The birth of the Internet .What wud humankind do without it ?
The Iraq War of 2003,I was a bartender at the time and heard lots of complaining about it from army officer customers . To most of them not needed and a a game so george bush jr could look tough after the 9/11 attacks and a con job by the israel/ israel lobby to have the USA remove Saddam Hussein .
Ravi Shankar .Can hear sitar music as I type !
Billie Holiday .Great talent but victim of her times and musician's culture .
Jackie Chan .Chop chop chop , all his movies are the same. But has a great sense of humor.
Henry Ford .My uncles worked for Ford for 33 years . In real life Henry Ford was a Nazi , even gave money to hitler.
Russell Crowe .To me an obvious Mel Gibson clone .
Lots here. Have been awing at Robert Doisneau photos since yesterday
World War One .Took a course in it my last semester of college .Hard work spent more time on it then my other 2 courses combined. Jutland , trench warfare, U boats, the Kaiser all come to mind On BBC news and the French channel news covering the end of the war noticed how it was still a big event in the UK & France .Not in the USA, an almost forgotten war .
Menachem Schneerson .New to me but just another obvious cult leader with a messiah complex . Some people take religion way too far .
Pope John Paul 2 .Meant well but too conservative. Will never forget how several Polish guest workers told me he was actually the Almighty. Again some people take religion way too far.
Serge Gainsbourg .A colorful character. Saw on You Tube him propositioning Whitney Houston on live French tv
Samuel Morse. Just the name has me hearing a telegraph clicking .Hope I can get to sleep with the sound in my head .
You sure meet your fair share of different people Moi. My world seems so small in comparison to yours. Although the wedding last week, the grooms parents had been missionaries in their time. Even though they're older now their views on life and possessions is so different to ours. Not a bad way to be really.
Do you work at the orphanage regularly ?
Massive housework ironing day today.
I try to avoid discussing religion since it is a sensitive subject and don't want anyone trying to convert me .
I am lucky to meet all kinds of people. Comes with working in the hotel business which is based on a revolving door of people , business trips to different countries about every 6 weeks , being an expat living in an apartment building full of expats, the whole larger expat community etc
When I came out here years ago thought this wud last 2 -3 years but has become a way of life At least for now, who knows what the future has in store?
I try to get to the orphanage every month but am not so lucky .Whenever I do go it is wonderful .Although being hit , molested, jeered on the way home last week really wanted to go back for the holiday .Held back by an earlier promise to spend the holiday with the current SO.
I can understand how missionaries could have transforming experiences coming to see life , good for them
Good luck with what I call the ongoing war to keep the house livable, your family should appreciate it !
Eleanor of Aquitaine looks interesting .Reading up on here and how France & England were once one .
Marvin Gaye . Before my time but after seeing YouTube he had some good songs . Also found a psychologist who saw lots of the huge American problem of black on black violence in Gaye being murdered by his own father.
Slobodan Milosevic. He looked bland but was really evil .
Otto Von Bismarck .Saw the university he attended in Berlin .
Robert Doisneau .New to me , very talented .Will look at more of his photos .
Martha Graham . The cult of dancing that leaves all of us not as agile out .Boo!
I woke up at my BF's and enjoyed his shower with unbelievable water pressure
Took a wonderful air conditioned cab to work .
Enjoyed listening in to my 3 newly arrived Jewish associates talk about their shocked reaction to the colossal holiday of Christians & Jews this last week-end that will linger on for another month .While a Catholic I had the same reaction they did when I first got here .People here take religion much much further then in the USA .The world is full of surprises I failed an HPT
A whole holiday devoted to religious re-birth & renewal
Just as religious but thankfully much more low key then the holidays in December
What are well doing ?
Church , a dinner with family and /or friends ? Any special traditions ?
Moi will go to Mass which is a madhouse here in this insanely religious country , 000's of people , 00's of cops ,and sometimes things like tanks .Later with current SO at a dinner at a restaurant with other Americans along with guests from other countries .This will be the first time we've gone out to eat since he got sick on Chinese New Years .He is happy we will be having non Chinese food.
Worked at the orphanage this week-end .When I left at 7PM expected to get a cab and be home in an hour.
