Saturday, September 30, 2023

My official website--

http://www.kmkaung.com/art.html

TED talk in Burmese--Burma or Myanmar

https://sanooaung.wordpress.com/2020/05/23/myanmar-or-burma-dr-khin-aye-tedxum1yangon/
They're the same--so much here we go round the mulberry bush.
9-30-2023

War novels/memoirs

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Things_They_Carried
Tim O'Brien--
I have Box me up and ship me home--bought in Gottenberg,Sweden
and Yellow Birds--very sad. https://www.amazon.com/Yellow-Birds-Novel-Kevin-Powers/dp/0316219347/ref=asc_df_0316219347/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312114918153&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=3266454121145365358&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9007768&hvtargid=pla-487330906022&psc=1&tag=&ref=&adgrpid=58874700661&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvadid=312114918153&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=3266454121145365358&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9007768&hvtargid=pla-487330906022
also Audie Murphy's book.
Tim O'Brien has a special list of the things they carried.
Kevin Powers has a story of a soldier "Murph" who went awol
unforgettable scenes--
Also look at --Mark Bowden--Black Hawk Down. It was the delay in the satellite GPS which was their doom. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Hawk_Down_(book)
kaung
9-30-2023

From La Boheme--Muzetta's Waltz--Quando m'en vo

https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=quandomen+vo+youtube#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:765662ef,vid:kCralQMcehc,st:0
Magbificent Muzetta--but insipid Marcello
oh well--
can't have it all.
kmk
9-30-2023

My short story--Black Belt from 2016

https://www.himalmag.com/black-belt/
Details and story changed--except the kick.
told to me by a friend driving me to Blue Mountains near Sydney, Australia.
kmk
9-30-2023

Tuesday, September 26, 2023

USA--Social Security checks willstill go out under government shutdown--

https://www.aol.com/news/happens-social-security-payments-government-155556010.html

General Mark Milley--US Army--Joint Chief of Staff--from Wikipedia

Rucker and Leonnig's book also quoted Milley as saying "this is a Reichstag moment", comparing Trump's attempts to overturn the election to the event used to cement Nazi Germany and referring to Trump's false statements about electoral fraud as "the gospel of the Führer". Milley reportedly told police and military officials preparing to secure Joe Biden's presidential inauguration: "Everyone in this room, whether you're a cop, whether you're a soldier, we're going to stop these guys to make sure we have a peaceful transfer of power. We're going to put a ring of steel around this city and the Nazis aren't getting in."[85][86] Trump later said that he had not threatened or spoken about a coup and falsely claimed that Obama had fired Milley.[87]
On January 12, 2021, Milley and the Joint Chiefs of Staff issued a statement condemning the storming of the U.S. Capitol by supporters of Trump and reminding all service members of their obligation to support and defend the Constitution and reject extremism.[88][89] They said: "As we have done throughout our history, the U.S. military will obey lawful orders from civilian leadership, support civilian authorities to protect lives and property, ensure public safety in accordance with the law, and remain fully committed to protecting and defending the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic."[90] see Milley wikipedia
Not your burmesejunta general.
He has written a 1980 book on guerilla warfare.

Wednesday, September 20, 2023

USTravel Advisories--Not to travel to--red--include Afghanistan and Myanmar,Mexico by State
https://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/articles/places-the-us-government-warns-not-to-travel-right-now
Take note.
US paid too much recently to in effect buy American citizens out of Afghanistan --some of whom had been imprisoned years.
Don't take the risk--it's not worth it.
There are plenty other places to go to.
You can even staycation and travel anywhere by reading books, incld to ancient China, Greece, Rome, India you name it. To outer space, to the future--to see dinosaurs or the first fish, bird, bee, flower.
No more standing in line, no more walking miles and miles in airports, no more jet lags.
Almost every exotic food can be bought easily.
I'm very glad I decided to be a writer when I was 10.
kmk
9-20-2023 , or

John Grisham, GRR Martin and 17 others sue AI

https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/news/openai-george-rr-martin-john-grisham-authors-copyright-b2415530.html
I hope it's sued out of business.
km
9-20-2023

Tuesday, September 19, 2023

Man's easy crochet vest--

easy men's crochet vest--tres facile
Tue, Sep 19 at 6:57 PM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26JKYpM0jq8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTvrCqGTLis
I don't like the contrast color band--but you can make it any way you wish
Or you can just make a scarf.

