Two years ago, Marut Sarowat was elated by his first take on directing a Broadway-style musical, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.
WORLD BEAT
The first electric band from the Horn of Africa I saw perform live was the backing band for Sudanese superstar Abdel Gadir Salim, the All-Stars (sometimes called the Merdum Kings).
CLASSICAL
This recording of the Pastorale is unique. It captures, live, the only performance that Carlos Kleiber has ever given of the Pastorale.
DVD ADDICT
During the 1960s and 1970s the Japanese director Shohei Imamura made a series of tough, disenchanted movies about human behaviour at its worst in modern urban settings. Vengeance is Mine, a psychological serial murderer movie that no viewer ever forgets, looks at its subject so deeply and unsparingly that it shakes even those capable of snoozing through, say, The Silence of the Lambs.
MOVIE Review
Hancock, Starring Will Smith, Charlize Theron, Jason Bateman, Directed by Peter Berg.: Early on in Hancock, it looks as if someone has finally deconstructed the superhero mythology, bound tightly by the Marvel Comics tradition, and subverted the playbook with proud, jolly blasphemy.
NEW SCENTS
Well into the middle of the year with nothing exciting coming your way? Time to reprogramme your life and get out of your regular routine. Your wardrobe may also need an overhaul, along with make-up and that signature scent you've been wearing for a long, long time.
Two big rock bands, Travis from the UK and Simple Plan from Canada, will be performing together for the first time at Impact Arena, Muang Thong Thani on Tue, July 29.
To promote awareness of global warming and to show their environmental concern, Siam Discovery and Siam Commercial Bank are holding an exhibition showcasing eco-friendly furniture creatively designed by Assist Prof Dr Singh Intrachooto of Kasetsart University's Faculty of Architecture. The exhibition will be running at the Grand Hall on the 1st floor of Siam Discovery shopping centre from July 8-14.
The Bayer Young Environmental Envoy Programme invites eligible high school and university students aged 15-25 years to enter the "Bayer Young Environmental Envoy (BYEE) Competition 2008" to vie for an educational trip to Germany.
BOOK REVIEW
A fishing village on the Gulf of Thailand, surrounded by farmland, Thap Phraya didn't rate space on maps of the Kingdom a half-century ago. It was peripatetic farangs who came upon it, viewed the pristine beach and waxed ecstatic. Word spread. No particular person "discovered" the place, though a number make the claim.
BOOK REVIEW
This reviewer has a peculiarity (more than one, but I'll come to the others later). When I pick up a work of crime fiction, I like to read about the crime - murder, robbery, drugs, whatever. How it was investigated, solved. Twists and turns are expected.
CREATIVE OFFICE GADGETS
Working in the cyber world era can be boring if you hate to spend most of your time in front of the computer. But it should be fun for those who get the knack of choosing the right gizmos to jazz up office life.
EATING OUT
Local restaurant hunters know where to find good Korean food in Bangkok. But when it comes to specifying the best Korean restaurant, most of them seem only to have a vague idea. Admittedly, I am one of those people - the people who cherish the tempting aroma and juicy flavour of grilled bulgogi and galbi but find it hard to differentiate those of one restaurant from those of another.
WHY WINE
Among recent emails addressed to Chateau d'O by assiduous readers, an interesting message notes that while in the USA it is possible to find "eminently drinkable wines at around $10 (335 baht) per bottle, what with the high taxes on wine in Thailand, could you recommend a few drinkable wines at a range of prices."
EATING OUT
A musical ear might hear a lively marching rhythm in the chorus of motorcycle horns that begins at sunrise in the southern Vietnamese city of Ho Chi Minh City and continues all day and into the evening. It was against this sonic backdrop that I met up for a Thai meal with a friend I had known since high school.
NEW OUTLET
Three days ago I had the best patty melt and mushroom Swiss burger in years. No, it was not at some fine burger joint on 16th Street in downtown Denver that I used to frequent during my years in the States. But it was right here in the middle of Bangkok, on the second floor of Siam Center shopping mall.
THIS IS LIFE
He's smart, he's gorgeous and probably the fastest driver in the world. But when he goes out for a drink, seven-times world racing champion, Michael Schumacher always leaves his car at home.
Mandarina Duck, a well-known Italian brand name for handbags and luggage, recently opened its flagship store on the first floor Atrium Zone of CentralWorld.
KENNETH COLE NEW YORK
Leading American fashion house, Kenneth Cole New York introduces its men's ready-to-wear collection in Bangkok. The new collection of everyday essentials for year-round wear, is for men who prefer a wardrobe that blends simplicity with modern stylishness.
COACH FALL COLLECTION 2008
Leading American design house Coach presents a new direction with sophisticated, polished looks and rich materials and textures for its Fall collection 2008. Bag, baubles and outerwear are designed in stylish silhouettes with iconic Coach hardware.
WHAT'S ON
Rhythm of life
WHAT'S ON
Sukhumvit
WHAT'S ON
Renaissance arts
