Category: Misc.

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Misc.

FIFA Bans High-Altitude Matches

Disappointing news for Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia: FIFA says no more international soccer games above 2,500 meters (8,200 feet) in altitude. So much for the legendary home field advantage courtesy of the rarefied Andean air.

BBC News:

Football’s governing body, Fifa, has banned international matches from being played at more than 2,500m (8,200ft) above sea level.

Fifa said the decision was made because of concerns over players’ health and possible distortion of competition.

The ruling was greeted with dismay in Latin America, notably in Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia, where games in La Paz are played at 3,600m (11,811ft).

Bolivia’s President, Evo Morales, vowed to lead a campaign against the ban.

Speaking after an emergency cabinet meeting, Mr Morales said the ruling amounted to discrimination.

“This is not only a ban on Bolivia, it’s a ban on the universality of sports,” he told reporters.

Mr Morales also said he would send a high-level delegation to Fifa’s headquarters in Zurich and called on other countries to join his campaign.

And for Spanish readers out there, here’s a story in Hoy Online, a daily paper in Quito, Ecuador, with the reaction from the mitad del mundo.

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Misc.

Weekend at the Beach

Sandals, Shell, Sand

A and I just returned from a lazy beach weekend in Pranburi, south of Hua Hin, on the Gulf of Thailand. Here’re some pics.

View from Our Bathroom
The view from our outdoor bathroom.

Our Balcony
Our balcony.

Ship-Shape
A squid boat.

Here’s the full set of images.

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Misc.

The Frugal Traveler’s American Road Trip

The NYT's Frugal Traveler: American Road Trip [Not My Image]

Last year he traversed the world. This year he’s sticking closer to home.

The New York Times’s Matt Gross — aka their Frugal Traveler — has just set off on an American road trip. He’s spending the next three months criss-crossing the lower 48. Here’s his first dispatch, a characteristically compelling account of leaving home. You can follow him online — stories and videos will appear ever Wednesday — at www.nytimes.com/frugaltraveler.

And don’t forget to send in your travel tips. Matt writes:

To make this journey a success, however, I’ll need the help of you, my readers. Like my round-the-world trip last summer, all I know is that I started in New York City and will end up in Seattle. Where I go in between is up to you. You know the scenic drives and the shortcuts; the clean motels and untrammeled campgrounds; the swimming holes and the picnic spots; the festivals, the fairs and the parties; the brilliant local rock bands and the minor-league sports extravaganzas; the truck stops, the diners, the farm stands and the church suppers; the weird museums and the roadside attractions; the historical sites, the nature walks, gallery openings and fireworks displays. Send me your suggestions, and if they’re on my way and within my budget, I’m there!

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Misc.

Macau: Gambling on Gambling

Macau Casino

My newest globorati post is about the gambling boom in Macau.

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Misc.

Bhutan: Opening Up?

Bhutan: Opening Up? [not my image]

Here’s a great IHT story by Somini Sengupta about outside influences creeping into Bhutan.

Once, Bhutan guarded itself from the world outside so ardently that it allowed in satellite television only seven years ago. Today, globalization is officially sanctioned, and it is rushing in fast.

Today, at least here in the capital, outside and inside coexist.

Tall white prayer flags grace the side of a hill as offerings of good will to what Buddhists call sentient beings, even as the naughty rhymes of Snoop Dogg throb at the disco.

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Misc.

Pattaya Reborn

Pattaya, Thailand

My latest Globorati post is about how developers and hoteliers in the resort enclave of Pattaya, Thailand are aiming to shed the city’s bad-boy rep.

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Misc.

Stowaway Cat

Astronaut Cat

cbcnews:

A New Brunswick woman is wondering how she made it through Saint John Airport security and all the way to Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont., with a live cat in her suitcase.

Mary Martell discovered Ginger, the family pet, in her luggage after a two-hour plane ride to Toronto and an hour’s drive to Niagara-on-the-Lake. The cat apparently snuck into a bag while Martell was packing.

Martell said her bag was scanned at the airport, but she was not stopped.

“They had asked me, when they put … the luggage through the X-ray, whether I had a turkey,” Martell said.

“[Security] kept going back and forth with [the suitcase],” Martell said. “I was adamant. ‘Look, I have no turkey.'”

(Emphasis mine.)

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Misc.

Restaurant Mascot Autocannibalism

The Suicide Food blog:

What is Suicide Food? Suicide Food is any depiction of animals that act as though they wish to be consumed. Suicide Food actively participates in or celebrates its own demise. Suicide Food identifies with the oppressor. Suicide Food is a bellwether of our decadent society. Suicide Food says, “Hey! Come on! Eating meat is without any ethical ramifications! See, Mr. Greenjeans? The animals aren’t complaining! So what’s your problem?” Suicide Food is not funny.

(Via.)

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Misc.

Taiwan’s “Leisure Farm” Resorts

tainan

I have a new post at Globorati. It’s about “leisure farm” resorts in Tainan county, Taiwan.

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Misc.

RSS in Plain English

You may recall my friends Lee and Sachi, who I met up with here in Bangkok last year. They’ve finished their year-long round-the-world trip and are back in Seattle working on social design and online community issues. And they’ve just created an informative video that explains RSS in plain English. Check it out.

And if you’re not already subscribed, grab my RSS feed! Paste this URL into your favorite RSS reader (I prefer Google Reader) or click the RSS feed button over there on the left, below the search box.

RSS has fundamentally changed my interaction with the Web, and I’m eager for more folks to take advantage of the technology, too.