Saturday, December 21, 2024
Upgraded is a good movie on Amazon Prime with high end art, art auctions in NY and London
and characters who are colored.
Very nice.
Of course you have to buy Prime membership and again
I have no business connection whatsoever with Amazon.
This movie is at least one I can remember.
Kyi May Kaung
12-21-2024
Books about the Battle of Kohima
AI Overview
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If you're looking for novels or memoirs based on the Battle of Kohima, one notable option is "The Trees Are All Young On Garrison Hill" by Gordon Graham which is a memoir detailing his personal experience fighting in the battle as a soldier in the Cameron Highlanders, offering a unique perspective on the harsh realities of jungle warfare in the region;.
Other relevant titles to consider:
"His Majesty's Headhunters: The Siege of Kohima That Shaped World History" by Mmhonlumo Kikon:
This book focuses on the Naga perspective of the battle, highlighting the role of local fighters against the Japanese.
"Road of Bones: The Siege of Kohima 1944" by Fergal Keane:
A title that likely explores the harsh conditions and heavy casualties experienced during the battle.
Key points about the Battle of Kohima:
Considered a pivotal moment in World War II, where British and Indian forces successfully defended against a Japanese offensive in the Kohima region of India. The battle was characterized by intense fighting in mountainous terrain with high casualties on both sides. The Naga people of the region played a significant role in supporting the Allied forces.
You see, in latest fiction I invented a Welsh man--and so I need a few phrases.
Stay tuned.
I can't say more except his grandfather died at Battle of Kohima.
Tongue twisting language--
AI Overview
Here are some Welsh terms of endearment:
Cariad: A popular term of endearment that means "love" or "darling". It can be used in many contexts, including romantic and familial.
Fy nghariad: Translates to "my love".
Anwyl: Means "dear". For example, "Helô, fy annwyl" means "Hello, my dear".
Fy nghalon: Means "my heart". For example, "Fy nghalon, dw i'n dy garu di" means "My heart, I love you".
Buwch goch gota: A term of endearment for children that literally translates to "a little red cow" but is more commonly used to mean "ladybird".
Another Welsh word that has multiple meanings is "cwtch", which can mean "cuddle" or "embrace", but can also mean "love", "warmth", or "affection". It can also refer to a safe place to store th
Royal Welsh (Welch) Fusiliers in Burma WWII
AI Overview
The Royal Welch Fusiliers were a British Army regiment that fought in Burma during World War II as part of the 36th Infantry Division's 29th Infantry Brigade:
1939
The 1st Battalion disembarked in Cherbourg, France and fought in France and Belgium before being evacuated from Dunkirk.
1944
The Royal Welch Fusiliers defended Kohima and were involved in the capture of Pintha. They used paddy fields for cover as they approached Japanese positions around Pinbaw.
1945
Fusilier Evans of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers used his No. 18 wireless set on the Shwebo Plain.
The Royal Welch Fusiliers were founded in 1689 and were part of the Prince of Wales's Division. The regiment's history includes:
1702: Designated a fusilier regiment and became the Welch Regiment of Fusiliers.
1713: The prefix "Royal" was added.
1714: George I named it the Prince of Wales's Own Royal Regiment of Welsh Fusiliers.
1751: Became the 23rd Regiment of Foot (Royal Welsh Fusiliers).
THE BRITISH ARMY IN BURMA 1944 | Imperial War Museums
Imperial War Museums
In World War Two - Royal Welch Fusiliers Museum
The War saw 1st Battalion, Royal Welch Fusiliers, disembarking at Cherbourg, France on 24th September 1939, then fighting in short...
Royal Welch Fusiliers Museum
Royal Welch Fusiliers - Wikipedia
The Royal Welch Fusiliers (Welsh: Ffiwsilwyr Brenhinol Cymreig) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, and part of the ...
Wikipedia
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Generative AI is experimental.
Friday, December 20, 2024
Nicholas Spark's Dear John--A Special Forces soldier, a girl from down South--
on Amazon Prime, but a real tear jerker.
VOA--Myanmar may be holding Thai fishermen as leverage--
https://www.voanews.com/a/myanmar-military-appears-to-be-using-thai-fisherman-as-leverage-experts-say-/7908345.html
Zachary Abuza: Myanmar junta with its Neanderthalish ways--
Thursday, December 19, 2024
Horses--snow white mare drops jet black colt--
https://www.aol.com/lifestyle/gorgeous-snow-white-mare-gives-203300688.htmlMaybe the father was Black.
Wednesday, December 18, 2024
Tuesday, December 17, 2024
Reuters--junta intimidates food scarcity researchers and blocks aid--this too it has done since 1960s and 70s--when Ni Ni Myint, 3rd and 5th wife of NW--took US Cyclone supplies
https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/famine-data-myanmar/
Poppy Macpherson et al--incld Wa Lone in Toronto--
Glad to know Wa Lone managed to make it out of Myanmar, where he was imprisoned in so-called "transition period."
The prize winning Reuters photographer of Rohingya (not Burmese) died during US--Afghanistan withdrawal--
So many stories waiting to be told, or too briefly told.
km
In such a situation, Myanmar thugs would probably go to Moscow, Dubai and Shanghai, China.
anyway,enough about dicatators for today.
