Like our brothers and sisters all over the world, we Thais are great at making New Year resolutions and promptly breaking them just a few days later.

This year, like other years, many of us will head into 2018 determined to eat healthier food, exercise more and generally take better care of ourselves. Perhaps we will stick to these worthy resolutions, though more likely we will quickly slide into old habits before January is more than just a few days old. Yet we would all do well to stop for a minute and reflect on the number of people we have lost this year to heart attacks. Yes, they happened to other people, but an unhealthy lifestyle means one could happen to us too.

Among the people in the news who collapsed and died from cardiac arrest were Thanat “Jo Boyscout” Chimtuam, a pop idol from the 1990s whose heart gave out while he was performing on stage, and veteran politician and statesman Dr Surin Pitsuwan, who suffered chest pain at home but died despite being rushed to hospital. And then there were the not-so-famous people who collapsed while working out in the gym or running a marathon.

None had apparently suffered any warning signs of symptoms. Or were the signs there and a lack of knowledge meant they went unrecognised?

Current statistics show that two people die in Thailand of a heart attack every hour. They are by no means always elderly or in obvious bad health though almost all will be suffering from what is known as coronary artery disease.

Cardiac arrest occurs when blood flow that brings oxygen to the heart muscle is reduced or cut off. This oxygen-rich blood is provided by the arteries. But those arteries become narrow and blood cannot flow as well as it should. Fatty matter, calcium, proteins and inflammatory cells build up within the arteries to form plaques of different sizes and when a plaque breaks, a blood clot forms around it. This clot can block the blood flow through the heart muscle, and the muscle cannot get oxygen, so the damage or death of part of the heart muscle occurs. This is called a heart attack or myocardial infarction (MI).

While some heart attacks are what the experts call “silent”, that is without symptoms, there are usually warning signs even if those all too often these go ignored.

Dr Apichai Pongpatananurak, a cardiologist from Samitivej Sukhumvit Hospital, stresses that sudden and fatal heart attacks don’t happen for no reason. Most sufferers will have had some problems with their health prior to the attack and will have brushed them off as being inconsequential.

They probably had chest pain, were short of breath, or felt dizzy or light-headed. They also likely had high cholesterol (Jo Boyscout’s cholesterol was measured at 300 mg/dL: less than 200mg/dL is considered desirable for adults), diabetes, hypertension and a history of smoking, alcohol or obesity.

In broad terms, causes of heart attack can be divided by age: below and higher than 35 years. Heart disease and heart attack commonly discovered in the below-35s is generally the result of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, an inherited condition in which the heart muscle cells enlarge and cause the walls of the ventricles to thicken, blocking the blood flow, The vast majority of the 35 years and over cases are due to coronary artery disease.

But it’s not all gloom and doom. As Dr Apichai points out, we can all take charge of our own health and be aware of the risk factors. For example, if you are planning to start a course of heavy exercise – and this is particularly important for diabetics – have a check up first. That check-up will include running on a treadmill while you’re hooked up to an EKG.

We all need to clean up our dietary habits. That means cutting back on fast foods and fried foods and adding plenty more vegetables and fruit to our daily intake. And while it is tempting to down alcohol over the festive season, show consideration to your heart and down a glass of water in between those glasses of beer.

Perhaps even more importantly, we should also all learn how to give cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and ideally this should be taught at school, as it is in many European countries. Sadly, the majority of people have no idea how to come to the aid of someone having a heart attack. What happened to Jo Boyscout is a case in point. His band members did not provide immediate help after he collapsed but kept joking as they thought Thanat was only acting out. It was only several minutes later when they realised his condition was serious that they called for an ambulance from a rescue foundation, which took about half an hour to reach the scene. During this time, no first aid or CPR was given to the singer and he died.

