Club Scene

Posted on February 8, 2016 by SoClaimon

ศาสตร์เกษตรดินปุ๋ย : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/life/Club-Scene-30278523.html

AFTER DARK

The Nation February 5, 2016 2:09 pm

Artificial Intelligence

Find good parties in Bangkok

Hook, line and hilarity

Socks threaten to be laughed off when award-winning Canadian comedian Drew McCreadie takes charge of an unruly pack of funnymen tonight in a “Whose Line?” improvisational show at the Comedy Club Bangkok on Sukhumvit Soi 33/1. They’ll take your suggestions and |concoct hilarious scenes on the spot. Admission is Bt350 and the beer is only Bt80.

Undisputed heavyweights in the production studio, Artificial Intelligence make their Bangkok debut at a Phatfunk party tonight at Glow on Sukhumvit Soi 23. They’ve been bashing eardrums for 13 years on the Shogun Audio, V Recordings and Good Looking labels and now you can hear it live, starting at 10pm. Call (086) 614 3355.

Monkey business

Ku De Ta Bangkok near the Chong Nonsi BTS station welcomes the Year of the Monkey tonight. with a stunning show by the Fire Money and dancers. If you were born in 1968, 1980 or 1982, there’s a free bottle of vodka waiting for you. Otherwise you need to dress in a full monkey |costume to get one. Call (02) 108 2000.

Morlam marches on

Studio Lam on Sukhumvit Soi 51 celebrates the seventh anniversary of its “Paradise Bangkok” parties tonight with a performance by the Paradise Bangkok Morlam International Band while founders Maft Sai and Chris Menist man the decks. It’s back-to-back classics all night, plus a preview of new material. The sound starts at 9. Entry is Bt350. Call (02) 261 6661.

Much more Madonna

Hit the pre-SK10 party at the Sofitel So on Sathorn Road on Sunday, the latest effort by gCircuit. It’s a Madonna tribute bash ahead of a four-day |extravaganza in April and comes just before the Queen of Pop’s Thailand debut show next week. You’ll be dancing, and no doubt voguing, from 4pm until pretty late. Check out http://www.gCircuit.com.

A Day with Noi, chasing luk thung and dodging apologies

Posted on February 8, 2016 by SoClaimon

ศาสตร์เกษตรดินปุ๋ย : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/life/A-Day-with-Noi-chasing-luk-thung-and-dodging-apolo-30278473.html

SOOPSIP

The Nation February 4, 2016 1:00 am

Krissada “Noi” Sukosol Clapp is crazy kinetic when he’s singing onstage, endlessly dancing and jumping around, so it’s amazing how calm he looks in films when he turns his talents to acting.

KRISSADA “NOI” SUKOSOL Clapp is crazy kinetic when he’s singing onstage, endlessly dancing and jumping around, so it’s amazing how calm he looks in films when he turns his talents to acting.

Until now almost typecast in serious dramatic roles, Noi surprised everyone when he accepted a leading role in the forthcoming romantic comedy “Luk Thung Signature” directed by Prachya Pinkaew. Of course he’s done comedy before – “Luang Pee Teng 3” a few years back, which had him playing a small town’s monk alongside popular comedians – but this time there’s music in the mix, so the project must have felt like a perfect fit.

Maybe not quite: Noi tells A Day Bulletin he had to learn all about luk thung culture, which is alien to the Thai-American from a well-to-do family in the hotel trade. He was educated at international schools and in the United States and feels no connection to the funky folk music.

He’s always found it charming, though, every tune telling its own interesting story, not so different from the plays of William Shakespeare, he says. And we do know the songs are very tricky to sing properly. Fortunately Noi, who’s just finished filming, didn’t have to attempt it.

He plays Boy, chief executive at a private firm, who overhears the office cleaning lady singing as she’s scrubbing the men’s toilet, where he’s ensconced in one of the stalls. The beautiful voice belongs to Rungrat Mengphanit, who goes by the nickname “Khai Mook The Voice” thanks to her winning turn on that TV show. Boy is immediately smitten, but the cleaner vanishes just as he emerges from his cubicle, and the search begins for that amazing talent and the sweet girl it belongs to.

You wouldn’t think Noi ever gets much in the way of criticism. He was adored as the lead singer of the band Pru before jumping into acting, and then his lead role in “13 Game Sayong” won him best-actor trophies at the National Film Association Awards, the Starpics Awards and the Bangkok Critics Assembly.

Nevertheless, the 45-year-old has been stung by criticism, saying he’s easily stressed out, and has been working in the hotel family business lately. Not that he’s complaining – he feels very privileged, growing up in a wealthy family, having the chance to study overseas and then doing what he loves, like music and acting. He travels and collects antiques.

Noi could buy a luxury car if he wanted to, but he’s happy with his 12-year-old compact. He’s not big on the new technology and only recently got his first smartphone, a gift from his wife. It’s necessary these days, he admits, especially in Thai society.

“Socialising with friends and family on the social networks and Line suits Thais because we don’t like being straightforward with one another. So communicating via smartphones keeps us smiling at each other. If we do something wrong and don’t have courage to apologise in person, we can type an apology to them!”