Image--Roman crazy-Caligula.
Read I Claudius--by Robert Graves--also excellent TV series.
Monday, December 16, 2024
Looks like the end--junta abducting/conscripting young men--30,000 so far
We don't know number of casualities or deaths or defections--it's a tragedy of humongous proportions and the West does nothing.
China plays both sides and has been eyeing Burma for decades.
https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/yangon-mandalay-deserted-after-dark-as-myanmar-junta-hunts-for-conscripts.html
It's really sad.
More holiday movies
https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&sca_esv=431bf9fa61e459f9&sxsrf=ADLYWIIzkuhJjQd5DMCQiKIv4lxl-3d3oQ:1734328856810&q=Free+Hallmark+Romantic+Comedy+Movies+on+youtube&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjUgby7zquKAxVnFFkFHQO1KxQQ1QJ6BAhSEAE&biw=799&bih=391&dpr=2.4#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:822c69a1,vid:y0iQ4Bwn7q4,st:0
Sunday, December 15, 2024
Excerpt from Harvard Divinity School Paper--Death of the Buddha's Mother, Maya--
We will never know if Maya bled during or after her delivery. But what we can suspect is that Maya, like Tendzin, was partly blamed for her own death. The local midwives and doctors in Ladakh blamed Tendzin for refusing to stay at the clinic, even as they failed to admit their mistaken diagnosis. The silence around maternal deaths and their accompanying errors has ramifications in the United States as well as in India, something I became acutely aware of after my experience of a nearly missed diagnosis of leaking amniotic fluid. The United States currently has one of the highest maternal mortality ratios in the industrialized world and more than half of all maternal deaths are preventable errors, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Yet we do not have complete review of every maternal death,as occurs in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, for instance. --
https://bulletin.hds.harvard.edu/the-death-of-the-buddhas-mother/comment-page-1/?unapproved=1218&moderation-hash=98af9775776b8818b2af1b7c0547f43f#comment-1218
Karen/Kayin people's names--
AI Overview
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The Karen people do not have surnames, and instead use honorifics and kinship terms to address each other:
Honorifics
For example, "Saw" is placed before the names of Skaw Karen men, and "Naw" is placed before the names of Skaw Karen women.
Kinship terms
For example, "Poo" is for grandfather, "Pee" is for grandmother, "Tee" is for uncle, "Moogar" is for aunt, "Par" is for father, "Mo" is for mother, "Jaw" is for older brother, "Noh" is for sister, "Day Kwar" is for younger brother, "Day" is for younger sister, "Po doh Kwar" is for nephew, "Po doh Moo" is for niece, "Po Kwar" is for son, "Po Moo" is for daughter, "Le Kwar" is for grandson, and "Le Moo" is for granddaughter.
The Karen naming system can be confusing for people in the United States, where people are identified by last names. When Karen refugees arrive in the United States, their names are sometimes broken up by syllable, with the final part serving as the last name.
Language & Customs - Karen Organization of Minnesota
Traditionally, Karen people do not have surnames, which may cause confusion. Instead, terms of kinship are generally used to addre...
Karen Organization of Minnesota
Karen Culture Presentation •Introduction - Ramsey County
Name. • Karen people traditionally have only one name; they do not. have last names. Women do not change their name when they marr...
Ramsey County
Karen - EthnoMed
The Karen are addressed by given names. Traditionally, they do not have family names. This causes confusion with the system in the...
EthnoMed
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The Razor's Edge--1946 version--much much better--more true to the book.
https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=The+Razor%27s+Edge+mivie#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:4ca89aa8,vid:60cBH5O_AjE,st:0
Good dialog, good conflict.
Larry younger, played by very good looking Tyrone Power.
Bill Murray was too old and too cynical and a bit thuggish.
I much prefer this one.
The fashions and the manner of the times makes Larry especially look older and more polished
whereas he never really fit into society.
Yes, a remake with Larry always looking a little disheveled and non-comformist--for e.g. his clothes were worn and he lived very simply--he needed a shave and a haircut and needed a cleanup before he was presentable--and he was always a bit uncomfortable-- and liked to leave and arrive abruptly, always canny about his address and phone number.
He was a loner.
Saturday, December 14, 2024
Version 2--The Razor's Edge--1984, based on the novel by Somerset Maugham--
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Clfnw8cfYbQ
Larry in this version played by Bill Murray, who also co-wrote the screenplay, does not fit the image of a saintly man from the novel; also many elements changed, including the elimination of the writer character, Somerset Maungham himself, who was the outsider narrator in the novel.
Plus Larry was a pilot in WW I, not a foot soldier in trench warfare, and the Tibetan element is completely new.
I watched this immediately after I read the novel, and even I found it hard to follow--BIll Murray in truncating it (the farm episodes and the trek through Germany completely cut out) made it extremely choppy and hard to follow. Sophie not given enough space
Larry at 30 was not a virgin as Isabel insisted. Larry had had what could only be called casual sex or convenient sex on his spiritual search.
A 3rd version should be made --as a long TV series--That would give space for each important character's stories--someone with money should work on it--like Julian Fellowes--(Downtown Abbey).
blockquote>I read The Razor's Edge when I was a pre-teen of 11 or 12.-- I did get Larry's Search --and I remember the alchohol scene--but I missed many details
such as the Radziwells in Warsaw, where I went in 1968, 69.
