Random Ramblings

Here we go. This is just a random stream-of-conciousness-kind of post.

South Korean people just staged a violent demonstration, people were injured, property was damaged, people shaved their heads. This is all because they (So. Korean government) agreed to import beef from America. Good grief! What is that all about?

I saw a heart-rending special on people escaping from North Korea. I had read about this before. Part of the program included a conversation between one sister who had escaped, and another who was debating leaving North Korea. The N. Korean sister said that her and the people were starving because they didn’t work hard enough, and because of all the enemies of North Korea making them suffer. Her sister said “what enemies?” She also said that they were told that their “Chairman of the National Defence Commission of North Korea.” Kim Jong-il was starving too, but his hard work and lack of sleep is what made his stomach stick out. There are people living in this world much different than the rest of us.

I hope I never, ever, take freedom for granted.

The rest of the world is really sick of the battle between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. I’ve listened to people around the world talking about this, they are tired of it. They (people around the world) watch the presidential race because the whole world is affected by the U.S. President. Interesting, isn’t it?

Can you believe that Bolivian women wearing pleated skirts have started a wrestling competition. See photo above. Learn more at http://www.boingboing.net/2005/07/21/indigenous-women-wre.html

I am stuck here in the hotel room because my back went “snap” as I bent over to get my camera out of the bag. My back had been hurting for several days, I noticed it each time I got up out of a chair. But today was more spectacular. I actually could hear and feel the “snap.” Great. I have one day to have a little break and it hurts to even walk. My favorite activity is to walk the beachfront here, and make occasional stops at little restaurants along the way. Can’t do it, hurts too much.




In the UK, they name the pubs and bars in the most peculiar way. Some examples are “Bag ‘O Nails”, “The Rat and Parrot” and “Slain’s Castle.” I didn’t make those up. In fact “Slain’s Castle” is a bar that used to be a church. Hmmm. The second photo is of one bar in Scotland. I caught this moment in time with my camera. I thought it was an interesting combination. The girl gave me a dirty look after leaving her loved one and walking past me.

My back really hurts.

I get an unsettling feeling when I see 60-year old men with 20-30 year-old women here in Pattaya. I get even more unsettled when it is a old man with a young boy. I see too much of that here.

Okay, I can’t end the post on a negative note. Here is something funny. My good friend here in Thailand has an interesting use of words. He uses the term “she” much like many in the U.S. use the term “they.” He uses that word to describe people in general. For the first few weeks, I was convinced that everything he talked about involved a woman, including his description of Buddha. After the third week, I discovered the “code.” He wasn’t talking about a woman, he was talking about “they.” And you know who “they” are. “They” are the ones who cause all the problems, and should do something about all the problems, and so on. Generalizations like that really bug me. “They” should make a law.