go out or stay home ?

Recently we pay attention about cautions to terrorism, especially ISIS which caused terrorism in France.

According to the article, The State Department says travel alerts “American citizens should pay attention when in public places or using transportations, be aware of immediate surroundings and avoid large crowds or crowded places, especially during the holiday season and at holiday festivals or events.”

I feel this is quite serious travel alerts. There are many events in this season, for example, the Christmas, New Year. People are looking forward to enjoying this winter holidays. Many people crowded many places for celebrating each other.

If they avoid large crowds or crowded, this season’s holidays are very weird. But people crowd famous places, at that time, when terrorism happen, this area is very terrible and cruel.

If possible, give us winter breaks, terrorist ISIS , we need a break.

 What do you think about this alert?

___________

Reference

US issues travel warning in wake of terror attacks (23, November, 2015) the Washington post 

Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/travel/us-issues-travel-warning-in-wake-of-terror-attacks/2015/11/23/fd5803f6-9240-11e5-befa-99ceebcbb272_story.html

Smartwatch for what?

Nowadays, Technology has changed all the time and many people try to follow it. Last year, many technology brands try to laugh a new product of smartwatch and they claim that product will make our lives better.

According to "What you need to know before buying a smartwatch", Washington Post, some people prefer give smartwatch as a gift or others want to have their own of this gadget because of the advertisement that shows about how smartwatch is useful. There are several reasons to get it or not such as for your looked, useful for your life or it does not make your life better, so depending on your opinion to decide to have it or not.

For me, this gadget is not useful for me now because of my experience, I used to see people who have smartwatch and they command it by using English such as asking about route, weather and their routine that why I do not decide to get smartwatch now but in the future, if my speaking skill has improved, I will get my own one.

Smartwatch are advertised that it can notice you about everything which comes in your smartphone but depending on each brand, model and price. If it is high price and be a top model of that brand, it maybe tell you many things or more than that you want to know.

What do you think about smartwatch? it is useful or has advantages to get it your own.

___________

Reference

Tsukayama, H. (2015, November 20). What you need to know before buying a smartwatch. Washington Post. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2015/11/18/what-you-need-to-know-before-buying-a-smartwatch

Placing an importance on raising a child.

Decades ago, a husband had no chance to participate in raising his new born baby because the society did not place an importance on this matter. During the first couple of months after the baby was born, it was the most hectic and confusing part of the new mother even though they might already have a baby before. In contrast, now the father is more conscious about the difficulty his wife is facing and placing more importance in being a part of his baby first couple of months.

Facebook owner: Mark Zuckerberg is a prime example of a husband who is willing to be a part of newborn baby life and to face the trauma his wife will be facing as he announced his 2 months paternity leave to the world according to BBC's article Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg to take two months of paternity leave. Facebook also supports their US employees to take a paid parental leave up to 4 months.

It would be great if this policy can be applied to all their employees, not just the US . However, this might be the starter for other big companies which do not give a precedence to raising a baby. A baby that is raised in a good environment will unlikely turn out bad. 

Today we will see problematic children who grew up without direction. Being a parent is not easy. It is a huge responsibility. Not only giving a birth, but also it comes with a duty of being a guide in their lives.
________

Reference

Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg to take two months of paternity leave. (21, November 2015). BBC News. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-34889535.

Open up: Finding the new possibility for the old shops in urban

Have you find your favorite shop disappeared and replaced with the new shop or condominium? Do you find the local food shop harder and can’t help heading to the convenience store to pick up the frozen dish for your dinner? Today we will talk about the local business from the picture of their storefronts.

Caputo’s Bake Shop Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn (2009). Photograph: SupplJames and Karla Murrayied

According to “Closing down: the couple chronicling New York's disappearing storefronts

”, the photographers James and Karla Murray keep on a project in order to catalogue New York’s most compelling storefronts which reflect the atmosphere of small business survival in the specific time. There might be some tragedy that is the disappearance of retail store as a result of the real estate development or discontinuation of the next generation because of the hardship running the business; in contrast, the trends can also be beneficial to the old business from the nostalgic or vintage trend popularity which lead the new charming to the newer or younger customers.

the newer chicken rice shop named "Mongkol Wattana"

Last month, My favorite chicken rice shop named “Mongkol Wattana” had been took over by the relatives and moved to the new place but not far away, because the owner aged around 60 y.o. wanted to retire and their children didn't want to took over their business. I’ve already tasted the new one, and the taste don’t seem to gone wrong; even though, I still miss the older shop’s taste of chicken soup. In short, I satisfy with the new one because of more amount at the same price with few noticeable change of taste. It can be replaced but we will miss the old one. 

