KANIS MAJORIS N°. 9

NOV 2024

SMARTPHONE

DESKTOP/TABLET

INTRO

HM, I DIDN’T KNOW THAT

WEATHER / MONARCHS / THOUGHT EXPERIMENTS

MARKO POLO

LIFE, ETC.

ANYONE REMEMBER BOJACK HORSEMAN? / CHECK OUT THESE MOVIES FROM THE ‘00s / MORE OF THE BEST YOUTUBE CHANNELS / RIDDLES #9 / SOME MORE YOUTUBE VIDEOS / THINGS THAT USED TO BE MORE COMMON #3

FINALE

don’t wait up.

It was the middle of the night and I was starting to get anxious. Not really panicking, but just a little concerned that I wasn’t going to make it on time.

I’ve had experiences of running late before. For a number of reasons: traffic, woke up late, the driver took too long to arrive, got lost, you name it. We all have. But nothing quite beat the time I went to Bangkok for the weekend and barely made it back to Jakarta in time for work on Monday morning. Which was around 2,300 km ^[1] away.

So, I had always wanted to go to Bangkok. An opportunity came up in November 2022 where my wife was going on a business trip for a week to the capital of Thailand and I figured, since I had never been to Bangkok before, I should join her over the weekend and have a mini getaway of sorts. I would get a free hotel room (since my wife’s company was paying for hers) so all I’d have to do is buy a return ticket and I would finally get to go to the land formerly known as Siam.

Going there was nothing but smooth sailing. Left work on a Friday, got to the airport in good time, checked in, read a magazine at the gate, took off on time, watched a movie on the plane. Landed in Bangkok at around 10pm and took public transport to the hotel.

The entire weekend was great. Walking around Bangkok and looking at the sights was a great way to see the city — despite the hot and humid weather. We visited numerous malls, rode in tuk-tuks, saw a monitor lizard roaming free at Lumphini Park and bought some elephant-themed souvenirs. I even got yelled at by a security guard at a temple because I wasn’t wearing a mask ^[2]. It was all good fun seeing and experiencing Bangkok for the first time. It’s a great city with an interesting balance of chaos and structure that makes it interesting.

My plan for the trip home was to get the 8pm flight out of Don Mueang Airport on Sunday evening, arrive in Jakarta late night, head straight home, rest up for a few hours and then head in to work on Monday morning. It was all planned out nicely. But the thing is — and this shouldn’t really come as a surprise to anyone at this point — that during COVID, air travel was really messed up. Like, big time. From my own personal experiences, there was never a time after the lockdowns where I flew to another country and it all went smoothly. It was only like around 2023 that things started to get a little bit better.

And so in November 2022, things were still bad. And I found out just how bad on Sunday morning, the day I was supposed to fly back, when I got an email from the airline saying that my flight had been delayed from 8pm to around midnight that night. A four hour delay.

No worries, I thought to myself. I could head to the airport, get on the plane, land in Jakarta in the early hours of Monday morning, head home, shower up and then head in to work. It would be a little tiring as I wouldn’t be able to get any sleep but I should still make it in plenty of time.

I arrived at the airport at around 9pm on Sunday night and walked into a pretty much deserted check-in area. Good, I thought. No long line to wait in. This was true; I didn’t have to wait in line and I pretty much walked right up to the desk and checked in, got my boarding pass and walked through to security where, again, there was no line which allowed me to breeze through security and head to duty-free.

Everything was going swimmingly, until I arrived at the duty-free area to see that there was basically nothing except a couple of cafes, a McDonalds and a Starbucks. There was one small classic airport duty-free store — you know, the ones that have designer perfumes and those giant packs of chocolate (why is that, by the way?). I bought some food and tried to go and find a place to sit down. I walked around the various gates and rows of benches, but I couldn’t even find one single seat available. Where the check-in and security had been empty, this part of the airport was packed. I looked at the information screen where all the flights were listed and found a lot of red writing. Flight after flight was being delayed, and people that should have left hours ago were now sitting at their gate with their head resting on their luggage or in the corner by the charging stations with the power outlets you can use to charge your phone. There were people sleeping on the floor. The seating at the cafes was all taken as more and more people entered the area to await their flight with not a single member of airport staff in sight. “Where are they? What are they doing? And why are they not trying to get things moving so people can get out of here?” were the questions on every single person’s mind, including myself as I found a space next to one of the charging stations and wondered how long it would be before I would get out of there.

My boarding pass said “00.35” as the flight departure time, and 00.35 came and went with no signs of any kind of movement. The information screen simply displayed the word “DELAYED” next to my flight number in big, red letters and people at the gate began to get restless. There was no update from anyone. I’d been to the duty-free store, bought a family pack of Snickers, had coffee and a sandwich and a pastry and almost everything else this airport had to offer and still had no idea what was happening. I chuckled almost hysterically at the situation, wondering if I would make it on time to work. Had the flight left as per the originally scheduled time, I’d have already been at home in Jakarta right now, sleeping in my bed.

At around 1am, things began to shuffle and I saw the same girl that had checked me in around four hours earlier arrive on the scene and begin printing something out from the computer behind the desk at the gate. I wondered to myself if she was the only one working here as she pushed a button and spoke into a microphone, making an announcement about the flight being ready to board that woke everybody up. The passengers began lining up at the gate as they regained consciousness and got all their stuff together. I joined the line, showed my boarding pass and passport and got on the plane. I found my seat and sat down, struggling to stay awake at this point. As the flight took off, I looked at my watch realising it was half past one in the morning. I began calculating how much time it was going to take for the flight plus all the various things that were going to happen once the plane landed. It’s going to be tight, I realised.

Despite being exhausted, I don’t think I slept on that flight. With time being of the essence in order for me to make it into work on time, it was one of those things where I felt like if I stayed awake, the plane would go faster or something. Also, I was worried. I mean, worst case scenario, I could call in and tell them I’d be a little late. However, in such a situation, I’d have to make something up; I would not be able to tell anyone of my little weekend getaway. See, at the school where I worked, there were certain rules about leaving the country. You weren’t allowed to, basically, without letting anyone know. This whole experience made me understand why they had this rule.

The plane touched down in Jakarta at around four-something a.m. I got off the plane, powered through immigration and breezed through customs. I didn’t have any luggage so that saved me some time and I headed out of the airport just as the sun began to rise. Got in a taxi and began heading home, but all of sudden we ran into traffic. At first, I was confused. Why are there so many people out at this time? I wondered, but then quickly realised that it was around 5.30am and this was now the morning rush hour. I anxiously kept checking my watch as we were bumper to bumper on the highway for almost thirty minutes. I finally arrived home a little after 6am.

All I wanted to do was to crash on my bed and pass out, but I had to be at work by 6.50. I had a shower, unpacked some of my essentials and headed out. Upon arriving at work, I sat down at my desk and thought about how I just arrived straight from Bangkok. Like it was so weird. Or maybe I was just really sleepy.