Finding a match for Lara

Posted on February 8, 2016 by SoClaimon

ศาสตร์เกษตรดินปุ๋ย : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/life/Finding-a-match-for-Lara-30278472.html

FEATURE

KUPLUTHAI PUNGKANON
THE NATION February 4, 2016 1:00 am

Haematologist Dr Udomsak Bunworasate

Lara’s cousin, Dr Sutee Mokhavesa

A young mixed-race woman needs stem cells to beat Leukaemia and you could help save her life and the lives of others

DESCRIBED AS THE singular initiative under which the entire world can unite in the fight against the global cancer epidemic, World Cancer Day, which falls today, is the perfect opportunity for all of us to become voluntary stem cell donors and help someone like Lara Casaotti.

Just about everyone on the social networks will have heard of Lara, the 24-year-old half Thai-Chinese, half-Italian young woman who is at the heart of the Match4Lara campaign. Barely five weeks have passed since Lara, a student who lives in the UK, was diagnosed with rapidly progressing Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML). The doctors have given her until April to live and say the only way she can be saved is through a bone marrow transplant.

Her search for compatible bone marrow or stem cells, which was launched by her family after the lab revealed her brother was not a match, has become a world phenomenon, meriting reports on CNN, the BBC and other international news networks, as well as being cited by Prime Minister David Cameron in the British Parliament.

The Telegraph newspaper reported Cameron’s endorsement, quoting him as saying “I certainly will join the Honourable Lady [Tulip Siddiq, MP for Hampstead and Kilburn] in supporting Lara’s campaign. I have had meetings with the bone marrow organisations in No 10 Downing Street to support the matching campaign.”

Cameron is probably the highest profile personality to back the campaign, which has already enlisted the support of novelist JK Rowling, actor Stephen Fry, fashion photographer Mario Testino, Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason and Hollywood actor Mark Wahlberg, among others.

With a shortage of ethnic minority donors across the world – they number less than 3 per cent on the public stem cell register – than 20 per cent of people from black, Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds who need a stem cell transplant will find a perfect match.

For this reason, Rowling’s tweet – “Please RT! A Eurasian donor is desperately needed to save this young woman’s life. Do your thing, Twitter!” – makes a lot of sense.

In Thailand mixed-race actresses Araya “Chompoo” A Hargate and Morakot “Aimee” Kittisara, as well as other famous personalities have joined the stem cell donation registry.

Haematologist Dr Udomsak Bunworasate of Chulalongkorn University’s Faculty of Medicine, notes that due to Lara’s complex heritage, finding a match is extremely difficult.

“Leukaemia is cancer of the body’s blood-forming tissues, including the bone marrow and the lymphatic system. There are two types, acute leukaemia and chronic leukaemia. With the perfect [Human Leukocyte Antigen] HLA match, the stem cell transplantation is the best method of treatment and will help save a leukaemia patient’s life,” the doctor notes. “Only a twin from the same egg will have a 100-per-cent HLA match; twins from different eggs have a likely 75-per-cent, otherwise it’s about 25-per-cent chance that a sibling will match.”

While Lara’s family set up the campaign to find a donor for her, the drive has now spread to include all leukaemia sufferers.

Lara herself says in her video clip, “No matter what happens, whether I get match or not, Match4Lara will help all leukaemia patients just like me in the future.” She also asks that people not simply “like” or “share” but undergo the test and donate.

Thanks to the attention the campaign has received in the UK, British charity Anthony Nolan, the largest stem cell donor registry, has attracted 12,000 new registrations in less than a month, a 400-per-cent increase over the whole of last year.

The figure is much lower here in Thailand where, according to Dr Udomsak, 170,000 stem cell donors have registered since 2002, most of them following the 1,900 appeals for stem cell transplantation. However only 202 of these desperately ill patients found a match.

Lara has not yet found her match.

“In Lara’s case finding a match is even more challenging,” says Lara’s cousin, Dr Sutee Mokhavesa. “The whole point about the HLA matching is that the white blood cell is like a warrior that protects foreign invaders. The question is that how they know the other cells are friends not foes. Imagine you are in Bangkok and walk around looking for people dressed in shirts and trousers. That’s very easy. But once you are more specific and try a find a person wearing a pink shirt with white dots and jeans with a tear on the right knee, it becomes near impossible. The same applies to finding a person with a very high specificity. That’s why we need as many people as possible to come and register because they do not know their genetic makeup or their HLA,” he says.

“Lara has always had a volunteering spirit. Right now she’s studying for a master’s in global migration at University College London. She volunteers with at-risk youth and marginalised groups, and has worked at Human Rights Watch and as a volunteer with the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific in Thailand.

“Here she researched migrant workers conditions. Not long afterwards she experienced very aggressive pain, which was later diagnosed as leukaemia. She’s undergoing chemotherapy. She told me through Line that the first session was very tough, but her spirit is still very high,” he says.

Becoming a stem cell donor is not as difficult and painful as one might think, says Dr Udomsak, explaining that the staff of the Thai Red Cross National Blood Centre, will take just 5cc of blood to check for HLA.

“This is then registered in our central database, which can also be linked internationally. If you are happen to be the perfect match, we will do more tests.

