Thailand Voice

Uruphong Raksasad’s Agrarian Utopia ( Sawan Baan Na ) is still making its way around the festival circuit. It’s been in competition this week at the !f Istanbul AFM International Independent Film Festival . And at the end of the month, it makes … Read full story >>>

The 82nd Academy Awards nominations have been announced, and Thailand missed out on a nomination for Best Foreign Language Film. Yongyoot Thongkongtoon’s Best of Times was submitted but didn’t make the cut for the shortlist . But Thailand and Southeast Asia are still represented — in the Best Documentary Feature category with … Read full story >>>

Have you ever lost your shoes in Thailand? Now you know. Translation: We can assure you that this dog has not been trained at all. Everything that the dog does is of it's own volition. Mistine Foot Odour Spray. Read full story >>>

The Phangan Film Festival , featuring a lineup of documentaries on “nature and spirit”, is set for February 12 to 14. The open-air fest will be held at the Holiday Beach Resort on the island in the Gulf of Thailand. Most of the movies are… Read full story >>>

There is still plenty of gold in the ground across Thailand – deposits have been found in 31 provinces and there are long-term miners, especially at Bang Saphan, who have been using low-technology methods to hunt for nuggets for many years (one man claims to have found enough to have sent his … Read full story >>>

Mildly Venomous Thailand Snake: Red Necked Keelback is a post from: ThaiPulse.com/blog/ , a Thailand focused website. ©2009-2010 ThaiPulse My new girl! Rhabdophis subminiatus. Red Necked Keelback. I let my Malaysian Pit Viper go the other day – and haven’t had time to get the video of that up on YouTube yet. This is… Read full story >>>

As readers will be able to see BP has been very critical of the GT200 devices, but am trying to wonder why many officials are defending the devices particularly low-level members of the police and the military – this is even in off-the-record statements. Now, the kickback aspect … Read full story >>>

Thailand’s Ministry of Culture has budgeted 200 million baht under the government’s Thai Khem Kaeng (ไทย เข้มแข็ง, Strong Thailand) “creative economy” scheme to fund films, television programs, animation and video games. The plan has raised eyebrows, says film critic Kong Rithdee, writing in… Read full story >>>

Consider this headline from the Nation : The Bank of Thailand yesterday officially signalled a policy-rate hike in the second half of the year but promised to take into account the pace of economic recovery and inflation before making any move. Then, read what was… Read full story >>>

That’s the beauty with cheating : you always find a bigger cheater than yourself. And this is exactly what is happening in Asia (and around the world). The crisis is worsening (see Dubai’s default ), tensions and imbalances are increasing, and all the clowns try the same thing : The Beggar thy neighbor policy , in order… Read full story >>>

That’s the beauty with cheating : you always find a bigger cheater than yourself. And this is exactly what is happening in Asia (and around the world). The crisis is worsening (see Dubai’s default ), tensions and imbalances are increasing, and all the clowns try the same thing : The Beggar thy neighbor policy , in… Read full story >>>

Uruphong Raksasad’s experimental documentary Agrarian Utopia ( Sawan Baan Na ) continues its award-winning run, picking up the Unesco Award at the third edition of the Asia-Pacific Screen Awards, which were given out on Thursday in Gold Coast, Australia. … Read full story >>>

I’ll be writing more about this soon, but I wanted to share a quick cell phone pic of my contribution to this year’s Thanksgiving festivities. Yes, that’s what you think it is: My attempt at re-creating my Aunt Cee Cee’s famous South Carolina pecan pie, which I have previously raved about . Aunt … Read full story >>>

Before UDD cancelled their rally, concern was expressed that it was not the right time for a political rally – scheduled for November 29-December 2 – as it was too close to HM the King's birthday. So it would be irresponsible to hold an event/stage a protest in late November/early … Read full story >>>

Heart words, jai words, my words… I am a terrible Thai student. Fairly often, my Thai teacher arrives with a lesson plan in her satchel, and hope in her heart. When she goes to leave, it is with much laughter. Why laughter? Because at the door, seeing her off, there I am. Me. Promising… Read full story >>>