Sunday, September 17, 2023

Mainstream media needs to shape up--

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/sep/15/trump-biden-mainstream-politics-news-coverage
"We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the oppressed. Sometimes we must interfere. . . There is so much injustice and suffering crying out for our attention . . . writers and poets, prisoners in so many lands governed by the left and by the right." Elie Wiesel, Nobel Peace Prize Speech, 1986, Oslo.
km
9-17-2023

Saturday, September 16, 2023

Libyan floods--well written piece by Linda Loveluck--Wapo
Sat, Sep 16 at 5:36 AM
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/09/15/libya-floods-disaster-derna-aid/
This is how you write good narrative non-fiction.
Not over-inflated and at the same time empty (emotionally) like "Rebel of Rangoon" so-called novel by one-time Rangoon bureau chief--not from Washington Post. Non-fiction should be neither too dry--nor too pumped up like a bodice buster or fake breasts.
It should still reach the heart. Your heart --for both reader and writer.
Kyi May Kaung
9-16-2023

Tuesday, September 12, 2023

O Mio Babbino Caro (Oh my Beloved Father) sung by Kathleen Battle--Puccini.

https://www.google.com/search?q=Kyrie+alieson+youtube+kathleen+battle&client=firefox-b-1-d&sca_esv=564868581&sxsrf=AB5stBgqHu1SNJLM_jrlkGKj9xtczpux5Q%3A1694564786947&ei=sgEBZe6mOdLi5NoPu7SC-Aw&ved=0ahUKEwjux7LhqaaBAxVSMVkFHTuaAM8Q4dUDCA8&uact=5&oq=Kyrie+alieson+youtube+kathleen+battle&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiJUt5cmllIGFsaWVzb24geW91dHViZSBrYXRobGVlbiBiYXR0bGUyBRAhGKsCSIttUOItWJBrcAF4AZABAJgBlgGgAeURqgEEMTYuOLgBA8gBAPgBAcICChAAGEcY1gQYsAPCAg0QABgNGIAEGLEDGIMBwgIHEC4YDRiABMICBxAAGA0YgATCAgYQABgeGA3CAggQABgFGB4YDcICCBAAGAgYHhgNwgIGEAAYFhgewgIHECEYoAEYCuIDBBgAIEGIBgGQBgg&sclient=gws-wiz-serp#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:27ded7c8,vid:A2pc8Tm7sS0,st:0

Prayer for all the PDF People's Defense Forces, Others--dying for Freedom in Burma & Ukraine--Oh Isis and Osiris from The MagicFlute--Rene Pape.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oeP0NOPAIys

Rene Pape--Within our sacred temple--from Mozart's The Magic Flute--original lyrics by Emanuel Schikenedar--translated by poet J DMcClatchy

https://www.google.com/search?q=Rene+Pape+Magic+Flute+youtube&client=firefox-b-1-d&sca_esv=564852360&sxsrf=AB5stBg1gPY2ntNBVP_iwfkysDEbi6eoNQ%3A1694563535025&ei=z_wAZcGDAY2v5NoP8vKl8AM&ved=0ahUKEwiBp7eMpaaBAxWNF1kFHXJ5CT4Q4dUDCA8&uact=5&oq=Rene+Pape+Magic+Flute+youtube&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiHVJlbmUgUGFwZSBNYWdpYyBGbHV0ZSB5b3V0dWJlMgQQIxgnSIE8UNoPWIU5cAF4AZABAJgBZ6AB0wyqAQQxOS4xuAEDyAEA-AEBwgIKEAAYRxjWBBiwA8ICChAAGIoFGLADGEPCAhAQLhiKBRjIAxiwAxhD2AEBwgIKEAAYgAQYFBiHAsICBRAAGIAEwgIGEAAYFhge4gMEGAAgQYgGAZAGCroGBAgBGAg&sclient=gws-wiz-serp#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:ce590aba,vid:E8IbYFJAb8Y,st:0

Myanmar--junta arrests general in charge of exports and traders

https://myanmar-now.org/en/news/myanmar-regime-arrests-army-general-targets-businessmen-and-traders-as-economy-continues-to-suffer/

Tuesday, September 05, 2023

Some of Ai Wei Wei's art shown at Hirschorn Museum in Washington DC--CAT scan is his head after hit by Chinese security.

Chinese-born dissenting artist Ai Wei Wei From 2011--little paper packets are ceramic sunflower seeds for patrons--