You have to give some to get some. Yes, my travel plans were ruined which almost made me late for work and I wasn’t able to sleep that night — but hey, I got to go to Bangkok and have a great weekend in return. And for an experience like that, a night’s sleep and a little bit of stress is a small price to pay. What’s that thing they say about a free lunch?

[1]

About 1,400 miles. But even if you aren’t familiar with kilometres, though, I’m sure you can tell that 2,300 km is a long way away.

[2]

This was November 2022, so COVID was kind of over, but some places were still nit-picky about the mask. And I’m not some sort of anti-mask-type person or whatever; I just hadn’t been wearing a mask all weekend and hadn’t been told to wear one until arriving at that temple. In my defence, this was late 2022 and most people around the world had taken their mask off that point.

HM, I DIDN’T KNOW THAT

HERE’S TODAY’S FORECAST. ARE YOU SITTING DOWN?

You probably, every once in a while, open some sort of app on your phone to check the weather. Maybe you just want to know whether it’s going to rain or not. Or maybe it’s a super hot day and you’re curious as to how high the temperature really is as you sit there in the sweltering heat, sweating buckets and letting the sun wash over you ^[1], only to fire up the app and see a number that’s a lot lower than you were expecting. Or maybe you don’t check an app at all and instead switch on the television to see someone standing in front of a map of your area telling you what the weather’s going to be like.

What you might not see on your app or televised weather forecast, though, is whether fish are going to be falling out of the sky. Because that’s what actually happens in Honduras.

In Yoro, a city in the middle of Honduras, in Central America, occurs the phenomenon known as lluvia de peces (in Spanish that’s “rain of fish”). They say that fish literally pour down from the sky and it happens up to four times a year between the months of May and July.

It’s very strange. Bizarre, to say the least. What’s even stranger to me is that this isn’t even the only instance of animals raining from the sky. There’s been a number of other similar occurrences like in Japan in 2009 when tadpoles fell from the sky in recurring episodes or in 2013 when spiders rained from above in Brazil.

Something that’s always confused me personally about weather is what people mean when they say things like “10 mm of rainfall”. I mean, what do you mean by that? How are we using units of distance to measure rainfall?

Well, it’s pretty simple, actually. You take something like a bucket, put it outside when it’s raining and begin a timer. The idea is to measure how much water goes into the bucket over a certain period of time. But how much time?

It’s actually up to you. When a measure of rainfall is expressed, it’s usually done with the number of millimetres along with whatever period of time that it’s been measured over; a year, a month, a day, an hour, a minute. So you could pick any time period and then report the amount of rainfall as X amount of millimetres over Y period of time.

Rainfall is a type of precipitation. But it’s not the only type of precipitation, though. It also refers to, I guess, what could be considered the most beautiful and magical form of weather condition: snow.

I personally don’t like snow. Yeah, sure, it looks cool and gives off vibes of Christmas with the hot chocolate and the fire crackling in the fireplace with ginger cookies and eggnog and you can have fun in snow making angels and throwing snowballs — but, in reality, snow is only fun and games for about a day and a half. After that, at least according to my experience, it begins to melt and become a sort of grey sludge from people walking around in it and cars driving through it and it all just becomes one big, cold, wet slip hazard that you get really bored of really fast. That’s how it is in the UK, at least.

With precipitation comes clouds. Now, clouds have always been confusing to me because, when you think about it, what actually is a cloud? What is it made of? Water vapour? And what exactly does that mean?

I have no idea. But I do find it incredible how a cloud that’s essentially made of water droplets can just float around in the sky. Especially when you consider the fact that clouds are heavy. A cloud can weigh in the hundreds of millions of kilograms. And, as you might already know, clouds come in many shapes and sizes. Literally. Like the calm, cotton-like cirrus clouds, the wispy ones you see on a mostly-clear day that fly really, really high in the atmosphere or the troublesome cumulonimbus clouds that are the ones responsible for things like thunderstorms.

Speaking of clouds, there’s actually a unit for cloud cover called okta. It goes from 0 to 8 where a totally clear sky with no clouds visible is 0 oktas and a fully overcast sky that’s totally covered with clouds is 8 oktas. There’s also 9 oktas, which is where the sky itself isn’t visible, like on a foggy day. Finally, if you have 10 oktas, it means no measurement was made.

Moving on now to thunder and lightning. I’ve always wondered what thunder and lightning actually is. Deafening booms and freaky flashes of light can make anyone wonder what is actually going on up there and make you feel disconcerted and unsettled — kind of like when you feel that there might be a subscription free trial somewhere that you’ve forgotten to cancel.

See, it’s all to do with clouds and electric charges and how those electric charges can make contact with things when it builds up enough. I’ll be honest, I don’t exactly understand it myself seeing as I always struggle with science and understanding things that are rather abstract and hard to visualise like electric charges. What I do know is that when that electric charge jumps out and touches something, that’s what’s known as lightning. Thunder is the sound that follows it because it’s the rapid expansion and heating of the surrounding air when that lightning bolt jumps out.

Now, why does that lightning bolt need to jump anywhere in the first place? Is it like when there are a lot of people in line at the supermarket, but then they suddenly open a new cashier and everyone rushes over to get a place in the new line? I have no clue.

Anyway, there’s this other thing where, under rare circumstances, the air can make contact with itself and become plasma. Now, what is plasma? Again, I have no idea ^[2]. But let’s just accept plasma as this weird, magical thing that causes certain things to happen in the world.

So, when the electrically-charged thunderstorms cause the air to turn into plasma, it can bring to life a strange phenomenon known as St. Elmo’s Fire. No, not the film with Rob Lowe, but a form of lightning that sailors named after the patron saint of sailing, St. Elmo, which looked like blue rings of fire surrounding the masts of a sail ship.

Weather is strange, unpredictable and, in many ways, unexplainable. I mean, I can’t even understand how some water in the air can cause something like a cloud to form and how that cloud can sometimes hold a buttload of water only to then suddenly decide it wants to become electrically-charged somehow — like, where does the electric charge come from? — and then cause literally bolts of white-hot electricity to jump out in a quick, dangerous flash that could potentially kill you? How does it all happen?

It’s bizarre. And, yeah, I know, the electric charge probably comes from the electrons in the water molecules and the hydrogen and the particles with the excited energy states and whatnot. But we have to admit that no matter how much measuring and observation and calculation we do, the weather in general is kind of impossible to predict. How impossible? Well, when the US was about to drop the atomic bomb on Nagasaki, they had actually picked out a different target: Kokura. What happened, though, was that as the plane carrying the bomb arrived over the city of Kokura, the pilot couldn’t get a clear visual of the city below due to overcast weather and so had to divert to the secondary target for the mission: Nagasaki.

I learnt about this story in the Vsauce video titled Cruel Bombs. In the video, Michael puts it brilliantly when he says: “We can build a weapon that mimics the furnace of our Sun and the winds of Neptune — but, yet, we can’t predict the weather more than a few minutes ahead of time.”

