SixSix2

Deadly Bunny and Chuby Penguin : Great Bangkok food blog

2012-01-04T16:12:00.000+07:00

I found a really good food blog that lists a lot of restaurants and street food stalls, from very cheap up to very expensive, so you will find from very simple up to luxury restaurants everything. All reviews are accompanied by pricing, great images and lots of info. You can find the blog here.

Burn the City (Android Game)

2011-12-31T11:54:00.000+07:00

Found this pretty nice game today which is jus 1 USD (there is a free version also). Market link is here: https://market.android.com/details?id=com.JoshOClock.BurnTheCity It is a physics game similar actually to Angry Bords but to be honest this here is much beter, from the theme of the game to the graphics, sound and also gameplay. At least in my opinion. Check it out.

Best of Bangkok restaurants by CNNGo

2011-12-30T14:32:00.002+07:00

Some places I didn;t know yet are on this list such as "Salt" which sounds pretty interesting: http://www.cnngo.com/bangkok/eat/year-review-bangkoks-best-new-restaurants-052925

Hidden Agenda Ekamai Soi 10

2011-12-30T14:21:00.001+07:00

There is a cool chilled out restaurant/bar on Ekamai Soi 10/6. As the name suggests its a bit hidden away from the bustle of Thonglor and main Ekamai roads. Check it out. Here are some images and more info of the place although the site seems not to be updated: http://your-hidden-agenda.tumblr.com/

Is the flood coming to Bangkok or not?

2011-11-02T23:08:00.001+07:00

Thailand flooding update, November 2, 2011: Front page of today’s Bangkok Post

Worst Flooding in Decades Swamps Thailand

2011-10-25T12:12:00.000+07:00

Follow the link below to see some images of the worst flooding crisis in Thailand in decades.

Worst Flooding in Decades Swamps Thailand - Alan Taylor - In Focus - The Atlantic:

'via Blog this'

Flood-hit Thailand declined offer of help, says US Navy

2011-10-25T12:11:00.000+07:00

Unbelievable:

WASHINGTON: The US Navy has withdrawn several ships sent to help with relief efforts in flood-hit Thailand after receiving "mixed" messages from the Bangkok government, a defence official said on Monday.

The USS George Washington aircraft carrier and other ships were deployed to the area on October 16 for potential disaster relief work as Thailand faced massive flooding from monsoon rains, said Navy spokesman Lieutenant Commander John Perkins.

But the US military never received a formal request from the Thai government and the three-ship aircraft carrier group along with a fourth ship, the USS Kidd, were released and left the area on Friday, said Perkins, spokesman for the US Pacific Fleet based in Hawaii.

"We are ready to help but we haven't got a request," said a US defence official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

"There were two channels (in the Thai government)," the defence official told AFP. "One was saying 'Yes' and one was saying 'no.'"

The Thai capital on Monday was bracing for advancing and seemingly unstoppable floodwaters after residents in areas deemed most at threat were urged to leave.

Other parts of the country have been plagued by three months of heavy monsoon rains that have killed more than 350 people in Thailand and damaged the homes and livelihoods of nine million people......

Flood-hit Thailand declined offer of help, says US Navy - Channel NewsAsia:

'via Blog this'

Google StreetView comes to Thailand

2011-09-01T18:41:00.000+07:00

During a press conference this afternoon, the Governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) and Google announced a partnership for “Promoting Thai Tourism through the use of Google Street View”. Street View in Google Maps lets you explore places through 360-degree street-level imagery, whether you’re looking at locations in your town or across the globe. With Street View, you can check out a restaurant before going there, find beautiful places around the world to visit on your next vacation, or check out neighborhoods when you’re looking to move. For Thailand, they are hoping that the street view pictures of tourist attractions will help boost tourism.

A fleet of specially equipped cars will soon be heading out onto the streets of Bangkok. The Google cars have 15 lenses taking 360 degrees of photos. It also has motion sensors to track its position, a hard drive to store data, a small computer running the system, and lasers to capture 3D data to determine distances within the Street View imagery. It normally takes at least a few months to process the collected images before they appear online. It is estimated that it could even take two to three years to have a comprehensive map of Thailand with street view coverage. More information and samples of street view can be found at google.co.th/streetview.

