Weekend of open-air films, fun and games in Bangkok
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2022
The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) has not just brought back the outdoor film fest this weekend but is also organising many fun games for city residents to enjoy.
This weekend, two Thai comedies will be shown at the Lan Khon Muang ground opposite City Hall from 7pm. They are:
Saturday: Satree Lek (Iron Ladies)
Sunday: Saep Sanit Sid Saai Naa (Noodle Boxer)
There was no information on whether the films would have English subtitles.
Apart from films, the BMA is also organising many games and contests on the grounds from 1pm to 9pm. They are:
Saturday:
Thai chess (makruk) competitions under three categories:
Motorcycle taxi drivers: 50 matches
General public: 16 matches
Young people: 16 matches
Flag race between Phra Nakhon City Law Enforcement Office and Chana Songkhram Police Station
Flag race
Tug of war
Sunday:
Thai checkers competitions under three categories
Motorcycle taxi drivers: 50 matches
General public: 16 matches
Young people: 16 matches
Sack race
The event will also include an exhibition and workshop on Thai chess and checkers, as well as stalls selling local goodies. The BMA’s Music Division will also put up a performance from 4pm to 9pm on both days.
Rock n’ Roll pioneer Jerry Lee Lewis has died at age 87
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2022
Reuters
American rock pioneer Jerry Lee Lewis, who was torn between his Bible-thumping upbringing and his desire to make hell-raising rock ‘n’ roll with hits such as “Great Balls of Fire” and “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On,” has died at the age of 87.
Lewis passed away at his home in Desoto County, Mississippi, with his wife, Judith, by his side, a statement from his publicist said on Friday (October 28). He had been ill in recent years and suffered a stroke in 2019.
Like Chuck Berry’s guitar, Lewis’ piano was essential in shaping rock ‘n’ roll in the mid-1950s. He was part of the dazzling Sun Records talent pool in Memphis, Tennessee, that included Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins and Roy Orbison. Lewis outlived them all.
He was one of the first performers inducted into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame in 1986 and was so influential that when John Lennon met him backstage at a show in Los Angeles, the Beatle dropped to his knees and kissed Lewis’ feet.
Lewis filled his albums not only with ground-breaking rock but with gospel, country and rhythm and blues such as “Me and Bobby McGee” and “To Make Love Sweeter for You” as he endured a life often filled with alcohol, drugs and tragedy. His music was sometimes overshadowed by scandals – including his marriage to his 13-year-old cousin Myra in 1957.
In his prime, he performed with daring, originality and a lewd wild-man stage demeanor that thrilled his young fans as much as it agitated their parents. Typically, Lewis would kick away his piano bench and bang the keyboard with his foot while his long wavy blond hair flopped in his face.
According to legend, Lewis was once so upset that Chuck Berry had been chosen to close a show over him that he finished his set with a move that was hard to top – setting the piano on fire and walking off.
“I’m a rompin’, stompin’, piano-playing son of a bitch,” Lewis once told Time magazine in his Louisiana drawl. “A mean son of a bitch. But a great son of a bitch.”
Singer Jerry Lee Lewis performs during his appearance at “An Evening with Jerry Lee Lewis” at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles September 28, 2010.
FAMOUS COUSINS
Lewis was born Sept. 29, 1935, in Ferriday, Louisiana, and grew up poor with two cousins also destined for fame – television evangelist Jimmy Swaggart and country singer Mickey Gilley.
He became interested in the piano at age 4 and by 10 was sneaking in to roadhouses to hear blues performers. He absorbed a variety of musical influences, especially the Jimmie Rodgers records that belonged to his father, a farmer who went to prison for bootlegging.
Lewis’ family attended the Assembly of God church and his mother ensured he was thoroughly informed about the evils of liquor, honky-tonks and promiscuity. But Lewis was intent on experiencing them first hand and began playing piano in bars while still a teenager. His mother, upset by the idea of her son performing the devil’s music, sent him to a Bible college in Texas.
It turned out to be a brief stay, with Lewis reportedly being dismissed from the school for playing a boogie-woogie version of “My God Is Real” during an assembly. The incident showed the dichotomy that Lewis had to live with.
“The man is tortured,” Myra Lewis told People magazine. “Jerry Lee thinks that Jerry Lee is too wicked to be saved.”
