One of the creepiest things about Burma’s ruling junta is its insistence on creating the trappings of prosperity, even as the vast majority of the nation grapples with desperate economic circumstances. Take the recent Yangon Auto Show, which followed the Western blueprint to a T with scantily-clad models draped across shiny new vehicles. Yet the [...]
Entries Tagged as 'Burma'
Representing the +95
May 5th, 2010 · No Comments
The sitter’s deathly ill and the Grand Empress is at JFK picking up a shipment of lacey undergarments (slightly NSFW), so Microkhan Jr. is our sole responsibility ’til his afternoon playdate. That means no time for words o’ wisdom this morning, an announcement we make with heavy hearts. Hope to get back to y’all once [...]
Casting With Disaster
October 15th, 2009 · 5 Comments
As we went digging into our pocket for some change this morning, we came up with a piece of currency sure to give the vending machine a case of indigestion: a 20 shilling coin from Kenya, a souvenir of our recent East African jaunt. Before tossing back the useless money in frustration, however, we noticed [...]
Tags:animals·Burma·coins·currency·economics·Ivory Coast·Kenya·North Korea·politics·Roman Empire·Turkmenbashi·Turkmenistan
Be Thankful for What We’ve Got
October 6th, 2009 · No Comments
A pal of ours is on jury duty this week, and reminded us of one of the great pleasures of the process (at least in New York): getting to view Enter the Jury Room on your first morning. Narrated by the late Ed Bradley, the short film is surprisingly witty and informative, especially for those [...]
Tags:Burma·crime·Ed Bradley·Enter the Jury Room·law·Medieval history·movies·trial by ordeal
Beyond Burma Shave
September 15th, 2009 · No Comments
A valued Friend of Microkhan informs us that GMC is running a new crop of ads that refer to the Burma Road, where the company’s trucks did fine work plowing through the monsoon muck. This campaign obviously harkens back to one from the thick of World War II, when GMC touted its vehicles’ performance in [...]
A Dose of Burmese Glamour
August 31st, 2009 · 3 Comments
Not that we’re insensitive louts or anything, but we generally fail to get riled up by charges of religious blasphemy. As such, we really can’t say we understood the recent, rather obscure to-do over the photo above, in which a Burmese film star named Min Maw Kun was accused of disrespecting Buddhism. No, what made [...]
The Mob Psychology of Desperate Men
July 2nd, 2009 · 2 Comments
It took us well over a week, but we finally got around to finishing Harp of Burma last night, while sitting on the 2 train back from Brooklyn. Yes, a week-plus is an awful long time to tackle a so-called children’s book, one which clocks in at a measly 132 pages. But such is life [...]
Tags:anthropology·Burma·cannibalism·Harp of Burma·Japan·psychology·World War II
The Last Delay
June 9th, 2009 · 2 Comments
The missus isn’t due back from Vega$ ’til late tonight, which means we’re in extreme-parenting mode for one more day. Genuine posts up soon; in the interim, please enjoy the above vid of Burmese construction workers showing off their Eto’o-like skills. We wonder if any of these blokes are currently living the dream in the [...]
Tags:Burma·housekeeping·soccer·sports
“Film Them…Film Them All!”
May 20th, 2009 · No Comments
“Harrowing” is probably the only word to describe the above trailer for Burma VJ, a new Danish film that consists largely of illicitly shot video of the 2007 protests. As we know from first-hand experience, Burma is one of the toughest reporting gigs around, which makes the proliferation of disruptive media all the more important [...]
The Pride of Sagaing Division
May 11th, 2009 · 1 Comment
The handsome logo at right belongs to Zeya Shwe Myay FC, one of eight teams that will soon compete in Burma’s National League Cup, the nation’s first-ever professional soccer league. Matches kick off this coming Saturday, with the early money on Mandalay’s Yadanarpon FC as the prohibitive favorite; the team is owned by a drinking-water [...]
Tags:Burma·corruption·National League Cup·politics·Sagaing Division·soccer·sports·Zeya Shwe Myay
The Burma Surgeon
May 7th, 2009 · No Comments
Today’s edition of NtHWS Extras brings us the amazing tale of Dr. Gordon S. Seagrave, arguably one of the most selfless and impressive American expatriates of the 20th century. There is nary a peep about Seagrave in Now the Hell Will Start, primarily because he’s not the sort of bloke you can just casually mention [...]
Tags:Burma·Gordon Seagrave·medicine·Now the Hell Will Start·NtHWS Extras Month·World War II
Burmese Voodoo
March 27th, 2009 · No Comments
Lost amidst the week’s more high-profile news was something quite significant, at least for those of us keen on Asian affairs: a (relatively) high-level State Department official dropped in on Burma, in order to feel out the ruling junta’s openness to dialogue. Stephen Blake made a rare visit to Naypyidaw, the junta’s somewhat creepy jungle [...]
Tags:Burma·Emma Larkin·Naypyidaw
The Sludgy Pleasures of Zu
March 25th, 2009 · 2 Comments
The Nagas of the India-Burma border region are especially dear to my heart, seeing as how they play a pivotal role in Now the Hell Will Start. They were always gracious during my travels through the Patkai Mountains, despite facing myriad problems of their own (beginning with a tenuous security situation). And a big part [...]
Legendary Rats with Wings
February 23rd, 2009 · 2 Comments
The handsome squab pictured at right is none other than Burma Queen, a charter member of the Army Pigeons Hall of Fame (PDF). Back in 1944, this brave pigeon helped save an entire battalion of Allied troops, by racing 320 miles with a key SOS message. She was only five months old at the time—not [...]
