Antique furniture, mostly from the Indian subcontinent at the Asian Civilisations Museum
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Monthly Archives: January 2018
In My Hands Today…
The Girls in the High Heeled Shoes – Michael Kurland
It is 1935 and America remains in the depths of the Great Depression – Benny Goodman is the “King of Swing,” Senator Huey Long was just assassinated, and Joe Louis has just beaten Primo Carnera in the boxing ring.
To millions of Americans, Alexander Brass, newspaper columnist and radio personality, is the voice of Manhattan nightlife, and they rely on him for the latest gossip about the stars and the beautiful people, the gangsters, and the lowlifes, who make up the scene. While researching his column at the latest hot spot, Alexander Brass learns that Two-Headed Mary, a renowned and beloved grifter who works the Broadway theaters, is missing and that her friends on the Street are worried.
Brass runs a short item in his column about her disappearance and shortly thereafter he finds himself in the midst of a full-scale mystery. Not only does Mary’s disappearance seem tied to the disappearance of an ex-chorus girl cum Broadway box-office ticket taker, but Brass learns that someone else out there is far too interested in Mary’s whereabouts.
Poem: Writer’s Block
For the past week, I have been really struggling to write quality content. I have ideas, but when I start writing, everything seems to fizzle out. This poem is inspired by my struggles.
Writer’s Block
I sit in front of my laptop, staring intently at the blank screen
Peering and poring over it, hoping to form words that come to mean
Sometimes I get a glimmer of an idea
It flits and floats, as if doing the cha-cha
The idea proves as elusive as a scent in the air
Trying to locate it proves to be as difficult as a prayer
I try to sip some coffee hoping for a spark
To ignite those neurons, fire up the quark
But words are still playing hide-and-seek with me
Wonder when they will give up and come to me?
In My Hands Today…
Spirit House – Christopher G. Moore
A farang is dead and the Bangkok police have a confession the next morning from a young paint-thinner addict. He claims he killed Ben Hoadly, an expat Brit, but Calvino has his doubts when he sees heavy bruises on the kid’s face. In no time Calvino is working both sides, out to find the killer for Hoadly’s wealthy father, and eager to clear the addict’s name for a beautiful friend who runs a charity in the slums. With the help of his best friend, Pratt, a Shakespeare quoting Thai police colonel, and his loyal assistant, Ratana, Calvino plunges into the dangerous world of addicts, dealers, fortune tellers, inexpensive hit men, oversexed foreigners, and professional bar girls.
2018 Week 3 Update
We’re in week 3 of 2018 and depending on how you look at it, the year is either as slow as molasses or zipping faster than you can catch it! Which side are you in?
The cool weather I wrote about last week has ended and we are back to our hot and humid climate again where turning on the air conditioner is more of a necessity if you want a decent night’s sleep. Well, it was good while it lasted! Climate change is real people and those who are still sceptical should just read the news daily to be convinced!
As for my week, it went off quite fast. As I wrote yesterday, I went to parent support group meetings in both schools. I also walked a fair bit this week and exceeded my target of an average of 10k steps per day. I have not been reading as much as I like and am woefully behind my reading schedule for the year. This is something I would like to address this week.
As for the job front, I did meet one person, the third in this organisation and it may work out. But this organisation is not looking to hire someone under their own steam and want the successful candidate to be their own contractor. It’s something completely different than what I was led to believe and I need to do more research to see if this is something I am comfortable doing as well as if it is financially viable. I also would need to negotiate to revise upwards my rates because I didn’t take into account some of the standard perks available to employees here when I first gave them my asking rate. Let me see how this pans out as they will get back to me only at the beginning of February.
Well, here’s to hoping that the week is a joyfully productive one!
Memories and Such 