Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Official Google Blog: Introducing the Google+ project: Real-life sharing...
Official Google Blog: Introducing the Google+ project: Real-life sharing...: "Update : For our international readers, this post is also available in French , German , Italian , Japanese , Portuguese , Russian and Span..."
Monday, June 27, 2011
Thaksin Shinawatra - Talk to Al Jazeera - Al Jazeera English
At below link you can find an interview with Thaksin Shinawatra by Al Jezeera. Pretty touch interviewer. Although I think Thaksin is doing much better in interviews now than he did in the past (I think he has learned a lot) I don;t think he did very well in this one as he doesn't admit any wrong doing nor does he admit using his power to benefit himself....then again if he would do that then that would mean he admits that he was in the wrong and that the Thai government was right in taking the money from him and the military was right in stating a coup a couple years back.
Thaksin Shinawatra - Talk to Al Jazeera - Al Jazeera English
Thaksin Shinawatra - Talk to Al Jazeera - Al Jazeera English
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Silly Fools - Great alternative band from Thailand
Following are some videos from the Thai band Silly Fools, probably the best and most successful alternative band ever to exist in Thailand. They still exist today but since they parted with their lead singer (Natapol Puthpawana ("Toe")) and a Korean/American (Benjamin Jung Tuffnell ("Ben")) took its place they are not the same anymore.
They started out as a real alternative band with some pretty hard music. Just listen to one of their first albums "IQ 180" and you'll get some pretty hard alternative rock. Later on they became more commercial and softer which made them much more successful (without selling out, they really have some great songs on all their albums):
"Hey" from one of their earliest records:
"Kee Heung" also from an earlier album. This was one of their biggest hit:
"Num Lai" from a more recent record called "King Size". This also was a big hit:
"Kon Tee Ka Chun", great song:
They started out as a real alternative band with some pretty hard music. Just listen to one of their first albums "IQ 180" and you'll get some pretty hard alternative rock. Later on they became more commercial and softer which made them much more successful (without selling out, they really have some great songs on all their albums):
"Hey" from one of their earliest records:
"Kee Heung" also from an earlier album. This was one of their biggest hit:
"Num Lai" from a more recent record called "King Size". This also was a big hit:
"Kon Tee Ka Chun", great song:
Da Jim Rap Thai (hip hop) - DAJIM
Da Jim (the name is awesome :) is pretty old school in Thailand. He was one of the first doing this kind of music and to be honest he is not bad at it although his time is really over in terms of popularity. here is one of his most famous tracks
In and Out Burger: No, not in Bangkok
So a friend of mine went to California recently and I told him to pay a visit to In and Out Burger if he sees one. It is the talk of the town (still) and everybody who has eaten it says its really the best.
So here is an image of what everybody is talking about. Doesn't look too spectacular but I guess you never know until you tasted it:
So here is an image of what everybody is talking about. Doesn't look too spectacular but I guess you never know until you tasted it:
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
A Dummy's Guide To Thailand's General Election 2011
A primer to the upcoming Thai elections posted by the Bangkok Post:
Monday, June 13, 2011
The BTS Skytrain operator considers a unified ticket system for skytrain, ferries, public buses...
The below is an article from the Asian News Network. Now in general a unified ticketing system is a good thing but I think the most important linkup is strangely enough left of the article below: a link betwen the MRT and BTS systems. I wonder why and they have been talking about his since years...actually since the MRT opened up. So I really wonder whats holding them back to link up MRT and BTS. They both use smart card systems so it would just be a thing of changing the computer system, no additional or new machines required. Whereas with ferries and buses, who will pay for tall the new ticketing machines required? Here is the article:
The Bangkok Mass Transit System, the operator of the BTS Skytrain, expresses its support for a common ticket system for the skytrain, subway, ferries and public buses.
The Bangkok Mass Transit System, or BTS, Director Anat Arbhabhirama expressed his support for a common-ticket system between all forms of public transport system in Bangkok.
The common-ticket system has long been one of the development plans or campaign promises made by political parties hoping to win votes of city residents.
Anat said the BTS is more than ready to join the common-ticket system. Such a system would allow commuters to use one card to pay for all types of public transportation in the city, inclusive of the skytrain, subway, ferries and even public buses.
The Bangkok Mass Transit System, the operator of the BTS Skytrain, expresses its support for a common ticket system for the skytrain, subway, ferries and public buses.
The Bangkok Mass Transit System, or BTS, Director Anat Arbhabhirama expressed his support for a common-ticket system between all forms of public transport system in Bangkok.
The common-ticket system has long been one of the development plans or campaign promises made by political parties hoping to win votes of city residents.
Anat said the BTS is more than ready to join the common-ticket system. Such a system would allow commuters to use one card to pay for all types of public transportation in the city, inclusive of the skytrain, subway, ferries and even public buses.
