20 July 2010

Ostrich Riding

Ostrich riding is an archaic form of travelling that has been lost to everyone in the fast paced modern world, but not the blessed Thai people. In the spirit of animal racing, I think it's appropriate to allude to the hare and the tortoise here, and recall that it was the slower tortoise who took the leafy prize ahead of the hare. Like so, it is the Thai people who have won my heart with ostrich riding over the airplanes of America. As a child I dreamt of riding on the wings of a bird, and now I can absolutely say that that dream has become a reality. Some wishes really do come true, even if you aren't terminally ill.

15 July 2010

A Movie in Thailand

I can't believe I'm doing this.
I'm in Thailand having spectacular adventures, and hardly even posting about them. And now that I am recording some for my future posterity I choose to write about the movie Eclipse? Well, perhaps I could argue that my time in the Far East has given me spontaneity and a relaxed attitude, so you're getting a relaxed post that should come as a surprise, given its content.
Movies in Thailand are very, very enjoyable. They have comfortable seats, air conditioning, and are inexpensive. Even the full priced new releases are under $3.00 at one particular theater. That three dollars is well spent given the exciting previews, the cool air, and the plush seats, regardless of if you're at something painfully ridiculous like P.S. I Love You or something as intriguing as Batman: The  Dark Knight. So, with that in mind and by the invitation of a few friends, I went to see Eclipse.
The theater was packed with little Thai school girls, and I was in the midst of them. You see, when you buy a movie ticket in Thailand you get an assigned seat, and since I bought my ticket after my lady friends (I was reticent about the movie decision) I did not get to sit with them. So there I was, the lone white man sitting in a Thai movie theater surrounded by teenage girls in their school girl outfits and giggling.
I went into the movie not knowing which in the trilogy (or quadrilogy I've since learned) the movie was. I haven't read any of the books or seen any of the movies and I know nothing about the plot except that I was supposed to align myself with Team Edward or Team Jacob. Turns out Edward is a Vampire and Jacob is a Werewolf! Given the two, I'd definitely choose the werewolf. As for the movie, I had low expectations and they were all met. Some of them were even exceeded if you can believe it! The movie had some funny one-liners where it actually made fun of itself, it had a sweet Vampire verses Werewolf fight scene, and the vistas from Washington were stunning. The love triangle was more developed than I thought and the Vampire/Werewolf aspect made it 'freshey' and original. I still don't have anything good to say about the books which I have not read, but the way the characters were portrayed in this film was acceptable. I admired Bella's courage and commitment, Jacob's perseverance, and Edward's self-control. They all had admirable traits, and teenage sex was addressed and frowned upon until marriage, which I thought was brave of the director. I'm not sure I can totally recommend the movie unless you are under extreme circumstances such as I was, but if it comes to the Dollar Theater, by all means go hit it up!

02 July 2010

Meditation with Monks

Well, this week I went with my school on a Dharma Retreat at Wat Ban Kun near Hot, Thailand. It's up in the mountains on a self-sustaining complex. Over 200 monks in training live there, and they keep the place immaculate. The following is a brief- very brief- description of my time there. I put some pictures up on my Picasa Album (http://picasaweb.google.com/dwallacebennett) and if you want to hear more about it let me know. Also, part of the reason I haven't been updating my blog so much is because I've been writing tons already, just not here. I send out two page emails about my adventures everyday. If you want to get on my list let me know, but I will warn you that I send them out frequently and they are semi-long so if you don't want your inbox inundated with emails from me, don't request it. Also, you can comment on my pictures on Picasa.