Blog of the year award
There are many blogs written about life in Thailand. If you are interested, this is a good place to start, the top 100 Thailand blogs (although 216 are listed):
Pattaya Days is currently lying in 28th position which, given the fine quality of the writing and photographs in some of the other blogs; is much higher than it deserves to be.
I am not sure how the rankings are calculated; but clearly it is not based on excellence, because there is one blog which does not even appear in the list, and it really should be at number one. It’s called Stanley’s Pictures, and it is quite* superb. My attention was drawn to it by Alan who was complimentary about Pattaya Days; but admitted that he was obsessed with Stanley’s Pictures; as well he should be.
Stanley lives in Pattaya and has a busy life eating, shopping, drinking and taking photos. Stanley takes a lot of photos. He photographs almost everything that he sees, although fortunately his camera does not go to the toilet or bedroom. Yesterday Stanley posted 28 photos of his day, including an excellent capture of the rice, broccoli and asparagus he had for lunch (actually the shot was a little on the dark side for my taste; but Stanley is an artist so who am I to judge?).
I am an anti-social bastard whose main source of companionship is she who must be obeyed and the cats. I can happily spend days without seeing anyone else. No so Stanley, whose life is a whirlwind of social engagements with a wide selection of appealing characters. My favourite is “Mr. Tony” who is usually photographed with a plate of food in front of him; so probably no coincidence that he bears a striking resemblance to the exploding Mr. Creosote in The Meaning of Life.
A constant stream of photographs and commentary on Stanley’s life would just be too much goodness to bear, so Stanley intersperses his Pattaya life journals with incisive and witty commentaries on news from his home country; which rather embarrassingly for some of us, happens to be the UK.
Alan warned me I would become addicted when he sent me the link; and indeed I am. Not a day passes without a visit to Stanley’s Pictures and it is hard to describe the mix of emotions that his site produces; best I can manage is that it’s the closest you can come to experiencing a car crash without actually having one.
And so (roll of drums and a discord of trumpets please), Pattaya Days is pleased to announce that the blog of the year award goes to…. (slight pause for effect)….
Visit at your own risk. Warning: Contains choking hazard.
*”quite” as in “not at all”
December 29th, 2009 at 3:52 pm
I actually visit his blog of my own free will. It’s a great thing free will. I enjoy Pattaya Days primarily for it’s wit, excellent photography and well told stories but there is was none of that in this post.
December 29th, 2009 at 7:57 pm
Thanks for the link to Stanley’s Pictures. Will be come a regular read. Right after yours. Love your wit.
December 29th, 2009 at 9:11 pm
Like FJD I’m grateful for the link. It will be good to a have a back-up to go to when you’re idle,(resting). Many pages of archive to be checked too.
Thanks also for all the great entertainment you’ve provided over the past year, and best wishes for 2010.
Wentworth; there’s no apostrophe in its when it’s being used as a possessive form of it. Thought you might like to know for the sake of future accuracy.
December 29th, 2009 at 11:48 pm
Spike I have been reading this blog, Pattaya Days, since just before the horror crash you had. I enjoy your quick wit and sense of humour, though at times just like mine can be a little sarcastic and deceitful.
I have read Stanley’s blog spasmodically as it is linked from another blog I read. Stanley isn’t an academic by all means, probably wasn’t well educated or finished school going by the many errors in his posts, but again the guy is writing about ‘his’ life in Pattaya.
Stanley’s friends are probably what many picture when they hear ‘expat and Pattaya’ in one sentence. But these are Stanley’s friends and he is the one writing about them and their going ons.
His pictures are poor quality too many but others probably enjoy the mundane everyday pictures. I don’t mind too much, many pictures I flick past but usually there are a few that I get a good laugh out of.
I don’t know what is going on behind the scenes, but something has really seemed to have ticked you off. It would be interesting to know what actually pushed your button to write this post.
Anyway Spike, I look forward to much more wit in 2010 and hope you “She who must be obeyed” and your pussy cats have a great 2010.
