Showing 71 - 80 of 236
Space invaders
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 02/08/2015
» What’s in a name? It may not sound funny to you, but I find it amusing how American lawmakers could waste so much time and energy, not to mention taxpayers’ money, deliberating over what to call a fish. Last year, Senator Bill Hoffman of Minnesota was concerned that the name “Asian carp” was “hurtful” and “offensive” to some people so he sought to change the name to “invasive carp”. And guess what, the Minnesota Senate approved the bill.
The mother of all blooms
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 09/08/2015
» I used to give my mum a white rose on Mother’s Day, which is celebrated on the second Sunday of May in the Philippines, where I grew up. Now that I am a mother and grandmother, I get jasmine instead.
Master of a growing art
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 21/06/2015
» If Caladium bicolour, or fancy-leaved caladium, can be compared to works of art, then the plants you see on this page are masterpieces. They are the works of a master breeder who creates hundreds of cultivars with just one stroke of his brush. No two plants are exactly the same, so if you want to be the proud owner of a masterpiece or two, or even more, head for the plant market being held along Phadung Krung Kasem canal behind Government House before next Sunday. It is open from 10am to 7pm daily.
Flower power
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 28/06/2015
» I have eaten several kinds of flowers in my lifetime. You probably did not know that the blossoms of bitter melon (Momordica charantia), also known as bitter gourd and balsam pear, or mara in Thai, and ridged luffa (Luffa acutangula), which Thais call buap, are edible.
How to play it cool
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 05/07/2015
» The severe heatwaves that gripped India and Pakistan in May and June, killing more than 4,000 people, must be a matter of grave concern for us in Thailand. With the Earth’s changing climate patterns, there might come a time when temperatures of up to 40-45C could sweep this country, too.
Leave those trees alone
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 12/07/2015
» I was on my way to fetch my grandson from school last week when I passed by workmen busy trimming tamarind trees along Si Ayutthaya Road outside the Chitralada Palace compound. As branches cut from the trees fell to the ground, other workers picked them up and loaded them onto a lorry. They were still busy working on that particular stretch of road when I passed them on the way back.
Toxic plants and rumours taking root
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 19/07/2015
» When will people ever learn? The warning on dieffenbachia, known in Thai as sao noi pra paeng, being a dangerous plant is going viral again. Apparently someone in India just read it and shared it with her friends, then people in the Philippines and Japan picked it up and now it is making the rounds on Facebook all over again.
High and dry
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 26/07/2015
» Where have all the flowers gone? Last time I was on our farm six months ago, the flowering plants and shrubs were blooming in all their glory. But during a visit two weeks ago, there were very few flowers, and even the bougainvilleas, which bloom nearly all year round, were missing.
Growing farm fresh kids
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 03/05/2015
» Not many teachers would use a farm as an educational tool for grade school children, but Preciosa Soliven, PhD, is no ordinary teacher. As the founding president of OB (Operation Brotherhood) Montessori Centre, which operates five schools in and around Manila in the Philippines, she motivates children to develop into self-dependent adults from the age of three.
The magic mountains of the Philippines
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 10/05/2015
» From primary school, Filipino children are taught how rich the Philippines is in natural resources. But as a child I saw how the Caraballo mountain range straddling our province of Nueva Ecija in Central Luzon was being denuded of its forest cover, either by illegal loggers or settlers clearing the land for cultivation.