14 September, 2008

Even more strange body art, tattoos and mutilations

I get a surprisingly high number of hits on my earlier blog posts on the topics of body art, tattoos, mutilation, etc. Links to these are at the end of this post.

So for all you FunkyPix Freaks ;-) here are some more pix for your twisted pleasure and gratification...





New uses for silicon implants














Do-it-yourself elf ear



(This last photo reminds me of a previous post of mine, towards the end of which JC can be viewed in some compromising situations).

To see more weird body art, tattoos, mutilations and creative surgery, see my previous posts here and here. Hey, don't try these at home.

11 September, 2008

Baan Sweet Baan: How to renovate an apartment in Chiangmai


One of the night views from our new Chiangmai apartment.
The light on the peak of the mountain is the Doi Suthep temple

Click here if you're interested in perving on the progress of our renovation job here in Chiangmai. To be updated from time to time...

Fannie Mae announces the death of Capitalism? Er, no, actually.

With the nationalization of the FM twins, Bush has actually CONFIRMED that Capitalism has succeeded beyond the wildest dreams of its pioneers. However, through sheer human greed, Capitalism has morphed into Frankenstein, turning on its wealthy masters. And that leaves young Republicain John McLame in an embarrasingly tight spot, given that he's just finished poo-pooing the idea of Big Government Spending, high taxes etc.

The purpose of Capitalism (Colonialism, Globalisation) has always been to create a self-perpetuating system which ensures that the rich can constantly become richer. When Bush drones on about FREEDOM, what he really means is "the freedom to move financial capital unimpeded around the world".

Taken to its logical extreme, the "rich-getting-richer" model would result in all the world's wealth concentrating into the hands of a single individual. Trouble with that is, no-one else in the world would have any income to buy products from that rich person's corporation. The richest person in the world would therefore, ironically, starve to death along with all the poor people.

That's what's happening with Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. The rich can get richer only if the poor get poorer. There's only so much water in a glass. The money has to come from somewhere, ain't it? We know there is no such thing as a free lunch... even if the Fed were simply simply to print more cash.

And it has come to pass that as the Poor get poorer and can't afford their mortgages, the rich people's cash cow has suddenly dried up. If you want a cow to give regular milk, you must give it some decent pasture. If you want people to give regular mortgage payments, you have to give them decent pasture too. You've got to structure the system to ensure they have jobs. And here's a novel idea to many Republicans: a job should actually produce enough income to pay for both food AND rent. Please read that last sentence again.

The wealth of a nation must be spread relatively fairly around all its members, not hugely concentrated in its elite. This idea, of course, is Socialism. Other associated 'dirty' media-speak words spring to mind ...like Marxism, Unionism, Left Wing, Equality, Respect for others, Respect for self, and above all (ugh, heaven forbid) "Liberalism".

Just because you're well-heeled doesn't mean that you're smart.


With Freddie Mae and Fannie Mac threatening to go down,
maybe there'll be fewer Volvo bicycles sold to millionaire CEOs this year.

This nationalisation means that the Republicans are being forced to compromise and head further to the political Left. Deliciously, all this at a time when it's forcing Republican candidate George W. McClone to squirm and dodge.

And even more interesting when you consider that the world's largest Socialist power, China, is now powering to the political Right by becoming Capitalists. Makes you wonder if there is a perfect point somewhere in the political Centre (...or should that be 'Muddle'?).

For a fireside chat about the idealogical differences between the Right and the Left, see this post. Although it related to the last Australian election, it's still relevant to the Obama-Muckain duel.