When a person has suffered a heart attack, CPR or chest compression given with both hands must be started within four minutes and 1669 called to dispatch an emergency team to help. The CPR-giver should first use his/her fingers to locate the end of the person’s breastbone, where the ribs come together, place two fingers at the tip of the breastbone and the heel of the other hand right above the fingers (on the side closest to the person’s face). Both hands should be used to give chest compressions, with the other being put on top of the first and the fingers laced together. The chest should be pressed 5 to 6cms down 100 to 120 times per minute until the emergency medical team arrives or until the patient is revived. If the venue has an automated external defibrilliator (AED), it should be used on the patient.

A member of Boyscout’s back-up band, singer Chanit “Ta Boyscout” Yaisamer, later told interviewers that he was afraid to give CPR after a previous experience with a friend who died.

Dr Apichai says this reaction is understandable, but adds, “The fact is if you won’t help, they will die.”

Many organisations are now running CPR workshops and AEDs are slowly but surely being installed at many places including BTS Skytrain stations, condominiums and housing estates.

So even if you don’t want to commit to New Year resolutions in 2018, do try and make one – and keep it.

Learn about sudden heart attacks and how to give CPR.

You could save a life.

 It is available now and will play a major role in transporting athletes and spectators at the 45th University Sports of Thailand, the RMUTT Games 2018, to be held from January 22 to 31.

The bike-sharing service has been launched at both Rajamangala University of Technology Thanyaburi Khlong 6 with an area of more than 284 acres and Rajamangala University of Technology Thanyaburi Mueang Ek with an area of over 39 acres, which have a total student population of more than 21,500.

The university has also helped in turning both campuses into a bicycle society by founding the campus’ bicycle club aiming to increase the use of bicycles instead of motorcycles and also support eco-friendly transportation.

“After just a few days, the results were even better than expected with thousands of transactions per day, which is very high for the beginning. This extended service to Rajamangala University of Technology Thanyaburi, apart from encouraging more riding with Ofo bikes, is also a trial of the bike-sharing service for the 45th University Sports of Thailand, RMUTT Games 2018.

“Thousands of students from all over the country will be participating and we believe that the availability of Ofo bikes will provide more convenient transportation in the university. Moreover, with Ofo’s outstanding application, the bikes can be tracked and unlocked easily, just by scanning QR code. The service is free of charge until the end of year,” said Noppol Toochinda, ofo Thailand’s general manager.

The event included a silent auction of artworks created by sought-after photographer Vachira Thomas, as well as pieces by award-winning artisans Hongsara Janput and Angkan Uppanun, founders of the acclaimed filigree jewellery brand, Angsa. Additional work by wellknown local and national artists, as well as talented students from Chiang Mai University’s Fine Arts department also featured in the auction with an impressive amount raised during the event and all profits to be donated through Pure Blue Foundation to support Baan Panghai School in rural Mae Rim.

“We were delighted to receive strong support for this event from our guests and members of the Chiang Mai community,” said Christophe Gestin, general manager, Akyra Manor Chiang Mai.

“Raising funds for Pure Blue Foundation is an important part of our ongoing CSR programme. The hotel team is very hands-on so we always make sure the money that we generate is spent where it is the most needed locally.”

Recently awarded by Small Luxury Hotels of The World (SLH) for its “give back’ policy”, Akyra Manor Chiang Mai carries out many charity activities, such as providing kitchen and classroom supplies to local schools and sourcing fresh ingredients from local suppliers to support the local community. The hotel also encourages guests to interact with local causes through activities such as the special Elephant Day Care Package, a unique opportunity to involve guests with elephant conservation as they visit a hospital for elephants and the creative home of the worldfamous Elephant Parade Sculptures.

“Akaryn Hotel Group is committed to supporting the causes we believe in, and that includes raising funds for environmental initiatives, providing opportunities for local people in the areas we operate, and lending physical support to important community projects,” says Akaryn Hotel Group’s founder and managing director, Anchalika Kijkanakorn.

Photographic artworks by Vachira Thomas and jewellery pieces by Angsa are on display at the hotel through April.

Find out more at http://www.AkarynGroup.com or follow the group on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

This spa package incorporates three distinct treatments, beginning with a 60-minute aromatic oil massage that creates a sense of relaxation and provides relief from stress. The 30-minute body scrub then cleanses and revives the skin, exfoliating the top layer whilst removing dry and dead cells, bringing fresh new skin to the surface to create a more youthful appearance.

