[Don Det, 4/9/23] Two days ago, I treated myself to a “diavolo pizza” at Reggae Bar. At 120,000 kips [$7.06], it’s expensive for Laos, but I was overdue for a true pizza. It was good. Two months ago in Siem Reap, I had subjected myself to a travesty without tomato or cheese. When I pointed this out, some savage came on to curse me out, in a comment I had to delete. What a world we live in!
Good to know that Laos keeps the long, honourable tradition of having village idiots freely roaming around. In the modern West, we put them in charge of governments.
In troublesome times like these the good old village fool had to make way for violent knife wielding lunatics. It's actually sad to see a traditional archetype like that go.
This part you wrote: “It’s a hit and run society. Only in Hollywood movies are American men out in the open, with their faces shown, battling great odds, as in one against hundreds.” This paradox, the military perversity of our empire, vs our cultural mythology, examining this, is my life’s work. It’s the common thread since I was a kid, when my quasi hippie parents desperately tried to prevent us from having toy guns or playing war. We mostly didn’t have tv, but we still became enamored. Kids get information from their peers much faster than from adults. (This was the 1970s.) my parents failed utterly. Anyway, this, and the MIICCC are what I am studying and writing about, as much as I can, with what time and resources are left to me. Military Industrial Intelligence Corporate Congressional Complex.
I hear you. Have your thought about structuring some of your work as a class?
I taught philosophy in a way where we read essays, short stories, literature classics, heavy philosophy classics, watched movies and tv episodes, listened to music and music videos, and did some shinrin yoku in the campus woods. Think of all the pieces as components to the whole canvas, a praxis of expression and self-revelation, maybe? Different people will come into your space and thinking from different portals —sort of what Linh is doing via the postcards, the photos and the videos, with his earlier texts like a mountain range as backdrop.
Then you don't really have a "problem" so much as you have a classroom.
Yes, agreed. At one point in my life I might have gone to Gradual School and become a professor. It's very unlikely at this point, partly because of where I am located and my age. I have accumulated lots of materials to keep me busy, and I am gradually getting my various projects in order, taking notes, drafting ideas, etc. I consider Covid Mania to be a blessing for my own life. Freed me of a toxic and pointless career. Lately, lots of material world tasks and problems get in the way and have to be taken care of. You are no longer teaching? Too bad, your course sounds excellent!
In many places when all of the smart guys go running or are forced off to War, the village idiot gets to roam a quiet town, look at birds, masturbate in peace and do whatever the village idiot is prone or allowed to do. This doesn't seem to be the case in Ukraine. Seeing some of the poor men rounded up and forced to the front lines is truly saddening. Civilized societies don't treat their village idiots like that.
Unfortunately, no. It is interesting the vast varieties of chili across the USA. I've had chili in Detroit, Scranton, Saint Louis and, of course, all over Texas.
Linh you are the best on a general scope: You are not stuck to financial/military/geopolitics repeating yourself all the time like so many.
I have a small pizza story. 2009 in Iran, was invited for an international conference as a journo. Great rice-lentils-lamb dish twice a day. But near the end of my trip we drove by what looked like an actual Pizza Hut with a different name. I told them to stop right there and I had a hogging moment I'll always remember. It was good! I'm not a regular hog, but I need my junk food at least one a month. Once a week is perfect.
The violent tendencies in US society no doubt explains some of the behaviors we see in things like road rage. But I wonder if part of it is just that our society seems to be structured in a way that keeps many people on the edge of frustration. There are many out there who struggle just to keep their heads above water in a society that has become one big rat race. Small wonder that those who already have low impulse control find it easy to act out at the least provocation.
Given that you seem to use a very light hand with respect to comment moderation, the comment from the person beating you up about the pizza must have really been outrageous. Maybe you should have left it—sometimes it’s amusing to see how big an ass-hat someone can be.
BTW, was that Kosovo pizza as good as it looks? That picture in particular makes me feel like I want to go get a pizza myself!
That Kosovo Pizza was not exceptional. I couldn't help but order it because of its name. Serbs and Albanians are very emotional about Kosovo.
Many Albanians speak at least some Italian, and some versions of Italian food, not always great, are widely available. At the lowest end, you can get a plate of spaghetti with just butter, though it's probably butter mixed with oil. Near the end of my stay in Tirana, I discovered an excellent yet cheap seafood joint, Detari Fish, that was basically Italian.