That gives me chills. And not weather-related chills, I mean the kind of chills that you get when you read something that makes you think about how uncanny some things in the world can be. Some things can be so simple, straightforward and calculable yet others can be so unforeseeable, so influenced by the forces of nature that we can spend our entire lives learning about and still never really understand.

[1]

In Myanmar, they have this thing called thanaka, a kind of off-white-coloured paste made from ground tree bark that’s applied to the face, particularly the cheeks. Along with being a part of local culture, it also works as a natural sunscreen.

[2]

I still haven’t figured out what plasma is since Kanis 4 when we talked about the aurora and I struggled to wrap my head around plasma. I’ve been busy, okay? But don’t worry. I will head down that path one day and finally try to look more into it. And, while I’m at it, I’ll also come back with a more expansive knowledge on Bose-Einstein, molecules, neutrons, quarks and, you know what, string theory too while I’m at it.

HM, I DIDN’T KNOW THAT

well, look who it is. wait, which ONE are you again?

Let’s travel back in time. We’re in England and the year is 1605. The country is divided. Tensions are rising between two separate religious groups: the Catholics and the Protestants.

After Henry VIII — yes, the king with all the wives ^[1] — decided to separate the Protestant Church of England from Roman Catholicism, there was a religious divide in the country between the Catholics and the Protestants. The Catholics started to become oppressed and it led to a certain group of Catholics deciding they would take matters into their own hands and fix things by killing the Protestant king, James I. Like that ever solves anything.

‍

The Catholics’ plot to assassinate the king became known as the Gunpowder Plot. Their plan was simple: blow up the Houses of Parliament on a certain day when they knew the King would be there. All they had to do was rent a house next to Parliament, dig a tunnel in the cellar that would lead them right underneath the Parliament building, pack the tunnel with barrels of gunpowder and let her rip.

The plan ultimately failed, though.

An anonymous letter was sent to the King, warning him of the leave-the-building-immediately-and-this-is-not-a-drill situation. The house was searched, the tunnel in the cellar was discovered and the man guarding the barrels of gunpowder was caught.

This man’s name was Guy Fawkes ^[2], and that day was the 5th of November. To this day, Bonfire Night ^[3] — also known as Guy Fawkes Night — is celebrated every 5th of November in the UK, where people launch fireworks and burn large effigies of Guy Fawkes. There are even parades in some places with a great number of effigies and fire displays.

It might be easy to think that kings and queens, monarchs and emperors are a thing of the past; something from a time long, long ago. But monarchs are very much still a thing in a lot of countries around the world. Everyone knows about the famous royals like those of the UK, Saudi Arabia and Japan, but a lot of countries around the world currently have a monarchy. Thailand, for example. The current king is named Rama X and is generally very well-respected in Thai culture.

In the olden days in Thailand, it was forbidden for anyone to touch the queen under any circumstances as a way to keep the queen protected. In 1880, there was an incident when Queen Sunanda Kumariratana, one of King Rama V’s main wives (the kings in Thailand would usually have multiple wives), was on a boat which began sinking. Despite the law, people jumped in, managing to pull her and her daughter out of the water and even trying to resuscitate them. Both the mother and daughter died anyway as a result of drowning.

Other countries like Norway, the Netherlands, Morocco and Spain all currently have a monarchy. What that actually means might be different for each country. Like in Indonesia, they don’t have a monarchy for the whole country but instead have sort of regional monarchies like in the city of Yogyakarta where they have a Sultan, Hamengkubuwono X, who also acts as the Governor of the region which includes the city of Yogyakarta and its surroundings.

There are a lot of famous kings and queens that have lived over the course of history. I’ve talked before about Mansa Musa, who was a real person and is thought to have been the richest person that has ever lived. Someone who wasn’t real is King Arthur, which might sound obvious but I had no idea until like only a few years ago that King Arthur is a fictional character.

One of the most famous recent monarchs is Elizabeth II, who died a couple of years ago in 2022. She was on the throne for around 70 years and is one of the longest-reigning monarchs of all time, to be beaten only by Louis XIV, who was King of France from 1643 to 1715. That’s 72 years.

And then there are the more unorthodox “kingdoms” — like the Kingdom of Lovely which was located in an apartment in East London or the Space Kingdom of Asgardia, whose territory is just a satellite orbiting the Earth. Or was, I should say, because the satellite crashed and burned in 2022.

[1]

Growing up in the UK, we learnt a short rhyme in history class to remember the fates of all six of Henry VIII’s wives: “Divorced, beheaded, died. Divorced, beheaded, survived.” This corresponds respectively to all of the wives in order; Catherine of Aragon (who got divorced), Anne Boleyn (probably his most famous wife, who got beheaded), Jane Seymour (who died after giving birth), Anne of Cleves (who also got divorced), Catherine Howard (who also got beheaded) and Catherine Parr (who outlived Henry because he died before she did, therefore she “survived”).

[2]

You might have heard of Guy Fawkes from the movie and graphic novel V for Vendetta. The Guy Fawkes mask, which originated from the graphic novel, has become somewhat of a symbol for anarchy and revolution. Personally, I think it visually looks kind of cool.

[3]

The biggest Bonfire Night festivities are held in a small town called Lewes, around an hour outside of London. I went a number of years ago and it was fantastic. If you ever happen to be in southern England on Bonfire Night and the November weather isn’t too bad, I’d highly recommend it.

HM, I DIDN’T KNOW THAT

YOU’RE THINKING TOO MUCH.

SHIP OF THESEUS

It goes like this: Let’s say you have a ship and you’re out sailing around when one of the sails gets a tear in it and it now needs to be replaced. You take it to the ship mechanic or whatever and get the sail replaced. Now you’re sailing around, then the mast snaps in half and needs to be replaced. You go and get that replaced. Then that big wheel that steers the ship breaks. You replace it. You end up replacing every single part of your ship with a new part. The hull, the cargo hold, the crow’s nest — literally every part of your ship is now brand new. Now, the question is: if you take all those old parts you threw away and use them to reconstruct a whole new ship, which ship would be “your” ship? The one with the new parts or the one made from the old ones? The point is, I guess, which ship would you consider to be yours? This is the thought experiment known as the Ship of Theseus. My take on this is that “your” ship is whichever one you consider to be yours. For me, I would say the new one is mine because the other ship is made from the parts that I basically threw away. It’s like with anything. If you throw something away — a phone, an item of clothing, a piece of furniture — you don’t consider it to be yours anymore, right?

