Showing 11 - 20 of 46
A song that unites Thais in their grief
B Magazine, Andrew Biggs, Published on 22/10/2017
» The royal anthem is known as Pleng Sansern Phra Baramee, or "The Song that Praises the Glory of the King". This piece of music is 130 years old. It was the third national anthem of Siam for more than 40 years, from 1888 to 1933 -- the one prior to that was Britain's God Save The King/Queen with Thai lyrics.
Stateless Mong still forced to fly solo
B Magazine, Andrew Biggs, Published on 17/09/2017
» It is hard to believe nine years have passed since Mong Thongdee hit the media spotlight. Little Mong was big news in September 2009, a few months before violent clashes between anti-government protesters and government troops.
'Mr Condom' is still causing a stir
B Magazine, Andrew Biggs, Published on 16/07/2017
» How comforting to see, in the pages of the Bangkok Post, young people using condoms with none of the hang-ups or bashfulness associated with that contraception. By using them, I don't mean "using" them. The kids were blowing up condoms like balloons and wearing gaily coloured hats made of condoms in a news story that certainly piqued my interest.
Three twerks in time save nine
B Magazine, Andrew Biggs, Published on 18/06/2017
» Back in January 1956, a young unknown American singer named Elvis Presley released his first single called Heartbreak Hotel.
Dinosaurs must confront reality
B Magazine, Andrew Biggs, Published on 14/05/2017
» The whole country, from the prime minister down, has been talking education, bandying about two words in particular: "innovation" and "technology". This culminated in an education fair entitled EdTex, held at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center, where the consensus was that for Thailand to survive, it needs an education system that is both innovative and technological.
A larger-than-life Aussie lit up Thailand
B Magazine, Andrew Biggs, Published on 07/05/2017
» The annual Australian TV awards called The Logies were on last week. Having been away from Australia for nearly three decades I can't get too excited about them, primarily because most of the winners were born after I left. Watching excerpts of the shows up for awards does remind me that one cannot confine a discussion about bad TV to Thailand only.
Street food purge leaves a bitter taste
B Magazine, Andrew Biggs, Published on 23/04/2017
» Living in Bangkok is like winning the lottery; it's surprising how many relatives and friends, and children of estranged friends, come out of the woodwork at holiday time. I have international visitors visiting me regularly, dear reader. This is how I know, despite being allergic to seafood, precisely how long it takes for fish to go off.
Pull up to the bumper
B Magazine, Andrew Biggs, Published on 09/04/2017
» On busy Rama IV Road, my driver explodes in a mighty chortle. "Well, would you look at that," he says, pointing to the pickup truck in front of us. In the back seat I look up from my position, documents in my lap, crunching numbers. It's been a stressful morning, especially since the numbers in question are the latest lottery results, and my ticket has come nowhere near the 6 million baht first prize.
A skytrain to deafness and brain death
B Magazine, Andrew Biggs, Published on 05/03/2017
» That unexpected fire at the Thai-Belgian flyover caused havoc with inner-city traffic on Wednesday. That was the evening of Sundowners, the monthly meeting of Austcham (the Australian Chamber of Commerce) at the Grand Hyatt Erawan. It was also the evening Austcham was having its presidential elections, but how to get there?
Set zero: The Krabi power plant is ded-sa-molay
B Magazine, Andrew Biggs, Published on 26/02/2017
» Environmentalists have cautiously hailed a victory of sorts after the government agreed to set zero the proposed Krabi coal-fired power plant. Don't worry, dear reader. It is not necessary to understand that first sentence. I was just testing you. Or rather, I was testing myself.