Little Cat Jiuu, R.I.P.

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Our beloved young cat, Jiuu (meaning “Tiny”), died today, barely one year old. We are heartbroken, as she was a vibrant member of our family. Jiuu was a cosmic clown, making us laugh continuously. She was a loving pet, and she just adored Tuk, sleeping near her every night.

Tuk had rescued her as a kitten after her mother was killed by a dog. Tuk had a good vet give her all the vaccinations in the book and brought her home on Halloween last. We kept her indoors, and we cannot understand how she got so sick. Animals don’t live long here in the tropics.

She got sick suddenly less than six weeks ago and went into a radically steep decline. The vets cannot explain it. She wouldn’t eat and went right down, despite our force-feeding her liquid nourishment, fluids, and meds. We took her to the vet many times, most recently just this morning. But she gave up the ghost this evening. Poor little girl. We miss her so much.

Here is a picture of Jiuu from the early days when we brought her home: http://pinetreewind.blogspot.com/

She was a darling.

-Zenwind.

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Bangkok Normal

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I went into the city yesterday and found Bangkok Dangerous to be more like Bangkok Normal, at least for the afternoon and evening I was there. After the bombings of earlier in the week, there were not quite as many people on the mass transit or in the stores, but the automobile traffic was in normal gridlock. The security people are checking bags more thoroughly.

I had planned on taking the express boat in and to land on the Sathorn pier where Tuesday’s bombing attempt occurred, but I stepped out of the house into the blazing heat and found a taxi right in front of me. So I skipped the walk to the river and took the taxi, riding in air conditioned comfort to the nearest Skytrain station. What’s happening to my sense of adventure?

It was our libertarian meet up night, which takes me out a bit to the east of the city center. I hate crowds, so my usual strategy is to go out there on the Skytrain in mid-afternoon when it’s not as crowded. There is a movie theater within walking distance of our meet up pub, so I passed rush hour in a/c comfort. From the Skytrain I got a good look down at the Erawan shrine where Monday’s bombing occurred, and although there were people there the crowd was much smaller than normal.

My friends all went home before 23:00, so I went to The Rock Pub – Bangkok’s House of Rock. There were only three of us there in the audience for the late band, Jimmy Revolt. The band knows me as a very enthusiastic fan of theirs, and if I’m there they always play “Rock and Roll” by Led Zeppelin. Although this band has its origins in Punk, they are always surprising me with their new covers of old classics, e.g., "Johnny Be Good," "Paint It Black."

After the pub closed, I sat at one of their outdoor tables talking to one of the audience, an interesting guy from Serbia. He has a PhD in music history and did his dissertation on something like “New Wave Rock Music in the Soviet Block,” or similar. Obviously, he doesn’t have a job in the field. Great conversation.

Normal taxi ride home after midnight with very little traffic and, surprisingly, few police checkpoints. Our street still has the trees trimmed with cascades of blue lights from the recent Mothers' Day (Queen's birthday), and at 3AM it looks magical.

-Zenwind.

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Explosion in central Bangkok

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There has been an explosion this evening in central Bangkok, close to the famous Erawan shrine that honors the Hindu god Brahma.

It is thought to be a big pipe bomb, and at least a dozen people have been killed and several dozen wounded by the blast. News reports are still coming in. Good old BBC was the first to alert me of this.

The site is at a major intersection, and I often travel by on the elevated Skytrain. I have often shopped at the nearby Amarin Plaza (where I bought my hammock recently).

Who did it is an instant controversy, as most Thais have their personally favorite villains to blame. The political thickets just get thicker and thicker.

Stand by.

-Zenwind.

Update: The value of BBC International News is apparent now, as no other news service is remotely as up to date. (Al Jazeera is a decent second.) CNN and Fox News are asleep at the wheel.

Update: Overnight there's been a lot of changes in reported facts and theories.

Update: This afternoon (Tuesday) a similar bomb was thrown off a bridge toward the Sathorn pier, but it bounced into the river and exploded there without injuring anyone. This is the pier I have often used when coming into the city via express boat down the Chao Phraya River; I land there and take the nearby Skytrain into the downtown area from there.

I still plan to travel into the city later this week -- if public transit is working somewhat normally -- although Tuk thinks I'm nuts.

-Zenwind.

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