At the same time, there also have many new business here too. The latest business is co-working space which quite surprise me too see such a trendy business in very old atmosphere like here, while we always see them in the hip area like Thong-lor or Sukhumvit. That might lead to draw newer pedestrian and more traffic to this very area.

The location of my vicinity is quite different from the time when I was young. I think this phenomenon is common around urban area in Bangkok. More modern trade, less local shop. Let me give you an obvious example, Sam-yan market. There were many shop houses and traditional market, most of the owner is Chinese Thai people. Some of them like Sam-yan steak shop community move to the newer Sam-yan market that is not far, but some shop like Joke Sam-yan (congee shop) move to Bang-Na, the south border area of Bangkok. Now the same popular market place turn to emptiness because of the estate development project of the landlord let the land abandoned under transition process not intervened from the law like developed country that prohibit and fine the owner of the abandoned land. Thai laws always convey the justice for the rich rather than the small persons.

The modern trade is also expanding more and make the small business became harder to survive. Many Chow-huay shop houses (groceries) turn to franchised convenient stores, so the giant corporate became bigger and bigger and the Jack is weaker and weaker. Anyway, business is like this. The winner takes all. But someday 7-11 storefronts picture may become history too, if they cannot adjust to the new customer’s behavior or cannot afford the rent to operate them. I’m quite excited about the newer retail shop in Bangkok and can’t wait to see.

___________

Reference

Moroz, S. (2015, November 19). Closing down: the couple chronicling New York's disappearing storefronts. The Guardian. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2015/nov/19/closing-down-chronicling-new-york-disappearing-stores 

Why study?

Social gap causes privileges, and the privileges even make the gap broader; while, scarcity of privileges makes the privileges privileged. Access to higher education is one of the privileges, in some society, which only the minority is financially capable of reaching it. In Britain the rate of access to education is contradictory to the increasing tuition fees.

The Economist publishes the article “Why tuition fees haven't held back poor students” that: in  2010, the policy of raising the tuition fee cap brought up the demonstration against and the protest was in line with the critics claiming it merely hindered the access of education for the poor students. They, however, went wrong; it turned out the otherwise: in 2014 the young form poor families went to colleges more than ever before because of the generous term, the study-first-pay-later program.

I used to contemplate about the significance of degree and diploma and it seems perplexing to me. In the past, maybe about 20-30 years ago, a bachelor degree graduation considered a privilege, requiring either money or intelligence, or both to accomplish it. When the time went by, it became more accessible thereby diminishing in value. Then, master degree comes. MBA, for example, has been mentioned more than ever yet. Not so long will the same pattern be repeated and I confidently presume that the next is PhD. My question is what about after that. I come up with two possible situations: first, the degree will be no more in concern for judging working performance, instead, pure experience is regarded. And, the second is the novel higher level of degree will be coined-to keep up with the growth of demand. By any ways, it implies a lot of hard work awaiting and requiring in order to survive in the future society.    

The problem of increasing societal requirements asserts me a hardship of human being’s life. A lot of philosophical questions follow- and answers quite contradict to one another after an attempt to answer. It might be because of my view not broader enough to comprehend them well.

___________

Reference

Why tuition fees haven't held back poor students. (2015, November 16). The Economist. Retrieved from http://www.economist.com/blogs/economist-explains/2015/11/economist-explains-9

Psychological disorders and social stigma. Quest 2, p. 176, x.C., 4 - 5

Rather than do Hartmann's discussion questions on page 176 (2007) of Quest, we are going to do them as response writing activities.

