Showing 31 - 40 of 69
When bombers turned into butterflies
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 18/08/2019
» There have been an increasing number of news events lately serving as reminders that I am a bit on the ancient side. Last month it was the 50th anniversary of the Moon landing and it was rather disturbing that most of my colleagues were either too young to remember it, or in most cases hadn't even been born.
Elton, a madman and a ghetto blaster
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 07/07/2019
» During the early 1970s, my main source of recorded music in Bangkok was a little shop called Rex Records on Phetchaburi Road. In addition to having a decent collection of vinyl albums, it also provided a useful service by transposing albums onto cassette tapes which was then the most common form of listening to music.
The sun ain't gonna shine anymore
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 31/03/2019
» In last week's PostScript concerning the use of the word "ain't" in music, one song not mentioned was The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore, a big hit for the Walker Brothers in 1966. Sadly, the number is being remembered this week following the passing of Scott Walker at the age of 76.
The choice is yours, and best of luck
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 17/03/2019
» There's an old dictum, "democracy is the right to make the wrong choice", and one suspects there are plenty of wrong choices available out there, but hopefully also a few good ones as we enter the final straight leading to March 24.
Order in the House, Mr Speaker
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 03/02/2019
» Watching the live debates from the British House of Commons recently has been far more entertaining than anything else on television. It's a wonderful mix of drama, oratorical outrage, brazen showboating and dark comedy, not always intended. It is spontaneous theatre -- the <i>Washington Post</i> called it a "dramedy".
The Thai Blob is spreading its wings
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 27/01/2019
» Many readers will be familiar with the long-running Adventures of the Blob on certain Thai TV channels in the war against cigarettes. When movies are shown, the blob races around the screen in pursuit of rogue cigarettes and attempts to blob them out to protect defenceless viewers. Unsurprisingly, the ridiculous blob only succeeds in irritating the TV audience. The absurdity of it all was highlighted recently during a gangster movie in which nearly everyone in the room was smoking. This prompted a squadron of blobs to go whizzing across the screen, fighting a losing battle and reducing a supposedly serious scene into a foggy farce.
News that is driving us all up the wall
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 20/01/2019
» Just as most Brits must be sick to death of ever hearing the word Brexit, across the Pond one suspects the majority of Americans have also had more than their fill of The Wall. You can't escape those dreaded words even here in Thailand. Switch on the satellite news and you will be bombarded by the two topics, analysed by every expert in the world, most of whom happen to have just written a book on the subject.
From a cultured cabbie to the Albert Hall
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 23/09/2018
» The recent column on the musical tastes of Bangkok's taxi drivers prompted quite a few comments from readers relating assorted cab rides featuring the joyful strains of Cliff Richard, Boney M and even Pavarotti. However, Elvis remains the favourite amongst the veteran cabbies.
Say a little prayer for the Queen of Soul
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 19/08/2018
» One sunny morning in 1968, I had settled down to my customary reading of the Sunday newspapers on Hampstead Heath in London, when a couple sat on the grass near me. I was a little irritated when they switched on a transistor radio and was pondering giving them a lecture on the sanctity of peace and quiet. But then I heard the piano intro to <i>I Say A Little Prayer</i> and all was forgiven. A rare sunny day on the Heath with musical accompaniment by Aretha Franklin -- what more could one ask for?
Rodents are simply a master of taste
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 05/08/2018
» There was a news report last week about the arrest on the Cambodian border of a gentleman smuggling 800kgs of dead rats. Imagine that. There are plenty of ways to make money through smuggling, but bootlegging deceased rodents is not one that immediately springs to mind.