Daren

Nipit is a twit.

The online society recently slammed the Ministry of Culture’s website as it had posted paintings of the seven Nang Songkran goddesses during the festival. The goddesses were dressed in traditional costumes revealing their bare breasts and were compared with the incident at Silom.

Reacting to the criticism, Mr Nipit responded that he has already ordered removal of the image. He however asked all Thais to view the paintings as pieces of art, not pornography; otherwise, all Thai sculptures ranging from the mermaid to angels and kinnarees must be banned from displays.

I guess he can't look at those underdressed ladies on Silom as beautiful pieces of art and not pornography.

Porn is showing sex not simple nudity of persons of legal age.

While I agree, Nipit is a twit, your definition of pornography is not entirely correct. Pornography is often defined as:

"The portrayal of explicit sexual subject matter for the purposes of sexual excitement and erotic satisfaction."

In this case, those dancing girls probably fall into this genre. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy a great adisplay of boobs as much as the next guy, we should be accurate in our language.

Unless Thailand is willing to adopt some practices followed in Western education, the teachers will not be able to influence the areas which are in desperate need of development. There are a large number of reoccurring problems in Western/Thai classrooms, and unless they are addressed from the top-down, no real improvements are possible.

The fear of failure is a real motivator, but the system for failing students is just a sham here. Students are obviously pushed on through the grades regardless of the academic achievements. Most of the good, certified western teachers I meet over here complain endlessly about this issue.

A much larger difference which continually create problems in "farang-led" classrooms is that westerner students are taught and encouraged to be individualistic and act as free-thinkers. Thais typically do not value those sorts of skills, and in fact they are discouraged subtly and overtly. Raising one's hand in class is often seen a sign that that student doesn't understand - something which is terribly embarrassing in the group-think environment.

Of course, the west doesn't have a corner on education and they're not doing everything correctly, but there has been a LOT of good work done in the last 30 or 40 years which has not been adopted here in the Land of Smiles.

Hey folks, I'm in the market for an add-on battery pack for my new iPod Touch 4g. I love the thing but there is no way the battery will last the duration of my up coming plane trip "home". So, where can I find a decent extended battery pack in BKK? I saw a few small and dodgy items at Pantip last week but nothing really good. I didn't do a good hunt though.

Something along the lines of this might be good:

New Trent ifuel IMP500 5000mAh external Battery pack

Any tips where to find a good battery extender is greatly appreciated!

No. Way.

Sadly, this is not surprising. The amount of sugar they consume in various forms is insane. Consider the fact the nearly EVERY beverage and most sweets are absolutely saturated with sugar, combine that with the fact white rice is metabolized into sugar VERY quickly, you have a recipe for type II diabetes. How many new cases could be prevented with a modicum of education and social advertising?

It's just nuts to me that more people don't eat brown rice. Not only is it FAR better for you, it's better for the environment too - less processing equals less waste.

Even more reason to eat at La Monita (Except Sundays)

Don't waste your money with anything else. This place has the best high end quality Mexican in Bangkok. ..and I was their worst critic until I tried it. The other places don't even come close.

There's nothing 'high end' about La Monita. Nada. Salsas in squirt bottles? French fries smothered in over-sauced 'carne asada'? Cramped dining area, slow service if there are more than five customers.

I had higher expectations for Mexican food.

I haven't been back to Azteca (ex-Tacos & Salsa) since it changed. Still might be worth a try.

Didn't you see Jorge's request that people not give money to the new owners? Seems a bit heartless to support the people that screwed him.

What more could a boy ask for???

thanks for that, mate. Not really my bag, but you never know, it might come in handy some day!

Is there any minimum purchase with that, bkkjames? Or could I just walk in with 9 people and get my cake?

In my home country, if it's your birthday there is a host of options for freebies and deals all over the place. You might go for a free breakfast, free, movie, free drinks, free toys etc. etc. etc. The problem is, I haven't lived in BKK long enough to know about the best deals in town!

I'm turning the big, round 3-3, and I'm not too picky! Do you know of any cool or special birthday deals?

Thanks for your posts folks!

PS - Let's keep it to official or guaranteed offers only please... I know what you're thinking! *wink, wink* *nudge, nudge*

Ohhh I see what you mean... like:

"How do you spot a uni student? By the rotten air of superiority and blind certainty that follows them everywhere."

If you get them made, I strongly suggest you do not make the outer layer of fabric black. I did that once it heated up the room something nasty! If I did it again, I would use silver, or perhaps white on the side that faces out the window.

Good luck!

Good tips, thanks folks! I think I should try that shop.

I was sort of expecting someone to reply with info on a sale at a mall, but I guess could be cheaper and possibly better. I wonder how much one can really expect to save?

Thanks again!