Check this out from the BBC, "The UK, US, Albania and Malta walked out on Russia's envoy for children's rights at a UN security council meeting."
Albania is banking on Uncle Sam to protect its interests, but that's a huge gamble, to say the least.
As for your observation about so many Americans being "on the edge of frustration," I totally agree. Americans are among the most isolated people on earth. A meaningful conversation with people actually listening to each other attentively is extremely rare in the US. At Friendly Lounge, there was a regular, Johnny the Hat. A mechanic, he would come in after work each evening. Though he knew us all, he rarely said anything. Drinking his Miller and Jameson, he'd sit there in silence until it's time to stagger home. On his way out, he'd say goodbye to everyone, but sometimes, he'd turn nasty, as when he snarled at a woman, "Who let you out of the zoo?"
You left out the #1 American attribute: ENTITLEMENT. It really helped me to see Americans clearly when I moved to a small town (don't live in town, live six miles from town). The fundamental ethos is "Laws [and decent behavior] apply to other people while I can do whatever the fuck I want," an ethos that crosses all class lines, amazingly enough. And I should make it clear that this is a low-crime state but one in which white boys who behave badly are given very long leashes ("Oh, he's not a bad boy [even though he just blew up his parents' garage]"). That latter quote is direct from an Al-Anon meeting; at another I listened to a woman from Quebec talk about giving her son money which he then spent on drugs which he sold to schoolchildren. And what was the response? "You're a good mother!" So obviously it's not just Americans who stink of entitlement!
Just watched the BBC short video; amazing. Notice how no one else in the room left other than the Western bozos. All about maintaining the narrative that was used to charge Putin at the ICC. These people make me sick.
I also like how Vietnamese in Australia tend to have a very light touch and make decent croissants and baguettes which means you can cook a baguette and egg at home here as well as enjoy a very good coffee when you visit a cafe (this is down to the generation of Italians who immigrated here after the Second World War setting the stage for the next wave of Vietnamese. The Italians had it the hardest, apparently).
Good to know that Laos keeps the long, honourable tradition of having village idiots freely roaming around. In the modern West, we put them in charge of governments.
In troublesome times like these the good old village fool had to make way for violent knife wielding lunatics. It's actually sad to see a traditional archetype like that go.
This part you wrote: “It’s a hit and run society. Only in Hollywood movies are American men out in the open, with their faces shown, battling great odds, as in one against hundreds.” This paradox, the military perversity of our empire, vs our cultural mythology, examining this, is my life’s work. It’s the common thread since I was a kid, when my quasi hippie parents desperately tried to prevent us from having toy guns or playing war. We mostly didn’t have tv, but we still became enamored. Kids get information from their peers much faster than from adults. (This was the 1970s.) my parents failed utterly. Anyway, this, and the MIICCC are what I am studying and writing about, as much as I can, with what time and resources are left to me. Military Industrial Intelligence Corporate Congressional Complex.
Fiction, non-fiction, creative non-fiction, essays, all of the above?
Part of my problem, I have ideas for everything. Focus, what’s that?
I hear you. Have your thought about structuring some of your work as a class?
I taught philosophy in a way where we read essays, short stories, literature classics, heavy philosophy classics, watched movies and tv episodes, listened to music and music videos, and did some shinrin yoku in the campus woods. Think of all the pieces as components to the whole canvas, a praxis of expression and self-revelation, maybe? Different people will come into your space and thinking from different portals —sort of what Linh is doing via the postcards, the photos and the videos, with his earlier texts like a mountain range as backdrop.
Then you don't really have a "problem" so much as you have a classroom.
Yes, agreed. At one point in my life I might have gone to Gradual School and become a professor. It's very unlikely at this point, partly because of where I am located and my age. I have accumulated lots of materials to keep me busy, and I am gradually getting my various projects in order, taking notes, drafting ideas, etc. I consider Covid Mania to be a blessing for my own life. Freed me of a toxic and pointless career. Lately, lots of material world tasks and problems get in the way and have to be taken care of. You are no longer teaching? Too bad, your course sounds excellent!
In many places when all of the smart guys go running or are forced off to War, the village idiot gets to roam a quiet town, look at birds, masturbate in peace and do whatever the village idiot is prone or allowed to do. This doesn't seem to be the case in Ukraine. Seeing some of the poor men rounded up and forced to the front lines is truly saddening. Civilized societies don't treat their village idiots like that.