As Lewis himself once put it, “I’m dragging the audience to hell with me.”
Flowers are laid at Jerry Lee Lewis
MAKING IT IN MEMPHIS
Lewis had a son and was on his second marriage before he turned 20, even though he had not divorced his first wife. He was determined to be a musician and made his way to Memphis.
In 1957 he recorded two rollicking chart-topping hits for Sun – “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On” and “Great Balls of Fire,” which he had been reluctant to record because he considered it blasphemous – that helped define early rock ‘n’ roll. Lewis quickly followed with more hits – “You Win Again,” “Breathless” and “High School Confidential.”
His career came to a halt during a 1958 tour of Britain. Journalists discovered Lewis was now married to Myra, the daughter of his bass player, who not only was 13 years old but also was his cousin. News coverage was so intensely negative that the tour was called off.
Back in the United States, Lewis’ career was not revived until he shifted genres and recorded country hits such as “Another Place, Another Time,” “What’s Made Milwaukee Famous (Has Made a Loser Out of Me)” and “She Even Woke Me Up to Say Goodbye.”
Lewis’ string of hits was matched only by the tragedies in his life. His young son Steve Allen Lewis drowned in 1962 and another son, Jerry Lee Jr., died in a 1973 car accident at 19.
After a divorce from Myra in the early 1970s, he married Jaren Pate in 1971 but she drowned in 1982. They had been separated for eight years but not divorced.
After only a few months of marriage, his next wife, Shawn Michelle Stevens, was found dead of a drug overdose in their home in 1983. Eight months later he started another stormy marriage with sixth wife Kerrie McCarver that lasted 20 years before they divorced and he married his seventh wife, Judith Brown, in 2012.
GUNPLAY
In 1976 Lewis accidentally shot his bass player and that same year was arrested drunk outside Presley’s Graceland mansion in Memphis with a loaded pistol, demanding to see Presley.
Lewis, who lived much of his later life on a ranch in Nesbit, Mississippi, also endured costly battles with U.S. tax officials, a nearly fatal perforated ulcer and a painkiller addiction that landed him in the Betty Ford Clinic.
In his later years he settled down but biographer Rick Bragg recalled interviewing Lewis for his 2014 book “Jerry Lee Lewis: His Own Words.” Lewis showed Bragg the pistol he kept under his pillow in a bedroom pockmarked with bullet holes and a Bowie knife stuck in the door.
“I don’t think Jerry Lee Lewis had to exaggerate his life one bit to make it interesting,” Bragg told the Atlanta Constitution Journal. “He really did make Elvis cry. He really did turn over more Cadillacs than most people purchased in the state of Mississippi.”
Lewis’s late recordings included featured guests such as Jimmy Page, Bruce Springsteen, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Neil Young, John Fogerty, Ringo Starr and other rockers he had influenced.
Thailand Comic Con offers a feast for comics, toys and games lovers
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2022
Thailand Comic Con 2022 is being held from Friday to Sunday at Royal Paragon Hall on the fifth floor of Siam Paragon.
The pop culture festival is a feast of entertainment for those who love comics, toys, and games.
Seventy-three exhibitors and 80 brands have set up 225 booths to display nine types of pop cultures:
1. Movies: Trailers of three movies will be premiered: Black Panther: Wakanda Forever; Khun Pan 3; and Hanumaan The Mantra Warrior.
2. Toys and collectibles: Famous brands Mighty Jaxx and Good Smile Company have travelled abroad to open a booth to display and sell their products with special promotions.
Several other booths are also selling figures and collectibles from famous titles, including Marvel, DC, One Piece, Naruto, Demon Slayer, and Dragon Ball.
3. Comics: Kakao Webtoon has set up a booth with activities for readers to give out in-app currency while Japanese bookstore Kinokuniya is selling famous Japanese manga, including Demon Slayer, Jujutsu Kaisen, Tokyo Revenger, and Spy X Family.
4. Cards and board games: Card players could show their skills at several card competitions, including Pokémon trading card game, One Piece card game, Magic: The Gathering, Warhammer, and Flesh and Blood.
5. Games: Japanese publisher Capcom has set up a booth to let gamers try a demo of Street Fighter 6 and Resident Evil Village: Gold Edition.
