Showing 1 - 10 of 18
Putting numbers to diversity
Life, Thana Boonlert, Published on 30/06/2025
» Around 1.6 million individuals identify as gender-diverse, according to Thailand's first LGBTI census by Mahidol University and the Thai Health Promotion Foundation (ThaiHealth).
Promoting co-existence
Life, Thana Boonlert, Published on 12/05/2025
» While parents were sitting on picnic blankets, kids were romping with laughter reverberating across the yard. Stationed according to their own age in an arcade, players hit flashing buttons to create notes as fast as possible -- hence rearranging popular songs with melodies of different generations.
Thailand's Big Brother is upping the ante
Oped, Thana Boonlert, Published on 06/08/2022
» In the late 18th century, British philosopher Jeremy Bentham visited his younger brother, Samuel, in Russia, who arranged unskilled factory workers in a circle so that he could supervise them. Inspired by this principle, Bentham developed "the panopticon", an inspection tower surrounded by cells. Its uniqueness was that it enabled a watchman to monitor prisoners without them knowing they were being watched.
A hundred baht and a dream
Life, Thana Boonlert, Published on 14/06/2022
» Before a lucky draw this week, a middle-aged woman stared intently at a stall in front of Bangkok's shopping mall. She prayed and plucked three lottery tickets, 100 baht each, out of endless possibilities. "I hope you will win the prize," Sudta Tamnudee, a vendor, told her first customer.
Weaponising Thainess with numbers
Oped, Thana Boonlert, Published on 03/06/2022
» The feud over an online campaign calling for Thai numerals to be scrapped in official documents isn't just about pragmatism -- it is a clash between the two ideologies which underpin Thai society.
Reminiscing a bygone time
Life, Thana Boonlert, Published on 13/04/2022
» The novel coronavirus pandemic has subdued Khao San Road for more than two years. It was not until recently that the neon-lit street showed a flicker of life. However, officials have banned the annual water fight to avoid the risk of an outbreak for the third year running, dashing hopes of a revival.
Card collectors chase possible fortune
Life, Thana Boonlert, Published on 02/11/2021
» Clutching a large tote bag, a collector is looking for someone to trade a wide range of anime toys from cards to stickers in the new craze for rare items that cost over 100,000 baht per piece.
Passport to prosperity
Life, Thana Boonlert, Published on 17/03/2021
» May I see your vaccine passport? You will be asked to demonstrate proof of shots everywhere -- be it airports, shops or events -- until the coronavirus outbreak is kept at bay. If you leaf through history, you will find their predecessors. In the past, travellers carried international certificates of vaccination to show at the port of entry when they visited yellow fever risk areas such as Africa and Latin America.
Revolution toolkit – a model for pro-democracy protesters to follow?
Life, Thana Boonlert, Published on 10/03/2021
» Anti-government protesters have adopted a wide range of tactics from flash mobs to banners in order to defy the powers that be. Last weekend, demonstrators gathered outside the Criminal Court surrounded by barbed wire on Ratchadaphisek Road to call for reforming the monarchy, the ouster of the military from politics, and a shift towards a welfare state. They first dumped garbage and then performed the symbolic act of setting it ablaze.
Point of no return
Life, Thana Boonlert, Published on 01/03/2021
» The world has about six years and 10 months left before its carbon budget -- the amount of carbon dioxide that can be released into the atmosphere at the current rate -- will be completely depleted. Unless human beings join hands to limit global warming under the 1.5C safe threshold, they will face worsening famines, disasters, and displacement. The climate clock by two artists, Gan Golan and Andrew Boyd, in Manhattan's Union Square, is a stark reminder of how destructive and fragile we are.