Friday, December 13, 2024
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
Show all
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--
AI Overview
Learn more
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--
AI Overview
Learn more
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
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