*miserychick is actually happy

Dinos ripping apart luggage is the decor theme for this baggage
claim. Little cheesy, but adds character, I suppose.

just caught myself actually understanding everything in this screenshot.

it’s like i’m a fan of some weird nerdy sport from another planet.

(post Thai parliament debate vote on the no-confidence motion.. or, you know, however you explain that democratic process)

sorry, if you’re not a Loster, don’t bother watching.

Hello summer in Toronto! I’ve been waiting for you for so long…

There has been more than enough photos of Bangkok burning on the Internet, and every one of them is more heartbreaking than the last. But the other day, before the crackdown, the surrender and the arson, this picture really hurt:

REUTERS/Adrees Latif, from Big Picture blog

The feeling of devastation is beyond words. How does a city I know and love plunge into this apocalyptic war zone mess.

Now that it is over – after I’ve watched YouTube videos after videos, posting and checking links on Facebook, followed more and more foreign journalists in Thailand – looking back on the past three months and judging on what I know, I guess it is suffice to say that this probably couldn’t have ended any other way. If you throw a rock at a glass window, the glass is going to break. The red shirts didn’t offer any room for negotiation. The government couldn’t step down. It was written from the beginning that they’ll either win or lose, and there was no compromise.

I thought I would offer my analysis, but the New York Times, as always, is much more eloquent, so here it is, quoting in parts:

“It was tragic,” said Anusart Suwanmongkol, a senator who supports the government. “Yesterday was the most tragic day in my memory, in Thai history. Nobody gained anything. Nobody won. The country lost.”

Having worked on a history museum in Bangkok, I have had some great conversations with historians who told me about the past political ‘revolutions’. The uprises have always ended badly, and if you look close enough, the same cycle just goes on again. Same shit, different people. This time though, there is something else that is going to be haunting Thailand’s future. I wonder if we’ll simply just go back to the way it was.

Hopes for a peaceful election, whenever it comes, seem faint, and in an increasingly polarized and violent political arena, it seems unlikely that the loser would accept the results. Antigovernment sentiment has hardened in the northeast and north of the country, the homes where many of the protesters were returning Thursday.

Political opportunists have harnessed their yearnings into a powerful political bloc, indoctrinating them on community radio stations and in the amplified speeches of the protest stage, with a new vocabulary of exploitation, about “serfs” and “aristocracy.” …

“We have been poor for hundreds of years, even thousands of years, and they are living in fancy resorts and mansions,” said Srirasa Reungrat, a middle-aged woman from Chiang Rai in the north, as she stood at the back of the temple Thursday morning. “They have been doing this to us for a long time.”

The difference this time is precisely just what she said. Thai people, being Buddhists, normally accept the circumstances of their lives – their economic well being (or not), their education level (high or low), their jobs, their choices, etc, because one is born into whatever one is destined to be. There’s a complicated belief about karma from the past life, paying for it in this life, and saving good merit for the next one. It’s kind of a convenient way of not blaming yourself or other people for whatever meager means you have, you accept it and live it out. But now, these self-proclaimed serfs (note, I’m not calling them serfs, they did) are turning their long internalized anger at their masters. Forget karma, they have a new prophet.

In fact the social conflict in Thailand is more complex than a simple uprising of the poor. This is a society built on harmony and, until politicians hardened the divisions, the pressure for change was less confrontational.

Thailand’s rural people are not serfs. They have been called some of the most comfortable poor people in the world. The economic boom of the 1980s brought them paved roads, electricity, brick houses, television sets, motorbikes, cellphones and factory jobs.

Political analysts now call them “post-peasants” and “middle-income peasants.”

But as their standard of living rose, the wealth of the well-to-do in Bangkok rose faster, and the aspirations and resentments of the lower classes grew, too.

They underwent a process known here as ta sawang, or a “brightening of the eyes” — an awakening, a realization of a truth they had not recognized.

When their eyes brightened, they focused in many cases on Thaksin Shinawatra, the former prime minister whose genius was to recognize this untapped electoral bloc, to answer some of its needs with low-cost health care and financial assistance and to secure its support.

Mr. Thaksin was ousted in a coup in 2006 and lives abroad, evading a conviction for corruption. But he stays in touch with his supporters through audio and video messages and a flow of fatherly messages on Twitter. He remains the single most influential political personality in Thailand, and many see him as the master manipulator of the protests.

And not to be cynical, but I don’t think he’s finished yet. Not unless the Thai government can banish and cut his communication completely. Those red shirts who went home, they’re waiting.  He’d promised them the moon and he hasn’t delivered.

Whatever the future holds for Thailand, one thing is for sure: the power of the media and Internet in 2010 just changed Thailand’s face to the world forever. The tourism authority is going to have a hard time with their “Amazing Thailand” logo.

If capable people aren’t in charge (and those are hard to find) of pulling the pieces together, and perhaps re-educating Thai people on what it means to be a “democratic country”, I think it’s going to be a shaky ride.