6. Cosplay: Coscon Thailand 2022 is a part of this event. Guest cosplayers will be on the stage and they will hold meet-and-greet events at the booth.
7. Idol Finn Fest: 31 idol bands will perform on stage or fans could also meet them at the booth in the Idol Zone.
8. Exhibition: Fans of superheroes could take photos with seven Iron Man’s armours or a life-size Batmobile and Batpod.
9. Festiverse: It is a new zone where it gathers several NFT arts and games.
Tickets will be sold at 150 baht or 120 baht on the Lazada application.
K-pop star BTS member Jin releases first solo single ahead of military duty
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2022
THE NATION
K-pop singer Jin, a member of the hit boy band BTS, released his first official solo single on Friday (October 28), ahead of his military duty.
The pop rock song, titled ‘The Astronaut’, was co-written by British rock band Coldplay, which is the second collaboration between the two bands.
Earlier this month, the agency of BTS announced that Jin will cancel a request to further delay his enlistment in late October. The other younger band members also plan to serve their compulsory service.
In June, BTS announced a break from group musical activities to pursue solo projects, but reunited on October 15 to perform a free concert in the city of Busan in support of South Korea’s bid to host the World Expo 2030 in the port city.
BTS pose on the red carpet as they attend the 64th Annual Grammy Awards at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S., April 3, 2022.
MedPark Hospital celebrating birthday with free concert of Thai, international artists at Benjakitti Park
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2022
MedPark Hospital is celebrating its two-year anniversary by holding “Med Music in the Park” in Bangkok’s Benjakitti Park on November 27.
The public concert at the park’s amphitheatre will feature performances by Thai and international musicians, including the renowned RSU Symphony Orchestra.
“For our two-year anniversary in October 2022, the management team agreed to organise a free music event in Benjakitti Park located behind our hospital,” said Dr Pongpat Patanavanich, managing director of MedPark Hospital.
“The objective of this project is to bring happiness through music to the people and to create a relaxed atmosphere for all after facing stress from the pandemic of Covid-19 for over two years. Furthermore, we would like to be part of inviting people to use the park responsibly while enjoying nature and preserving the beauty of the park by not littering their trash or destroying the environment. We believe that Med Music in the Park will also promote good culture and build strong relationships among friends, relatives, and the surrounding community. We would like to thank Bangkok Metropolitan Administration [BMA] for supporting us in using the Amphitheatre and providing us great facilities.”
Soontaree Sernsuksamrit, BMA’s deputy director-general of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said: “We are very glad that the private sector is presenting this activity to give happiness to our society through beautiful music in our park. The collaboration of the BMA and the private sector with the same objective will surely bring lots of happiness to Bangkok residents. Benjakitti Park is a place of relaxation for everyone.”
Patrizio Buanne
Sunny Trio & Natt Buntita
Kob Saowanit Nawapan
Viwan Kanasut, managing director of Maximage Co Ltd and the executive producer of the concert, said: “This concert is different from the others I have done. We will bring a variety of artists to give happiness to Bangkok audiences. There will be three parts, jazz, pop, and famous soundtracks from the cinema, performed by quality artists, including world-renowned Italian singer Patrizio Buanne.”
“Med Music in the Park” is a free concert for Thais and other nationals in a relaxing park atmosphere with quality Thai and international artists including Italian singer Patrizio Buanne, who has sold over 10 million albums and held concerts around the world. Also performing will be Thai divas Kob Saowanit Nawapan, Lookwa, Pijika Jittaputta Pure, Akapan Wannasut, the first winner of The Voice All Stars in Thailand, and the Sunny Trio & Natt Buntita with jazz performed by RSU Orchestra conducted by Assoc Prof Den Uprasert.
“Med Music in the Park” is among the social activities organised by MedPark Hospital to bring happiness and encourage all sectors to participate in creating a better environment for the community.
Brazilian model crowned Miss Grand International, Thailand’s Engfa runner-up
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2022
Miss Grand Thailand Engfa Waraha bagged the runner up title of Miss Grand International 2022 as Brazil’s Isabella Novaes Menin took the crown on Tuesday night.