The treatment ends with a mini 30-minute facial massage using a 24-karat gold sheet mask and Damask Rose water. The gold sheet reduces wrinkles, fine lines and acne and the treatment aids the process of hydration, maintaining the skin’s moisture level to give a healthy and radiant-looking skin with a rich glow.

The use of a gold mask can also reduce the dryness of skin, helping to increase the metabolic rate and preventing the skin from premature ageing. Even though collagen is naturally produced in your body, gold can slow down the lessening of collagen level in your skin cells.

The Damask Rose water revitalises and detoxifies the skin whilst removing dry and dead cells. The rose water is ideal for toning and hydrating all skin types. It also helps to balance the skin’s production of natural oils. The rose water encourages circulation with a clear and bright complexion.

For women, rose water may work as an anti-ageing remedy as it encourages the regeneration of skin. It may also help to counter the development of wrinkles. It is a good remedy for acne and pimple breakouts and acts as a moisturizer.

The treatment is priced at Bt7,390 per person and is available from February 1 to 28, as part of the Valentine’s celebrations for the month of love. For more information, call (02) 162 9000 or email tospa.siambangkok@kempinski.com.

THE THREE seven-storey buildings alongside the River Spreefeld in Mitte, a district in the centre of Berlin, stand separately. But their residents share ownership, communal facilities and all the decision-making about how they will live together.

The Spreefeld Buildings are an example of self-organised housing and a re-emerging “culture of collectivism” in Germany’s capital.

Berlin’s Spreefeld Building has a rooftop terrace, once of many amenities the residents share.

Initiated by Spreefeld Cooperative, the co-housing project covers 6,000 square metres and is home to about 120 adults and 40 children and young people. There are enough working spaces for around 100 people.

The three concrete buildings have the same structure, but the layouts differ from floor to floor.

Besides 64 apartments and various offices, the residents share a kitchen, laundry and fitness facilities, guestrooms, rooftop terraces and areas dedicated to music and youth activities.

The ground floor and broad outdoor area bordering the river offer diverse places and services for the public, but they collectively belong to the residents. These include communal gardens and cultural spaces, a daycare centre, a woodwork shop and a separate co-working space.

The ground floor features a communal kitchen.

Spreefeld also affords access to the river for the general public, as well as places anyone can gather along the riverbank.

Jorg Finkbeiner, the contractor who built the project and became a resident, says it began amid efforts by several investors to buy the property from the city more than a decade ago. Instead of competing over the price, though, they decided to jointly buy it.

The purchasers formed a housing co-op and bid for the land in 2004, when property prices were still relatively low. Successful, they started planning what life would be like there.

Initially, the only goal was to keep the construction cost low, says Finkbeiner, who’s also an architect.

Work began in 2012 and was completed in two years, all areas of the project meeting “Passive House” standards, by which energy consumption has to be a fraction of that found in typical Central European buildings – as little as 10 per cent. Energy savings of up to 90 per cent mean the owners have little to worry about when utility costs rise, Finkbeiner explains.

A key decision in the planning was that the residents wouldn’t simply dwell on their own in private flats and never meet their neighbours. “They want to live together, have connections with other residents and be organised as a community,” he says.

Jorg Finkbeiner built the place and now lives there.

Most importantly, it was decided that the co-op members/residents would manage the buildings collectively.

“Every member here can express an opinion about anything the community wants. We’re proud that we can live by our own decisions.”

Everything is discussed, from whether a swimming pool should be installed to whether more greenery is needed and where it should go. “People here have a common relationship in their way of thinking,” Finkbeiner says. “This is more like a culture of collectivism.”

It’s not always easy reaching consensus, he acknowledges. “We need only 50 per cent of the people to say, ‘Let’s do it,’ but sometimes even that’s hard enough.” But the sense of community is strong.

The project’s kindergarten accepts pupils from outside. 

Like most European cities, Berlin is facing housing challenges, such as rising rents, changes in climate and demographics, privatisation and individualisation.

