Despite the fact that my house looks like a total bomb site, there is actually order lurking below the surface. In fact, am probably the most organised I've ever been. To-do lists, day to day wall charts for ticking off essential tasks and the like seem to have helped avoid any semblance of panic (yet). All the 'official' things have been completed (passport, hotel, innoculations etc etc), shipping for some personal stuff organised, 12 months travel and health insurance done, it does seem as if I am on schedule (offers silent prayer to any and all deities).

Am also taking the opportunity to break up my hoarder's collection. Time for some cold and mercenary decisions as items that have not seen the light of day for many moons head to the charity shop or to the dump. (do I really need to keep that souvenir t-shirt from Glastonbury '92 when my only memory is a WoW induced invasion of the stage during Primal Scream?)

Laptop 2 is working at full steam downloading a pile of TV shows and music to avoid Thai soap operas and keep me going through True blackouts. The Kindle has been fully loaded with a variety of fiction, non fiction and 'Useful Mandarin phrases in a bar fight' type works. Biggest job still to be done is the precise cataloguing of every item being shipped. Luckily that first 'import' is duty free (with the right paperwork of course) but as the boxes are going by boat, they don't arrive (at Piant's factory) till after I get back from China and Malaysia at the start of December so that will all be in place.

Also luckily, my wonderful travel consultant Emma noticed the 8 hour stopover at Dubai and switched me to a night flight with a 2 hour layover (also means I can sleep for most of flight and hopefully reduce jet lag). So I arrive Wednesday 26th September at just after 7pm. It's been a long absence Thailand, too long, but the wait is over...

And don't forget Tengo hambre, tengo sed! on SATURDAY (Neung take note!!) 29th September, taking place at what is now Bangkok's 5th best international restaurant (kudos to Dave here - considering the reviews CB used to get a few years ago, this really shows the work he (and his staff) have put in).

There will be free beer and margaritas (limited supply come early) and some nibbles too (NIBBLES NOT NIPPLES ROB!!).

Are you ready Bangkok? (probably not!) ;-):twisted:

wtf is that ****???

Come on!!!! Thats a really nice song and the guy who perfoms it is a world-famous singer from Berlin, Germany.

I was sure you gonna like it. Well, i was wrong....

WORLD famous?? Vielleicht nicht!! You forced me to give you a thumbs down for that!! It is SCHEISSE!

em...I also balanced the thumbs down with a thumbs up on the next comment - little childish to go and give 42 thumbs down in return no?

Vielleicht aber doch world famous.

Anyway thats only your opinion. Personally i really like him and it and i posted it to cheer you up within your bomb site and to-do lists.

Vielleicht aber doch world famous.

Anyway thats only your opinion. Personally i really like him and it and i posted it to cheer you up within your bomb site and to-do lists.

The idea was appreciated even if the content was not...

But still; there was no need for the dolly to be thrown from the pram 42 times!!

I went for the weirder German singers

Maybe you have a lot of stress at the moment, i thought you gonna watch that and i actually had expected a

"HAHAHA" from you.

So sorry about that it went wrong.

More info here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Raabe

Max Raabe (born Matthias Otto,^[1] December 12, 1962, Lünen, North Rhine-Westphalia) is a German singer. He is particularly noted as the founder and leader of the Palast Orchester.

Raabe developed an interest in the sound of German dance and film music of the 1920s and 1930s, such as the songs of the Comedian Harmonists, from seeing old films on television and from his parents' record collection.^[2] He formally studied music at the Berlin University of the Arts, intending originally to become a baritone opera singer. He and 11 other students formed the Palast Orchester in 1985. The ensemble initially used music arrangements that Raabe found whilst shopping at various flea markets.^[3] The orchestra worked for one year on learning these arrangements without any public engagements or performances.^[4] The orchestra gave its first public performance at the 1987 Berlin Theaterball, in the lobby as a secondary act, but with such success that the audience left the ballroom to hear the orchestra's performance in the lobby.^[5] Raabe and the Palast Orchester had a hit with his 1992 original, Schlager-styled song "Kein Schwein ruft mich an" ("No One Ever Calls, No One Has a Care for Me"; literal translation "No pig calls me"), a pop song in 1920s' style.