Yet another shopping complex

2011-08-26T10:23:00.001+07:00

On the corner of Sukhumvit Soi 42 across from Ekamai a new construction site can be seen.

I would bet it will be another shopping center. Pretty crazy considering the amount already here in Bangkok but nevertheless a welcome addition as its 5 minutes from where I live.

Google+ Invites

2011-08-24T11:40:00.002+07:00

Follow the below link to be able to sign up for G+ if you haven;t done so yet. It's great: https://plus.google.com/_/notifications/ngemlink?path=%2F%3Fgpinv%3DOIGjlX-E_aA%3AMon16mlalSY

Govt sincerity on protecting the monarchy questioned

2011-08-24T11:38:00.000+07:00

Govt sincerity on protecting the monarchy questioned: Supachai Jaisamut, a senior MP from the opposition Bhum Jai Thai Party, said the government's brief policy regarding the monarchy was mostly copied from the Constitution, without any detail as to how to deal with many websites with content insulting to the monarchy. He said the websites were claimed to be the work of people in the red-shirt movement, which in turn is linked to the ruling Pheu Thai Party. "The government must have a policy that decisively deals with the problem and the government has to make it clear it has nothing to do with the red shirts who insult the monarchy," said Supachai, who is also the Bhum Jai Thai spokesman. He called on the prime minister to make it clear that none of her Cabinet members would try to interfere with the justice process in a bid to help red-shirt figures facing legal action for allegedly insulting the monarchy.

Appeals Court acquits Pojaman

2011-08-24T11:36:00.000+07:00

Appeals Court acquits Pojaman No big surprises here. The government changes and high profile people who had been sentenced under the previous government are set free again. Now I don't want to make any judgement but this is definitely not a country where the courts decide freely and without any external influence.

DTAC to go ahead wIth 3G launch thIs week

2011-08-15T11:46:00.000+07:00

DTAC to go ahead wIth 3G launch thIs week And the last operator starts 3G finally. its about time. Now I just hope that they are able to manage the data capacity and not have every single 3G service slow down to a near still stand. Then the whole 3G thingy in Thailand wouldn't make much sense anyway.

Google brings games to Google+ -- Engadget

2011-08-12T12:30:00.000+07:00

Google brings games to Google+ -- Engadget Luckily Google lets you completely remove any game related updates from your main stream. Great decision. I hated that on Facebook.

Facebook Messenger APK for Android phones

2011-08-10T11:39:00.002+07:00

Facebook Messenger just released their separate Facebook Messenger app. Unfortunately only on the US Android Market. But as with most Android apps you can already get the APK and install it anyway, even when you are outside the US.

Here is the link to download it:

http://mobileplanet-waryam.blogspot.com/2011/08/facebook-messenger-10-v10-android-apk.html

ISAN DANCEHALL3 THIS SAT 13/08/11 @ COSMIC CAFE

2011-08-10T11:01:00.002+07:00

ZUDRANGMA H.Q. RECORDS STORE, PARADISE BANGKOK & TIGER BEER
proudly presents...
ISAN DANCEHALL 3
Far Out/Far East Sound System Culture
With an emphasis on music built for sound systems, outside parties and
the worldwide dancehall, from Kingston to Ubon, from Accra to Khon
Kaen, join the journey through tough basslines, heavy percussion and
music designed to move any crowd from around the globe. Isan Dancehall
- get ready for the Afro/Asian Soundclash.....
..........................
PARTY INFO:
Date: Saturday 13th August 2011. 09pm - Late
DJs: Maft Sai, Masa Niwayama
Music policy / File Under: ISAN ROOTS, RAGGAE & DANCEHALL.
Door: 250 Baht + 1 Tiger Beer
Where: COSMIC CAFE, RCA BLOCK C
ZUDRANGMA HQ RECORDS STORE
7/1 Sukhumvit Soi 51
Open: Monday - Sunday 2pm till 9pm
Transport : BTS Thonglor Station
Tel : +66 (0) 88 891 1314
www.zudrangmarecords.com

Club Soma Party 'Love Will Tear Us Apart' Coming Up This Thursday @ LED #2

2011-08-09T13:17:00.002+07:00

Club Soma is in deep sorrow at the death of our icon...Amy Winehouse. We want to do a free night party for our beloved dead rockstars. And we do our tribute to them in our own style. 'Dance to their music'. So here we are the indie-rock dance tribute party! Let their music live with us and show your rock n'roll spirit just do the D.A.N.C.E.!! Also this party is gonna be our last time for a while coz our team is going away. We'll miss you all. So just show up and dance with our Soma indie-rock hits. Come as you are and dance to Joy Division yeah!!

