Monday Therapy: Heartwarming Thai Commercial

Worse Than $7 Coffee at Starbucks

Thanks, but no thanks.  And yes, I know all about that civet cat coffee too, and I'm not going for that either.  Ugh.

A Ryan Gosling Movie the Cine-Sib and I Can Both Love

The Cine-Sib and I both hate sappy romances (ugh, "The Notebook") and he doesn't share my enthusiasm for indie character studies like "Half Nelson," but here's a movie project (shooting on location in Thailand) we can both agree on enthusiastically.  Hey girl, we're heading into Bangkok's violent criminal underworld, complete with drug trafficking, murder, revenge, betrayal, and Thai boxing.  What's not to love?  Plus Kristin Scott-Thomas the head of a crime family -- the Godmother!  As Kipling did say, "The female of the species is more deadly than the male."  This should be good.  Really good.  It ought to be, since Nicholas Winding Refn is directing, and I loved "Drive," his previous collaboration with Gosling.  I'm hoping for another dark, slick work of stylishly artful mayhem.  The exotic Thai setting should be simply fabulous.  Oh, and the movie title?  "Only God Forgives."  I can't tell you how glorious I think it is.


UPDATE:  Bloody swordfights are involved!  AWESOME!  This project's sounding more and more like a cool Asian action flick, and you know how much the Cine-Sib and I love those.

The Real "Epic Meal Time"

Forget those crazy YouTube videos.  No, gentle reader, this is what a truly epic meal time looks like.

2011 In News Photographs

Here is a collection of striking images.  Be warned, though: a few are gruesome.

Quirky Asia Files: Extreme Asian Sports

Take a look at seven crazy athletic pastimes. Now, how do you say "ouch" in Japanese/Thai/Filipino/Hindi, etc.?

Quirky Asia Files: Thailand's Elephants and Panda-Envy

Oh, my!

Thailand: Trading Rice for Iranian Oil

Behold the latest bizarre combination of food crisis, energy crisis, globalization, and money/credit crisis. The result? We're back to the barter system. Or Thailand is, anyway. It's going to trade its rice for oil from Iran. Yes, really.

(Does this mean I'll face shortages here of my beloved Thai jasmine rice? Nooooooooooooo!)

Ranking Courts and Judicial Systems in Asia

The China Law Blog has the link. Short version -- here are the 12 nations involved, ranked from best to worst. Look, of course, for Taiwan and China.

1. Hong Kong
2. Singapore
3. Japan
4. South Korea
5. Taiwan
6. Philippines
7. Malaysia
8. India
9. Thailand
10. China
11. Vietnam
12. Indonesia

Quirky Asia Files + Kitchen Notes: Prime Minister of Thailand Under Fire For Hosting TV Cooking Show

I can't make this stuff up if I tried. The PM has resigned from office.