In recent decades, co-housing has become popular, but high land prices pose an obstacle, Finkbeiner says. Nevertheless, the city has seen more than 1,000 co-housing projects started.

Even though he built the place, Finkbeiner had to undergo an interview to gain residency there. He says he was lucky, because lots of other people wanted in.

“I love it here. For me, it’s like living in a village. People enjoy the quality of life,” says the architect, who was born in the Black Forest in southwest Germany.

The project was set up so that people on low incomes could be involved. The rental fee depends on the size of the flat, but it starts on a par with that of government-subsidised housing.

Rent revenues have paid off the land-purchase loans, so the co-op members are considering whether to rent to outsiders or sell the units to existing residents, Finkbeiner says.

“And certainly, the decision will be made by all of the residents together.”

THE LOCKHEED L-1011 TriStar jet dry-docked at creative space ChangChui in Thonburi is in final preparations flights of culinary adventure – in a restaurant on board the aircraft stuffed with stuffed animals.

There’s already a fascinating place to eat on the grounds – Insects in the Backyard, specialising in edible creepy-crawlies.

But on Valentine’s Day, the restaurant part of the Na-Oh Museum and Restaurant takes wing on the jetliner, deriving its name from Noah of biblical ark fame.

The former passenger jet at ChangChui is ready to take adventurous passengers on an educational and culinary adventure.

The museum itself opens on Children’s Day, January 13, with a menagerie of 50 critters that have been given professional-quality taxidermy treatment. Among others, there are polar bears, an eland, a baboon and a wildcat, all collected by ChangChui founder Somchai Songwatana, the celebrated clothing designer of fashion label FlyNow.

The taxidermy on display in the Na-Oh Museum and Restaurant opening next month is only part of Somchai Songwatana’s collection.

Somchai – a committed non-conformist – wants to give the animals who “missed the boat” another chance on his ark – and another chance to “FlyNow”.

“This is museum-quality taxidermy,” says ChangChui general manager Chanokporn Thinphangnga. “The animals are certified legal and ‘ethical’ – which mean they died of natural causes.

“Somchai wanted to show the public the art that’s involved in preserving the bodies of these rarely seen animals alongside his collection of antique furniture and vintage decorative items.”

Come February 14, the 80-seat, by-reservation-only restaurant will begin offering set-course menus prepared by guest chefs taking turns in the kitchen, three months at a time.

It’s an odd concept – fine dining among stuffed animals – but Somchai sees it as an educational experience. The whole ChangChui project is his way of “doing something good for society before I die”.

The compound is a jumble of galleries, a bookstore and stationery shop, a cinema, bars and craft stores built mainly of rusty corrugated zinc, old wooden windows and doors – another Somchai collection that he cherishes for its historical value. Recycling is part of his “Nothing is useless” philosophy.

This jetliner has taken on all sorts of functions.

The 55-metre jet, formerly in the service of Thai Sky Airlines, was also about to be shredded for scrap. Somchai had it hauled in 20 segments from Don Mueang Airport and painstakingly reassembled on site.

The taxidermy museum is initially expected to draw 200 people a day, with 30 visitors at a time allowed in for half-hour tours from 4 to 8pm. Then the museum becomes part of the restaurant.

“Before boarding,” says Chanokporn, “visitors will assemble in our old-time theatre, Dujit Arai Kor Chang, to learn about the jet’s history and how it’s being given a new lease on life, and they’ll get a brief explanation about Noah’s Ark.”

Next it’s into an antique cage elevator, which carries them into the aircraft fuselage. As soon as the elevator door opens, they’ll see a glass cabinet containing a stuffed mature and juvenile polar bear.

In place of passenger seats on board, there are vintage Art Deco sofas and chairs under fancy chandeliers and amid framed prints of Noah’s adventure. Old steamer trunks serve as tables. Classical music plays.

Mind the polar bears at the entrance. 

Stuffed birds perch on a counter bar fashioned from perfume bottles (Somchai owns more than 30,000 of these bottles). More glass cabinets hold an eland and a baboon, preserved and quite life-like.

