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Big Brother’s watching me watching him
News, Kong Rithdee, Published on 14/03/2015
» Skip out for beer during the commercials, because the revolution will not be televised — or so goes the Gil Scott-Heron song. If only it were that simple! Because while the revolution may not be televised, coups will. Coups have. Actually, a coup only qualifies as a coup when the perpetrators appear on television, epaulets sparkling as they line up before an extremely boring backdrop to announce their masterstroke. A coup needs tanks less than it needs a TV signal. We’ve borne witness to it too many times over the past 40 years, with first analogue broadcasting, then Earth-orbiting satellites and now digital TV.
Radiohead redux
Life, Kong Rithdee, Published on 26/07/2013
» Every day Amnarj Sonimsart wakes up at 3am. "That's normal for an 80-year-old," he chuckles. The first thing he does is flick on the TV to catch BBC and CNN; then he checks the stock and oil prices, noting down important fluctuations for later use. At 4.20am _ he states the time with the casual precision of someone who's been following the same schedule without fail for a long time _ his driver takes him from his house in Pattanakarn to the radio station in Lumpini Park ("my daughter forbids me from driving"). At 5.10, Amnarj begins sipping a cup of Ovaltine while scouring the Thai-language newspapers laid out for him, lighting on items of interest and quickly digesting their contents. On the dot of 5.50am, he prepares for a task he's performed for 46 years straight: leaning slightly forward, he gets ready to switch on his mic and go on air.