Showing 491 - 500 of 536
Human (tragi) comedy in motion
Life, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 05/10/2012
» I have a firm belief that a good mass transit system will spell doom to the automotive industry. I've cooked up a conspiracy theory that the Thai government and politicians secretly try to sabotage public transport projects to help car companies sell more vehicles.
Taking the animal mystique out of the mall
Life, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 26/10/2012
» I have a special agenda for the month of October. No, I am not talking about political memorials of any sort. Since 2007, I have usually cast my critical eye on The Emporium on Sukhumvit Road. During this month, The Emporium usually hold its annual Flora & Fauna Exotica, when the front terrace is turned into a jungle with exotic animals in cages.
A tale of two Ferraris
Life, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 14/09/2012
» It purrs and it roars and it sounds like a jet engine to me. Despite abhorring its petrol-guzzling appetite, the sound of this pricey sports car often turns my head. It is not just a car. It is a Ferrari. And it is a dream.
Don't speak: the art of toeing the line in China
Life, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 19/10/2012
» The most-heard line across China in the past week was ''Have you ever read a Mo Yan book?'' The question echoed in walkways, elevators and my office canteen. In Beijing, his books have been sold out since last Friday, shortly after he was announced the winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature. The Wall Street Journal immediately ran an excerpt of his new book which will be launched in January, while the share price of Xinhua Media, a partner of Shanghai Literature & Art, one of Mo's publishers, rose 10% in a single day's trade.
China's Sorrows up close
Life, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 22/10/2012
» Books on China are occupying more shelf space in bookstores around the world. More people want to learn about China, the once poverty-ridden nation that has now become the world's second largest economy and is poised to ascend to the status of the greatest superpower.
The baton passes on to the disabled
Life, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 16/08/2012
» I owe a big apology for my previous column. It was ignorant of me to write that all eyes would shift to Rio de Janeiro once the London Games ended. A reader by the name of Bern1005 wrote a comment on this newspaper's website, and it made so much sense. "Indeed, a few eyes will shift to the Paralympics in London which will take place in the same location as the London Olympic Games between Aug 29 and Sept 6 and this will include Thai athletes," he wrote to remind me.
Of God and greed
Life, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 12/07/2012
» I cringe every time my Chinese friend utters the words, ''My God!'' It's because she does not hold any religious beliefs. Her People's Republic of China passport does not contain a section for official religious identity. ''I have no religion,'' she told me matter-of-factly. ''I do not pray. I do not go to church.'' She does not believe in God, nor gods.
No shark fins please!
Life, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 19/07/2012
» Once in a blue moon, the Chinese government gets it right when it chooses to ban something.
Out of the blue, into the dark
Life, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 26/07/2012
» The nonsensical killings at a movie theatre in Aurora, Colorado, last Friday sent a chill down my spine. The feeling reminds me of a line from German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche: "If you stare into the abyss long enough, the abyss stares back at you."
Sewage and the city
Life, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 02/08/2012
» It takes artists to give beautiful meanings to unpleasant objects like toilets or gutters. One example is French writer Victor Hugo's description of flood drainage system: "The sewer is the conscience of the city."