The final round of the Miss Grand International (MGI) 2022 beauty pageant concluded at the Sentul International Convention Centre in Bogor, Jakarta, Indonesia.
Novaes Menin, a 26-year-old model and entrepreneur, beat 67 other contestants to win her country’s first-ever golden crown. She succeeds last year’s winner Nguyen Thuy Thuc Tien of Vietnam.
Thailand’s Engfa was named first runner-up while Indonesia’s Andina Julie, Venezuela’s Luiseth Materán and the Czech Republic’s Mariana Bečková were second, third and fourth runners-up, respectively.
This year’s pageant marked the 10th anniversary of Miss Grand International, which was founded in 2013. The spectacular final show also featured on stage all former MGI queens and a Golden Grand Award for MGI’s national directors for the first time.
This year, directors from Vietnam bagged gold while those from Japan and Spain shared silver.
The top 10 finalists will stay a week in Jakarta for a media tour before heading to Bangkok, where MGI is based. They are also expected to travel to several countries as part of the pageant’s 10th anniversary world tour.
Gamers rejoice! Thailand’s game show is back with some of the best titles
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2022
Thousands of Bangkokians flocked to the Thailand Game Show 2022 as it opened its doors for the first time in three years.
The exhibition, offering a variety of game titles, activities and merchandise, runs until Sunday at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre.
Featured at this year’s expo are game titles from both Thai and foreign developers, including Bandai Namco Entertainment Asia, Sega, Hoyoverse, and Riot Games.
While opening the event on Friday, Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt said this is one of the many events that will help boost the capital’s image.
He added that this event will also help Thailand’s gaming and e-sports industries meet international standards.
“We hope Thailand Game Show 2022 will have a big impression on both Thai and foreign gamers,” he said.
Participating in the event for the first time was the global gaming brand Level Infinite, which gave visitors a first-hand experience of its four biggest titles – Tower of Fantasy, PubG Mobile, Dragon Nest II: Evolution, and Goddess of Victory: Nikke.
Also available in the Level Infinite booth were photo sessions with cosplayers from its four games, activities as well as official merchandise.
“As a top gaming exhibition, the Thailand Game Show represents a great opportunity for Level Infinite to grow its presence in the region and continue its effort to build a global gaming community that enjoys high-quality and engaging entertainment experiences,” a statement from Level Infinite said.
Tickets to the event are available via Zipevent website and cost 150 baht per person.
Kevin Spacey wins in civil sexual-abuse case brought by actor Rapp
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2022
Reuters
Kevin Spacey on Thursday (October 20) defeated a sexual abuse claim against him after jurors in Manhattan civil trial found his accuser didn’t prove his claim that the Oscar winner made an unwanted sexual advance on him when he was 14.
The verdict followed a three-week trial in Manhattan federal court and came roughly two hours after jurors began deliberating.
Anthony Rapp, now 50, testified that Spacey climbed on top of him on a bed and pressed his groin into Rapp’s hip until he was able to wriggle free. Spacey denied the allegation on the stand and said he had never been alone with Rapp.
A tearful Spacey emerged in the hall outside the courtroom briefly but went back inside.
During closing arguments Thursday, Rapp’s lawyer urged jurors to discredit Spacey’s recollection of the events.
“It’s inconsistent. It’s not worthy of your belief,” the lawyer, Richard Steigman, said, citing what he claimed were gaps in Spacey’s memory and changes in his recollection.
Steigman declined comment following the verdict.
Spacey’s lawyer, Jennifer Keller, argued during her closing arguments that Rapp’s story was a fabrication. She advanced several theories for why Rapp might have lied, including a desire for attention or jealousy of Spacey’s acting success.
“Mr. Rapp is getting more attention in this trial than he has in his entire acting life,” Keller said.
Spacey’s lawyers advanced several theories for why Rapp might have lied, including a desire for attention or jealousy of Spacey’s acting success.
Spacey won Oscars for performances in “American Beauty” and “The Usual Suspects,” but his career largely ended after more than 20 men accused him of sexual misconduct.
Netflix dropped him from its political drama series “House of Cards” and Christopher Plummer replaced him in the role of J. Paul Getty in “All the Money in the World” weeks before the movie’s scheduled release in 2017.