Hey folks, the topic really says it all - there is a birthday coming up, and I want to get something nice without spending a fortune. The girl likes perfume, but it can be very expensive. I'm not so cheap as to buy the copy stuff, but I'm no fool either.

Are there currently any malls in C. Bangkok that are offering particularly good prices on good ol' eau d'toilet? She said she likes many different brands, such as Lancome and Clinique...

Any help is greatly appreciated!

Details...? Who needs 'em?

People are gullible... it's sad but true.

Interesting piece of software. Thanks for sharing. I don't think it's worth it to me at the moment though.

Ahh... well I am using GoogleDNS because I have found it speeds up the majority of sites I visit. Hmmm... wonder what I should do: deal with TV being slow or the rest of the web?

Thanks for the reply!

I have a pretty bad connection here at home - SmartZone Wifi (boooo!!) - but the TV site seems exceedingly slow since the "upgrade". Page often seem to hang while loading and everything just feels sluggish.

Also, pages seem to never stop "loading". In Firefox 3.6.3, I get the spinning icon indefinitely on every page I try to load, even if all the images and content has appeared.

Any one else getting this or is it just my crap connection?

Pepperoroni is Italian... and Chorizo Spanish

Gotta disagree with ya there, Lazy.

While it might be considered splitting hairs, Wiki explains thusly:

Pepperoni is a spicy Italian-American variety of salami (a dry sausage) usually made from cured pork and beef,[1][2] but poultry may be added, if labeled correctly, for less expensive versions[3]. It is a descendant of the spicy salamis of southern Italy, such as salsiccia Napoletana piccante, a spicy dry sausage from Naples or the soppressata from Calabria. Pepperoni is a popular pizza topping in American-style pizzerias. Also, it is sometimes used to make sub sandwiches.

The term pepperoni is a corruption of peperoni, the plural of peperone, the Italian word for capsicum.

To order the American version of pepperoni in Italy, one would request salame piccante or salamino piccante (hot salami, generally typical of Calabria). The Italian name for a pepperoni pizza is pizza alla diavola (with hot sausages).

Throughout continental Europe, peperone is a common word for various types of capsicum, including bell peppers and a small, spicy and often pickled pepper known as peperoncino or peperone piccante in Italy and pepperoncini or banana peppers in the U.S.

Sodium nitrite, used as a curing agent, is what gives pepperoni the pink part of its distinct orange-pink color,[1] while paprika or other capsicum provides the orange part.

Unlike in Europe, the English word pepperoni is used as a singular uncountable noun.

Halal or Kosher pepperoni may be made from beef or poultry.

I am sick and tired of seeing and hearing about hit and run accidents! They penalty for such pathetic behavior should be far more SEVERE!! Perhaps then we would see a reduction in the this cowardly, pitiful practice!

Some people make me sick!

Who wrote the tests though? Of course I would never underestimate a teacher's stupidity, nor would I put it past the exam writers to create a test that wasn't passable by anyone! I see a disturbing number of multiple tests with multiple correct answers or worse.... no correct answer!

Surely not all of the blame lays on the shoulders of the teachers.

@Cardholder, that's precisely why I want affect a positive change in the relatively small groups of students I teach.

@Harry, good idea. I will swing by their Suk branch and make an inquiry.

If anyone has ever gotten free jimmy hats anywhere in BKK, please chime in!

Also, it looks like TV's shiny new skin is causing some multiple post issues. Waiter!! There's a double post in soup!

Err.... Harry, are you suggesting I get them to practice the with real thing? YIKES!

As for my methods, I'm 100% certain that if they can get a rubber on a carrot, they can get it on the real thing. The carrots available here make many boys blush! Besides, it takes far more coordination to slip one on a untethered banana than the real McCoy!

555... I'm glad someone made the joke! But honestly when you go through as many as I do, you need to start cutting corners somewhere... And he sets up another one, who's gonna knock it out of the park?

In all seriousness they're for educational purposes! All Thai (high school) kids should know how to strap one on... the right way!! I use bananas or carrots or something similar to demo the correct procedure, and despite being fairly straight forward, one does need to be shown the right and wrong ways of applying the sometimes befuddling love bag. Participation is voluntary but I have never once in 5 years had a kid miss that lesson. Hmmm.... go figure.

Where can I score a free box of condoms in central BKK? I know some hospitals and gov't health organizations will distribute them for free but I don't know where to look in the city. If I could save a bit of leg work, and a few embarrassing moments, that would be great! On my last trip to the health dept. (down south), I was offered a choice of two sizes. Should I expect only "condoms for kids" sizes or do they offer a range?

If you know of a place where in Klong Tan Neua, Khlong Toei Nuea or Bang Kappi would be very convenient indeed.

Thanks in advance for your input!!