Archive for the 'Culture & Arts' Category
Why Morals
Leaping into the morality debate ring, as someone recently wrote. Momma always told you to be nice and not to lie. There will be consequences, you were told. And indeed. You cheat, you get cheated. You betray. In a moment you’re the betrayed. Morality, a key concept of Western thought, is a much more flexible
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The Ten Commandments Of Thai Politicians
I rarely do this, but this “field manual” for Thai politicians written by Prophessor Stephen B. Young for The Nation is worth to be mirrored in full. You may remember The Nation’s telling interview back in September last year with the man. Young introduces his helpful rules for Thai politicians with this: “Having tasted of
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Making Way
“Thai people attend a religious floral offering Saturday, January 9th, 2010, during a religious ceremony at an old military prison, known as Tuk Din, in Bangkok, Thailand.” “The prison believed to be haunted with the spirits of the dead, is being demolished to make way for several 20 story apartment blocks for senior military officials.
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“Phua Farang”: Demanding Daughter Duty
Just stumbled upon this site: Critical Asian Studies. A worthwhile read caught my eye: “Demanding Daughter Duty: Gender, Community, Village Transformation & Transnational Marriages in Northeast Thailand.” A study about the increased favorable acceptance of Isaan women with foreign partners. An in-depth study about a social phenomenon not known some years ago. From the site’s abstract:
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Earful Of Nonsense
There’s much talk in here and in Thailand forums about the kingdom’s culture of propaganda and institutionalized brainwashing. Why are Thai people not allowed to grow up and think for themselves? Which becomes all too obvious when you switch on Thai radio or TV. OK, there are some more decent radio stations, such as 98.5
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Beauty’s Moral Decay
Finally we see some focused government action in these trying times. Not only the Ministry of Information & Communication Technology is overly active these days to ensure a pure and prosperous society. We learn that the Ministry of Health “is considering action against alcohol beverage firms that distribute calendars clearly showing their brand names or
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Navigating The Bangkok Night
The Bangkok Night is so vast and diverse, spread across so many different districts of this gigantic Asian metropolis with so many bars, night clubs, lounges, discos, KTVs, snooker places, “Entertainment Complexes,” music venues, street stalls, night markets, “special services” massage places, cinemas and shopping centers, from tiny to huge, from low-end and very cheap
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Calvino Is Back
Every city has a dark side. Hardly anyone paints the dark underbelly of Bangkok more vividly than Christopher G. Moore, whose latest Bangkok novel The Corruptionist just hit the shelves. 466 pages of dark Bangkok. I had a word with Chris about his new book, his work and Bangkok. Most expats here are familiar with
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Walking The Bhikkhuni Path
The cultural tradition of this country has Buddhism at the heart, making Thailand truly unique in my eyes. Everyday, just by speaking Thai, I get reminded of my belief. But like all things beautiful when they become mundane and perfunctory, we stop taking notice and we stop to appreciate. The meanings become dissipated. This is
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Blame The Demon
Exorcizing Thaksin? Why doesn’t the Thai government relocate demons. As irrationality is not uncommon around here. Black magic, demons, the power of Phra Rahu – if you’re familiar with Thailand you’re familiar with the powers that be. They are very real. Which is why twelve “demon statues” at bad-lucked Suvarnabhumi airport believed to have brought
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