My sister and I were walking on a cold, snowy and icy street when the Polish tutor pointed out the Radziwell house to my sister, who at the time was still unmarried--I was and already had 2 children.
Jackie Kennedy's sister Lee married Count Radziwell and so was known as Lee Radziwell.
I was very young at 11 and 12, and lots of stuff I read passed over my head, like War abd Peace and The Brothers Karamazov, but I did get some things.
kmk
12-14-2024
In America it's the fashion to take writing courses such as the ones at Iowa Writers' Center, where I have
never been, I took courses closer to home and even those I have stopped for years now--due to the expense and I didn't want to go out at night on the subway and deserted streets anymore.
The 3-4 writing groups I helped to form fell apart when we could not keep up the "submit one chapter every week" rule we set ourselves, I because I traveled to SE Asia with work every 2 months between 2002 and 2010--
It's rude to say it, but you learn to write by reading.
My American classmates did not get it and few wrote well.
But I have been reading and writing since the time I was 10 to 12, though at that time I had little to write about, I hadn't lived enough, and then it got too traumatic.
Anyway, you will find some of it in my fiction and/or poetry--but you will always need to guess what really happened and which one of my characters is me--
Also, I like to write as a man, and the female characters are not all me--but who cares.
<They are just who they say they are.
DH Lawrence-
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D._H._Lawrence
When you read Sons and Lovers today, it does not seem so wild.
I bought a collection of Lawrence's stories in a bookstore on Pirates' Alley in New Orleans.
Women do not fare well in his stories, and seem to go wild overseas--
In The Woman who Rode Away, a restless and sex-starved woman rides away to a remote Mexican village and gets gang raped.
Sons and Lovers is sad--his father a coal miner--one brother brought to bankruptcy by a flirtatious girl who wanted the latest fashions and squandered his money.
Very sad scene of his father washing the coal dust from his body in the evening after he came up from the mine.
Special post--Tennessee William's The Roman Spring of Mrs Stone--sordid--
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fShaskBS_yA
It seems different from what I read--
But Tennessee Williams had several stories, not very kind to his female characters.
The Night of the Iguana-
Suddenly last Summer-with Liz Taylor.
The Glass Menagerie.
I'll get back to you with a Tennessee Williams wiki.
Friday, December 13, 2024
Buddhism--what are the 5 aggregates--
AI Overview
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In Buddhism, the five aggregates, also known as khandha, are the five elements that make up a person's physical and mental existence:
Form (rūpa): The body and the material objects that surround us, including the earth, air, fire, and water
Feeling (vedanā): Sensations or feelings
Perception (saññā): The perception of sensory objects
Mental formations (saṅkhārā): Mental formations
Consciousness (viññāṇa): The consciousness of the other three mental accumulations
Buddhism and the Five Aggregates - New Acropolis Ireland
Buddhism teaches that all people are in constant states of change throughout their lives, and that each of the five aggregates is fluid and ever-changing. The five aggregates are the basis for the concept of "self-grasping," which is the ego or true knowledge of the self.
From Tathagata wiki--
In the Aggi-Vacchagotta Sutta, an ascetic named Vaccha questions the Buddha on a variety of metaphysical issues. When Vaccha asks about the status of a tathagata after death, the Buddha asks him in which direction a fire goes when it has gone out. Vaccha replies that the question "does not fit the case ... For the fire that depended on fuel ... when that fuel has all gone, and it can get no other, being thus without nutriment, it is said to be extinct." The Buddha then explains: "In exactly the same way ..., all form by which one could predicate the existence of the saint, all that form has been abandoned, uprooted, pulled out of the ground like a palmyra-tree, and become non-existent and not liable to spring up again in the future. The saint ... who has been released from what is styled form is deep, immeasurable, unfathomable, like the mighty ocean."[9]: 225 The same is then said of the other aggregates. A variety of similar passages make it clear that the metaphor "gone out, he cannot be defined" (atthangato so na pamanam eti) refers equally to liberation in life.[10]: 91, 95 In the Aggi-Vacchagotta Sutta itself, it is clear that the Buddha is the subject of the metaphor, and the Buddha has already "uprooted" or "annihilated" the five aggregates.[10]: 95
Buddha Vajrapani (Heracles/Hercules) Greek influence.
AI overview--how to find a literary agent--
AI Overview
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Here are some literary agents who may accept Asian writers:
Marly Rusoff: An agent for new and debut authors at Marly Rusoff & Associates
Jenny Bent: An agent at The Bent Agency
Susan Golomb: An agent at Writers House
Dorian Karchmar: An agent at William Morris Endeavor
Daniel Lazar: An agent at Writers House
Bill Clegg: An agent at The Clegg Agency
Kim Lionetti: An agent at Bookends with over 20 years of experience in the publishing industry
You can also try these resources to find a literary agent:
Writers Market: A hardcopy book or online resource at www.writersmarket.com
Jeff Herman's Guide to Book Publishers, Editors, & Literary Agents: A helpful resource
AgentQuery: An online source to cross-check information
Query Tracker: An online source to cross-check information Here are some tips for finding a literary agent: The chance of getting an agent is roughly 1 in 1,000, but you can apply to more than one agent.
