The Beer Bar

Things have changed so much in the USA since I lived there. I was recently able to attend a wedding for a relative who is marrying her gay partner. Growing up gay, I NEVER thought I'd see the day. And, I know we have a long way to go. But, damn, we have come a long way too. I often don't see the positive side of things, but seeing a room full of friends and family and all watching as a preacher read over the rituals, it really just took my breath away. I then thought back to my first BF in NYC and how bad he wanted to marry and his family forced him back to Israel to marry a woman. I often wonder what would have happened if the world was different back then and now m…

From The Nation A giant demon statue criticised as “un-Buddhist and scary” was removed from in front of The Bazaar Hotel in Bangkok's Huai Khwang district on Thursday. The move came after the State Railway of Thailand ordered that the statue of Khru Kai Kaeo, a winged demon with fangs and crimson talons, be removed by December 30. The hotel’s operator, Suan Lum Night Bazaar Ratchadaphisek, has also been ordered to pay a fine of 1.3 million baht for violating the Building Control Act. The statue of Khru Kai Kaeo and its accompanying nine-tailed fox figure were removed to the rear…

Where do you fall for your country....are you surprised by this list, I was 😱

Remembering the lost loves of youth in our golden years and still yearning for more, didn't know about love till you told me. From a movie that I love. Nothing gold can stay. Robert Frost. Nature’s first green is gold, Her hardest hue to hold. Her early leaf’s a flower; But only so an hour. Then leaf subsides to leaf. So Eden sank to grief, So dawn goes down to day. Nothing gold can stay. The Outsiders - Nothing Gold Can Stay.mp4

Tommy Smothers died yesterday (12/26/2023). Those of us living in the USA in the 1960s, in particular, will remember him and his brother Dick and their televised music variety show and their strong opposition to the Vietnam War; vocal opposition that prompted CBS to cancel the popular show. The blond hair, blue-eyed Smothers was a former California state high school gymnastics champion (parallel bars). I had a crush on him at the time, with Richard Chamberlain, too. Tommy Smothers was 86. R I.P.

One of the reasons I love reading this forum has because I love reading the positive posts of Vinapu and others like PeterRS Some on here have exciting lives in their senior years and that actually makes me feel positive It actually makes me feel good to read in the morning and it starts off my day good. But I notice a increase as I get old too in old guys becoming grumpy and even nasty A lot can come into play I guess ,they"re thinking why is that guy having fun and I'm not ! Thats not fair ! He is travelling the world 🌍 having fun with hunky guys and I'm not so I must post nasty messages! Grumpy old men 😁 Live your life , it's…

From The Nation With an outbreak of the potentially fatal Zika virus now Bangkok, residents were on Wednesday warned by a leading virologist to protect themselves against mosquito bites. Yong Poovorawan, head of the Centre of Excellence in Clinical Virology at Chulalongkorn University’s Faculty of Medicine, posted on his Facebook wall that many cases of the mosquito-borne infection of Zika virus have been detected in Bangkok and even in temples. The doctor did not give the exact figures of Zika cases in the capital but he did write…

While we applaud declining interest rates we must also accept their economic realities. There's a correlation between the interest rate of our home currency with its corresponding value to the baht, as can be observed in the charts below. And if the trend continues--as most economists believe it will--the baht will continue to strength barring an unforeseen crisis in confidence. The exchange rate also influences the price we pay for international airline tickets and the hotel rates in Thailand, as can be seen in the daily (if not hourly) fluctuations on any of the booking sites. Since carriers collude on essentially fixing airfares, there's not much the con…

Robert Reich is a well known economist and public policy commentator Here's my next question: Is the same phenomenon happening in the gogo bars of Thailand? - prices going up for no added value; - wealth flowing to the top (think: boys in brown); - underpaid labour.... What about massage parlours?

Ajar A jarjar

From Agence France-Presse Shan State, Myanmar – An 18-year-old recruit in one of Myanmar’s pro-democracy fighting units prepares to launch a drone strike on junta troops, driven by anger and her mother’s call for revolution. Moe Moe is one of hundreds of women training, living and fighting alongside men in the “People’s Defence Forces”, upending gender norms in the mostly Buddhist country. She grew up during a rare period of democracy in Myanmar and, after the military ended it with a 2021 coup, joined one of the dozens of PDF units that formed to end the junta’s rule. Moe Moe initially worked with a group organising protests against the military…

Haven't done this in a while so please forgive my indulgence. From CNN A 12-year-old stray dog found roaming in an English village turned out to have been missing for several years – until an animal rescue and the community that fed her helped bring her to safety. Volunteer nonprofit Lost Dog Recovery UK South said in a Facebook post someone told them in November about a small black dog running in the road near Crawley Down, a village in West Sussex, England. “They stopped the traffic, let the dog disappear into the woodland and knew not to follow and just returned ASAP to leave food,” the organization said in a social media post on December 11. …

From The Nation High waves on Friday morning caused a night ferry heading to Koh Tao, a resort island in the Gulf of Thailand, to sink in the sea. All 70 passengers and crews were transported to the shore safely by speedboats. The 114.93-tonne ferry named ‘T. Sandee Maneethup 111’ had left the pier at Bandon Bay in Surat Thani province at 10pm on Thursday. It was scheduled to reach Koh Tao, located some 110 km offshore in Surat Thani’s Koh Pha Ngan district, at 6am on Friday. Local officials said the ferry was hit by waves of about 3 metres high, resulting in sea w…

