Newley Purnell

Apropos of nothing, a funny pic for you, my dear readers. Would that I snapped it. Click for a bigger version.

Enjoy the weekend.

(Via.)

Perhaps this has something to do with coup-related Western media censorship, but A and I saw this on TV recently here in Bangkok. The full text of this screen — which appears sporadically for 30 seconds or so during English-language commercials that feature non-political content on the cable provider UBC — reads:

Please be advised that there may be short disruptions to our satellite transmission due to sun outages from Tue 26 September to Wed 4 October from 06:00 to 15:00 due to a “sun outage”. This is a natural phenomenon that may affect our signal for a few minutes - after which normal transmission will resume. We apologise for any inconvenience.

And here’s the Thai version, for what it’s worth.

What in God’s name is a “sun outage”? Is UBC talking about solar flares? If this is a natural phenomenon, how the hell do they know when, precisely, it’ll occur? Am I going crazy here or what?

UPDATE:

– CNN International reports that martial law has been declared in Bangkok.

– AP:

Stocks dropped suddenly Tuesday after Thailand’s military launched a coup against the country’s prime minister.

Traders watching Thailand closely are certain to remember how trouble in the kingdom has had worldwide implications in the past: The Asia currency crisis that erupted in 1997 began with the devaluation of the Thai baht, then snowballed into an international economic downturn.

– 2Bangkok.com:

What apparently has happened: From New York, PM Thaksin declared a state of emergency recalling Commander-in-Chief Sondhi from the deep south–this was, in effect, firing him. At about the same time, the military under Sondhi staged a counter-coup and cancelled Thaksin’s state of emergency taking control of key areas in Bangkok.

Bikes of Burden is a coffee table book featuring images of Vietnamese motorbike drivers hauling around enormous amounts of various and sundry items. I saw a copy in a bookstore here in Bangkok recently; it’s fantastic. The author is Hans Kemp, a Dutch photographer. Here’s a gallery of some pics from from the book. This one might be my favorite. Bikes of Burden is available from Amazon here.

Here’s a photo I snapped of Wat Arun the other night. It was raining, and the mist made for an eerie effect.

CelebSafari: “Community submitted, non-professional photos of celebrities out and about.”

Come for the Brangelina and the Christopher Walken, stay for the Weird Al and Steve Martin.

(Via.)

A new photography exhibit documenting life in Bangkok’s biggest slum. That’s the subject of my most recent Gridskipper post.

The image above — like all of the pics on display — was taken by street photographer Yoonki Kim, a Korean who lives here in Bangkok. In addition to his images from the Klongtoey slum community, his Web site contains many more exceptional photos, such as this (taken at a Tesco-Lotus store in Bangkok, I think), and this (a BTS Skytrain platform) and, best of all, this atmospheric portrait of folks on a Bangkok street.

Here’re some stunning pics of an old Russian sub base in Balaklava, Ukraine . Some description:

Until the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 Balaklava was one of the most secret towns in Russia. 10km south eas of Sevastopol on the Black Sea Coast, this small town was the home to a Nuclear Submarine Base.

And:

Almost the entire population of Balaklava at the time worked at the Base, even family members could not visit the town of Balaklava without good reason and identification. The base remained operational after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 until 1993 when the decommissioning process started and the warheads and low yield torpedos were removed. Then in 1996 the last Russian Submarine left the Base, and now you can go on Guided tours round the Cannel System, Base and small Museum, which is now housed in the old weapons stowage hangers deep inside the hillside.

(Via.)

A and I just got back to Bangkok after four days at the beach in Railay. It was a magnificent trip.

(Yes, as I’ve noted before, my life is so trying here in Bangkok that I require frequent therapeutic trips to the coast in order to maintain my sanity.)

I will shut up and let the photos — all 49 of them — speak for themselves.

Here’re a few of my faves.

The view from our deck

The beach (a stone’s throw — no, toss) from our house

Our house

On the beach

A football tournament

One of the many karsts (towering limestone formations) that surround the beach

A friendly beach dog

And finally, if you’ll allow me to indulge my inner artiste, a pic of a drop of rain on a rusty chain.