Youcan query agents in another country if the market there is better for your book. Literary agents typically take a 15% commission on published work, but this percentage can be higher for translations and foreign rights sales. Best Literary Agents 2024-2025 | All Genres Top Book Agents Best Literary Agents for New Writers | 25 Top Book Agents for First-Time Authors and Debut Authors * Marly Rusoff (Marly Rusoff & literaryagencies.com
Excerpts fr Belt and Road wiki--
The initial focus has been infrastructure investment, education, construction materials, railway and highway, automobile, real estate, power grid, and iron and steel.[22] Already, some estimates list the Belt and Road Initiative as one of the largest infrastructure and investment projects in history, covering more than 68 countries, including 65% of the world's population and 40% of the global gross domestic product as of 2017.[23][24] The project builds on the old trade routes that once connected China to the west, Marco Polo and Ibn Battuta's routes in the north and the maritime expedition routes of Ming dynasty admiral Zheng He in the south. The Belt and Road Initiative now refers to the entire geographical area of the historic "Silk Road" trade route, which has been continuously used in antiquity.[25]
Military implications
The BRI has been viewed as part of a strategy to lessen the effect of choke points such as the Strait of Malacca in the event of a military conflict and to blunt the U.S. island chain strategy.[50][51][52][53] A 2023 study by AidData of the College of William & Mary determined that overseas port locations subject to significant BRI investment raise questions of dual military and civilian use and may be favorable for future naval bases.[54][55]
Writing in 2023, David H. Shinn and academic Joshua Eisenman state that through the BRI, China seeks to strengthen its position and diminish American military influence, but that China's BRI activity is likely not a prelude to American-style military bases or American-style global military presence.
. . .
AI generated--how to test accuracy of Metene blood glucose monitor--
To test a Metene blood glucose meter with a control solution, insert a new test strip into the meter, shake the control solution bottle well, discard the first drop, then apply a fresh drop of control solution to the test strip tip and let the meter read the result; compare the reading to the expected range printed on the control solution bottle - if it falls outside the range, consult your healthcare provider.
Thursday, December 12, 2024
Gives you goose bumps--NBC's Richard Engel inside Assad's abandoned Damascus Palace--
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdNNT8Rb_hE
I wonder how my one time taxi driver, very reliable, originally from Syria is doing.
I lost touch with him in about 2019 at the start of the Covid crisis.
Towards the end I avoided asking him about his parents still in Damascus.
He said"It's all rubble."
He was interested in the Rohingya, so I gave him an explainer book I put together.
kmk
12-12-2024
Strongly--recommended--Shwetha Srikanthan expertly interviews Tariq Ali--about his 2nd memoir--You Can't Please Everyone.
Southasia Review of Books, Himal Southasia.
Tariq Ali reflects on global trends, genocide, Capitalism and Socialism, his family, the Isreal-Hamas war, the split of Pakistan and Bangladesh, friends and politics, poetry--and cricket.
Very informative and interesting.
https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DxAjFyMVhLGw#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:8cf57e72,vid:xAjFyMVhLGw,st:0
Wednesday, December 11, 2024
The Kangxi Emperor takes the state exams in secret. He learns that his tutor was placed as a spy by Oboi.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fILzxW58C8s
FYI, in my Matriculation Exam I placed 5th in the whole of Burma.
My contemporary Frankie Ohn (Tin Hla) son of U Tin Ohn, brother of Tin Wa, Tin Bo, Tin Nyo--placed 1st.
He was a science student from Saint Paul's.
I was the only female and the only Arts student in the top 5.
In 1982, NW opened the Fulbright Scholarships to the W again, when his daughter failed her medical school entrance exams in London.
7 of us won awards, of which one geographer, one historian and I (economist) actually won our Ph.D degrees.
I was the only woman who did so among 3 women in total.
You can buy my dissertation on Proquest.
You can read a summary in Asian Survey.
Kyi May Kaung
12-11-2024
AI generated--causes of fall of Ming Dynasty--
AI Overview
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The Ming dynasty (1368–1644) in China fell due to a combination of factors, including natural disasters, economic problems, and political turmoil:
Natural disasters
The Little Ice Age caused a period of prolonged cooling that disrupted seasonal temperatures, leading to agricultural disasters, famine, and poverty. The dynasty also experienced flooding, locusts, and disease.
Economic problems
The dynasty faced a severe financial downturn due to the costs of military campaigns, paying the Imperial clan, and defending against insurgents.
Political turmoil
The dynasty was marked by internal rebellions, external wars, and inter-ethnic conflicts. The government was unable to manage irrigation and flood-control projects, and the relief system declined.
The Manchu conquest
The Manchus marched outside the Great Wall and conquered China, with the help of a defecting Ming general. The last Ming emperor hanged himself from a tree outside the Forbidden City.
The dynasty collapsed in 1644 when Li Zicheng's rebel forces entered Beijing. The Shun dynasty was established by Li Zicheng, but was later defeated by the Qing dynasty.
Ming Dynasty ‑ Period, Achievements & Emperors | HISTORY
Jan 10, 2018 — Fall of the Ming Dynasty. Ming rule was partly undone by enormous fiscal problems that resulted in a calamitous collap...
