Meanwhile, in America . . .

 The neighbor is rockin' the country tunes. That means he's outside in his hot tub. Trump rages on. He and Kim Jung Un are in a dick measuring contest. This in Trumpie's first 80 days. We knew that was going to happen. These guys are twins. As for me, I'm sick . . .food poisoning, flu or whatever. Whatever it is, I haven't felt this bad in a long time. I must be getting better though. I've managed a glass a water and this. Now on to the tea.

What time is it anyway?

The Pacific ocean at dawn and a lone boat far below on the sea.

We checked out of our room in Bangkok in the morning. Our flight left at 2 AM the next morning. We arrived in LA 20 hours later or four hours later by the clock. It's now nearly 10 PM or noon tomorrow according to my body. I haven't slept since Bangkok but I'm not sleepy. Jet lag is brutal.

Spring Equinox 2017

It's morning in America, 06:33 AM PST when I started this post and the first day of Spring. For Pearl, a flickr friend in Australia, today is the long awaited first day of fall. As the sun returns to our hemisphere I hope she and her beloved companions Ms. Pips and Ms. Woolly and their world finally get relief from what has been a summer of grueling heat.

Spring Equinox night in Bangkok

It's the end of the day here in Bangkok. The high was 34° Celsius (93.2° Fahrenheit). Like I said, I didn't know it was the equinox when I woke up but the morning light gave me pause, something about how it illuminated the leaves of the trees below my window. They glowed primavera green. They called to me, drew me in, reminded me . . . even in this blade runner city . . . earth lives . . . will prevail. That area is dark now, the left third of this photo I took tonight. A lot of Thai people live in that section, under long, shared tin roofs. I don't think there is much in the way of walls between them. The trees grow wild there. They have been hacked down numerous times but grow back again, as they are now.

Happy first day of Spring and Roy, thank you for reminding me.

Swami and the Moon over Bangkok

Swami and the moon tonight
Bangkok

Publishing and republishing

Besides publishing a current list of literary magazines accepting reprints, the blog Published to Death includes a link to poetry publishers accepting unagented manuscripts. And it's not just for poetry. There are listings for all genres, including visual, and their markets and includes cool links such as . . . calls for submissions by the month, paying markets etc. Yes, there are similar sites, but this is a good one.


Of course, Duotrope is, at least in my limited experience, the best of the best when it comes to offering an "extensive, searchable database of current fiction, poetry, nonfiction, and visual art markets, a calendar of upcoming deadlines, a personal submissions tracker, and useful statistics compiled from the millions of data points". Yes, that's their description but it is what they do and they do it well. I was a subscriber until they erected a paywall. After that I couldn't justify the expense. I seldom followed through and actually submitted anything.


I did a poetry blog instead. Poetry needs to be free. However, that means if I want to publish something elsewhere, in a "real" publication, I must find publishers who accept reprints.  Annasadhorse may be one of the the least visited sites in the universe but most publishers automatically refuse anything unless they get first rights. Rock and a hard place.

Beware the Six Month Rule

Back in Bangkok after an ill-fated trip to Singapore. We were planning to stay there for five days and then slowly travel north though Malaysia working our way back to Bangkok. Unfortunately, at customs Lee ran up against the Six Month Rule and we had to cancel our plans. In fact, only after a prolonged interview with the head of customs at the Singapore airport was he allowed into the country.

The Six Month Rule requires that, to enter the country, your passport must be valid for at least six months beyond your travel dates. A list of countries that have this requirement here. Lee's passport expires in April. We picked up six month tourist visas for Thailand before leaving the US, so we didn't learn about the rule until Singapore. They could have turned him away right there but, after showing return travel arrangements, he was permitted entry. Plus it probably helped that his passport was already full of stamps from other countries, some proof anyway of our nomadic life-style. We felt very lucky, especially after learning that Singapore is very strict about it. So, beware the Six Month Travel rule or you might find yourself on day one of a trip headed back home on the next available flight whatever the cost, whether you can afford it or not.

But we did stay five days in Singapore. More about that later.

Pattaya

Morning in Pattaya

Some call Pattaya the wild west of Thailand. We were there for a conference so, other than streets thronging with nearly naked bar girls and fat, grubby sexpats with girlfriends younger than their granddaughters, we saw none of it.

Evening in Pattaya

A friend at the conference did mention however that, while on the lunch break, a ladyboy grabbed  him by the crotch and tried pulling him in for a drink. I'm not sure Trump would like Pattaya. He likes to do the grabbing.

It was inevitable

Mysteries on Sukhumvit

Four more or less identical mirrors hang above the sidewalk on the front of a strange shop along Sukhumvit, one of Bangkok's busiest streets. They are too high up to use as mirrors so why they are there, as ornaments, protection from spirits or whatever, I do not know. Whenever I pass by, the door is locked and the shade pulled, thus it remains a mystery.

To be continued . . .

The Silent Majority aka The Deplorables

Silence is compliance . . . PERIOD
Here is the very long list of Republicans who have remained silent on Trump's refugee ban. Time to dump the spineless, compliant Republican Party!

THE DEPLORABLE GOP

The Deplorable Republican Silent Majority

source: Vox