What’s Happening?
11th December – 28th January 2011 ANCIENT TEXTILES, LIVING ART: TREASURES FROM THE LOOMS OF INDONESIA, LAOS, AND THAILAND @ The Patricia Cheesman Collection Gallery Studio Naenna www.studio-naena.com 053 226 042 There will be a showcase of woven artworks from Patricia’s personal collection of the exquisite and mysterious weavings of three cultures: Indonesia, Laos, and Thailand. Now – 31st January … Continued
City Sport
[right][/right] The Farangutans Chiang Mai’s expat team came back from their Phuket East Asia tournament fairly happy. Out of 22 (over 50 teams in the whole tournament) teams in the seniors they came third, being knocked out 1-0 by the eventual winners, a Phuket side. The guys are always looking for local teams to play so if you want to play them, or know someone who does, please get in touch. far … Continued
Community Services
• Dog of the Month Leo This handsome male is 4 years old. He is a well-framed larger breed that loves walks and activities. He is very friendly, has a lot of energy and would make a great family dog. He would do really well with another doggie friend or friends to join him in the fun! Many of our volunteers have fallen for Leo, so best snap him up quick! Contact the shelter English (084 752 5255) … Continued
A Retiring Attitude
Most of us retirees are old enough to remember Canned Heat’s declaration from Woodstock that they were “Going up the country … where the water tastes like wine.” I’ve run into some Expats here in Thailand who have taken that to heart. A growing number of expats are deciding to live in rural, upcountry, Thailand. Since so many new expats are considering just such a move I thought I would ask some p … Continued
City Buzz
Just opened directly opposite the Phucome Hotel is this new coffee shop – with a twist. We say with a twist because they serve all kinds of food, from Thai weekly specials to Italian pizzas and pastas, as well as German sausage. The coffee is Doi Chang coffee so it’s good stuff, plus they serve teas, frappes and smoothies. The place itself is ultra cool – the owner being an architect – and has som … Continued
City Vibes
Artist: Massive Attack Album: Atlas Air EP Rating: This is a remix work of Massive Attack’s Atlas Air track, released on the disappointing Heligoland earlier this year. Tim Goldworthy and Jneiro Jarel turn what was a disco-drunk smack daddy into a more textural but equally bent trip-hop extrapolation, with some cool twists. In fact, this remix odyssey is truer to the deep, dark and lonely tunnels … Continued
Chiang Mai on the WWW
www.pastacafechiangmai.com www.pastacafechiangmai.com Pasta Café, a Chiang Mai success story, has been serving our city’s residents great, affordable pasta and other Italian dishes since 2004. You can dine in gorgeous surroundings of gardens with smooth lawns, flowers and trees, or you can choose to dine indoors in a traditional Lanna house. Their new website has details of their menu, as w … Continued
City Wine
CityWine is the new wine initiative by Citylife. During the last quarter of 2010, CityWine organised a number of wine-focussed events supporting local establishments while stocking up the wine fridges of many wine buyers at well under retail prices. Two events in particular were a hit: the Oriental Fusion dinner at Ratchamankha Hotel was a top class event and the Gymkhana Club tasting was also a g … Continued
Stuck on Innovation
There is a difference between invention and innovation. Invention is the creation of something that didn’t previously exist where as innovation can be thought of as developing a new way to look at or use something that already exists. To me, one of the best examples of this is the ‘Post-It’ note. The little yellow squares of paper that can be stuck to something with a message written on it and the … Continued
The Next Robot Generation
The MC Robot Club room at the Montfort College echoes with the intense tapping and buzzing from an eight-legged plastic creature hectically chasing around a ping pong ball on the floor. As soon as the ball is within reach, the short robot flips out its one metal arm in a dramatic manner and flings the ball high up the air in a roundhouse kick motion. The onlookers better duck for the flying ping p … Continued
The Automatic Future is Here
At first glance, the girl dancing and singing on YouTube could fool you into thinking she’s no different from the four other dancers on stage though after a bit of scrutiny, you notice her somewhat mechanical, though still impressively smooth, movements, Although in the end, when her short yellow dress flashes a pair of silver robot legs, the game is up! Her name is HRP-4C (catchy!), and she is a … Continued
This Island – Koh Yao Noi
It would be tempting to swamp this story with hundreds of dazzling adjectives, to wring out a litany of worship and praise for the island of Koh Yao Noi. It would be easy to do that. No doubt the discerning reader is somewhat unmoved these days with ‘friendly smiles’ ‘spectacular sunsets’ ‘charming people’ and ‘sparkling waters’. But because Koh Yao Noi is such a praiseworthy and adjective-iable i … Continued