History.com
Ming dynasty - Wikipedia
Combined with crop failure, floods, and an epidemic, the dynasty collapsed in 1644 as Li Zicheng's rebel forces entered Beijing. L...
Wikipedia
Climate | Free Full-Text | The Little Ice Age and the Fall of the Ming Dynasty: A Review
Mar 17, 2023
MDPI
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Generative AI is experimental.
Fall of the Mng Dynasty
On April 24, 1644, Beijing fell to a rebel army led by Li Zicheng, a former minor Ming official who became the leader of the peasant revolt and then proclaimed the Shun dynasty. The last Ming emperor, the Chongzhen Emperor, hanged himself on a tree in the imperial garden outside the Forbidden City.
Fall of the Ming Dynasty | World Civilization - Lumen
Answers to Q--were there Portuguese gunners under Kangxi Emperor--Qing Dynasty took over from Ming.
Gunpowder weapons in the Ming dynasty
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Gunpowder_weapons_...
In the early 16th century Turkish and Portuguese breech-loading swivel guns and matchlock firearms were incorporated into the Ming arsenal.
Missing: Kangxi | Show results with: Kangxi
Kangxi - Administration, Reforms, Dynasty
Britannica
https://www.britannica.com › biography › Kangxi › Ad...
The Kangxi emperor was an accomplished military leader who was endowed with exceptional physical strength and with skill in archery.
Missing: gunners | Show results with: gunners
Ming Dynasty cannon construction ability
Historum | History Forum
https://historum.com › ... › World History › Asian History
Feb 27, 2023 — In order to know how to use these artillery pieces, the emperor recruited Portuguese gunners from Macau to teach gunners in North China.
the chinese, gunpowder and the portuguese
澳門特別行政區政府文化局
http://www.icm.gov.mo › viewer
I would just emphasize that the Portuguese military power, gunpowder and cannons played a very important role when our ships reached China. They were also ...
Missing: Kangxi | Show results with: Kangxi
Kangxi | Emperor of Qing Dynasty, Reformer & Scholar
Britannica
https://www.britannica.com › ... › Emperors & Empresses
Nov 23, 2024 — Kangxi (born May 4, 1654, Beijing, China—died Dec. 20, 1722, Beijing) was the second emperor (reigned 1661–1722) of the Qing (Manchu) dynasty ( ...
Missing: gunners | Show results with: gunners
Did Portuguese envoys to Ming China preform the Kowtow?
Quora
https://www.quora.com › Did-Portuguese-envoys-to-Mi...
The Portuguese never perform the “kowtow” to the Ming emperor because the envoys did not have the chance to meet the emperor.
Tuesday, December 10, 2024
C-drama --time travel--Moonlit Reunion--40 episodes--but Romance of Tiger and Rose is better--
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMN63y355Rk
Too many characters, too many plot twists and tries too hard to combine too many genres.
But it does keep you watching.
Monday, December 09, 2024
My Chinese left-over soup + Alton Brown's Thanksgiving stew--
I myself make Chinese left-over soup of veggies, Chinese sausage, turkey/chicken bones--
I make it every 2 weeks to monthly with carrots, celery, cabbage or cauliflower side trimmings and chick pea "juice" from cans as stock.
Very nice,you can use a store bought roast chicken carcass.
km
Alton Brown Makes This "Christmas Soup" Every Year—It's Delicious
https://www.aol.com/lifestyle/alton-brown-makes-christmas-soup-102900968.html
Basher al Assad in Moscow--
https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/world/russia-says-syrias-assad-fled-to-moscow.html
Sunday, December 08, 2024
Friday, December 06, 2024
1961, Stanley Kramer production--Judgement at Nuremberg--better than Alec Baldwin
version --quite different story and perspective, though that is great too.
A must watch.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFcvs5YzRqo
Maximilian Schell, who played Nazi Defense counsel Rolfe, was nominated Best Actor for this one.
The others were also excellent.
A must watch.
Thursday, December 05, 2024
Wednesday, December 04, 2024
Haute Cuisine--when French President Mitterrand asks for a "woman who can cook."
Francois Mitterrand's brother Frederic produced a movie version of Madame Butterfly.Movie on Amazon Prime among the dishes shown are Gateau de St Honore and steamed clams-- movie is comparable to Babettes' Feast and Eat, Drink, Man, Woman. However, credits say produced by Weinstein Co. This gave me pause,but Weinstein in already in prison. I hope no one was raped during or in connection with this movie. Otherwise it's a good movie. kmk 12-5-2024
Obfuscate--meaning--Oxford English Dictionary:
Dictionary
Definitions from Oxford Languages · Learn more
ob·fus·cate
/ˈäbfəˌskāt/
verb
verb: obfuscate; 3rd person present: obfuscates; past tense: obfuscated; past participle: obfuscated; gerund or present participle: obfuscating
render obscure, unclear, or unintelligible.
"the spelling changes will deform some familiar words and obfuscate their etymological origins"
h
Similar:
obscure
confuse
make obscure/unclear
blur
muddle
jumble
complicate
garble
muddy
cloud
befog muddy the waters Opposite: clarify bewilder (someone). "it is more likely to obfuscate people than enlighten them
For serious Burma Watchers--how to submit to Asian Survey
https://asiansurvey.scholasticahq.com/for-authors
Learn to write--
op eds
footnoted academic articles
semi-academic articles
work on your grammar.
don't use cliches--such a "brutal massacre."
