Gaybutton

Looks like one of us will have to eat a plate of words fazoo, with a possible side order of crow. Sitting down on the runways? If they do then they're lucky I'm not an air traffic controller. If I was, you know what I would say to an approaching 747? "Clear to land, runway one-niner left."

He can't stop pestilence, famine, natural disasters that take thousands of lives, murder, poverty, misery, child abuse, torture, wars, etc, but he can sure make obscure appearances on walls, potato chips, shrouds, and inside the lid of a jar of marmite. What's not to believe . . . ?

With the Friday, March 12 Red-Shirt rally imminent, the media is having a wonderful time hyping it all up. Today's news reports have Thaksin's family flying out of Thailand to avoid being held hostage in case things turn violent. It has the Prime Minister heading for a safe house. If has the embassies pleading for peaceful demonstrations. It has the military ready to put down riots. It has dire warnings for farang to stay away from protest areas. Maps are being published showing the major danger areas. You know what my reaction is? Bullshit! While I do recommend staying away from the protests, my own prediction is still that the whole thing will turn out to be a big nothing. I could be completely wrong, of course, and I very well could be eating my words by Friday night, but I think in Pattaya once again you would never know anything is going on unless you're watching it on TV. I think it will be a perfectly normal day in Pattaya with the possible exception of a small demonstration somewhere. I don't predict major traffic tie-ups, the calling out of riot police, or anything else in Pattaya. In Bangkok I don't foresee airport takeovers, sit-ins at government facilities, or tremendous numbers of protesters. I think at most there will be a few thousand protesters out there, if that many. But tens of thousands out there causing chaos? I don't think so. I believe most of this is all media hype. You're not going to find me locking myself inside closed doors, cowering in a corner, that's for sure. I intend to go about having a normal day and I don't expect to encounter any problems at all. Maybe a greater police presence, but that's about it. So, what's your prediction? Are my predictions essentially right or do you think I'm going to end up having to write an "I'm Eating My Words" post? Do you think it's mostly media hype? Do you think Thailand is going to come apart at the seams on Friday? What do you think will happen?

"Senator, we are all part of the same hypocrisy." - Al Pacino, 'The Godfather Part II'

Now yet another earthquake! This time near Hawaii. Fortunately no damage was reported.

I've seen a few at prices between 12,000 to 15,000 baht at Tuk Com. If you shop around at Tuk Com, you'll find prices much less expensive than retail stores such as Lotus and Big-C. You might want to consider checking some of the local pawn shops too. Of course, if keeping it as inexpensive as possible is the goal, you can always stick to the Internet cafes instead of buying a computer.

That's one of the stops I'd like to make. There are several wineries in that area. You gents might make a wine person out of me yet. Who knows, it might even mellow me out . . . Village Farm A friend of mine is in the Philippines. I've asked him to bring back a bottle of that bignay wine I mentioned toward the beginning of this thread. He says he will if he can find it.

Sounds good to me. I know where the area is, less than a two hour drive from Bangkok. I'll do my best to be able to go with you. We'll take photos to post and provide what information we can for those who are interested.

At this price, it's going to fill fast. I suggest making your reservation quickly. Amor Restaurant

Our dear Guests & Friends, It is our great pleasure to invite you to join our 9th anniversary dinner at Casa Pascal Restaurant ! On this occasion Kim and myself would like to express our sincere appreciation for your friendship and patronage at Casa Pascal ! During the dinner, each Diner will participate in a lucky draw with lots of nice prizes (Restaurants & Hotel Vouchers) Lucky Draw will be taking place at 22:00 hrs. Wednesday, March 17. 2010 18:00 onward 9th Anniversary Celebration Menu A glass of Prosecco or a Beer of your Choice *** Amuse Bouche *** “ Goose Liver Egg “ on a Symphony of Asparagus, Artichokes and Avocado on selected Garden Leaves with black Truffle and Truffle Dressing -or- Beef Carpaccio & Ruccola Salad with aged Parmesan & black Truffle *** Fine selected Seafood in a white Wine & Saffron Cream Soup -or- Cappuccino of Cepes Mushroom Cream Soup *** Sherbet of mixed Forest Berries *** Barramundi Fish Filet and Shrimps in a Lemon Butter Sauce on sautéed Spinach and braised Celery Hazelnuts Potatoes -or- Whole roasted Beef Tenderloin Port Wine and Balsamico Sauce Potato Gratin & assorted Vegetables *** Vanilla Mille Feuille with Chocolate Mousse and flamed Peaches -or- Selected Cheese 900 Baht + 7% V.A.T For your reservation : (038) 723-660 or 081-983-4182 (Kim) Restaurant Pattaya Casa Pascal

I'm very lucky. During the raffle at the Take-Care party I won a dinner at Le Montecristo. I'll certainly be there enjoying it within the next several days. And don't forget that right across the street is Chez Vickie. You don't want to miss Chez Vickie either. And there is also the Bordeaux. I haven't tried it myself yet, but all the reports I've had from others gives it a thumbs-up too. Three very good restaurants directly across the street from each other, with Cuisine au Beurre and Petite Planet just down the street. I certainly think these places make it worthwhile trying.

