Showing 61 - 70 of 107
Fate vs luck
Life, Ariane Kupferman-Sutthavong, Published on 18/10/2017
» In troubled times, what is it that we turn to? Is it faith? Superstition? Some of us will embark on a spiritual path, finding comfort or anguish in a never-ending quest, while others may rely on their Cartesian, scientific mind to get through. Some of us may leave it to luck to do its magic, tossing a coin and seeing on which side it lands.
Monarchical chronicles
Life, Ariane Kupferman-Sutthavong, Published on 18/10/2017
» In a 1970 address to librarians nationwide, the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej compared books to knowledge banks, "a collection of everything mankind has built, done and invented since ancient times". His remark thus highlighted the importance of these everyday objects in the human experience.
Seeking truth and justice
Life, Ariane Kupferman-Sutthavong, Published on 27/09/2017
» After moments of introduction, Chaiyapoom's face appears on the projection screen, a makeshift silver screen like the one on which his films could have been shown. The singing voice too belongs to the 17-year-old Lahu activist, killed in March this year for resisting arrest after soldiers allegedly found methamphetamine pills in his car.
A subdued mood in art honouring King Bhumbol
Life, Ariane Kupferman-Sutthavong, Published on 28/09/2017
» The number of events and activities is likely to drop this October, as all eyes will be set on the royal cremation ceremony to take place at Sanam Luang at the end of the month. But while the atmosphere will be solemn and our clothes sombre, artists and venues are paying tribute to King Bhumibol, as a last goodbye to Thailand's longest-reigning monarch.
The woes of the yes man
Life, Ariane Kupferman-Sutthavong, Published on 17/08/2017
» Parinot Kunakornwong's exhibition "Yes" isn't meant to evoke a happy, enthusiastic affirmative -- but rather the resigned, yielding acceptance of the powers that be and of our unnatural order of things.
Understanding the Orang Asli
Life, Ariane Kupferman-Sutthavong, Published on 05/09/2017
» They are often referred to as sakai, or slave. To most central Thais, they are known as ngoh, like the rambutan fruit, a derogatory term that refers to their curly hair. But besides that -- and besides being featured in well-known literature -- the people from the Orang Asli community are little known to the wider public. This is despite the 150,000 Orang Asli tribe members -- according to the Centre for Orang Asli Concerns -- still living in the Malay Peninsula.
A new Bangkok is not a better Bangkok
Life, Ariane Kupferman-Sutthavong, Published on 11/09/2017
» "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." Dickens's famous opening lines to A Tale Of Two Cities fits present-day Bangkok perfectly.
Lumpini's cats run out of lives
Life, Ariane Kupferman-Sutthavong, Published on 11/09/2017
» Barely a year after the municipality staff employed at Lumpini Park set out to rid the facility's pond, alleys and lawns from monitor lizards, they are at it again.
Singing to a different tune
Life, Ariane Kupferman-Sutthavong, Published on 15/09/2017
» A factory warehouse nestled in an urban forest, Yelo House has nothing to envy other industrial buildings turned creative spaces that line the Chao Phraya riverfront.
Blue-sky thinking?
Life, Ariane Kupferman-Sutthavong, Published on 21/08/2017
» Over the last few months, crossing the Pathumwan intersection on foot was a near-impossible task requiring pedestrians to zig-zag along the mazes of malls and footpaths, as the pedestrian bridges were closed-off by a major construction site.