คลับโซม่าขอแสดงความเสียใจกับการจากไปของร็อคสตาร์ที่รักเอมี่ ไวน์เฮ้าส์ หนึ่งในไอคอนประจำปาร์ตี้ของพวกเรา มาร่วมกัน tribute ให้เหล่าร็อคสตาร์ที่เสียชีวิตไปแล้วด้วยการเต้นกับเพลงของพวกเค้ากันดีกว่า งานนี้จัดฟรีให้ทุกคนได้มารวมตัวกันเต้นถวาย แสดงความรักของเรากับดนตรีอินดี้ร็อค พร้อมเลี้ยงส่งสมาชิกทีมโซม่าที่จะไปผจญภัยในต่างแดนกัน (ปาร์ตี้เป็นครั้งสุดท้ายแล้วจ้า เพราะจะไปเที่ยวกันนาน มากินเหล้าเลี้ยงส่ง พุด พี่ส้ม ดุ๊กดิ๊ก กันหน่อย) โปรโมชัั่นพิเศษเหล้า เบียร์ราคา 120 บาททั้งคืน และชอทแค่ 99 บาท!! งานนี้เราจัดเพลงฮิตของโซม่ามาเปิดเท่านั้น เพื่อจัดหนักส่งท้ายให้ทุกคน แล้วเจอพวกเราใหม่อีกสองเดือนจ้า

Club Soma 'Love Will Tear Us Apart'

The Indie-Rock Dance Tribute

11th August 2011

9.30PM – 2.30AM

At LED #2 RCA (a small club next to LED)

Music by our Soma DJs

DJ Dookie

DJ Somarang

DJ Nosebleed

Visual by Puttisak

Dresscode: Black / Rockstar in morning

FREE ENTRY!!!!!!

**Plus all drinks only 120 BAHT & Shots only 99 BAHT all night long!

Tatt.ly temporary tatoos

2011-07-18T11:56:00.005+07:00

Tatt.ly is a pretty cool idea. It is an online design shop for temporary tattoos. I have a real tattoo and I like real tattoos a lot too but this is still a great idea. You can submit your own designs and choose from the ones available. It looked to me that there aren't a lot online yet but I'm sure this will change over time.

Subtitles (English) for Thai Movies

2011-07-09T19:37:00.003+07:00

English subtitles for Thai DVD Movies for download. When buying Thai movie DVD's in Thailand of Thai movies, about 90% of them will come without English subtitles, only a very few have English subs. This is for the reason that if distribution rights to Thai movies are to be sold in other countries, they do not want to have cheap Thai DVD copies flooding the import market. By not including English subtitles, for most people, this will render Thai DVD imports useless. There are some movies that do include English subs though but not many (Update 2011: There are more and more Thai DVDs released with English subtitles these days which is positive, so we should see more DVD subtitle rips this tear).

By offering the English subs here I do not want to encourage any download of illegal copies of Thai movies. Especially in Thailand a DVD can be had as low as 50 Baht (less than 2 USD) and a new title normally goes for around 150 Baht (around 5 USD). So I encourage everybody here to support a movie industry that actually prices their products the right way and encourages people buying them. Because they are cheap I buy a lot more DVDs in Thailand then I do anywhere else. Beware that it is not easy to find these subtitles and that some were created by movie fans so sometimes you might find a title that does not fit 100% (the words do not fit 100% to the picture). The reason is mostly that the subtitles were done for a different version (A Hong Kong DVD of a Thai movie might be cut a little different than the Thai or US version of the DVD). That being said, the subtitles here are the ones that I ALREADY tested with the Thai version of the DVDs or that I extracted directly from DVDs I bought using Subrip.

