Another Farewell to Another Fine Friend

Another Farewell to Another Fine Friend

For what would have been Melanie Klimchuk’s 60th birthday this year, which was commemorated by an event in Toronto, I wrote this appreciation of her and our four decades of friendship.  In the early 1980s, I was hosting a music-comedy show on the University of...
Bangkok Prison Visit with a Convicted Killer

Bangkok Prison Visit with a Convicted Killer

To get a glimpse of Thailand’s dark side and its Third World injustice system, no daytrip is more illuminating than a Bangkok prison visit, writes Jim Algie. Opening the back door of a pink taxi, I told the driver in Thai that I wanted to go to Klong Prem Prison. I...
Celebrate Thai New Year in the Isaan Heartland

Celebrate Thai New Year in the Isaan Heartland

The Thai New Year, or Songkran, has become watered down in many urban centers, writes author and photographer Jim Algie, as you can see from all the malls where Buddha images are set up to be rinsed by patrons who go through the blessing motions with little heart and...