The trial in Manhattan federal court began on Oct. 6, just under five years after Spacey’s career was upended by sexual misconduct allegations in the early days of the #MeToo movement, which encouraged women to speak out about sexual abuse by famous and powerful people. Men also came forward with claims of abuse.
Spacey has denied any misconduct.
Keller urged jurors to ignore the sexual politics of the case.
“This isn’t a team sport where you’re either on the MeToo side or the other side,” Keller said.
Rapp sued Spacey for battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress in November 2020.
During the trial, Judge Lewis A. Kaplan dismissed the emotional distress claim but allowed the rest of the lawsuit to proceed.
Spacey faces a criminal trial in London next year after pleading not guilty to five sex offense charges over alleged assaults between 2005 and 2013.
BTS dance to military beat as mandatory service deadline looms for Jin
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2022
K-pop sensation BTS has shocked fans by saying the band will take time off for mandatory military service, swapping mics and dances for guns and marches.
However, the Korean boyband’s seven members will enlist one by one rather than all together at the same time, according to a statement released on Monday by their label BigHit Music.
First to don a South Korean military uniform will be 29-year-old Jin, the oldest member of the band. He will begin the 18-month mandatory service after releasing his solo album at the end of October, said the statement.
“Other members – RM, J-Hope, Suga, Jimin, V and Jungkook – plan to carry out their military service based on their own individual plans,” BigHit Music said.
It said fans would have to wait until around 2025 for the band to reunite after fulfilling their military duty.
All able-bodied South Korean men must serve in the armed forces for at least 18 months. The draft begins in the year they turn 18 but they can postpone it until they reach 28.
However, in 2020 South Korean lawmakers passed the so-called “BTS law” to allow K-pop entertainers to postpone military service until the age of 30.
For BTS, that deadline will arrive in December when Jin turns 30. In less of a hurry to join up is Jungkook, the youngest member of the band at 25.
Harry Potter’s Hagrid, Robbie Coltrane, dies aged 72
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2022
Robbie Coltrane, who played the half-giant Rubeus Hagrid in Harry Potter films, died on Friday. He was 72.
JK Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series, mourned the Scottish actor’s passing by tweeting: “I’ll never know anyone remotely like Robbie again.
“He was an incredible talent, a complete one off, and I was beyond fortunate to know him, work with him and laugh my head off with him. I send my love and deepest condolences to his family, above all his children.”
Daniel Radcliffe, who played Harry Potter, said Coltrane was “one of the funniest people I’ve met.
“I’ve especially fond memories of him keeping our spirits up on ‘Prisoner of Azkaban’, when we were all hiding from the torrential rain for hours in Hagrid’s hut and he was telling stories and cracking jokes to keep morale up,” he said.
Coltrane’s agent Belinda Wright said: “As well as being a wonderful actor, he was forensically intelligent … brilliantly witty … and after 40 years of being proud to be called his agent, I shall miss him.
“Robbie Coltrane, Scottish entertainment legend – you will be hugely missed,” she wrote.
Apart from Harry Potter, Coltrane’s four-decade-long career also spanned roles in James Bond hits like “GoldenEye” and “The World Is Not Enough”, as well as in the 1990s British TV series “Cracker”, in which he played the part of criminal psychologist Dr Edward “Fitz” Fitzgerald.
Born on March 30, 1950, in Rutherglen, South Lanarkshire, Anthony Robert McMillan changed his professional name as a homage to celebrated jazz musician John Coltrane.
He died in hospital near Falkirk in Scotland and is survived by his sister Annie Rai, children Spencer and Alice and their mother Rhona Gemmell, Wright said.
Singer Jerry Lee Lewis performs during his appearance at “An Evening with Jerry Lee Lewis” at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles September 28, 2010.
3. Comics: Kakao Webtoon has set up a booth with activities for readers to give out in-app currency while Japanese bookstore Kinokuniya is selling famous Japanese manga, including Demon Slayer, Jujutsu Kaisen, Tokyo Revenger, and Spy X Family.
Tickets will be sold at 150 baht or 120 baht on the Lazada application.
BTS pose on the red carpet as they attend the 64th Annual Grammy Awards at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S., April 3, 2022.
Patrizio Buanne
Sunny Trio & Natt Buntita
Kob Saowanit Nawapan
SootinClaimon.Com 