In addition to covers of vintage music, Raabe writes original songs and music, including film music. He and the orchestra have also created covers of modern pop songs in a 1920–1930s band style, including songs by Britney Spears, Tom Jones, and Salt'n'Pepa. Raabe has also made a number of cameo appearances, mostly as stereotypical 1920s and 1930s singers and entertainers, in a number of films by German directors, such as Der bewegte Mann (1994; English title "Maybe, Maybe Not"), Werner Herzog's Invincible(2001), and Wenzel Storch's Die Reise ins Glück (2004). His live theatre performances have included a 1994 appearance as Dr. Siedler in the Berlin 'Bar jeder Vernunft' version of The White Horse Inn, and 1999 performances as Mack the Knife in Kurt Weill and Bertholt Brecht's The Threepenny Opera alongside Nina Hagen.

Raabe first performed in the USA in Los Angeles in 2004.^[6] In 2005, he had his first concert in New York City's Carnegie Hall. He and the Palast Orchester subsequently appeared at Carnegie Hall in 2007^[7] and 2010. In 2011 Raabe produced an album, Küssen kann man nicht alleine (You cannot kiss alone), with former new wave musician and famous producer Annette Humpe, who also wrote the lyrics.^[8]

^cheers

Would prefer a 'sorry' for the childish 42 thumbs down to be honest...

Now now, boys...No need to abuse the thumbing system or else Admin bill will give you an offline bum thumb.

'I fixed the bug. Unfortunately it involved giving you a thumbs down. Sorry mate.

But then again, the whole thumbs up/down thing is arse over ***.

In Ancient Rome, the thumbs down actually signaled that the crowd wanted the person spared not killed, and thumbs up showed they wanted them killed.'

'I fixed the bug. Unfortunately it involved giving you a thumbs down. Sorry mate.

But then again' date=' the whole thumbs up/down thing is arse over ***.

In Ancient Rome, the thumbs down actually signaled that the crowd wanted the person spared not killed, and thumbs up showed they wanted them killed.'[/quote']

'a' thumbs down?? More like forty ******* two!!

And yes, know the Roman version - was once a classical scholar in another life lol

Would prefer a 'sorry' for the childish 42 thumbs down to be honest...

Mate, I have reversed now 43 of them. Sorry for the miscalculation because there should have been 50. :twisted:

But now i'll tell you the clou: They disappear already from the forums and blog posts, but they'll never disappear from your profile.

On the very first day i had reported this bug to uncle Bill, with the result of getting a thumbs down from you for reporting the bug (which is still displayed at my profile).

Thanks again for that!

Get a room, you two!

Or a stage at Lumpini stadium...

(Muay Thai is a combat sport from Thailand that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques.) :twisted:

Mate' date=' I have reversed now 43 of them. Sorry for the miscalculation because there should have been [b']50. :twisted:

But now i'll tell you the clou: They disappear already from the forums and blog posts, but they'll never disappear from your profile.

On the very first day i had reported this bug to uncle Bill, with the result of getting a thumbs down from you for reporting the bug (which is still displayed at my profile).

Thanks again for that!

They are stupid things anyway. An attempt not only to emulate FB but to add something people want on FB (the dislike button). You now only owe me one beer and bottle of JD ;-)

Would prefer a 'sorry' for the childish 42 thumbs down to be honest...

Do I hear a bit of "mommiiiieee" here?

He who hits also should be able to accept hits - from whatever direction.

Take it cum grano salis, dude! (the whole thing as well as my posting)

Do I hear a bit of "mommiiiieee" here?

He who hits also should be able to accept hits - from whatever direction.

Take it cum grano salis' date=' dude! (the whole thing as well as my posting)[/quote']

Not at all. And all sorted now. :twisted:

Not all, but almost sorted.

Not all, but almost sorted.

Well the bug has to be sorted.

By usual TF timescales this will be fixed April 24th 2013

:twisted:

And don't forget Tengo hambre, tengo sed! on SATURDAY (Neung take note!!) 29th September, taking place at what is now Bangkok's 5th best international restaurant (kudos to Dave here - considering the reviews CB used to get a few years ago, this really shows the work he (and his staff) have put in). <<

has Dave got the staff writing good reviews now also !!!

Also Iain did not mention which ones are the best 4?

1.) McDonald's

2.) Burger King

3.) KFC

4.) Dunkin' Donuts

I'm still waiting to see some nipples.