Blade Runner - Phillip K. Dick

I watched Blade Runner for the first time last night as part of the 'movie classics I've managed to miss season' I'm going through. I understand now why it's a cult movie. Originally I was only curious about watching Science Fiction which is not my genre of movie making because I'm seriously interested in Phillip K. Dick's unique life which seems to have had a living (nightmare?) time-shift quality to it that reveals clues to questions I'm pursuing today. 


However the movie stand's up on it's own two feet as superb story telling, quality acting and outstanding dystopian scenery from not too far away for us now in 2011. The direction also feels like it inspired Wong Kar Wai's entire career to date. I've included the final deleted scene below because it's so extraordinarily close to the ending of Tron Legacy that I watched recently.

Soul Food Mahanakorn

It's really hard for me to get excited by Thai restaurants in Bangkok when the street food is so often tastier, more fun to eat and inexpensive. My palate is often more Thai than a lot of Bangkokians so the idea of enduring napkins, starched service and something more bland than my taste prefers isn't my first choice of eating environment. However about a year ago I started following Jarret Wrisley on Twitter and followed the ups and downs of establishing a business in this city for a while, as he wrote for the Atlantic before creating a bar restaurant on Thong Lor. I've now eaten there a few times and the food and atmosphere has been so exceptional that I'm going to say it's the only place I can authentically recommend if guests insist on Thai.

The menu at Soulfood Mahanakorn has a care and attention to it such that newcomers wont be stretched too far, and old hands wont be left unimpressed. That's quite an unusual harmonic to achieve with Thai food in Bangkok. I'll also add that the smoked ribs are the best local style ribs I've eaten. It's not far from the Sky Train station of Thong Lor. Here's a map.

R.E.M. - Rockpalast - October 2, 1985

R.E.M. have disbanded. It's my feeling they come from that great tradition of American music which tells the truth, is sympathetic to the down trodden and champions those without a voice. R.E.M. always did that and are a credit to their country. That's quite hard to achieve consistently over decades rather than years. It's authentic.