From Pai

Most of the pictures on this blog are taken on my camera phone (Sony Erricson K800i) but this one came from browsing on the net; and is a picture near the Cafe Del Doi which is a few k's out of town and has absolutely magnificent views up and down the Pai valley. Why would I want to go anywhere? they ask. We have one of the best views in the world right here.

The story continues:

"He had always been wanted. He never had to worry about where the next drink was coming from There was always someone who wanted to make love to him. Adopt him. From the first time, in a back alley of the motor show when he had wandered away from his father and his brother, lonely and upset and bewildered by7 the chaos of pubescence. A man had been kind, interested,k listened to him. Had led him away from the crowd, up a back alley. Had kissed him. He had been completely astonished when the man's face had disappeared to below his belt.

"Desperate to lose his virginity, he nonetheless had no idea what was happening. He'd never heard of oral sex. While he had looked up homosexuality in the Britannica, he had no idea what the act involved. He tucked the man's telephone number into his school trousers and rang it a fortnight later, at the beginning of the school holidays.

"While men were readily available, the opposite sex remained a mystery. None of the girls at school would go out with him, though he screwed up courage several times and asked. In a beachside suburb he was the ultimate wierdo - he read books. He watched the other boys in the showers after Physical Education, intoxicated, frightened, curious. His classmates sent him up, taunted him, picked fights. Hit me with your handbag, hit me with your handbag. He could hear the chant in the roar of the surf. Hit me... Hit me... Later he found out his worst tormentor was simply jealous and had only discovered his predilections because he was getting blow jobs after school from the same man."

THE BIGGER STORY:

We live in interesting times and the country is completely fed up with Prime Minister John Howard:

Australian Prime Minister, John Howard, has told his conservative government that the government could be annihilated in an election later this year.He said voters appeared attracted to the opposition Labor Party despite the government announcing handouts of more than $A60 billion in the 2007 budget and spending more than A$110 million to advertise its programmes.A spokesman quoted Mr Howard as telling a closed meeting of government lawmakers that Labor's projected vote was the highest since he first won office in 1996.After Mr Howard's 11 years in power and four election wins, the polls have shown a strong surge this year in support for Labor and Kevin Rudd, who took over as leader in December.Mr Howard is due to call national elections in the second half of 2007 and is widely expected to go to the polls in late October or early November, after hosting the Sydney summit of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) group leaders in September.The prime minister told coalition colleagues on Tuesday the polls suggested an emphatic win for Labor.The comments came as the latest Newspoll in the Australian newspaper found the government trailing Labor by 14 points, with 43 percent support against 57, on a two-party basis.The coalition won a 27-seat majority in the 150-seat parliament at the last election in October 2004, taking 52.7 percent of the two-party preferred vote.Labor last won a national election in 1993. It needs to gain 16 seats to return to power.© NewsRoom 2007