Wednesday, March 04, 2026
Handling Hybrid work etc on Apartment Therapy. DIY.
https://www.apartmenttherapy.com/block-scheduling-less-overwhelmed-37245848
Many well paid jobs are hybrid or remote now--suits me fine.
As for clothes, handbags--I only use one handbag--a canvas tote, till it falls apart--I only have a couple of summer sandals, I gave away all high heels ages ago--
I have Fall and Spring shoes, 2 pairs--
Some winter shoes and 1 pair of L. L. Bean rain boots--from my full-time work days.
Several wool coats,1 puffy long coat.
The rest are basic T shirts, solid colors and fleece pants or jeans.
I upcyled all my longyis (sarongs) into light jackets--have sold some.
My hobbies use recyled items as much as possible.
I buy cookware like baking trays,loaf pans mostly at yard sales--collectible items like my blue and white milk jug also at yard sales--
Fine tablecloths at yard sales also,I recycle into summer tops and pillow cases.
I buy groceries at "Middling Supermart" and have it all delivered.
I'm conditioned by life in Socialist Burma and cook and eat almost all my meals at home except one or two--in local restaurants on days when doctors' visits conk me out. But I'm not as bad as another friend who grew up during Great Depression and kept walnut sized pieces of food wrapped in aluminum foil in her freezer. Her Burmese husband however threw things out pretty fast--He threw out a bottle of pickled bean sprouts I just made for her.
I have a friend who had second-hand stuff coming out of her ceilings, ditto another friend who was very rich.
There is no one way to live. James Baldwin said,"Live the only life you have, otherwise you will end up living no life at all."
I'm making my Will.
Kyi May Kaung
3-4-2026
7 star chef goes back to 1980--C-drama--I like this a lot--very cute--
Like a Chinese Hallmark movie, the acting and the dubbing voices are very good, especially the hero's voice. Very well chosen and very well read.
Generally I don't like movies about army officers, but this one is good.
In the rom com world, these are called slow burn, because the male lead and the femal lead fall in love slowly.
Also I like that the bad girl who wanted the man is removed from the scene fast, about 1/4 of the way in.
I hate it when the bad guys go on and on and on.
Fashions and cars and hair and shoes about 1950s--but this is China.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5-m5gaoH0o
Whatever it's called, this is a good movie. K.M.Kaung 3-4-2026
Tuesday, March 03, 2026
This C-drama clip is very good, well-written, acted---dialog well-dubbed and poetric.
It's the Legend of Han Mulan.
I read Maxine HongKingston's Woman Warrior a long time ago, but I did not understand it that well.
Also on a very long flight to Bangkok the Disney version was playing on neighboring consoles with no sound.
I seldom read or watch TV on long flights--It makes me dizzy.
The next time I saw it was on the chemo nurse's iPad while getting a lot of chemo pumped into me intravenously and then kept on for about 48 hours.
Naturally, I did not remember anything.
Must read up a bit about it.
The chemo was really grueling though I asked for the lowest possible dose.
I could not open the frig without wearing gloves.
My jaw bone stung when I tried to drink some orange juice.
I gave up after 2 intravenous sessions and went back to oral chemo.
Now I am still alive, of course with lots of tests, all the time.
Last year 2 young men aged about 55-65, brilliant, well-educated, with the whole world before them died of 2 different kinds of cancer.
If you think I write too much and share too much and maybe don't meditate enough, well, that is the reason why.
I feel I have to do something for those who died too soon, not completing their normal life cycle.
The cancers were different from mine, at least one was stage 4, the other had a very rare kind of cancer I had never heard of before.
My advice is always get regular checkups, go to qualified doctors and specialists, buy the best insurance you can and do what they tell you.
It's better to have doctors and specialists looking after you, than to rely on some el cheapo person.
If in doubt seek out 2nd or 3rd opinions.
Read up and educate yourself.
Read Siddhartha Mukherjee's The Emperor of All Remedies.
