Showing 1 - 9 of 9
Biting the bullet
Life, Apipar Norapoompipat, Published on 25/03/2019
» For the past year or so, I've had pretty much the same routine. Go to the office, write, eat lunch, chat with colleagues, interview someone interesting, write some more, rinse and repeat. It's been a fulfilling, secure and comfortable existence.
Masters of puppets
Life, Apipar Norapoompipat, Published on 22/08/2018
» To the younger generation of Southeast Asia, shadow puppetry may seem like a bygone form of entertainment. Held outdoors at night in temple compounds, rice fields or the royal court, the performance traditionally unfolds behind a stretch of white cloth illuminated by oil lamps. Puppet masters manipulate the intricate and painstakingly handcrafted puppets to local music, narrating and acting stories from the Ramayana or the Mahabharata epics peppered with improvisation in between. A shadow theatre performance, in some cases, can last up to seven hours long.
The Thai-French connection
Life, Apipar Norapoompipat, Published on 02/08/2018
» A body of a naked woman lies lifeless on a muddy hill as curious bystanders look on; a ghostly shadow in front of an abandoned train station flails as if in pain; and on a footpath, an elderly woman sits dejected in front of her broken car, daydreaming.
A unique bond
Life, Apipar Norapoompipat, Published on 21/05/2018
» If Zack Blackmon Jr were to tell you that he's a direct descendant of the original Siamese Twins Eng and Chang Bunker, there's no way you'd believe him. White skinned, blue eyed and with a delightfully thick North Carolinian accent, Blackmon Jr, 67, is surprisingly in fact, the great-great grandson of Eng.
Seeking ways to end abuse
Life, Apipar Norapoompipat, Published on 05/03/2018
» Last month, I met Queen Silvia of Sweden. It was an encounter that I never expected, and it was a meeting that changed the way I view the world. It wasn't for anything regal or fancy. It was for something much more profound. Queen Silvia, visiting as the founder and chairman of the World Childhood Foundation, was in Thailand with her team to shine light on the issue of child sex abuse.
Stopping the heinous crime of child-sex abuse
Life, Apipar Norapoompipat, Published on 23/02/2018
» Parents sexually abusing their own three-year-old son to make easy money online, child molesters working as primary school teachers, Buddhist monks running child sex rings. Time and again, Thailand has produced some incomprehensibly awful news headlines, and time and again, it seems like nothing is getting done. With women now getting their voices and stories heard in the powerful #MeToo and #TimesUp movements, it seems like we should also start focusing on those who are still voiceless: children.
Facing up to sexual harassment
Life, Apipar Norapoompipat, Published on 06/11/2017
» Ever since The New York Times and the New Yorker published their explosive articles on Harvey Weinstein's repulsive serial sexual assaults, every day, a new round of accusations have surfaced, and every day, a rich and powerful man is finally being held accountable.
Rotten, but fresh
Life, Apipar Norapoompipat, Published on 19/07/2017
» The latest exhibition at YenakArt Villa is rotten. Literally. Dried-up roses with stitched-up petals hang their heads dejectedly in a vase; a shrivelled lily flower with plastic petals sits sadly in the corner of the room; and in front of the gallery stands a large glass box filled with rotten and mouldy embellished bananas.
Finding a better way
Life, Apipar Norapoompipat, Published on 05/06/2017
» Last week, amid all the news, flooding and political madness that's been sending residents of the Kingdom into a spiralling negative void, an unexpected source of uplift came through: netizens.