Ground your work in FACTS and Clear-thinking.
Don't write mumbo-jumbo or obtuse stuff and nonsense.
On your level, dear blog audience of mine, stay Woke. EVERYONE has a network. Continuously expand it as people die or fade away. You have to take up the baton. You HAVE to support your
Brothers and Sisters and other relatives--whether related to you by blood or conviction.
Think and act, but don't do Vipassanna meditation right now.
Sagaing.
Irrawaddy analysis of ICC's not yet issued arrest warrant for m a h and NUG Defense Minister's call for Ministers to tighten focus on relief.
https://www.irrawaddy.com/video/is-there-time-for-myanmars-opposition-to-unite.html
English subtitles.
Personally, it does not look good.
m a h has called in China--he may go to another country (to show he can)--say Ko Aung Zaw and his co-anchor--like Ne Win going to Cambodia's Khmer Rouge--very interesting historical photos of Ne Win and U Nu that I have never seen before.
Congratulating Irrawaddy.
I don't think NUG may "go home"--that is to the Liberated Areas under Resistance Control--but maybe they should.
There was a tragic end to Navalny going back to Russia.
Under new drumpf admin starting soon--"all Myanmar can hope for is benign neglect"--says another Irrawaddy opinion piece, but I don't think neglect is "benign" ever.
Junta is chipping away at NLD leadershiip in prison, through malign neglect and direct executions, torture.
Daw Suu is probably suffering from severe malnutrition.
Under drunpf, Ukraine is also in a precarious situation.
Note--Zelensky is the role model here--he stayed in his country, he's a one-man liason and PR person with the West.
There are interesting times ahead.
kmk
11-4-2024
So far, Nazi hunter Simon Weisenthal's wiki got the most blog hits over the Thanksgiving holidays--followed by my internet movie reviews.
I don't know where my blog audience is--though I used to have a widget that showed the most followers from France, and someone in Japan has been consistently buying my fiction--but its probably too small a sample.
On the upside, Irrawaddy coverage is much increased, and a regional magazine, Himal Southasia, has better Myanmar news wraps and interesting arts posts, like the video documentary about actress San San Aye.
On the whole, we need a new paradigm --a systems view of Burma/Myanmar.
The Resistance in Myanmar is taking new outposts and towns, but the regime is using killer airstrikes and pounding N. Myanmar and Rakhine/Arakan and China is laying groundwork for PRC/PLA boots on the ground--it's a concerning picture.
Tuesday, December 03, 2024
Much as I liked the Tiffany's story below, this is even better-- A beat up man appears on a bus in Georgia--
Sophie and the Rising Sun.
based on a novel
https://www.amazon.com/Sophie-Rising-Sun-Augusta-Trobaugh/dp/1611940532
Beautiful Southern voice and vibe-- Spanish Moss, gardens and small minds-
But happy ending, of sorts. Lovely love scenes--
Handsome actor.
Something from Tiffanys--Amazon Prime movie--a diamond ring gets switched--
Nice interracial romance--man a prof. of Creative Writing in NY.
NY scenes
Young lady owns a bakery.
Very sweet.
Handsome and articulate Black man has a charming, precocious daughter.
Me before You--beautiful movie but another sad ending--
On Amazon Prime--male lead and female lead excellent.
Quadraplegic, rich man.
Perky cheerful attendant--but in the end--
Actor has to act with just his facial expressions.
Very poignant.
Descriptions of food in literature--
https://www.theatlantic.com/books/archive/2022/03/unforgettable-food-scenes-books-haruki-murakami/627601/
It reminds me of
my friend from Australia eating a 8" diameter chocolate chip cookie at Teaism on Dupont Circle.
I think Bertil Lintner wrote about this before--Deng Xioaping came to power in 1978, and the new regime must have pulled its support of CPB.
In any case Deng was more interested in his economic reforms which were highly successful.
https://www.irrawaddy.com/from-the-archive/how-ne-wins-diplomacy-weakened-burmas-communists.html
The old Burmese communists like Ba Thein Tin and Brigadier Kyaw Zaw could not do anything, anyway.
Monday, December 02, 2024
Tibetan Chants meaning--
Here are some Tibetan chants and their English translations:
Om mani padme hum: This six-syllable mantra is considered the most important mantra in Buddhism. It translates to "hail to the jewel in the lotus".
Tayata Om Bekanze Bekanze Maha Bekanze Radza Samudgate Soha: This chant is recited for healing, success, and to help eliminate suffering.
100 Syllable Mantra of Vajrasattva: This mantra includes phrases such as "Satisfy me!" and "Fulfill me!".
Explanation
Tibetan chants are often in Sanskrit, a language that is also used in other Buddhist traditions. The chants are often associated with bodhisattvas, such as Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva of compassion.
*
Special post--Concerto de Aranguez--
https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=aranjuez+youtube#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:45a699f9,vid:-oxH-7VklBI,st:0
Also look into how this concerto was written--how the composer hid his inspiration until it was safe to reveal it.