“There are two methods of donation; peripheral blood stem cells (PBSC) and bone marrow. The patient’s doctor will choose which one is best for the patient. The bone marrow method is the old technique. It is a surgical procedure that takes place in a hospital. Doctors use needles to withdraw liquid marrow from the back of your pelvic bone. Donors receive anaesthesia and feel no pain during the donation. It requires a one to day stay in hospital,” he explains

“PBSC donation is a non-surgical procedure. For five days leading up to donation, you will be given injections of filgrastim, a medication that increases the number of blood-forming cells in your bloodstream. On the day of donation, blood is removed through a needle on one arm and passed through a machine that separates out the blood-forming cells. The remaining blood is returned to you through the other arm. This is the preferred method.

“There are also the cordblood stem cells, which have received a lot of publicity in recent years. The problem here is that the cells are very limited and thus not sufficient for adults, so it can be only used only for child patients,” he notes.

Treatment for leukaemia can be complex so help to make it simpler by becoming a donor. You could well save a life.

MAKE A

DIFFERENCE

n To register as a donor in Thailand, visit the Thai Red Cross National Blood Centre and join the Thai Stem Cell Donor Registry. Do mention that you are there because of the match4Lara campaign.

n The centre’s staff will carefully explain how it all works and ask you to sign a consent form. Once this is done, you will be asked to donate blood and a sample will be taken for HLA testing. The science behind the HLA testing is very complicated and the lab work will take at least 20 days so there is no need to wait for the results. You can now go home knowing that you have just potentially saved someone’s life.

n Once the lab determines your HLA typing, the results will be automatically entered into the Donor Registry system waiting for recipients that match. Only in the unlikely event that your HLA typing is identified as a potential match will you be contacted by the National Registry.

n To qualify as a donor, you must be:

l Aged 17-70.

l In excellent health, with a weight higher than 45kg.

l Have no history of hepatitis or jaundice.

l Have no history of malarial fever for the past three years and no sexually transmitted diseases, or infectious diseases. You must not have a persistent cough, be coughing up blood, have haemophilia or have blood-related diseases, suffer from asthma, allergy, epilepsy, long-term skin diseases, kidney disease, heart problems, diabetes or thyroid problems.

l No considerable weight loss.

l No risky behaviour such as sexual promiscuity and no record of drug use.

l Blood donations are not recommended for six months after a medical operation, child delivery, or abortion. In case of receiving donated blood, allow one year before giving blood.

l Female donors must not be menstruating or pregnant.

l Donors must not have resided in the United Kingdom between 1980 and 1996, a period that saw outbreaks of Foot and Mouth (Mad Cow) disease.

n For more information, call (02) 256 4300 and (02) 252 1637.

Chinese gods grace Bangkok shoppers

Posted on February 8, 2016 by SoClaimon

ศาสตร์เกษตรดินปุ๋ย : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/life/Chinese-gods-grace-Bangkok-shoppers-30278471.html

CHINESE NEW YEAR

VEENA THOOPKRAJAE
THE NATION
CHINA February 4, 2016 1:00 am

The Mall has set up shrines for the Lunar New Year with likenesses of Heng Chia and Guanyin

THE YEAR OF THE Monkey begins on Monday, so you’re well advised to start sidling up to some simians if you want fortune smiling on you for the next 12 months. Fortunately The Mall has coaxed the biggest monkey of them all to Bangkok, the Monkey King God Tai Sia Huk Chao – known in Thailand both as Sun Wu Kong and Thepprachao Heng Chia.

The retail chain’s “Glorious Chinese New Year 2016” runs tomorrow through February 14, at all branches. The gods it has brought from China for worship, however, are only at five outlets until next Wednesday, February 10 – Tha Phra, Ngam Wongwan, |Bang Khae, Bang Kapi in Bangkok and at The Mall in Nakhon Ratchasima.

Heng Chia has arrived in statuesque form, awaiting the adoration of anyone of Chinese descent – and anyone else for that matter who fancies his or her chances with the deity.

Getting him here was an elaborate affair. Executives of the mall and Ajarn Katha Chinnabanchorn, the celebrated tarot-card reader, made a special trip to his shrine in Shantou, Guangdong, the original hometown of most Thai-Chinese ancestors according to a Mall survey.

A posse of media tagged along and joined their hosts in paying respects to the monkey god, offering tea and nine kinds of sweet fruit (but not meat – you never offer meat). Then sufficient monkey statuettes for the five Mall branches, each about a metre tall, were carefully loaded onto the flight back to Bangkok.

Ajarn Katha, whose real name is Kemmachart Parinyanusorn and who’s also an expert on feng shui, pointed out that this is a “yang fire monkey year”, a most auspicious period to honour the Monkey King God, particularly in Buddhist countries. Heng Chia, revered for his immense strength, is closely associated with Buddhism, as depicted in multiple Chinese movies and TV series.

Joining Heng Chia for the holiday in Thailand is Guanyin, the goddess of mercy so widely revered here. They’d met before. Guanyin succeeded where no one else could in curbing the Monkey God’s aggressive behaviour. Apart from that noble achievement, she is worshipped for helping the distressed and the hungry, giving comfort and aid wherever needed.

