Dinner parties totally rule.

In the past couple weeks, we’ve finally gotten around to having some at John’s pimpin’ pad on soi 33, and they have been good (not quite as healthy and jiving as the infamous Juice Party Yeen and I had a couple weeks ago, which entailed swimming, too, but still one heck of a groovy time). The company has consistently been (all 2 times) Pim, Yuka, Taeko, John and myself. The first time, Pim’s dog Power came too. And peed on the floor, thank you very much.

This time around, John was lazy and so all he made for HIS OWN dinner party was fruit salad (HORRAY for Home Ec class), which was good, but he left the other dishes to his guests. Luckily, that was fine as Pim brought some fried rice and gyoza, while I brought some salads. But the real stars were the Japanese ladies.

Taeko made unrolled sushi, which consisted of fluffy white rice, sliced Japanese omelet, seaweed, and some other little assorted goodies inside. It was delicious-o, even if she said her mom would be ashamed of the rice’s light consistency (the Japanese are a bit more fastidious about their rice than Westerners, I think). Yuka made a simple yet fabulous rocket salad with smoked salmon. But here’s the thing—the dressing was AWESOME. Here’s a little before and after, action/reaction shots, which I think say it all.

Afterwards, we went to Ad Makers, which rocked, then dipped into Fallabella, which was too expensive, then went to Nana.

Around 3:30am, Yuka, Taeko and I wound up at Foodland on soi 5 getting some grub. Next to me, some guy sat down and almost immediately started complaining to the cook, “I don’t like this salad… It’s uh… I don’t like this salad.”

He should have joined us about 7 hours earlier.

Check here for the Japanese version of this wonderful little tale, probably in much more concise format: taeko's blog.

Thanks to Taeko for the pics!

BLONDE REDHEAD
23


The number 23 has an occult reputation as representing change, chaos and disintegration, probably gained from its hexagram in the I Ching epitomizing disorder. Appropriately, this is the title taken by New York art rockers Blonde Redhead for their seventh album, which marks a shift by the band to a higher profile, more approachable sound that will probably result in more sales and new fans. The album itself was initially self produced, but the band supposedly lost sight of whatever demons they were channeling and they brought in the big guns midway through in the form of U2 wizard Alan Moulder, who bewitches the album with trickery fans of his prior works will be pleased with. 23 is a fantastic mix of murky, Depeche Mode-type electronic elements and phased, far off guitars that make Blonde Redhead sound like a gorgeous, updated shoegazer act. The title track opens the album with My Bloody Valentine string work and thunderous drums that roll in the distance while Kazu Makino’s vocals shift like rain drenched ghosts in the foreground. “The Dress” sounds vaguely like a Wire track with an odd, mechanical melody and rattling pianos that somehow disquiet and comfort at the same time. “The Publisher” is a moody and melancholy rant against misunderstanding (or is it misrepresentation?) with a chorus that deserves to rock stadiums. Lush, dark and magical, 23 has a rare style and sound that begs the listener to consent just a little to allow the full extent of its rapture to begin.





FEIST
The Reminder


Leslie Feist may not as yet be a household name, but she’s definitely paid her dues in the music industry, and it shows on The Reminder. Having made her entrance playing guitar for indie rockers By Divine Right, she released a debut solo album in 1999 to limited acclaim. She later honed her craft playing with Broken Social Scene and got her stage persona in check touring Europe with her roommate, electro raunch artist, Peaches. All this prepared her for her more mature solo efforts, including a praised second album, Let It Die in 2004, and this, her third work.

Produced by Canadian keyboard player Jason Charles Beck, better known as Gonzales, The Reminder is a solid collection of freak folk, melancholy ballads and thoughtful songs of loss that prove unpretentious and astute. She possesses a quiet power in her tender voice somewhat reminiscent of Sarah McLachlan. Though some of the ballads can drag a bit, “The Water” has a smoky mystery that sounds like it’s emanating from a piano in the shadowy corner of a 1930s speakeasy. The more upbeat folk rock numbers, like “Past in Present” have a flint-edged honesty that’s hard not to like. In “My Moon My Man” she betrays a road weariness, breathing cryptic phrases like, “My moon and me / Not as good as we’ve been / it’s the dirtiest clean I know” in a silky voice, sexy as hell. A memorable release from an artist to watch.

Pen-ek Ratanarueng is without a doubt one of the brightest Thai filmmakers today. He was born and raised in Bangkok, then lived in New York 1977-85 studying at the Pratt Institute before returning to Thailand. After working as an art director for several years, he made his debut film, Fun Bar Karaoke in 1997. He gained critical international acclaim for his film Last Life in the Universe (though the Thai press virtually ignored him up until this point) in 2003 where he teamed up with Japanese cult star Tadanobu Asano and Aussie cinematographer Christopher Doyle (pictured). He worked with them again on Invisible Waves in 2006. His newest release, Ploy was one of only three Thai films screened at Cannes in 2007. This interview was done a few months ago, during the release of his short documentary Total Bangkok, which focuses on the Bangkok street football scene.

How did the project Total Bangkok happen?
A friend of mine who has been doing documentary for the past few years got to know someone from Nike Thailand on a trip abroad. They got to talk about doing a documentary about football culture in Thailand. I don’t know what my friend actually said to her but that person from Nike thought it was a good idea. So my friend emailed and asked if I was interested in doing it. I said yes immediately, even without knowing what I was going to do it or if I had the time or the ability to do it. And that friend of mine became the producer of the project.

Are you a big football fan?
I used to be when I was very young. From around 8 until I became interested in the arts around 20-years-old. Now I’m more interested in filmmaking, but football has always remained my first real love. You could say it’s an old flame that has never completely diminished. I still play whenever I can and still have to stay home the nights Arsenal play. I’m not the football nut I used to be, but I still love it.

How did making this documentary differ from making a fiction film?
Making documentary is much freer and much more spontaneous but also scarier because you don’t know if you are going to get anything worthwhile or not. You can’t plan for things to happen. You just have to wait and respond to whatever happens. I had to spare 3-4 hours everyday while we were shooting just to watch the dailies by myself on my little video camera, so I would have an idea what to shoot for the next night. You let the footage inform you. And you let the story and the atmosphere take shape while you are making the film. Although I work that way anyhow when I make fiction films, I had never done it to this degree before and I learned a lot from this experience. Whenever the producer or the assistant asked what I wanted to do next, I always said "I have no idea." It’s very liberating.

Is working without a script or complete storyline scary in any way?
It was scary in the first few days, and then you get used to it. You begin to realize that the scariness come from your expectation that something should happen and it might not happen. Once you stop expecting and just start responding, the process become much more enjoyable. And if you don’t expect to create a masterpiece, then you become more relaxed.

What was the most challenging part about making this movie?
That you would, ultimately, come up with something worthwhile.

Are there any other sports you'd like to make a documentary about?
Coyote dancing, but that hasn’t been officially classified as sports yet, has it?

What's the most important element you need to see in a project before you begin working on it?
First and foremost, it would be the fact that it is something I hadn’t done before. It thrills me to go into a project with half-confidence or zero-confidence and fantasizing that if I could pull it off, it would be brilliant. It keeps you struggling and concentrating and learning. It keeps you away from compromising.