AnyDex By Pete: Recent Episodes
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Been obsessing about whole foods for a couple of decades now, love stuff where there is no processed unidentifiable elements.
Researching Cacao and the history in South America was enlightening.
Current favourite recipe is –
Hot chocolate made with cacao mass – can be delicious and rich. This one is a little naughty since it has sugar and dairy but not much. If you have a whisk, that will be useful for creating a smooth, frothy texture.
Ingredients:
- 1 oz (28g) cacao mass
- 1 cup (240ml) milk (dairy or plant-based)
- 1-2 tbsp sugar (adjust to taste)
- Pinch of salt
- Optional: vanilla extract, cinnamon, or cayenne pepper
Steps:
- Chop the cacao mass into small pieces for easier melting.
- Heat the milk in a saucepan over medium heat until it’s hot but not boiling.
- Add the chopped cacao mass to the hot milk and whisk continuously until it’s fully melted and incorporated.
- Add sugar and salt, continuing to whisk until dissolved.
- Use your whisk vigorously to create a frothy texture.
- If desired, add a drop of vanilla extract or a sprinkle of cinnamon or cayenne for extra flavor.
- Pour into a mug and enjoy!
The whisk will help create a smooth, well-blended hot chocolate and can add some air for a lighter texture. Remember that cacao mass is pure cocoa, so it will be quite intense – feel free to adjust the amount or add more sugar to suit your taste preferences.
I have always been into photography. Watching Dad take photos of my younger siblings when they were babies and family slide nights at home in Strathfield were a treat when TV was still black and white. We even had 10mm old school videos from physical film tape sometimes.
Lady outside secret garden in Kathmandu, Nepal June 2019.
It is very satisfying to take a great photo, mostly now I take them of people. I think my portraiture work will go from hobby to semi-retirement mini-profession now.
It is perhaps also driven by fear as my eye sight fades, hearing fades (and tinnitus develops) and I get older and see more and more aging friends and family with fading memories and fear the same.
Love and fear drives action and portrait photography has become a passion.
I am not sure if it was an old famous quote or just a personal observation that people tend to take photos of what they love. So I have taken many landscape, art and nature photos over the years. But family is number one by far. And the definition of family to include not just marriage and genetics but modern family and friends we love.
In terms of numbers I have probaly taken 40-50 thousands photos so far, most of these were prints from 35mm cameras originally but now all digital and all iPhone. Sadly many of these, especially of Laura and James my (now adult) children from the first marriage are baking in summer in a garage in Sydney.
I love the iPhone annual trajectory, watching WWDC (world wide developer conference) announcements and product events from Apple Inc. that share transparently with a little too much marketing hyperbole all the advances they are making not just in lenses and sensors but processing light, images pre and post and now with artificial intelligence at every stage too.
I think this year we can now say most people can now take great photos, they have the raw tools. But it is funny they don’t. Wonderful moments get missed. You need a dedicated photographer looking to catch them while you live in the moment.
I took a photo of our friend Lester a few months ago and it is one of about 20 in recent years of people we like and it is a simple gift, a memory of a moment.
Technically most photos have flaws. This one included. But with digital you can adjust and tweak after the shot. It would have been tempting to adjust the light on the right so you can see the lovely water color of the Gulf Of Thailand and the island in the distance.
But sometimes that is part of the story. That day with Thiri, Carol and I was particularly hot and the glare was significant. It was one of the main reason we were in that cafe at that time and not in a nearby Capybara petting cafe that had recently opened nearby.
Instead we got Lester the ‘king of rock and roll’ gooifing around on a nearby acoustic next to the previous King of Thailand who was photographed and framed on the wall. There are some lovely photos of him around by the way. He was greatly admired and respected by his people they tell me.
The harse sunlight and geometry of the steel chairs and frames on the right transition to the powerful but humane portraits on the left hung on warm timber. A portrait within a portrait and story within a story.
Pictures like this are why I am taking more and more portraits now, not for technical purity but to tell the story.
his one of another friend Rick was taken near Koh Raham (background) which is a restaurant on Koh Phangan near Koh Samui in Southern Thailand. He is happy and proud and in a good place in his life. On this day he was giving back to his friends by taking us all out on his boat for lunch, very kind and a very enjoyable day. Note the speakers above his head, Rick likes his music too, something that is hard to capture in photos.