Guanyin is the best known of China’s many bodhisattavas, or Buddhas-to-be.

Thoroughly assimilated in religion, values and lifestyles, Thai-Chinese – comprising at least 14 per cent of total population and perhaps much more – nevertheless adhere to the traditions of the original homeland. In good times, worshipping the gods becomes a celebration, and in more dire circumstances the traditions are there for support.

With this respect for heritage in mind, The Mall undertook research focusing on Shantou, home to most Thai-Chinese forebears. It located a hallowed, lesser-known shrine to the god there, at the Kaiyuan temple, built during the Tang Dynasty 1,200 years ago. The temple proved to be the architectural prototype for Wat Mangkon Kamalawat in Bangkok’s Chinatown.

During their visit the executives arranged for a ritual blessing of all the statues being brought to Thailand. Eighteen Buddhist monks conducted the Burk Nate (“eye-opening”) ceremony, which lasted more than an hour.

Aware that not all Thai-Chinese know the correct procedure for paying respects to the gods, The Mall has everything ready, says Duangta Phongwilai, one of the general managers. The Events Hall at every branch has the necessary offerings, prepared in accordance with tradition. Every outlet will be a “little Shantou”, with a Chinese market selling ingredients for popular Guangdong dishes. As well as honouring the gods, it’s customary to eat auspicious foods during the New Year festivities, since “good food assures good luck”, as Arjan Katha explains.

“Normai mahasamut pad sam sean, for instance, will bring wealth and happiness,” he says, referring to a stir-fry of three kinds of bamboo shoots.

Lovebird’s bittersweet swan song

Posted on February 8, 2016 by SoClaimon

ศาสตร์เกษตรดินปุ๋ย : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/life/Lovebirds-bittersweet-swan-song-30278470.html

FASHION

THE NATION February 4, 2016 1:00 am

Parenthood in mind, fashion designer Pan Anisha closes up shop

THERE WAS BOUND to be some “heartbreak” when the clothing brand Lovebird presented its final collection at the Royal Renaissance Hotel recently, but the fans weren’t about to miss it.

Closing out five successful years, celebrity designer Anisha “Pam” Atthasakulchai explained that she had to make a choice between work and family – she’s planning to have a baby.

So the Cruise Collection 2016 was Lovebird’s swan song, offered along with a lovely dinner to thank her loyal customers.

The guiding concept at Lovebird throughout the five years has been that “Woman is at her most beautiful when she’s in love”. Pam expressed pride that “feminine girls” have always adored her clothes.

“Lovebird started out as an online business before we opened the first store and it was renowned as the fastest-growing Thai designer brand,” she said. “Today we’re very happy with what we became – committed to designing and producing every single piece of clothing through eight collections. The inspirations came from our surroundings as well as feedback from Lovebird’s fans, resulting in many satisfied customers over the years.”

The “Cruise” line is an extension of her 2015 spring-summer collection, which celebrated “a day in Capri” and the relaxing experience of taking a sea cruise, Pam said.

“Our 2015 spring-summer collection was very well received and we had a lot of requests to bring it back again, and that’s what we’ve done for our final collection.”

The 24 different items in the line are Italian and Baroque in style, including a lace body suit, a short-cropped shirt, a straight dress and pleated slacks decorated with hoops and ropes for that sexy “beach” feel. The key tone mix is white and gold, with pink accents and classic Baroque patterns.

In attendance for the event were Sikanya Saktidej Bhanubandh, Na-Chanok Ratanadaros, Korn Narongdej, Khunnicha Phornprapha, Varangkana Jitsakdanont, Ausana Mahagitsiri Dabbaransi and Kamolsuth Dabbaransi, Kamolchat Juangroongruangkit and Jiramote and Nichaya Phahusutr.

They and other fans of Lovebird will be selecting items from the final collection at its shops at Siam Paragon, EmQuartier, Central Chidlom, Central Lat Phrao and the Lovebird Legacy Store at SSP Tower on Ekkamai Road.

Find out more about Pam’s plans at http://www.LovebirdBrand.com.

As light as air

Posted on February 8, 2016 by SoClaimon

ศาสตร์เกษตรดินปุ๋ย : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/life/As-light-as-air-30278469.html

ART

SAIFUL ISLAM
THE DAILY STAR
ASIA NEWS NETWORK February 4, 2016 1:00 am

Once considered a fabled fabric, muslin is again making its presence felt

MUSLIN WAS THE attire of kings and queens, a fabled fabric that was the pinnacle of European fashion in the 18th and 19th centuries. Originally called “mul-mul”, it was named by Marco Polo after the large cotton trade in the town of Mosul in Iraq.

Rare, delicate, fine and often described as “woven air”, muslin was the most sought-after textile and at its height was reaching all corners of the globe.

During the second and third centuries, India’s fine cotton was known as “Gangetic Muslin” and treated as a tribute, handed over from one royal family to another, forging friendships and cementing alliances. With the Muslim conquest of Bengal in the 12th century, trade and specifically textiles received a large boost. After the arrival of the Portuguese in the late 15th century, a small amount of Indian textiles started to travel directly to Europe, and this rapidly increased after the Dutch and the British joined in the Indian Ocean trade from early 17th century.