There are also good videos on YouTube:

No, our water was the same bottled water you were trying to reject. I hope the restaurant succeeds. You may be right about price conscious customers. I'll bet if they're smart enough to reduce their prices a little bit so that they're more competitive with Cuisine au Beurre, Petite Planet, et al, you won't be able to get in without a reservation.

If you mean me, yes I would enjoy a trip like that. Maybe you could teach me a thing or two about wine on the way. It all depends on whether I can be available when you're here. Send me a message once you know the dates you'll want to make the trip and we'll see what we can work out.

That's too bad. I'd love to see this place next time I'm in the area. Maybe your friend can provide more location information. Maybe they don't usually allow visitors, but I wouldn't mind trying. The worst that can happen would be that they would say no.

It isn't 100% of the time, but if the online screw-ups can result in an upgrade, that would be enough for me to at least continue booking online, smartphone or not. If the gate agent is going to move someone out of the seat you requested, ask where they're going to move him. Maybe he's the one who would end up with an upgrade, in which case I would tell them to let him stay there and move me instead.

It was a very nice event. Ken, the Thai owner of the Little Mango restaurant presented a very good Thai food buffet, which everyone seemed to enjoy. Mike and his staff at Corner Bar were very attentive to everyone, and the bar was packed. There were excellent prizes offered in the raffles, so many prizes that they actually had to do the raffle by thirds, in three sets of drawings. I was very lucky. I bought 7 raffle tickets and won 5 prizes. Raffle prizes included everything from dinner and bar vouchers to bottles of liquor to hotel stays. Pattaya Gay TV was there and will webcast the festivities on their Thursday, March 11 program.

It was a very nice event. Ken, the Thai owner of the Little Mango restaurant presented a very good Thai food buffet, which everyone seemed to enjoy. Mike and his staff at Corner Bar were very attentive to everyone, and the bar was packed. There were excellent prizes offered in the raffles, so many prizes that they actually had to do the raffle by thirds, in three sets of drawings. I was very lucky. I bought 7 raffle tickets and won 5 prizes. Raffle prizes included everything from dinner and bar vouchers to bottles of liquor to hotel stays. Pattaya Gay TV was there and will webcast the festivities on their Thursday, March 11 program.

Can you provide any more details, such as its name, where it is, or how to find it?

I'm no wine connoisseur. I don't drink wine very often. I wouldn't know a fine wine from a mediocre wine. For me, if I like it, then it's a fine wine. If I don't like it, then it's lousy. I've had very expensive wines in my time that I didn't like at all and inexpensive wines that I loved. As for the Thai wines, the same thing applies. I'll try them. Maybe I'll find some that I like and maybe I won't, but I'm not going to discount them out of hand just because I've been taught all my life that the only wines worth drinking are Chateau du Snob. I wonder if any of you have tried wines that aren't even made from grapes. Many say the fruit of the cashew nut tree makes an excellent white wine and the fruit of the Bignay (Antidesma bunius) makes a wine capable of convincing wine experts that they are drinking a fine claret. In any case, if I can get my hands on the wines the video is talking about, I'm certainly willing to give them a try.

The work should not have any effect on you if you are staying at The Venue. If you wish to stay in that area then you might also want to check Ganymede and The Poseidon. View Talay 5 is very conveniently located in proximity to the gay beach area, however it's somewhat of a trek to walk from the condo to Thappraya Road. If you don't mind the walk, then construction noise should not be a factor, even though View Talay 7 is under construction only yards away.

Here is a report from CNN that may surprise some of the wine lovers out there: Thai Wines

Unnnbelievable! Another earthquake. This time in Sumatra. It happened just 3 hours prior to this post. Previews of coming attractions? Maybe 2012 isn't such a myth after all. Where will the next one strike? With my luck, the next epicenter will be Sunee Plaza. _____ Strong Earthquake Strikes off Sumatra Coast March 5, 2010 (CNN) -- A strong earthquake with magnitude 6.5 struck Friday night in the ocean southwest of Sumatra in Indonesia, the U.S. Geological Survey said. The quake, which occurred shortly after 11 p.m., was centered about 100 miles (165 kilometers) west of Bengkulu in Sumatra, and 215 miles (345 kilometers) south of Padang, Sumatra, the USGS said. The center was 13.7 miles (22 kilometers) deep, the USGS said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center did not issue a warning after the quake, but said there was a "very small possibility of a local tsunami that could affect coasts" no more than 62 miles (100 kilometers) from the earthquake's epicenter. "Authorities in the region near the epicenter should be made aware of this possibility," it said.

Downsized to 5 bags? I hope you can handle traveling so light. I bet the hotel bellboys have a heart attack when they see you arriving . . .

What's your answer?