Saturday, February 28, 2009

The Path of Palestine

Click on image to enlarge.

How can you create peace in Palestine without understanding the fact that the land was stolen from the original owners?

It would be like someone coming into your house and saying my great-great-great to the 10th power grandfather lived in this house and now I'm moving into it. "You get to live in the basement."

Free Palestine.

The Oak Room Closure


Yet another of the Plaza's venerable assets has been closed thanks to the timeless ineptitude of the El-Ad management. No more Palm Court. No more Oyster Bar. No more eating at the Oak Room. Judging from their failure rate the hotel should be next.

But then Israeli are better known for hostility than hospitality.

We can only hope one day they go home so that the Plaza can be free.

Quote of the Day


"Ugliness is in a way superior to beauty because it lasts."

Serge Gainsbourg
(04/02/1928 – 03/02/1991)
French singer

Free The Weed


French chanteur Serge Gainsbourg appeared in the 1969 film CANNABIS with his English muse, Jane Birkin. In 1973 America responded to this Gallic challenge by adopting the Rockefeller drug laws, which set the penalty for possession of more than 2 ounces of heroin, morphine, opium, cocaine, or cannabis on the same level as 2nd degree murder; 15-25 years. This punishment was aimed at interdicting the drug plague sweeping the USA by imprisoning anyone who couldn't afford a good lawyer, so that the prisons are cramped with drug offenders. Up to 20% of convicts have been sentenced for drug offense. More than 400,000 people with hundreds of thousands more being funneled through the justice system.

The war of drugs has failed same as the war of terrorism, because both wars were fought not to be won, but to continue ad infinitum in order to finance an anti-crime political base for the GOP.

From 2001 to 2008 the Bush regime instructed federal officers to raid California marijuana distributors, despite the State passing a law to legalize the uses of medical marijuana. The new attorney general has reversed that policy also supported by President Clinton. Now the question of legality of marijuana has been shifted to the states to decide whether to broaden the decriminalization of the weed.

Much thanks to the late Serge Gainsbourg for his efforts in this struggle.

Here's a link to his music from the film CANNABIS

several years later with Nelson Rockefeller signing http://www.facebook.com/ext/share.php?sid=68910467925&h=EvtlJ&u=Nbr4d

When is Vincent Cassel going to do the Serge Gainsbourg story.

They shared the same nose or pif.

Friday, February 27, 2009

WONT GET FOOLED AGAIN - The Who


Some songs are prophetic. Others are reminders of where we should be headed for the sake of our children. Few better than the Who's WON'T GET FOOLED AGAIN

Go to this URL for the magic

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SM0WIP7eMYs&feature=related

And of course BABA O'REILLY

No one had used synthesizers for rhythm like this ever before.

Least not that I can recall and that includes NICE and EMERSON LAKE AND PALMER.

BABA O'REILLY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CeyurMO7VU0&feature=related

"It's only teenage wasteland."

????????

Burn Ferrari Burn


F1 racing is stupid. The cars race around circuit in a procession. Ferrari is the most fabled team on the circuit. From 2002 to 2007 my website was #1 in Google Search. An arrest by the Ferrari anti-copyright squad knocked me off the list. I had to move back to the USA. The Thai police throughout the ordeal were most helpful and extremely honest, but said they would have never arrested me if it was for the fat farangs from Italy, so today I was happy to see that a Ferrari burned to the wheels in Satthahip.

The Ferrari was worth $250,000.

It was a gift from a rich guy to his kid for Valentine's Day. The color was red.

The society persona was with a Thai starlet.

He was driving down the road and the car engine exploded into flames.

Could it have been one of those seized by Customs several years back.

Probably not.

Those were reportedly destroyed by machines.

The young heir to untold wealth escaped injury by pouring a bottle of water on the engine. Boom. End of Ferrari.

The revolution will not be televised by the Press.

Soak the Rich


I know some rich people. Mostly from Palm Beach, Millbrook, and Manhattan. Nobody in Europe dares announce their wealth in feat of the tax man. South Americans could give a shit. When they have money, they like to spend it, however during the current economic crisis no one wants to show their cash and this despite have flourished for 8 years under the GOP regime. Ostentatious spending has been declared off-limit and even the spendthrift Russians have realized that money makes you a target.

This is 2009.

The other night two rich friends of mine were held up at gun point.

A gun to his head as the thieves searched his apartment for the safe. They found it. Plus $90,000. I didn't ask why he had that much money in a safe. Someone else obviously already knew the answer. $$$ is safer in your safe than a bank.

We are entering a time that I never thought I would see again.

1975.

Broke.

All of America but this time is will be worst, so you rich people, when Obama requests more taxes, don't say nothing or else you could end up like the Russian aristocrats in 1919 and that was a tough year for the the rich in that war-torn country.

Give and give often.

I know the rich and they don't deserve the money.

Not unless they spend it more freely to have Cindy Crawford as a 'friend'.

Chill Out

GOP leaders have lambasted President Obama's stimulus package as a wasteful burden on future generations. Tax hikes on the rich, health care reform, and unemployment expansion. Newt Gringich says, "The problem with the overall budget is that it's a job-killing budget." and Dick Morris, ex-flak for the Clintons wrote. "Obama is spreading panic."

They and their cohorts mustn't be reading the polls stating that public support for Obama's program cuts into their political base. The GOP also ignore the fact that it was GW Bush's disastrous 8-year reign which put America and the rest of the world in this state of crisis.

Obama tried the bipartisan route only to have his welcome mat pissed on by the right.

Now it's time to send them a message.

"Shut the fuck up."

Doing nothing in this situation is better than offering more of the old same GOP tax-cuts, although Israel's new ruling party is willing to salvage their economy with tax-cuts.

Maybe zombie economics will work in that welfare state.

Otherwise I don't even listen to the right-wingers in the USA.

The word for their programs is 'discredited' by greed.

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Thai Circles of Influence



The Old Roue is not the only person doing research into Thai life.

From http://www.notstickmanbangkok.com/Weekly2006/CirclesOfInfluence.htm

The Thais are a loyal people. That loyalty may not always well understood by an outsider. The Thais are loyal to the King and Royal family. The Thais are also very loyal to their own personal families. They are also loyal to their communities.

There would be some debate on why they are loyal. Some attribute it to how they are raised. Others would guess that their loyalties are rooted by virtue of how the society works. My guess is that it's a mixture of both. They are indoctrinated from an early age to respond to their family and society in appropriate ways. And yes, some of their success in life also depends to some degree how they conduct themselves and perform their social obligations.

All of their actions in some way exhibit their loyalties.

As westerners, we are the same. Our actions follow our loyalties as well but our loyalties don't always involve the social circles that we live in. The single westerner is commonly loyal to their integrity and their career. Or the westerner may be loyal to their own personal endeavors. In the west, we sever ties with family in may ways. We are the ones "pushed out of the nest" and taught to fend for ourselves. We still love our families and we have an allegiance to our families, but our immediate and future successes don't directly depend on our direct loyalty to our families. We are certainly more on our own in may ways.