The cockpit is a private dining room with a vintage chesterfield. The tail has been fitted with a large window affording views of the grounds.

The baggage compartment is a 10-seat lounge with high-backed maroon sofas and a huge display cabinet of beasts escaping Noah’s flood – white lions, black bear, warthog, caribou, lesser kudu, impala, oryx, a mandrill, a big-eared caracal cat and more birds.

The luggage compartment is a 10-seat lounge.

Chanokporn says they’re keeping the restaurant’s debut menu a secret for now, but the first chef in the kitchen will be Thitiwat Tantragarn, the bug wrangler at Insects in the Backyard. The restaurant took its name from that of the long-banned gay-theme Thai film.

Insects in the Backyard has its own array of stuffed birds on display – and preserved bugs too – but they’re nowhere near as intriguing as the menu.

Seared scallops with bamboo caterpillars

Here you can have a seared scallop topped with pan-fried rot duan (bamboo caterpillar), ravioli stuffed with female malaeng da (giant water beetle), and risotto with fried tak kataen (grasshopper).

Thitiwat isn’t really saying anything new when he points out that insects as food are low in calories and rich in protein and nutrients. If more people ate bugs, he notes, the exploding population of humans wouldn’t have to worry so much about other food resources.

Green salad with crickets

His strategy to get more people to eat bugs is to present them as part of a fine-dining experience. “If you find the insects in your backyard disgusting or scary, our approach is to demonstrate ChangChui’s concept that nothing is useless.”

A sizeable portion of the Thai population eats insects routinely, of course, usually deep-fried and seasoned with soy sauce or in a spicy salad. Bangkok street hawkers can set you up with various edible bugs.

Nachos with mixed insects

Thitiwat consults with Associate Professor Yupa Hanboonsong, an entomologist at Khon Kaen University, about just how nutritious different bugs are and how they’re farmed. Attentive to hygiene, he uses only insects from farms certified by the Department of Livestock Develop- ment.

The bamboo caterpillar comes from Chiang Mai and costs more than Bt1,000 per kilogram, hefty compared to the Bt200-Bt300 price of ant eggs.

“This is the first time I’ve cooked insects as fine dining,” says Thitiwat. “They all have their own unique tastes, so I do a lot of testing to find the right combinations with other ingredients.”

He’s done all right with the green salad starter with balsamic dressing and crickets (maeng sading) and the watermelon salad with creme fraiche, chorizo sausage, bonito and those expensive bamboo caterpillars.

Seafood risotto with grasshoppers

“Pan-fried bamboo caterpillar tastes like squid and goes well with sour cream,” says the chef, who previously worked at D’Sen at the Dusit Thani and Sirocco at Lebua. “Cricket has a unique taste and a crispy texture, so it can substitute for bacon.”

Grilled sea bass arrives topped with mae peng (a large tree ant) and its eggs in beurre blanc.

Grilled sea bass topped with large tree ants and their eggs 

The bug in the dessert is silkworm – the meat of chrysalises in vanilla ice cream, topped with the worms’ dehydrated bodies.

“I’m testing duang sago next,” says Thitiwat, referring to the high-protein red palm weevil.

Vanilla ice cream with silkworm chrysalises

A FLY IN YOUR SOUP?

ChangChui is on Sirindhorn Road near the Bang Bamru Railway Station in Bangkok’s Bang Phlat district.

The Green Zone is open daily except Wednesday from 11am to 9pm and the Night Zone from 4 to 11. Call (081) 817 2888 or visit http://www.ChangChuiBangkok.com.

Insects in the Backyard is open the same days from 2pm to 11pm. Call (02) 035 7000 or visit http://www.InsectsInTheBackyard.com.

I had a copy of “Sheila Carfenders, Doctor Mask & President Akimbo” for two months before I started reading it. The author, Richard S Ehrlich, must have been wondering why it was taking me so long to get through a 151-page book. When I emailed him to say I’d finished it, he replied, “Wow, congratulations!”

