Last night when I went to see Batman Begins (which was great) I noticed how old and ratty Grand EGV is looking these days. Maybe I’m imagining it because I had to wait an hour and a half for the film but the entire place looks like it could use a good clean, repaint and just general tidying up.

The amount of staff serving customers could be improved too, since the hour and a half wait was a result of the delay in purchasing the tickets. There were about 20 people in line and two staff serving them! In the western world this wouldn’t be a problem, but I’ve noticed that Thai people seem to take an inordinate amount of time to buy tickets. It probably doesn’t help that the staff are forced to follow ridiculously complicated processes where half the work is by computer, the other half by paper and they still have to get up and walk into the office area to do ’something’.

My whole reason for posting was actually to comment on the amazingly long and numerous commercials before the film! I’ve never sat through so many commercials before a film in my life, not to mention that just as the film was set to begin (after we’d all paid respect to the King) the projectionist screwed up and we had to wait a nother few minutes while he figured out how to work the projector.

Has anyone else who’s been to Grand EGV recently noticed the huge amount of commercials before a film??

French Festival 2005 in Bangkok. 6-24 June. See here for the info in Thai and see here for French. Please google English one by urself. I recommend the French Movie Fest. It last till this Sunday. schedule

I catched “Les Temps qui changent” last night, It was good. We booked the tickets by phone (90b/seat, all movies show at Major Cineplex, Central World Plaza). We supposted to pick up the tickets 30 mins before the showtime. Guess what! yes… thanks to the traffic, we couldn’t make it. It was 15 mins before the show and the seats are all sold, few of them are reserved for press. We wait till the show time tho and we get the press seat :P . which is the best row in the teather. thanks to the traffic!

In a soi (street) behind the building I live in there are many food shops and stalls that my other half and I eat at regularly, one of them being a noodle shop that is a personal favourite (I can’t recall the name). We ate there last night and upon arriving the staff asked where I’d been (I hadn’t eaten there for a month or so) because they’d noticed I hadn’t been coming there.

When I sat down one of the staff wrote something in Thai and gave it to me and explained (not to me) that I should try to copy what she wrote. I didn’t know if refusing would mean a refusal of service so I tried, only to have my other half comment on how my writing looks like a childs, which is actually pretty good in my books.

I don’t know if I am getting special treatment from the staff, who always give me free refills of the red coloured drink I have, but I haven’t noticed them being this way to any other customers.

Anyway, the food’s really good and I even saw it on television once, so it must be popular. Funnily enough, my favourite dish there is fried chicken with rice and some special seasoning thing they do, no noodles involved.

If my camera was working, I’d take a pic and post it… stupid Canon…

i’ve been meaning to post this:

Twilight Pandagirl
Friday 17 June
8pm to 2am
@ Spoon (1st floor, U Chu Liang Building (HSBC), corner Saladaeng & Rama 4 (02-641 5394, 01-254 6690))
150baht admission

Information & updates from www.pandarecords.com

Media Inquires, please contact Awattha (01-642 9667)

Live Set:
Bear Garden
The Darlings
Temporary Channel
Eastbound Downers
Adulterer
The Real Surreal

DJ S et:
DJ Bunga & DJ Xu [Twilight Actiongirl, from Zou k , Kuala Lumpur ]

Bang kok ’s indie label Panda Records joins with Twilight Actiongirl, Kuala Lumpur’s roc k ing new club night, for one big party at Twilight Pandagirl (Fri June 17 at S poon). Expect a night of high-energy, drun k en, unpretentious fun. In between live sets from six Panda bands the Twilight Actiongirl DJs Bunga & Xu spin an eclectic mix of Britpop, garage rock , ska, classic soul, electro and all points in-between. Feel it!

About the performers:

Twilight Actiongirl Like Bangkok ’s Noise Pop and Dude/Sweet parties, this Kuala Lumpur collective grew out a group of friends frustrated with generic dance music and hip-hop. Their roving, do-it- you rself parties gathered such a following that they clinched the Friday night slot at The Loft, at Zouk (KL’s hottest club). Twilight Actiongirl opens minds and ears to new and vintage tunes (from Yeah Yeah Yeahs and The Rolling Stones to The Killers and Depeche Mode). Don’t be disappointed that they’re not actually girls, though!

Bear Garden La La La La! Sweet as candy, but a little bit strange this boy/girl pop group burst with sing-along harmonies that just make you smile. If music is plants, songwriter Somsiri (June) Sangkeaw is the gardener

what would a bangkok summer be like without good ‘ol paul ?