Here in Thailand (and other places in Asia), loyalty to the family is paramount to how Thais work within the framework of their society. Thai children are not pushed out of the nest. They are taught how to make their family's nest larger and more powerful. They are encouraged to stay in the family and support and nurture their families. This is a prime priority; this is perhaps their greatest loyalty. Frequently, in their minds, their own personal happiness may be sacrificed in order to unsure the health, stability, and happiness of their family. That is their priority. That is what most heavily influences their decisions.

Loyalties is just one type of influence. It is likely to be their greatest influence. There are a number of others and I'll list a few here to diagram how I think a Thai person thinks.

I'm going to diagram the circles of influence that I believe effect a younger (20's - 30's) Thai female. I believe that most of my readership is most interested in that segment of this society. It's will Thai females that most foreigners have the most direct and personal contact with. This is the gender that seems to mystify us the most.

The number of influences are not few in number. There are many. I'm only going to diagram 5 circles to keep this treatment of the subject simple.

First, we'll omit the influence of the King and Royal family. Thais really can do all normal everything things without any conflicts in their their allegiance to the King. Assume for the sake of this article that all other circles are inside their loyalty to the King.

The five circles we will itemize are:

Obligation to Family (orange)- This is the influence that requires the Thai female to "check with her mother" first. This is very common in the normal landscape of Thailand. You won't see any Pattaya girls checking with Mom first, but I assure you it happens all the time in the country. The needs of the family also drive the girls into gainful employment. The key would in that sentence is "gainful". Make no mistake. One of the key influences for a girl to work is the family. That family need is typically greater than her own personal needs.

Teachings of Buddha (yellow)- This influence calls the girls to be kind, generous, and do no harm to another person.

Sexual Desire (blue)- This is her native desire to be in a normal sexual physical relationship.

Personal Interests (pink)- This would be her natural interests and desires. That might include wanting to travel or go to school. This would also include the personal desire to have children and be happy.

Greed (green)- Personal selfish desire to be wealthy. Everyone has some greed and the Thai female is no different. In the country, greed is not so easily seen in many cases. In Pattaya, greed is much more apparent.

Social Correctness (brown)- This is a girls influence that asks here to be polite, and conform to proper social etiquette. Girls will go to some length to satisfy the appearance of conforming social correctness. This is obviously not so commonly seen in Pattaya but it's very common in the country.



When I deal with the a country girl I think of her in these terms of the diagram above. I know that she is very concerned about family obligations. I know her personal interests are smaller and take a back seat to the greater need for social correctness. She wants to be in love but she is more likely to agree to arranged marriages if the family is deeply in need. She puts her own selfish desires typically behind the needs of her family.

Zone 1: If she wants a new telephone and she works at the local restaurant and flirts with her male customers to gain extra tips so she can buy that telephone, she'll be operating in zone 1. It's not against Buddha, and it serves her family and it may not necessarily require sex to obtain. Many girls operate in this zone.

Zone 2: If she is secretly meeting guys for sex and money then its more likely that she is operating in the area of zone 2. In most cases the family will not know (or does not want to know) that she is exchanging sex for money. It's totally outside the local social values system but not against Buddha and she may be doing it for family or just for her own personal financial desires. She may or may not care for the sex. And though her actions are contrary to Buddha, the local community would not openly condone her actions.

Zone 3: Zone three is quite common for girls who have a secret boyfriend. He supports her, she has a monogamous commitment to him. It's not marriage but its functional for her life and it helps the family. In most cases the family may know about the boyfriend but may not know about the intimacy of the relationship. For those of us (like me) who are quite shy of marriage, this is a common zone to be in.

Zone 4: If you happen to have a relationship with a girl in this zone, the girl loves you and will devote herself to you and will certainly want to be married to you. To her, its not even a matter of greed. She'll not be seeking out your money as a prime concern. If you are standing in this zone for her, she'll be quite a happy lady and you'll bring honor to her family and the surrounding community in which she lives.



The circles of influence for a bar or go-go girl are quite a bit different. In Pattaya or the Bangkok "red light" districts, social correctness is significantly reduced. The girls there don't feel in influences of social correctness as they would in their home town.

This girls enjoy the freedom to indulge in sex for personal advancement. Greed is a common influence.

Zone 1: A girls is at the top of her game. She is enjoying the work. She is making great money. She is doing something she likes and she is building the family their new home. She is really not doing anything bad against anyone and this is no conflict to her Buddhist teachings. Life is pretty damn good in this zone.

Zone 2: A girls is ripping of guys for cash. She is certainly outside of the Buddhist principles and she knows it. She may also be into drugs and just headed down a bad path. She may not care about herself anymore.

Zone 3: This has been working for a while or this is the type that never really liked the bar industry. She wants to get out of this work and marry and leave. She is still doing well, but is not much interested in the money as a means to the end. She may very well look forward to marriage and as the means to the end for a happy life. Or this girl may have already made a lot of money and she is looking to retire. She may be in a transition frame of mine. Perhaps she saw a close friend die of a drug overdose or someone she knows contracted AIDS. Greed is off the table and she is probably planning an exit strategy.

Zone 4: This is a girl who is in trouble. She has over-stayed here visit to the naughty night life industry and her beauty is waning. She may be having a hard time making enough money to support family back home and wants to leave but doesn't have any other skill required to work anywhere else. This girl is looking to marry as well but knows that her options are much slimmer than the younger more attractive girls who work with her.

In all of these models, the circles of influence are changeable based on surrounding influences to some extent. And as an example, a girl down in the south battling Muslim hatred and violence would find here circles very different in size and placement.

As a foreigner, you may coax her into different zones by what influence you have on her...



What about Honesty?

As for honesty - and this is a big point...... The greatest honesty from a girl is seen when she is in her natural zone and she has no external influences on her position. In other words, if you meet a country girl who is ready to marry and she is basically in zone 4, all other things being equal, she is honest plain and simple. However, if you meet a girl in zone 4 and you appeal to her greed and desire for sex and pull her over to zone 1, then honestly will be reduced.

Conversely if you meet a bar girl at the peek of her profession (zone 1) and you just want a hot piece of sex and a good time, then she'll be straight up and honest with you. But let's say you fall in love with her (or think you did) and you ask her to stop working for money, then you appeal to her greed and offer to send her significant cash to stop working. You push her outward toward Zone 2. She may reluctantly agree, and she take and cash, and she may have a slight itch to consider leaving the bar scene, but in reality, she won't leave. She is at the top of her game! She knows that she's not being right by the Buddhist philosophy, she knows its not right in the eyes of community, but damn it, she'll reason that her family could always use the cash, and what you don't know won't hurt you. She'll lie to you. Expect it. In my mind, and the limited knowledge that I have about bar girls in Zone 1, they typically leave when their value starts to wane. Very very few just jump ship on all that income without a very good reason. If if they do take a respite from the industry, they are normally sucked back in again because life back at the house is pretty boring when compared to hot sex with the men of their choice, gratuitous shopping, and that occasional trip to Phuket.

Honesty is not a fundamental virtue inside the circles of influence. Honesty is more the result of allowing a girl to be themselves in any zone they reside in. Honesty is part of the Buddhists teachings, and it is part of family values but it takes a big back seat in normal everyday life. Honesty is not practical. It's not a primary influence.