MARY’S ROOM

I like this one because it explores the idea of experience versus knowledge. Here’s how it goes — and you might know this one if you’ve seen the film Ex Machina. Mary is a scientist who lives in a black-and-white room. Not only is the room locked with no windows, Mary has also never left this room before. She was born in this room and she’s been inside her whole life. She even has a black-and-white computer with a black-and-white monitor. The point is, Mary has never seen a single colour before. But, because she’s a scientist, she knows all about it. She’s an expert on the electromagnetic spectrum, photons, cones and rods and all sorts of other stuff that make us see colour in the world. But she’s never actually seen a colour before. She doesn’t know what seeing a colour feels like. Then, one day, she manages to get out of the room (she either escapes or the door’s just left unlocked one day or something, it doesn’t really matter either way) and she steps outside into the real world. She sees the green grass and the blue sky and experiences seeing those colours for the first time. The question is: Does Mary learn anything new?

Seeing as Mary is an expert that knows all there is to know about colour, the only thing she gains when she steps outside and looks at the colours in the world is the feeling of experiencing something. I think the question this thought experiment is trying to pose is: Is the experience of something worth anything? Or is it all just subjective and inside our own heads and doesn’t really matter to anyone?

THE COBRA EFFECT

In Delhi, India, they were having a cobra problem. There were too many cobras and the government had to do something about it. So, the government announced that they would pay anyone who would kill a cobra (and, perhaps, bring the dead cobra to them as proof like a bounty hunter in the Old West?). This sounds like a great scheme because it would, ideally, give people incentive to go out, find cobras and get rid of them to help with the cobra problem, but what ended up happening in reality is that people just started breeding cobras and then killing them to claim the reward money. Poor cobras.

This is known as perverse incentive, where something can have an undesirable and opposite effect to what was intended. There have been many examples of this like with poppy crops being planted excessively in Afghanistan when farmers were being paid to have them destroyed in 2002 or with the German palaeontologist (someone who studies fossils) G. H. R. von Koenigswald who went to Java, Indonesia to look for hominin ^[1] skulls (extinct relatives of the human species like Homo erectus) and, when offering the locals money in exchange for found pieces of skull, realised that they were breaking the skulls up into more pieces so they could get more money.

THE CALL OF THE VOID

Have you ever been driving and, out of nowhere, felt like turning the wheel sharply and driving straight into oncoming traffic? Or been standing on top of a tall building and suddenly had the impulse to jump? This phenomenon of intrusive thoughts actually has a name: L’appel du vide. It’s French for “the call of the void”. Pretty spooky.

BURIDAN’S DONKEY

There’s a donkey who is hungry and thirsty and it’s standing equidistant between a pile of food and a trough of water. The donkey will have to decide which one it wants to go to but it won’t be able to rationally make a decision about whether to go for the food or for the water since they’re both the same distance away and, as a result, starve and die. It’s kind of silly, but it’s an interesting concept. I guess it’s kind of like when you’re browsing your favourite streaming platform and you find something interesting but you keep browsing because you want to see what else there could be. You find other good movies and shows that could be worth your time, but you keep browsing along just to see what else is available and to see if there’s anything better. In the end, you get tired and go to sleep without having watched anything. When that happens, don’t you just feel like a donkey?

IF A TREE FALLS IN THE FOREST, AND NO ONE IS THERE TO HEAR IT, DOES IT MAKE A SOUND?

A tree falls in the forest and collapses to the ground all alone with no one around. Does it make a sound?

Well, logic would say: yes, it does — because whether someone is there or not has nothing to do with the sound of the tree hitting the ground. Falling trees will always make a sound, right? So what is this question really about? Well, one way of looking at it is that it isn’t really about whether or not the tree made a sound. It’s about whether or not it matters. A tree falling to the ground in isolation and a tree falling to the ground with an audience of people watching are both going to make a sound. And a loud one, at that. You don’t need to be an expert in dendrology ^[2] to be able to figure that one out. But which tree are people going to know about? The one that everyone saw falling or the one that was sad and alone as it fell to its death with its trunk crashing down on the twigs and dry leaves on the forest floor?

[1]

In scientific classification, the hominini tribe branches off into the homo genus, which is us (humans) as well as some of our ancestors, and the pan genus, which includes species like chimpanzees and bonobos. We are all, however, part of the order primate. Speaking of primates, there’s another well-known primate known as the Celebes crested macaque. This animal, along with being a primate belonging to the haplorhini suborder, has something else in common with humans. It loves taking photos. Back in 2011, a group of Celebes crested macaques in Indonesia took selfies of themselves using a camera that belonged to a British photographer. The photographer got the camera back eventually and licensed the photos to various publications, but then received backlash from people saying that the copyright didn’t actually belong to him. It belonged to the macaque. Because the photographer himself didn’t actually press the shutter button on the camera; the macaque did. There’s a lot of dispute over this, but one of the basic arguments is that if there is a piece of work that is created by a non-human animal, it belongs in the public domain and doesn’t belong to anyone.

[2]

The study of trees. Another similar thing is dendrochronology, which is the study of using tree rings to determine how old they are. Which seems like it should be simple enough since everyone knows that if you cut a tree and count the number of rings on the stump, you’ll know how many years old the tree is since each ring is equal to one year. But, as usual with these kinds of things, there’s a bit more to it than that. Let’s look at why trees have rings in the first place. Is it the tree’s way of saying “new year, new me”? It’s actually because of the weather. Or climate, I guess? Anyhow, what happens is that during the warmer, wetter months, the wood in the tree’s trunk grows more but in the colder, drier months grows less thus causing the different types of growth that can be visually seen in the tree’s rings. The lighter, wider parts show the times when the tree had warmer conditions and the narrower, darker parts show when the tree had to go through colder, drier times thus forming the rings.

MARKO POLO

GET YOUR COAT, WE’RE LEAVING.

BANGKOK

My journey home may have been a little messy, but I would still say Bangkok is a fun place to visit. It’s hectic and crazy and very similar to Jakarta — where I’ve lived since 2019 — in many ways, so for me it didn’t feel like too much of a jump in terms of the chaotic energy and concrete-jungle-like structure of a busy, smoggy ^[1] Southeast Asian city.

When you come out of the airport, you can take the train straight into town. Suvarnabhumi Airport is quite easily commutable to the city centre and I remember being able to go straight from the terminal to the train station and getting some sort of train to the area I was staying in.

If you’re new to Asia, you’ll definitely see some things you’ve never seen before.

The Thai language, first of all, has a beautiful script that I wish I knew how to read. It’s just aesthetically gorgeous with the twisted, arching shapes and squiggles here and there that give it a bold yet artistic vibe. When Thai is spoken, it sounds really foreign to me. I expected, before I went, that it would perhaps be a little similar in terms of sound with Indonesian seeing as they’re both Southeast Asian languages — but I was completely wrong. Thai sounds totally, totally different. Languages, eh?

Next is the food. There’s a lot of street food all over Asia, and Bangkok is no different. Street carts, stalls and markets are all a normal part of the culinary experience. Now, I’m not that experimental when it comes to food, so I usually don’t wander around these kinds of markets, but even I saw things that I had never seen before being sold as food on the street. I’m talking about things like certain types of insects and species of reptiles being considered a delicacy. And that’s fine. It’s not for me, of course, but I totally respect those who eat things that I don’t consider food. I’m sure there are things I eat that some people would find odd or weird ^[2].