The local pool league has many characters, this one is of Ian and his Dad Brian from England in their chosen humble local Thai bar. They are both excellent sometimes humble players and won that night. The hidden story is on the top right shelf just out of shot they have two trophies for winning the annual league twice and are currently dominating again this year. The trophies are plastic and inexpensive but in a place of great pride.
Earthquake survivor, resting outside temple, Kathmandu June 2019
Local Fresh Produce sellers, Kathmandu 2019.
Spice trader, Kathmandu 2019. Turmeric, ginger, apple, beets, greens.
Rickshaw driver city centre, Kathmandu 2019.
Head Chef Kaiser Cafe Tiwarika Nepal 2019
Diving Koh Tao with buddies, I didn’t take this one but helped compose w Fai.
I am thinking about making this more than just a hobby so if you would like a portrait let me know. 40,000 photos and counting, it might be about time.
From Australia to Yangon to a tropical island in Thailand. Music has been important throughout my life but I did lose my way for nearly half my life,
This post is a little light and dark, some light warm and also some cold heavy observations all first hand.
A little like a great song.
Thiri has started playing the Ukulele again. Playing something about Michelle Pfeiffer going to the dentist. I love her creativity, playfulness, persistence, intelligence and innocence. I am also very proud of her and grateful for having such a unicorn in my life.
It has been around four years since I bought The Uke for her in Yangon in the well worn and locally loved Hledan Centre where families hangout across generations exploring this weird new fad of western style shopping which is decades old where I come from but relatively new there. in Myanmar.
I don’t think the world should compete on retailing, it seems so superficial but it is obviously practical when you are buying a present for someone you love.
I think we should compete on the best shared experiences like music and co-creation.
To this day I still don’t understand why I let music fall out of my life, three decades of one previous relationship was a big part of it. Rear rations of ABBA and Paul; Taylor when my exe’s moods permitted, otherwise headphones for the kids and I.
Since moving to Yangon and particularly since falling in love with Thiri in a fresh new long term relationship, it was only after music became a huge part of my life (again) for a full year or two that it had been so sorely missing for so long.
As a child and young teenager I was constantly in the lounge room surrounded by albums on the floor reading lyrics and trying to decypher album covers.
Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), The Angels, Midnight Oil, Blondie, Queen, Meatloaf, ACDC, Adam Ant, Pink Floyd, so many.
It was a big part of my life. I tried learning instruments too, piano, guitar, sax. All a bit lame in terms of results. Our music teach at school used to hit us on the thumb with a steel ruler if our thumb came over the top of the neck of the guitar. Mum was kind about piano but it was a pianola and she was busy with 4-5 children. Dad ended up making me do elocution instead.
CDs, LPs and Casettes
The music playing formats transitioned quickly it seemed. Vinyl and Plastic, so very 60s, 70s and 80s.
From cassette tapes with little plastic boxes where I hid weed and cigarettes from parents and begged my Dad who owned a pharmacy to give me a cassette player for Xmas.
To the earlier vinyl records, singles and long play (LP) which I had a few and loved the large colourful covers, but that was really the domain of my old brother who was a lifetime away born seven years earlier. 10CC Deceptive Bends was an evocative memory. Along with that was his ‘ownership’ of the family record player and hence all records in the house. It was fun to explore the collection when he was not around and learn from friends how to change needles and wire the speakers and add extras even exploring plugging in my radio shack and Dick Smith home made radio circuitboards.
The day our Compact Disc (CD) player arrived is forever etched in my memory, the quality of the sound was so incredibly remarkable. You could jump directly to your favourite track. Everything digital, shiny, futuristic.
It wasn’t so long before that we had seen a man had land on the moon on TV. You can’t get more futuristic.
We even had Molly Meldrum on TV teaching us what was the latest cool band. Wow. Skyhooks huh? Oh Kiss really? If you are not Australian of a certain age you will need to google that, prepare for a giggle. He interviewed Madonna, Oliva Newton John, Freddie Mercury from Queen, Kylie Minogue and all the big names from Australia and around the world.