So if you have a Thai DVD of a movie listed below, everything should work just fine. If not, subtitles can still be changed to fit any DVD version with software such as Subtitle workshop which I might do a tutorial on in the future. Be warned, this is for advanced users. For displaying the subtitles you just need a media player that lets you select external subtitle files and display them on top of your DVD video. The easiest way is the free VLC Player. All you have to do is start VLC player, open the DVD with it and when the movie starts playing you just drag and drop the subtitle file onto the video picture. Voila, the English subs start displaying. Another media player that springs to mind and is good with subtitles is bs player. The free version is all you need.

Important Note:

I have collected these subtitles from many different online sources so it is very hard to credit the right people. if any of these subtitles was created by you, please let me know so I can credit you properly. Thanks.

The below list will be updated over time so you should bookmark this page and come back to see if something new arrived. List of English subtitle files for Thai movies:

#
13 Beloved aka 13 Game Sayong aka 13 Game Of Death Subtitle
4bia Subtitle

A
Ahimsa Stop To Run aka Ahingsa-Jikko Mee Gam Subtitle
Art of the Devil English Subtitle
Art of the Devil 3 (Long Khong 2) Subtitle

B
Bangkok Dangerous (1999) Subtitle
Blissfully Yours Subtitle
Body aka Body #19 Subtitle
Brave Subtitle
Brutal River English Subtitle
Buppha Rahtree Subtitle

C
Chocolate English Subtitle
Citizen Dog English Subtitle
Club Zaa English Subtitle
Coming Soon English Subtitle
Curse Of The Sun Subtitle

D
Dangerous Flowers English Subtitle
Dietcovery Subtitle
Dumber Heroes Subtitle
Dynamite Warrior English Subtitle

F
Fan Chan English Subtitle
Fan Chan Alternative English Subtitle
Fighting Beat Subtitle

G
Garuda English Subtitle
Ghost of Mae Nak Subtitle

H
Headless Hero Subtitle
Hello Yasothon (Yam Yasothon) Subtitle
Hit Man File Subtitle
Hormones Subtitle

J
Jan Dara English Subtitle

K
Kun Pan Subtitle

L
Last Life In The Universe Subtitle

M
Me...Myself Subtitle
Mehkong Fullmoon Party Subtitle
Midnight My Love Subtitle

N
Nang Nak Subtitle
Necromancer English Subtitle

O
Ong-Bak English Subtitle
Ong-Bak Alternative English Subtitle
Ong Bak 2 English Subtitle **
Ong Bak 3 Subtitle

P
Ploy English Subtitle
P: The Possessed Subtitle

Q
Queens of Langkasuka English Subtitle

S
Sars Wars aka Bangkok Zombie Crisis Subtitle
Scared English Subtitle
Seven Days in a Coffin Subtitle
Shutter Subtitle
Sick Nurses English Subtitle
Siyama Subtitle
Soul's Code English Subtitle

T
Tears of the Black Tiger Subtitle
Tears of the Black Tiger Alternative Subtitle
The Bodyguard Subtitle
The Bodyguard 2 English Subtitle
The Fatality Subtitle
The Haunted Drum Subtitle
The Letter Subtitle
The Letters Of Death Subtitle
The Love Of Siam Subtitle
The Love Of Siam Director's Cut Subtitle
The Omen English Subtitle
The Overture English Subtitle
The Protector Subtitle
The Sisters Subtitle
The Spiritual World English Subtitle
The Victim Subtitle

V
Vengeance Subtitle

W
Wonderful Town Subtitle **

Remarks:
** The subtitles marked with 2 stars have been translated and created by Jan De Uitvreter (this name is mentioned within the subtitles) so I want to give him credit here for this.

Thai Ghost Movies: The Horror, The Horror

2011-07-09T19:11:00.001+07:00

What is it with Thai ghost films? With the flimsy plots, undeveloped characters, gratuitous gore and cheap special effects, its enough to make any movie critic keel over in agony. Yet, the punters keep coming back for more. Thai horror films do most of the time out-gross comedies and period dramas in the kingdom’s box offices. It’s hard to deny that Thai filmmakers are quite adept at the ghost flick genre. The chilling music, the manipulated thrills and grisly spills – it all makes for a fun, adrenalin-filled evening.