Loyalty is in fact be more important than honesty.

Your notice here that I make no mention of integrity. I don't sense that the Thai operate from it. When an action looks like integrity I typically hear them refer to it as Buddha would not approve, or this is not good to do (in a social context). I occasionally hear them talking about "Jai Ching" (honest heart), but it's not a large driving force.

Integrity is not a motivator. It's doesn't command respect because it not a principle that is taught in this society.

Consequently, you can not operate in the realm of honestly with this girls. You have to operate keeping their circles of influence in mind.

Soi Nana Twins


The Old Roue lives on Soi 4. His rooftop apartment overlooks the busiest street in Bangkok. More money turns hands in a single dy between go-go girls and fat farangs than the NYSE. Hard cash. On Wall Street no one shows real money. On Soi 4 only cash is king no matter how close you were to being a paper billionaire. The Old Roue has earns enough money from his day job to support his research into the nightlife of Nana Plaza.

"When are you coming back?" he asked on the phone.

"End of March." I have to complete a ruby sale to finance my return to Thailand. If it goes through, then I can resume my life of leisure.

"How's everything going with your studies?"

"I've been dedicating every minute to a set of twins."

"Twins?" I had the chance to go home with twins from the old Black-Out Go Go in Pattaya and related this incident to the Old Roue. "I told them I'd be back the next night. They vanished from sight. Are these girls identical?"

"Almost."

"Almost? Are they related?" Many mama-sans tell farangs girls are twins as an extra incentive to double barfine the girls.

"They have the same father. Somehow they were born on the same day to different mothers. I've seen their IDs." the Old Roue was convinced by this documentation.

"So they're 50% twins." I wasn't so certain about the connection, but suspension of disbelief is harder halfway around the world. "You have photos?"

"I am always thorough for these studies." The Old Roue was 60. He intended on donating his research to the Kinsey Foundation. "I'll email you later."

I couldn't tell if they were identical from the jpegs, but truthfully it didn't matter if they were related by birth.

Their beauty was from the same gene pool.

Go-Go Twins galore.

The fabulous Nana Hotel

Directly across from Bangkok's Nana Plaza is the eternal Nana Hotel. This caravansary has been servicing the happy ending needs of travelers since the 60s. I first stayed there in 1991. Nothing much has changed in that time. Men check in with women half their age. The desk clerks smiled without asking for IDs. They know most of the girls by name. Love, lust, happiness, laughter, happy endings, showers, sex ad infinitum.

Certainly a lot more fun than the present Plaza Hotel.

And the food isn't bad either.

NANA HOTEL BANGKOK

4 Nana Tai, Sukhumvit Rd, Bangkok, Thailand

Room rates are reasonable, considering what you save on taxis.

Triple 1,690
Superior
SGL./DBL. 1,690
Deluxe
SGL./DBL. 1,890
Triple 2,290
Suite
SGL./DBL. 2,390
Triple 2,790/3,290
Babycot

No More Free Food at the Oak Room


The Oak Room has been a venerable dining destination for New Yorkers and travelers since its opening in 1905. Despite the baronial setting the food never achieved notice for epicurean splendor and the new owners of the Plaza decided to challenge this old New York tradition by hiring Joël Antunes as chef. The Frenchman had learned his trade at Bangkok's fabled Oriental Hotel and his high-flying cuisine seemed an apt fit for the palates of New York in 2008. No one took into consideration the sea change in the economy or the ineptitude of the restaurant's executive staff. None of them were New Yorkers, but I had nothing to do with them as a diamantaire in the Plaza's Retail Collection.

Joel was a different story. He recognized me from my years as the physionomiste of the Bains-Douches in Paris. "Would you care for something to eat?"

It was a pleasure to sit in the kitchen with the chef.

Lobster salad, onion soup, turbot. Every meal a delight. Strangely something happened on the way from the ovens to the table in the Oak Room. Dinners were less than satisfactory and in the first weeks of February the New York Times and then the New Post lambasted the food and the service. Joel was given his walking papers. He made me a last lunch. Dover sole. It was excellent. As I walked out of the kitchen, I waved goodbye to the staff.

Next up a kosher steak house for the Oak Room.

It's something the owners know how to do.

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

The Best of Days


Every Tuesday morning Earl flew into New York from Boston for meetings at his investment firm's main office. Traffic on the highway from the airport was lighter than the previous month. A telling sign of the failing economy. No wait at the Midtown Tunnel's tollbooths was another. The drive to 57th Street and Madison Avenue took five minutes less than in 2008. The town car stopped before the gleaming skyscraper housing the firm's headquarters. Earl almost tipped the driver $5, instead he handed him a $10. Things were bad, but not that bad. Earl changed this assessment upon entering the lobby. Only one guard manned the welcome desk. Last month there had been three. Companies were cutting staff and not just from the bottom. He stepped into the elevator. It hadn't been cleaned this week and he held his breath on the brief trip to the 17th floor.

A firm believer in maintaining a good facade Earl stepped out of the elevator with the intention of exuding the confidence of a man who just penned an agreement with a billionaire, then almost stopped in his tracks upon seeing the brokers' glum faces.

"What's up?" Earl asked a sweating salesman.

"Market's tanking again."

"How bad?" It wasn't even 10am. There was no shouting from the trading pit and this was a crew that never shut up.

"Bad." The trader shook his head. The stock market had entered a dimension where every vector pointed down and the staff wore the misery of the last months like cheap oleo on Wonder Bread in a homeless shelter.

"Bad is good." Earl stood up straight, knowing it was one thing to be defeated and another to look it. He strode to his corner suite, as if it was still in 2005. No one else bothered to join his parade.

"Good morning." His secretary greeted him without mentioning his name.

"Why the sad face? Everything is going to be fine." Derek handed his Brooks Brothers overcoat to Josie. He could smell massacre in the air and locked his office door before calling his boss.

"What's up?" Earl looked out the window on East 57th Street. Only a few pedestrians were on the sidewalk and the lights atop the taxis indicated none of them had passengers.

"Nothing special." His boss was a master of deception.

"Nothing special. Everyone in the office looks like someone strangled their puppy. Who's getting axed?" Earl's sales were down 50% from 2007, which was 200% better than the other earners in his firm.

"We're shaking of the tree to get rid of some dead wood. Not you. I promise." His boss spoke about the advantage of a leaner executive staff and the opportunities presenting by the current challenges. Earl thanked him for his honesty and thirty seconds later was on the phone with a VP of Sales for a Swiss Bank. They offered him a new position. The pay was less than he earned in 2007, but his salary was based on sales.

"Whatever you kill, you get to keep." The VP of Sales used that expression, because every autumn he hunted moose in Northern Ontario.

"That's the way I like it." Earl had once accompanied the VP to the near-frozen wasteland. The banker had missed every shot. Finally Earl paid the guide to shoot at the same time as the banker. One dead moose and ever since then the banker had considered Earl good luck.

He hung up and asked Josie for a list of his calls.

"None of them are happy calls."

"This isn't a happy time of year." Earl shut the door and scanned the calls. Everyone wanted cash out their investments. None of them were getting a cent in 2008. The last two months had exposed the wealth of the nation to be a scam. One number stuck out in the list. It was his cousin. Earl was working at the Plaza Hotel selling diamonds. Earl checked his calendar. Tonight was an open date and he dialed the Diamantaire of the Plaza. He could use a break.