Bangkok is quite well-developed, though. Or at least more so than I expected before I went. There are pavements to walk on, there’s public transport to get you across town and, of course, markets and malls for you to be able to buy what you want to buy. You can, just like all over Southeast Asia, get around by Grab (the equivalent of Uber) on either the back of a scooter or in a car quite affordably.

There are temples to look at, plenty of restaurants and bars to enjoy and you get the experience of a city that’s a little all-over-the-place but still has a personality. Unlike Singapore. Yeah, I know I’ve said it before but, I’m sorry, guys. I really just don’t like Singapore.

Bangkok does also, quite notoriously, have an edgier side with all the nightlife and other activities people get up to. And I’m sure there are plenty of other places to get all kinds of information about that but, for me, that’s pretty much where my knowledge and experience ends.

One last thing I will say, though: two days was not enough. Even though Bangkok is a lot like Jakarta in many ways, I really would like to go again. Bangkok really has a sense of charm and excitement that is definitely worth revisiting. And this time, I’ll make sure I don’t have to rush back to work after just fifty-five hours.

[1]

The weather and pollution in Bangkok is very similar to that of Jakarta, so when I went there it wasn’t anything I wasn’t already used to. It wasn’t my first rodeo, let’s just say.

[2]

I don’t know if there’s anyone else out there who does this, but one strange food combination I really like is slices of apple with crunchy peanut butter. Anyone else?

MARKO POLO

I wish i could understand WHAT SHE’S SAYING, BUT IN THE SUBTITLE all it says is “[SPEAKS FOREIGN LANGUAGE]”.

Some languages have words that don’t really define a single word, but rather an entire idea. For example, Indonesian (or Bahasa Indonesia) has the word pulang which means “to go home”. There’s also kuliah which is “to go to university” and mudik which is “to go home for the holidays ^[1]”.

Some of these kinds of words can be used for defining a certain feeling. I’ve mentioned before the Indonesian word teduh, which is used to describe the feeling of being in the shade. Danish has the word hygge (I think it’s pronounced “hoo-guh”) which is used to describe a feeling of cosiness and warmth. At least, that’s how I understand it.

Then there’s the Korean concept of jeong, a form of connection, closeness or attachment between people. The Arabic language ^[2] has different words for “friend” depending on the closeness and type of the friendship.

Languages can show how different cultures think. Sometimes it may be different to what you yourself think in your language and culture. And I don’t mean that Eskimo snow thing ^[3].

With some things, though, it seems, there is somewhat of a commonality in how various languages see things.

Let’s take colour as an example. Different languages have different words for different colours, but, apparently, the way humans categorise colour is all very similar across most languages in the world. There was a study done where they took a sample of people who spoke different languages from around the world and, after assigning them the task to categorise colours, found that most languages think about colour in the same way.

It’s not quite clear why exactly, but it’s interesting to see. Like it seems that languages almost always seem to follow the same pattern when it comes to prioritising colours: black and white first, followed by red and then either yellow or green followed by blue and so on.

Okay, so we’ve talked a lot about words that talk about entire concepts and ideas. But all of that is nothing compared to this word here: mamihlapinatapai. That is a real word and it belongs to the Yaghan language of Tierra del Fuego, the area right at the bottom end of South America, stretching across the countries of Argentina and Chile. It translates to something along the lines of “the look that two people share when they want to say or do something, but neither wants to go first”.

That’s a pretty specific word. It’s in the Guinness Book of World Records as the “most succinct word”, and it’s known to be one of the hardest words to translate. So don’t take my roughly-paraphrased version as the official, wax-sealed rendition of what that word means.

[1]

Being a Muslim-majority country, every year in Indonesia around the time of Eid-ul-Fitr (the Islamic holiday at the at the end of Ramadan) there’s a mass exodus of millions of people spewing out of the major cities and back to their hometowns or villages to be with their families for the holiday. It’s known as mudik and it’s a very, very big deal.

[2]

I found out recently that the Arabic language has, as you may know, many different dialects from many different countries. People in the one country might understand the dialects neighbouring to where they are, but they may not understand the dialect from a country much further away. Like someone from Lebanon may understand someone from Jordan, but may not understand someone from Morocco. I also found out that there’s this thing called Modern Standard Arabic, which is basically the unified form of Arabic that’s used for reading and writing. It’s what they teach in schools in the Arab countries. But this language has zero native speakers since everyone that uses it does so only as a second language.

[3]

There’s this myth that Eskimos have dozens of words for “snow” in their language which turns out is not true. First of all, the Eskimos have multiple different languages, not just one. Secondly, according to linguists, the fact that Eskimos have multiple words for “snow” depending on what type of snow it is (heavy, bulky snow; fluffy, falling-out-of-the-sky snow or a brutal blizzard blowing breezily) is a factoid that was spread and perhaps misunderstood. The reality is that the languages in question just have a system of compounding different words together to describe various types of snow.

LIFE, ETC.

I TRIED TO FIND YOUR NAME IN THE CREDITS, BUT THE STREAMING SERVICE I WAS WATCHING ON AUTOMATICALLY SKIPPED TO THE NEXT EPISODE AND I COULDN’T FIND A WAY TO GO BACK.

THE UNFORGETTABLE BOJACK HORSEMAN

A dark, tragic, hilarious, absurd show that has grit and sadness and dark humour and satire and so much more. This is an incredibly underrated animated show about a horse who is a washed-up actor and wanders from situation to situation to make himself feel better as he wonders what his purpose is in life and how someone so damaged can attempt to fix themselves.

BoJack Horseman represents so many things about modern life. Feeling incomplete, inadequate or confused is something that comes to everyone, and despite being an animated show with anthropomorphic characters, this show relays emotion in a very human and lifelike way.

The show centres around the title character, BoJack Horseman, who was the star of a sitcom in the ‘90s but is now a washed-up has-been. Can you tell what animal he is? I’ll give you three guesses.

He’s an incredibly broken and messed-up person. He’s miserable about his life even though he lives in a mansion in the hills of Los Angeles, he doesn’t know who he is or what he’s doing and all of this chaos causes him to act bitter and do shitty things to people around him. Throughout the course of the show, he goes from situation to situation trying to change, fix things in his past and find himself but it seems that no matter what he does, things never change. The events of the story twist and turn and you, as the viewer, feel like you can tell where they’re going to lead or what’s going to happen next — but then suddenly something unexpected happens and you’re left with a stunned feeling and a desire to keep watching.

The left turns the overall plot makes in BoJack Horseman is insane. The moments where you feel like you have the rug pulled out from under you gives you that numb feeling, which is probably how BoJack feels when he goes through those situations.