From Thai PBS World The current increase in COVID-19 infections is seasonal, like other respiratory diseases, and will continue until the end of January, returning to normal between February and May, according to Dr. Yong Poovorawan, head of the Centre of Excellence in Clinical Virology at the Faculty of Medicine of Chulalongkorn University. He added that a new wave of infections will begin in June and last until September, dropping again by November. Like many respiratory conditions, such as flu, COVID tends to peak during the rainy season. COVID-19 infections are entering their fourth year and Dr. Yong said that the severity of the diseas…

From Thai PBS World One construction worker was fatally injured when a steel sheet fell and struck him on the head at the construction site of the Purple Line’s Wongwian Yai station in Bangkok on Sunday morning. The victim, whose identity had not been released at press time, was rushed to Taksin hospital. He was pronounced dead shortly after arrival. After the accident, which occurred at about 7.50am, the Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand, the owner of the project, instructed Unique Engineering and Construction, the project’sbuilder, to suspend subcontractor operations for seven days, pending the outcome of an accident investigation. …

From Thai PBS World Saturday December 23rd is the coldest day the year for Thailand so far, as temperatures across the country plunge to record lows, with the mercury dropping to 10oC in the north-eastern province of Nakhon Phanom and to 18oC -19oC in Bangkok. Somkuan Tonjan, director of the Central Weather Forecast sub-division of the Meteorological Department, said that temperatures across the country dropped quickly by an average of 3oC, due to another cold front from China. The cold weather will last until December 26th, after which it will become warmer until December 30th, when temperatures are forecast to fall again, said Somkuan. He attribu…

From The Nation Thailand’s daily minimum wage is set to increase nationwide from January 1, 2024, in the range of 330 to 370 baht per day according to the province, the Labour Ministry said. The tripartite committee on minimum wage, comprising representatives of employers, employees and the government sector, met on Friday to finalise the details of minimum wage adjustment across all 77 provinces. The new rates will be submitted to the Cabinet when it meets next Tuesday (December 12), and will take effect from January 1, Labour Ministry permanent secretary Pairoj Chotikasathien, who chaired the meeting on Frid…

From The Nation Several Myanmar tourists joined hundreds of Thais in experiencing the thrill of Chiang Rai’s newest attraction – a glass skywalk at Phra That Doi Wao Temple in Mae Sai district. The visitors did not just enjoy the bracing chilly weather on Saturday but were also greeted with a panoramic view of hills in Thailand and neighbouring Myanmar. The skywalk, which was officially inaugurated on November 9, is open daily from 7am to 8pm and draws some 4,000 visitors on weekdays. The weekends and public holidays see as many as 10,000 visitors. Myanmar tourists, who say the …

From The Nation Bangkok-Singapore and Bangkok-Seoul ranked among the top 10 busiest international flight routes in 2023, according to travel data provider OAG. The two routes both offered over 3 million seats this year, landing them in ninth and 10th in the global popularity rankings. Flights from Bangkok to Singapore totalled 3,478,474 seats, up 47% from the previous year but still 9% lower than the pre-Covid level in 2019. The Bangkok-Seoul route was just behind with 3,362,968 seats, an increase of 111% from the previous year and 9% more than in 2019. Ranked No. 1 as t…

From Pattaya Mail By Barry Kenyon In an unexpected move, British home secretary James Cleverly has partially climbed down over his plan to raise the minimum annual salary level of UK-based sponsors from 18,600 pounds to 38,700 pounds. Most family visas are issued to the foreign wives of British nationals wishing to settle in Britain, but can also cover children or other close relatives. Mr Cleverly had earlier claimed that the huge increase was necessary both to cut immigration levels into the UK and because the income floor had not been raised for over a decade. In an unexpected move, British home secretary James Cleverly has partially climbed down over hi…

The following took place on a relatively short regional flight. It raises the question of how members secure any cash on long-haul flights. From CNN A man has been charged with theft after allegedly stealing more than $23,000 in cash from three fellow passengers while on a budget flight from Vietnam to Singapore. The man was named in court charge sheets as Zhang Xiuqiang, a 52-year-old Chinese national who had been on board a flight operated by Scoot, the budget wing of Singapore Airlines. An airline spokesperson told CNN that it “was aware of an incident” that occurred on board a flight from Ho Chi Minh City to Singapore on December 16. “Our cabin cre…

Grindr just have their statistics for 2023 Highest percentages of bottoms South Korea wins Tops Trinidad wins China second

From Thai PBS World Airports of Thailand (AOT) will continue to expand the capacity of its existing airports and build two new airports, with an estimated investment of Bt150 billion, to cope with the increasing number of domestic and international passengers. Speaking at a seminar called “Section II: Next Step” on Wednesday, AOT chief executive officer Kirati Kitmanawat said that the company plans to build the new Lanna and Andaman airports, which are estimated to cost Bt70 billion and Bt80 billion respectively. They will be capable of accommodating 40 million passengers annually. The two projects are undergoing feasibility studies and the land expropriati…

New column from author Philip Cornwell-Smith Bangkok’s graphic image had become a mess. Yes, the city’s character is messy, too, but that’s not an excuse when visitors need consistency and residents could feel newfound pride in their city’s badge. There was no constant font, colour or composition for the logo and wording. There wasn’t a manual specifying how to reproduce the city’s graphics, which is a norm that any firm provides for its brands. Every promotion, like ‘Amazing Bangkok,’ ‘City of Life’ or the current ’Unfolding Bangkok,’ added yet more fonts, slogans and clutter. Bangkok has been in desperate need for what designers call an ‘identity system.’ http…