More WikiLeaks cables on Thailand
Bangkok Pundit lists a few Thai cables that have recently been released on Wiki Leaks:
More WikiLeaks cables on Thailand | Asian Correspondent
More WikiLeaks cables on Thailand | Asian Correspondent
Hugo - Bread and Butter
Didn't know until now that his guy whi is called "Hugo" here is apparently Thai and grew up in Thailand (and England). I googled him and yes, i was actually able to find several songs in Thai from him. This is a pretty cool song from him and it was featured in a Victoria Secret Commercial which probably means he will have sold quite a bit of this. Anyway, its a great song:
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Cool Android HTC Advertising in Belgium
HTC put up an army of tiny Androids in Antwerp, Belgium as advertising. Prettty cool if you ask me.
Friday, June 10, 2011
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Alcademics.com
Found this great blog Alcademics.com which is apparently written by somebody who apparently likes alcohol :) In fact it's creator is a "cocktail and spirits" write by profesion. The blog has many very interesting articles online and some great insights into all things alcohol. Go check it out.
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
E3 2011: Hands-on with the Nintendo Wii U Hardware
Nintendo has introduced its Wii U console, the next generation Wii so to say that features some crazy controllers that are sort of tablet computers by themselves:
E3 2011: Hands-on with the Nintendo Wii U Hardware
E3 2011: Hands-on with the Nintendo Wii U Hardware
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Not really digging the new Central Chidlom food court
I used to have lunch here every day, and we'll almost. Then came the redecorating and now it's just not as good anymore. Just the booth that sells the Massaman curry is still there which is good. The rest is so so. Shame on you Central.
L-Lingo Thai: A cool new app for learning Thai on an Android phone
Finally a proper learning tool for Thai for Android smartphones. L-Lingo is actually available for many different languages.
The free version of L-Lingo Thai is here and the paid for version can be found here.
All the other apps I tried are pretty useless (at least o me) phrasebooks for travelers. This here is a great way to learn some new words. It is an Adobe Air app, so you need Air installed also. It runs prettty smooth on my Sony Arc phone. There is loads of lessons in the paid version, overall 65 different ones. In each one you get a mix of different exercises to do. You might have somebody speak a Thai sentence and then get a choice of images to choose from the right answer.
Or you might just get a Thai sentence without sound (to learn to read) and then also choose the answer from an image. There are other types of quiz questions available. You can choose if you want to see Thai letters (if you can read Thai already0 or if you want phonetics (for beginners).
i thin kits a simple app but has lots of content and overall is well worth the 15 USD it costs. Thats on the upper side for Android apps and Im not sure how much they will sell at hat price but language apps tend to be more high priced and for the amount of content you get this is an OK deal.
The free version of L-Lingo Thai is here and the paid for version can be found here.
All the other apps I tried are pretty useless (at least o me) phrasebooks for travelers. This here is a great way to learn some new words. It is an Adobe Air app, so you need Air installed also. It runs prettty smooth on my Sony Arc phone. There is loads of lessons in the paid version, overall 65 different ones. In each one you get a mix of different exercises to do. You might have somebody speak a Thai sentence and then get a choice of images to choose from the right answer.
Or you might just get a Thai sentence without sound (to learn to read) and then also choose the answer from an image. There are other types of quiz questions available. You can choose if you want to see Thai letters (if you can read Thai already0 or if you want phonetics (for beginners).
i thin kits a simple app but has lots of content and overall is well worth the 15 USD it costs. Thats on the upper side for Android apps and Im not sure how much they will sell at hat price but language apps tend to be more high priced and for the amount of content you get this is an OK deal.
2 new Thai movies over at cHinKy's mOviE sPoiLer: Bangkok Traffic (Love) Story and Yamada : The Samurai of Ayothaya
Thai-Movie: Bangkok Traffic (Love) Story
Set along the hustle and bustle of central Bangkok, 30 year old Mei Li approaches the doorsteps of spinsterhood with dread. One day, Mei Li accidently meets Bangkok Transit System eployee Lung, who makes her heart flutter instantly. She wonders to herself why such a cool guy would toil away in a odd night time job, but she also believes he is the ideal man for her. Mei Li then decides to take the iniative for the first time in her life and go after her dream guy. Unfortunately for Mei Lei, she has zero experience in wooing a man and her neighbor Pluen soon takes interest in the same guy!
Based on a true character, the movie tells the story of Yamada Nagamasa, a Japanese warrior who settled in Ayutthaya in the 16th Century and became a soldier in King Naresuan’s army. After the battle with Burma, Ayutthaya remains in a state of unrest after a group of mysterious men stage a campaign of terror and robbery. Yamada investigates and finds that the men are actually rogue Japanese samurai. He then has a score to settle with his own countrymen.
March of Heroes - iPhone/iPad/Android Game using the Unreal Engine
Hard to believe that his is running on a phone. Amazing how quickly smartphone processors and games are progressing, much faster than PC games right now. If they keep up the pace it won't be long until smartphones will run very similar stuff than a PC.
