Gaccha

The Becker's dictionary is about to be released onto Android. They are currently beta-testing it. You need Android 2.2 (at least) and .3 GB on the SD. Should be about another month of waiting.

...And Then There Was Light...

Im also very interested. Is the guy at boxer rebellion still there?

I think he died in a tragic accident about a year ago. I have not heard as to whether a new person was found to repalce him.

smg, I have no idea why you got such an aggressive response from the last poster. Weird.

Anyway, there is simply an announcement on the escalator at the Pata store ground floor stating the area is under renovation. There is no date for when it will re-open.

Here is episode 6 of the now famous animation series on the flooding. This particular episode is all about hoarding.

http://news.voicetv.co.th/infographic/22557.html

Does anyone know where I can get a *Thai* script of it.... This would be very helpful language material since the whole series is English subtitled...

Thank you.

*The* best road in Bangkok for fancy dress is Soi Atsawa Mit, which is off Thanon Charan Sanitwong. It is the road to the North of Pata Department Store, in Pinklao, on the west side of the Chao Praya river.

Most of the shops on this road are fancy dress shops. And most will make a bespoke costume for you.

I think this is awfully unfair.

It is an almighty stretch to call Atheism a religion. Take a look at Peter Berger's monumental "The Sacred Canopy" to understand just what ontological commitments have to be made for something to be a religion.

I'm an atheist and I have no idea if this is my only life. There might or might not be a heaven. Heck, there might be a heaven and no god/s. I love surprises so it's all good.

As for the Christians, their belief in heaven is supposed to nullify their upset at how rubbish their lives are in this one, and to discipline them into certain codes of conduct. Michel Foucault in 'Security, Territory, Population' masterfully shows the regulatory lengths of Pastoral Care.

And this fits into my views on the 'End of Buddhism'. This is certainly a dramatic narrative. But this narrative has arisen so many times in history before. As Daniel Dennet points out in 'Breaking the Spell', religions have survived precisely becuase of their ability to sustain critical attacks. They have a whole armoury of rhetorical techniques to counter criticism. They are like jelly. The buddhism of Thailand today has nothing to do with whatever an Indian nobleman was doing in India a few centuries back. Only the name is the same.

So Buddhism in this latter narrative never existed in Thailand anyway. Just a quick reading of Weber's masterpiece on the religions of India makes it very difficult to think there is some 'uncorrupted' version out there. Indeed, it perfectly displays the bizarre twists and turns that religions take to shift and survive. Yet despite it being *obviously* nothing to do with the original aestheticism of the noble, the armoury of religion to defend against my criticism now is to state "but this is not the real Buddhism, this is the real Buddhism", pointing somewhere else. Indeed, whereever and whatever is criticised, it is never 'real Buddhism'. But this slippery nature of religions actually reveals their onotological absurdity.

So why are they all around us? Perhaps Robert Bellah's new book-- 20 years in the making-- helps to answer this question.

So to sum up, your question of whether Buddhism will/has ended in Thailand, perfectly encapsulates the disciplining nature of the tricks of religions to reassert and reposition themselves. They never grow tired and never grow weary. You join a long line of men with this same claim.

I'm sorry you find it unfair..... it is only my own humble opinion....but then life is often seen as unfair when we can only see and know the present lifetime....unaware of the consequences of past actions and those actions too.

You seem good at reading and quoting other peoples work... why don't you try thinking for yourself...

Your reply is in an oddly rhetorical style. Obviously, I did not use 'unfair' to describe my feelings but to suggest your broad criticism of those religions could not be made from your arguments. In other words, you are playing the dark art of the dialectic, and I am playing the game of logic. And since you seem to enjoy my book referencing then you might enjoy 'The Art of Being Right: 38 Ways to Win an Argument' (1831) by Schopenhauer. In his book, your rhetorical trick would fall under a 'diversion' move. You seem more keen on 'winning' than on finding insight. I am genuinely baffled, I thought the positioning of Buddhism necessarily prefers the latter.

As for your second point of criticism, all thinking is based on the thinking of others. The sign of thinking is the ability to find the confluences of thoughts and come up with a new perspective. I thought my post was a bravura argument. If you haven't read those books, you have no time to lose. Although, having said that, if you believe in reincarnation, you have plenty of time, so you might not need to hurry so much. Had you read those books you would be aware of the rich history of the narrative of the 'end of Buddhism is now'. This would and should put your mind at rest.

