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BRT service starts on Sathorn By JEERAWAN PRASOMSAB THE NATION ON SUNDAY Published on May 30, 2010 Bangkok's first Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) service between Sathorn and Ratchapruek was officially opened yesterday. The service will run free of charge for a test-run period up until August 31. BRT service starts on Sathorn I haven't been able to find anything in English. I can't find an English route map and the following YouTube presentation is in Thai, but it still gives you an idea of what it is all about and where it goes. If anyone can post English language information, please do.

Curfew ends as security regained Published: 30/05/2010 The government has ended the curfew in Bangkok and 23 other provinces. Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said the decision followed assurances from security forces that they had regained control following recent riots and a deadly crackdown in Bangkok and some other provinces that left 85 dead in the capital. The curfew, which had been in place since May 19, ended at 4am yesterday. Curfew ends as security regained

Can you give us more details, such as gay-friendly hotel recommendations, how to get out to where the festival is (taxi, bus, whatever), etc? Are ATMs available? If not, is it best to bring US dollars, Thai baht, something else? In other words, for those who are interested in going, but have never been to Myanmar, what do we need to know?

As far as I can tell it means a majority of Filipino people are Catholic.

Hollywood’s last ‘Rebel’ dies ‘Easy Rider’ actor/director Dennis Hopper, at 74 By James Verniere Sunday, May 30, 2010 He was born to be wild, the last rebel without a cause and a comeback kid. Dennis Lee Hopper, aptly born in Dodge City, Kan., emerged playing baby-faced outlaws in the 1950s, idolized “Rebel” co-star James Dean, directed and co-starred in the 1969 youthquake phenomenon “Easy Rider” and revived his career sucking on a gas mask as the twisted killer Frank Booth in David Lynch’s psych-out classic “Blue Velvet” (1986). Many people know Hopper, who died yesterday of prostate cancer at 74, as mad bomber Howard Payne with Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves in “Speed” (1994). Dennis Hopper dies - BostonHerald.com

I'm glad to know that. I never got to know Googie. I wouldn't know him if he was sitting next to me, but it's always good to hear that someone is ok after all. I heard the rumor about his death about two weeks ago, but I've learned my lesson about posting things I haven't personally confirmed. Assuming your information is accurate, I'm glad the rumor was false.

But when would that actually occur? I know of no bars that try to force boys to go off with a farang if they choose not to. Many farang make clear to the boy what they want before taking him off. The boy can either accept or reject what the farang wants to do. If nothing was made clear in advance, once the boy is in the farang's room, he still can refuse and just leave if it comes to that. I also know of no bars that penalize the boys if they turn down an off or walk out on the customer if they don't want to do whatever it was the customer wanted to do. When it comes to the fuck shows or similar presentations, the boys participate voluntarily. They're normally paid more for their participation, but nobody is forcing them to be part of those shows.

2 Gay Men Spared 14-Year Sentence in Malawi By the CNN Wire Staff May 29, 2010 (CNN) -- The president of Malawi has pardoned two gay men who were sentenced to 14 years in prison this month for gross indecency and unnatural acts, the country's solicitor general, Anthony Kamanga, said Saturday. President Bingu wa Mutharika announced his pardon of Steven Monjeza and Tiwonge Chimbalanga after meeting with U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Kamanga said. Authorities arrested Monjeza and Chimbalanga in December at their home in Blantyre, Malawi after the couple professed their love in a traditional engagement ceremony. Police discovered the couple when local newspapers reported on their engagement ceremony. 2 gay men spared 14-year sentence in Malawi - CNN.com

Maybe they're blind . . .

To me, the best part is these two had no business involving themselves in the first place. Somehow I doubt Mr. Savage would have spouted off his bravado so readily if he had any idea that it could lead to a potential death sentence. Then there's the other guy shouting in court,

Unrepentant Foreign Red Shirts Shout Claims of Grave Injustice A Briton and an Irish-Australian that have been held in remand at a Bangkok prison briefly fronted the Thai court yesterday where their detention was extended by a further week whilst investigations into their roles in the Bangkok riots are continuing. Bangkok, the 28th of May 2010 [PDN]: Jeff Savage, a British national, is facing the possibility of a death sentence for his role in the Red Shirt rioting that broke out in Bangkok on Wednesday last week. Fronting court Savage was tearful, stating that his continued incarceration was distressing his 80-year-old mother. Unrepentant Foreign Red Shirts

Which branch?