Now, questions 4 - 5, which we are also treating as one response writing prompt:

• Do you know of any famous people who suffered from a psychological disorder? If so, who were they? Do you know what disorder they had? 
• Do you think that there are fewer stignas against people with psychological disorders than in the past? Among whom? Why?  

Respond to these prompts in one comment below. 

__________

Reference

Hartmann, P. (2007). Quest 2 Reading and Writing (2nd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.

Fears, normal and phobic. Quest 2, p. 176, x.C., 1 - 3.

Rather than do Hartmann's discussion questions on page 176 (2007) of Quest, we are going to do them as response writing activities.

First, questions 1 - 3, which we are treating as one response writing prompt:

• In your opinion, how is a phobia different from a normal fear. What might be some "healthy fears"? 
• What are you afraid of? (High places? Crowds? Snakes? etc.) Can you think of when you first had this fear? How do you deal with this fear? 
• Do you know anyone who is phobic? How does this phobia affect her or his life? 

Respond to these prompts in one comment below. 

__________

Reference

Hartmann, P. (2007). Quest 2 Reading and Writing (2nd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.

The addictive drug recommended for blogging

As you know, I usually blog with my morning and afternoon coffees. I already knew this popular drug of addiction was healthier than things like green tea, and this morning I came across further confirmation.

According to Nicholas Bakalar writing in "Coffee Tied to Lower Risk of Dying Prematurely," a large study has shown that although the benefits do not exist for cigarette smokers, regularly drinking more than one cup of coffee a day significantly reduces the risk of death from heart and other diseases (2015).

When I was growing up, parents, including mine, were sure that tea was OK for kids, but that coffee was harmful. Over the last few decades, the evidence has mounted that this popular believe was wrong. In fact, if you want to get your kids hooked on a drug, coffee is probably the better choice.

Of course, there are problems with being addicted: if I don't get my daily hit of the drug, I start getting a headache which increases in intensity until I get some coffee into my system. I guess I've been dependent on coffee for about four decades now - I started drinking it in high school, and that only increased during my university days.

Happily, coffee is the only drug I'm addicted to, and the benefits greatly outweigh the minor inconvenience of physical dependence. There are much worse drugs to be addicted to, but perhaps the people who use those drugs also think that the benefits outweigh the problems. I'm not sure I agree, In the case of alcohol, the harms done to the drug user and others seem to me to make this a particularly harmful drug for society, much worse than many illegal drugs, which suggests that drugs laws are at least irrational, and likely also unjust.

___________

Reference

Bakalar, N. (2015, November 18). Coffee Tied to Lower Risk of Dying Prematurely. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/11/18/coffee-tied-to-lower-risk-of-dying/

Do you like frogs?

When we were young, we all loved the fairy tale The Frog Prince. But do you know that the populations of these amphibians have dramatically declined as a result of a devastating disease?

Researchers have found new means to tackle a deadly disease, caused by amphibian-associated chytrid fungi, which has reduced a huge number of amphibian populations worldwide, according to the BBC News article “Lethalamphibian disease killed off on island” (2015).

My family lives in a rural area in the south of Thailand. After rains, we saw a lot of tadpoles swimming in swamps. I used to collect them in a bowl and enjoy watching them grow up. Some of them grew two front legs before others and it did not take long for their tails to start to get shorter. I also enjoyed playing with little frogs, putting them in a bottle filled with water, but I do not think that they enjoyed playing with me. Now I think of them as poor little guys.   

I can recognize that the number of frogs has sharply deceased as the years have passed. Now when I go back home, I can only see a few of those frogs. My neighborhood has changed a lot: many families have moved in and many houses have been built. Another reason that I think might cause the number of frogs to decline is pesticides, which are used widely on farms. Even though frogs are not pests, they were also eliminated by these chemicals. It is quite a sad story.  

I like watching documentaries about amphibians, especially frogs and toads. I am fascinated by them, because they come in various sizes and colors and can live in different climates. In each area they even have unique characteristics which always surprise me. I have heard of one species of toad living in the mountains in South America, which has a peculiar strategy to escape predators. Instead of hopping to flee from them like most other toads, they simply roll down steep slopes. Because these toads have never evolved their ability to hop far, when a predator comes very near, they will make their bodies become rigid and fall below.