Nice post patient. You describe well many of the current Western attitudes.

I was talking to my fellow farang monk here yesterday and I said that so many of the problems in the West come about because of the largly held beliefs of Christianity or Atheism. Both of those religions consider that we have a single life. This causes people to consider this lifetime of extreme importance and preciousness. They have thus got to be sucessful or at least have as good a time as possible. IMHO it leads to selfishness. Christians go around forcing their religion on the world because they think it is superior and have gods given right to do so, causing untold damage and suffering in the process, thinking they are doing gods work and earning themselves salvation.

Destruction of nature with no thought of the future state of the planet is also a consequence.

Non-belief in rebirth leads to a very short-sighted view and exaggerated idea of the importance of oneself and ones right to do as one pleases without any comebacks.

I think this is awfully unfair.

It is an almighty stretch to call Atheism a religion. Take a look at Peter Berger's monumental "The Sacred Canopy" to understand just what ontological commitments have to be made for something to be a religion.

I'm an atheist and I have no idea if this is my only life. There might or might not be a heaven. Heck, there might be a heaven and no god/s. I love surprises so it's all good.

As for the Christians, their belief in heaven is supposed to nullify their upset at how rubbish their lives are in this one, and to discipline them into certain codes of conduct. Michel Foucault in 'Security, Territory, Population' masterfully shows the regulatory lengths of Pastoral Care.

And this fits into my views on the 'End of Buddhism'. This is certainly a dramatic narrative. But this narrative has arisen so many times in history before. As Daniel Dennet points out in 'Breaking the Spell', religions have survived precisely becuase of their ability to sustain critical attacks. They have a whole armoury of rhetorical techniques to counter criticism. They are like jelly. The buddhism of Thailand today has nothing to do with whatever an Indian nobleman was doing in India a few centuries back. Only the name is the same.

So Buddhism in this latter narrative never existed in Thailand anyway. Just a quick reading of Weber's masterpiece on the religions of India makes it very difficult to think there is some 'uncorrupted' version out there. Indeed, it perfectly displays the bizarre twists and turns that religions take to shift and survive. Yet despite it being *obviously* nothing to do with the original aestheticism of the noble, the armoury of religion to defend against my criticism now is to state "but this is not the real Buddhism, this is the real Buddhism", pointing somewhere else. Indeed, whereever and whatever is criticised, it is never 'real Buddhism'. But this slippery nature of religions actually reveals their onotological absurdity.

So why are they all around us? Perhaps Robert Bellah's new book-- 20 years in the making-- helps to answer this question.

So to sum up, your question of whether Buddhism will/has ended in Thailand, perfectly encapsulates the disciplining nature of the tricks of religions to reassert and reposition themselves. They never grow tired and never grow weary. You join a long line of men with this same claim.

just heard from 3rd person removed that water is approaching Victory Monument...can anyone [that's left in bkk!] confirm?

"approaching"...

Well, there is a lot of water heading there about 8km North. It might even get there in 2 days.

In Pinklao, the situation is rapidly worsening. The floodwater levels are to around 1.3 metres and they are barely moving according to tides. There is noticeable panic among soldiers to repair the dykes.

My apartment's sandbagged, water-pumped and sealed barrier has been overrun. The breeze block wall-- just built-- is holding out at the entrances but every time the water level rises more leaks spring.

Any worse and the electricity must be switched off. Currently aiding the staff (9 people) with a desperate last stand.

The TV signal is knocked out, the water is compromised. The emergency chemical toilet has been destroyed by the flooding.

This might be the last time I can get on the internet, so I bid you good night and good luck. Situation hopeless, all is lost, we fight on. God Save the Queen.

The area of the West Bank of Chao Praya in the centre of Bangkok is now in a state of permanent flood since 4pm yesterday.

It is a vast area of about 3km by 6km. Covering from the Bangkok Noi canal next to Sirirat Hospital all the way up to Yanhee.

Here is a map:

Contrary to news reports the whole of Arun Amarin Road (the one next to Sirirat Hospital) is not completely closed, only the section north of the hospital. Be aware, that Arun Amarin intersection is a completely different road further west.

There are army vehicles trundling around to allow people to reach dry land. Large cars can still drive through. Buses sometimes go for it. Most turn around before entering.