Singers who died on stage--
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Multiple singers have died on stage, including a Brazilian singer and a US rapper:
Ayres Sasaki A Brazilian singer died after being electrocuted during a performance at the Solar Hotel in Salinópolis, Brazil on July 13, 2024. Sasaki was 35 years old. The incident occurred when a fan jumped on stage to hug Sasaki, who was holding a guitar, and came into contact with a live power cable. Fatman Scoop A US rapper died after collapsing on stage during a concert in the US. Scoop was 53 years old. He was known for his song "Be Faithful" and for providing his voice to songs by Missy Elliott and Ciara.
Leonard Warren, an opera baritone, also died on stage in NY.
Neil Diamond--Turn on your heartlight.
Lyrics Come back again I want you to stay next time 'Cause sometimes the world ain't kind When people get lost like you and me I just made a friend A friend is someone you need But now that he had to go away I still feel the words that he might say Turn on your heartlight Let it shine wherever you go Let it make a happy glow For all the world to see Turn on your heartlight
In the middle of a young boy's dream Don't wake me up too soon Gonna take a ride across the moon You and me He's lookin' for home 'Cause everyone needs a place And home's the most excellent place of all And I'll be right here if you should call me Turn on your heartlight Let it shine wherever you go . . . Source: Musixmatch Songwriters: Neil Diamond / Burt F. Bacharach / Carole Bayer Sager Heartlight lyrics © New Hidden Valley Music Co., New Hidden Valley Music Company, Carole Bayer Sager Music, Universal Music Group, New Hidden Valley Music Co, Stonebridge-music Inc., Burt B
Violin--Love Story by Taylor Swift--violin--Alan Milan--
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQIUQzMMD8I
I know nothing about Taylor Swift.
I found this looking for "love story between a singer and a violinist.
Why?
To see if it's been written before.
Send in the Clowns --lyrics--Lyric Find
Send in the Clowns
Song by Judy Collins
Lyrics
Listen
Other recordings
Isn't it rich?
Are we a pair?
Me here at last on the ground,
You in mid-air,
Where are the clowns?
Isn't it bliss?
Don't you approve?
One who keeps tearing around,
One who can't move,
Where are the clowns?
There ought to be clowns?
Just when I'd stopped opening doors,
Finally knowing the one that I wanted was yours
Making my entrance again with my usual flair
Sure of my lines
No one is there
Don't you love farce?
My fault, I fear
I thought that you'd want what I want
Sorry, my dear!
But where are the clowns
Send in the clowns
Don't bother, they're here.
Isn't it rich?
Isn't it queer?
Losing my timing this late in my career
But where are the clowns?
There ought to be clowns
Well, maybe next year
Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Stephen Sondheim Send in the Clowns lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, inc.
Sunday, December 01, 2024
Collette--movie on Amazon Prime.
Lesbian relationship.
Horrible husband using wife as a writing machine.
Meaning of the name Yoel or Joel--
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The name "Joel" means "Yahweh is God" or "The Lord is God" and originates from Hebrew, where it is derived from the word "Yahweh" which refers to the Lord God in the Bible; essentially, it signifies a connection to the divine power.
Key points about the name Joel:
Origin: Hebrew
Meaning: "Yahweh is God"
Biblical reference: Joel is the name of a prophet in the Old Testament
Meriam Webster Dictionary--Agnostic--meaning.
agnostic
1 of 2
noun
ag·nos·tic ag-ˈnä-stik
əg-
Synonyms of agnostic
1
: a person who holds the view that any ultimate reality (such as God) is unknown and probably unknowable
broadly : one who is not committed to believing in either the existence or the nonexistence of God or a god
2
: a person who is unwilling to commit to an opinion about something
political agnostics
Hanna's War-- a very good movie on Amazon Prime--1944, Hungary, Jews--
The Diaries of Hanna Senesh--introduction by Marge Piercy.
https://www.google.com/books/edition/Hannah_Senesh/0_q9ZbC-eZEC?hl=en&gbpv=1
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanna%27s_War
Movie lost money big time, but it still remains excellent.
Yoel Palgi.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoel_Palgi
In Burma I gave lectures on Isreali Kibbutzim, believe it or not, while talking about Soviet and Chinese collective farms.
Professor of Agricultural Ecos and Dept Head, U Tha Hto and I were once examiners for a DEP Diploma on Eco. Planning student's paper--
At one point Saya "Guru" U Tha Hto said, "Why, this is an account of all the livestock that died at the co-ops."
I attempted to keep a straight face.
For some reason, the poeple who planned these things paired me with U Tha Hto.
Another time one student who worked at a State-Owned enterprise started to tell us of all the antiquue sculptures that the Navy officer in charge had taken home.
One time one summer during one of the "re-embelishment" classes, all our staff seemed rushing off to U Tha Hto's classes.
"You have to come listen," one tutor told me, "he's talking about the junta,"
But I didn't go.
In Poland where I was 8 months winter of 1968-69, we were taken to a co-op farm, where the food was much better than at the dorms.
A friend also took me to a blackmarket across the Vistula River, when I could not find a coat at the State Store, and winter was coming.
That's why I don't believe in central planning.
But I don't believe in totally free markets or the profit motive either.
I don't believe in God either.
Kyi May Kaung
11-30-2024
Memorial near Krakow, Poland.