Muslin travelled the earth, bringing prosperity to its traders, specially the East India Company, 75 per cent of whose wealth would at one time come from this single item. In the 18th century Bengal’s textiles grew from 16 per cent to 55 per cent of the EIC trade and India was contributing an astonishing 25 per cent of the world economy, with England at less than 2 per cent. But the muslin industry was extinguished by a system of exploitative regulations brought in by the British rulers and a wave of new technology that saw the domestic cotton industry replaced by their machine-made fabrics.

By 1880, the lustre of Bengal’s muslin’s had faded and muslin was allowed to die.

Today muslin’s unique cotton plant, the phuti karpas which grew on the banks of the Meghna and its tributaries, is believed to be extinct.

The unique yarn is not spun and the weaving techniques used on jamdani (a last surviving variety of muslin) are all that is left of a lost art, even though coarser threads are used now in preference to the fine ones of the past.

Sadly, there are few credible records on muslin penned by Bangladeshis and no appropriate samples of its finery in the country’s national museums. Its story is written by outsiders and the best examples of its historic products are kept in museums abroad.

Over the past two years, Drik has extensively researched the topic with the assistance of curators, weavers and artisans both internationally and at home. Their efforts will culminate in a public exhibition that opens tomorrow at the Bangladesh National Museum.

Besides original artefacts of muslin, a photo book, documentary film and discussion sessions will also be launched. Muslin items of high thread count, 300 and above, will be on display.

The goal is to inspire the revival of a new-age muslin unique to Bangladesh and bring pride and recognition to its true heroes, the craftspeople.

After all, large volumes of fine cotton cloth are shipped from India, Turkey, the US and China to countries in Europe and Japan using the same brand name. Why shouldn’t Bangladesh profit?

A toast to the ‘crazy Corean’

Posted on February 8, 2016 by SoClaimon

ศาสตร์เกษตรดินปุ๋ย : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/life/A-toast-to-the-crazy-Corean-30278468.html

ART

LEE WOO-YOUNG
THE KOREA HERALD
ASIA NEWS NETWORK February 4, 2016 1:00 am

Artists and collaborators remember Nam June Pak on the 10th anniversary of his death

IN 1963, NAM June Paik hung a blood-dripping cow head at the entrance of his first solo exhibition “Exposition of Music – Electronic Television” in Germany, shocking those at the scene and the German art circle.

He continued to shock people with experimental and radical performances and said in several media interviews that he wanted to be remembered as a “crazy Corean”.

At the same show, Joseph Beuys gave a performance in which he destroyed a piano on display with an axe. The performance was similar to Paik’s performance the previous year in which he had smashed a violin after lifting it up deliberately and slowly for five minutes on a stage in Germany. Paik’s early radical performances earned him the moniker “Terrorist from the East” among Westerners, who viewed breaking a violin into pieces as a challenge to the tradition of Western classical music.

Among his many performances, Paik’s breaking the violin was restaged frequently from the 1960s and 1980s.

On January 28, Paik’s iconic violin performances were enacted by Korean artist Kim Tschang-yeul, known for his water drop paintings, one day ahead of the 10th anniversary of Paik’s passing. The performance also opened the Gallery Hyundai show “Nam June Paik: When he was in Seoul,” which pays tribute to Paik’s legacy. It runs until April 3.

The 87-year-old artist walked with a cane to support himself while dragging a violin from one Gallery Hyundai building to the other, covering a distance of less than 100 metres. He entered the second Gallery Hyundai building, stopped in front of a white table, held up the violin and smashed it in one motion.

“Violins make delicate sounds. This is a resistance to the delicate sound,” said Kim. “I thought Paik would have thought that way and that may be the reason he destroyed it.”

If Paik were still alive, he would be three years younger than him, said Kim. Kim met Paik in New York, along with artist Kim Whan-ki, who was working in New York at the time, and two gallerists from South Korea, including then head of Gallery Hyundai Park Myung-ja, in 1983. She is now the gallery’s chairperson.

Another performance by one of Paik’s collaborators, Jean-Paul Fargier, captured the attention of many visitors at last week’s opening. Fargier, a French producer and researcher, had worked with Paik, filming some of his performances, including the 1990 shamanic ritual in Seoul that was held to commemorate German Fluxus artist Joseph Beuys, a long-time friend of Paik’s.

The 1990 performance was one that had been a long time coming. Paik and Beuys had promised to do the performance together in time for the 1988 Seoul Olympics. They planned to merge their souls together, respectively representing Korea and Eurasia, through a shamanic ritual. However, things did not go as planned as Beuys died two years before the Olympic Games. Paik realised his promise in 1990 in the backyard of the Gallery Hyundai with Korean shamans and symbolic objects that represented different aspects of Beuys and himself – a piano, two hats made of cement, a television and candles, among other items.

Fargier brought with him the white robe and hat Paik had worn at the ritual that the late artist had performed. He lit a candle inside an empty TV screen and looked at the Korean shamanic altar that had piles of apples, pears and a steamed pig head. He covered the broken piano with the robe and walked around the cement hat that resembled Beuys’ trademark fedora.

“I have seen many works of Nam June Paik, but this exhibition is very meaningful to me,” said Fargier, who met Paik in 1978 in France.