This seems to be only overflow from the river and the vast water from the North is yet to reach the area. The water is roughly thigh high at high tide (4pm-ish).

I think this remains the only serious inundation into central Bangkok.

From Arun Amarin Bridge (the bridge next to Sirirat Hospital) onwards it is flooded to thigh height on the immediate West side of Chao Praya River.

This is due to leak points West at Arum Amarin intersection (a location some 3 km away) and a breach of the Navy Base dyke on Thanon Arun Amarin. Navy base at full strength trying to stop this as this is the location of the Royal Barges.

The flooding is anticipated to decline. Currently road is impassable to cars and all cars are required to U-turn by police block.

I would describe this as the first large-scale flooding in the central area of Bangkok. But it is tidal and unrelated to the enormous amount of water about 6km North.

The key is to think through the Political Economy of Panic.

The housewife-- the key figure in the panic narrative-- must make the decisive decision to 'shop' in a crisis. She will then head to the shops. These are the shops that narrate as part of the shopping trip.

So the key to finding water at 7/11s was to head to the ones off these narratives of shopping trips. The 7/11 near me was empty of water, the 7/11 in the university campus was stacked with even the large bottles of water and vast quantities of mama noodles.

The Governor's statement on the 27 areas to be immediately evacuated is aimed at those tiny groups that live in front of the flood protection barrier, usually in houses on stilts, in mostly slum quarters. Note the tiny numbers of households involved.

I live in one of those 27 areas and it is bone dry.

Surely if he downloaded them for free he's not added any incentive to the purveyors of this filth? Does looking at Youtube video of a Taleban exucution make the viewer criminally responsible for the murder too?

+1 precisely.

The irony of Thailand is the DVD was probably pirated and so none of the money went to the makers of the video.

This means the punishment is a thought-crime punishment. The howls and demands to slice this person up in various ways seem oddly hollow.

The paedophile panic of the last decade that largely arose after the Catholic priest incidents will ebb and flow and run its course and run out. And like all panics, when in the mdist of it, it is difficult to imagine things any different. The ceaseless promotion of fear and panic among parents by NSPCC and other state agencies (e.g. Social Services), destroying traditional community bonds, is finally at its last gasps.

When a Mother rebukes a famous comedian for daring to smile at her child when he was riding on the London Underground, it is painfully obvious it has all gone too far. This 'cult of caution' with its Witch Trials is too transparent as a gesturing for an age of innocence that existed-- invariably-- 10 years before the dominant age group was alive. The vetting frenzy where women can now check that even what rumours were reported to the police before starting a relationship is the reductio ad absurdum of this-- very working-class-- panic.

The threats to kill, and the insinuations whenever a TV forum member does not threaten to castrate the man found guilty is all part of this regime of terror.

But the more you tighten your grip in the regulated Western World, the more they will slip out to Asia and other locations.

A girl in the USA gave a blowjob to her boyfriend in class. She was 17, he was 16. She was found guilty of a sex crime and placed on the sex register for life. At 33 years old, she cannot get any but the most menial jobs, she may not live within 1 km of a school (besides the desert where else is this far from a school) and she has to sleep in her car in the parking lot since she cannot be within 500 metres of a bus stop at night.

"Ah", I hear you cry, this has nothing to do with what we are worried about. But this is exactly what happens when an issue becomes taboo, when there is no vote in appearing relaxed or liberal.

It is not going away, The Times of London gave a figure of 1/3 of all men as having sexual arousal from pre-pubescent children. I feel very lucky to not be in that 1/3, but the self-hatred that must go through those people's minds must be agony.

Original Post of the week.........................................Not!

Was just thinking the same thing.

All we need now is a sin-sod thread, and perhaps one about whether or not the word 'farang' is racist.

Is there any way for me to get my sin-sod money back since I now hate the place and want to leave because they all call me a 'farang' everytime I try and buy potatoes and black tea at the local Tesco. I blame the people, the education system, the culture, and the corrupt politicians, and the feral dogs.

In my mind you still should wait and watch TV News about it. Right now (Friday 14. of October) it don´t look good for Bangkok but who know about 28. of October...nobody.

Regards

Thomas

The Thai government apparently does. Their own website classes the 28th October as a crucial peak point of the river.

disaster.go.th

'Disaster Tourism' is a trend for the desperate need for an authentic life. The modern life is so banalised and mediatised that the disaster is a rare moment to feel life.