"You open for dinner tonight?" Earl knew the answer. His cousin had no plans other than to return to Thailand.

"Where?"

"Your choice. Money's no object." Losing your job was one thing. Not eating at a good restaurant was another.

"Le Bernadin is 4 star. My friend is the maitre de, so we don't need reservations."

"I'll meet you at 6."

"Come to the diamond store. You know where the Plaza is."

"Of course." He had been avoiding the Plaza, because his cousin wanted him to buy his wife an anniversary present. They had been married almost 30 years. Last year they had been contemplating a gala event for a hundred. Now the plans were for a quiet dinner together. Tonight he could celebrate the anniversary of the his bachelor party. His cousin would be his best man and he eagerly said, "I'll see you then."

The rest of the day was punctuated by security escorting several people from the office. Survivors wagered bets on who would be next to go in this round of 'musical chairs'. The bloodletting didn't stop until the market closed with a slight rally. over for this day. Earl ended the day in the black.

"Good day. Good to have you here." His boss bumped his fist on the way out. "care to go to Philippe's for drinks?"

"No thanks. I'm going to meet my cousin." Philippe's meant footing a bill for Opus 1 wine. Each bottle cost $700. His cousin was a cheaper date and he didn't need to be in a restaurant packed with shouting investment bankers. The volume of their conversation increased according to their desperation.

"Your mysterious cousin." His boss asked to meet Derek on several occasions. Earl knew it was better for those twains to never run into each other. His cousin didn't know how to keep his mouth shut about anything.

"I'll see you tomorrow bright and early."

A light rain accompanied Earl the two blocks to the Plaza. Few stores were crowded with shoppers. FAO Schwartz was the exception, however he noted those exiting the world-famous toy store on 5th Avenue were carrying smaller packages than previous years. The rain drops got heavier as he passed the dry fountain before the hotel. The doorman greet him with a tipped cap. "Going to see Derek?"

"Who else?" Earl cuffed the doorman $5 for this greeting. Some gestures remained sacred in a world without wealth.

Earl passed through the outer lobby and turned right at the Palm Court in the direction of the Oak Bar. He would call his cousin from the bar. Trader Vic's and the Oyster Bar had been evicted from the newly-renovated Plaza, leaving the Oak bar as the only destination for anyone visiting the hotel. Several tourists peered inside the Oak Bar as if someone famous was at the bar. Earl recognized no one, which was good, since he didn't want to speak to anyone from work.

At the bar Orlando took his order and Earl phoned his cousin. He could tell Derek was disappointed that he wasn't coming down to his shop. No one really wanted to buy diamonds in this economy. Beer seemed to be selling better than martinis at the bar, but even Budweiser was taking a hit this winter. Three bankers in the corner were drinking heavier than normal. A man and his wife were fighting over the bill. She had never paid before. Five British tourists were drinking beer as if England had won the World Cup. Earl drank half his beer in one go. Two seconds later he ordered another for Derek, who joined him at the bar.

"How's work?" Derek drank half his glass to catch up with Earl. They signaled Umberto for two more Stellas.

"It's been a tough year, but don't worry, we're going to have a super dinner tonight. When can we leave?"

"I don't think yet." Derek looked out the window. The drizzle had intensified to a downpour.

"What's the food like here?" Earl examined his cousin. He had gained weight since his return from Thailand last summer. His hair was grayer too.

"Life's been tough this year." Derek confessed without any guilt. "Same for everyone, but last year was worst. Always is if you start it with an arrest in a foreign country."

"But that's all over?" Earl had heard the story about Derek getting caught in Thailand for copyright infringement. He was lucky not to be in jail.

"Yeah, I'm still persona grata. Let's finish these and get a table." Derek settled the bar bill and they were escorted to the dining room by a fashionable blonde. Earl heeded the sommelier's suggestion for a Bourgogne and the two men drank two bottles throughout dinner. The chef came up with dessert. Crepes Suzettes on the house. The bill came to $900. Mostly for the wine. After calling his wife at the coat check, they went outside to 59th Street.

The rain hadn't let up.

"Where to?"

"I have a big sale tomorrow." Derek was bailing on him.

"And what about going for a massage?" Earl was sure that his cousin hadn't had sex in months. "It's on me."

"No, I don't like those old hookers."

"What about a strip club?"

"Don't like Russians, but I'll tell you something. A friend of mine called today with a tip."

"A tip?" Earl remembered that JP Morgan said, "When your taxi driver gives you a tip, it's time to get out of the stock market."

"Yes, the market is really going to tank all week long."

"And?" He wasn't in the mood to hear more bad news.

"Then it's going to nosedive to 6000."

"Who's your informant?"

The name Derek whispered was well-known through the financial markets. "We did drugs together in the 80s. Of course this information can't help me and probably can't help you, but at least you'll be prepared if it comes true."

"To be honest it doesn't matter. The whole world is fucked right now. So what's the use?" Earl was feeling tired. Everything he knew was valueless. The meal in his stomach felt like dust. The wine burned his esophagus. This crisis was killing him and his cousin sensed his loss.

"Okay, strippers. But only for a few hours."

"That's more like it." Earl could forget today in the arms of a stripper. And tomorrow he could forget until then, because today was the best of days.

Monday, February 23, 2009

New Missile Threat


For decades Americans have been concerned about a missile attack from a hostile country. Mushroom clouds rising over Topeka, Kansas. Our people annihilated by a first strike from the USSR, Red China, or France. These attacks never occurred throughout the Cold War, but the fear never faded from our consciousness either. In recent years GW Bush spoke of the specter of the Axis of Evil; Iran, North Korea, and Iraq. These rogue nations cast a shadow on the peace and prosperity of the USA. Citing Weapons of Mass Destruction he convinced the nation to back the invasion of Iraq. Our military overthrew the Saddam regime. Our inspectors discovered the absolute absence of WMDs. Iran was embargoed for pursuing nuclear research. Our diplomatic efforts to isolate the Islamic republic failed without exception, however Iran's missiles haven't the range to reach Topeka or even Euro-Disney. North Korea on the other hand can strike the Aleutian island of Attu. Population 20. People might think now is a new day for peace around the world, however the USA must remain vigilant against any threat and none poses a greater risk to our safety than the rocketeers of Thailand.

These seemingly playful missilemen might cloak their scientific acumen with a smile, but the CIA will not relent in the hunt for insane terrorists.

Thailand.

We are not fooled by your hankypanky.

We have our eyes and ears on you.

Rockets Away


My older brother is a pyromaniac. He came close to burning down each of our houses and those of our neighbors on several occasions. His fiery obsession boiled over to explosive devices and we would devise rockets from our mother's discarded hair spray cans. Our launch area was a nearby sandpit. The fuse was a simple fire. Some would exploded and others would arced across the sky at low altitudes spitting toxic flames. Neither of us suffered injuries from these experiments, however the town police warned our parents that we were constituted a danger to the community. My older brother obeyed their orders to abandon his worship of fire. I also heeded their command.