The commemorative exhibition displays Fargier’s 1990 film “Play It Again, Nam,” a video documentary biography of Paik, which shows his early works and artistic endeavours, as well as pictures of him as a child.

Gallery Hyundai’s exhibition marks the 10th anniversary of Paik’s death, but also sheds light on Paik’s works related to his home country Korea.

“This exhibition is more than a commemorative show that marks his death, but a retrospective held so many years later in his home country, encompassing his lifetime works,” said Lee Yong-woo, director of Shanghai Himalayas Museum in Shanghai, in his essay for the exhibition.

Paik became known to Koreans through his 1984 satellite performance broadcast on the state-owned network broadcaster KBS on January 1. The transcontinental broadcast, “Good Morning Mr Orwell,” began with the phrase “George Orwell, you were half right,” with the intention to rebut George Orwell’s “1984” and highlight positive aspects of media use. He visited Korea for this project, his first visit in 34 years after he and his family moved to Japan in 1950.

His first robot sculptures made with antique televisions and radios were associated with Korean history and culture. The “Family of Robot” series consisted of three generations of a family, including a grandfather, grandmother, father, mother and child, recalling Paik’s childhood in Seoul. Paik made other robot series inspired by historic figures, such as King Sejong of the Joseon era (1392-1910) and Queen Seondeok of the Silla Kingdom (BC 57-AD 935). The Seoul exhibition displays the grandfather and grandmother robot sculptures.

“Paik once compared video art to bibimbap. Video is a mix of aesthetic components and holds brave languages that represent democracy, resistance, aesthetic non-deterministic factors, anti-authoritarianism,” wrote Lee.

“There are many titles for Nam June Paik – pioneer of media art, avant-garde musician, Fluxus artist, technology philosopher, video shaman and information alchemist. But few researchers have studied these different aspects of Paik. This exhibition may be the start of a long research into his artistic endeavours,” he added.

Living dolls, another Thep and a Nose out of joint

Posted on February 8, 2016 by SoClaimon

ศาสตร์เกษตรดินปุ๋ย : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/life/Living-dolls-another-Thep-and-a-Nose-out-of-joint-30278136.html

SOOPSIP

The Nation
email: ntsoopsip@gmail.com February 1, 2016 1:00 am

Nose and Thep took to Facebook to parody the ‘child angel’ doll fad, promoting a ‘look thep’ version of Thep.

Okay, it wasn’t as if we hadn’t expected some international blowback from Thailand’s affection for look thep (child angel) dolls.

Once the word got out that we were booking airline seats for our dolls and ordering separate meals for them in restaurants, those foreigners were bound to take a dim view of matters.

Thailand’s reaction, as usual, was over-reaction. The cops, having already busted a drug dealer who’d stuffed 200 amphetamine tablets inside a doll for an overseas flight – started hitting stores selling look thep. More than 100 of the poor little things were hauled off to jail because the merchants couldn’t produce any import documents. (The dolls don’t just magically appear – they come from China.)

But you can’t blame the police for being in a bad mood. The foreign press have been calling our ersatz offspring “spirit dolls” and “haunted dolls”, claiming the owners believe they have the soul of a genuine child within and thus have to be pampered just like real kids. Admittedly, some owners actually do believe that, and even more think the dolls bring them good luck.

And there’s no getting around the fact that cabin crews on the Thai Smile airline are under orders to treat the dolls like actual children. Plus, some Bangkok restaurants serve them meals priced according to height, same as living kids.

For wise guidance at times like this, we turn to theFacebook page of Udom “Nose” Taepanit’s, the Kingdom’s favourite comedian. What we found instead was Nose giving Pa Thep a look thep that looks just like him – like Thep Pho-Ngam, that is. Pa Thep used to be a comedian and now he’s finally finding success in retail (after a string of bad moves) selling khanom pia Chinese sweets.

Note added a poem:

Want to worship something, then go to Father,

For this Thep, you don’t have to ask – he simply gives

Laughter and khanom pia as you wish,

He gives it to me, while saying from the heart, “I give you for free”,

Big pia with loads of filling and a huge red yolk.

If you want to order, just dial this number:

Zero nine five seven eight nine four six five five.

I guarantee the stuff is good, so you might have to wait a bit longer.

It goes on like that for another stanza, basically praising Pa Thep as a role model for people facing difficulties. Nose calls him “an angel next door in human form” – and for that earned more than 100,000 “likes” and 10,000 shares within 24 hours.

“Yes, he is the real thep,” one of his fans agreed. “Really appreciate his fighting spirit. Asking for help from God cannot be better than just making the effort yourself.”

Others pointed out, less appreciatively, that Nose is a follower of the Dhammakaya Buddhist sect and wondered if his admiration for self-made Pa Thep gibes with his faith. The sect is controversial for taking the unholy marriage of spirituality and materialism to a whole new level. In its view of Heaven, you get to live on a higher floor of the “condominium” if you give the sect more cash.

If Nose has his eye on the penthouse in the afterlife, he’ll probably need a bunch of angel dolls to fly him there.

