The LAT’s Richard Paddock has published a revealing story about the Myanmar government’s efforts to “rebuild” the country’s ancient temples.
(Via.)
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Month: September 2006
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Round-the-World Dork Dance
Speaking of Matt Gross/the Frugal Traveler, let’s give it up for another peripatetic Matt. I speak of Matt Hoffman, a dude who visited some 39 countries and did his goofy (yet oddly infectious) dance in each of them. Check out the video above or visit his site.
(Via.)
In my latest Gridskipper post, I take a look at Matt Gross’s final dispatches from his round-the-world journey as the New York Times’s Frugal Traveler.
Related: World Hum’s Mike Yessis recently published an interview with Matt.
[Photo: Matt Gross/NYT]
Colum Murphy has a comprehensive essay about Thailand’s political situation in this month’s Far Eastern Economic Review:
Inside the entrance to the Thai Rak Thai’s party headquarters in Bangkok hangs a giant photograph of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra bowing to King Bhumibol Adulyadej. Dressed in the white uniform sometimes worn by government officials, the prime minister is prostrate before the much-revered king in a gesture of devoted servitude. Yet few in Thailand believe that relations between the two men are as amiable as the photograph suggests.
“He [Mr. Thaksin] has pitched a fight with the Bangkok elite, including the palace—and that means the king himself,” says a Western diplomat. Earlier in the year, Mr. Thaksin reportedly said that he would step down if the king “whispered in his ear” to do so. “Well the king has not just whispered it, but has said it indirectly in public,” adds the diplomat.
With fresh elections planned for October 15, it could be only a matter of weeks before a major showdown occurs. But more is at stake than Mr. Thaksin’s political career. There would be ramifications for the monarchy as well, and its relationship with the country’s still-weak democratic institutions. A drawn-out dispute between Mr. Thaksin and the king, also known as Rama IX, threatens to derail efforts to address the challenges to Thai society such as the disparity between the rich and poor, the urban and rural, as well as systemic corruption.
(Emphasis mine.)
The 2005 martial arts action flick Tom Yum Goong appears to be headed for Western theaters; its new title is The Protector. You can watch the trailer here. The film features Thai celluloid star Tony Jaa. Why it is, precisely, that the flick is named after one of my all-time favorite Thai dishes remains a mystery.
From the promo copy:
His world shaped by ancient traditions, a young Thai fighter (Jaa) is called upon to defend his people and their honor after outsiders invade their home and destroy all that is sacred.Fueled by desire to protect a way of life and avenge the wrong done to his family, he will bring the fight to their city.
The real question: Tony Jaa vs. Rambo. Who wins?
RISBANE, Australia – Steve Irwin, the Australian television personality and environmentalist known as the “Crocodile Hunter,” was killed Monday by a stingray during a diving expedition, Australian media said. He was 44.
Irwin was filming an underwater documentary on the Great Barrier Reef in northeastern Queensland state when the accident occurred, Sydney’s The Daily Telegraph newspaper reported on its Web site.
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Best of Newley.com
For your reading pleasure — and really, everything I do is, ultimately, for your reading pleasure — I’ve compiled a list of some of my best posts. I went back through my archives, which stretch back to January of 2002, and selected only the most ridiculously sublime of my musings.
Enjoy them again for the fist time.
— Jalapeno Hands: a Cautionary Culinary Tale (July 3, 2004 — Thanks to Chris D. for the tale.)
— US Soccer: Postmortem Analysis (June 29, 2006)
— Spotted in Bangkok: Collectible Lighters Featuring World Ethnicities (April 27, 2006)
— Health Insurance and Moral-Hazard (August 22, 2005)
— Notes from Indonesia (April 20, 2006)
— Korean French Fry-Encrusted Hot Dogs (February 18, 2006)
— Bloggers’ Favorite Books of 2005 (December 20, 2005)
— Newley.com: Best in Comments (January 21, 2006)
— My Pics of a DC Sunset (August 22, 2005)
— Chorks: Approved for Use in Outer Space (September 16, 2005)
— Hurricanes, Global Warming, and Politically-Inspired Fear-Mongering (Related: Climate Change and Hurricane Katrina) (September – December, 2005)
— Ecuadorian Corpus Christi Celebrations: Bring on the Fireworks (June 24, 2003)
— Old Photos I Found at my Grandmother’s House and Scanned in (January 4, 2006)
— New York Fuggin’ City (June 27, 2005)
— Ecuadorian Soup in the New Yorker (September 6, 2005)
— Miles the Spider (August 10, 2005)
— Video of Thai Ladies Laughing at Me (August 2, 2006 — Thanks to A for the clip.)
— Blogging from 30,000 Feet (June 8, 2006)