Thailand

Well I have arrived. Had a nice Kuwaiti boy kick my seat for seven hours. Classic example of parenting gone awry. Once I arrived to the hostel they told me I could check in for two more hours. The plane used to stopover in Dubai but this time it was direct. So I left my bags and went to have lunch at Hachiban Ramen.
Then I napped for four hours and went to see "Dark Knight." That was definitely the feel good film of the year. (I loved Heath Ledger in his nurses uniform.)
Now it is time to have dinner. Stay tuned. Tomorrow I see Sam Denny and then John James and Gob on Monday. Insha'allah.

The Year of the Rat Reading 12: "Born Standing Up"

When I was in 8th grade I wasn't wittiest in class. Some other kid got it. I thought what kind of bullshit is this? I knew I was funnier. So over the next four years I worked even harder on it and in 12th grade I was picked as class clown.
During my first year of university I saw the Second City Comedy Troupe. I thought to myself, I can do this. But I couldn't. I got lazy and never made a mark in comedy or the arts or in theater. I found that it wasn't the person who could do these things because I didn't have the dedication to the craft.
One thing you will notice about me is that I am full of bluster. I talk a good game but then I can't back it up. More accurately, won't back it up. I always say I am going to do something and then something else occurs.
So this all kind of came back to me when I was reading Steve Martin's memoir of his life as a standup comedian. He talks about all of the difficulties of becoming famous and then the difficulties that come once you are on top.
After living in Japan and always being stopped by little kids to talk I kind of felt famous. I never really liked being bothered all of the time. So I can kind of understand what Martin goes though after he is famous and can understand why he steps down from the Olympus of Comedy. It would be nice to see what would happen if he went back into it.
So that is his memoir. It triggered up lots of memories for me.

Last day in London

Well my last day in London has come. It is hard to believe. I break my trip into bite sized bits and now this one is about to be digested. And now the weather is getting lovely as well. I must say it has been quite an overcast vacation, but I still have had a great time.
Summer has been interesting. I saw an old girl friend in the states (been 20 years and nwo she is getting divorved) and then I found out another old girl friend is getting married. So I guess summer has been a bit about thinking about the past.
But now I am going back to Kuwait, if only for a few days. Then I will be dashing off again to Thailand to see a few more friends. I am looking forward to that but also looking forward to just getting into my own bed in Kuwait and taking myself a nice hot shower.
Well ta ta for now.

The Year of the Rat Reading 11: "Passionate Nomad: The Life of Freya Stark"

Many people have never heard of Freya Stark. Fifty years ago you might not have said that but today who has? I have but only because I live in the Middle East. So for this summer's purchases I bought an biography of her (as well as a bunch of her books).
What mostly intrigued me about her originally was the fact that she spent a lot of time in Yemen. She actually went there later in her career. She started off late in life in the Middle East and she was once tough cookie. She also wore big hats. I won't hold that last bit against her.
So next time your female travel companion complains because the room isn't clean enough or that there were rats and cockroaches crawling over him in the night, send her a copy of this book. Then she will understand what being a tough broad is.
Read the book to find out the rest.

The Year of the Rat Reading 10: "1968: the year that rocked the world"

As many of you know I love history. I spent a large bit of my summer pay on books. And still I go out and buy more.
I picked up this one in London last week and finished it today. It looks at the year 1968, a year that hippies like to lament about (I think it was the year they gave up soap for good or something). It looks at many of the events of that year, such as the campus riots, the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia, women burning their bras (which they didn't I guess), and the elections and assassinations of the year as well.
It was a quick read, though it was almost four hundred pages long. It was a smooth as silk, creamy as butter and sweet as honey. In other words, a very sticky book. Actually the author has written books on salt and cod, so if you are into salty fish and not into politics, etc., then maybe you should try one of the others.
Well that's all.