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Decline Of Stickman?


pai mei

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Stickman quote after Needham revealed that he spends now much more time in the USA than in Thailand: I can relate. If I had the money, I wouldn't be here. You're currently penning a weekly blog - I don't know if blog is the right word - called "Letters from Asia". Are you going to be the next Stickman? Do you really think you can take me on? Perhaps you want to be the next Trink!

 

So it seems that Stick is really sick and bored of Thailand and would prefer to move on...if he only could afford!

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I don't think the main criticism is his choice of subjects, rather that his interviews aren't really interviews but more like he's handing over a podium to someone to say whatever they like with as little interference as possible from Stick. Stick's role then is to offer up agreeable questions only, and to stay quiet if they mention something that's a lie, or strange, or whatever. They're PR pretending to be interviews. So is he doing the best he can? If he's capable of the courage it takes to ask a serious, potentially difficult question, then the answer is clearly No.

 

I mean... have a look: http://www.stickmanbangkok.com/StickmanWeeklyColumn2012/Jake-Needham.htm

 

Honest impressions please.

 

Agree - interviews don't seem to be Stick's strong point. But is there anyone in Thailand - and I am including the mainstream media here - who does good interviews by asking provocative questions and calls people out when they are obviously dissembling? Although I would like to see it, I don't think its either encouraged or welcome in Thailand.

 

The most interesting sites here are run by anonymous bloggers, like Bangkok Pundit. I don't think that is an accident. Frank and honest assessments of Thailand and some of the people and shenanigans here are not appreciated by many here who can cause serous harm.

 

In Stick's specific case, I assume it was just him and the Shark. In those circumstances, I wouldn't ask potentially difficult questions. It could be dangerous.

 

It also requires a fair bit of work. I am not saying Stick is lazy, but to do a good interview you first need to gather a fair bit of background on the subject. I don't think he has those sort of resources. And I don't think he has the type of personality required to handle those sorts of interviews. This is not a criticism, since I think you need a bit of bulldog in you to do those sorts of interviews. I wouldn't want to do it and I don't blame him for not wanting to do it.

 

In any event, its not my job to tell him how to run his site. If I don't like what he posts, I just won't read it. But having said all of this and thinking about it some more, I do think there is a market for something edgier that deals both with Thai entertainment and, well, shall we say 'policy'. I personally would not want to do it, but if it was done well, I would certainly read it.

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I am not saying Stick is lazy, but to do a good interview you first need to gather a fair bit of background on the subject. I don't think he has those sort of resources.

 

I'm not so sure. If someone said they were a veteran film producer and screenwriter, what questions immediately come to mind, to anyone?

 

"What films have you done?"

 

"Have you worked with any famous stars?"

 

Stick asks nothing at all in that direction.

 

About resources, we have the internet now. He doesn't know about IMDB? http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0624104/

Though he knew already that JN says he 'quit the film business' (this is his 2nd interview with JN), he didn't bother to look at what that was.

 

 

And I don't think he has the type of personality required to handle those sorts of interviews. This is not a criticism, since I think you need a bit of bulldog in you to do those sorts of interviews. I wouldn't want to do it and I don't blame him for not wanting to do it.

 

Actually when he does interviews with lady boys or escort service girls, he actually does ask tough questions and put them on the spot. But that's a mode he turns off with someone like Needham. To me it looks like he's too in awe of the guy to do anything more than an adoring fan type interview. If that's how he's going to do interviews, he shouldn't do them. He's earning a living on the site, so I think it's fair to criticize him for things like this.

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I don't look at this forum so often these days but it was that time of the month...and this thread caught my attention.

 

Shark is reasonably well known in Pattaya, kind of like Glitterman is, and when a friend mentioned he knew Shark I asked him if he could have a word and see if he would be willing to have a chat with me which I would run in the site. He was willing, and that is what we did, have a chat. It was a chat, nothing more.

 

Shark's views of Pattaya and Thailand aren't revolutionary, but they give an insight into a man many in Pattaya recognise but know little about. If you hadn't seen him or weren't aware of him (he caused quite a stir on the Pattaya forums in the past) and just read the transcript of our chat, there might not be a lot of meat there, especially if you have been living in or coming to Thailand for a long time. Still, the Pattaya crowd seemed to get off on it and the piece polarised many.

