Most expensive javascript ever?
That is all.
Thai funerals are chill
I went to a funeral over the weekend; a coworker lost her father.
I always find it remarkable at funerals here because they’re such pleasant affairs. Is this a Theravada thing, or a uniquely Thai thing? I suspect Laos is much the same but I’m not sure about Cambodia, Myanmar, or Sri Lanka…
At a typical Thai funeral (I’ve actually been to around fifteen and driven by hundreds), blue canvas pavilions are rented and placed in the street in front of the house for guests to sit under. Monks come from a local temple and their amplified chants fill the streets for all to hear. This is one social occasion when people generally arrive on time, so they can be there to offer prayers and light joss sticks in front of the coffin and photos of the deceased inside the house.
The family of the deceased doesn’t cry or even seem overly distressed. It’s the strangest thing coming from countries where people cry at funerals to one where they don’t. At first it feels like something’s missing. Then people sit down at tables, food and booze is served, and the transition from funeral to wake transitions so smoothly they can hardly be classified as separate functions (and indeed, they aren’t here).
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A man at my university lost his son to the Nam Chi (river) a few months ago. The boy had been gathering shellfish on the banks with his friends, but got swept out in the strong currrent. His friend tried to save him and they both drowned. Tragic, right? It made me really sad just hearing about it at the funeral from the father, but I noticed how matter-of-factly everyone around me accepted this information, so I acted the same way. My normal reaction would be to try and console, or express regret, or…. I realized at that moment that it’s kind of better this way. I mean, the situation is obvious. Everybody feels crappy that it happened, but no lamenting or carrying on at the funeral is going to change a thing. If you don’t need the release of crying and being patted on the back being told its going to be alright, there’s really no reason for it, is there?
I don’t know if I’ve done the wonderfully natural and sincere atmosphere at Thai funerals any justice here; it’s quite hard to describe. I feel that a lot of what people attach to death back home is, quite frankly, bullshit. I’m just saying it’s nice to attend a funeral where all of that is absent.
Another on the way
I wanted to wait a while before announcing this here: Nam is pregnant again!
The baby is due in December. We still don’t know if it’s a boy or a girl, and we’ll be happy either way.
What can I say?
Sometimes life is great.
For Max’s future reference
Some random important stuff:
I had no idea the way I tie my ties was called four in hand… I might try tying the other ways shown here too, just for fun. But once your dad teaches you how to tie a tie and you remember that method, that’s probably the method you use your whole life.
The Pigs Are Out of the Barn
Amazon yanks bought copies of 1984 and Animal Farm from customers’ Kindles due to publisher’s demands: LINK
So, you know that snooty question from the douches that think they’re too hi-tech for dead tree media? The one about what’s so different about printed books and e-books? I guess the difference is that book stores don’t come around to your house and steal back the books you bought unannounced (but reimburse you).
Hack Boy
I finally found a use for my 10 year old screaming 333MHz G3 iBook!
I never threw it away because I was too fond of it, and what a great bit of luck – this is the best baby computer, ever! It’s built like a tank and so far still operates normally even though Max abuses it with great abandon…
Jobless PhDs
This article was making the rounds a while ago, but I forgot to link to it: The Case for Working With Your Hands
There are a huge number of people who can’t use their education in a useful or sustainable manner, and unfortunately, many of them can’t do anything with their hands, either. I don’t really know of a country where this isn’t true.