I know some people are afraid of frogs, maybe because they have slimy and wet skin, yet I think they are lovely. Do not think about their skin; just look at their cute little faces. The way they jump is also funny. 

___________.

Reference

Lethal amphibian disease killed off on island. (2015, November 18). BBC News. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-34850807   

Is your thinking?

Today,I cannot look for any stars in Bangkok thus I have to shelve the Alien or some story about stars. However, I find some information that interests me.I have a question before we focus on the detail.It is good or bad if someone can control you do something by mysterious science (like a psychology)?

According to "Software better than humans at guessing how you feel from speech" (2015) Anna Nowogrodzki reported the graduated student of  University of Rochester developed the software that can identify the emotion of speaker from their speech.The propose of the software is for understanding the effects of emotion in parent-child interactions however,The experimental result showed this software wasn't perfect.

I really interest in the supernatural or thing that cannot prove by Scientific method such as ghost, alien, or something like that. After I read this report I think of people who can read someone's mind
 
Around 10 years ago, Thailand has a man who can control people do something by science called Mayajid-a kind of Parapsychology.His name is Win Eiam-ong. He said this science is not same as magic because he use speech and action or every thing that he can for control people do the things that he want. For example, He ask a man to choose pictures and cards and he know and write the answer before the man choose.

In addition,Win can do other things such as bend a spoon by two finagles, lift a thing by mental power, and forecast future. Do you thing have people do the thing that I mention (like win do)? It is real?
         
Now I have to practice badminton for attention a competition. Then I think I will enjoy with video clip about him.  

___________.

Reference

Nowogrodzki, A. (2015, November 13) Software better than humans at guessing how you feel from speech. new scientist. Retrieved from https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn28490-software-better-than-humans-at-guessing-how-you-feel-from-speech/

Islam joins the Aussie party fray

How easy is it start a new political party in your country? In Australia, it is very easy; as well as the ugly, racist Love Australia or Leave Party, there is also the successful Motoring Enthusiast Party putting up candidates for us to vote for in federal elections.

In the BBC News article "Australian Muslim Party's tough road to representation," Jon Donnison tells us that, despite the timing following the ISIS attack on Paris, Australia's 60 plus federal political parties have now been joined by the Australian Muslim Party, which hopes to improve the under-representation in politics of the Muslim population of Australia, although their likeliest chance of election is to the Australian senate (2015).

Australian Muslim Party
founder Diaa Mohamed 

I agree with the man behind this move that it's more important than ever for the voice of Australian Muslims to be heard, especially when they can present a more morally decent version of Islam than the terrorist variety. I do think that the religion, like many religions, is to blame for teaching violence, hatred and intolerance, just like Judaism and Christianity do, but good people have a choice and do not have to follow the morally bad teachings of their religion. Unlike in the past, most Christians today are decent people, perhaps because healthy democracies do not allow religions the power they once had to commit evil, when popes and other religious leaders led crusades to kill the followers of other faiths, when sincere believers had laws made up to punish with prison, torture and execution by law people who thought and spoke different opinions on religious matters, and so on. Religion is often a bad thing, but a healthy constitution must not ban it: we should, as the US does very well, and Australia, allow freedom of religious belief, but a good constitution will never allow the government to support any religion.

After the bombing of Paris by religiously inspired terrorists, I saw a lot of comments on the internet blaming all Muslims and saying immigration should be stopped. This is wrong. It is true that Islam, like other religions, can be a terrorist inspiration, but not all Muslims are terrorists. Most are decent people who want to live in peace, to follow their religion in a mild and peaceful way, and live productive lives that help society. In particular, immigrants desperate to escape the holy states of ISIS and the like are people in great need and we should not treat them more harshly because they share a religion that some people use as a political weapon - that would be like saying all Buddhists are bad because monks in Myanmar use Buddhism as a political weapon against the abused Rohingya minority, or because some Thai Buddhist monks use Buddhism as a political weapon to oppose some groups of Thai citizens.

In my reply to a comment by Union earlier this morning, I also commented briefly on the security issues, specifically official access to encrypted personal information online, raised by the Paris attacks, and before I'd finished my morning coffee, I came across a great article on that in the New York Times, but that blog post can wait until tomorrow, or maybe later this evening, or maybe for eternity.