Even at my parochial high school I resisted the draw of the rocket club. Instead I ran cross country in the fall. Our course took runners past an old mansion. Other schools were never forewarned that they had to leap a stone wall to cross through the estate. This gave us an edge and my school won two consecutive state championships. Our dominance was challenged by a mysterious government agency purchasing the mansion. The men occupying the estate wore white shirts and black ties. My friend Jamie Parker said they were CIA experimenting on apes. The brothers were informed that the grounds were off-limits to the cross-country team. We lost our first race that season.

When the brothers asked for special access for these bi-weekly races, the men in the white shirts refused their request without a smile. We called them assholes, but had no other recourse other than to train harder to beat our competitors. Few people cared about the track team. Our school's football team was state champs. They had cheerleaders from the nearest Catholic girls school Our only fans were the rocket club. They said that this matter was not over. No one paid them much mind. They were nerds and the cross-country team worried that nerdiness might be contagious. We won the next race. I barely beat out our rival's 5th runner. Afterward the rocket club glared at the distant mansion and then exchanged a conspiratorial glance.

The next day they announced an exhibition of their rocket skills. This was the time of going to the moon and the brothers proudly assembled the students in the field behind the high school. We were instructed to stand a good distance from the launch area. The rockets were not small. One of them was at least ten-feet long. The rocket club signaled they were ready and soon missiles were soaring into the sky. Even the football team thought the rocket club was cool. The brothers beamed with satisfaction, thinking maybe one of these boys might end up at NASA, until they pointed the 10-foot missile at an angle. Off in the distance a few of the men in the white shirts were standing outside the mansion. The rocket club lined up the final missile, the ten-footer, at a funny angle. It took us a few seconds to realize that the trajectory would take it very close to the mansion. The men at the mansion started shouting and then the president of the rocket club lit the fuse. They ran from the missile and the men in the white shirts ran for cover.

It took about a seconds for the missile to cover the half-mile between the field and mansion. The explosion was muffled by out applause. The men in thew white shirts complained to the brothers. The police ignored the incident, since some of their kids were on the track team. We received permission to run through the field a week later and won the state championship thanks to regaining our advantage.

No one ever said anything bad about nerds in our school.

They were heroes, because they were dangerous.

At least to anyone not on our side and that's the way it should be when you're young.

ps my older brother was really pissed that he hadn't been there.

Missile Defense


My older brother is a pyromaniac. He came close to burning down each of our houses and those of our neighbors on several occasions. His fiery obsession boiled over to explosive devices and we would devise rockets from our mother's discarded hair spray cans. Our launch area was a nearby sandpit. The fuse was a simple fire. Some would exploded and others would arced across the sky at low altitudes spitting toxic flames. Neither of us suffered injuries from these experiments, however the town police warned our parents that we were constituted a danger to the community. My older brother obeyed their orders to abandon his worship of fire. I also heeded their command.

Even at my parochial high school I resisted the draw of the rocket club. Instead I ran cross country in the fall. Our course took runners past an old mansion. Other schools were never forewarned that they had to leap a stone wall to cross through the estate. This gave us an edge and my school won two consecutive state championships. Our dominance was challenged by a mysterious government agency purchasing the mansion. The men occupying the estate wore white shirts and black ties. My friend Jamie Parker said they were CIA experimenting on apes. The brothers were informed that the grounds were off-limits to the cross-country team. We lost our first race that season.

When the brothers asked for special access for these bi-weekly races, the men in the white shirts refused their request without a smile. We called them assholes, but had no other recourse other than to train harder to beat our competitors. Few people cared about the track team. Our school's football team was state champs. They had cheerleaders from the nearest Catholic girls school Our only fans were the rocket club. They said that this matter was not over. No one paid them much mind. They were nerds and the cross-country team worried that nerdiness might be contagious. We won the next race. I barely beat out our rival's 5th runner. Afterward the rocket club glared at the distant mansion and then exchanged a conspiratorial glance.

The next day they announced an exhibition of their rocket skills. This was the time of going to the moon and the brothers proudly assembled the students in the field behind the high school. We were instructed to stand a good distance from the launch area. The rockets were not small. One of them was at least ten-feet long. The rocket club signaled they were ready and soon missiles were soaring into the sky. Even the football team thought the rocket club was cool. The brothers beamed with satisfaction, thinking maybe one of these boys might end up at NASA, until they pointed the 10-foot missile at an angle. Off in the distance a few of the men in the white shirts were standing outside the mansion. The rocket club lined up the final missile, the ten-footer, at a funny angle. It took us a few seconds to realize that the trajectory would take it very close to the mansion. The men at the mansion started shouting and then the president of the rocket club lit the fuse. They ran from the missile and the men in the white shirts ran for cover.

It took about a seconds for the missile to cover the half-mile between the field and mansion. The explosion was muffled by out applause. The men in thew white shirts complained to the brothers. The police ignored the incident, since some of their kids were on the track team. We received permission to run through the field a week later and won the state championship thanks to regaining our advantage.

No one ever said anything bad about nerds in our school.

They were heroes, because they were dangerous.

At least to anyone not on our side and that's the way it should be when you're young.

ps my older brother was really pissed that he hadn't been there.

St. Valentine's Day Massacre / BET ON CRAZY by Peter Nolan Smith


Valentine's Day is celebrated by lovers around the world. Men buy cashmere scarves, lingerie, roses, Swiss chocolates, and jewelry for their girlfriends and lovers. This romantic holiday does not possess the same value as Christmas or their partners' birthday, but you can't do nothing, unless you're seriously considering a break-up or enjoy living in the doghouse for an unforeseen period of time and this Valentine Day a friend recommended my store to an associate.

Alex showed up at noon. A smile on his face. His budget was $3000.

"How long you been going out this woman?" $3000 was more than most men spent on their wives all year and 2009 was not a particularly good year for most of us.

"Six months." Alex sounded like they were still having sex.

"Really." $3000 was more than I'd spend on one go for a casual relationship. "What she do?"

"She's from the Ukraine. Studied at University of London and works at the Bank of America."

"Oh." According to my calculations Alex was about one zero away from making this woman happy with jewelry and I pulled out diamond hoops for $15000.

"Way too much." Alex owned a high-tech company. Business was okay. His budget was his budget. Most men were avoiding jewelry stores like toxic waste dumps, so I showed him a pair of Italian diamond earrings. They had 2 carats in diamonds set in 18K white gold flower design. I had sold several other pairs over the last month. I had guaranteed each male customer a happy ending, but suspected that might not be the case for Alex, so I asked my diamond associate for her assessment of the diamond earrings. She's Russian, young, and adores jewelry. Her engagement ring came from Jacob and Company. Her mother-in-law runs Moscow's largest jewelry store. She examined the earrings and asked Alex, "How long you been with your girlfriend?"

"Six months. She's petite. Like a ballerina."

"The earrings cost $3000."

"They are beautiful. Italian too." Danni was telling the truth. We always do, mostly because it is easier to remember than a lie.

"I'll take them." Alex paid the $3000 without haggling for a lower price. We gave him a nice box. It was a classic ring-box-go sale.

"If you don't get a happy ending, I'll give the money back." It was our standard offer.

