One of my friends had trouble accessing YouTube a few months ago. Later, she found out that Thailand had BLOCKED it. Yes, the whole country lost access to YouTube!
Why this censorship? Someone had posted something that was very disrespectful of Thailand's King. They asked YouTube to remove it, and apparently they first refused to do so. (I believe it has since been removed.)
In a separate story, some Swiss man was apprehended after defacing images of the King. He was given 10 years in prison.
His Majesty pardoned him.
In a country where status and respecting the higher-ups is a very important value, these acts were completely out of line. I was especially angered by the Swiss man. Why would you live here and do something that was so disrespectful of the longest-reigning monarch, and one who the people TRULY LOVE with all their hearts?
Nevertheless, I was touched my the mercy shown by His Majesty. He vowed to "reign in righteousness" when he ascended the throne, and it seems he is upholding that promise as well as anyone could hope.
27 June 2007
19 June 2007
More on my Choir Concert
Read about our concert and see photos in this article in Chiang Mai's English Newspaper!
13 June 2007
Sing Sing Sing
Imagine a group of westerners, Thais and Japanese singing Showtunes under a Thai conductor and an American senior citizen pianist in Chiang Mai, Thailand. It might seem wild, but that's exactly what happened last Saturday! Here's the poster from our very fun concert:
Besides that, a fellow choir member introduced me to a really great jazz place. The musicians are outstanding, and last night was "open jam," so we tried singing a few tunes there! I don't really know many jazz songs, but we made the best of it and our accompanying musicians were great sports. Maybe I should study up on vocal jazz repertoire and try it again!
It's been good to sing again.
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