When I saw friend J.(changed initial) the last time summer of 2024, he was very cheerful,though maybe in pain.
His mind was very clear. He knew about the blood-brain barrier. He said his oncologist--one of 13! just for cancer! --had already put him on that.
Unfortunately, both men went through a lot.
Kyi May Kaung
3-3-2026
The Buddha and Nanda.
The male and the female Nanda were siblings who fell in love with each other and were to be married.
The female Nanda was said to be very vain about her looks.
The Buddha made her see Impermanence by showing her a vision of a palace attendant growing old and dying before her eyes.
Like a time lapse photo.
Tamara Lempiska painted the man who posed for Rodin's The Kiss when he was old. Rheumy face with crud at the corners of his eyes.
There's also a Rodin with the title "I was once the blacksmith's beautiful daughter," --A seated woman, very thin, about age 70, her shanks
sunken and stuck to her bones.
Google and look for things.
kmk
C--drama--fat girl marries pig farmer billionaire.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAsqfHvbgDw
Shrimp painting in here is by Qi Baishi.
I knew of him even as a child--age 10-12. His name was spelled Chih Pai Shi then in Wade Giles transliteration--present spellings such as Beijing are Pinyin.
Pt 2--Virus (repeat) meets Granny (stitch) Fiber Spider. Crochet.
Once you get to Granny stutch row 1 at the end of this video, it's plain sailing for a few rows until he starts the Virus again in Pt 3.
So I hope I can watch some mindless C-drama then.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6nzlaBBHVQ
Crochet--he's my very favorite Youtube crochet mentor. I've made more of his patterns than anyone else's.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6nzlaBBHVQ
Granny meets Virus Shawl.
Thank you.
Monday, March 02, 2026
March 2, 1962--General Ne Win's 2nd coup--usually mistaken as his first.
Actual first was 1958, when he set up the "Caretaker Government."
Iran war--the death toll and damage toll mounts--copied and pasted from LinkedIn
Lewis M. SimonsLewis M. Simons • 1st1st Pulitzer Prize-Winning Journalist | Author of “To Tell The Truth: My Life as a Foreign Correspondent”; “Worth Dying For”; “The Next Front”Pulitzer Prize-Winning Journalist | Author of “To Tell The Truth: My Life as a Foreign Correspondent”; “Worth Dying For”; “The Next Front” 46m •
46 minutes ago • Visible to anyone on or off LinkedIn
The U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran and wide-scale Iranian reprisals expanded Monday as the United States pledged to send more troops to the region. The U.S. military expects to endure additional casualties in its operation, Joint Chiefs Chairman Dan Caine said in a rare on-camera news briefing, adding that accomplishing objectives will take “some time” and, “in some cases, will be difficult and gritty work.” The briefing, with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, came after U.S. Central Command reported that a fourth U.S. service member had died of injuries suffered in Iran’s initial retaliatory salvos over the weekend. Earlier Monday, Centcom said that three U.S. fighter jets were mistakenly shot down overnight by Kuwaiti amid active combat but that all six crew members safely ejected. As the war entered its third day, Iran continued its attacks on several Persian Gulf states. Lebanon’s Hezbollah responded to the killing of Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei with rocket and drone attacks on Israel, prompting Israeli strikes in the suburbs of Beirut and other strongholds of the Iran-allied group.
— The Washington Post, Mar. 2
THE FOG OF WAR...AND OF WAR BRIEFINGS.
Twilight over Burma--rare--Mrs Inge Sargent, the former Hsipaw Mahadevi (Queen's) true story.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_3PCvI0gBA
I knew her and her husband Tad Sargent. They were a beautiful couple. I stayed with her several times when they lived in a house and last saw them in 2016 when they were in senior housing.
I interviewed her several times,once from the radio station when Dr.Michael Aris, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's husband passed away.
I miss them--very brave abd devoted couple.