After Alex left, I called my boss. Richie Boy was at the Palm Beach Antiques Show. He wasn't happy with the sale. There was only $500 profit. "He's a friend of a friend."

"Oh, great." He had to share the profit with me.

"Better than nothing." I hung up the phone and put the money in the safe minus my commission. My Valentine's Day plan was food and sleep. The previous night I had suffered through a downpour of margaritas. The train to Brooklyn was crowded with couples carrying Valentine Day gifts. They wore smiling faces. My effort had made Alex happy. I spent $10 of my commish on a Mexican dinner and fell into bed with Pier Brendon's THE DECLINE AND FALL OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE. Within three pages I was out cold and didn't wake until 8am.

It was Sunday morning. I called my wife in Thailand. She was happy to hear from me and my daughter wished me much love. The store in the Plaza wasn't opening until noon, so my wake-up process lasted longer than normal. I read a little more of the book. England had really put it to India. I left my hovel in Williamsburg at 11:30. The subway was empty and I arrived at work a little past 12. My co-worker, Jo-jo, was waiting on the couch. His face wore a veneer of exhaustion. He said he had yet to go to bed.

"No big deal. Sundays are a snooze at the Plaza." No one in Midtown usually got up before one. "No one will come here before 3."

I was wrong.

Alex showed up several minutes later. The chagrin on his face revealed the answer to my question, "How'd it go?"

"Not good." He sat down with the weight of disaster.

"Let me guess." The $240 in my pocket didn't feel like mine anymore.

"Last night we were going to the ballet. She came out of her bedroom in a dress which looked like it was woven out of the wind. On her ears were two-inch long strands of diamonds. They were antiques. Looked like her family stole them from the czar. I handed her the box."

"The box." I had luckily given him an expensive box. "It cost over $20."

"She looked for a name."

"Oh." There was no name on the box. It was elegant, but anonymous.

"She opened it and her face dropped like I had called her mother a bad name. "She examined the earrings and said, "You have to be kidding." She didn't stop either."

Most women like her don't when they're on a good roll realizing the man was defenseless.

"She said they looked like they cost $600. Said they were for a kid." Alex was reliving the pain from his failed offering with this retelling.

"Enough already. I blew it. It's my fault." I went into the safe and counted out his money. He handed over the offending gift and I returned his cash. The bills were still crisp. I shrugged and said, "I don't know what to say."

Actually that wasn't the truth. Several bad words floated at the tip of my tongue.

"I don't know whether to leave her or not."

"There's only one thing you can do at a time like this." It was Valentine's Day. Both my wives had called to wish me love. Alex's day of romance had been ruined by this unfeeling chuva which is a bad word in Yiddish, so I said the only thing possible, "do what you think is best."

It was non-committal and exactly what he wanted to hear, because any advice form me would be seen in a negative light. I had ruined his Valentine's Day.

"Thanks for taking care of this." Alex held up the money. "This girl might come by to check out this place. she's that type of girl."

"No problem." I waved good-bye. "I'll be polite."

After Alex walked away, Jo-Jo said, "That sucks."

I ordered Jo-Jo to T the G or follow Alex for several blocks. He came back and said the lovelorn executive had beelined into Van Cleef.

"Sucker."

"Yeah." I phoned Richie Boy with the bad news. He took it with grace. We've lost bigger sales this year.

"That fucking cunt. A guy gives her a gift for $3000 and she shits on it. I can't believe it."

"First time it happened to me."

"Stay long enough in this business and you'll see everything." And not all of it was good, for around 2:30pm a small blonde in designer clothing entered the store. A wide-brimmed hat hid her face. She was no ballerina in my book, but Alex must have been a different performance of SWAN LAKE than me. She examined the jewelry and I pulled out the earrings.

"You mind if I ask you a question?"

"No." The thirtyish woman was dowdy, but she wasn't telling the truth. She wanted out of here.

"If someone gave you this for Valentine's Day. How would you feel? Good? Bad? It cost me $2300. Maybe it's a little girlish for you. Women in their 40s like something bigger."

"I'm not 40."

"50." I was being mean. Someone had to be for Alex.

She huffed out of the store. Jo-Jo gave me the thumb's up. He was happy that I revenged her slight. I would have been happier with Alex's money in my pocket, but sometimes you have to settle for what you can get. Some days that's all there is, because beauty is in the hands of the holder.

"

Saturday, February 21, 2009

Missile Command


The creation of a missile shield to protect America from nuclear attack has been the dream of the Pentagon for decades. Billions have been spent on Star Wars technology without any of the tests achieving their goal. President Bush push the concept of the anti-ballistic system on Eastern Europe with the expected result that the Russians sought to counter this 'threat' with a show of force, most notably in Georgia, where their troops soundly beat the Georgians, despite out technical support.

I had hoped with the arrival of President Obama that these schemes would be put to sleep, however the new president is taking nothing off the table and only last week ordered missile strikes on Taliban targets in Pakistan. Now it has come to light that Special Forces are training the Pakistan troops, even though the Pakistan president has signed a non-aggression pact with the Muslim extremist allowing them to set up Sharia or Islamic law in the Valley of Swat.

More missiles.

The Pentagon likes them.

You can sit at home and watch the action on TV as if you were playing the old Sega game MISSILE COMMAND, only you were the attacker instead of the defender. Die Die Die.

Barack Obama is of the age to have played that game.

And so are the rest of us.

A good attack is the best form of attack.

Personally I think he's being railroaded by the hawks in the Pentagon.

"Mr. President, the target is acquired."

At one point he will have to say, "No."

Because these things are no accurate, unless you believe what the Pentagon tells you.

And no one is such a fool like that anymore.

Friday, February 20, 2009

Better Than The Louvre


Helmut Newton - Genuis

Rejection notice from literary agent


A month ago I was surprised to receive an email from a literary agent interested in my semi-fiction piece BET ON CRAZY. These vignettes cover my years as a diamond dealer on West 47th Street in New York. This interest was unsolicited, so I took special care to present my writing in the right light in hopes of getting published. Instead the agent rejected my offering.

Here's her letter.

Hi Peter-

These stories are certainly interesting and I found your writing very engaging but I am afraid ultimately I didn’t see the book here. The publishing industry is having a difficult time right now and for me to take on a new client I need to be quite confident I can sell it well- I am afraid I didn’t have the necessary enthusiasm to take this on for representation.

No commerical value. No sell-out.

"Please let me sell-out."
Please remember that publishing is a business of opinions and mine is just one. Thanks so much for thinking of me and I wish you the best of luck in placing it elsewhere.

Best,

Agent

I thanked her for the interest and went back to writing my novel about teenage devil worship in the 1960s, where a young boy sells his soul to the Devil in order to save his parents' marriage.

Fly Honda Civic Fly


In 1982 I drove a VW Golf GTI up to Paris to Bruxelles. My mission was to pick up Valdmar, a New York DJ at the aeroport. He was going to spin records at the Rex for the magazine Actuel. On the way I noticed Benzs and BMWs cruising at 180 KPH or 100 mph and decided to see how much go the GTI had in its 1.8 Liter engine. 180 was easy. So was 200. I top-ended at 220 KPH or 150 mph. I have never driven that fast since and few people in the USA believe this story, however just this week NY State Troopers caught 1993 Honda Civic going 137 mph on I-84.