In Japan, families set out for weekend trips to the nuclear/tsunami disaster zone. They take packed sandwiches for the locals and take photos of them so graciously giving this food to the locals. It was ok at first but now the locals are exasperated by it.

It is easy to find this moment of authenticity. Just look at the Google Disaster Crisis Flood Map (type these keywords into google). It is very detailed and you can see there are loads of very small floods all across Bangkok. But if the OP is after a 'real' flood (i.e. one that looks like the fake floods in Hollywood movies) then he will need to head north. Buy a boat with a motor and head that way. Enjoy the jouissance.

I'm interested.

Thanks for posting this.

+1

Keep posting. Very interested.

There are all kinds of technical/linguistic problems of machine translation when you consider what goes into 'language.' I remember using one of those internet translation programs once to see what would happen with English and Japanese (not dissimilar from Thai in many ways):

Q(Japanese): Are you going back home soon?

Translated Q (English): Is it returning to the house now?

One of the problems is that in the Japanese context, the question didn't need a subject- it was implied by the existence of the asker and answerer. However, in English, we spell all of that stuff out with pronouns (quite redundantly, from the point of view of many other languages, including Thai). Also, there is a verb in Japanese which more or less includes the 'home', thus the odd translation of 'returning to the house'. And the verb conjugation in Japanese for 'doing now' can also imply the near future.

>snip<

So there was I thinking it can't be that bad now...

Just tried to use Google Translate from Japanese to English

もうすぐ帰るの？

becomes

"The back soon!"

It even got the punctuation wrong....

>>facepalm<<

...or why not just go to the Mobile Immigration Office at Khao San & Bumrumgrad Hospital...?

They do every type of immigration admin issue that I can think of. They almost never have any customers and the service is very quick.

Just ring the Immigration Hotline for the times and dates. Or check out the posts on the mobile unit at ThaiVisa.

You lengthen your diversion by a post that is self-deniable. Simply making another diversion and then claiming it is not so does not mean it is not so.

I initially implied that you were using dry, pompous language in one of your posts (to which a number of others posters seem to agree). I then implied that you might be being less than honest about getting gushing love letters from other posters in your PM box praising that very same pretentious post.

Maybe you need to look up the meaning of the word "diversion" before you get back to scouring the thesaurus to write your next affected rant.

But the language I used was anything but dry. That was the point. You seriously need to read some of your books in your bookshop. I wrote, "Their full-time jobs since retirement are status anxiety and reputational damage control." This is an intensely poetic style.

I find, and you'll increasingly find as you open more books, that you don't need a thesaurus as you become accustomed to the written word.

The message writer is one of the writers on this thread. I suspect he does not want to be 'outed' in your bullying tactics.

I am careful to observe and I have picked up on traits of yours. You like to get in the last word. You can't resist it. You will have to respond to this. You think if you don't know something then it is wrong. You think if somebody knows something you don't know then they cannot know it and so are arrogantly writing above their station. Ironcially, this makes you arrogant, for thinking you can judge others. It is only arrogant if they know not of what they speak. We have already established you win the gong for the most rhetorical nonsense. And I win the award for the most intelligent response in the thread.

Sometimes you are just plain wrong. Shockingly wrong. I will take a response as a sign of surrender.

To hold such vapid anti-intellectual views, it is shameful to use the moniker of such a great American hero. I would ask you change your moniker to something more suitable. How about "Mr Turtle"?

Possibly the most wordy thread Hijack I have ever come across.

Have had many academics work for me, drove me nuts with longwinded answers to simple questions.

Put them in a corridor of a burning building, most would burn to death debating which exit provide the best possibility of survival.

Still enjoy there company and for the most envy the education that was provided for them.

Gaccha enjoyed reading the posts, eaiser to say however most run away from something ie lifestyle or compliance to a particular social order to only embrace and mimick it again over here. Often resulting in a fridge full of home comforts and a western lifestyle in Thailand.

OP hang in be cool see you back in LOS when your better, thanks also for the reminder of how lucky we are to hav ethe choice.

In my defence, I was accused I(see the Latin quote on page 1) of, in effect, not writing enough and so confusing the readers. So I then spelt out the concepts. Then I was placed under a series of empty attacks.

