The food is fabulous! Travel is inexpensive: flight from HCMC to Phu Cat in Central Highlands is under 100 usd. Cost of living is 23% of USA. Rent a motor bike for 50 usd per month. Most beautiful beaches in the world.

Even though today is January 1, 2025, in the dead of winter, fall has me reminiscing for a lovely time of the year. It's sunny, mostly dry, and colorful. BTW. may your hopes and dreams come true in 2025, making for a HAPPY NEW YEAR!

And now for something completely different: Have you ever heard of Althea Cole, a supposed columnist for a mid-sized Midwestern daily newspaper? Her columns are ridiculously verbose and prolix. I wrote a letter about these overly long columns of an elementary-level, knee jerk conservatism. Here's the text of the submitted message: "When I read Althea Cole's columns I'm reminded of a letter written by Voltaire to a friend. He wrote that he was so sorry the letter was so long. He didn't have time to write a short one."
My letter to the editor was ignored. Is this why newspapers are failing across the country? Their product is mediocre and unresponsive to readers, causing them to go to social media.

Trump voters' theme song, "Don't know much about history..." They fit the Germany 1933 mold. Trump's cabinet picks are the equivalent of the Reichstag fire.

WHAT'S ORANGE AND SOUNDS LIKE A JAZZ PIANIST?    FELONIOUS TRUMP.

SAY IT AIN'T SO JOE! YOU AND MIKA ARE PATHETIC FOR KOWTOWING TO TRUMP AT MAR-A-LAGO FOR KRISAKE. WILLIE! GET OUT OF THERE.

Don't  know what Xi Jinping, Premier of China, thinks about Putin wooing Kim Jung Un of North Korea, but he's bound to be a bit miffed, especially after Putin went to Vietnam after Korea and played up diplomatic agreements with that country, too. Dictators are paranoid anyway, and there is no love lost between China and Vietnam. In fact, the Vietnam people hate the Chinese for their aggressive business incursions into this southern neighbor. There is an on-going contention about control of some small islands in the South China Sea. BTW, Vietnamese maps have "East Vietnam Sea" for the South China Sea. That's just one of many examples of Vietnam telling China to drop dead.

I see that Putin visited Vietnam after a parasitic huddle with North Korea's Kim Jong Un. Vietnam will do anything to cultivate alliances with anyone that may be a bulwark in their continuous distrust of China. The Vietnamese hate the Chinese. It goes back thousands of years. China's aggressive business practices are not appreciated in Vietnam, as well as expansion overtures in the South China Sea. BTW, Vietnamese maps read "East Vietnamese Sea" where the rest of the world has "South China Sea." Vietnam readily adopted the Western alphabet by Jesuits in the 15th century because it wasn't Chinese characters. Many revolts finally won independence for VN in 1428. Kind of makes you wonder what US interventionin the '60s

Prayer:Dear God, Lord of hosts, I pray....
When day is done and night is come
I pray for those who suffer,
From climate stress
And willfulness
By those of evil bluster.

Be a comfort, I pray, dear Lord
For those in deep depression.
And may that justice be met somehow
On cruel, cold aggression.

I've been wont to pray lately given the state of the world: wanton incursion by Putin, evil genius of Trump with words to grab the uneducated masses, the weather extremes are telling, the psychopathy of Hamas, (what did they think would happen?), the corruption of Netanyahu, (although he has right to bomb the hell out of Gaza--the people allowed Hamas), universities providing venue for warped support of Hamas and antisemitic sentiments, Republicans kowtowing to that lying, immoral, idiot Trump.  .

  Privileged University students and professors are giving support for degenerate, debased, and despicable Hamas! That is the height of perversion. The October 7 attack perpetrated by Hamas was monstrous and inhuman. What did they think Israel would do? It was Gaza civilians be damned. I'm sorry, but I weep not for the Gazans. They allowed the odious Hamas to live among them while planning their nefarious and pointless raid to kill Jews. The Gaza civilians are not innocent. This is what happens. They should never, never allow Hamas to exist among them again. And now, j'accuse you pampered academics of giving Hamas agency. Cease in the name of human decency.