The Beer Bar

So after 20 years the US is almost out of Afghanistan. The peace talks with the Taliban which have been going on for three years next month were clearly a sham. Now the Taliban has speedily controlled far more territory than anyone involved seemed to have anticipated and we can surely expect the entire country to be taken over once again by that ultra Islamic bunch. Women will be forced out of schools, will have to wear strict Islamic dress, music will be banned, adulterers stoned, gays thrown from buildings - and goodness knows what else. That country has been fought over almost more than any other since the British disaster around 1840. In more recent times, the So…

No, it's not an anniversary, although he would have been 80 next year had he lived. Merely an interest resulting from an article in today's Guardian newspaper about two exhibitions of his work - one in Paris mounted for the city's Festival d'Automne and the other at Manchester's Art Gallery in England. For gay men he was an icon, a star who wore his gayness like a light and who documented his days when suffering from HIV and the AIDS that killed him in 1994. Derek Jarman was clearly a handsome young man as shown in this 1960 photo of him in front of a self portrait at an exhibition in Watford. Photo courtesy of Keith Collins Will Trust and Amanda Wilkinso…

Not sure if there are many snooker fans on the Board. I have enjoyed the sport for decades (purely as a spectator - I can't pot anything) and have loved the exploits of many of the greats. But tonight there is the chance to witness something vey unusual. Two mid-20s guys competing in their first-ever major final at the very prestigious UK Championship. The promise of these two has been obvious for years and they finally seem to have come of snooker age. In the semi finals yesterday, they demolished in absolutely stunning fashion much higher ranked opponents, as they have throughout the two week tournament. The 24-year old Chinese from Xi'an, Zhao Xintong, has been ca…

I'm sucker for animal stories. From Pattaya Mail Kampol Tansacha (right) and Dr. Padej Siridamrong received baby ‘Khwak Rak’ at Nong Nooch and immediately began nursing the injured pachyderm back to health. Nong Nooch Tropical Garden assisted the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation to rescue a baby elephant snared in a hunter’s trap in Chanthaburi. The calf, only a few months old, nearly lost its leg in the trap laid in the Kang Hang Maew forest. Its lower leg was torn apart and the calf had 10 shotgun-pellet wounds. Veterinarians at the National Park Protection Unit at Khao Hin Khwak in Khao Sip Ha Chan National P…

‘Is Superman Circumcised?’ ranked oddest book title of 2021 Is Superman Circumcised? is an in-depth examination of the Jewish roots of the character over the course of his nearly century-long lifespan. Published: DECEMBER 3, 2021 11:00 1978 Superman/DC Sticker Cards (photo credit: MARK ANDERSON/FLICKR) Humorously titled book Is Superman Circumcised? The Complete Jewish History of the World’s Greatest Hero by Roy Schwartz has won an equally humorous international literary award, winning the Diagram Prize for the Oddest Book Title of the Year 2021. …

From Richard Barrow Twitter site This is a map of the MRT Yellow Line from Lat Phrao to Samrong which is a total of 30.4 kilometres. There are 23 stations. If everything goes to plan, it could be open for service by next year

From Bangkok Post A recreation of a wetland habitat at the expanded Benjakitti Park in Bangkok. Varuth Hirunyatheb The extension of Benjakitti Forest Park in Klong Toey district will open to the public in February next year, according to Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha. The expansion from its original area near Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre in Klong Toey will make it the first forest park to cover more than 300 rai in the capital. The area was formerly occupied by the Thai Tobacco Monopoly, before it donated the 453-rai plot in 1994 to serve as "the lungs of the city". One of the highlights of the park is the forest area which wi…

So many great memories from my yearly years until today. https://edition.cnn.com/2021/11/26/entertainment/stephen-sondheim/index.html

Curious as to what you think. I may get one this holiday.

From Channel News Asia HONG KONG: Cathay Pacific on Thursday (Nov 25) said it will slash passenger flights into Hong Kong next month as the city's strict travel curbs continue to keep international travellers away at a time when rivals are seeing their prospects improve. Hong Kong has maintained some of the world's harshest quarantine measures and travel restrictions during the pandemic, which has kept infections low but ensured a business hub that dubs itself "Asia's World City" has been cut off internationally for the past 20 months. The government has tied the city's fortunes to China's strict COVID-19 strategy and said normalisation of travel with the m…

We are getting close to November 22 and conspiracy theories will again be front and centre as the world remembers the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. As some readers will be aware, I like conspiracy theories. And this one is surely the mother lode of all. Who really did kill Kennedy? Sorry guys, this is going be long! Does anyone now seriously believe the findings of the Warren Commission set up by President Johnson have any credibility? Indeed, in its 1979 Report, the House Select Committee on Assassinations discovered several facts which had been deliberately withheld from Warren’s Commission. This second Report concluded – 1. Oswald fired three…

Sexy, Shirtless Australian Firefighters Return for 2022 Calendar Matt Ross on the 2022 Australian Firefighters Cat Calendar cover The World’s Hottest Australian Firefighters are back! Now in its 29th year, the internationally-acclaimed Australian Firefighters Calendar is setting hearts o…

Using Hornet on my 5 year old Samsung tablet, running Android 7, it only shows profile pictures not the profile text. On my LG phone, running Android 10, Hornet behaves as expected, including the profile text Is the problem on the tablet related to formatting for tablets or due to the older Android version ? The speed of the tablet is still quite good after 5 years. I'd already learnt the lesson that it's more economic to buy a good spec tablet, which remains fast enough to use for many years, rather than a modest spec which becomes too slow to use after 2~3 years.

