January 2012
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Worldwide weird: Odd ways to ring in the New Year →
Drawing more than one million visitors in person and one billion viewers on TV, New York City’s Times Square ball drop is one of the most watched events in the world.
But many cities across the United States prefer to put their own spin on the now traditional event. From pinecones to pineapples, these regions lower their own oversized symbols as the last seconds of the old year tick away.
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RHPolitics: white people in denial about blatant... →
talldarkbishoujo:
uncdan:
talldarkbishoujo:
At the beginning of the current WoW expansion, monkeys were added to the classes of animals the Hunter class could tame and use for combat pets. I am not exaggerating when I say that I was putting in report tickets near daily, I saw so many Hunters running around with monkeys named after either famous black people or what they believed to be “black...
December 2011
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RHPolitics: white people in denial about blatant... →
talldarkbishoujo:
At the beginning of the current WoW expansion, monkeys were added to the classes of animals the Hunter class could tame and use for combat pets. I am not exaggerating when I say that I was putting in report tickets near daily, I saw so many Hunters running around with monkeys named after either famous black people or what they believed to be “black names” (“Laquisha”,...
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liberal-linguaphile a réagi à votre billet : Happy New Year from Malaysia Dear Followers!
Happy New Years! What happened to Switzerland?
Not yet!
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Happy New Year from Malaysia Dear Followers!
Lots of love from my time zone!
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gedenkenbrauchtwissen a réagi à votre billet : To Hat Yai and Back
hey yeah I was wondering where you’ve been. that sounds like a good time though!
It WAS fun. It’s always good to get a change of scenery.
Earlier this year I had gotten my visa extended from the immigration office for 2 months for about 200MYR which isn’t too bad, all considered.
I went to Thailand and back for...
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“I don’t think you get perfect couples. At best you get two people building...”
– Neil Gaiman
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To Hat Yai and Back
Had a quick trip to Thailand and back to renew my tourist visa.
I took the bus there and back, which cost a measly 30MYR each way. That’s about 10USD.
On the way there, I was alone in a bus… full of this big Chinese-Malaysian family all going there for New Years. It was oddly stifling because… well, Chinese-Malaysians, in groups and as families, are loud. They seemed amiable...
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itsneverwritteninstone a réagi à votre billet: You know when you were younger…
haha I do this. And it is definitely because of the final answer - if yes I have no clue how to progress and if no, then in a lot of cases it is the end of that friendship for some reason
Has it actually happened that it’s the end of the friendship?
I guess the question in that case is “Is it worth...
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BBC Travel: How to plan a round-the-world trip →
Some good tips.
The trouble with this is exactly its premise: it assumes you’ll book everything ahead of time. If you want to do that, then fine.
But I’m kind of a random traveller. If I travel for a year, I prefer not to plan everything ahead of time, because opportunities arise, plans change, and well, a year is a long time.
On the other hand, you can be more ambitious, and...
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You know when you were younger...
And when you liked someone, you kept it a secret, harbored it for ages, never told anyone or just your best friends, entertained fantasies and went through elaborate ideas of how to profess your romance?
Well, I was one of those kids anyway. In primary school I had a crush on this one girl for 3 years with barely any talking to her until she moved back to England. We have caught up somewhat...
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Going to Thailand tomorrow.
Just for a couple of days to the border town of Hat Yai. Coming back into Malaysia afterwards as I need to renew my stay.
It’s surprisingly cheap and not as far as I thought it would be. 30 Ringgit and a 3 hour trip, which is cheaper and shorter than going to Kuala Lumpur, but it makes sense in a way. We are closer to there.
Hat Yai is, by all reports, a fun, sleazy Thai tourist town for...
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Observations of a Global Nomad: gronalund a... →
gronalund:
uncdan:
gronalund a reblogué votre lien : Kim Il Sung’s 100th Birthday Tour
Have you ever Google Video’d “Kim…Sung”? I don’t understand why everyone is praising him…
Many countries revere their independence leaders, even though they were often complete bastards. South Korea’s…
No, I mean: have you actually watched a video about Kim Il Sung on YT? I don’t understand why between...