Aside from some notable exceptions like The Shutter and the well-researched Nang Nak, Thai horror films don’t usually stand on anything resembling legs in terms of cinematic value. But they sure do scare the hell out of the viewers, and isn’t that the point? Those of you who turn to jelly at the mere sight of blood may ask, why the obsession with the macabre? Is watching the slaughter of innocent people in the most blood-curdling manner some type of depraved idea of fun? Well, to horror-buffs, the answer is yes, but not because they are sadists. On the contrary, compassion often drives horror-enthusiasts to sympathize with the victims. This empathy felt with their fear is what leads to that sought-after blast of adrenalin. In academic jargon it’s the sadistic versus the masochistic. And it is this masochistic search for the ultimate ad-renalin rush that keeps horror fans glued to their cinema seats.

In Thailand and throughout much of Asia, the popularity of ghost films must also be analyzed in context of the pervasive belief in spirits, or phi, as well as the animism present in Buddhist and Southeast Asian cultures. In a country where amulets and spirit doctors are as readily available as cigarettes, ghost stories have long been part of the local tradition. Thai horror movies are often a mixture of folktales about ghosts, or mae nak, and old beliefs such as phi kraseu, or ghosts who refuse to die, possession or witchcraft. And the audience sucks it up like a vampire at a blood bank.

The horror genre in Thailand saw a resurgence after the enormous local and international success of Nonzee Nimibutr’s Nang Nak – a remake of the time-worn story of Mae Nak Phra Khanong. In the years that followed, many critics contended that Thai ghost films took a turn for the worse. That is until the release of Shutter in 2004. Directed by Pakpoom Wongpoom and Banjong Pisanthanakun, The Shutter’s simple plot of a photographer seeing ghost-like images in his photographs captivated local audiences. In recent years, the popularity of films that make up the "New Asian Horror" genre has begun to influence Hollywood, evidenced by remakes of Asian hits The Ring, The Eye and Shutter. It is clear then, that a fear of ghosts and spirits is universal, making this genre a killing at box offices worldwide (bad pun intended).

Also, check out some Thai Horror movie posters here.

Thai Movie Posters: Same Same But Different

2011-07-09T18:49:00.003+07:00

The following article was posted on another movies site of a friend before but I was allowed to repost this here as the other site will soon be put offline. Many people don;t know much about Thai movies and therefore also not much about all the funky movie posters that were created by many Thai artists. There is some awesome stuff out there and some of those posters sell on ebay for quite some money now. But it is very hard to find any originals as there was never anybody trying to conserve these pieces of art. There were basically no people in the past who kept or collected them and many have disappeared. Enough bla bla. Enjoy the article and what is probably the biggest accumulation of Thai movies poster art on the Internet. So here it goes:

Whether adorning the cinema wall, shouting from the world’s largest billboards or peeking from inside a plastic sleeve, movie posters have always been uniquely different in Thailand.

The descriptive, exaggerated style of painting used to promote the first Thai movies has long been loved by film buffs, but has only recently become regarded as part of Thailand's cultural heritage. Characteristically, there is an abundance of detail, with the film’s heroes always dominating the painting. A package of smaller images is added around their picture, showing some events of the film to attract film goers.

They do the thing where they have a mass of as many characters as they can. It’s a sort of pastiche, which is almost like a collage because they've cut out certain parts.

A lot of the time, Thai posters would sexualize things beyond what actually happened in the movie. There is a famous old Thai film, where there's a woman lying almost diagonal across a first step. I guess it's a racey movie at the time, but nothing close to that happens in the movie.

The only time a homegrown movie could compete with a Western picture was if it was sensationalized in the poster to the extent that they often took events far further than the actual movie.

They would go over the top. The idea was that if the audience was wandering by and they had to choose between a Western movie and a Thai movie, the Thai movie had to offer, promise and deliver more in terms of the advert than the Western film because of the preconception that it wouldn't be of high production value.

Today, it is a common sight to see reproduction vintage Thai posters being picked up by backpackers from street stalls around Kao San Road. It’s not surprising that they might be drawn to the country’s unique use of the medium. In the West, audiences are used to seeing film posters with one or two primary images, usually the leading actors, a neutral background and not much else.

Thailand’s movie posters often morph several scenes from a film into a montage, giving a vague impression of narrative. A popular theory is that this style has its roots in the intricate painted murals on temple walls, which often use every inch of space to tell epic stories, although many would disagree.