Linh have you ever had Skyline (or "Cincinnati-style") chili?
Hi Charles,
Unfortunately, no. It is interesting the vast varieties of chili across the USA. I've had chili in Detroit, Scranton, Saint Louis and, of course, all over Texas.
Linh
Tell me more, Charles. I'm originally from Ohio, my sister lived 50 miles from Cincinnati, but I have no idea what Skyline chili is.
Linh you are the best on a general scope: You are not stuck to financial/military/geopolitics repeating yourself all the time like so many.
I have a small pizza story. 2009 in Iran, was invited for an international conference as a journo. Great rice-lentils-lamb dish twice a day. But near the end of my trip we drove by what looked like an actual Pizza Hut with a different name. I told them to stop right there and I had a hogging moment I'll always remember. It was good! I'm not a regular hog, but I need my junk food at least one a month. Once a week is perfect.
The violent tendencies in US society no doubt explains some of the behaviors we see in things like road rage. But I wonder if part of it is just that our society seems to be structured in a way that keeps many people on the edge of frustration. There are many out there who struggle just to keep their heads above water in a society that has become one big rat race. Small wonder that those who already have low impulse control find it easy to act out at the least provocation.
Given that you seem to use a very light hand with respect to comment moderation, the comment from the person beating you up about the pizza must have really been outrageous. Maybe you should have left it—sometimes it’s amusing to see how big an ass-hat someone can be.
BTW, was that Kosovo pizza as good as it looks? That picture in particular makes me feel like I want to go get a pizza myself!
Hi JustPlainBill,
That Kosovo Pizza was not exceptional. I couldn't help but order it because of its name. Serbs and Albanians are very emotional about Kosovo.
Many Albanians speak at least some Italian, and some versions of Italian food, not always great, are widely available. At the lowest end, you can get a plate of spaghetti with just butter, though it's probably butter mixed with oil. Near the end of my stay in Tirana, I discovered an excellent yet cheap seafood joint, Detari Fish, that was basically Italian.
Check this out from the BBC, "The UK, US, Albania and Malta walked out on Russia's envoy for children's rights at a UN security council meeting."
Albania is banking on Uncle Sam to protect its interests, but that's a huge gamble, to say the least.
Linh
As for your observation about so many Americans being "on the edge of frustration," I totally agree. Americans are among the most isolated people on earth. A meaningful conversation with people actually listening to each other attentively is extremely rare in the US. At Friendly Lounge, there was a regular, Johnny the Hat. A mechanic, he would come in after work each evening. Though he knew us all, he rarely said anything. Drinking his Miller and Jameson, he'd sit there in silence until it's time to stagger home. On his way out, he'd say goodbye to everyone, but sometimes, he'd turn nasty, as when he snarled at a woman, "Who let you out of the zoo?"
You left out the #1 American attribute: ENTITLEMENT. It really helped me to see Americans clearly when I moved to a small town (don't live in town, live six miles from town). The fundamental ethos is "Laws [and decent behavior] apply to other people while I can do whatever the fuck I want," an ethos that crosses all class lines, amazingly enough. And I should make it clear that this is a low-crime state but one in which white boys who behave badly are given very long leashes ("Oh, he's not a bad boy [even though he just blew up his parents' garage]"). That latter quote is direct from an Al-Anon meeting; at another I listened to a woman from Quebec talk about giving her son money which he then spent on drugs which he sold to schoolchildren. And what was the response? "You're a good mother!" So obviously it's not just Americans who stink of entitlement!
Just watched the BBC short video; amazing. Notice how no one else in the room left other than the Western bozos. All about maintaining the narrative that was used to charge Putin at the ICC. These people make me sick.
I want one of those shirts! Para-mount!!! Trekking to Zion!
Pizza?! Tired of the devine laoatian kitchen?
You obviously never spent time in remote Asian countries.
After 1-2 weeks, a Westerner typically starts to crave for cheese and other very greasy stuff.
I like how in Vietnam you can eat a French baguette with egg and so forth for breakfast. Good break for a Westerner.
I also like how Vietnamese in Australia tend to have a very light touch and make decent croissants and baguettes which means you can cook a baguette and egg at home here as well as enjoy a very good coffee when you visit a cafe (this is down to the generation of Italians who immigrated here after the Second World War setting the stage for the next wave of Vietnamese. The Italians had it the hardest, apparently).
But i get what you're saying
I've spent quite some time in remote asian countries.