Boot camps for beauty queens

Posted on February 8, 2016 by SoClaimon

ศาสตร์เกษตรดินปุ๋ย : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/life/Boot-camps-for-beauty-queens-30278134.html

BEAUTY QUEEN

Raul Dancel
The Straits Times
Asia News Network February 1, 2016 1:00 am

Flores, the man in charge at this beauty queen boot camp in Quezon City, putting his charges through the paces. Photo/The Straits TimesPhoto/The Straits Times

A member of the Flores team assists a pageant candidate with exercises. Photo/The Straits Times

Beauty queen candidates make up themselves. Photo/The Straits Times

Beauty queen candidates spend their days doing the ‘duck walk’ exercise, all while wearing high heels.Photo/The Straits Times

Beauty queen candidates spend their days doing the ‘duck walk’ exercise, all while wearing high heels. Photo/The Straits Times

Confetti rains down on Miss Universe Pia Wurtzbach during her victory parade in Manila. Photo/AFP

Manila is home to several of these “factories of dreams”

Pia IWurtzbach may have to accept that she will always be remembered as the Miss Universe who nearly never was, after show host Steve Harvey made the biggest boo-boo in pageant history when he wrongly announced the winner as Miss Colombia in December.

But there has hardly been any dispute over whether the 26-year-old Miss Philippines deserved the title. The poise, beauty and confidence she exuded, and which won the judges over, were the fruits of three years of training in one beauty-queen boot camp after another.

Filipinos can name their beauty queens as easily as Brazilians remember their football legends.

And all over the country, beauty-queen boot camps – formal and informal – have helped turn the country into a superpower in the beauty pageant world; probably anachronistic in this day and age of political correctness, yet surprisingly enduring.

Inside a compound in the heart of Manila’s Quezon City, dozens of tall, lithe, young women gather under a high, curved iron roof covering a basketball court that for now serves as a dance studio. A wall of mirrors stands at one end. At the other end are the dressing rooms and in between is a smattering of plastic chairs and tables where a couple of women are busy applying make-up and fixing their hair.

It is hot, even in January. Four industrial fans keep the air circulating. Most of the women are on the floor, perspiring in their seven-inch heels, bikini tops and gym shorts.

They are doing the “duck walk”, lunging as they swing their hips as far as they can, left to right, left to right. Before the day ends, usually near midnight, they would have walked like this 25 times around a rectangular room measuring 25m long by 15m wide.

All of them have already spent the entire morning at the gym.

When not duck-walking, they stand in front of the mirror, drawing big circles with their hands, and stretching their limbs. Again, they bend down and swing their hips, left to right, front to back.

Later, there will be more lessons: how to stand and smile; how to look sexy and sweet; how to handle the mishap of tripping on stage; how to quickly answer questions as mundane as, “What makes red better than blue?”

They go through these drills for at least nine hours every day – excluding time spent at the gym – with some weekend breaks, for six months. At the end of it all – the cherry on top – is a three-hour pageant that the women hope will turn them from just another pretty face in a crowd into a local legend.

The man who runs this particular camp in Manila is Rodgil Flores, 49, one of the Philippines’ top “queen-makers”.

Five of his wards have already clinched international titles: Miss International Lara Quigaman (2005) and Bea Rose Santiago (2013); and Miss Earth Karla Henry (2008), Jamie Herrell (2014) and Angelia Ong (2015).

Flores and his team do it pro bono. Instead, they make their living handling events. They do not get a cut from their wards’ prize money, endorsement deals, paid public appearances, or TV and movie contracts. “We work hard to train them. If they win, that’s the bonus we get,” he says.

About 100 women pound their heels on Flores’ studio floor each year, but only 30 will emerge as serious contenders and maybe one will be queen. Most likely, there will be a couple of finalists.

Many of the women start at 18, and then top out and move on to other things when they reach 26. Most are poor or working class.

Janicel Lubina was working as a maid when a talent scout spotted her. She was just 16. She made the rounds at beauty pageants in Palawan province. When she turned 18, she was sent to Flores’ boot camp.

“I remember her well because when she came to me, she didn’t even have a bag. All her clothes were in plastic bags,” he recalls.

A year later, she won Miss Philippines International, which earned her a spot at the Miss International pageant. She was a finalist.

Now 20, Lubina has her pick of modelling and hosting assignments, but she has also gone back to school for a more assured future.

While Flores does not charge for his services, the women have to cover their own expenses such as meals, lodging, transport and make-up. They get free membership at Gold’s Gym, but that is about the only perk they get.

A few are lucky enough to have parents willing to bankroll their dreams. Kiara Giel Gregorio, 19, flew to Manila from London and set aside her studies to be a barrister to chase the crown. Both her parents are nurses who have lived in Britain for over a decade. They are paying for everything. Gregorio’s mum has even taken time off from work to watch over her while in the Philippines.

But most of the other pageant hopefuls have had to rely on others to survive.

For their families, it is a matter of pride. For their scouts, mentors and sponsors, it is an investment. They most likely will get very little for their money. But if their candidates win, the rewards are huge. They will establish their reputation and manage their winning wards’ lucrative careers.

For the women who do make it, the immediate reward is that their names will be recorded for posterity. A gated community in a city south of Manila has been naming its streets after Filipino beauty queens.

