Beren

Early Sunday morning. It has been raining for days without end and it is welcome, though I have acquired a slight chest infection, I don't think it serious. The drumming of the rain on the roof.

This last week Oi and I have been watching The Lord of the Rings. I can't believe what a good job Peter Jackson did. Oi loved it. It is almost indescribable. This morning I read all about JRR Tolkien, keen to know of his life.

Gamewise, I am heavily engrossed in King's Bounty, which my dear friend, Peter would love. I have been batling orcs, goblins and pirates, and searching for hidden treasure.

Bombs and chaos shrouds Thailand, but strangely, I never feel unsafe. Although now I claim to be an anarchist (there seems little choice), this is not the anarchy I wanted for this country. It would appear to me that Thais, as a whole, are quite immature and the smiling faces of the mob seem full of stupidity and ignorance at the expense of their country. Anarchy in UK or USA yes, but for these poor souls, not yet. I have often described Thai business conduct to that of standing behind someone cooking a meal, but they are cooking it wrong and you are unable to intervene. This is why at Smart English, I have taken the position of strictly being only a teacher. They take offense when you offer advise and will do things their own way anyway. Fair enough, but don't expect anything from me other than what you pay for. Oi has witnessed this too at the school she has just left. The hell-bent banker/owner is driving teachers and students away from the place with his sadistic tendencies. Or maybe, as I suggested, he is purposely running the school into the ground in order to sell that land later on.

Thais are amazing to watch. So kind and yet fatally flawed. Too simple for the new world and close to nature, though they would sell it all for a new car. A funny one I noticed years ago was that they will trick you and lie to you almost daily, but if you do it to them, they never see it coming.

I know so well with Oi that I have found someone I truly admire. She is way ahead of me. Maybe like Tony, there is not a bad bone in her body. She is like an elf in the movie, always good, always calm. What makes her different from other Thai girls I have known is her intelligence, keen sense of interest and fair play. I bought her Call of the Wild book on our 2 day honeymoon in Songkhla. Since then, she has been an avid reader and is amassing a veritable library. I am mightily chuffed and we have a brief read every night before falling asleep, or rather she falls asleep and I lay there wondering about crap. I knew of the lesson, that when choosing a wife, you have to look at the qualities that you know to be true, the qualities that will mean you will make it through together. And every time I ponder this I know she is near perfect, and beyond what I should have got. I, for one, could so easily have married a lesser soul, drawn by the promise of the women in the lace. Somehow, I listened to a voice and did something really, really right for a change. Again , this comes from living in the absolute present, being totally pure and aware of what is happening to you and flowing with the river.

...but of course, one must never relax or become complacent, which is why I keep myself at the coalface, on the battlefield of human existance, among the salt and best people in the world, who will always be the poorest and the selfless. It is with these people that I must stay and do what I can to help. One doesn't have to climb far to see the corruption of power.

Another 800 billion!

Announced today the US Federal Reserve is to print off another 800 billion of the money press!

Just go to the New York Times website and read some of the 200+ comments from readers dumbfounded by this action of the US government. I remember my old history teacher, Mr. O'Brian, telling us of post WWI Germany and how the money was left on the street and it was the basket holding the money that was stolen.

I'll cut and paste a few for your perusal;

This is completely crazy- the cure for overspending and excessive debt is NOT more spending and debt!

Pumping all of this cash into our financial system is going to cause hyperinflation!

— Mary, Md.

Isn't it obvious no one knows what they are doing? Nevertheless, they're printing dollars fast enough to guarantee another crisis - a crisis of confidence in the dollar. STOP and THINK!

In addition to the brewing dollar crisis, they are guaranteeing a winner-loser scenario in which some of us get bailed out and others do not. I have a lot of losses in my 401K. Will they be replaced? No! My neighbor purchased his house for no money down and, in fact, didn't pay "rent" for a year. They're rewriting his mortgage so that he now owes less money on an "investment" for which he never paid. Best of all, I get to pay for it!

When they bail out GM's pensioners, what will they tell all the people who have lost their life savings? How are people living in small apartments going to feel when they see a documentary about Bill Fuld (lately of Lehmann Bros.) decorating his fourth home.