Here’re some incredible photos of North Korea taken by a Russian guy. Set one, two, and three. (Via.)

By the way, if you’re interested in North Korea, you’ve gotta read Guy Delisle’s graphic novel, “Pyongyang.” Delisle’s a French guy who lived in NK for a while. It’s the most illuminating thing I’ve ever read about the secretive state.

UPDATE: A recommends the book “North Korea: Another Country,” and Frans v. points out that if you’ve got 5200 bones to drop on an 11-day sojourn to North Korea, you should check this out.

Right. So the US got absolutely demolished by the Czech Republic yesterday. It was a truly depressing performance (if you’re a fan of the American side). You’ll hear all sorts of speculation out there in the media about what went wrong — that our coach screwed up, that our players underperformed, that the US team’s tactics were bad, etc. But it’s all wrong. The US lost yesterday because the Czech players were just plain better. Their players are world class. Only one or two of ours are. End of story. Full stop. Let it go and let’s move on. The better side won — and they won convincingly.

To lighten the mood a bit, then, I give you the following three images. The first two are me/soccer-related. The other has nothing to do with futbol — but it’s just plain hilarious. I was going through some old stuff of mine here at home in South Carolina and came across the following. Had to scan these bad boys in and share ‘em with you all like STAT. Click on all of these for larger views.

#1: My high school freshman year soccer portrait, age 14, circa 1989:

The haircut: just plain embarrassing. The Adidas gear: absolutely classic.

#2: My university senior year soccer portrait, age 21, circa 1996:

Yes, I was always a goalkeeper. And I still am.

#3: Get ready to laugh. This is me, as a freshman in high school, going to prom with a junior (or senior?) named Kelly. Yes, that’s her dad’s Ferrari in the background. As A noted, this pic is like something out of a John Hughes film.

I’m writing this from 30,000 feet in the air. Halfway between Seoul and Washington, DC. Perhaps somewhere over Alaska? Not sure. But here’s what I saw when I looked out of my window just a minute ago. Had to snap a pic of it. There’s wifi on my Korean Air flight; the connection speed is fast but it’s pricey ($10 per hour). But it’s way too cool to pass up.

Here’re two blogs you need to be reading:

1. The Sartorialist. New York City man-on-the-street fashion photoblog. Sample image:

2. Kasey Keller’s blog. The US national team goalkeeper reflects on the squad’s preparation for the world cup.

Sample text:

The mood is the camp is really high. Everyone is confident we can achieve something this summer. Our aim is to do better than the quarterfinals of the tournament. The success of Greece at Euro 2004 gives everyone hope. That such rank outsiders could actually win the competition is a big boost for dark horse teams everywhere. The World Cup is a little different though. There are so many games you need to win against so many great sides. But you never know. The US is ranked fourth in the world right now. That may or may not be an accurate assessment based on our current form. But it’s up to the twenty-three guys in Bruce Arena’s squad to prove that fourth is an under estimation rather than an overvaluation.

I’m happy to tell you that my spirits, which had been slowly and quite unfortunately depleted by the demands of Bangkok life during the hot season, were rejuvenated markedly this past weekend. That’s because I spent a few days at a delightful little beach resort outside Hua Hin. Here are some pics. Yes, I am well aware of the fact that I live an extraordinarily difficult life. I’m doing my best to cope. That’s all I can say.

The view

The beach

The flora

The food (prawns wrapped in bacon)

I’ve just posted a bunch of photos from my recent trip to Koh Phangan, Thailand.

Here’re a few of my faves:

Twilight on the beach outside our bungalows; glowing squid boats visible on the horizon.

View from my bungalow.

“Good Food. No Diarrhea.”

Urinals to the right.

Getting off the boat in Chumphon.

Sunset.

Songkran (Thai New Year) revelers.

My blinged-out beach glasses.

Full moon party on the beach.

Drink bucket.

My brother Mechum, John, and Me.