Toy Boy

I got this 2022 film from YIFY and watched it last night, not really expecting much, but I was very pleasantly surprised.

I easily get bored with time-travel films, but this one isn't actually time travel, it's about staying in the present and altering the future. Set at the start of WW2, it explores some interesting alternative - and disastrous - scenarios and outcomes. It's filmed in monochrome using vintage lenses to give it that genuine 1940's look and feel. It's probably the most original and inventive film I've seen in the past 15 years, with a good story and excellent dialogue. I'd be happy to go back and watch it again, and at just 1 hr 18 m it's a good use of your time.

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/lola_2023

20 hours ago, Lemondropkid said:

I agree it's excellent. Far, far better than the majority of Thai craft beers.

Unfortunately I was very reliably informed they have been bought out by Singha. Who being arseholes, brew it in Thailand but sell it at the price of an imported beer( which is of course, heavily taxed).

 

Yeah, I guess there has to be some reason why you're paying almost 100 Baht for a 330 cl bottle of locally brewed beer. Master brewing craftsmanship, the finest ingredients from across the globe, or pure unadulterated greed.

I tried Phuket lager many years ago when it first came out, but didn't see the point of paying over the odds for another bog standard Thai lager. I don't know if this is from the same brewery, or a completely different company, but it's much better. I prefer it to the Carabao Dunkel, which is a decent drop of dark, though as it's around three times as expensive as the Carabao I'd have hoped so.

13 hours ago, KhunDon said:

That reminds me of an old Tommy Copper joke.

Wife: this broom handle's broken.

Husband: Well why not just use the car instead?

On Wan Lai, it would mean the entire city becoming booze free, lol.

I've been living here for 20 years and swimming almost every day, and I'd never bother with a pool heater. For the few weeks of the year when the water might be a bit chilly for our tastes - and this 'Winter' there wasn't a single day in that category as far as I'm concerned - it's much more economical to just buy a wet suit.

Or just take the philosophical view and embrace the joys of cold water swimming, it's been proven to have many health benefits...

...including improving your libido, so the missus will be happy, lol.

Light rain in South Pattaya twice this morning, too, though it didn't last for very long and there were no puddles left on the road, so I'm wondering if I can cancel this afternoon's watering duty in the garden? I just went for a drive down to Na Jomtien and, looking at the water standing down there, they seem to have had quite a lot more. 

Here's another Thai craft beer, this one is supposed to be a Helles lager. I admit that I don't have much experience of Helles beers, you don't really see much of them outside Germany, I guess, so credit to them for trying. My best memory of the Helles genre is the Kuchlbauer Helles, which is a really great pint, very clean and rounded and pleasant. This Thai attempt was OK, but it  had a bit of a chemical tang to it. My taste buds may have just been playing up when I drank it, and I'd be willing to try it again, but it was far from cheap at 139 Baht for a half-litre can from Villa, so I'm not rushing out to buy some more.

Think about it, you'll get it.... lol

16 hours ago, Derek Dangleberries said:

This is EXACTLY what happened when I was working in Bangkok in '97 leading up to the crash

Yep, and the GF seems to have even greater debt woes than usual and, being the sensitive, supportive type that I am, I told her to fix it herself, I'm not bailing her out again. The gardener wanted to borrow 40K Baht off me a few months ago as her new office supplies business needed capital. I said no. Then a week ago she was trying to borrow money from me to get her phone fixed, and again I said no. So she's got two businesses at least that I know of, yet she can't afford to get her phone repaired? Of course, in a country of 70 million, a couple of anecdotal tales like that mean nothing, but they didn't used to be as disorganised and insolvent. My guess is they're listening to complete crap advice on social media and losing their money that way. Which on its own is irrelevant, but scale it up by the millions of people who might be in similar situations and the banks and country could have a serious problem.

3 hours ago, Derek Dangleberries said:

 

When I worked in Malaysia I loved Coopers Extra Stout ..... 

 

EDIT = I just checked...6.3%

There seems to be a trend in extra-strong stouts these days. The Lion Stout from Sri Lanka is a good drink but, at 8.8%, it's far too strong for my ageing liver. Then I noticed another one a few days back, made here in Thailand I think, and that was something like 6.8% AFAICR. I've not tried it yet, and I haven't seen Coopers stout here yet.

I noticed this one in Friendship, it was the last bottle so I thought I'd give it a try. Apparently, Coopers is a well-established brewery from Adelaide. Not really my cup of tea, to be honest, a bit same-same.

Happy days!

With the roads in Britain these days, there's no need to go to the beach for a dip this summer...

The largest lakes compared by size.

1 hour ago, Bazle said:

I am guessing from Pattaya the Baht busses are going along Jomtien Second Road, down Soi Chaiyapruek, and back towards Pattaya on Beach Road. 

Can anyone confirm or correct that, please. 

Check the map, traffic can now only go south down Beach Road towards Na Jomtien.