They could more be seen like cartoons. It’s more about pastiche. They borrow more from comic books... especially up country.

In the early nineties, the Thai film distribution companies stopped commissioning Bangkok artists to paint posters, preferring to use photographic images instead. The PhotoShop age had made painting fashionable. Most Thai posters for Western movies now take the US or European poster and simply replace the English credits and text with Thai script, almost bringing an end to a unique tradition of cinematic re-interpretation.

From the 1950s to the 1990s, Thailand was known as a movie billboard superpower, producing spectacular displays as large as 120-feet long. In the capital, studios used 30 collaborators at a time to work on a single billboard, including carpenters to build and cut out shapes, figures and landscapes. A selection of still shots from the film company would be whittled down by a design director to create an original design. This was then sketched on paper in a scale drawing before using a square-to-square enlarging technique. Billboard posters were usually the combined effort of a group of specialized artists, with one man painting actors’ faces, another on clothing and others taking care of backgrounds. The individual artists are said to rarely have seen the movies themselves.

Asian horror movie posters have always been more graphic than their Western counterparts. In this Thai poster for the US movie, A Nightmare on Elm Street 3, one of the most disturbing images from the movie is recreated in all its gruesome glory. The original, parent-friendly US poster is on the right.

These days, Thailand may be better known for the covers of its counterfeit DVDs than its cinema posters. A strong demand for bootleg movies has led to a boom in semi-skilled PhotoShop graphic designers.

While the movie poster on the left for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was still adorning Bangkok cineplexes, the DVD cover on the right was already gracing street stalls everywhere. Comically, its makers give away their lack of English with the tagline in the top left, seemingly pulled at random from an internet review: “The best people possible are on the job, the only problem here is that it’s a job that doesn’t need to be done.” More than could be said for the DVD cover, perhaps.

After all of the inescapable marketing lavished on blockbuster movies by the legitimate studios, fake DVD covers only have to be recognizable. With a far smaller canvas to work with, poster elements are often removed to give a distilled, less confusing image: the exact opposite of Thailand’s descriptive painted posters. A DVD cover must be simple and iconic in order to catch the attention of a passing pedestrian or browsing customer. Hence, in the bootleg Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith (left), the unmistakable logo itself becomes the dominating image.

Today, skytrain stations feature letter-box shaped posters for Hollywood movies that soullessly reproduce US photographic artwork, but also add a synopsis and a reel of stills. It is easy to see how 30 years before those still images would have been artistically blended into the main poster image to produce an original work of art.

Nowadays, few Thai movie posters are still painted. Western-style posters look more modern to Thais, especially those in the cities. However, bold painted billboards are still favoured in the provinces, often using traditional techniques.

It still exists, but it doesn't look the same anymore. It looks really cheesy now. It's mostly done up country... not in Bangkok. It's done to market usually not even what you would consider blockbuster, but low-rent films that won't even be shown in Bangkok. They usually involve a misty ocean and some mystical woman's face standing in the water.

This billboard image, photographed days ago in the coastal town of Ranong, is for The Last Song: the bittersweet tale of a Thai ladyboy showgirl. The tones employed in the hand-painted billboard are brighter and less depressing than those in the official photographic poster.

It’s interesting, the gun got further from her head in the painted one, which would dispute the sensationalizing that was mentioned in this article before. It looks like she's already committed suicide. I guess it could be more horrible... If there was more blood on her veil, though, nobody would go and see it, I'm pretty sure.

The angle and proximity of the gun makes the showgirl’s suicidal tendencies more ambiguous in the billboard adaptation.

But the real question here is that you got a vertical image here and you have a horizontal billboard, so they obviously had to expand it to fit on the billboard. Cinema posters are always vertical, but if you have to fill a billboard, you'd have to just stretch the image, probably resulting in the angle.

This hand-painted billboard for Fast and the Furious 3: Tokyo Drift uses the Western photographic template, but replaces a black-and-white series of actors with a larger colour image of the film’s star in the tradition that the hero should always dominate the poster.