This show probably sounds downright depressing right about now. But although BoJack Horseman has a very tragic and dismal story with heartbreaking moments, this show also has laugh-out-loud moments of dark humour and cleverly-written dialogue filled with puns, wordplay, satire, parody and some absolutely absurd and ridiculous antics that is quite possibly unmatched by any show I’ve ever seen. Whoever writes the dialogue for this show, I applaud you. Some of the cleverest things I’ve seen. And it’s the kind of absurd stuff that I live for.

Now, it can feel — when you’re watching a show like this — that the story is going nowhere. You’re just watching the characters bounce from one thing to the next and nothing is being accomplished. And to that, I say: Yes. Absolutely. It can feel like that. However, in the case of BoJack Horseman I’d say that having this kind of direction-less story is kind of necessary. You’re supposed to feel lost and confused; that’s the point. And the humour is there to keep you entertained along the way.

I like the zig-zaggy story that BoJack Horseman has. Like I think it’s good that BoJack aimlessly wanders from one thing to the next, thinking that this next thing is going to be the thing that will change everything. But then it happens and it doesn’t turn out the way he wanted. That thing that he thinks will make him happy — going to New Mexico to see Charlotte, starring in his dream role as Secretariat, fixing up his family’s summer home in Michigan — doesn’t actually make him happy and gives way, making him fall further and deeper into this dark hole he seems to be stuck in. I really like that. Because real life is like that too, sometimes. Sometimes you think there’s going to be some sort of life-changing event that, you think, after which everything will change and your life will turn around. But it doesn’t turn out that way. Instead, it’s a series of challenges, ups and downs where, through trial and error, you go through this journey of learning and discovering.

Even the ending of this show — which I won’t ruin for you — ends in a bittersweet way in which the story is left a little unfinished with loose ends that are left untied. And it might be seen by some as a sucky ending, but I think it fits in well with the message and spirit of the show. It’s very lifelike and realistic because sometimes, in real life, things don’t end the way you want them to, either.

LIFE, ETC.

I THOUGHT I COULD FIX IT IN POST, BUT THEN I REALISED I DON’T EVEN KNOW WHAT “FIX IT IN POST“ REALLY MEANS.

MORE MENTIONABLE MOVIES FROM THE ‘00s

Here we are. I’m doing it again. Making a list of movies that are from the ‘00s, even though I already did that in Kanis No. 5. But you know how sometimes you think you’ve finished something completely from A to Z and covered all your bases, so you put a bow on it and send it off, only to realise somewhere down the line that there was something you left out, forgot to add or maybe didn’t even realise existed until a lot later. We’ve all been there right? So, this is the second time I’m talking about movies from the ‘00s, and I want you to know these eighteen are just as important as the fifty-four I talked about in the original list back in Kanis 5. Just think of this as an extension to that list. Alright, I think we’re all set. Let’s go.

Inside Man

2006

An edge-of-your-seat, investigative, bank-heist movie of a slightly different variety than your average, run-of-the-mill, edge-of-your-seat, investigative, bank-heist movie. There’s twists and turns, the NYPD, slick dialogue and an ending that’s satisfyingly good, making this one a unique gem from the ‘00s.

WHY SHOULD I WATCH THIS?: Because it’s one of the best bank-heist movies out there. I think this is one to watch for anyone who likes films like Man on a Ledge.

The 40-Year-Old Virgin

2005

This is another one of those Forgetting Sarah Marshall-type, Judd Apatow movies that have that same kind of sense of humour and antics that other similar films have. Steve Carell stars in this feel-good film that has a lot of sexual humour along with some clever comedy.

WHY SHOULD I WATCH THIS?: Because this is a charming and easy-to-watch comedy with all the usual Judd Apatow elements.

Primer

2004

A complex science-fiction film about two guys who accidentally discover time travel. I like how realistic this movie is, from the characters to the plot to the location and everything. Primer is, however, very science-y and dialogue-heavy. And very confusing. I mean, I didn’t really fully understand the movie until I went online and read a bunch of Reddit posts in order to grasp the story. If you like convoluted, confusing, concept-based films with a lot of technical, science-y words then you might enjoy this movie. The concept is really interesting and the plot (if you understand it) is also a good one.

WHY SHOULD I WATCH THIS?: Because it portrays a very strange situation in quite a realistic way. I think Primer’s low-budget-ness actually makes it feel more real and brings to the table something that not a lot of films of this type have.

Flightplan

2005

Jodie Foster is on an airplane looking for her daughter who suddenly disappears in the middle of the flight. This movie has excellent pacing, an interesting premise and a twist that turns the whole story around and transforms it from a missing-person thriller to something totally different.

WHY SHOULD I WATCH THIS?: Because Flightplan is, in my opinion, an underrated missing-person mystery movie with a good plot.

Babel

2006

A brilliant movie with various parts all happening at once, making it feel like an anthology film. It’s only at the end, however, that the movie shows you how connected everything you’ve been watching really is.

WHY SHOULD I WATCH THIS?: Because I said so, God damn it. But, more seriously, because this is one of those films that has an easy-to-follow story and a nicely-structured plot.

Chicken Run

2000

One of my favourite stop-motion-animation movies in which a group of chickens try to escape from their prison-like farm. Chicken Run is humorous, brilliant and very loveable with a Wallace-and-Gromit-style animation.

WHY SHOULD I WATCH THIS?: “Why not?” would be a better question, if I’m honest. This is an iconic animation movie from the early ‘00s that still hits hard.

Spider-Man 2

2004

This is the best of the (original) Spider-Man trilogy. As I’m not a fan of contemporary Marvel movies and have not watched the newer Tom-Holland-Spider-Man-Homecoming-Let’s-Go-To-The-Spider-Verse movies, Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 2 from 2004 is the best Spider-Man movie of all time, as far as I’m concerned. Tobey Maguire, to me, will always be the original Spider-Man, and at risk of sounding (even more) like an old man, I think all the other newer Spider-Man movies simply do not compare. There, I have spoken.

WHY SHOULD I WATCH THIS?: Because it’s the best Spider-Man movie. And that’s reason enough, don’t you think?

Borat

2006

Borat is a man from the nation of Kazakhstan who goes to America to make a documentary resulting in some hilarious and satirical humour that’s also raunchy, a little random and kind of gross in some parts. The character Borat, played by Sacha Baron Cohen, is excellently portrayed with a captivating performance that makes the movie an undeniably memorable and original icon from the ‘00s.

WHY SHOULD I WATCH THIS?: Hmm, well, you shouldn’t if it’s not your cup of tea. If you like the Sacha-Baron-Cohen-type sense of humour, check this one out because I personally think this is one of his most iconic roles.

28 Days Later

2002

I love this movie. I’m not quite sure why exactly it didn’t make the original ‘00s list in Kanis Majoris No. 5, but just because it didn’t make the list, that doesn’t mean it isn’t a good film. 28 Days Later is a classic in the zombie genre and it brings a feel of horror that is very realistic. I mean, just watching those first few scenes of the post-apocalyptic, abandoned streets of London as someone who is actually from London gives me the creeps.

