Showing 1 - 10 of 47
Those were the days, my friend...
Oped, Roger Crutchley, Published on 14/01/2024
» A fortnight ago I enjoyed Thai hospitality on a very pleasant New Year's Eve at a small gathering in our neighbour's garden in Chaiyaphum. There were about 10 of us and although I was the only non-Thai the hosts insisted on playing western music rather than the mor-lam they almost certainly would have preferred.
Gen Z become masters of comedic deflection
News, Published on 30/10/2023
» 'Can we get a cute drink and snacks after this?" reads the text on a recent TikTok image of men with machine guns in army gear. It's intended to depict the attitude of young female US soldiers while storming a building in Gaza. The post, created by a Gen Zer whose popular feed abounds with Taylor Swift lip-syncs and dance videos, is captioned: "I love this trend #thedraft #war #foryou #fyp #funny."
Making Asean more relevant to youth
Oped, Published on 31/08/2023
» International Youth Day is celebrated annually in August. Growing up as a young person in Singapore in the 1980-90s, I was more in tune with the arts, music, and literature of American and British influences than I was with local and regional popular culture. I was also more familiar with Western-based landmarks, for example the Eiffel Tower, than I was with those in Southeast Asia, such as Borobudur Temple. That was how oblivious I was of the region I was living in.
The train robbery that gripped a nation
Roger Crutchley, Published on 20/08/2023
» Last week on television I watched the two-part series The Great Train Robbery, an intriguing account of the audacious heist that made headlines in Britain all those years ago. It slowly dawned on me that this month is the 60th anniversary of that extraordinary robbery which took place on August 8, 1963, on the Royal Mail train from Glasgow to London. Frightening how time flies.
Audience of one is better than none
Roger Crutchley, Published on 13/08/2023
» There was a story from the Edinburgh Fringe Festival last week concerning English actress Georgie Grier whose one-woman show Sunsets attracted a grand audience of one. A tweet with pictures of a tearful Grier after the show prompted considerable sympathy and the following night she found herself performing to a near full-house which she joked felt the equivalent of "Wembley".
The song that broke all the taboos
Roger Crutchley, Published on 23/07/2023
» The song "Je t'aime" surfaced on the airwaves last week following the death of its star performer Jane Birkin at the age of 76. I don't know enough about her to comment on her career, suffice to say the English actress went on to captivate France.
Chasing happiness
Life, Kanokporn Chanasongkram, Published on 20/03/2023
» Belt out Boney M.'s version of the Happy Song, do Snoopy's happy dance, spray Clinique Happy Perfume, or enjoy anything else elating.
It can't be worse than last year, can it?
Oped, Roger Crutchley, Published on 01/01/2023
» Well, here we are on the very first day of a brand new year. There has to be something auspicious about that. A good day to purchase lottery tickets with a few number ones perhaps?
Soft power must have global appeal
News, Paritta Wangkiat, Published on 25/04/2022
» The presence of the 19-year-old rapper Milli at the Coachella Music Festival in the United States has reinvigorated Thailand's soft power ambitions -- an area the Thai government has not fully explored nor exploited.
Come on baby, let's do the Twist
Oped, Roger Crutchley, Published on 10/04/2022
» The other day I heard on the radio Chubby Checker bursting forth with his 1960 hit 'The Twist'. It's not the greatest of songs but it sparked fond memories because it launched a dance craze which proved a social life-saver for me and many other shy teenagers.