26 January 2016

Cold Snap in Greater Bangkok

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For the last two mornings the dawn temperature was 61*F (16*C), which seems incredibly cold after unrelenting hot weather.  Winter has finally arrived, although it will get hotter and hotter each day to a normal midday 95*F by the weekend. 

We had to scramble a bit to find our stored extra clothes that we haven’t used for years.  I didn’t locate any of my socks since we don’t ever wear them here, but they sure would have been nice for nighttime wear. 

Our place of course has no central heating or space heaters of any kind, nor a hot water heater.  Usually these are not problems except on exceptional moments like these.  Taking a bath now is a grim affair, and I am postponing mine today until the sun gets a little hotter. 

-Zenwind.
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01 January 2016

Movies Seen, last half of 2015

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Movies seen in second half of 2015, from St. Swithun’s to New Year 2016:  
(Many of the older films are ones I’ve seen before but re-watched on video.)
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[Recent films in theater here since 15 July]: 
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Ant-Man (2015)
Kidnapping Freddy Heineken (2015)
Danny Collins (2015)
The Road Within (2015)
Pixels (2015)
Burying the Ex (2015)
Self / Less (2015)
Paper Towns (2015)
Amy (Winehouse, documentary) (2015)
Everest (2015) – excellent!
Cooties (2015)
Sicario (2015)
Crimson Peak (2015)
Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse (2015)
Spectre (2015) good old-school Bond
The Lobster (2015) – bizarre, but with a great cast
In the Heart of the Sea (2015) very good
Irrational Man (2015) 
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[Older movies seen on DVD since 15 July]:
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Going Clear ((2015, DVD) – EXCELLENT!!! Scientology exposed
The Big Chill (1983, DVD) – an all-time favorite
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986, vd) – classic; still funny
October Sky (1999, vd) – a favorite
Jeeves & Wooster (1990-, TV series, DVD)
Foxcatcher (2014, DVD)
Con Air (1997, vd)
Mars Attacks! (1996, vd)
The Devil’s Advocate (1997, vd)
School of Rock (2003, vd)
American Psycho (2000, vd)
The Adjustment Bureau (2011, DVD)
Zombieland (2009, vd)
All the President’s Men (1976, vd)
The Breakfast Club (1983, vd)
Stand by Me (1986, vd)
Fear & Loathing in Los Vegas (1998, vd)
The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975, vd)
Dreamcatcher (2003, vd)
Ed Wood (1994, vd)
Say Anything (1989, vd)
That Thing You Do (1996, vd)
Steel Magnolias (vd)
High Fidelity (2000, vd)
Dazed and Confused (1993, vd)
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-Zenwind.
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Books Read, last half of 2015

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A few of the books read in 2015 since the mid-year mark of St. Swithun’s Day 2015.   Many are re-reads. 
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Aldous Huxley – Island (1962)
P.G. Wodehouse – The World of Jeeves (short story collection)
Heinrich Harrer – The White Spider (1959/1964)
Plato – Meno
Lao Tzu – Tao Te Ching
Janet Reitman – Inside Scientology (2011)
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Charles Stross – The Laundry Files series: 
The Atrocity Archives (2004) with The Concrete Jungle
The Jennifer Morgue (2006) with Pimpf
novelettes:  Down on the Farm; Equoid
The Fuller Memorandum (2010)
The Apocalypse Codex (2012)
The Annihilation Score (2015)
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(And I’ve read many more not recorded here, mainly online or on Kindle.) 

-Zenwind. 
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