I recognise cheeky sarcasm when I see it, but I’ll happily let that go. Because this is no elf of a story. What seems at first to be madcap comedy is in fact a psychological drama. And, as quick a read as “Sheila Carfenders” is, it’s got a staggering amount of depth to it.

This deceptively weighted novella is a distillation of “tons of notes, documents, transcribed interviews, tapes and fresh media” amassed over decades, much of it having to do with the psychology of the disturbed mind. Ehrlich originally trained in the workings of the brain and, while making his living instead as a foreign correspondent, it seems he’s been assessing us all these many years.

Much of the book is experimental in nature, the characters’ fluctuating levels of sanity giving rise to strange speech and concepts, and in this, Ehrlich was also attempting to replicate the “cut-up” compositional technique most famously championed by William S Burroughs (whom he greatly admires and once interviewed).

Richard S Ehrlich, an American journalist based in Thailand, earned an enduring place in the literary pantheon of Southeast Asia with the chubby 1992 non-fiction book, “‘Hello My Big Big Honey!’ Love Letters to Bangkok Bar Girls and Their Revealing Interviews”.

Co-authored with Canadian Dave Walker, who died in still-unexplained circumstances in Cambodia in 2014, “Big Big Honey” was a pioneering behind-the-scenes study of the nightlife scene that’s deservedly enjoyed worldwide acclaim for its honesty as well as its poignancy.

Ehrlich has since contributed to other works, including “King Bhumibol Adulyadej, A Life’s Work”, but we’ve waited 25 years to see his name this prominently on the cover.

And, while “Sheila Carfenders” is presented at face as fiction, those “tons of interviews” with real people laid the foundation for the tale, and the almost Dadaist splicing of language makes the story “more real than real”.

“At the New Year’s Eve party, everybody is eating leeches on ice” is the nail-gun opening line. More disorienting craziness follows, and why not, because the party’s taking place in the “psycho ward” of a San Francisco hospital.

“Sheila Carfenders herself is often a verbatim collection of mentally ill women who I interviewed,” the author told me. Many of the quotes in the book were actually spoken by mentally unhinged individuals, politicians among them. “This is not wherever you’re from!” is a standout line worth remembering.

“I have a bad reaction to robots,” poor, deluded Sheila tells her shrink, Doctor Mask. “For years, I was a robot’s motel slave.”

The Mask, as the doc becomes known (or just Mask), realises he’s got a live one here, even though it said on her admission report, “Thinks she’s dead.” Mask has found 17 different personalities in Sheila’s mind, three of them “corpses”.

She’s ripe for his particularly “vicious form of psychiatric therapy”, which extends to beating patients with an electric cattle prod while they’re crushed in a straitjacket. Don’t flinch, though, because there is indeed much comedy in this tragedy.

Fortunately, the Mask has to make a quick exit from the US, sparing us gratuitous scenes of ghastly torture. Unfortunately, he’s taking Sheila along with him, to some decidedly backward Asian nation, where she’ll play a key role in his scheming to foment a coup.

Before anyone rushes to judgement, it isn’t Thailand – not really, anyway. Like the characters themselves, the country is a composite of multiple actual others. The president, Akimbo, is more like the blathering buffoons of Central America and some parts of Africa (and Washington, currently).

Akimbo is as insane as anyone else in the book, of course, first met sprawled across his palace banquet table in an ooze of leftovers. The soup has been “cat’s hearts, mice eyes and baked beans, plus eight tiny diamonds, the size of caviar”. It is the president’s monthly habit to dine on diamonds and have his teeth, tongue and lips painted gold.

On broadcasts to the nation, he claims astonishing superpowers, “though no one believes him”. He owns “the only mirror allowed in the entire country”, a gift from “Queen Lizardbest” (Elizabeth II, more correctly).

Adopting the slogan “You must love me!” he is in denial about just how much the suffering populace hates him – and his wife too. Mrs Akimbo is carried about on a silver platter, “a gelatinous amoeba in stretched pants, stilettos and a bullet-proof vest” who complains that the flies plaguing the palace assure her they have official permits to be there.