Where Thai Women Stand: the Status of Thai Women Today
Virada Somswasdi has been teaching law at Chiang Mai University since 1973. She holds a LL.B. degree from Chulalongkorn University and an LL.M. from Cornell University, USA. In 1986 she established the Women’s Studies Programme (1993 developed as Women’s Studies Centre and 2009 gave birth to Women’s Studies Department) at Chiang Mai University. Her teaching subjects include Family Law, Feminist Ju … Continued
Innovative Chiang Mai
Although Chiang Mai might not be quite as forward thinking as Tokyo, Hong Kong or Dubai, it doesn’t mean we don’t have our own little niche of inventive and innovative thinkers. Citylife has investigated some of the most recent innovations created by Chiang Mai’s creative thinkers, scientists and IT experts. The Sign Language Translator This brand new Thai Sign Language software programme enables … Continued
Innoative Tourism
[i]Local business introduces innovative global solution for tourism SMEs. It’s Chiang Mai Pilot Project to provide 1001 macro & small sized tourism businesses with affordable, effective market access. [/i] If the local (and global) tourism industry is to meet the rapidly changing expectations of its customers, and provide the long promised but as yet undelivered benefits to the host communiti … Continued
2010
James deputy editor • About 3 a.m. last year on January 1st in Fabrique nightclub the music, people dancing – time – froze, and I spoke to some kind of spiritual entity on the dance floor. • The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen. Non Fiction: The End of Theory by Terry Eagleton. • Grizzly Man, or Into the Wild. • Any relentlessly insipid, creative vacuum talent shows on TV where life’s armchair idol … Continued
The Life of Wine
The Spanish Armada – here to stay. I trust most of us have made it through to 2011 relatively unscathed and if you imbibed your favourite nectar a little too much, then I hope your recovery was swift. I have news for you on hangover cures – there aren’t any. Some advice though…drink quality. Your body will thank you in the morning. 2010 saw the birth of the new wine initiative from CityWine, the … Continued
Your Say
• The Horror Continued James Austin Farrell’s article about crass photos in the Thai media appeared to suggest that the ethics of Thai journalists are the main (only?) line of defence against the types of graphic images he writes about. In fact the Thai Constitution (2007) _ which is meant to be the overarching law of Thailand _ states the following: Section 35. A person’s family rights, dignity, … Continued
This is Thailand
1. What do I do here if I have a computer problem, a virus or some other kind of problem? James: If you can’t fix it yourself you can take it to Icon Plaza, one of the buildings on the left side of the moat after you’ve gone through the traffic lights at Central Kad Suan Kaew heading into town. There’s a little shop on the bottom floor called IT System, Tel: 081 681 1515 who will fix your computer … Continued
Citylife In-house
Citylife Next Issue: Strange Love Traditional love? Romantic love? Forgettaboutit… Citylife will add some twists to love in our next issue, so watch this space! CityNow! New design CityNow! Chiang Mai and the north of Thailand’s online source of events and activities. Visit www.city-now.com to see the new look and check out our new cool design in the colourful graffiti theme. Share your photogra … Continued
Chiang Mai a Creativity City
Chiang Mai, primarily depending on agriculture, tourism and handicrafts, has in recent years – as if you haven’t noticed – begun to reinvent itself somewhat as a much more modern, cosmopolitan city with a more diversified industry. The city has given rise to numerous media, IT, digital design and software companies, as well as a veritable tsunami of small start-ups, especially around the Nimmanhae … Continued
The Climate Change Summit
The sun is setting at the world’s summit meeting on Climate Change in Cancun. At least two TV journalists came down to the beach to do their closing pieces. The conference is not over just yet. But close enough. At the meeting venue, the blame game has started and it is not going to be over until the wee hours of the morning. It seems the meeting did live up to expectations. Low expectations. Howe … Continued
Editorial
Gosh, we are in a tizz! There is nothing traditional about media anymore is there? As Wiki oozes and leaks shame, humiliation, truths, gossip and opinion, sparing no one in its inexorable path, we oscillate between satisfaction at catching the elusive and secretive at their most naked, and indignation, paranoia and fear for our very own privacy and security. Do we have the ‘right’ to all knowledge … Continued