It all seemed part of a wonderful time. Especially ELO for some reason. Futuristic sounds on a futuristic rainbow optical disc coming out of mysterious black cubes with one wire each to a bigger box and one wire to the power. We were living in a marvellous time. And I took stuff apart from older systems to understand how it ALL worked.
So after many years in a music desert it has been incredibly refreshing to see live music often a few times a week and almost always free. This continues at a slightly less frenetic pace here in Thailand.
Yangon was great because of the mix of communities, local and international with different life paths all smashed together in a limited number of venues. CEOs and students. Gun runners and chauffeurs. Geeks and cool kids. Advanced linguists and lazy bums. Often retiring to a roof top chilling and someone picking up a guitar. Sometimes annoying neighbours in dense areas with a DJ deck until the early hours before leaving the host to apologise the next day. Sometimes wild sometimes refined. Always fun and safe and inclusive.
50th Street. Sayasan. 7th Joint. Pioneer. Karaoke. House parties. Atlas. Sanchaung. Radio Bar. Old Skool. Vista Bar. Penthouse. Rangoon Tea house. Solo Guitar. Bands. Pros and Amateurs. Famous and Yangon Famous and Newbies. Live. Blues. Soul. Indie. Rock. Folk. Electronic Dance Music. Hip Hop. Even Jazz. Later pubs like Harrys and restaurants like L’Opera, Le Planteur, Seeds, Babett, Pansuriya, Strand Hotel, Yangong Yangon Rooftop, O’Thentic, Union Bar, Pansodan, Burbrit and Shwe Sa Bwe sometimes had light live music like a solo singer songwriter guitarist. Even the beer halls like Sanchaung Winstar had buskers outside.
That time in Yangon Burma and also visiting Singapore (historically not known for live music) in recent years helped me realise how some of the developed cities like Sydney and Melbourne even London and New York have truly lost their way, over regulating and killing grass roots community scene with so few music venues in the 2010s compared to the 1970s and 80s when Australia was a major world contributor.
Maybe it is all part of a plan to destroy fun and remove shared experiences. After all music was always one of the most effective form of protest to galvanise and educate against the supposedly more powerful forces in the world.
But I digress.
We weren’t majorly in the Yangon underground hip hop scene but did know some people and stumble on it from time to time and had overlapping friends. Fascinated by the impact of the Myanmar (Burmese) language having a limited number of syllables to end a sentence (meh, deh, la, bah etc ) so rhymes were easier and hence other beats were introduced for additional ties across lyrics and flow.
When the national military coup happened in Nay Pyi Daw Feb 1, 2021 the music died in Yangon and nationally. The military killed music, democracy and hope. All three had already been injured and delayed developed by Covid curfews but we got around that with 4am/5am lock ins and dark curtains. Some of the same strategies worked but it is hard to stop a bullet with a curtain or a song. The military junta continue to kill a lot of people.
Driving the music underground might actually end up being the undoing of the unethical junta in Myanmar. Young protestors have been galvanised by music. United across ethnic and generational boundaries.
One night not long after the coup we played quietly and (mainly) serenely on a Sanchaung roof top overlooking the pro-democracy anti-junta protest areas nearby. And tried to have something similar in friends place in Yankin. It was eery, depressing and dangerous to draw attention to yourself in anyway. There is a recording of some of us (!) singing and another rapping drifting around the internet in Myanmar somewhere. A least when the military don’t turn the internet off as happens often still even years later.
Whole back streets held candle light vigils asking for peace and normality to be restored. The banging of kitchen cooking pots in protest early evening every single night was a strong and remarkable experience as literally everyone protested loudly until the crack downs where protestors were shot at indiscriminately. From babies to grand parents. It was brutal suppression and just getting started.
Only months earlier on November 8, 2020 83% of people had voted for democracy. The next day soldiers were randomly grabbing people out of cars putting them to work as slave labour removing barricades each neighbour hood had erected to protect themselves from night time military raids.
Music, democracy and hope had faded. Discussions during the curfew lockins were ‘which suburbs are safer’. Which had fewer bombings. It was during one of these debating nights we realised we were all boiling frogs.
Time to flee! Where? Maybe to Thailand. But it has to be now. Neither of us has ever lived there, we did not spoke the language nor had any real knowledge other than a perception of low cost of living, peace and quite, good weather and freedom. That has proved largely true over three years later.