To each his own. Many of the boys I consider to be "stunners" are boys others won't even glance at, and vice versa. It's a question of taste. It's also a question of what you enjoy doing. I don't particularly love the bars, but every so often I like to go. I believe the majority of gay holiday makers who come to Thailand will prefer to go to the bars. Whether the bars survive, in my opinion, depends on customer numbers. I don't think Gay Romeo or any other personals sites are going to put a serious dent in the numbers of people who patronize the bars. I think the real problem is the major decline of the numbers of gay holiday makers even coming to Thailand at all. It is, and for years has been, my opinion that if the bars are to survive these difficult times, then they're going to have to do something to make themselves more attractive to customers. Much more. Again, I really haven't seen any of the bars do a damned thing other than to raise their prices. Some are saying they like what Happy Bar is doing, by charging 99 baht for drinks and no fee for going upstairs as long as you buy a drink for the boy too. It wasn't very long ago that drink prices there were 100 to 120 baht and there was no fee at all for going upstairs whether you bought the boy a drink or even took a boy upstairs with you at all. To my mind, as long as the bars continue with the overly loud music, pushy mama-sans, high drink prices, high off fees, the same kinds of tired old shows in just about every one of the bars that put on shows, and boys standing on the stage like zombies doing the "one-knee shuffle," then that simply will not be attractive enough to get the numbers of gay holiday makers to travel to Thailand despite all the current problems and bring in the customer numbers the bars enjoyed in years past.

You could still set up automatic debit and place enough money in your Thai bank account to make sure you'll be covered for the length of time you're gone. You do have a Thai bank account, don't you? Another option is to simply forget about the bill. They'll cut off your electricity. When you return you would have to go to the electric company, make good on the bill, and pay a small fee to have the electricity turned on again. That usually takes a day or two. However, if you give the crew foreman about 1000 baht, you'll have it again within a hour or so. The worst that can happen would be you might have to stay in a hotel for a couple days until your service is restored.

That's good. That means despite the fact that main branches are closed today, the mini-branches are open.

Now that we know, here is the film clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vNf9-JuaHg

On a philosophical level or on a practical level?

I always check my bills, no matter whether it's a restaurant bill or anything else. Whenever I find an error it is almost always unintentional, usually a mistake or oversight of some sort. I've done that all my life, not just in Thailand. "I was in a restaurant. The waiter gave me the wrong bill. It was for the guy at the next table. I said, 'Hey buddy, I've got your check.' He said, 'Thanks.'" - Rodney Dangerfield

I pay mine at 7-Eleven too. I think, but am not sure, it has to be a local 7-Eleven. I don't think you could pay a Pattaya electric bill at a Phuket 7-Eleven. I prefer to have control over when the bill will be paid, especially when it's the type of bill that will vary each month instead of it being a fixed amount. I also prefer to have control in case of a dispute about the amount of the bill or in case of some sort of a weird amount error that you occasionally read about. Again I think, but am not sure, that you actually do have control even when it's an automatic debit. I've never checked into it, but I seem to recall reading something about an option that permits you to have to approve the transaction before it goes through. For me, the only reason I would go with an automatic debit would be if my circumstances were such that I would frequently not be around when the bill is due. Since I am around most of the time, it's easier to just pay the bill at a 7-Eleven and since there are about 26-trillion 7-Elevens in Pattaya, it's not exactly a problem. By the way, I also pay my water bill at a 7-Eleven. I pay nearly everything else through online banking or by taking the bill to a bank and paying it there.

That tells me it was a silent movie. Am I at least correct about that? As for which one, I would have to cheat to know.

Ok, now the police have made it official. After I posted the above, the police came around to the bars ordering they all be closed Friday, May 28 in Pattaya. That's typical. Most of the time the police wait until the last minute before ordering bars to close the next day and that's what they did this time too.

Without knowing who was in the picture, I don't think I'll be able to figure it out.

The best I can tell you is I've been given several versions of what's going to happen Friday. The closest I can come to being accurate is the bars will be open at their own discretion. However, many will be closed. I'm getting too many conflicting versions as to whether alcohol will be served or not. So, if you're in Pattaya you'll just have to go out and hope for the best. I'm sorry I can't do better than this, but just about every bar at which I made inquiries had a different version of what to expect.

AirAsia Announce Free Flights & Thai Bourse Expansion The Thai arm of the Malaysian owned AirAsia Group is planning an ambitious move to list the company on the Thai bourse during the first quarter of 2011. Despite the current market downturn in travel to and around Thailand, the budget carrier still aims to go ahead with their listing plan. . . . The 10,000 free tickets will be ‘up for grabs’ on the airlines website as of the 28th of May 2010 and are available to non-Thai’s only, for travel to Thailand between June and August 2010. AirAsia Announces Free Flights

More than 75 years old? Hmmmm, it could have been a silent movie or a movie that came out before the puritans started censoring content. I won't cheat and look on the Internet for it, but I can't think of a movie in that time period that had a male-to-male kissing scene. If I'm going to figure it out without cheating, then I'm going to need more of a hint, like who was in it.