It takes a while to really register which Hollywood movie this billboard is for as it’s so radically different to the Western poster. Besides which, the square-by-square enlargement process has left Tom Hanks’ likeness slightly off-base. Billboard artists are said to take seven years to perfect their craft, and the makers of this example still seem to be studying. However, by cleverly stressing the Die Hard component of the movie it becomes more attractive for a Thai audience with a universal love of explosions and a separate set of religious and mystical beliefs than those explored in the story.

This Da Vinci Code billboard is like Return of the Jedi. The problem is that the Mona Lisa probably wouldn't read that well. It's a pop cultural icon that's recognized only in the West. So, it probably would not resonate as well. They probably didn't really care to get an action movie - a chase movie, so they made it into Star Wars with people running. It basically is a chase movie so it's not unrepresentative.

Below you can find a couple more painted Thai movie posters (of mainly foreign movies but also a couple Thai movies can be found) courtesy of Psychedelicatessen, Eatbrie and Siamvillage:

Shinawatra's likely return good for Thaksin Inc but not for Thailand

2011-07-09T14:00:00.001+07:00

All dressed up in riot gear and nowhere to go. Such was the plight of two dozen Thai police officers stewing in boredom last weekend near one of Bangkok's busier nightlife districts.
Thai elections tend to be anarchic affairs for the keepers of order, with protests often deteriorating into violence. This time was different; tear gas canisters sat unused after the victory of allies of Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a 2006 coup.

...

Much is forgiven when an economy scores high growth rates. In 2010, Thailand grew the fastest in 15 years. Yet stability matters, too. The longer Thailand goes without it, the further it falls behind China. Just a decade ago, Thailand was a democratic oasis in a region of autocrats. Today, it's a political basket case.

That gets at a bigger question: why is Asia's democratic process so messy?

Thailand is Exhibit A; political demonstrations last year alone led to 91 deaths. What Thailand and its 67 million people prove is that elections aren't enough, says a report from the United Nations Development Program, titled Understanding Electoral Violence in Asia.

In recent decades, a view developed that untroubled contests were the ultimate prize. Yet, the report says, ''seeing elections as a test of democratic development, rather than a goal in themselves, provides a better conceptualisation of the processes that are needed to ensure free, fair and peaceful elections''.

read full article:

Shinawatra's likely return good for Thaksin Inc but not for Thailand

Thai Transformers in New York

2011-07-08T17:30:00.001+07:00

CNNGo had this nice article online about a Thai artist hat recreates Transformer Autobots with recycled car parts. Apparently some people are going to pay big bucks for those now:

With the box office success of “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” in the United States last weekend, it should come as no surprise fans are rushing to check out a series of Autobot statues created by Thai artist Anchalee Saengtai.

Museum chain Ripley’s Believe it or Not! recently acquired some of Anchalee’s remarkable Transformers, all made of recycled car and truck parts, for several of its attractions around the world.

The Autobot art pieces come in 6-meter-tall and 2.5-meter-tall versions.

Fittingly, Anchalee's Autobots are made entirely with old auto parts.
They’ve been appearing in a few U.S. museums over the last few weeks, but Anchalee’s work is expected to get a huge boost this Friday when her 2.5-meter version of Bumblebee will be unveiled in the Ripley's Believe It or Not in Times Square, New York.
Created entirely from recycled junk car parts, the Bumblebee figure weighs more than 450 kilos and features arms and legs that move.......

Steve Aoki is coming to Bangkok again - this time at LED club (Ex 808) on RCA

2011-07-06T12:34:00.002+07:00

Steve Aoki, scheduled to play July 28th at Led Rca. As promised we promised a surprise, we are offering everyone who attends this event a Heineken Open Bar from 9.30pm till 10.30! Pre-Event will be available starting July 8th at total reservations by visiting www.totalreservation.com or by calling 028335555. Tickets will also be available at the door all night on the day of the event.

World pet Angel, swimming course for your dog in Bangkok

2011-07-06T12:31:00.000+07:00

In tree starved Bangkok (or any outside activity for dogs that is), I could imagine that World Pet Angel is actually a good business idea. It is kind of a Spa for your dog. They also offer swimming courses for your doggie, including life vests for dogs. It is pretty funny, nobody in Europe would ever take your dog to something like this but in bangkok I am sure there are enough customers.

http://www.worldpetangel.com/main.htm