As for the above post, in poor taste but again I am not sure who, what or why you were pissed off enough to write it.
Happy New Year in advance.
Brunty
December 30th, 2009 at 12:57 am
Oh dear, it was meant to be affectionate rather than vicious; sorry Stanley. I do think his blog has charm and I look forward to the updates.
Still, always good to end the year on a controversial note. Possibly.
And best wishes for 2010 to you all too.
December 30th, 2009 at 8:57 am
“I enjoy your quick wit and sense of humour, though at times just like mine can be a little sarcastic and deceitful.”
Brunt your writing skills are a joke. spike may be a sad man living in pattaya with no freinds, but at least his iq is triple digits.
December 30th, 2009 at 10:08 am
Owen, your writing skills are a joke.
Comma after “Brunt”
spike should be Spike
pattaya should be Pattaya
freinds should be friends
iq should be IQ
Thought I would get in before genuinej!
December 30th, 2009 at 10:29 am
but i dont write a blog or teach english you twit
i am a munti million pound entreprenuer
i also dont correct other peoples grammar since i am busy making million pound deals or making love to beautiful girls
December 30th, 2009 at 3:25 pm
Turn my back and all hell breaks loose … must be an end of the “noughties” thing …
December 30th, 2009 at 5:44 pm
I jus made a deal for £200000 WHILE making love to a beautiful girl. beat that bet you cant.
just made a nother one while typing that sentence!!! am now 4m richer and you anr,t lol im off to buy another gold yacht
December 30th, 2009 at 9:00 pm
Yeah Billy, definitely missed your steadying hand.
Owen, a couple of corrections. If by sad you mean the sort of person who plays too many computer games and has no life; guilty. If by sad you mean unhappy; sorry to disappoint but I rather enjoy my trivial life. And on the IQ thing, safer to say “greater than 40″ rather than “triple digits”.
Well done on the deal while shagging thing, but remember that even gold yachts have barnacles.
December 30th, 2009 at 10:09 pm
This Owen sounds like a right twat to me.
(I know, … it takes one to spot one).
As for Spike’s trivial life, I just wish mine was half as trivial.
December 30th, 2009 at 10:10 pm
Or should that be twice as trivial?
December 30th, 2009 at 10:19 pm
That’s what I love about you genuinej, always worrying about the grammar. I think the answer depends on whether you want a less trivial or more trivial life than me. But whichever it is, I would not know how to write it.
December 30th, 2009 at 11:30 pm
JEEZ .. Stanley’s Pictures gets your nomination for Blog Of The Year and Owen pops up with a worse IQ than mine … and a keyboard that has half it’s keys missing …T**T!
Owen pray tell me your get rich scams .. do you work for View Talay perhaps ???
Spike .. be careful out there .. your friends know you don’t wear protection …
Enjoy Hogmanay with SWMBO and the cats .. catch you next year ….
December 30th, 2009 at 11:39 pm
A good laugh, your post, Stanleys site and the comments. Good luck to the guy he seems to have found one of the few ‘good’ girls in Pattaya and is enjoying himself and nobody elses expense something many expats should learn to do!
Personally I despise Pattaya and all it stands for yet I enjoy your blog for the content and excellent photography.
December 31st, 2009 at 12:30 am
the last post under my name was in fact an imposter, probally that genuinej geezer. what a dick cheese
i would like to point out that stanleys missus is not thai but a PH import.
and yes stanley is poor ugly and old has slightly less money than spike, yet his burd looks better than spikes
prob why he doesnt like stan
December 31st, 2009 at 3:13 am
Christ Owen!! You’re more of a TWAT than I first thought. Why don’t you leave Spike, Stan, me and the rest of the correspondents of this outstanding website in peace and just piss off?
December 31st, 2009 at 11:31 am
This is I think a good and appropriate time to wish for peace in the world and goodwill to all men (including women)… Happy New Year!