Doesn't anyone see that the government, in its haste, is about to tear this country apart, person by person, by creating winners and losers? This kind of thing will not go away! Why isn't anyone talking about what the real people are saying? Read the comments on the NY Times website and you will see the escalating anger, frustration and outrage!

— Shane, NE

Why is it that most people I speak to, most people on this posting board (and every other one I read and post to) and most people on "main street" seem to recognize the fundamental flaw (creating credit from debt) with the plan that Washington is pushing (with our tax money), and the likelihood that it will be completely disastrous?

And why is it that the only ones who DON'T seem to recognize this spendthrift attempt at resolving the economic issues at hand as absurd are the ones who are trying to "rescue" us?

— James Edin, Chicago, IL

Jim - go check the site. Actually, the New York Times seems to be one of the best news site.

The Dangerous J.

Whiskey Fuelled Rant

To inform one that one has recovered from one's whiskey-fuelled rant, and although I make no apology for my "mouthing off", I mean of course not to offend those associated with me.

And though appreciative of concern for my mental state, it is not necessary to refer me to cheap self help books.

Now....where did I put that drink?

The Dangerous J.

Yes I am drunk

yes, i am drunk and all the shit i get about my extreme views seems to be proven right and right again and anyone still supporting the monetary system, through ignorance or choice, is up to you, but don't expect me to shut up about it, because i fucking won't - just like the system (who have fucked you more than i ever will) will never shut up until they are lined up against the wall and a bullet put in their brain. I just can'r believe so many pusssies let it happen.

So, it 's up to you, allow yourselves to be slaves (though you can't see it that's what you are) or take a stand. Soon you won't have a choice when you lose your precious job and find yourselves fucked by th empire you never questioned and took to be as gospel. Like they said, it is the indifference of the good man which is more evil than even the evil man. You fuckers you refused to see it coming. You will reap what you sow. So small minded you fit your place in their world. Don't you kno wthat the monetary system is design to keep you a slave, to debt. What do you owe?

It is the end of days and better are you to stand against those who would have you be servient to them than to follow their false ideology to you total demise when they abandon you and you lose you job and your income and the rest of the crap you work for and belive in (so you tell me).

You got just a few years left.

Walk Away (from the Machine)

The shit is really starting to hit the fan and there has never been a better time to get the fuck away from the bomb that is about to go off.

If you ever wanted to go to Mongolia, now is a great time to do just that.

Zeit Giest

Get hold of this movie and allow yourself to think out of the box, then progress to the next level of humanity.

Of Elves

A wee bit hungover from a night of debauchery at home with Tom, Don and sour-faced Aussie Danny. It was good fun and Oi found me passed out on the sofa at three in the morning. Apparantly I was laughing. There was also a strong stench of burning which went unattended until this morning. It wasn't toast as I suspected but it appears I had attempted to boil pasta and subsequently forgot. Thus the said pot, or chalice, boiled dry and thus the dinner was ruined. I told Oi she hasn't been taking care of me. That was a yoke, by the way.

So now, it is Saturday morning and I must take Oi to college in a moment. After this lies a day of gaming. And the new game is ....King's Bounty. Dead Space has taken a plunge as I am stuck on a torturous section requiring me to do awful, multiple tasks with no save. It may have beaten me at chapter 7 (of 12) which is a disaster, but something I can live with.

King's Bounty comes from Russia apparently and has great humour. It is fun, low-key and very pretty. Twerps and gamers take note. It's fun. I found it via a complex method of selection, involving multiple trip s to Santisook black markets.

Private classes are quite brilliant at the moment and I have devised a cunning game of Pairs or Palmanism (to those more educated) with idioms replacing the standard playing cards. They love it. I am preparing myself to make one with monsters, elves and the like.

I was amused to read of Elves, talking of Elves, queuing outside the game shop in Oxford street for up to 2 days to buy the expansion pack to World of Warcraft, Don't worry, my furry friends, I don't and never will play this game, but I do find it highly amusing that simple folk are dressing up as fairies and goblins and queuing to buy a game. Another prime example of where we are, in terms of society collapse.

More on elves as I am currently DLing Lord of the Rings to watch again. It is such a great movie. My favourite being Fellowship.

More later...