Still, I am glad you enjoyed the post. I would say you are iin agreement with me on the last point ("only embrace and mimick it again over here") as I wrote of the full-time job of Status Anxiety and Reputational Damage Limitation.

And I definitely don't think it is a hijacking of the thread. Without my original post, the thread would have repeated the scores of other threads about the feelings of going back. I just tried to look below the surface. If 'thinking' is a hijacking then what's the point...

I just got a personal message saying "Hey, I just read your recent posts about neoliberalism capitalism etc.

A fan letter. I bet you did.

Ah, yes, I have seen this strategy of diversion somewhere before...

No diversion. I responded directly to your claim that posters were sending you gushing PMs about your grandiose posts that they did not bother posting on the thread for some strange reason.

You lengthen your diversion by a post that is self-deniable. Simply making another diversion and then claiming it is not so does not mean it is not so. A bigot who says "I'm not a bigot but..." is still a bigot.

You will note that the attacks on me on this thread run in exactly the same way as the attacks by the liberal-democrat neo-liberal states. In order to discipline their populations to lead banalised lives, they assiduously encourage self-enforcement mechanisms through complex regulatory controls over the human body: 'biopower'.

The attack options are:

1. abnormalise

2. medicalise ("what has he smoked? I want some")

3. appeal to absurdity ("a cat stepped on his keyboard")

The State does the same. If you don't fit in the box, then you are ill, or in need of help, or should be ignored.

Now, try to favour your books over the bar. And then we'll talk.

I just got a personal message saying "Hey, I just read your recent posts about neoliberalism capitalism etc.

A fan letter. I bet you did.

Ah, yes, I have seen this strategy of diversion somewhere before...

"If you find that you are being worsted, you can make a diversion - that is, you can suddenly begin to talk of something else, as though it had a bearing on the matter in dispute, and afforded an argument against your opponent. This may be done without presumption if the diversion has, in fact, some general bearing on the matter; but it is a piece of impudence if it has nothing to do with the case, and is only brought in by way of attacking your opponent."--Arthur Schopenhauer

I would like to pre-empt your next message by offering a menu of options for you to proceed with your vacuous attacks:

The Extension

The Homonymy

Generalize your Opponent's Specific Statements

Conceal Your Game

False Propositions

Postulate What Has To Be Proved

Yield Admissions Through Questions

Make Your Opponent Angry

Questions in Detouring Order

Take Advantage of The Nay-Sayer

Generalize Admissions of Specific Cases

Choose Metaphors Favourable to Your Proposition

Agree to Reject the Counter-Proposition

Claim Victory Despite Defeat

Use Seemingly Absurd Propositions

Arguments Ad Hominem

Defense Through Subtle Distinction

Interrupt, Break, Divert the Dispute

Generalize the Matter, Then Argue Against it

Draw Conclusions Yourself

Meet him With a Counter-Argument as Bad as His

petitio principii

Make Him Exaggerate his Statement

State a False Syllogism

Find One Instance to The Contrary

Turn The Tables

Anger Indicates a Weak Point

Persuade the Audience, Not The Opponent

Diversion

Appeal to Authority Rather Than Reason

This is Beyond Me

Put His Thesis Into Some Odious Category

It Applies in Theory, But Not in Practice

Don't Let Him Off The Hook

Will is More Effective Than Insight

Bewilder Your opponent by Mere Bombast

A Faulty Proof Refutes His Whole Position

Become Personal, Insulting, Rude

and if you cant actually make sense of what he is saying you are either thick or being obtuse

Who said that anyone does not understand what he is trying to say? Unlike some folks, roamer actually gets the point (which is pretty hard to miss).

Familiar with Horace ? Brevis esse laboro, obscurus fio.

Then shame on you again. For you implied the reverse.

I just got a personal message saying "Hey, I just read your recent posts about neoliberalism capitalism etc. And...I absolutely loved them because they hit really close to home and pretty much mirror the situation im in now".

It seems that I managed to conceptualise the guy's situation pretty well. Obviously accusing me of being pretentious for simply taking two strands of thought found in academic literature and sticking them together is a grotesque move from a bookseller.

We live in a society where all the media follows the liberal view: live in a democracy, free to do what we want within very expansive limits. Yet behind this facade, the dominant forces of capitalism and the State's desire to dominant in order to produce a banalised life, has taken away much of the enjoyment of life.