___________

Reference

Donnison, J. (2015, November 17), Australian Muslim Party's tough road to representation. BBC News. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-34840780

Genetic engineering is coming?

Genetic engineering is coming?

DNA is the blueprint of our life. DNA contains the instructions for building and running every part of the human body. The transcription of DNA is really complex and mystery.

The BBC News article “Dawn of gene-editing medicine” reports one baby named Layla, who is going to die because of Leukaemia, was treated well by an experimental therapy: genetically engineered immune cells. Some scientists predict Layla’s story may be the dawn of gene-editing medicine.

 

Biochemistry is my major and I do some experiments in my work. I am really happy and excited that Layla is rescued by gene-editing medicine. This is a world first. Nowadays, a new DNA region is easy to synthesize. We can take cells out of the body, modify and change DNA regions of a cell, and give it back to patients. Yes, it is amazing and it is really can be done by scientists. However, it is very difficult to target the very specific regions of the genome. That’s the point why gene-editing can’t be applied to therapy. Layla’s story opened up a whole new field. The technology is moving so fast. Scientists use virus to “infect” cells with a healthy copy of the DNA targeting the right sites of the DNA. So, I think disease of the blood and immune system, as well as some other illness will be given a new way to treat in the very near future.

Layla is so lucky and she makes a new era. I think genetic engineering is on the way.

Reference

Gallagher, J., (2015, November 6). Dawn of gene-editing medicine. BBC News. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/news/health-34744851

What is happened in this family? So mess.

In the world, there are many kinds of kidnaps for many reasons. This is something weird.



According to an article, a boy, named Julian Hernandez and now 18 year-old, has been found in Ohio since someone had kidnapped him in August 2002. This suspect was his real father but he didn’t have a legal parental authority.

These two photos are Julian Hernandez.

Left one is when he was 5 year-old. Right one is current him.

I’m very surprised reading this news. I think kidnap is committed by third person.

In general, when some people kidnap a person, they requires money or valuable things from his firmly or relatives to release his life, I think.    

 In Japan, after divorcing, the fight of children’s parental authority is often competed in the court. But it doesn’t happen one parent kidnap their children.

 What do you think the clime like this is common in your country?

Reference

Julian Hernandez missing for 13 years found safe in Ohio (2015, November,5). BBC NEWS. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-34737471

A new life after getting back with family

Several years ago, a famous actress called Jarunee Suksawat has finally uncovered the truth about her parentage. She was raised by her mother without her father and had no idea about who he was; the only clue she had was a picture of him and his name. So the journey to find him began.

Unfortunately, Maryam Barootchian wasn't as lucky as she was separated from her family since young after Saddam Hussein dropped a bomb on Halabja in 1988 and then was  adopted into an Iranian family without knowing anything about her parentage. According to BBC's article 'Halabja: A 'lost daughter' finds her way home', she began her search on her family after her adopted father had died and the sense of not belonging grew stronger, and like many others unfortunate child, her search wasn't easy, but after years of struggling, her wish was finally came true when she finally found a perfect DNA match and realized her name was actually Hawnaz Eskander.

When I first heard about Jarunee's achievement, I was truly happy for her even though I do not know her personally. As both a daughter and a mother, I think I can understand the agony that Jarunee, Hawnaz, and her family had gone through. I couldn't imagine what would I have done if my daughters were to be separated from me. I would have searched my entire life for them. 

Even though Hawnaz and Jarunee found her parents, there are still many lost children out there who are on search for their family and vice versa. My prayer is on them. I believe every one deserves to find this basic comfort of humanity that only family can provide. 

Reference
Gol J.,Westcott K. (13, November 2015). Halabja: A 'lost daughter' finds her way home. BBC News. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-34723550

Errors to the rescue

How do you secure your smart devices to protect them and their content from theft or unwelcome strangers taking a look inside?

According to Paul Rincon, an advance has been made that should allow us to verify with confidence the identity of electronic devices by including a tiny tag that makes use of the inevitable atomic-scale errors that happen during manufacture. The peculiar random pattern cannot be copied, which makes it a reliable device identifier says Rincom in "Nano-scale 'fingerprint' could boost security" (2015).