He was ticketed for speeding, reckless driving and having vehicle windows with illegal tint.

But permitted to continue on his drive.

137 is fast but 150 is faster.

The fastest the french Police ever radared a vehicle was 320 KPH or 210 mph.

They never even bothered to chase him, but roadblock his escape at the tollbooth.

210 is really fast.

But I have one question for the driver in New York.

"Where the hell were you going that you needed to go that fast?

"MacDonalds?"

Goodbye GTO


The US Government has given GM billions of dollars to save America's largest car maker. The Detroit corporation is still in need. $15 billion this time and the executives have even offered to eliminate several brand names from their inventory, most notably Pontiac, thus ending any real reason for the company to exist in the future.

GM hasn't come out with a good car in years.

The last one coming to mind is the GTO from Pontiac.

The GTO or 'Goat' emerged as the first muscle car in 1964. The Arab Oil Embargo ended its production in 1974, although Holden of Australia came out with a new version from 2004 to 2006. The GTO was every boy's dream car in the 60s. Red. Fast. Thunder.

The brainchild of John deLorean was the result of GM banning their designers from developing race cars. Pontiac engineer Russell Gee, an engine specialist, and Bill Collins, a chassis engineer, transformed the mild-mannered Tempest into a street machine rivalling the Ferrari 250. Its 6.5 Liter engine could beat any other car off the line. My friend, Bush, had a 1966 GTO. He would place $10 on the dashboard and bet every passenger that they couldn't grab the bill before he hit 4th gear. We were all pinned to the bucket seat by the Gs of V-8 acceleration.

It was a monster car.

They never made anything since.

I saw one in Maine this summer.

The owner wanted $15,000.

I felt 17 sitting behind the wheel.

$15,000,000,000 for one million GTOs.

That's worth saving GM.

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Arthur Lee - Seven and Seven Is


It's winter in New York.

Rain and cold, but sometimes somethings make me think forward to the Spring.

Such as Arthur Lee performing SEVEN AND SEVEN IS with the Lemon Drops.

Check out this URL

love - seven and seven is

For a related article click on this URL



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vEC4LWbI1VU&feature=related

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Does Anyone Miss This Guy


A month has passed since GW Bush left the White House.

Does anyone miss him?

Check out the collection of GW idiot photos from the New York Daily News.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/galleries/george_w_bush_the_lamest_duck_ever/george_w_bush_the_lamest_duck_ever.html#ph0

The Art Of War Chez la Pentagon


During the Viet-Nam war some bright minds decided to inject elephants with flatulence medicine in hopes of flushing the VC out of the jungle with the pachyderms' farts. The strategy failed to take into consideration windage and several grunt mahouts were hospitalized with severe methane poisoning ala JACKASS 2.

The Pentagon attracts more schemers than dreamers and recently Counter-intelligence pundits were planning on distributing Viagra to the mountain soldiers in Afghanistan. Supposedly the penile hardener would ameliorate the heroes' breathing ability in the high altitudes. Church leaders close to the White House forced Donald Rumsfeld to abandon this tactic, fearing that men separated from the wives for years at a time would turn to homosexuality if constantly aroused by Viagra.


Better they chew coca leaves.


These two failures haven't deterred the Pentagon think tanks from new follies.


Now it's anti-terrorist dolphins and seals.

A Funnier Onion




The Onion just got funnier with their video lambasting Sony. I haven't bought anything from them in years, but none of us could have lived with the Sony Trinitron. Times changed and now Sony is renown for one thing.

ANOTHER PIECE OF SHIT

Check out this URL

http://www.theonion.com/content/video/sony_releases_new_stupid_piece_of

We Will Bury You


2/19 The New York Stock exchange fresh off a three-day weekend sought more bottom ground this Tuesday morning by dropping 300 points or 4% off Fridays' Closing Number. More voodoo economic wealth going poof, as the bad news keeps coming in waves. California is broke. Kansas is re-neging on tax refunds. Trump Casino rolled craps. The Big Three automakers are fighting Labor over health care. Even worse Australian housseholders will be taxed for each time they flushed the toilet.

What is this world coming to?

The end of capitalism?

In the words of Nikita Khrushchev, "We will bury you."

And with the Kremlin is offering to purchase an Oregon steel mill, it sounds like the grave is already dug, however don't count out the ruling elite yet. They've been in this position before and come out of it just as Buffy and Derek as always.

From WIKPEDIA

On August 24, 1963, Khrushchev himself remarked in his speech in Yugoslavia, "I once said, 'We will bury you,' and I got into trouble with it. Of course we will not bury you with a shovel. Your own working class will bury you," [4] a reference to the Marxist saying, "The proletariat is the undertaker of capitalism"; a popular articulation of the materialist conception of history as the inevitable progression of class struggle towards communism.

For a related article click on this URL


http://www.mangozeen.com/2008/08/05/war/the-surrender-army.htm

Thai Royal Pardon



Most farangs refer to Thai jail as 'the monkey house' or 'kook'. Each year hundreds of westerners, mostly men, are imprisoned by the Thai police for crimes ranging from assault to drugs. Most are lucky enough to purchase their freedom with 'persona non grata' stamped on their passport at the airport, but few are subjected to prosecution for crimes of lese majeste such as the Australian writer, Harry Nicolaides, who is serving the minimum sentence of three-years for defaming the royal family in his novel. It could have been 15 years. VERRSIMILITUDE only sold seven copies. Seven too many for the honor of Thailand, although Bangkok prison authorities have forwarded a pardon request to the Corrections Department in hopes that the petition will reach the royal palace within the next few months. The King is the father of Thailand and he is deserving of the greatest respect as the longest-serving monarch in the world as the true protector of his people.

May he live forever.

Monday, February 16, 2009

Teenage Duel for Fatherhood


Some stories have a life of their own and the tale of a 13 year-old UK boy fathering a baby with a 15 year-old schoolgirl girlfriend has grown legs with the claim from another teenage boy that he is the true father of lil Maise and that he is willing to take a DNA test to prove it.

The young girl disavowed the news saying, “There has been no one else. I love Alfie. I lost my virginity to him. We decided to start a physical relationship because we love each other. There has been no one else. He gets very jealous when I talk to other boys and I don’t like him talking to other girls. Other stupid boys are lying.”

Other boys?

Two teenage boys have told the Press or 'the Slime' that they are potential fathers since they had shared intimacy with Chantelle at her house, but her four-foot beau, Alfie, swears, “I am the only boyfriend Chantelle’s had — and we’ve been together for two years.

The one of the other boys smirked, saying, “It was routine for boys to stay over with Chantelle in her bed. But I only slept with her the once.”

Personally I don't know what to think. At least it wasn't an Immaculate Conception like LA's Octomom.

Ban Oregon Beer Tax


Oregon has created a positive atmosphere for beer-brewing by taxing the brewers at a modest rate. 2009 is not 2008 and five state lawmakers have introduce a bill aimed at taxing each barrel of beer almost $50 to fill the state's coffers and finance alcoholism treatment.