No cab or Uber ( which here can be the on the back of a motorcycle) .So took three buses home all thru mostly wild parts of Manila back home .Was soon covered in sweat because of no air conditioning and scared .Took close to 4 hours to get home .
Scary . Lots of crime here and as a women and obvious foreigner I stood out . Worried about being robbed or worse, an Australian woman I knew was robbed, beaten, & gang raped in the kind of areas I was in . To be safer always sat in front by the driver. Got lots stares, some abuse and cat calls, several times worried about groups of young guys .Also saw some Catholic Filipino's being mean to several Muslim women
The bus dropped me off 4 blocks from my building and when it came into sight I saw it as a castle where I'd finally be safe . Arrived home feeling lucky to be alive !
Oh Moi, that felt horrible reading your post. Seeing your "home" in the distance is like a castle with a flag. Pleased to hear you got there safely, but do you not know anyone with a car for future reference you could call instead of buses?
Thanks for caring
A wild time .Worse then I wrote since at a bus stop several guys groped me all at once and for some reason a pregnant woman on the bus slapped me.
Seeing my building was wonderful.
No access to a car .The next time I work at the orphanage and cannot get a cab /Uber home will stay the nite, leave in the morning when cabs/Ubers are around .
Venice. A miracle city , was there in 2014.Kayakked down the Grand Canal .
Elton John .He stayed at the hotel in Beijing where I was working .Did a very brave things calling for the release of a Chinese dissident during iis concert , in Chinese too !
Mad Cow Disease. Have the image of an angry cow yelling , jumping up & down
Arturo Toscanni & Claude DeBussy .More names I can use to impress music snobs.
Bela Bartok .Sounds like a vampire .
Simone Signoret . Just read up on her, very Euro .Have to find some of her movies.
2015 Crash of Germanwings plane .That event & the Air Malaysia plane that vanished into the Indian ocean led me to every time I fly hoping everything is OK with the pilots at home.
Steve McQueen .Much success & much tragedy in his life, at the end he was a religious fanatic .
Joseph Barbera. Creator of THE FLINTSTONES one of my favorite cartoons
Bernard Montgomery . Know next to nothing about him but at another UK site I was at there was a huge thread fight among UK'ers about his role in World War Two then later some of the UK people started a fight with Americans about in their view he instead of General Eisenhower should have led the war . Not knowing much I stayed out .
Richard Widmark .Great in any thing he did ! A liberal activist too for unions , civil rights for black people, against the Viet Nam War voted for the Democratic Party .
Now looking up Robert Malley Stevens since the French are so good with art & style .
Worked at the orphanage this week-end .When I left at 7PM expected to get a cab and be home in an hour.
No cab or Uber ( which here can be the on the back of a motorcycle) .So took three buses home all thru mostly wild parts of Manila back home .Was soon covered in sweat because of no air conditioning and scared .Took close to 4 hours to get home .
Scary . Lots of crime here and as a women and obvious foreigner I stood out . Worried about being robbed or worse, an Australian woman I knew was robbed, beaten, & gang raped in the kind of areas I was in . To be safer always sat in front by the driver. Got lots stares, some abuse and cat calls, several times worried about groups of young guys .Also saw some Catholic Filipino's being mean to several Muslim women
The bus dropped me off 4 blocks from my building and when it came into sight I saw it as a castle where I'd finally be safe . Arrived home feeling lucky to be alive !
Affordable Care Act of 2010.Great idea .Some of you may wonder if not be shocked but many right wingers in the USA claim providing medical care to everyone is actually bad for health care for everyone .Including donald trump .Do they think being sick is good for people ?
Akira Kurosawa . I have had 2 BF's who (((( LOVED ))) his macho YOJIMBO movies with the samurai chopping up bad guys .Men and violence .........
Pakistan becomes free. My female gynie back home was from there. Thank the gods she came to America !
Peter Lorre. Nobody has ever been better at playing sleazy little guys
Werhner Von Braun . Never knew of him till I was at another UK site where one British woman who despite being left wing still loved loved loved him & was wild about Nazi Germany
Elizabeth Taylor. Before my time .To me she is a big cliche .