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gronalund a reblogué votre lien : Kim Il Sung’s 100th Birthday Tour
Have you ever Google Video’d “Kim…Sung”? I don’t understand why everyone is praising him…
Many countries revere their independence leaders, even though they were often complete bastards. South Korea’s independence leader, Syngman Rhee, was also a bloodthirsty tyrant. Despite that, he has a golden place in...
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Kim Il Sung's 100th Birthday Tour →
That’s a link to book a tour to North Korea for Kim Il Sung’s 100th birthday.
No kidding.
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My grandfather just forwarded me Christmas...
One of my cousins looks really shabby. Kind of like me if I haven’t gone out in a couple of days, feeling no need to shave or do anything with my hair. But he’s in Christmas photos being sent to the family. His brother is also absurdly proud of having studied at Austin and it seems like every chance of a family photo he’s wearing school colours. Oh well…
He also sent...
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“TCKs are, quite literally, citizens of the world. They are hard to define and...”
– http://www.denizenmag.com/ (via iamatck)
I have trouble with the last phrase “made of an infinite amount of experiences.”
Everyone is made of infinite experiences. A TCK’s need not be any more significant than someone from a mono-cultural background. We do have more travel...
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noorcissistic a réagi à votre billet : There are four kinds of people who stay at youth hostels
Which one are you?
A mix of 1 and 2.
I like to have my own space these days. You will never find me sharing a common dorm room of 10 bunk beds anymore. I’ve done it, and it was fine at the time, but I really do like having my own space. Having your own bathroom, if possible, is also a huge...
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Not quite your age...
When I was 20, people I met often would say that they thought I was older. They said this because I wasn’t your typical 20-year old. Someone said “25” once.
I think they assumed that intelligence meant maturity, which it isn’t.
The guys I met last night, when they learned my age, were amazed because they thought I looked younger. They said “Man, you look...
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There are four kinds of people who stay at youth...
1. Social people. They tend to hang around the common area in the evenings after walking around during the day, and trade stories. They’re incredibly open and friendly. Maybe a little too much. It can get a bit odd.
2. Anti-social people. They’re just staying there because it’s cheap and minimize human contact. They’ll stick to the people they’re travelling with and...
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Brazil overtakes UK as sixth-largest economy
logimar:
Brazil has overtaken the UK to become the world’s sixth-largest economy, according to a team of economists. The banking crash of 2008 and the subsequent recession has relegated the UK to seventh place in 2011, behind South America’s largest economy, which has boomed on the back of exports to China and the far east.
Read more…
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I’m in a Starbucks, and a guy just came up to me. He presented a card that said he represented an association of deaf and dumb craftsmen, and asked if I would buy one of his products to support them.
They were cute little wood-carvings. Some were cheesy things with hearts, the word love, and one of them had a quotation from the Bible… about love. I indicated to see others, and I saw...
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I sometimes think I’m growing out of youth hostels. As I started getting a career, getting money, and, well, getting used to being able to spend more on nicer things, youth hostels lost some of their appeal.
If you can afford not to, why wouldn’t you take a private room with a nice bed, changed linen, your own private bathroom with hot water? They’re comforts you enjoy more as...
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Welcome To Honey Chiles Kitchen: Eggs In Purgatory... →
an-affair-with-the-noms:
So because I’m a massive food addict I spend ridiculous amounts of time looking at food blogs (or as I like to refer to as “food porn”) particularly atwww.foodgawker.com. I’ve seen recipes for eggs in purgatory throughout the years, that I’ve looked at lustingly but have never tried for God know’s reasons.
As it’s the week before christmas (3 fucking days! FML) I’ve...
Tumblr really needs to be able to simply reblog an...
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BBC: Held 'hostage' by China →
For over a year now Liu Xia has been deprived of her liberty by the Chinese state, for the sole reason, it seems, that her husband won the Nobel Prize.
Liu Xia is guilty of nothing. But she is married to Liu Xiaobo, the Chinese political activist, selected by the Nobel committee last year as winner of the Peace Prize.
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Christmas in different countries:
In America, the tradition is to go home to your family, all gather together and give each other gifts. It’s known as a family holiday. There’s other stuff we see in movies, like decorating suburban homes, but at the centre of it is a family gathering and exchange of gfits.