WHY SHOULD I WATCH THIS?: Because 28 Days Later is the epitome of a fantastic zombie horror movie that has an absolutely dismal, tragic and enticing tone.

Juno

2007

As a fun movie about a teenage girl who gets pregnant unexpectedly, Juno has wit, charm and a 2007-indie-hipster vibe from back when blogging was the big thing and people still used MySpace. Juno is definitely a good, well-made film with more heart and character than you would expect from a movie like this.

WHY SHOULD I WATCH THIS?: Because this is a fun, comedy film that doesn’t need to be taken too seriously. If you like films like Scott Pilgrim vs. the World then you’ll probably like Juno.

Zoolander

2001

A silly comedy that is, I think, the pinnacle of silly, early ‘00s comedy movies. Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson are a pair of dim-witted male models who, despite their differences, band together in a save-the-world-type quest. It’s a good-time, not-to-be-taken-too-seriously film that’s absurd, over-the-top, side-splittingly funny, memorable, unique and, rather surprisingly, quite satirical and commentative. Did I use enough adjectives in this one?

WHY SHOULD I WATCH THIS?: Because this movie is damn-right funny and I don’t think there are a lot of movies like that.

Yi Yi

2000

Slow-paced, profound and philosophical, this film is quite one-of-a-kind. Family drama, realistic performances, believable characters and excellent dialogue, Yi Yi is one of those films where not really much happens in terms of a plot, but there is a lot in it to unpack and think about. In a nutshell, though, this film is just all about life; how we think about it when we’re young, how we dream about our futures, how we go along with our day-to-day activities, how we look back and think about what could have been. I think this movie could have been a little better in terms of what it delivered story-wise — and the ending could have been a little better — but all in all, Yi Yi stands out as a well-paced, nicely-drawn-out, dialogue-based film that is a rather long watch (almost three hours).

WHY SHOULD I WATCH THIS?: You shouldn’t. If you don’t like these kinds of films; family-based, dialogue-infused dramas with heart, emotion and soul. Although I think Yi Yi isn’t a perfect film, I do really think it’s miles better than a lot of other similar films — like Minari, for instance.

American Psycho

2000

A classic starring Christian Bale as Patrick Bateman as one of those Wall Street guys who, although rich and successful, has a very bleak and emotionless life. The events of the film are unpredictable, dark and twisted yet this movie also has a very tongue-in-cheek sense of humour, like the scene where they’re comparing business cards (it’s absolutely hilarious). American Psycho comments on the “yuppie” lifestyle of young, urban professionals in New York City in the late ‘80s and is so well-made, saying all it wants to with its dialogue, cinematography and twisty story. Patrick Bateman’s inner monologues. The dimly-lit-ness of the environments and the sterilised interiors of Bateman’s apartment. And the psychological-thriller-esque twist in this film is at a level comparable to that of Fight Club. I think I’ve said too much, so I’ll stop there. This movie definitely is one-of-a-kind.

WHY SHOULD I WATCH THIS?: Why, you ask? Because this film is an icon of the ‘00s — and rightfully so. American Psycho is a film that has a lot to say and manages to express it all in its own weird kind of way. Some might find the ending a little confusing and, to be fair, I can see how the ending could feel like a big slap in the face for some people, but for me I totally see what this movie is trying to do and I am definitely on the other side of the fence in terms of seeing the ending to this movie as a clever twist rather than a big let-down. But this is definitely the kind of film where you watch and make up your own mind.

Black Dynamite

2009

Hilariously off-the-wall and tongue-in-cheek, Black Dynamite is a movie that serves as a very over-the–top and silly parody of ‘70s detective movies primarily featuring black characters. I recently learned that there’s a word for this subgenre: blaxploitation. I think this film definitely achieves what it sets out to accomplish in that it plays off your expectations but also subverts them with the use of stereotypes, breaking the fourth wall and meta humour. You really have to watch it to know what I mean.

WHY SHOULD I WATCH THIS?: Because the humour and satire this movie provides is comparable to any good parody film. If you like that kind of stuff, give this one a whirl.

Boiler Room

2000

A fast-paced corporate crime film about a guy who starts working as a stockbroker but later finds out that things are not as they seem. This movie has a fast-paced, masculine energy and I think that’s what makes this movie so likeable in the way that a lot of movies from the early ‘00s are.

WHY SHOULD I WATCH THIS?: Because it’s got that financial-scam vibe where you know, even as you’re watching, that something is going to go wrong — but you just don’t know what or when.

Rocket Singh: Salesman of the Year

2009

A lightweight, charming, Hindi-language comedy-drama about a young salesman who gets his first job and things don’t turn out the way he’d intended.

WHY SHOULD I WATCH THIS?: If you like Indian comedy films like 3 Idiots or Khosla Ka Ghosla then this’ll be a good fit for you.

Nacho Libre

2006

This movie is so tongue-in-cheek funny that watching it is a literal laugh-out-loud experience. Jack Black delivers on a performance that’s silly and goofy with some hilariously funny antics and a hero story of a different variety. The humour in this film is of a pretty specific flavour and is very much a Jack-Black-esque style of funny. Having said that, I do think that everyone in the movie does a great job of bringing the comedic tone that doesn’t need to be taken too seriously. Oh, and not only is this movie funny, it’s also got some good music with the cool, funky, old-school soundtrack and the handful of moments where Jack Black’s singing hilariously. This movie, to me, will always be a gem from the ‘00s.

WHY SHOULD I WATCH THIS?: Because it’s damn-right hilarious and a pure gem from the ‘00s, that’s why.

The Prestige

2006

Although this isn’t one of Nolan’s concept-based movies like Memento, Inception or Tenet where there’s some sort of science-based or psychological-based thing on which the whole film is built, this is a captivating tale of two rival magicians who, fueled by ambition, revenge and fury, each attempt to sabotage the other through deception and by stealing secrets. Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale play opposite each other and they each do a fantastic job of bringing to life these two men who, although are quite different, are just out to get each other. The rest of the cast is also great, including Michael Caine who does the usual thing he does in a Nolan film of being the voice-of-reason character who’s in the middle of it all, throwing out bits of advice and wisdom every now and then. David Bowie is also in this film for a little bit. The point is, seeing as this is a Nolan film, you know what you’re getting into. A quick pace, a serious tone and clever, one-liner-ish dialogue. The story is well-told and there is a plot twist at the end which makes the movie go from good to great.

WHY SHOULD I WATCH THIS?: Because it’s Nolan. That’s why. If you like films with excellent pacing, spectacular dialogue and fantastic storytelling with a twist at the end then definitely watch The Prestige. By the way — without spoiling anything — although the plot twist in this film is quite good, I’m not a huge fan of it. Maybe I can go into spoilers on a different day, but it’s the kind of twist that, if you watch the movie carefully, you can actually kind of spot what the twist is. Maybe that’s why the first line in this movie is: “Are you watching closely?”