Sat June 18 @ Narcissus on Soi Sukhumvit 23.
Advance ticket is B500, call (02) 258-4805
at-the-door is B700!!

“rub nong” is essentially hazing. 2nd, 3rd, 4th year students of each faculty of study has a weekend or so to welcome the incoming freshman/first year student. i suppose it’s similar to orientation, but with a twist.

at some universities the upperclassmen take the new students on out-of-town trips (which are most of the time not school supported) to “welcome” and have them “initiated” into the faculty of study. the initiation process ranges from playing HR-esque games that build trust and letting participants to get to know each other, to just plain stupid stunts like being ordered to eat a sandwich packed with wasabi.

the degrees of stupidity of course also varies, from year to year, school to school. of course there have been tragic accidents (because afterall these are just college kids 18-22).

i think what pailin is trying to say about some of the activities being “very inappropriate and morally wrong” is that hazing is already such a sensitive topic. what’s too much or too little? paddling by a cricket bat/paddle thinger while crawling on all fours? having to strip down to your boxers/panties because your seniors said so?

it’s a complex issue i suppose, that’s why most schools don’t sponsor out of town “rub nong” trips, the most is they’ll probably hold an orientation day where kids can play games and what not and get to know each other.

why do kids agree to do humilating stunts like this? well that just opens a whole other book i suppose? it can be the fear of seniority (seniority plays a very big role in thai culture) to wanting to be popular or accepted by peers.

students that partake in this tradition either come out loving or hating. it’s not meant to be anything lethal ofcourse, nobody wants anybody to die, but yes from time to time there are bad punk ass kids that just don’t know when to stop, and somebody gets hurt.

i went to “rub nong” when i was doing a semester at a thai university, and i had a lot of fun. i saw some kids having to eat soy sauce drenched ice cream and other kids being made to drink cups of chili sauce and what not. it’s silly and stupid, but it can be fun, just as long as you can be in control of yourself. when you go on these “rub nong” trips, you have nobody else but yourself to trust for your own well being.

Note : I’ve edited the entry with a photo… just to make it easier to understand what I was trying to write about 16/6/05

Having read the newspapers today and saw the picture of “Rub Nong” which means welcome freshy in English kind of disturb me. It’s the culture that Thailand’s Universities established in order to create unity for the newcomers and current students. I think that some of the activities are very inappropriate and morally wrong… Take a look at this pict for example.

This picture was taken last year at one of the private university. It’s one of the activities aiming to “create the bond between Freshies and current students at university”

I never had a chance to join “Rub Nong” activity in Thailand as I spend most of my student years in Australia, Maybe… elaboration of Rub Nong might be a good way out and replace with “University’s Orientation” instead
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The other day, someone said “Thai ppl are peaceful coz: for the very worst case, we just blame it on wain-gum.” I’ve never realized that but I think it’s quite true.

Let me try explaining ‘wain-gum’ now. Gum literally means ‘Action’. Err.. I’m not very sure what wain means. Let’s say, in this context, wain-gum = gum.

For buddhism belief, action always come with reaction; same as Newton’s first law. What ever action you do, sooner or later, the result of that action will return. it applies to both good and bad ones. So when you get into really really bad situation, you can sooth yourself by thinking of it as “It might be the result of my old Gum ” That’s make it easier to let go– no need to be furious/be upset with anyone coz it’s all because of you yourself… may be it’s what you did yesterday, last month, last year.. or even..last life.

One of my friend said “my next-life self, you’d better be careful!”

i don’t normally take motorbikes. actually, i haven’t taken a motorcycle taxi since 1998. today for the first time since, i took one from bangkok city tower to all seasons place, because i had to get there in 10 minutes during 6pm rush hour.

jeebus.

i swear i thought i was going to die about 10 zillion times. mad props to people who take those things daily. first horrible factor was wearing the communial crash helmet that made sure it ruined my coif. second was weaving in and out of traffic in the middle of sathorn and wireless road. thank goodness i wore pants so i was able to straddle the motorbike. is straddle the right word? i honestly can’t imagine sitting sideways like most of the girls do on the back of the bike. and my exit off the bike definitely needs more work. i don’t think i’ll be going on any more motorbikes soon, at least not in the middle of rush hour. too stressful.

being a car driver in bangkok, from calling motorbikes, cockcroaches of the road, i think after this experience i’ve become more compassionate regarding motorbikes on the main road.

Okie.. I actually got confused a bit about what language to use. But finally I decided! I