introspection, and thinking. *Books are the key to a better life, for you and me.

If this is the case, pardon the pun, then you are truly blessed in your very good fortune. I envy you. Norwegian wood.

Certainly, the climate here is not conducive to the preservation of leather-bound books.

My Dear Friends, Do you find that the more years you spend in Thailand, the less you are able to read books? If this is true, then why is this? Or, is it just that the past few years you have spent in Thailand also seems to have coincided with the rise of Social Media and the expectations you now may have of the arrival of the much vaunted Metaverse? Here in Thailand, I have never seen a couple of wing chairs facing the fireplace. And, in my home country, one of the things we prized most was a living room with wing chairs, a roaring fireplace, and plenty of books, not to mention a cup of tea or hot chocolate on a cold winter’s night. Curling up with a book seemed so sublime when I was growing up. Yet, all I see here, mostly, is roosters crowing, other barnyard noises, airplanes buzzing me from overhead, as well as even a few worse distractions. Why have I given up on reading when reading once seemed to be my true delight? No doubt, I am not the only one who sometimes considers this important question. And, as well, truly the only reason I am here in Asia, in the first place, was just due to my reading of books when I was young. Are there those on this forum who still read books? How are you able to find a quiet place in order to enjoy your passion for books? I cannot be the only person here who once enjoy the experience of reading, and lost it. If only I had a place to read, then I would never ask for anything more, maybe. It's so difficult to read about the Hound of the Baskervilles in a place like Thailand, I think. Somehow, one must get back to what one loves to do, no matter how far one may have strayed from it, during intervening years. But, how? The more we read, the less we will be tempted to enter the Black Hole of the Metaverse, which is a good thing, in itself. What is the best path back to the freedom of books? Best regards, GammaG.

Big Time When Trumps says BIG TIME, I find this slightly grating upon my nerves.

I had a few cherry tarts in Singapore. When I was 19 yo, and they 38. Mostly these tarts were full of pits.

You mean the girls of Cherry Hill, New Jersey? Everybody knows about those girls. What's more to tell?

Not strange. You are not hurting others. Therefore, you should not be castigated for exercising your right to make a personal choice.

OK, fine. I object to your willingness to generalize, onto the whole, specific traits for any given large group of anyone or anything. Surely, even you must know something about the normal curve, not to mention the power curve. And, even you must surely agree that there is more disparity between individuals in a given culture or country than there exist differences between cultures and countries. By the way, have you ever considered how much intelligence and backbreaking work is required to produce the best tasting jasmine rice in the world? Or, for that matter, have you ever wondered why Harvard undergrads are dumber than the average jungle dweller living in PNG?

If you own the mattress, then feel free to to do what you like with it, or on it, including water sports if you are so inclined. However, if you are a guest at a hotel, or guesthouse, then you should consult with the owner before altering the state of anything in the room which you have rented. Might I also add that if you are into water sports in the bedroom, then it's best to keep the plastic mattress cover in place. Just a word of advice from someone who has never had a yellow shower.

Did you mention sheep? Sounds to me like you are spouting sheep thought, or, as some say, sheeple thought. The only cure for sheep thought is sheep dip, with total immersion. Get baptized, my son, in sheep dip. Sheep dip is the surest way to cure you of your absolutist illusions.

If you continue drilling holes, someday, you might get into trouble, like what happened to Deepwater Horizon. Anyway, some day, your drill is going to wear out, and then, will you have anything left, but dry holes?

I believe that the poster of this topic has not a clue concerning the meaning of the term, 'cultural assimilation'. A minority culture does not assimilate WITH the majority group. Instead, the minority group is assimilated by the majority group, and takes on the values, behaviors and beliefs of the majority group. We as foreigners are not a single minority group, by the way. Anyway, most first-generation foreigners are not assimilated into the majority group, in any given country. And, even in the second generation, there is no true assimilation. Of course, in rare instances, you might see a guy from a foreign country who is only partially assimilated into his new country, like Great Britain, and yet this guy is still able to become a PM, although this is very rare.

When I say that I am often hungry on a Sunday, I do not mean that I am lacking calories, protein or vitamins. I just mean that I am hungry in some indefinable way. I can only describe my ill-defined hunger as similar to what you might feel if you were floating above an infinitely long smorgasbord of the tastiest delights, having found not even one worth the tasting. I don't mean to imply by this that I find Sundays and roast beef depressing, much. It's just that I am hungry for something more than I see on the buffet. Sometimes I feel that, the more I have, the less the having of what I have seems completely worth having. Recently, I have been tracking the super-yacht, Nord. The Nord is still out at sea, maybe, and such a great mystery. . What a magnificent vessel. If I were the owner of the Nord, I would no longer be hungry. I would sail around the world, forever. I'd catch bluefin tuna and eat mostly sashimi for the rest of my life. Could anyone, under such circumstances, ever feel hungry, again?