I was highly charmed in Switzerland. Zurich opened little stalls (built in wood with a design like chalets)...
“I remember sitting on the lawn – and a bit like in an old-fashioned Disney...”
– Terry Pratchett (via iampurplemontart)
I believe after that he became a serious and career writer. Hooray to doing what you love.
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thisismiki:
Despite having grown up in China, I never got to ride pandas to school because I was homeschooled.
Despite having grown up in Indonesia, I never got to ride orangutans to school. I was in a big, smoky, busy, messy city.
On the other hand, I once rode a bajaj (pronounced badjai) to school. That’s one of those orange, three-wheeled cheap taxis.
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So today I’m staying in a guesthouse. My roommate has his family visiting and there’s not enough room for me. I’m here on his favour, and also… well he’s really keen to impress his family and having a friend bum over isn’t impressive to an achieving Asian family like his. I don’t mind. I’d rather not play up to family right now when I have nothing...
In most cases, it’s kinda nice to pick up a pair of shorts you haven’t worn for a while, and discover as you’re wearing it that it’s now falling down around your butt.
At least, I consider it a win, personally.
“For many, to live in North Korea is to live in fear for one’s very existence. In...”
– North Korean mourners, crying to survive? (via kileyrae)
I wager to mention that technically totalitarian governments have existed for a long time in the form of monarchies and empires. Some of these have been much more successful than others. I don’t quite describe that as lingering.
...
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gronalund a reblogué votre lien : Observations of a Global Nomad: I really like that Kal Penn is guesting on HIMYM.
1. Did you see the episode where that girl compared Penny sleeping with Raj to Catherine the Great copulating with a…
Part of me wants to tell you you’re taking TV a bit too seriously. Especially BBT. It is by no means a fully accurate portrayal and doesn’t really...
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Observations of a Global Nomad: I really like that... →
gronalund:
uncdan:
Honestly the show is doing really well in terms of egalitarianism. It has approached homosexual relationships with maturity, had no problems with different racial matches, and well, is just open minded.
So they took another step by adding an Indian man as a romantic interest to a white woman.
With such small steps in mainstream television, we move forward.
Yeah yeah...
You ever get the feeling that a friend rates their...
Beauty is no serious category for friendship, yet somehow pretty girls just gravitate towards each other and hang out in packs…
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I really like that Kal Penn is guesting on HIMYM.
Honestly the show is doing really well in terms of egalitarianism. It has approached homosexual relationships with maturity, had no problems with different racial matches, and well, is just open minded.
So they took another step by adding an Indian man as a romantic interest to a white woman.
With such small steps in mainstream television, we move forward.
And I like that he was the one who...
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So I read "Huckleberry Finn"
And overall I liked it. It was actually the first book by Mark Twain I’ve read. Yeah, I know, it took me a while.
I was previously trained in reading Southern accents written down by Harry Turtledove. It was fine.
But yes, I enjoyed it. I got really annoyed at Tom Sawyer though, especially at the end. His obsession with doing things according to classic adventure books was charming at...
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The Associated Press: NKorea cites mysterious glow... →
mechassninja:
PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) — North Korea says a fierce snowstorm paused and the sky began glowing red above sacred Mount Paektu just minutes before leader Kim Jong Il’s death.
State media say the ice on volcanic Lake Chon at the mountain in the far north cracked with a load roar.
And in the city of Hamhung, a Manchurian crane circled a statue of Kim’s father, late President Kim...
haereticum:
I’m not against voluntary socialism in an anarchist society if that’s what people want to do, but it’s cute that most socialists think that by getting rid of capitalism, they will ultimately get rid of greed, and that human nature will just transform into total selflessness. So cute.
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Mohandas Gandhi: awandereramongstars replied to... →
mohandasgandhi:
awandereramongstars replied to your quote: Like earlier nuclear states, North Korea wants the…
Do you think that someone should topple their government already? I mean, I don’t think it’s people would ever try to do that. I’m just thinking that the main population has suffered enough already at the hands of Kim Jong-il.
As some sort of a humanitarian intervention that doesn’t...