Mask has “meanwhile installed Sheila in the city’s red-light district, to ‘meet and greet’ officers of the regime and other influential people”. She spends the evenings “strangling herself with eels of turpentine, inhaling its sinister fumes and lacing liquid whip marks on her eyes”, yet at the same time, she is the plotter Mask’s eyes and ears.

The squalid Sunshine Club takes its name from a bar Ehrlich knew in Mombasa, but he admitted to me it’s a nod to “Thailand’s decadence”. “Oxlips, the bar tout,” he said, “includes some Bangkok quotes when he offers to provide ‘all girls air-conditioned’ and other cheap thrills.”

Despite a few rough edges typo-wise, the novella is highly imaginative and fascinating in its jaunty leaps, but of course, in stories of human dementia there is always a quiet and informative sadness. “We will see tomorrow become tomorrow in this book,” Sheila says at one point, and, at another, the Mask advises us, “Believe it or else.”

There is Chaplin at his zaniest, a current of sorrow just below the surface. There are flourishes of “The Mouse that Roared”, the 1955 Cold War satire. This is a story teetering between absurd hallucination and revelatory Zen koan. The tale can be topical (Russian meddling) and poetic. “Will you take me home tonight?” Sheila begs. “I know you will. You’ll take me home. And I’ll sit beside you. In your old drunken car.”

At the end, justice at least feels as though it’s been done. Ehrlich isn’t finished with us yet, though. He’s planning sequels in prose, has contacted Hollywood about possibilities for the big screen, and has already worked with universities in the US and Canada to produce an hour-long virtual-reality version of the story, brought to life via Ocular Rift.

Considering that “Sheila Carfenders” was an idea that popped into Ehrlich’s head when he noticed the seductively shapely front end of a passing vehicle outside his San Francisco window maybe four decades ago, this yarn has some heavy life to it yet, more real than reality.

Sheila Carfenders, Doctor Mask &

President Akimbo

By Richard S Ehrlich

Published privately, 2017

Available at Amazon.com, US$10 (Bt325)

The two companies have co-developed the highly-innovative clothing that perfectly harmonises style and technology, commencing with Heattech in 2003.

The Art and Science of LifeWear showcases how the two companies’ unconventional but highly complementary partnership has underpinned the advancement of Uniqlo LifeWear to become the world’s most responsive, relevant apparel for the human experience today. Experimental and revelatory in nature, the event is the first time the companies have come together outside of Japan to publicly spotlight the inner workings of the fabric technologies they co-develop to make the world a better place for millions of people globally – cooler, warmer, more comfortable.

Commenting on the event, Tadashi Yanai, president and chief executive of Uniqlo parent company, Fast Retailing, said: “Toray’s revolutionary technologies have been vital in Uniqlo’s quest to create LifeWear clothing, which makes everyday life better and more comfortable for people everywhere. I encourage people to attend this exhibition to see the innovations stemming from this partnership that have enabled us to deliver new value by combining unparalleled functionality and comfort with contemporary styling.”

“Our corporate philosophy is about contributing to society through the creation of new value with innovative ideas, technologies, and products. As an integrated chemical company, we engage in research and development from long-term perspectives in the conviction that materials can change our lives. I hope the exhibition of Heattech and other technological fruits of joint development with Uniqlo will give attendees a solid understanding of why this partnership can keep delivering new value in the years ahead,” added Akihiro Nikkaku, President of Toray Industries.

A series of large-scale installations and live experiential displays allow visitors to become fully immersed in the fascinating science behind AIRism, Kando-pants and Dry-EX. Exhibits include a deconstruction of the Heattech technology to bring visitors down to a molecular-level perspective of the fabric and its special heat-retention properties, and a special experiment to discover the absolute minimum volume to which Uniqlo’s Ultra Light Down can be compressed.

Visitors to the Art and Science of LifeWear can also preview other advanced Toray technologies from the world’s most innovative fields – aircraft, racecars, rockets – with opportunities for a sneak peek into the future of clothing and how these might be expressed through Heattech.

For more information, visit www.Uniqlo.com and www.FastRetailing.com.