LIFE, ETC.

SUBJECTIVELY SHORTLISTED

THIRTY-THREE MORE AMAZING YOUTUBE CHANNELS

I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again: the amazing technology we have these days is, in a way, an adaptation of what we had before. Not too long ago, if you needed a tutorial for something, wanted to learn something new, dive deep into your hobby or share your opinions, experiences or just your daily life in video format, there was no mega site on which you could easily access content. You would have to read magazines or books or — get ready for this — actually go and speak to people. But no, not these days. With the power vested in us through our devices and the waves of mysterious energy known as the internet, we now have the glory of YouTube: a vast, expansive site which, believe it or not, isn’t just packed with memes and brainless vlogs about absolutely nothing. YouTube has a huge variety of content. Some good, some bad and some just absolutely legendary. Here are some of my channel recommendations.

KANIS MAJORIS N°. 9

INTRO

HM, I DIDN’T KNOW THAT

WEATHER / MONARCHS / THOUGHT EXPERIMENTS

MARKO POLO

BANGKOK / LANGUAGES IV

LIFE, ETC.

ANYONE REMEMBER BOJACK HORSEMAN? / CHECK OUT THESE MOVIES FROM THE ‘00s / MORE OF THE BEST YOUTUBE CHANNELS / RIDDLES #9 / SOME MORE YOUTUBE VIDEOS / THINGS THAT USED TO BE MORE COMMON #3

FINALE

don’t wait up.

About 1,400 miles. But even if you aren’t familiar with kilometres, though, I’m sure you can tell that 2,300 km is a long way away.

HERE’S TODAY’S FORECAST. ARE YOU SITTING DOWN?

In Myanmar, they have this thing called thanaka, a kind of off-white-coloured paste made from ground tree bark that’s applied to the face, particularly the cheeks. Along with being a part of local culture, it also works as a natural sunscreen.

well, look who it is. wait, which ONE are you again?

You might have heard of Guy Fawkes from the movie and graphic novel V for Vendetta. The Guy Fawkes mask, which originated from the graphic novel, has become somewhat of a symbol for anarchy and revolution. Personally, I think it visually looks kind of cool.

The biggest Bonfire Night festivities are held in a small town called Lewes, around an hour outside of London. I went a number of years ago and it was fantastic. If you ever happen to be in southern England on Bonfire Night and the November weather isn’t too bad, I’d highly recommend it.

YOU’RE THINKING TOO MUCH.

SHIP OF THESEUS

MARY’S ROOM

THE COBRA EFFECT

THE CALL OF THE VOID

BURIDAN’S DONKEY

IF A TREE FALLS IN THE FOREST, AND NO ONE IS THERE TO HEAR IT, DOES IT MAKE A SOUND?

GET YOUR COAT, WE’RE LEAVING.

BANGKOK

The weather and pollution in Bangkok is very similar to that of Jakarta, so when I went there it wasn’t anything I wasn’t already used to. It wasn’t my first rodeo, let’s just say.

I don’t know if there’s anyone else out there who does this, but one strange food combination I really like is slices of apple with crunchy peanut butter. Anyone else?

I wish i could understand WHAT SHE’S SAYING, BUT IN THE SUBTITLE all it says is “[SPEAKS FOREIGN LANGUAGE]”.

I TRIED TO FIND YOUR NAME IN THE CREDITS, BUT THE STREAMING SERVICE I WAS WATCHING ON AUTOMATICALLY SKIPPED TO THE NEXT EPISODE AND I COULDN’T FIND A WAY TO GO BACK.

THE UNFORGETTABLE BOJACK HORSEMAN

I THOUGHT I COULD FIX IT IN POST, BUT THEN I REALISED I DON’T EVEN KNOW WHAT “FIX IT IN POST“ REALLY MEANS.

MORE MENTIONABLE MOVIES FROM THE ‘00s

Inside Man

2006

WHY SHOULD I WATCH THIS?: Because it’s one of the best bank-heist movies out there. I think this is one to watch for anyone who likes films like Man on a Ledge.

The 40-Year-Old Virgin

2005

WHY SHOULD I WATCH THIS?: Because this is a charming and easy-to-watch comedy with all the usual Judd Apatow elements.

Primer

2004

WHY SHOULD I WATCH THIS?: Because it portrays a very strange situation in quite a realistic way. I think Primer’s low-budget-ness actually makes it feel more real and brings to the table something that not a lot of films of this type have.

Flightplan

2005

WHY SHOULD I WATCH THIS?: Because Flightplan is, in my opinion, an underrated missing-person mystery movie with a good plot.

Babel

2006

WHY SHOULD I WATCH THIS?: Because I said so, God damn it. But, more seriously, because this is one of those films that has an easy-to-follow story and a nicely-structured plot.

Chicken Run

2000

WHY SHOULD I WATCH THIS?: “Why not?” would be a better question, if I’m honest. This is an iconic animation movie from the early ‘00s that still hits hard.

Spider-Man 2

2004

WHY SHOULD I WATCH THIS?: Because it’s the best Spider-Man movie. And that’s reason enough, don’t you think?

Borat

2006

WHY SHOULD I WATCH THIS?: Hmm, well, you shouldn’t if it’s not your cup of tea. If you like the Sacha-Baron-Cohen-type sense of humour, check this one out because I personally think this is one of his most iconic roles.

28 Days Later

2002

WHY SHOULD I WATCH THIS?: Because 28 Days Later is the epitome of a fantastic zombie horror movie that has an absolutely dismal, tragic and enticing tone.

Juno

2007

WHY SHOULD I WATCH THIS?: Because this is a fun, comedy film that doesn’t need to be taken too seriously. If you like films like Scott Pilgrim vs. the World then you’ll probably like Juno.

Zoolander

2001

WHY SHOULD I WATCH THIS?: Because this movie is damn-right funny and I don’t think there are a lot of movies like that.

Yi Yi

2000

American Psycho

2000

Black Dynamite

2009

WHY SHOULD I WATCH THIS?: Because the humour and satire this movie provides is comparable to any good parody film. If you like that kind of stuff, give this one a whirl.

Boiler Room

2000

WHY SHOULD I WATCH THIS?: Because it’s got that financial-scam vibe where you know, even as you’re watching, that something is going to go wrong — but you just don’t know what or when.

Rocket Singh: Salesman of the Year

2009

WHY SHOULD I WATCH THIS?: If you like Indian comedy films like 3 Idiots or Khosla Ka Ghosla then this’ll be a good fit for you.

Nacho Libre

2006

BEST VIDEOS: I was a Bodyguard for a Chinese Serial Rapist; It’s Over! South Africa is F&$d - Failed State; “Let it Rot” - China’s Youth are Giving Up on Life*