Rest in Protest.
Her memoir of the same name is published by University of Hawaii Press.
Movie still.
Master and Commander based on novels--maritime warfare in the age of sailing ships--Russell Crowe-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUy9HuPOpZs
I saw this in a movie theater when they still existed.
U Thaw Kaung--The Ramayana in Myanmar--Journal of the Siam Society--
https://thesiamsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2002/03/JSS_090_0i_UThawKaung_RamayanaDramaInMyanmar.pdf
U Thaw Kaung is my elder brother and I was in Bangkok at the time and so could attend this lecture.
Sunday, March 01, 2026
From Library of Congress site--
Dramatic performances of the Ramayana emerged in the Konbaung Period (1752-1885), when royal minister Myawaddy Mingyi U Sa converted the Ramayana Jataka into a typical Burmese classical drama; he also composed theme music and songs for its performance. Ever since then, Ramayana performances have been very popular in Burmese culture, and Yama zat pwe (Rama dramatic performances) and marionette stage shows are often held. Scenes from the Ramayana can also be found as motifs or design elements in Burmese lacquerware and wood carvings.
https://www.loc.gov/item/2021668039/
Could not find full series of this--From Chao Phra to Irrawaddy-- a fictionalization of
Myawaddy Mingyi U Sa--
I think I can do better.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/From_Chao_Phraya_to_Irrawaddy
You will notice the beautiful scenery in Zulu--here from Zulu wiki--
Most of Zulu was shot on location in South Africa. The mission depot at Rorke's Drift was recreated beneath the natural Amphitheatre in the Drakensberg Mountains. (This landscape was more precipitous and dramatic than the real Rorke's Drift, which is little more than two small hills). The set for the British field hospital and supply depot was created near the Tugela River with the Amphitheatre in the background. The real location of the battle was 100 kilometres (60 mi) to the northeast, on the Buffalo River near the isolated hill at Isandlwana.
Other scenes were filmed within the national parks of the then Province of Natal. Interiors and all the scenes starring James Booth were completed at Twickenham Film Studios in Middlesex, England. The majority of the Zulu warriors were real Zulus. The 240 Zulu extras who were employed for the battle scenes, were bused in from their tribal homes more than 100 miles away. Around 1,000 additional tribesmen were filmed by the second unit in Zululand. Eighty South African military servicemen were cast as soldiers.[11]
The film was compared by Baker to a Western movie, with the traditional roles of the United States Cavalry and Native Americans taken by the British and the Zulu, respectively. Director Endfield showed a Western to Zulu extras to demonstrate the concept of film acting and how he wanted the warriors to conduct themselves.[5]
It has been rumoured that due to the apartheid laws in South Africa, none of the Zulu extras could be paid for his performance. Endfield was said to have circumvented this restriction by leaving them all the animals, primarily cattle, that were used in the film. These are highly valued in their society. This allegation is incorrect; no such law existed and all the Zulu extras were paid in full. The main body of extras were paid the equivalent of nine shillings per day each, additional extras eight shillings, and the female dancers slightly less.[12][11]
Real Zulu Prince who played the Zulu king in Zulu, the movie.
Prince Mangosuthu Gatsha Buthelezi (/ˌmæŋɡoʊˈsuːtuː ˈɡætʃə ˌbʊtəˈleɪzi/;[3] 27 August 1928 – 9 September 2023) was a South African politician and Zulu prince who served as the traditional prime minister to the Zulu royal family from 1954 until his death in 2023. He was appointed to this post by King Bhekuzulu, the son of King Solomon kaDinuzulu (a brother to Buthelezi's mother Princess Magogo kaDinuzulu).