REUTERS/Adrees Latif, from Big Picture

When you take a photo with Dr. NakaMats, you stand with him, look into the camera and say “Doctor Nakamatsuuuu” while holding out peace fingers. He does this with everybody and seems to enjoy the consistent process. Before we took this picture, I asked for an autograph and he took a picture of me using his video camera.

Prior to reading about the documentary “The Inventions of Dr. Nakamats”, I had never heard of Yoshiro Nakamatsu. And upon learning of his inventions, I feel as if I had been hiding under a rock. How is this man not world famous by now? He claims to hold 3,367 patents – compared to 1,093 by Thomas Edison – a fact he frequently boosts with pride. Amongst those, the most well-known ones are the floppy disks (invented in 1950, 20 years before IBM) and subsequently the basic technology for CD and DVD, synthesizer for sampling music, karaoke machine, taxi meter, spring shoes, Celebrex sleeping chair, and the Love Jet – which is a sort of natural female viagra that he invented to help solve the population problem in Japan. He also invented a hydrogen powered engine for a bike.  The list goes on.

According to Dr. NakaMats, too much sleep is bad for the brain, as well as too much food. He claims to only sleep 4 hours a day and eat only one meal at dinner. He drinks his ‘Brain Drink’ an invention of his as a result of 34 years of photographing every single meal and retroactively analyzing his own blood (for which he won an Ig Nobel Prize in nutrition). The Brain Drink, then, contains nutrients that is good for the brain and he says that he drinks it all the time. At the age of 80, he keeps very fit by lifting weights daily and he gets his best ideas when diving under water. For that, he invented an underwater notebook so that he can jot down his ideas because the brain is functioning very well at just 0.5 seconds before running out of oxygen. He is determined to live to the age of 144 and to have 6,000 patents.  And from the looks of it, he just might.

My favorite thing about Dr. Nakamats is the way he dresses. At the screening, he showed up in a suit complete with a striped bold purple shirt and dotted purple tie. Throughout the movie, his many shirts and suits are impeccably styled with bold stripes and bright colors, kind of reminding me of Willy Wonka. Some of his inventions and sayings are absurdly hilarious, yet he’s always serious and stone faced, commanding respect like an Asian grandfather. At times in the movie, he came off as grumpy and his self-promoting ways is very egocentric, always stamping his name on everything (well, he made them, right?) and even demanded that a hotel room’s name be changed for his birthday party. I don’t know whether to take him seriously because a lot of his claims seem counter intuitive and he’s always consciously promoting his NakaMats brand – but then again, I didn’t invent the floppy disk when I was in college, so what do I know. Quick, someone in Japan, send me a pack of Brain Drink!

Anyway, I am *smitten* by this eccentric man. If “The Invention of Dr. Nakamats” screens anywhere near you, don’t miss it. I’m a little sad that his website doesn’t have full English translation.

Here’s an excellent interview with Dr. Nakamats on PingMag from ’06.

Here’s a little map showing the red shirt occupied area in the center of Bangkok… although it seems that by now, they’ve spread in more areas than shown here.

The tiny red box in bottom of the map shows where my sisters’ house is.

The big red street that runs from left to right in the map, that’s Ratchadamri Road which is home to uber luxury condominiums, top-notch five star hotels, and even more upscale shopping boutiques.  I’m told that the protesters have blocked traffic from normally 3 lanes on each side to a single lane.  The rest of the street they’re using to pitch up tents and hang out in there.  The hotels have sent tourists away and shut down their operations due to security concerns.  And according to the article:  ”One section of pavement down the street from the Four Seasons was devoted to an arsenal of crude weaponry where Red Shirts sharpened hundreds of long bamboo rods and piled them into tall stacks. Broken up pavement stones were heaped in other piles.”

Meanwhile, the soldiers and riot police are out in full force.  Some red shirts wear bandanna that says “I’m not afraid of you”, but in a much a cruder language than how it sounds in English.  The frustrated Bangkokians who have been restricted to stay mostly at home (since shopping malls and night clubs are all closed) and stuck in even worse traffic are now coming out to the streets to yell at the red shirts.  It’s kind of unbelievable how the situation has deteriorate to this point, and even worse is the fact that it may not end any time soon.

I guess the frustrating part is that these red shirters actually think that they’re being heroic, when they’re just pawns for the bigger, more corrupt, politicians who always want to keep their people stupid anyway. I’ve always been fascinated with and supportive of protests, in a sense that I believe people should have the power to make their voices heard. But this is just putting protests in a bad name. It is mayhem. It is anarchy. And it is definitely not cool.

