Showing 71 - 80 of 116
The future is now
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 21/03/2016
» While there have been vast improvements in the military sector for millennia, the soldiers wielding the weapons remained much the same. Basic training toughens them, yet their bare strength is no match for a bear or an ape. Psychologically they are vulnerable to stress.
An enduring spirit
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 18/01/2016
» With the destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki the world entered the atomic age. More devastating hydrogen bombs were tested, weapons of mass destruction indeed. The US and USSR rattled theirs at each other over the next 44 years, until the Soviets called it a day and the Cold War was over.
The Force has indeed awoken
Life, Kanin Srimaneekulroj, Published on 17/12/2015
» I regretted attending the press screening of Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens the moment the iconic Star Wars logo burst onto the screen. Not because I have anything against Star Wars, or that I didn't think the movie was going to be awesome. Quite the contrary, in fact. My regret lies in the fact that I'm not watching this movie at home, alone, where my inner geek can scream and cheer at the triumphant return of what is perhaps one of the most important cinematic universes in pop-culture history.
More wars to come
Life, Published on 23/11/2015
» It has been said that the only certainties are death and taxes. Not quite. Another sad certainly is war. All animal life is engaged in it. The struggle for survival. Not only with the forces of nature, but against their own species. The causes seem obvious at the time, make little sense on afterthought.
Hunger Games ends with a bang
Life, Kanin Srimaneekulroj, Published on 20/11/2015
» The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 marks the end of what has now become perhaps one of the most prolific young adult novel series ever, and holy heck is it good. While I wasn't a fan in the beginning, The Hunger Games is one of those series that seems to mature with its audience, now a far cry from the days Katniss was in the lush woods of the first Games arena.
More old hat
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 14/09/2015
» Together with their military, British boffins played a major role in defeating their Teutonic foes. Their whizz kids -- scientists, academic -- came up with radar and opened up the Enigma machine. (During World War I they invented the tank.) Hitler's boast of winning the war with secret weapons was played down.
Beware the internet
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 10/08/2015
» With 7 billion fellow humans on the planet we tend to keep our family, friends and acquaintances in very small circles. The rest we ignore as much as possible. Classmates and colleagues are temporary. Instead of loving our neighbours, we keep one another at arm's length.
A lawyer's dream
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 27/07/2015
» The person many historians and authors of historical fiction find most fascinating to write about is England's 16th-century monarch Henry VIII. His hope for a male heir led him to have six wives, execute two of them and change the religion of the country.
Bangkok Comic Con's back alley
Life, Adam Kohut, Published on 07/05/2015
» '[As Thais] we only adopt, poorly. We're not creating anything new. But such is the way of the Thai mentality. We don't lead. We follow. We want something we're used to. We like imitations. As content consumers, we like junk food."
Snowden under siege
Life, Kong Rithdee, Published on 27/03/2015
» The Oscar-winning Citizenfour has opened in Bangkok. An opportune cinema experience here in our land of 99.9% democracy where the contentious Cyber Security Bills are being revised, the so-called Edward Snowden documentary seethes with unsettling power. Its civic outrage is strong, but the cool-headed storytelling gives it gravity. The immediacy of the issue at its heart is also the debate of the early 21st century. And if the film lets us know from the start that it's taking the side of the whistle-blower, all the better.