I haven't been to Oregon since 1999. I drank a few of the home-brews. They were good, but nothing I'd want to drink day in and day out. I'm faithful to Stella Artois, the wife-beater, but I am extremely against any taxes on beer for religious purposes.

Beer is the sacramental wine of the Church of Beer. and as a devote Beermasian I protest any taxation cutting into our ability to worship the amber liquid.

The lawmakers have to be GOP.

I like to blame everything stupid on them.

Best Beer Ad

I don't drink Miller, but I like their ads better than Bud.

HELP ET


World leaders are increasingly concerned about the collapse of the global economy. No one has an answer to the problems, mostly because the problems multiply every day. I personally have been looking to the sky for our redemption. Not in the form of angels blowing clarion horns, but UFOs piloted by ETs looking to pay retail for everything we have on Earth. This is a wild dream, since our planet is located on the fringe of the galaxy far from the flow of interstellar traffic, however the universe is changing shape all the time and we can only hope that within the next six months a fleet of entertainment-hungry aliens notice the third rock from the Sun.

This hope was crushed yesterday by the sighting of a UFO flaming through the stratosphere.

Government officials claimed the phenomena was caused by the collision of a US and Soviet satellite. I know better. It was a friendly mission from the farthest reaches of the stars. They wanted to buy SUVs at the going rate. McMansions too. Instead their spacecraft struck low-orbit debris. Texans watched its fall from grace with awe.

There is no God

God-worshippers like to say, "There are no aethists in a foxhole."

I've never experienced the horror of WWI, although my grandfather served in France as a medical doctor along with my grandmother. She never spoke much about it, but somehow in my mind I think those years lessened her belief in the bearded Almighty.

My horror came three years in the form of a nervous breakdown. The causes were multiple and my treatment was self-induced catatonia mixed with suicidal urges, however throughout this dilemma I promised myself that I would never pray to god and I never did. Not once, so I was proud to hear President Obama acknowledge non-believers in his inaugerational speech.

I respect the right of others to think Gods or god exist, while I acknowledge there is a spirituality not needing a celestial spokesperson to define the divine.

We are all gods.

Not particularly good ones, but gods no less.

Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh


I haven't watched TV in 9 months. The entire time I've been back in the USA. Eric's Palm Beach house had not TV. Malinda's farm had no TV. Walter's apartment in Williamsburg has no TV. I really don't miss it, because I've taken up reading instead of mindlessly worshipping the offerings of western consumerism..

When I was a kid, my father used to say, "You'll end up a loser watching that crap."

And he was right, so I have abandoned television for literature and recently read Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh. This 2008 novel about the opium trade between India and China is a ruthless indictment on the high-minded cruelty of the British Empire echoing harshly in America for our involvement in the heroin trade throughout the world at present. Fortunes are made and lost through the nefarious trade. Mostly made by the nabobs and lost by the natives. This first book of a trilogy recreates the 1830s through a maze of characters destined by coincidence to travel across the 'black water' to a land of demons.

The author's power to bring the reader back in time is a gift without the power of CGI-film. reality based on words and dialogue.

Nothing like it on prime-time or at the cineplex, although SLUMDOG BILLIONAIRE might come close. Certainly not FRIDAY THE 13TH rehash. go to your library and ask for SEA OF POPPIES. It ain't poopie.

Happy Presidents Day - Oh Yeah FU GW Bush


I know that Joe Biden wanted to flip the departing GW the bird.

I would have asked for a Stinger missile launcher, but not done it to prevent the deaths of the innocent soldiers on board or the wives of GW or Cheney. Still it would have been nice to see terror on their faces, for all the evil they caused the world.

Otherwise check out the stiletto heels on Joe Biden's wife.

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Santa Claus is Dead


"Sorry, Virginia, there is no more Santa Claus." Parents will be sorely tested next December. No money means no Santa Claus. Children crying, "Where are the reindeers?"

"They have been laid off due to the dire economic conditions."

"Same as the Detroit autoworkers?"

"Good boy." The parents will be glad that the home schooling is improving their children's intellect since the public schools closed due to no funds.

Sounds ominous?

Well, just maybe it is.

1/20th of a Quadrillion Dollar US Debt


"What do you think is the total US government debt?" I asked a young economist in the Columbia University graduate program.

Francesco was smart and took his time to calculate the numbers.

"15 trillion dollars." The sum was the total of the US annual GDP or every single penny made by the nation in a single year.

"Good guess." Back in the 70s a man erected an electronic billboard tracking the US debt on the corner of 6th Avenue and 42nd Street. The largest number I remembered was 6 trillion. This liability indicator backwatered during the Clinton years. The corner stores were sold in the mid-90s, so no one ever had any idea what was happening with what the USA owed to its debtors.

"Was I close?" Francesco smiled thinking he had a grasp of the depth of the problem. 15 trillion dollars was a lot of money. GW Bush could have financed 8 Iraqi wars with that sum.

"Not even warm." I knew the correct amount thanks to www.worldnetnews.com. "Almost times four. Ready?"

"Yes."

"1/20th of a billiard."

"Billiard?"

I'd stumped him with that word.

"Yes, a billiard is another word for a quadrillion."

"50 trillion dollars?" Francesco had done the math.

"Actually it's $65 trillion. I rounded it out to the nearest 50 to make the math easier." Most people had trouble with fractions, especially the voodoo zombie economists of the Bush Administration who did the math on their fingers. Last year they announced the debt to be $400 billion. More like $5 trillion in the real world. I re-did the numbers for Francesco. "It's actually 1/30th of a quadrillion."

"How are we going to pay that?"

"Never will happen. We're banco or bankrupt. Crapped out as a nation thanks to 8 years of this last fuck-up." So no more Iraq War. No more troops in Afghanistan. No SUVs. No McMansions. No more fake millionaires. It's a revolution no one realizes has happened yet. Certainly not the republicans who want to have another round of tax cuts to spark the economy. "The treasury will monetize the debt."

"How?"

"By printing money."

"Meaning hyper-inflation."

"People going to the store with SUVs packed with enough dollars to buy a loaf of bread." Like in the Weimar Republic or Zimbabwe.

So get ready to buy diamonds and gold.

I'm open for business at the Plaza.

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Sex Tourists Beware


Despite its reputation as a sex paradise, Thailand is a deeply puritan country whose morality is governed by a respect for the human spirit and last week the Thai police displayed their iron resolve by arresting 13 foreign men, seven Thai women and three foreign women at a Bangkok Hotel for the crime of sexual adventurism. Another couple, farang man and Thai wife, were charged for organizing this criminal behavior.

Police were shocked to discover on the highly-organized raid the spectacle of naked men and women coupling while others drank and danced nearby. The outlaws were told to get clothed, as the police searched the premise for incriminating material. Their labors netted a stash of used condoms, lubricant gel, porno books and CDs and 30 pills of Viagra.

Channel 3 Thailand showed video footage of the raid.

Loose condoms were on the floor. None of the officers touched this evidence as SOP. They were waiting for the CSI squad to arrive. Reportedly the police were tipped off by a jealous husband of one of the farang women. The offenders in this dangerous conspiracy will most certainly be blacklisted from ever entering the country to prevent such an outrage from occurring again.