Taking Care of Pappa

*

Infinite. But that didn't stop the pain. The pleasure principle had already died. His friend got drunk on "Margies", as he called Margaritas, his favourite drink; and then headed off with the girl to the Electric Blue go go bar, where his friend took his latest girl in a queue of girls, downed tequila shots and pole danced with the go go girls until they were too drunk to stand. They'd written the chorus:
We were choir boys in quicksand
In the land of hungry ghosts
Amongst all the back slapping and bleary late night toasts
On the streets of Bangkok, Irish pubs and Sunday roasts
We were choir boys in quicksand
In the land of hungry ghosts.
They were crucified before they had even started. Nothing worked. Every excess had been surrendered. They were too old for it now. Taking care of pappa, that's how they thought of it. Hardly erotic. Tip tip. Good natured as they were. Flesh on flesh. Yabba pscyhotic girlfriends cleaning guns. Does it work? he asked. Yes, she replied. Hmmm, might take the hint, he thought, and stay away from her boyfriend. Their history was history. He could offer everything she couldn't. She'd cheerfully kill him.

The story went round in ever expanding loops. He couldn't be crucified if he had already died; if the streets of Calcutta called; if the chaotic scenes of the Howrah Bridge still held promise; a place where there was still a future, or had been last time they were there. Only in their thirties. The children still young. Everything young. Even the decaying Frenchmen in their cheap Indian rooms were a source of fascination and delight; how could a European throw themselves so thoroughly away. Easy, he thought. Oblivion took many forms. Gassap Gassai. Restless. They would be crucified in an oblivion drenched age. You sad, someone accused. You sound unusually sad, insisted Jaan on Skype. He denied every last accusation. Over tired. Can't sleep. The pleasure dome was a sinister place. The boy had cheerfully despatched the girl so he could take care of pappa. But she kept coming back. She crazy, boy say, she say money don't matter. The girlfriend kept cleaning the gun. It was safer to leave. Even he had finally worked that out. There wasn't any way to be more fulfilled, except to adopt a more sensible lifestyle. Spiritual solutions, they chanted. As if he could hear all the denial, all the stories; all the chaotic cult like garbage that spewed from their mouths. I was prepared to believe anything I was told, they declared. Well I'm not, he thought. And that was it. Laugh out loud if you want to. If you want to make God laugh tell him your plans.

We were choir boys in quicksand
In a land of hungry ghosts.

THE BIGGER STORY:

http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90001/90777/90851/7146695.html

The capital of Thailand heated up again on Sunday four months after a blood-shedding dispersal to a chronic anti-government rally, as well as four years after a bloodless military coup that ousted the then Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

Although the activities in Bangkok by the Red-shirts called it a day by 6 p.m. local time on Sunday free of violence or unrest, analysts believe the return of about 10,000 Red-shirts to the downtown Ratchaprasong area, where was the central stage for the April-to-May rally, has alarmed authorities that the anti- government movement could be regaining power.

Holding activities on Sept. 19 has been a routine for Red- shirts since the coup on that day four years ago toppled Thaksin, their leader de facto, but this year new importance was attached to the date: Four months ago on May 19, the troops dispersed the Red-shirts protesters by force. The Red-shirts leaders said the gathering meant to commemorate the 91 people, mostly Red-shirts protesters and security forces, who died in clashes between authorities and the anti-government group during the protests.

In the morning of Sunday a group of Red-shirts travelled to Pathum Wanaram temple near the Rachatprasong Intersection and laid red roses outside the pavilion, where six people, including both protesters and medical workers, were killed in the dispersal operation.

In the afternoon more and more people with red shirts joined them. They gathered at the Ratchaprasong area, chanting Red-shirts songs, tying red-ribbons and lighting candles to memorize those who died during their rally in April and May.

On Friday, Red-shirts across the country laid red roses in front of prisons nationwide in a bid to express best wishes to, and call for the release of, 252 Red-shirts including their leaders, who had been detained after the chronic rally ended.

A cavalcade of Red-shirts on Saturday also drove all the way to the northern province of Chiang Mai, a stronghold of them and Thaksin, to stage another rally on Sunday, with key Red-shirts members, including Jatuporn Promphan, delivering speeches.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/coalition-crab-walking-away-from-parliamentary-reform-says-labor/story-fn59niix-1225927174275

INDEPENDENT MP Tony Windsor has described the Coalition's objection to fellow independent Rob Oakeshott's bid to be Speaker as "payback".

The comments came after Mr Oakeshott withdrew his bid to be Speaker and expressed a preference for the Coalition to provide the next Speaker.

The independent passed up the chance to become Speaker after meeting Tony Abbott and the manager of opposition business Christopher Pyne in Sydney late yesterday.

Mr Oakeshott said yesterday Mr Abbott had “agreed to come back within 24 hours on the issue of a Liberal MP in the Speaker's chair”.

He said that was “something I would strongly consider endorsing as a step towards the Westminster model of a truly independent speaker”.

With parliament due to resume next Tuesday it remains unclear who will fill the Speaker's chair.

Mr Windsor said today the Coalition might be punishing Mr Oakeshott for siding with Julia Gillard after the election, handing Labor minority government.

“There is a little bit of sour grapes there in terms of not getting the backing of Rob Oakeshott to form government, so this may be a little bit of payback in a sense,” he told ABC.

Labor leader of the house Anthony Albanese accused the Coalition of “crab-walking” away from the parliamentary reform agreement both major parties had signed up to.

“Tony Abbott and Christopher Pyne have to make their position clear, they haven't up to now, they have been crab-walking away from that agreement,” he said.

“What we have seen since the government was formed is Tony Abbott go back to his old habits of talking about conflict politics, and what we need to know is what the rules of the game are.

“Will they stick by that agreement and then we can make a decision based upon the rules of the game.”

Mr Oakeshott said the constitutional problems about him becoming Speaker and raised by the Coalition in recent days had not been discussed during parliamentary reform negotiations.

“The assumption was that everyone was doing their own diligence, no-one was relying on each other, everyone was very aware of what we were trying to achieve,” he told the ABC's AM program.

“The fact that now we are finding out after the event that people have signed up to something that they have admitted they haven't done their homework on is of concern.”