Elisabeth Sladen, aka Sarah Jane Smith. RIP

Another face from my youth, the bright and attractive actress Elisabeth Sladen, who played the 'Dr Who' companion Sarah Jane Smith, has passed away, and at the relatively young age of 63. I remember her as the companion of John Pertwee and Tom Baker. She played a feisty investigative reporter, turned time travelling companion—a part she played well. I recall her time on the show fondly, and was sorry when she left. She did return to the series from time to time ( :) ), but, for me, it will always be the 70s.

Elisabeth Sladen 1948-2011 RIP.

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Pattani — the ‘deep’ south of Thailand

First, some advisories: A. ADVISORY: For the last few years and decades there has been an ongoing insurgency in the provinces of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat (the 'deep south' of Thailand). An average of 600 people have been killed per year between 2004-9. The Australian government strongly urges its citizens not to visit these provinces: "do not travel". Having said this there is no blood on the streets, and life goes on normally for the vast majority of people. In comparison approximately 400 people die every year from traffic accidents in the same region. You have been advised. B. Getting there. There seems to be a scam carried out by the local tour operators to persuade travellers to take mini-buses on journeys between the towns in southern Thailand. These mini-buses cost several times as much as a normal bus. For example, I was quoted 1000 baht (~$35) between Trang and Pattani ~250kms, as compared to 200 baht for a VIP bus. A clear difference. Take the l

Robert Heinlein's Starship Troopers—A Critical Critique

The late science fiction author Robert Heinlein was noted for many things, and one of these is controversy. During his life he never shied away from contentious issues, rather he seems to have actively sought them out, both on and off the page. His writing was always provocative, and the most provocative example of this was his 1959 novel "Starship Troopers". The novel was written in a few weeks, prompted by left-wing lobbying for a ban on USA nuclear weapon testing. Heinlein, a strident conservative, vehemently disagreed with this proposal. While the meaning and import of the novel has been debated (it won the 1960 Hugo and is still in print), the story conveys the author's conservative anguish on the perceived flaws of contemporary political and social life. The novel depicts and praises a future government with a sharply limited voting franchise, lauds an authoritarian military, and strongly criticises popular democracy. Essentially, the novel endorses conservative,

Sukhothai Historical Park

Sukhotahi—"Dawn of Happiness" Sukhothai ("suk-hot-thai") is a province in northern Thailand, approximately 400kms distant from Bangkok. The principal attraction of the province is the 'old town' of Sukhothai, as it is referred to locally. This old town is now an archaeological site, however, between the early 13th to the early 15th centuries it was the capital of the Sukhothai Kingdom. At its height this Kingdom stretched southwards down the long Malay Peninsular. The principal ruler of Sukhothai was King Ramkamhaeng (c. 1280-1318), who is revered in the popular culture of the province. This Kingdom was the first Siamese (Thai) state, and oversaw the developement of Thai culture, including its language and alphabet. At its beginnings the new Sukhothai state was on the western edge of the dominant Cambodian Empire, from which it had earlier secured independence, however, as the centuries past the Cambodian Empire declined, and the Thai people achieved gr

The Journey(s) of Ian

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