The article presents a more dramatic example of why it's becoming increasingly important to verify with confidence the identity of an electronic device in a world where everything increasingly connects with everything. My own interest was bit more personal. These device identity tags won't stop me losing mine, but they will enable my devices to be absolutely sure that they are connecting to the right servers and other devices, not fakes trying to corrupt them or steal my data, and vice-versa. It will also mean that the true owner of a device is known, which might deter theft even better than the current device tracking and locking options that are available.

I love the interconnectedness of everything today: when I walk into my home, in fact, when I walk out of the lift, my phone, tablet and laptop all connect to my home wifi. Within my home, the TV connects with everything, and even my camera and printer are now wi-fi enabled. Getting rid of wires is cool. And the best thing is that everything is synced between devices. I usually read books and things on a tablet at home, but if I'm waiting somewhere, or on the BTS, I can whip out my phone and read from wherever I was up to; when I return to the tablet, it's at the same page.

The idea for the "identity tags" came
from imperfections that creep into
nano-scale structures

But the thing that first got my interest in the article and made me want to blog it was that this new technique works because of errors. I thought that was neat. It also reminded me of what often happens in our class. For example, if someone says that the verb conclude means "to sum up or restate a main idea," it's wrong, but clarifying how that mistake arose and became so common can help us to get a deeper understanding about the organization of ideas in an essay and other pieces of work.

For now, I'm glad I can use my fingerprint to access my devices - that's way more convenient than using a password, although I suspect it isn't quite as secure. Still, it's good enough for me. I don't think that any major governments are trying to find out what's on my smartphone. My thumb is quick and easy and means I don't have to worry about people looking over my shoulder as I enter a password, although I still use passwords for some things, such as the start up boot that also decrypts the content.

I suppose a determined thief could force me to put my thumb on a device, but then they could also force me to enter the password; I think that the current simple security measures are enough to keep out the snoops I'm likely to encounter most days. Ea isn't strong enough yet to forcefully hold my thumb on the right place to turn on the tablet so he can play with it. (Actually, I've set up his own account, which he can unlock with his fingerprint. Kids these days have so much more amazing toys than I had!)

___________

Reference

Rincon, P. (2015, November 10). Nano-scale 'fingerprint' could boost security. BBC News. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-34780787

Bedtime mode

Nowadays, there are many people always spend a lot of time before sleep with their smartphone and no one knows that it is disrupting their sleeping system.

The BBC News article "Phones need 'bed mode' to protect sleep" Prof Paul Gringras said new smartphone should filter out blue light that delay the body clock. This light is good for using smartphone during the day but it is awful if using at night because it make people awake again in the evening.

For me, I always use smartphone before go to sleep every night and after I read this article, I think it maybe influence me about going to sleep late because I often go to sleep after midnight. According to this article, I will try to avoid using my phone before bedtime and try to keep it far from my bed.

Recently, I found some information about new iPhone which has a lot of new idea from the creator and maybe launch next year, so I hope the new model include "bedtime mode" that can help to filter blue light and make me spend night time with the phone without disrupt my body clock.

What about you? How often do you use smartphone before bedtime?

___________

Reference

Gallagher, J. (2015, November 15). Phones need 'bed mode' to protect sleep. BBC News. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/news/health-34744859

The skyline of freedom

One of the most exciting experience in childhood or adolescence is the first time visiting a seashore, tasting the sea water and creating the sand castle. How long has this happen in tradition. BBC Culture has a quick tour of the invention of seaside perception in the series of the interesting paintings.

According to “The seaside: A modern invention”, the seaside is a space of the society and technology movement to make a value or different meaning as a result of time and people. From the few high society vacation house on the seaside limited for ruling class in a long time ago, More and more people can use the seashore as well from the change of society; moreover, they also create the meaning of lifestyle and art from a different culture and point of view.

My most impressed seaside is Bangpu recreational center. There have a lot of seagulls and mangrove forest, although the seashore is not that beautiful but the breeze and the landscape is very relaxing. It is not far from Bangkok, so you can drive within two hours from the central Bangkok to face the sea breeze and pure nature. My father took me on the boat to the other side of the bank and visit the cave among the bamboo forest. It is very calm, peaceful and mysterious experience at the same time.