Some photos from daylife:

Two foreigners (bottom L) skateboard past “Red Shirt” anti-government protesters as they stand behind a barricade during a rally on Silom Road in the financial district of central Bangkok on April 20, 2010. Thailand toughened its stance against anti-government protesters, warning security forces would use live ammunition and tear gas in any fresh clashes.
AFP PHOTO / ROSLAN RAHMAN (ROSLAN RAHMAN/AFP/Getty Images)

Anti-government “red shirt” protesters stand behind a barricade built with bamboo poles and tyres at an intersection close to the Silom Road financial district in Bangkok April 20, 2010. Thailand’s “red shirt” protesters called off a march to Bangkok’s business district on Tuesday after a stern warning from the army, but they threatened to stay in the capital’s shopping district “indefinitely”. REUTERS/Vivek Prakash

Anti-riot police stand guard at an intersection close to the Silom Road financial district in Bangkok, where pro-government supporters have gathered for a counter-rally near anti-government “red shirt” protesters, April 21, 2010. Thai anti-government protesters occupying an upmarket shopping area of Bangkok said on Wednesday they were open to talks through a third party to prevent bloody clashes with armed troops threatening to forcibly evict them. REUTERS/Sukree Sukplang

A group of pro-governement residents shout at “Red Shirt” anti-government protesters behind a barricade from a distance on Silom Road in the financial district of central Bangkok on April 20, 2010. Thailand toughened its stance against anti-government protesters, warning security forces would use live ammunition and tear gas in any fresh clashes. AFP PHOTO / Nicolas ASFOURI (NICOLAS ASFOURI/AFP/Getty Images)

And I like this banner: We have democracy already, you idiots. Although I’m not sure if writing in English is too effective.

Pro-government supporters hold banners and shout slogans asking for an end to the protests on Tuesday, April 20, 2010 in Bangkok, Thailand. Soldiers in full combat gear guarded other nearby sections of the capital in an increasingly tense standoff that has shuttered 5-star hotels and glitzy shopping malls and threatens to damage Thailand’s sunny image as a tourist paradise. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)

NICOLAS ASFOURI/AFP/Getty Images from Daylife.com

“Thai troops had fired rubber bullets and tear gas at thousands of demonstrators, who fought back with guns, grenades and petrol bombs…” [NYT]

Obviously, the system isn’t working. Protesters fought back with more dangerous weapons than what the authorities have to protect themselves with? When does that ever happen?

And what is it with Thailand’s security that protesters are even allowed to, let’s say, take over the Government House for months (yellow shirts in 08), force a shut-down of an international airport for several days (yellow shirts again in 08), break into a high-profile meeting for country leaders (red shirts in 09), or storm the Parliament forcing lawmakers to flee (red shirts last week)… incompetence, lack of leadership, or, well, let’s put it bluntly shall we: not having balls and skills to deal with the situation?

The red shirts have taken Bangkok hostage, somewhat. The biggest shopping malls were forced to shutdown all last week. And if you’ve spent any time in Bangkok commercial district, you’d understand that these shopping malls aren’t just the place where people buy pretty clothes. The mega malls in Bangkok are the center of culture, commerce, and everything that has to do with modern urban lifestyle. A friend of mine opened her first ice cream + dessert shop just a two days before the red shirts got to the mall. It closed for a week right after that, so her stock went bad before the mall could open up again only for a few more days.  That’s a small example of what happens with this kind of disruption – the damage from shutting down shopping centers might not sound so drastic, but it effects people’s work and livelihood.

What doesn’t get mentioned in the press that much is the fact that it is super hot in Thailand right now. April is usually the hottest month and the temperature in suffocating Bangkok reaches the upper 30s to sometimes 40C. These protesters are out in the scorching heat that most people would want to avoid, sitting on bare concrete that’s been beaten down with sun rays all day. If they were angry, now they’re cooking. I’m sure the heat has a lot of to do with it.

A friend of my sister is a reporter for Reuters, her camera man was hit by a live bullet and killed, he only arrived from Japan last week. So far, the death toll is 20.

The red shirts leaders will no longer negotiate because they “don’t negotiate with murderers”. Conveniently painting themselves martyr for the cause, while ignoring completely that negotiation is the core of a democratic society.

Soldiers, journalists, protesters are all amongst the dead, dying for mediocrity that is the never ending cycle of Thailand’s misguided democracy. There’s no higher ideologies they’re fighting for except to get their people in power. There’s never any mention of what they want from the government except for a new election. (And it was the same with the yellow shirts too, just different semantics.)  The PM offered that he would step down in 9 months, but they refused.

The red shirts are hard at work protesting for a new election, which is what the opposition politicians want (and which is why they’re paying these people to be at the protests). The last time these people won an election, the yellow shirts and the aristocrats drove them out of power. You can pretty much expect what’s going to happen if the red shirts get what they want this time.  As long as there is a big enough backing and support on both sides, I personally don’t see it ending anytime soon.

Perhaps the most tragically f*cked up part is that: dying for this, and putting lives on the line for this, isn’t going to make any difference.