The_Munchmaster

Stop it Flash, you're killing me!

At the end of today's column, "I like to think that I plan things well and that my departure from Thailand had been worked out down to the last detail. The condo lease was up, I had the column mapped out and goodbye dinners were held. Everything was on schedule until the phone rang - and then everything was turned on its head. That phone call was an effort to save the column and I now find myself in discussions about that. Everything is very much up in the air and for the time being at least, the column continues. Expect less nightlife news and less news in general, but the rest should be largely business as usual. So the column survives another week and the uncertainty continues. I had mentally prepared myself for leaving and some keen readers mentioned they'd done the same. I hate to muck people around so hopefully next week things will be clearer. Your Bangkok commentator, Stick"

I doubt the piles are driven, aren't they much more likely to be cast in-situ bored piles?

Can they? Or did you just make that up?

So? You just start it and let it get on with it, you don't have to sit and watch it all the time, ffs!!

The 4+TB of movies/TV is an issue as obviously I can't keep them on my laptop and then back them up. They are currently stored on 3 x 2TB WD portable HD's but these in turn need to be backed up. So planning to get and store them all on a 6TB WD desktop HD which can then be plugged directly into a smart TV and then the 3 x 2 TB's will act as back up to this. Unless anyone has any better suggestions?

First day at school in Birmingham, UK The teacher began taking a roll call: "Mustafa Al Eih Zeri?" - "Here miss." "Achmed El Kabul?" - "Here miss." "Fatima Al Hayek? " - "Here miss." "Ali Abdul Olmi?" - "Here miss." "Mohammed Bin Kadir?" - "Here miss." "Ali Son al En?" "Ali Son al En?" The teacher repeated the call again and eventually a girl stood up and said, "Sorry, miss, I think that's me. It's pronounced "Alison Allen".

Haven't tried the cloud yet and not really planning to as don't trust it. I have 500GB of photos and over 4TB of movies and TV to back up but I doubt the cloud handles these sort of volumes or else would be very expensive.

His last weekly blog makes no mention of his departure.

I would suggest that all "smart" phones have touch screens. I use a Samsung Galaxy S5 but that's unlikely to be in your price bracket.

I would suggest that all "smart" phones have touch screens. I use a Samsung Galaxy S5 but that's unlikely to be in your price bracket.

Ratcatcher (1999) IMDB - "Glasgow, summer, 1973. Dustmen are striking; bags of garbage add to the blight of council flats and a fetid canal. Ryan, who's about 12, drowns during a play fight with his neighbor, the jug-eared James. James runs home, a flat where he lives with his often-drunk da, his ma, and sisters, who live in hope of moving to newly-built council flats. The slice-of-life, coming-of-age story follows James as he tags along with the older lads; has a friendship with his quirky wee rodent-loving neighbor, Kenny; spends time with Margaret Anne, myopic, slightly older, the local sexual punching bag; and, has a moment or two of joy. The strike may end, but is there any way out for James?" A depressing sort of movie. Actually very good but will have to watch again to understand it properly.

The Hundred-Foot Journey (2014) IMDB - "The family of talented cook, Hassan Kadam, has a life filled with both culinary delights and profound loss. Drifting through Europe after fleeing political violence in India that killed the family restaurant business and their mother, the Kadams arrive in France. Once there, a chance auto accident and the kindness of a young woman, Marguerite, in the village of Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val inspires Papa Kadam to set up a Indian restaurant there. Unfortunately, this puts the Kadams in direct competition with the snobbish Madame Mallory's acclaimed haute cuisine establishment across the street where Marguerite also works as a sous-chef. The resulting rivalry eventually escalates in personal intensity until it goes too far. In response, there is a bridging of sides initiated by Hassan, Marguerite and Madame Mallory herself, both professional and personal, that encourages an understanding that will change both sides forever." A very enjoyable film. Good family fare.

Sounds like Kurt Russell in Death Proof (2007)

Strong sunshine in Bangkok, really?! Anyway, if the photo is a fake and they weren't actually there then how do you know what the weather was like wherever they were?

True or not, how do taxi drivers force people out of their cabs?

The Mule 2014 IMDB - "A first time drug mule is caught by law enforcement." Just Curiosity - "The Australian film The Mule was well-received in its world premiere at the SXSW Film Festival. It is an entertaining, if not terribly memorable film, based on some version of supposedly true events from the 1980s. The kernel of truth appears to have been the case of a man arrested as a drug mule and retained in custody for an extended period of time during which he refused to defecate and thus expel the packets of heroin from inside his body. The comedic story that the writers concocted around these true events appears to be mostly fictional. The story moves along nicely and is told in an entertaining manner with a heavy dose of Aussie accents. The acting is reasonable with an expected level of grossness that this particular subject matter demands. The best part of the night, however, was when the writer and director appeared on stage after the film completely drunk and went off on ridiculous rants that ended with one-handed push-ups. Since they're Australians, I'm not sure that anyone was all that surprised." Well I enjoyed it, although watching it on a laptop the arse scenes were a bit close for comfort! Partly filmed in Thailand.

Nope.

St. Vincent (2014) IMDB - "A young boy whose parents have just divorced finds an unlikely friend and mentor in the misanthropic, bawdy, hedonistic war veteran who lives next door." Very enjoyable. Bill Murray is excellent, as always.

'71 (2014) IMDB - "A young British soldier is accidentally abandoned by his unit following a terrifying riot on the streets of Belfast in 1971. Unable to tell friend from foe, the raw recruit must survive the night alone and find his way to safety through a disorienting, alien and deadly landscape." Very good, will watch again.

Why? Because I've worked in the Middle East? I could have looked it up on the internet as you did but as irrelevant to my post it never crossed my mind.

Marvellous (2014) IMDB - "The [true] life of Neil Baldwin, a man who has shrugged off his perceived limitations to live an incredible life." What can I say other than, bloody marvellous. The kind of film that Hollywood couldn't make.

Which begs the question, how did Coss know it?!

Is this an early April fools joke?

We Still Kill The Old Way (2014) IMDB - "When retired East End villain Charlie Archer is murdered by a feral street gang, his brother Ritchie returns to London from Spain to investigate." A bit far fetched but an enjoyable watch. Hoodies should be banned btw!