Monday, June 6, 2011
Shoot the music festival in Hua Hin short movie "Cat"
A short film called "Cat" that was shown at the Shoot the Music festival in Hua Hin. The whole thing was orchestrated by Pen-Ek, one of Thailand's most famous and best directors.
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Kaoklai vs. Mighty Mo: Best KO ever at K1
Kaoklai, after Buakaow the most famous Thai fighter at K1 was fighting Mighty Moe from New Zealand in this match. The difference in body size is crazy but this fight took a bit of an unexpected end. Absolutely fantastic KO by Kaoklai, you won't see something like this every day. Just watch the whole thing...
Friday, June 3, 2011
Google +1 could be pretty good if people start using it
Since yesterday Google has opened up the new "Google +1" to all websites online, not just their search results like before. I started using it now, I also saw it popping up as an option here on my blogspot Blog. So the fight has started to take over what the Facebook Like button started. But I think Google could turn this into something just as big or even bigger.
One of the advantages I think Google has is that they can deeply integrate it into their Android mobile OS which is now the most popular smartphone OS in the world. Also, they can integrate it into Chrome. Here is an extension that one can use in Chrome:
http://goo.gl/A91Im
Chrome is quickly gaining popularity and is already one of the biggest browser platforms, for good reason. It is quicker and more minimal than IE or FireFox and significantly faster. I am really curious how the Google +1 project will turn out. I hope it will do well so we do have an alternative to Facebook Like.
The purpose of all this of course are customized social search results. If you +1 any website and your friends search for this topic they will see the pages the you +1 before before other results. Over time this could be very useful.
One of the advantages I think Google has is that they can deeply integrate it into their Android mobile OS which is now the most popular smartphone OS in the world. Also, they can integrate it into Chrome. Here is an extension that one can use in Chrome:
http://goo.gl/A91Im
Chrome is quickly gaining popularity and is already one of the biggest browser platforms, for good reason. It is quicker and more minimal than IE or FireFox and significantly faster. I am really curious how the Google +1 project will turn out. I hope it will do well so we do have an alternative to Facebook Like.
The purpose of all this of course are customized social search results. If you +1 any website and your friends search for this topic they will see the pages the you +1 before before other results. Over time this could be very useful.
Best Japanese restaurant in Silom area
Bangkok has loads of Japanese restaurants and many expensive ones. So it is nice to find this jewel hidden away in Silom Soi 6 (it is very close to the Suriwong side, more far away from the Silom side of the soi). If I read right its name is Yamazaki and it is in a townhouse. This place is managed by Japanese people and they are also still standing in the kitchen and actually cooking the food.The interior is nice and cozy. You are presented a menu that has several items on it but its far away from those menus where you have thousands of choices.
If you go during lunch time you will see that a lot of Japanese who work in the area will stop by here. In fact, I was shown this place by a Japanese friend of mine, otherwise I would have not found it. Yamazaki opens until 14:00, then closes and reopens again at 18:00. I made the mistake several times to come in between so be aware of this.
They offer a few dishes but he ones they offer they do right. The specialty is obviously "Tonkatsu", fried pork steak. Now forget he stuff you get at Fuji and the likes. You simply cannot compare it. It is just delicious! And the size is large. You can choose between medium and large size and I suggest you start with the medium size as it is really big. Together with the Tonkatsu part you get a small bowl with Sesame in it that you have to grind first before mixing it with the Tonkatsu sauce. You also get salad together with he Tonkatsu....but you have to inquire about the salad dressing if you want some.
I suggest o order a Sake here. You will get it in a square wooden cup, overflowing into a wooden plate...not sure how to call that but I never got it presented this way in Bangkok. Must be Japanese style. Best part is the price, a medium Tonkatsu set with a soup is under 200 Baht. Highly recommended!
If you go during lunch time you will see that a lot of Japanese who work in the area will stop by here. In fact, I was shown this place by a Japanese friend of mine, otherwise I would have not found it. Yamazaki opens until 14:00, then closes and reopens again at 18:00. I made the mistake several times to come in between so be aware of this.
They offer a few dishes but he ones they offer they do right. The specialty is obviously "Tonkatsu", fried pork steak. Now forget he stuff you get at Fuji and the likes. You simply cannot compare it. It is just delicious! And the size is large. You can choose between medium and large size and I suggest you start with the medium size as it is really big. Together with the Tonkatsu part you get a small bowl with Sesame in it that you have to grind first before mixing it with the Tonkatsu sauce. You also get salad together with he Tonkatsu....but you have to inquire about the salad dressing if you want some.
I suggest o order a Sake here. You will get it in a square wooden cup, overflowing into a wooden plate...not sure how to call that but I never got it presented this way in Bangkok. Must be Japanese style. Best part is the price, a medium Tonkatsu set with a soup is under 200 Baht. Highly recommended!
Thursday, June 2, 2011
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