I have known more about its background later when I has grown up. It is built and promoted in the Marshall Plaek Piboonsongkram government after Thai reforming to modernization, so the activity like wearing a hat or even recreation activity is promoted as a state policy in order to form a new “Thai” from the “Siam” traditional society and economy. 

Don’t be boring about the history because telling about the seashore also is a reflection of the society changing. The seascape emerging in popular culture need quite new invention of society. To visit the seashore, you need traveling and leisure time which can happen in modern societies after the labours have been protected their rights by the government welfare and can transport by the state’s transportation infrastructure. It’s not a easy job like building a sand castle to make the seashore became a destination for mass.

I hope that some day we can develop our resources and infrastructure of our country more wisely to serve more people without damaging the natural environment, so we can have more public spaces to express our creativity and identity for our better quality lives in modern world.

___________

Reference

Farago, J. (2015, June 4) The seaside: A modern invention. BBC Culture. 

Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20150604-they-invented-the-seaside 

Non-driver car is useful or not?

Do you know some famous car companies in the world are developing about full-automatic cars?

According the article, a car which belongs to Google has been pulled over by police, because it was running a road too slow. The car was a robot car.

I think non-driver car is a good idea. Most of traffic accidents are caused by human faults. So if automatic cars are increased, the accidents which are caused by human fault are reduced. After that, car accident’s victims are also decreased, I think.

Recently, TOYOTA, which is famous car company in the world, issued that they will sell partial automatic cars in general market until 2016. This system is used in high way area. Also, they said, if possible, they introduce them in 2020, the Olympic year on big scale.

 I hope that day is coming soon.

 It is my first time to post a blog. It was quite difficult for me. Maybe my blog is the shortest one compare with other members.Next time, I try to write more sentences than this time.   

___________

Reference

Google car pulled over for being too slow. (13, November, 2015). BBC News. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-34808105

Do apes have emotions like us?

If you think that only humans have complex emotions such as caring and generosity, this article on BBC Earth might change your thinking. 

In “The wild chimpanzee who cared for her child with disability,” Melissa Hogenboom (2015) describes an unusual behavior that was observed in a female chimpanzee: she took very good care of her abnormal child who had an abdominal hernia, spinal damage and an extra, inactive finger. In general most animal mothers of a disabled offspring abandon their babies, but she did not. 

I have read many stories about baby animals that were kicked out by their mothers because they were born different. A recent case that went viral is about an adorable baby deer that melted many hearts with his white face, pink nose and crystal blue eyes. Unfortunately, his special appearance does not match the looks of his siblings; as a result he was rejected by his mother when he was a week and a half old. I think this is part of natural selection that occurs in most animals: they try to disregard weak ones in order to keep their species fit. This is the reason why I was surprised by the case of the female chimpanzee, because she devoted herself to her disabled child, rather than abandon her. Maybe because chimpanzees are our close relatives, their behaviors are somewhat similar to our species. 

Reading this story about this chimp mother reminds me of a story about the gorilla Koko, who was raised by humans and learned to communicate extensively. I am amazed by a lot of her behaviors that are very similar to human behaviors.  After losing her own child, she was in grief. Finally, she was allowed to take care of a kitten. Unfortunately, her kitten was hit by a car. Koko was very sad and she pointed to the sign that meant "cry" when she learned what had happened to her kitten. She seemed to be sad when she saw a picture of another kitten.

I used to think that animals did not have complex emotions as we do. After reading many stories like this, I have realized that they are smarter than I thought. This is why scientific research about apes is always appealing for me.  


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References

Hogenboom M. (2015, November 2015). The wild chimpanzee who cared for her child with disability. BBC Earth. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20151112-a-wild-chimp-cares-for-her-disabled-child

Koko’s kittens. The Gorilla Foundation. Retrieved from http://www.koko.org/koko's-kittens

Please stop hurting innocent people!

As normal person, we are brought up cautiously by our parents, we all love our family and cherish our happiness every moment. Everyone have a strong feeling of belonging in the family, however, what will happen if an unexpected disaster comes?