“Once you’re a beauty queen, you will always be remembered as a beauty queen here in the Philippines, even when you’re old. You keep the title for life, the prestige for life,” Flores says.

Past winners have managed to parlay their crowns into lucrative careers in entertainment. Others marry well.

Gloria Diaz, who in 1969 became the Philippines’ first Miss Universe, has been in more than 40 movies since she took up acting in 1974. She is now 64.

But perhaps the most well-known beauty queen the Philippines has ever had is someone who did not even make it to the major leagues: Imelda Marcos.

Marcos placed second in the 1953 Miss Manila contest. She fell short in the competition, but caught the attention of a rising political star: Ferdinand Marcos.

He went after her and, after 11 days of courtship, they were married. That began a partnership that would hold sway over the lives of millions of Filipinos for three decades.

Marcos went on to become one of the wealthiest women and most recognisable faces in the world, eclipsing even the brightest of beauty queens.

At 86, she still wields a big influence on Philippine politics. Her son, Ferdinand Marcos Jr, is now running to become the nation’s next vice-president.

“Filipinos are always searching for somebody to idolise, hero figures. Beauty queens come as an inspiration for everyone,” Flores says.

“No matter what you do, especially if you’re not that rich or you have encountered many hardships, at the end of the day, you will be heralded as someone who will be an inspiration for everyone.”

United we do not stand

Posted on February 8, 2016 by SoClaimon

ศาสตร์เกษตรดินปุ๋ย : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/life/United-we-do-not-stand-30278131.html

STAGE PREVIEW

Pawit Mahasarinand
Special to The Nation February 1, 2016 1:00 am

There’s disunity in Vajji City. Nation/Kawinporn Charoensri

Patravadi Mejudhon portrays the exiled Watsakara Brahman. Nation/Kawinporn Charoensri

Manop Meejamrat portrays King Litchawi. Nation/Kawinporn Charoensri

Patravadi Mejudhon’s new work is another reason to go to Hua Hin on the weekend

With the National Artist herself at the helm of the productions, occasionally performing in them and oftentimes collaborating with other renowned professional artists, the Patravadi School’s annual stage production has given a whole new meaning to the “school play” for the last four years. Unlike most student efforts, the youngsters at this private school work hand-in-hand with teachers on all aspects of the production, both on and off the stage, including designing the poster and programme. And as this is not a performing arts school – though many people think it is – Patravadi “Khru Lek” Mejudhon carefully selects the source material for each year’s production, making sure that her students can apply it to as many classes as possible.

Following contemporary adaptations of Thai literature classics like “Viva Phra Samut”, “Rocking Rama” and last year’s “Vetal”, Khru Lek’s adaptation of Chit Burathat’s “Samakkhi phet khamchan” (“Chant of the Ununited Nation”) opened over the weekend at the Vic Hua Hin.

“Teaching Thai literature to the students these days, I find that they’re not interested in it partly because the language is very difficult, even for me, and partly that they can find little relevance to here and now,” Khru Lek tells XP.

“Then, most exams seem to only test them on basic information like the name of the writer and the synopsis. Literature is also about the beauty of language and those who want to excel in performing arts need to have great language skills. And so in this annual project, I use my performing arts skills in helping them understand Thai literature better – and it helps me as well.

“Chit Burathat’s ‘Samakkhi phet khamchan’ is short and yet it needs careful and deep analysis in order to fully understand it. Its themes are related to Buddhism, which I’m also teaching here.

“We started working in June, rehearsing once a week, all day, and added more rehearsal time in the evenings as the performance time approached. It’s also a good training in discipline and physical exercise for the students, and for me as well – it’s like an indoors PE class,” she laughs.

Based on a story during Lord Buddha’s time, “Samakkhi phet khamchan” tells how King Ajatashatru of Magadha city used trickery to destroy the unity of the people of Vajji city. King Ajatashatru then beat up and exiled Watsakara Brahman – performed by Khru Lek herself – from the city. King Litchawi of Vajji accepted the wounded Brahman with mercy and assigned him to teach the princes and princesses. The break-up of unity started with these young people and then spread far and wide, and in the end Vajji was easily conquered by Magadha.

Back in October, Khru Lek and I were at the Toki Arts Week in Nanjing where we watched – and were enthralled by – a classical Indian dance performance and workshop by Hyderabad-based master Kala Krishna. At Khru Lek’s invitation, Krishna was at her school in December, teaching not only student performers but also Silpathorn artist Manop Meejamrat who’s portraying King Litchawi as well as creating dance choreography for the production.

Given the English title and considering our political turmoil, one wonders if this production is slightly political. To that, the national artist answers, “People are welcome to come up with their own interpretation of course. There is, for example, one scene where students get free tablet computers.”

That’s another reason I’m planning a quick weekend getaway to Hua Hin.

TWO MORE WEEKENDS

– “Chant of the Ununited Nation” continues on Saturday and Sunday and February 13 and 14 at the Vic Hua Hin. Shows are at 7.30pm on Saturdays and 2pm on Sundays. It’s in Thai with some English translation.

– Tickets are Bt400 (Bt200 for students). Call (089) 255 0002 or visit http://www.PatravadiSchool.com.