Showing 1 - 10 of 39
Lop Buri before the monkeying around
Roger Crutchley, Published on 02/06/2024
» One of the first towns I visited in Thailand in the early 1970s was Lop Buri, about 150 km north of Bangkok. Its main appeal was its convenient three-hour train journey from Hua Lamphong. It offered a chance to escape Bangkok for a couple of days and experience a taste of life in a small town.
Words count
Published on 26/09/2019
» The English language contains more than 1 million words. That may seem excessive, especially when you consider that studies have shown that an average native speaker of English knows only around 20,000 words. Even many university-educated speakers know 40,000 — or a mere 4 per cent of all the existing words in English.
Once upon a time on the French Riviera
Life, Kong Rithdee, Published on 14/05/2019
» The spectacle ahead will -- hopefully (cinema sages are an optimistic bunch) -- be spectacular. The 72nd Cannes Film Festival opens tonight and there are all manner of curiosities to look forward to: an army of hipster zombies; Margot Robbie as Sharon Tate; Korean parasites; a Maradona doc; an Elton John biopic; Islamic extremism in Belgium; British miserabilism (Brexit and other demons); and, of course, Elle Fanning on the red carpet for 11 days straight, performing jury duty at the world's most reported, most hyped and most influential film festival.
'F' word makes a major breakthrough
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 12/05/2019
» Important news from the world of wordplay. The latest edition of the Collins international Scrabble dictionary lists 2,862 new words, most of which I have never heard of. But most importantly for us in Thailand, a significant newcomer is one we are familiar with … farang.
At home in Asean
Asia focus, Nareerat Wiriyapong, Published on 05/02/2018
» The first thing that impressed me about Hideaki Iwasaki, country director for the Thailand Resident Mission of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), was his fluent English. I assumed it was the result of his educational background.
Vulgarity on display
News, Postbag, Published on 09/12/2017
» While watching some poor old half-naked, badly deformed saleng struggle to push his empty ramshackle cart along the road this morning, I thought of the vulgar ostentatious display of wealth by our clearly insecure deputy prime minister this week.
Sexual bandwagon spins badly out of control
B Magazine, Andrew Biggs, Published on 12/11/2017
» Tove Lo is a Swedish singer enjoying a hit in the dance clubs at present. Her song is very catchy and kind of fun. It is called Disco Tits, and here are the lyrics to the chorus: "I'm sweatin' from head to toe/ I'm wet through all my clothes/ I'm fully charged, nipples are hard/ Ready to go."
Close control key during the swing
Sports, Brett Brasier, Published on 26/08/2017
» A common fault in golf is losing control of the club at the top of the swing, which results in lost accuracy and power.
Pulling it all together
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 21/07/2017
» What I learned from years of backpacking is that there's no single pattern of development. Every country I've been to has had its unique history, which is why the prospect of globalisation is incongruous and why mother countries couldn't hold on to their colonies.
Lowbrow reads
Guru, Jarupat Buranastidporn, Published on 28/04/2017
» In lieu of the opening of the Bangkok City Library (a four-story library that -- ironically -- is currently struggling to fill up its shelves with books), it's only fitting we celebrate the city's efforts to provide the public with something more useful than another condominium, shopping mall or public transport filled with new rail lines that don't interlink.