Buthelezi was chief minister of the KwaZulu bantustan during apartheid and founded the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) in 1975, leading it until 2019, and became its president emeritus soon after that. He was a political leader during Nelson Mandela's incarceration (1964–1990) and continued to be so in the post-apartheid era, when he was appointed by Mandela as Minister of Home Affairs, serving from 1994 to 2004.[4]
From Zulu (1964) movie--wiki--
The film stars Stanley Baker and introduces Michael Caine in his first major role, with a supporting cast that includes Jack Hawkins, Ulla Jacobsson, James Booth, Nigel Green, Paul Daneman, Glynn Edwards, Ivor Emmanuel, and Patrick Magee. Zulu chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi (a future South African political leader) played Zulu King Cetshwayo kaMpande, his great-grandfather. The opening and closing narration is spoken by Richard Burton.
First shown on the 85th anniversary of the battle, 22 January 1964, at the Plaza Theatre in the West End of London, Zulu received widespread critical acclaim, with praise for its sets, soundtrack, cinematography, action sequences, and the cast's performances, particularly Baker, Booth, Green, and Caine. The film brought Caine international fame. In 2017, a poll of 150 actors, directors, writers, producers, and critics for Time Out magazine ranked it as the 93rd best British film ever.[6]
Special post--I remember this distinctly--read in Burma, 1970s. Toynbee said in Life Magazine that the Vietnam War could not be won bc it was a national war.
He said the same to Playboy Magazine.
https://www.originalmagazines.com/blogs/vintage-magazines/a-historian-against-empire-arnold-toynbee-s-warning-on-america-vietnam-and-the-future-of-civilization
quote:
Between the pinups and bachelor pad features in the April 1967 issue of Playboy Magazine, American readers found something unexpected: a prophecy.
Arnold J. Toynbee—the British historian whose 12-volume A Study of History had made him one of the most famous intellectuals alive—sat for a lengthy, unsparing interview. His message was blunt: the United States was repeating the fatal mistakes of Rome. The Vietnam War would fail. Nuclear weapons threatened human extinction. And America's moral authority was collapsing under the weight of its own power.
For readers living through the spring of 1967, these were not abstract warnings. Draft notices arrived daily. Protests erupted on campuses. Body counts scrolled across evening news broadcasts. Toynbee's interview landed like a stone through glass—shattering the illusion that American might was unassailable. More than half a century later, this issue remains one of Playboy's most significant cultural documents. It captured the moment when empire met its mirror.
Lindsey Graham --R--S.C says it's not the US's job to choose the next leader of Iran. Khamaneini was 86.
Scroll down in the same link below.
Sen. Mark Kelly criticizes Trump--
At the same time, Kelly criticized Trump’s post to Truth Social referencing his hopes for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and police to “peacefully merge with the Iranian Patriots.”
https://www.nbcnews.com/world/iran/live-blog/iran-attack-strikes-us-israel-trump-khamenei-dead-live-updates-rcna261172?utm_source=firefox-newtab-en-us
“Hope is not a strategy,” Kelly said, criticizing Trump's Truth Social post in which he said he hoped members of the Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and police would "peacefully merge with the Iranian Patriots."
“We got to have a plan here," Kelly said. "I mean, what is the strategic goal, and how do we achieve it?”
Asked whether the U.S. could continue the operation without putting troops on the ground, Kelly said “that is incredibly challenging.”
Kelly argued that Iran cannot be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon, but criticized Trump for having withdrawn from the Iran nuclear deal during his first term.
Saturday, February 28, 2026
Reuters--images--demonstrations world-wide for and against US--Israel strike on Iran.
https://www.reuters.com/world/iran-crisis-live-explosions-tehran-israel-announces-strike-2026-02-28/
Trump says Khameini is dead, Iran says he's commanding the field.
Rice and cheese balls--
https://www.thekitchn.com/arancini-recipe-23771652?utm_source=firefox-newtab-en-us
Cuban-born writer/poet Pena--killed in "invasion attempt" off Cuban coast--yes, it's as I thought,
a copy cat of Bay of Pigs--BUT--it's not clear if Trump sanctioned or helped it.
https://www.tampabay.com/news/clearwater/2026/02/27/clearwater-writer-among-those-killed-gunfire-off-cuban-coast/
BBC--breaking--live coverage--US and Israeli forces strike Teheran, which retaliates--
Air space already shut down, 53+63 at Iranian elementary school already dead.