The Beoplay E8 comes tuned by acclaimed Bang & Olufsen sound engineers for a rich, full-bodied and precise sound. Each earpiece has a 5.7mm dynamic speaker, a small electromagnetic transducer, NFMI (Near Field Magnetic Induction) technology and a Bluetooth 4.2 chip with Digital Sound Processing that allows for dynamic sound tuning and sound without interruption. It also comes with Hi-Res Audio. It’s distributed by RTB Technology (www.RTBTechnology.com) for Bt13,000.

This speaker can swim

The Ultimate Ears Wonderboom is a tiny Bluetooth speaker with monster sound. Waterproof to an IP67 rating, it can be doused a metre deep for up to 30 minutes. It’s a mere 102 by 93.5mm and weighs 425 grams. Sensitivity is 86dB from two 40mm drivers. Get one in Stone (grey), Phantom (black), Fireball (red), Subzero (blue), Cashmere (pink) or Lilac for Bt3,490.

Fast on the focus

Sony’s RX10 Mark IV all-in-one compact camera features ultra-fast auto-focus of 0.3 second thanks to a 1.0-type Exmor RS CMOS image sensor with DRAM chip in 20.1-megapixel resolution. It uses 315 phase-detection AF points covering 65 per cent of the image area. With a 24600mm-equivalent Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T lens. It sells for Bt59,990.

For rich gamers only

Acer’s Predator GX21717060 is a powerful (and expensive) notebook computer for gamers. You get a 21-inch IPS curved screen with 2,560×1,080-pixel resolution, a seventh-generation Intel Core i77820HK processor running at 2.9GHz and an Nvidia GeForce GTX1080 sLI graphic adapter with 16GB of DDR5 memory. The main memory comprises 64GB of DDR4 RAM and you have 512 SSD and 1TB hard drives. The price tag is Bt349,900.

In the Mix with Xiaomi

Xiaomi’s Mi Mix2 phone packs a powerful octacore Qualcomm Snapdragon 835, 6GB of memory and 64GB of storage. The 5.99-inch display boasts 1,080×2,160 pixels in an 18:9 display ratio. The 12MP rear camera has a Sony image sensor and fouraxis OIS. The front 5MP camera comes with 36 “smart beauty” profiles. It’s in stores for Bt17,990.

Israel Lozano stars opposite Nancy Yuen, Southeast Asia’s leading operatic diva. Also in the cast are Nadlada Thamtanakom, Falko Honisch and Damian Whiteley. Get tickets at https://goo.gl/Gaw2Hs.

Stars align for New Year’s Eve

BEC-Tero Show’s “Sawasdee Bangkok 2018” on New Year’s Eve from 7pm until midnight at Show DC’s Oasis Arena features the Palace, Pu Anchalee, Jeed Royal Sprites, Pink Panther, the Shadow, Too Direk, Auan Warunee, Tor Saksit and many more. Seats cost Bt1,000 to Bt2,000 at http://www.ThaiTicketMajor.com, (02) 262 3456 and http://www.BECTero.com.

Countdown fun at The One

Another option for New Year’s Eve is the Neon party at the Renaissance Bangkok Ratchaprasong Hotel’s The One beer garden. There’ll be a live band and an EDM DJ, an array of food trucks and great draught beer, whiskies and cocktails. Admission is Bt1,000-net. Call (02) 125 5111.

Classics in aid of kids

The Sai Dek 1387 (Childline Thailand) Foundation is hosting a fundraising concert starring violin virtuoso Paloma So and the Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra in Mahidol University’s Prince Mahidol Hall on January 6. Seats cost Bt400 to Bt1,500 at http://www.ThaiTicketMajor.com and (02) 262 3456. Find out more at (02) 561 0981 and http://www.ChildlineThailand.org.

Arty doings in Palio

The Palio Art Festival New Year Countdown at Palio Khaoyai, continuing into January 2, has a street market, mimic David, Flamingo, craft workshops, live music and a Venetian parade. The Bt1,000 admission price also gets you a Dog Lover mug. Check out http://www.Facebook.com/welovepalio.