From CNN The adventures of Boji, Istanbul’s traveling dog A street dog named Boji has become something of a celebrity in Istanbul, where he travels around the city on its ferries, trams and subway cars https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2021/10/travel/dog-istanbul-boji-cnnphotos/

From Bangkok Post The cabinet has approved a new campaign called "Visit Thailand Year 2022" to promote tourism, while the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) has established a committee to oversee pandemic-related obstacles for the industry. "The Tourism Authority of Thailand will oversee the campaign to draw foreign visitors to travel in Thailand using a budget drawn from both the government and private sector. The campaign will focus on Chiang Mai, Phuket, Nakhon Ratchasima and Ayutthaya," Mr Phiphat said. TAT governor Yuthasak Supasorn said the goal of the campaign is to hit a hotel occupancy rate of 50% in targeted provinces. "We wi…

Find Muscles In Brussels: Boytoys Gay Guide To The Capital Of The European Union! Have you ever wanted to visit a place with all the conveniences of a city, but also has the friendliness of small town life? Would you like to be able to practice your high school French without having to deal with the horror that is the French people? Or, maybe you want to go to a hot gay scene before every other cock on your block? If so, you'll simply adore Brussels, Belgium the capital of the European Union and the headquarters of a growing gay scene! For years, Brussels was off the gaydar mainly because it was very hard to get to. Over the past decade, however, low cost airlines…

From The Loyalty Lobby International Passengers who are in the process of leaving from Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport will be impacted by renovation efforts on the security check and passport control zones. Airports of Thailand (AOT) has announced that they will close certain areas of the departure hall in order to facilitate the improvements over the next two months. Suvarnabhumi Airport will make over the security check and passport control Zones 1-2 on the fourth floor of its passenger terminal as part of the on-going works to further enhance service quality. The improvement at Thailand’s main air hub will be carried out between 15 November an…

Britney Spears' conservatorship has finally ended https://www.npr.org/2021/11/12/1054860726/britney-spears-conservatorship-ended Now, that this is done, what should we work on next? Gay rights in the Middle East? More saunas opening in Rio? 2 for 1 short times in Bangkok?

From Bangkok Post Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has said he would need a fourth shot of Covid-19 vaccine because he needs to attend a meeting abroad. The Bhumjaithai Party leader, 55, received two Sinovac shots in February and later an AstraZeneca shot as the booster. But since he needs to attend a World Health Organization meeting in Switzerland late this month, he said he would need another AstraZeneca shot to qualify for entry without quarantine. Mr Anutin told a meeting at the ministry on Thursday that Thailand could be the first country to start administering fourth shots. “Now that more countries have reopened, we may have to rethink…

https://thepattayanews.com/2021/11/12/thailands-covid-19-center-holds-major-meeting-bars-and-nightlife-opening-postponed-officially-until-next-year-nationally-covid-19-recap-zone-changes/?fbclid=IwAR2pmS8y6h9SiIO13KUgxcG9gr9AYNPiCPg0xjxOziS2EPIXsu9ztMlo5tA

From Bangkok Post Authorities will set aside up to 500,000 doses of Covid-19 vaccines for foreign workers as it prepares to welcome them back to the country to help ease a labour shortage, a government minister said on Wednesday. The government plans to allow workers from neighbouring Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos to re-enter the country beginning next month and fill up shortages in big exporting industries such as food and rubber production. Workers will be placed in a two-week quarantine and during that time the vaccines will be administered, Labour Minister Suchart Chomklin said. They will also be tested for Covid-19. https://www.bangkokpost.com/thail…

Strictly Come Dancing viewers were moved to “tears” on Saturday (6 November), after a “spellbinding” and sensual rumba from Johannes Radebe and John Whaite. The show’s first-ever male same-sex dance partners performed the rumba to “Shape of My Heart” by Sting, and came in third, scoring 35 points out of a possible 40. Viewers were overwhelmed with emotion after the performance, and many revealed that they had broken down in tears. One wrote: “In tears watching Johannes and John. I bloomin’ hate the rhumba but the fact that two gay men are dancing this together on prime time Saturday night BBC is everything.” Lib Dem councillor Mathew Hulbert…

From Bangkok Post Standing alongside Wat Mahathat Yuwaratrangsarit and Sanam Luang, the historical Thaworawatthu Building was ordered to be built during the reign of King Rama V to serve as a supplementary edifice for HRH Prince Maha Vajirunhis' royal cremation ritual. The construction, completed in the reign of King Rama VI, later transformed into the Hor Phra Samut Samrap Phra Nakhon (Library for the Capital City) before being developed into the National Library, allowing the public to access its services. As part of the "King Chulalongkorn The Great (Rama V) Memorial" exhibition, it is now opening its chambers to showcase a rare collection of 47 cl…

From Bangkok Post Construction work has begun on the first section of the 4.5km Klong Chong Nonsi canal park which will open on Dec 25. Thana Boonlert Once known as the Venice of the East, Bangkok has seen its vast network of rivers winding through the capital vanish due to urban development. Construction has filled in klongs (canals) for roads and houses and the remaining waterways have become neglected and clogged with rubbish. However, the sound of pile drivers is once again pounding in the heart of the withering city. The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) is reviving canals and surrounding areas to increase clean water access and green spa…