Mauthausen inmates welcome US Forces, May 1945
Saturday, November 30, 2024
Hannah Arendt movie--
AI Overview
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Hannah Arendt” and the Glorification of Thinking | The New ...
Hannah Arendt is a 2012 biographical drama film about the life of German-Jewish philosopher and political theorist Hannah Arendt. The film focuses on Arendt's reporting for The New Yorker on the 1961 trial of Nazi leader Adolf Eichmann.
Plot:
The film depicts Arendt's response to the trial and her groundbreaking writings about the Holocaust
Arendt's work provokes scandal and she becomes known for her discovery of "the banality of evil"
Cast:
Barbara Sukowa: Plays Hannah Arendt
Klaus Pohl: Plays philosopher Martin Heidegger
Nicolas Woodeson: Plays New Yorker editor William Shawn
Janet McTeer: Plays novelist Mary McCarthy
Director:
Margarethe von Trotta directed and co-wrote the screenplay with Pamela Katz
Production:
An international co-production from Germany, Luxembourg, and France
Distributed by Zeitgeist Films in the United States
Hannah Arendt (film) - Wikipedia Hannah Arendt is a 2012 biographical drama film directed by Margarethe von Trotta and starring Barbara Sukowa. An international co... Wikipedia Hannah Arendt (2012) - IMDb IMDb Hannah Arendt :: Zeitgeist Films Zeitgeist Films
From Simon Weisenthal wiki--
In late 1941, Wiesenthal and his wife were transferred to Janowska concentration camp and forced to work at the Eastern Railway Repair Works. He painted swastikas and other inscriptions on captured Soviet railway engines, and Cyla was put to work polishing the brass and nickel. In exchange for providing details about the railways, Wiesenthal obtained false identity papers for his wife from a member of the Armia Krajowa, a Polish underground organisation. She travelled to Warsaw, where she was put to work in a German radio factory. She spent time in two labour camps as well. Conditions were harsh and her health was permanently damaged, but she survived the war. The couple was reunited in 1945, and their daughter Paulinka was born the following year.[23][24][25]
Every few weeks, the Nazis staged a roundup in the Lvov ghetto of people unable to work. These roundups typically took place while the able-bodied were absent doing forced labour. In one such deportation, Wiesenthal's mother and other elderly Jewish women were transported by freight train to Belzec extermination camp and murdered in August 1942. Around the same time, a Ukrainian policeman shot Cyla's mother to death on the front porch of her home in Buczacz while she was being evicted. Between Cyla and Simon Wiesenthal, 89 of their relatives were murdered during the Holocaust.[26]
Adolf Eichman trial--
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The trial of Adolf Eichmann was a landmark 1961 Israeli trial of a major Nazi war criminal who was responsible for the Holocaust:
Dates: The trial took place from April 11 to December 15, 1961
Location: The trial was held in Jerusalem
Judges: The trial was presided over by Moshe Landau, Benjamin Halevy, and Yitzhak Raveh
Charges: Eichmann was charged with 15 counts of violating the Nazis and Nazi Collaborators (Punishment) Law
Verdict: Eichmann was convicted on all counts and sentenced to death
Execution: Eichmann was hanged on June 1, 1962 at Ramla Prison, in Israel's only judicial execution to date
Background: Israeli agents kidnapped Eichmann in Argentina and brought him to Israel to stand trial Eichmann was a Nazi war criminal who fled to Argentina in 1950. He was able to obtain a passport and entry permits to Argentina through an organization directed by an Austrian cleric and Nazi sympathizer.
Eichmann trial - Wikipedia Eichmann was charged with fifteen counts of violating the Nazis and Nazi Collaborators (Punishment) Law. His trial began on 11 Apr... Wikipedia Adolf Eichmann - Wikipedia He initially found work in the forestry industry and later leased a small plot of land in Altensalzkoth, where he lived until 1950... Wikipedia From Google
Google's Knowledge Graph provided information for this overview Generative AI is experimental.
Burma (Myanmar) Travel Advisory - Travel.gov
U.S. Department of State (.gov)
https://travel.state.gov › content › burma-travel-advisory
Jun 6, 2024 — Do not travel to Burma due to civil unrest, armed conflict, and arbitrary enforcement of local laws. Reconsider travel to Burma due to limited ...
Devadatta
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This volume of Tezuka's Buddha manga series follows Devadatta, an orphan who learns that bad situations almost always get worse. Milinda Panha In this text, Nagasena tells King Menander I about the previous lives of Devadatta and Gautama Buddha. Lotus Sūtra In this Mahāyāna Buddhist text, the Buddha teaches that Devadatta was once his teacher and will eventually become a Buddha himself. Devadatta is also the name of an author who wrote In Praise of the Goddess: The Devimahatmya and Its Meaning and Veiling Brilliance: Journey to the Goddess. Veiling Brilliance is based on the ancient Hindu scripture, the Devimahatmya.
Un bel di--from Madame Butterfly--based on a true story--
https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=Un+bel+di+--youtybe#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:317aa53f,vid:CTT5FlTvz4A,st:0
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Note: If you know nothing about economics, pl do not depend on hearsay. Pl take ecos. 101 or read or educate yourself. There are lots of ... -
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