The borders were closed by the military. All flights were cancelled. We were already prisoners. Fortunately a friend saved us. A story for another time. Thanks mate you know who you are. Back to the music…
Probably most enjoyable simple music experience has been having friends over with guitars just goofing around, there is something about it that is hard to describe. Bonding, respect for skills, sharing, eating, drinking, experimentation, people singing and trying percussion on anything that will make a sound. Being there – with and for one another. I miss you guys in the Yangon music scene – so many good people.
Thiri often sang on stage and was welcome in every venue. There is no faster way to know a city or a community than music. And hard to imagine a more welcoming and genuine crowd.
Such an incredible contrast to the middle of the current civil war where the military are also burning churches. No Sunday hymns for you. I am not really Christian anymore despite being raised a Catholic, I consider myself more of a Theravada Buddhist but still admire many of the good people, music and actions of the community despite some having lost their way.
Xmas in a 95% Buddhist country! One year we went to a bit of trouble and hosted a large long table at Kamayut in Yangon with chickens, turkeys, pudding and roast everything. I even designed and built the fine teak the tables.
I love the phrase lashings of gravy. Thanks also to Aussie musician Paul Kelly. It was sweltering outside like an Australia Christmas but we blasted the aircon, dragged out the guitars, cracked some red wine open and continued until Boxing Day afternoon. Twenty or so friends rolled through over 24 hours with amusing tales and one slightly overcooked turkey because two of the lads started a little too early.
The Dutch have the concept of Nixsen which is deliberately doing nothing, often alone like reading a book but can be with family and friends. I think that is brilliant. It recognises we are human, have had a slow pace of life for millenia and need to spend chilling time with others without the burden of expectations like productivity or over prepared BBQs.
Back to the dentist song. It was a Vance Joy song. Another Aussie musician. But lets backtrack once more for a second.
Thiri has actually put the Ukulele down and not picked it up since we left Myanmar. I learnt ‘the lime in the coconut’ which is good for a laugh but life with less creating live music has seemed just a little hollow. Now we are in Thailand on a tropical island called Koh Samui. We mainly go to live music in Fishermans, Bangrak, Plai Laem, Chaweng and sometimes Mae Nam house parties. Jam sessions are best and we know one couple with their own recording studio at home, very cool.
I think when you hear live music it energises you and connects you with the creators. It also inspiires you to be more creative and to learn and think more openly.
But to play yourself you have to be in the right place, of course for the skill and dedication to learning but also the positive attitude and energy levels and desire to create.
So it is wonderful Thiri is back creating playing and singing and I have been goofing around with percussion on the Cajon and still torturously bad at free style rap but occasionally pull off a good one (like last night). I have been practising a few songs to sing and learning the words. Sheryl Crow classics are the current theme. Indie country rock I think they call it.
I think fleeing the Myanmar civil war, changing country again, changing houses literally ten times, changing communities, languages, towns, careers and more in so few years has really taken a toll. It is stressful. Stress cause cancer and inflammation and those things reduce life quality and life span. So it is nice to be starting to break out of the cycle of pain and pressure. I feel like it is the first time in my life. Ever.
Music has been one of the most positive consistent forces for joy and love. Despite the three decade gap which is literally more than half my life.
We didn’t even see this many live bands in the golden age of late teens and early twenties seeing Hoodoo Gurus, Midnight Oil, Angels and many more live in Sydney pubs and iconic venues. OK maybe the quality was better them in some ways and better now in other ways.
Maybe we are coming to a new phase in life with less stress where we are able to create again. Thiri had lessons on the acoustic guitar yesterday with Greg at a new local music venue for musicians. Early days. Dreams of singer songwriter performer are evident. She also has a natural talent for discovery of new and classic music that real fits our vibe and she and others can play.
The venue is part bar and part stand-up comedy. This ‘new for our tropical island’ concept our friend Nate developed includes a drop-in space for musicians to hangout, all the instruments you could want but don’t want to carry around all the time, draft beer and hipster booze mainly from the region but also globally. You can even carve your name into the timber tables if you want to help shape the place. Visitors are welcome to play (if you are not shite) and music co-creation is the norm. The world can learn a lot from musicians and creators. Music on the water overlooking a huge Buddhist monastery with amazing sunsets.
