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On Politics and Extra-terrestrials

Well, even though there have been billions of words written around the world about the campaign that Barack Obama just won, I thought I'd put my two cents forward because, well, this is my blog and that's what blogs are for. In a word - elated. That's what I feel. I don't believe I'm alone when I say that 'catastrophic' is too small a word to describe the train wreck that was George W. Bush, but now, finally, we can start to see the light. I'm not saying Obama will save the world, the country or even fix the economy or lower taxes; but he's certainly the best chance we have to start heading in the right direction. But there's one thing bothering me...

Greg2016-11-17T15:48:53+00:00Current Events, Politics|0 Comments

A Welcome Lull in the News

Because I'm a nerd, the first thing I do when I wake up is roll out of bed and into my command station computer desk to check what's going on the world via my Netvibes RSS feed. When I checked things out this morning, I was pleasantly surprised to see no screaming headlines about protests, killings, emergency decrees or tanks rolling through the city. In fact, I was relieved to find that things were relatively boring. I immediately thought back to a fantastic article from The Onion in October of 2001 with the headline "A Shattered Nation Longs to Care About Stupid Bullshit Again" which sums up my feelings pretty perfectly.

Greg2016-11-17T15:48:55+00:00Bangkok, Current Events, Politics, Pop Culture, Thailand|0 Comments

A Few Words on Thailand’s (latest) Protests

Thailand has a funny way of 're-educating' those of us who didn't grow up here. From opening our eyes to Asian history to shattering preconceptions about race, food and poverty, every day that you live here teaches you something new. Since the continually developing protests have started, I've gotten a few emails from friends asking if everything is okay, to which my reply probably sounds a bit lame. The bottom line - unless you're right down near government house where the protests are centered, you'd be hard pressed to know there was any disturbance at all. Thais have a remarkable resilience to factors that would make the rest of us quake in our boots.

Greg2016-11-17T15:48:55+00:00Current Events, Politics, Thailand|0 Comments

The Only Law They Enforce in Thailand… Usually

My friend John sums up Thailand's version of law enforcement beautifully: "There are no laws here until there are laws. Then they're completely unbreakable." I remember last year when some City Hall genius decided that Bangkok taxis could only be hailed at designated spots along the streets. Signs were put up, curbs were painted and newspaper stories were printed. That lasted about 45 minutes, and today, the expensive signposts and other accoutrements are gathering dust; there are plenty of similar stories we won't get into. So, when it was declared that from February 11, 2008 all air-conditioned spaces in Bangkok would be smoke-free, I didn't get too giddy. Although, as someone whose lips have never even touched a cigarette (true story, mostly due to a guy who showed us his tracheotomy tube during an anti-smoking demonstration in grade 6, which scared the crap out of the entire class), I was happy to hear they were at least trying to do something.

Greg2016-11-17T15:48:58+00:00Current Events, Thailand|0 Comments

RIP George. Punch Jesus in the Nose for Me.

Today is a sad day for people who like to laugh. George Carlin, the legendary comedian and one of my favourite all-time performers, has died at 71, from heart failure. When I was growing up, I listened to Bill Cosby non-stop; my Mom had a ton of his records. They really helped to shape my sense of humour and got me interested in how to entertain a crowd with simply the power of words. As I grew older, my tastes broadened, and I got into Carlin, whose counter-culture rants really hit a chord with me. I identified with his 'don't like what I have to say? Fine, fuck you!' way of looking at things, and - again - my sense of humour and outlook on life was shaped in a small way by his tapes. He wasn't only anti-authority, he was intelligent, a combination that has for centuries been terrifying those who use fear to retain power (religion, repressive governments, etc). He eloquently spoke the truth, in all its painful glory, and didn't give a shit what you thought. He was the first person I knew of to take what I felt about religion and put is as eloquently as anyone ever has, in his tour-de-force HBO special You Are All Diseased, which I count as one of my favorite stand up specials of all time. Rest In Peace, you miserable old bastard. And thanks for the laughs.

Greg2016-11-17T15:49:00+00:00Current Events|0 Comments

An Olympic Scrap at the FCC

That a country like China can claim the international prestige of hosting the Olympics is pretty ridiculous. I won't bother getting into their flagrant human rights abuses, censorship borne of a fear of knowledge and unmitigated arrogance on the world stage; that would be redundant. The question sometimes comes up as to whether someone with the same views as me is anti-China or anti-Chinese government. For me, the answer is most certainly the latter. China's long history and complex culture is one that any country would be proud to have; I have nothing against China or their people. It's their frightened, power-hungry, abusive government that has to go. Last night I had the privilege to attend a talk at the Foreign Correspondent's Club here, with a panel consisting of representative of the Chinese government, a former monk and student of the Dalai Lama, a member of the Free Tibet Network, and a journalist with extensive Chinese/Tibet experience. It was entertaining to say the least.

Greg2016-11-17T15:49:03+00:00Asia, Current Events, Politics, Religion, Thailand|0 Comments

Censorship in Thai Cinemas

Despite Thailand's leaders promoting the country as a democracy, it's still got quite a way to go until it truly is what they claim. Nowhere is this more evident than when you go to see a movie, where scenes deemed 'harmful to Thai society' are routinely blurred, pixelated, or just plain excised. In my latest post for The Hollywood Reporter, I detail the fight that celebrated director Apichatpong Weerasethakul has with the censorship board and their outrageous, archaic decisions to cut his film; it seems that every country in the world recognizes his films as classics, except his own, which truly sucks balls. It's pretty ridiculous, actually - when you see a guy holding what appears to be a gun-shaped blob of pixels in his hand, you have to wonder what would have brought more scrutiny - a guy with a gun or a guy with a gun-shaped blob of pixels. Most people with a brain would say the former, but hey - this is Thailand. Often, the censorship isn't even noticeable until you see the movie a second time - check out the screencaps below that I got from the Thai version of Music and Lyrics, versus the international version.

Greg2016-11-17T15:49:03+00:00Current Events, Movies, Politics, Thailand|0 Comments