Some distraction from Epstein Files engineered by Trump. Expect more price increases in USA etc--
https://www.bbc.com/news/live/cn5ge95q6y7t?utm_source=firefox-newtab-en-us#player
I think Trump mightcall off or try to call off midterms on basis of emergency he created himself.
"Regime change" might take place in other places than Iran.
This is difft from 9/11 and George W. Bush who labeled himself the War President.
***
Friday, February 27, 2026
Subscribe to AP (banned from WH early 2025), The Guardian,BBC, NPR, broadcasters on Substack, friends on LinkedIn--
Legacy Media--not so much.
Make a list of who caved to DJT--avoid.
Hillary calls House Oversight questioning repetitive--+ Burma--
https://www.npr.org/2026/02/26/nx-s1-5727777/hillary-clinton-deposition-house-oversight-epstein?utm_source=firefox-newtab-en-us
That's what people on the attack do, when they have no firm facts.
Case in point "Dr." Bo Lay at my viva voce for my Ecos.M.A. at Rangoon Univ. His favorite student or follower herself said his Ph.D. was from a correspondence course.
At the examination, I said, "You just asked this Q and I just answered it.
Dr. Aye Hlaing dismissed the session and as I walked out the 15' corridor lined with bookshelves--I heard Dr Aye Hlaing (Dept Chair), Dr.Findlay and Yebaw Chan Aye shouting at U Bo Lay.
U Bo Lay later became head of govt Co-op ministry where all the co-op farm animals died. At the govt Pearl Island,the Japanese experts did not show the Burmese staff how they inserted the round beads--all the oysters died and were eaten. My brother's friend Gloria H.S. now in USA told him.
U Tha Hto and I sat on an oral exam for a Diploma in Eco.Planning student.
After about 5 mins, U Tha Hto said, "why this is just a record of all the chickens, ducks, geese, pigs and cows dying."
We passed the student. They were all working at Burmese govt. ministries or economic entitiies like banks etc.
One student described a certain Air Force man who had taken home antiques.
I still wonder today why U Tha Hto chose me as co-examinar though I wasn't from Mandalay.
Ne Win the dictator pulled the Mandalay staff back to Rangoon--so --there was Mandalay, also Moulmein, and Rangoon staff literally under one roof.
U Bo Lay and his wife got to stay in the confiscated house of Dr Suvi on Inya Road. Dr. suvi was a surgeon expelled from Burma by NW as "foreign."
His wife and he got in the newspapers bc his wife's longyis (sarongs) were stolen and he went and found them at the black market and roughed up the vendor, who I think was just the fence.
His wife invited my mother and other society ladies like Mrs. San Lin to her house for tea. She was quite a good-looking woman but obviously scared of her husband.
He had a pugnacious bulldog face and personality.
He later left the Co-op Ministry and is said to have made a living by telling fortunes.
Dr. Suvi operated in my mother's tumor and had one of the first orchid houses.
After Cyclone Nargisn, there was a Myanmar Gov. Report on the number of for eg. chickens killed, 7326 (a made up #)) but no statistics for humans killed. The day after the Cyclone, Myanmar govt-owned news outlets said only 5 women were killed as they were rowing a sampan in the Rangoon River. My neices stopped eating fish for awhile bc the found a human finger inside a fish they were cleaning for Mohinga--a popular fish soup eaten as breakfast.
K.M.Kaung
2-17-2026.
Thursday, February 26, 2026
American among those killed in Cuban waters, WH confirms--First reported by Axios.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/american-among-those-killed-speedboat-cuban-waters-white-house-confirms/
Marco Rubio looks down--
Was it another Bay of Pigs attempt??
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