Having a ‘slow morning’ today with Thiri sitting at my feet ‘playing’ Vance Joy’s Riptide, forgetting the words to that song and loving another recent one by Hozier (links below). A good start to the day.
Makes we realise we might be starting a new life phase and the missing pieces are coming together.
She just came back from the market, fresh mangos and myanmar biriani and hopefully some more music.
Cheers, P.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riptide_(Vance_Joy_song)
https://wanderlog.com/list/geoCategory/79361/best-rooftop-bars-in-yangon-rangoon
Why would anyone in their right mind consider personal life journalling?
That’s what I used to think, but once you look at the data it is good for the way your brain processes memories and it is good for mental health and a lot more so finally starting.
Today was an odd day, T is on leave from work at the moment for ten days so she can make a start on her MBA. We were spending a lot of time together and it was not always pleasant. Too much time perhaps.
But I realise now it was the pressure of visas, having one of the worst passports in the world in terms of freedom, health, colleagues, fixing up the house, losing a dearly loved pet and a few other things that were actually the issues.
The last week while she has been on holidays have been wonderful, we are literally back to the start of our relationship again – four plus years ago – in terms of enjoying each other’s company. Even simple daily tasks like washing the clothes and getting petrol in the bikes is enjoyable.
It has reminded me how much I love her and what an odd but very good fit we are together despite different cultures, languages, backgrounds, experiences, professions we have so much in common that is evident every day since we first saw each other – nearly five years ago – while we were in other relationships.
As the sun was setting I went for a walk on the beach, often T joins me (not enough I say) but today she was studying so I would be solo. We had a late lunch together first and watched a new show then I headed down to the local beach for a sunset walk, but no sunset tonight, it was very quiet and dark, the clouds were rolling in and most people and even the soi dogs had headed to the restaurants to escape the incoming rain.
Some poor people obviously had a romantic dinner on the sand planned with bamboo structures and white billowing silk like material in front of the nicer hotels but they were rained out, at least temporarily.
I went for a swim despite the risk of lightning and really felt grateful for the warmth, salty taste, light warm breeze and plonking heavy rain drops. My eyesight is failing as I get older and the eye glasses are getting thicker but these things seemed perfect.
It made me think of other things apart from journalling that I know I need to do more and one of them is appreciating what we have rather than hoping for something different. This is called ‘avoiding the second arrow’ as Buddha used to say and I think it is one of his wisest observations. Life can be crap but we can make the decision to focus on that we have and what we control and enjoy what little we do like and decide not to pine for other things.
Missing the kids a lot lately it has been so long.
Just made us both a nice mug of tea each and remembered another thing I was going to try and do, fit a few more natural products and whole foods into our diet so asked her if she would like local wild flower honey in her Dilmah. We both enjoyed it and got to use two little hand made timber paddle spoons instead of teaspoons so we can scoop the last drop of honey from the bottom of these big old mugs.
Big old mugs, just like me really, I turned 58 last week and T turned 34 just a little earlier. People still say I look like I am 35-45 which is nice but absolute bull and from time to time I have felt like a 25 year old just not every day of the week. We both took a weird health test recently with a digital scale and sensors that estimate your metabolic age, supposedly I am 43 and T is 30 so 25%+ and 10%+ improvement respectively not too shabby. The machine doesn’t measure the extensive bags under my eyes or the recent headaches and suspected skin cancers but hey this bollocks does make you feel better.
Maybe it is all in the mind.
An insightful comparison of these two relatively small and unknown countries that are helping shape the next century globally.
Originally posted on StartSoc:
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Ideas for xmas and more importantly ideas for startups for any aspiring consumer centric tech entrepreneurs looking for inspiration.
Giddy up, so keen to play with this. Some unboxing photos for the geek freaks out there. Motion sensor based computing here we come. Will be interesting to compare with the kinect. The box itself is tiny and matches the imac and iphone neatly. I wouldn’t be surprised to see them roll the numerous chips […]
Looks like a lot of my circle of contacts are now officially marketers not just ‘mere’ geek entrepreneurs.