[Vietnamese Emperor Hàm Nghi in Algeria, circa 1930s] Xi in Europe made me think of Oriental kings on that continent. Very few have come. Chinese potentates were notorious for not traveling. In their Forbidden Cities, they received all the groveling and coochies they needed, so why go anywhere? There’s nothing but repulsive barbarians beyond the Middle Kingdom.
Love that photo of Rama V w/ his 11 sons at Eton. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Makes me proud of my English name and blood by proxy. The young crown prince photo shows where Sex, Drugs and RnR may lead. I say "may" not "must". Actually he's likely not into rock at all as it's considered passe. But what a friggin disgrace to the heritage in any case.
A recent Brit band I followed let me down big time when they dropped the first word of their name, British Sea Power. Their brand had been built around a sweetly ironic nostalgia for Rule Britannia glory days. I don't know if they gave in to music industry pressure to genericize and globalize or their own internalized white guilt causing a conscientious melt down, but I hate all this caving-in and betrayal of tradition.
Rama V did more than dress in western clothes when traveling. He modernized Thailand by largely ending slavery (1/3 Thais were slaves), brought in modern dress, created the army, created provinces instead of just areas ruled by war lords.
The current king is an under achiever by those standards but is doing a lot more than given credit for, Thais tell me, than reported in the media. Because of the laws, the press can't lie about the king like the Jewish press does with Trump (a pawn of Putin!), they just don't cover or they downplay what he has done.
The goal of the US and its Jewish NGOs is to end Thailand's non aligned status and bring it into US orbit so the color revolution has goals to eliminate the monarchy and the military. As corrupt as the military might be, it eliminates the need for US protection.
"A photo of them in Eton, England is a bit ridiculous, I must say, but no one beats the current king, Vajiralongkorn, with his crop top, low-rise jeans and fake tattoos."
I thought this must be a joke. But no, the world is more ridiculous than one can imagine. Without the picture, I wouldn't have believed it.
Excellent and informative essay. One minor alteration, if I may. The term "Love [you] a long time" is really rendered as, "Love you...long time" with the article "a" dropped. My limited understanding is many languages are not as fastidious about articles such as "a", "an" and "the" as is the English language. Thus the idea conveyed is of a semi-literate shall we say "comprimised" woman propositioning a Western man in an attempt to separate him from his money. I know from experience. And it worked.
Nothing written here by me, Tom Herzog has actually been written by me.
It's all done by AI (and not very intelligent Artificial Intelligence either).
When people ask me, "What is your 'surname'?" My response is, "What do you mean by that?" They say something like, "You know, what is your appellation: What are you called?"
My response is: "Are you saying I'm gay?!" Rolling up my sleeves as if to prepare for fisticuffs.
Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn looks like he’s just came from a Gay Pride Parade! 🤣
Hi Robert,
So no trip to Bangkok for you! Thailand's lèse-majesté is no joke!
Linh
P.S. You should have said, "His Highness is very au courant... in the Castro."
Been there, done that. I took my uncle there and to Hong Kong back in 1990. We had a good time in both places. 👍🏾🤩
Thanks for the brief history lesson Linh. More illuminating than several weeks worth of school lessons!
Love that photo of Rama V w/ his 11 sons at Eton. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Makes me proud of my English name and blood by proxy. The young crown prince photo shows where Sex, Drugs and RnR may lead. I say "may" not "must". Actually he's likely not into rock at all as it's considered passe. But what a friggin disgrace to the heritage in any case.
A recent Brit band I followed let me down big time when they dropped the first word of their name, British Sea Power. Their brand had been built around a sweetly ironic nostalgia for Rule Britannia glory days. I don't know if they gave in to music industry pressure to genericize and globalize or their own internalized white guilt causing a conscientious melt down, but I hate all this caving-in and betrayal of tradition.
Rama V did more than dress in western clothes when traveling. He modernized Thailand by largely ending slavery (1/3 Thais were slaves), brought in modern dress, created the army, created provinces instead of just areas ruled by war lords.
The current king is an under achiever by those standards but is doing a lot more than given credit for, Thais tell me, than reported in the media. Because of the laws, the press can't lie about the king like the Jewish press does with Trump (a pawn of Putin!), they just don't cover or they downplay what he has done.
The goal of the US and its Jewish NGOs is to end Thailand's non aligned status and bring it into US orbit so the color revolution has goals to eliminate the monarchy and the military. As corrupt as the military might be, it eliminates the need for US protection.
"A photo of them in Eton, England is a bit ridiculous, I must say, but no one beats the current king, Vajiralongkorn, with his crop top, low-rise jeans and fake tattoos."
I thought this must be a joke. But no, the world is more ridiculous than one can imagine. Without the picture, I wouldn't have believed it.
Excellent and informative essay. One minor alteration, if I may. The term "Love [you] a long time" is really rendered as, "Love you...long time" with the article "a" dropped. My limited understanding is many languages are not as fastidious about articles such as "a", "an" and "the" as is the English language. Thus the idea conveyed is of a semi-literate shall we say "comprimised" woman propositioning a Western man in an attempt to separate him from his money. I know from experience. And it worked.
If you consider 15 minutes a "long time."
Hi Tom,
You're spot on. I'll delete the "a" right now!
Linh
And with her pimp knocking on the door fifteen minutes can seem like a very "long time", indeed. (Just where did I leave my pants?!!!)
Thai royalty are very strange people. If you think the British royal family is odd....
Nothing written here by me, Tom Herzog has actually been written by me.
It's all done by AI (and not very intelligent Artificial Intelligence either).
When people ask me, "What is your 'surname'?" My response is, "What do you mean by that?" They say something like, "You know, what is your appellation: What are you called?"
My response is: "Are you saying I'm gay?!" Rolling up my sleeves as if to prepare for fisticuffs.
Far out, man.