Prubangboy

It was the two assassination attempts that sealed the re-election of Gerald Ford.

Republicans rushed to declare that Biden was responsible. Well, that would explain how the bullet got so close and yet failed.

I'm a Lacoste Man. 'Love those complex colors. I have 18 of them. To have 4 different shades of orange? Very mood-elevating. Tho Ralph Lauren is more flattering on a fattie. Claiming that no, no, I'd prefer to bungee-jump instead of having a cantaloupe-colored variation-shirt seems like shrill madness to me. I just took some pricey tours; not all experiences will scratch your itch any better than if you bought a sofa you love to look at and sit on every day instead. Generally, the experience is better argument comes from people who can only afford mid-tier experiences and no-tier objects. Hence their bias. I'm statistically dead in 10-12 years. 'May as well burn it all down and wear a well-fitting polo shirt in the meantime. I recall your sputtering outrage at me ordering 200 baht pad Thai. Carpe Diem, Bob! It's not just for happy hour. And a Lacoste polo lasts triple the lifespan of a Central Department Store one -so really, what are you really saving with your pretend-thrift?

I live in a place where everyone is always dressed really well. So I upgraded to $100 polo shirts. I do then in fact participate in the rat race. And I enjoy the lack of friction and the cheerier demeanor I get over when I was wearing my decades-long uniform of Banana Republic black V-neck tee shirts.

An affluent person is not sweating that markup. Truly rich people accept that getting soaked comes with the territory of being rich. Either they like the Thailand brand or they don't. Cost is only a factor to the upper-middle/lower rich people.

It's not precise. When the smoke lingered, I just added Kuching, Borneo to my travels and stayed away longer. You'd like Kuching. Very Chiang Mai-feeling. This year, I'll be trapped for one of the bad months due to my college course. But I'm still goin g to Brazil for a month when I can.

I travel during March and April. Chiang Mai is so uniquely suitable to me, that I am willing to do that to stay here. 'Can't think of any other place in Thailand that has the mix of culture and countryside. I don't love the beach, so it's either here or Bangkok -and Bangkok is not renowned for its countryside.

I practically never stay above The Marriot Hotel level, but when I do, stuff like wine and 5* restaurants seem exactly on par with the west (a little cheaper on the food). A Richie-Rich would be staying at the Four Seasons (not the landscaping company). I'll bet they're pretty happy with everything. And not sweating the wine markup. If you're what the brokers call "Mass Affluent" ($2-5M), Bangkok gives you Monaco luxury at Barbados prices. I can't pretend that I know the favored haunts and spending habits of the Jeff Bezos-rich. They're probably staying at a private home and traveling with staff. So wherever they are, really, they could be anywhere.

I live in Nimman, Chiang Mai. There are endless meetups, free classes, and social opportunities -and I don't need a car. I'm mushroom hunting with a group tomorrow. Tonight, I am off to a buffet at the French Society. I can be in pretty deep countryside in 20 minutes. I'm thinking about renting a place with a farm plot because I miss growing things. Will cost me less than $300 a month, with someone to water and weed it. And a Grab cab would take me back and forth. At age 71, I am grateful. 'Can't think of anywhere on earth so welcoming and convenient to an oldie. 'Don't see a burning need to have "passion projects". I just look at Facebook and fall into entertaining stuff.

Until he got laughed out of the room, his other go-to was "You're drunk'. It's just more running away. Everyone's unhappy, or rageful. What a drama queen.

Stickman says bars are closed -even Nana- for Buddhist Lent, July 20-21. True?

Just killed 5 days there, first at a bogus detox spa, and then a return to White Sands Beach after a 27 year lay off. It's still my favorite island: dramatic scenery, great beaches, all-ages vibe, easy access to other good islands. No flight in has kept it undeveloped. I recall Koh Wai, which never gets a mention, if B-Thainess has an update, I'd love that. For comfort (means: with my wife) and air transit, I prefer Samui, but if a person could only visit one island, I'd urge them towards KC -with a Trat overnight. Lovely old town with a lot teak houses still standing. The Trat seafood restaurant in BKK is in my top 5 Thai restaurants. Cuisine of The Eastern Seaboard is def my favorite Thai-subcategory (see: fishcakes). There's another Trat-style restaurant in Ari, BKK that gets mentioned in all the "Ari is the BKK mini-Soho" articles (it's not).

Wedding ring in Appalachia. $40. The pawnbroker also tried to sell me a paintball gun. For the honeymoon.

True. a lot of craft and silver biz never came back from Covid. A real cultural loss. Such stores do well in Nimman. You have to be where the customers who buy that stuff are. In general, the old Night Market seems to be on life support.

I lived on a mountain top for 13 years. It was fine because I really love the woods. Nothing is more popular than the beach (which I can take or leave). So for me, it would have to be Samui or Phuket. I'd need non-beach distraction and a little bit of town life. Put me on Phagnan and I'd be gone in a month. Prob the best beach, tho.

Other popular and useless Nimman businesses: expensive straw hat stores, 150 baht durian ice cream cones, bakeries selling only one thing like chocolate chip cookies, toast restaurants, aroma therapy. The weed stores will be replaced with something like that. Not much stays vacant here for long.

Tons of restaurants and Chinese tourists. Weed shops four to the block. Chinese love weed. No women, but there are handjob places.

Some truth to this. Back home, we used to order something called Thai Mixed Spice from Amazon: lemongrass, galangal, coriander, garlic, chili. It did make even a simple omelette taste like Thai food.

Nimman, Chiang Mai, is heaving. There's never an off-season here.

I tossed you the red heart out of sympathy.

I smoked a ton of drugs in the north of Laos when I was doing my historic preservation work. Top tip: bring some Bic lighters, colorful ones (the band KISS is a favorite) -quite a luxury in dollar a day-wage hill tribe-land. And bring some Lao Lao moonshine. They prefer booze. Not really for pain relief. Just a bit of buzzy euphoria that goes away in 2 minutes when you stand up.

I know someone who gets a morphine shot daily here in Chiang Mai. A bit dubious: he's been in the clear for bowel cancer for 7 years -and he has a medical visa.

Pai. Plenty of solo women there and a mellow hippie vibe

Laos is too corrupt, and you can find yourself truly up the proverb-creek with no recourse. I am legal to live there due to some historic preservation links. I will never live there. But it is gorgeous, that island in the Mekong near Champasak. You are def putting me in the mood for spending my next smoke season month down there.

If I ever come into contact with pert nipples again (unlikely), I will be gentle and adoring. Pert nipple abuse is all I further need to know about this miscreant.