 

I cannot verify everything someone says to me. You take people at their word and hope that what they tell you is true. I don't doubt that people I have chatted with have embellished stories but I am not going to go back and edit every last little thing. Sometimes I receive emails from people claiming someone I have chatted with has lied. It's impossible to know who is telling the truth.

 

Having a chat with someone and running the transcript is an easy way to put together a column opener. If you have an open mind you can learn a lot by listening. For whatever reason, I find many people in Thailand get upset at what other people say and just have to disagree. I just know if, for example, I interviewed John Grisham about writing a novel, or Steven Spielberg about making a movie, people would say they knew better.

 

I know that some weeks my column contains bar industry news not found elsewhere and from time to time I get big scoops before the news appears anywhere else. Some weeks the opening piece generates more interest than others. But there are other weeks when not be much is going on, or I might miss stuff, or the column might just be flat. I try to produce something interesting and engaging each week, but some weeks it doesn't come together. That's just the way it is.

 

Finally, I have to comment on the choice of the title of this thread. I just did a check on Alexa which is an impartial website traffic measurement tool. It is not truly accurate but it is a good indicator and one used by many companies when trying to gague the traffic of a website. StickmanBangkok.com is ranked around 80,000. What that basically means is that there are 80,000 more popular sites on the web. It has been around this level for a long time which is not indicative of a site in decline. I wonder how well Thai360.com ranks? I guess it has much more traffic than Stickman, but hey, it's a forum so that would be expected. People come back a few times a day whereas at Stickman a lot of readers just visit once a week. Oh well, I do my best...

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Stickman is a widely read pundit, especially here. It's fair to comment and criticize. The question is - is there any meat to the criticism? Some people say, well... put this in perspective and they offer some valid points. Others defend stickman no matter what (hey, if you criticize stickman you're obviously a mental deviant like Galt). And of course, the last fallback defense which negates any and all commentary: it's a genius strategic move by Stickman to generate traffic, he's turning shock jock. You're one of the ignorant masses playing into it just by talking about him.

 

But the fact nonetheless remains, Shark is your prototype butt-baring chest-beating thug with a propensity for exploiting people in a weaker position. It's disappointing to see Stickman romanticize the guy. That's it. I'll go ahead and stick to those guns. Don't really care about the motive, or whether the mere act of talking about it is feeding into a grand publicity scheme.

 

I've enjoyed a lot of Stickman pieces, and in his own way he's probably helped a lot of naive guys who were about to be taken for a ride. Those pot bellied bald middle aged dudes that don't have a champion or someone looking out for them. With a little luck maybe he reads this and goes...hmmmmm.

 

Edit: oh, I guess he did read it. :)

 

btw - I'm not affiliated with T360 in any way, shape, or form. Though was grateful that the comments weren't yanked. And also this - for me - has nothing to do with traffic.

 

Ps. For a lot of your past stuff and the effort you put into your site, thank you (stickman). You've got enough sycophants though, and haters, as I'm sure you're aware. Maybe a little 'this is what I honestly' think doesn't hurt every now and then.

 

best wishes.

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Hi,

 

I wonder how well Thai360.com ranks?

 

Was that dig really necessary? I have never said anything bad about your site or column, yet you seem to want nothing to do with my forum anymore. To the point of not even bothering to reply to a direct email I sent you asking you to help promote our writing contest. Great way to show your appreciation for the exposure you have had - and continue to get - from this forum. And yes, I am well aware that the forum is all but dead, but I still had expected more from you. Guess I was wrong.

 

Sanuk!

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Whenever Trink got hate mail, he'd print the letters. Maybe that's something for Stickman to do too. :)

 

This is a relevant point. Stickman does ask for, reacts to, and posts feedback from his readership within his weekly. Why did the OP choose the more visible and perhaps less effective route of posting to a forum.

 

To the OP:

 

Gambling is illegal in Thailand and I will not allow thai360 to be put in a weird position so I will refuse the bet.

 

I am sorry if my assertion has offended you, but it was what i felt, a faith based assessment based on zero facts. Again it was not my wish to insult you.

 

I do admit to having an unnatural fascination with the stickman vs. galt thing.

 

I am not galt (either?)? I'm an asshole but a different asshole altogether.

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