Sunday, August 17, 2003: Movies & Rain
Last night Sandy and I went over to Siam Discovery Center to catch what ever late movie we could. We were disappointed to find our only choice was the 23:05 showing of 2Fast2Furious or whatever it’s called. We saw it anyways, and it was… Okay. Not great, loaded with cliché and catch-phrases but… like most things more enjoyable than Matrix 2: Retarded. The movie did raise several questions for me though.
1) While I’ve been over here… Have Afros come back into style?
2) Do purple neon lights on the bottom of your car make it go faster?
3) Has there ever REALLY been a black demolition-derby driver?
4) Is Miami “cool” again? (if so this would signal a real return of 80’s retro)
Overall though… the film was watchable. Not at North American box office prices perhaps. But it didn’t give me a headache or anything.
And while we’re on the topic of movies…
Last weekend we saw Pirates of the Caribbean. That was excellent. Good fun 1940’s style swashbuckling with Johnny Depp doing a pretty good impression of several drunken expats I’ve met over here.
Anyways…
After the movie we got a ride back to the Redoubt from what must have been the world’s youngest tuk tuk driver. It was a race against time since the wind had picked up in that way that forewarns of a big downpour. It was a huge storm. It sounded like it had parked itself right above the building. Wonderful to fall asleep to.
Saturday, August 16, 2003: Update
Weekend Update
Yes I know… I haven’t been keeping up in my journal… There are 4 reasons really…
1) Busy busy busy busy
2) Lazy lazy lazy lazy
3) Secret secret secret secret
4) Boring boring boring boring
But… Here are a few glimpses of the last week.
The caretaker at the Redoubt “fixing” a malfunctioning washing machine by first pounding on the sides with his fists, then sort of lifting and shaking it. He was baffled when neither of these remedies worked.
Watching HBO at the gym and seeing Ben Affleck before he was famous in some 1990’s movie sporting a Mohawk, a sort of goatee, and wear a “No Means No, Mr. Know It All” t-shirt.
This weekend I went with Kaboom to this strip of shops that sell either surplus army clothes or used musical instruments. I was in search of a surprise bargain and I was not disappointed.
A Roland Saturn SA-09 pre-midi keyboard (circa 1980) and a Korg “Sigma” (circa 1979) …
I got them both.
The SA-09 is in prime condition and looked brand new on first glance. I remember always lusting for one at Bill Lewis Music back in the hungry autumn of 1982.
The Korg is the same one that Peter Venuto used on his Slurp CD. I had the chance of using it through the summer of 1994 and it is capable of some truly sick and snarly sounds. The oscillators are a bit out of tune but other they can be adjusted. It also has a control voltage out port which will allow me to control the “brain” for the Roland GR-500.
I dream of the day when I can get all these toys under on roof and run them through my Sherman Filter bank.
Tuesday, August 12, 2003: TOD’s Birthday
Yesterday was TOD’s birthday… But I can’t tell you about it.
Even though it would make fine reading and a great story... Especially the part when… no, I can’t mention that… Although I really wish I could. That and the other thing.
The best part of course was when… well… I can’t talk about that either.
But it WAS his Birthday after all…
Today is The Queen of Thailand’s Birthday… So it’s awfully quiet out there. Hardly a soul to be seen and most of the shops are closed. The Thai’s seem to also use this as Mother’s Day.
Sunday, August 10, 2003: Mr Blackpool Lives!
Just when I thought Stephen Blackpool had fallen down the fishy equivalent of an abandoned mine shaft he has begun to make an extraordinary recovery.
On advice from Kaboom I extracted him out of the tank, put him in bowl of water with a pinch of salt and set him in the sunlight for an afternoon. Whether this, or the prayers of the countless Drop-D readers is the reason for his fishy miracle I can’t say. However the red blotches have faded, the tilt to one side lessening, and the some what mangled up tail returning to its former glory…
Friday, August 1, 2003: Surprise
12:22 am
I was disappointed to learn from Sandy that she wouldn't be back until FRIDAY morning or afternoon... I was expecting her back Thursday night...
I was settling in for a pre-sleep game of Command & Conquer: Generals when I heard a thumpy thump at the door...
Surprise surprise.
She's back and judging by the contents of her bag she was visiting SHOE-VILLE...
Anyways...
as Flashman would have said...
Tally-ho!
Friday, August 1, 2003: Fish and Fone
Stephen Blackpool the Fish is close to death. I could, I suppose flush him down the toilet or something but that seems sort of … cruel? He swims sideways, if you can call his sad drifting around “swimming”, and has developed these nasty looking red bruises on his “stroke” side. I think that Sandy will return to one less fish.
Poor old Stephen!
The other fish, being just fish, seem oblivious to his plight. They bunt him out of the way when they are trying to get some bits of food and go about their fishy business. I’m certain the second Stephen dies the other fish (especially the very fat Mr. Bounderby, and the very aggressive albino Mr. Blitzer) will eat what’s left of him.
Time to turn out the light in the tank and battle with my hand phone’s charger… There’s something else that is dying a painful death. It never fully recovered from its trip to the bottom of Brooke’s swimming pool, and lately the battery has been acting up, the charger not charging and no one can hear me when I talk into it… So I might have to replace it soon. I’m not spending 17,000 pisos again though. I will get a crappy 4,000 baht one