Let’s say grace… At last, a thai official dares to speak the truth… and even more striking… the president of Thai Airways dares to speak the truth about the national carrier ! Fasten your seatbelt. And look for your life jacket. The newly appointed head of Thai Airways … Read full story >>>

With the Science Film Festival going on in Bangkok right now — yes, yet another film festival — one of the entries that caught my eye is A Mirror of a Living Train Market ( กระจกสะท้อนวิถีชีวิตชาวตลาดรถไฟ ), a five-minute documentary produced by the MCOT… Read full story >>>

Sulak Sivaraksa is a Thai intellectual who is probably much better known in intellectual circles outside of Thailand than inside Thailand, for his role on the lecture circuit in the '70s and '80s in particular. BP has blogged on some of his views on lese majeste (LM) here and here. … Read full story >>>

Today, my cabbie drove like a maniac. He constantly changed lanes as he swerved to avoid motorcyclists, and he turned the corners super fast and sharp every time causing the tires to make loud squealing noises. As we flew through the streets of Bangkok, the monk pendant in the front of the… Read full story >>>

The 13th Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival wrapped up on Sunday, with Uruphong Raksasad’s Agrarian Utopia winning the Best Narrative Feature Film or Video Award (with an honourable mention to Nakamura Yoshihiro’s Fish Story ). Uruphong was present for the closing gala and awards ceremony . Movie Moxie was there to capture the … Read full story >>>

The 7th World Film Festival of Bangkok thudded to a mellow bass-heavy end on Sunday night, with the outdoor screening of Rocksteady: The Roots of Reggae , a documentary on the artists of the Jamaican musical genre that built the bridge from the frenetically upbeat ska to the laid-back reggae. Directed by Stascha Bader… Read full story >>>

Reuters : Prolonged Thai rally in Nov Fugitive former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s supporters announced plans on Tuesday for a prolonged street protest beginning in late November and lasting until the government steps down and calls elections. It would be the first protracted demonstration … Read full story >>>

Last week I wrote on the sixth amendment of the Tambon Council and Tambon Administrative Organization act , removing the limit of two consecutive terms for the TAO chairman. Now amendments for the acts covering the other local administrative units have been published in the Royal Gazette, all … Read full story >>>

When Slovenian film programmer Nika Bohinc was in Bangkok at the end of July and early August for the Lav Diaz Retrospective , she handed a Slovenian film to World Film Festival of Bangkok programmer Pathompong “Big” Manakitsomboon. A month after that meeting, Nika was dead, killed along with her boyfriend Alexis Tioseco in … Read full story >>>

At Stake — Four segments in this documentary deal with problems faced by women in Indonesia, mainly stemming from taboos having to do with gynecology and the “purity” of women. The wide-ranging, frank discussion also gets into sexuality. The subjects include Indonesian domestic workers in Hong Kong, an examination of the… Read full story >>>

As I wrote in my previous blog about Nong Ja and that our morning walk wasn’t complete. We look at the chickens and cows, return home for a cool drink and then we are off again on another walk. At … Read full story >>>

Films from Burma, Cambodia, East Timor and Laos — countries not often or ever heard from when it comes to the region’s cinema — will be featured alongside dramas and documentaries from Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam in ” My Dear … Read full story >>>

It’s one of those nights I try to avoid. Halloween . Why celebrate death and the macabre when the non-Halloween world got enough of death and the macabre already. What a nerd. Because the supernatural, ghosts, ghost hunters and such are very Thai and therefore real. That’s what … Read full story >>>

As much as I think that the pancakes at Peppers in Ubon are fantastic there is nothing quite like making them at home with your family and yes that includes the two and three year old kids! We moved the gas burner to the floor for easier… Read full story >>>

The 24th October edition of the newspaper El Pais was banned from sale in Morocco, as it printed a cartoon by Le Monde cartoonist Plantu which Moroccan authorities considered disrespectful to the national flag. The cartoon originally appeared in Le Monde on 22nd October. El Pais also reprinted Khaled Kadafrom’s cartoon from Akhbar… Read full story >>>