A letter I wrote to Irrawaddy ref--Col.Chit Myaing--

" well respected" Chit Myaing?
Tuesday, June 21, 2011 11:02 AM
From:
"Kyi May Kaung"
To: "franz fanon" , "Irrawaddy Magazine" , "Dr. Sein Win"
Cc: "kyi may kaung", "inge sargent" , "Howard Sargent" , "Maureen Aung Thwin" , "Bertil Lintn "During a nearly 10-hour interview with me in 1995, the well-respected nationalist former Colonel Chit Myaing . . . "
Dr. Zarni
Dear Irrawaddy Editors,
You did not provide space for comments with ref. to Dr. Zarni's most recent piece.
Though I agree with Zarni on most of the points he makes,
Col. Chit Myaing cannot be considered "well respected" nor "nationalistic" - unless he is well respected by the junta, which I also doubt. I also doubt so-called "nationalism" of the junta, which is more like racism.
In the Greater DC area Chit Myaing is more or less a pariah. The junta people go to their own monastery and the dissidents have their own monks.
In about 1999, while at Radio Free Asia, I produced a "book review" presented as interview excerpts and a radio play of Inge Sargent (former Hsipaw Sawbwa's widow) - based on at least 6 hours of face to face interviews with Inge over 2 years and her memoir Twilight over Burma, published by the University of Hawaii Press. Bertil Lintner wrote the forward to this book, in which he described Inge with her two infant children going to confront Ne Win and Kitty Ne Win at Schloss Laudon where he was staying while seeing his psychiatrist in Vienna.
As you know, Inge's first husband, a US educated progressive Sawbwa, died, probably of torture, probably in Bahtoo Myo, probably days after the March 2, 1962 coup when he was separated from the other sawbwas who were arrested in Rangoon. Inge and her daughters have never received an explanation.
Mrs. Sargent told me that Ne Win was "angry with Saw Kya Seng, because he did not go down to the junction in the road to greet Ne Win by the roadside" and instead invited him to come to the haw or palace.
She also told me at least twice that "all this had to do with Col. Chit Myaing," then in charge of the Shan States, and "the revenues from the Bawkyo pagoda festivals" which includes income, allowed under the U Nu administration, for gaming tables playing lay khaung kyin, the traditional game with four animal motifs.
Anyway, the notorious previous head of RFA Burmese section (some think he was a junta plant and working then for Military Intelligence chief Khin Nyunt) Soe Thinn
"shot down" parts of my program and made me take out the reference to Chit Myaing.
His point was "Chit Myaing will sue RFA."
My point was "doesn't the victim and her family have Rights too, to state the truth? And it's not libel if it's true."
Soe Thinn still said "but U Chit Myaing won't like it" as if he was (still) working for Chit Myaing or the junta. {I told ST why don’t we play the program to CM on the phone, and if he does not agree we will also broadcast his denial, but ST said he would “call CM from his home phone in the evening.”
Burma Debate at the time also published letters from Inge Sargent and Chit Myaing.
I don't know how this person (Chit Myaing) got US asylum, but it sounds to me like the Nazis, mistakenly admitted.
Soe Thinn as you also know lost his job in 2007 due to RFA having to pay $300,000 in a court settlement for a gender discrimination case. (Soe Thinn asked his trick question, "If I askyou to speak ill of Aung San Suu Kyi,will you do so? The male job applicant sued and won.)
It was all on DC Superior Court website in the public domain including a verbatim account of the trial, but may have been taken off the site now. This was how I found out about it. blockquote>I hope you publish my letter.
KNote--they did not. ________________________________________

Monday, September 04, 2023

Bertil Lintner's foreward to Inge Sargent (HsipawMahadevi's) memoir--Twilight over Burma

https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9780824865337-003/html
Mrs.Sargent's first husband--Hsipaw Sawbwa Sao Kya Hseng, was killed/died from torture in Ne Win's prison--in Shan States in 1962.
I interviewed Ma Ma (Elder Sister) Inge about 4 times.
Last saw her and her husband Tad in 2016.
RIP--Lovely Couple--
Let us not forget all the Victims of the NW and successive military regimes.
The junta has never given an explanation of what happened to Sao Kya Seng.
But we remember--we must.
I painted her portrait in one night--and gave it to her.
kmk
9-4-2023

Friday, September 01, 2023

Burma Resistance on Offensive, junta defensive--cluster bombs--de-mining with bare hands

https://www.irrawaddy.com/opinion/analysis/myanmar-junta-goes-on-the-defensive-in-august-resistance-gains-ground.html https://www.irrawaddy.com/opinion/guest-column/when-assessing-myanmars-democracy-struggle-beware-unwarranted-defeatism.html
I've heard so much of this blah blah since 1988.
I agree with Igor B.
"Suu Kyi is so this, SK is so that--sanctions don't work--corvee is not forced labor" and so much bullshit.
If everyone thought they would fail anyway, why do anything.
RESPECT these young people who are risking their lives daily.
Don't sit on your arse and do nothing=meditating,"sending thoughts and prayers" giving all manner of good advice, like"give up."
I personally think Rome is about to fall. Russia is buying back weapons from countries like Burma.
Economics and the weakness of slave labor brought down Nazi Germany-- you shld all read more. https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/rights-groups-slam-myanmar-juntas-use-of-cluster-munitions.html https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/what-do-changes-in-myanmar-regimes-roadmap-and-objectives-mean.html He looks stressed--go make another Buddha image. https://myanmar-now.org/en/news/myanmars-landmine-clearers-working-with-pliers-and-bare-hands/
9-1-2023