#169 Thailand + Vietnam
I am in Pattaya, Thailand at the moment as I start writing this article.
I returned from Argentina, to the Philippines, went to Bangkok for a week for medical tests. All came out relatively okay. Went back to the Philippines for a week, then returned to Thailand. I’m going to spend Christmas here in and accompany a friend to Vietnam for New Year’s.
I have to say, again, a few words about the World Cup. It is nothing short of depressing to realize that such a large proportion of the world’s population actually places so much importance on what is nothing more than a sporting event. The amount of money and corruption involved in this sport (probably the majority of sports, but the bigger the sport the more the corruption) is huge. And these poor misguided fools who mindlessly support the sport don’t seem to either know or care that their support enables the corruption. I am hearing from people in Argentina that the level of festivities has impacted everybody’s lives. And the people that are out in the streets don’t seem to care about that either.
I read an excerpt in a book that actually said something along the lines of one of the benefits of organized sports is that it replaces the more violent aspects of tribalism. I throw that out there, but I’m not sure that it holds much water as an argument. I do agree with it, I guess, in principle. IOrganized sports are very obviously a form of tribalism and the implication that the author was making was that by having organized sports it prevented people from indulging in the more antagonistic aspects of tribalism. However, (and every time I have discussed this and many other topics I cannot help thinking about the bell curve paradigm - it just seems to intrude into all aspects of behavior in the world around me), has the human race really truly not evolved enough that we can see these organized sports for what they are? Just imagine if the effort and money and enthusiasm that people put into supporting team sports were to be redirected into eliminating warfare, improving economies, alternative energy research, recycling, education, etc. It just seems such an incredible waste of the world’s resources to waste it on things like FIFA and the World Cup or the Super Bowl.
And again (bell curve) it is like religion I think. If you have to actually talk to somebody to explain this, you are probably wasting oxygen. I believe that if they are the fanatics that you see running around the streets waving their shirts and pumping their fists and singing songs, they lack the intelligence or global awareness to be able to understand how stupid what they’re doing actually is. I’m sure that I am oversimplifying this to a huge degree, but I think most people lack a broad awareness of the world and the factors that affect life, the universe, and everything. And there is no doubt the world is a very complex place. But even allowing for the stupidity and the lies can be found on the Internet, the average citizen, anywhere in the world, with the cell phone, has the ability to educate themselves and to know what is going on. And they don’t use it. And contemplation of this particular egregious state of affairs in the world today makes me tired just thinking about it. Because I have no idea how to go about changing in a world of 8 billion people.
Okay, enough.
Something had me looking at my journal last week and I realize that this year I have been sick for five months out of 12. Covid took up two months. The back episode and the blood pressure problems occupied a little more than eight weeks, and I’ve had a couple bad colds. As somebody said, that’s like being sick almost every other day. I hope next year is better.
Somebody sent me a link from YouTube, some chiropractor in Michigan, that was talking about how to relieve severe lower back pain. There were a number of things that he discussed, but he particularly mentioned using a tennis ball (I use the Orb, which I wrote about in a blog post some time ago), to access the deep muscles and fascia in the lower back and gluteus area. I started doing that as part of my daily routine along with my stretches and yoga in the morning, and I am almost hesitant to mention this, but I don’t think my lower back has felt this good for decades. I will keep up with it and update you later on how it is going.
https://www.pro-tecathletics.com/product/theorb/
My plan is to go to Vietnam on the 28th for New Year, but at this point I don’t think I will stay there until the lunar new year (21st of January approximately). I think I will return to the Philippines around the middle of January for a few weeks, then go to Bulgaria to spend some time in the apartment there with my friend Jacob, and then probably Medellin for some weeks waiting the call from my lawyer. Last week I FedEx the final (hopefully) document needed for my Argentinian passport to my lawyer there. Given that the courts will be closed until the end of January I’m hoping that some time in March I will get the final call to come and be sworn in as an Argentinians is. My St. Kitts and Nevis passport has also been delayed (backlog apparently) 3 months so I am thinking that I might get the call for that in March as well. That doesn’t require a trip, simply a wire transfer for the economic donation. My hope is that I can get both passports by the end of March, so I can then find a U.S. embassy in which I will go and start my renunciation process.
I am feeling increasingly disconnected from the world. I look at marketing, people’s behavior, governments, events like the World Cup, Putin’s evil, and I just wonder … what the HELL are people thinking?
Ah well … what a positive note to end on, eh? ☹
I’m in Vietnam as I post this. Interesting to be back.
View from Sheraton Saigon Tower