The BBC News article “Halabja: A 'lost daughter' finds her way home” reports one woman named Maryam, an Iraq baby at the time of Halabja attack, were brought up in Iran but recently returned to hometown to find out whether any relatives had survived.

Maryam is so lucky that she finds her mother and relatives by DNA matching under the help of the Halabja Chemical Victims Society. However, no one knows the exact number of children who are still missing. Maryam is just one of thousands of "lost children" who are now returning to Halabja to look for their roots.

When I read this BBC News, there were dozens of news about the Paris attacks which really astonished me that at least 120 people were killed in gun and bomb attacks in the city centre of Paris. Those people were just listening to a music concert, drinking some beer in a bar, or chatting with their friends when the disaster happened to them. They may have lost their parents, children, friends, or even themselves forever. Some other victims may have lost their legs, ears, suffering a lot of pain in body and mental. The whole world was shocked with angry and painful.

Losing family members is a disaster for anyone. I am wondering if the attackers also have the same feeling with me. If the gunmen lost their children or parents, will they feel painful as well? Those people who were killed in the attacks are just ordinary people in daily life, just like people around; they may be a sweet father to a girl, or a good husband to a wife, they may be planning to make a better life for their families. However that all cannot happens only because they were just killed by some extreme people they have never seen before. The gunmen not only destroyed hundreds of families with their hate and revenge, but also they have broken the dream of a peaceful and harmony world that we were dedicated to found for many years.

For the attackers, no matter what kind of purpose they want to achieve, I just want to say that please stop hurting innocent people; please don’t let terrorist attacks happen anymore. 

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Reference

Gol, J., Westcott, K., (2015,November 13). Halabja: A 'lost daughter' finds her way home. BBC News. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-34723550

To do good under a mask

A muscular man with tight-fitting clothes, showing vivid masculinity and a cool cape making mighty effect is a typical “superhero” in my sense. Who are they, where are they from, why do they possess such super-powers? - all keep me being in touch with their stories.

Natalie Haynes from BBC makes points in “Why comic books are more radical than you think” that film industry of comic-inspired superhero falls behind in publishing the original concept of superheroes in conventional comic where they, indeed, exist in every corner of society regardless of race, religion, gender or even sexual preference. In the other words, the films intentionally predominantly portray straight white man as an ideal figure of the superhero; the absence of societal complexity uneducates audiences the world as it is.

Midnighter, an active gay superhero character

My passion towards superheroes exist after firstly watching Batman film – Batman & Robin (1997), with the vivid memory of Mr. Freeze; then, I became a big fan of DC comics and later Marvel.  What has been catching my interest in Batman is not actually  Batman but all of his bizarre and storyful super-villain characters. They are extraordinary in their own ways, being sophisticate in background stories; for example, Penguin had been being bullied during childhood due to his physical appearance which eventually  drives his evil mind, or The Scarecrow, an intelligent psychiatrist, always terrify victims by using psychological tactics and phobias. Classic of Batman is at a stealthy and detective style of assaulting, as the name ‘dark knight’ deriving from. 

I was a bit surprised, and disappointed, at first to know that Batman can never accompany with X-MEN - my another favorite superhero team since they are from different ‘universe’.  Not long have I discovered the names Marvel and DC; it then led me to get two separated encyclopedias for both universes. Eventually, I could, as far as I have read and observed, distinguish the primary difference of them: Marvel characters and stories are prone to be more fancy and boundariless in imagination-no constrains in physic law we currently know; while, DC tends to create characters based on pragmatic aspects and dimensions – Batman possesses no super powers, yet from intensive practices with human master.

My expectation is placed highly on Black Panther, the first Marvel African superhero who has his own standalone film; nonetheless, Suicide Squad from DC is not less interesting than, the super-villain team forming up to handle a specific event. These signal blazing a trail on superheroes film industry.       

I already found myself difficult to withdraw from the passion in superheroes, also no point of doing so.

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Reference

Haynes, N. 2015, November 5. Why comic books are more radical than you think. BBC News. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20151105-why-comic-books-are-more-radical-than-you-think