Showing 1 - 6 of 6
Deliver us from apathy
Life, Pichaya Svasti, Published on 10/12/2018
» It became the talk of the town when social-media posts last week unveiled a sign saying: "Using the postal service of Thailand Post means repaying the debts of gratitude that you owe to your country". The message led to widespread negative criticism. Many people were upset and complained the state enterprise should not have demanded people's gratefulness when it offers a poor service.
Precious lessons for protecting our nature
Life, Pichaya Svasti, Published on 13/06/2016
» Last week, there was good and bad news about the environment. I learnt a lot about environmental protection measures during my June 6-7 visit to Japan's Yakushima Island, of which 20% of the total area is registered as a World Natural Heritage Site by Unesco. Later on June 9, I was happy to hear that various groups of people planted trees on some parts of deforested land in Nan and many other Thais planted trees elsewhere and also at home.
Angel delight is a passing fad
Life, Pichaya Svasti, Published on 28/01/2016
» Angel child dolls, or luk thep in Thai, have become widely known since the middle of last year and increasingly popular, especially among those in the entertainment business who believe the dolls bring them good fortune. The trend for luk thep -- dolls with added spirits of angels that are believed to have the power to fulfill the wishes of their owners -- has become a centre of criticism since a number of owners treat their dolls as if they are real infants in public.
Stressed? You're having a laugh
Life, Pichaya Svasti, Published on 25/08/2015
» A few months ago, I read a funny post on Facebook about laughing on social media in different languages. Thais prefer "55555" while the Japanese type "www", which is derived from the word "warai". Korean people write "kkkkk", the Spanish "jajaja" and the Portuguese "huehuehue" or "rsrsrsrs". For people in Denmark and Iceland, they use "ha ha, hi hi, hae hae, ho ho, ti hi" while Russians use "haha xaxa, hihi xnxn, hehe xexe" and it is "xa xa xa" in Hebrew. Interestingly, French people laugh "hahaha, héhéhé, hihihi, hohoho" or "MDR" (mort de rire) meaning "dying of laughter".
Is being single a problem?
Life, Pichaya Svasti, Published on 14/10/2014
» Last week, I read two news reports which reflect opposite viewpoints — an English woman who married herself and a Thai columnist's discriminatory comment about National Broadcasting and Telecommunication Commission member Supinya Klangnarong being single.
Should single people subsidise a baby boom?
Life, Pichaya Svasti, Published on 11/09/2013
» Many were flabbergasted last Thursday to hear reports of a suggestion made by economist Terdsak Chomtohsuwan that the government should provide subsidies to parents having their first child while introducing a tax on single people. The academic reasoned that Thailand risks future labour shortages and a population-age imbalance and will have to spend huge sums of money to support the increasing number of elderly citizens. At the same time, the number of people in employment and teenagers soon to enter the workforce is on the decrease.