Making A Blockbuster Thai Film: The Studio Behind “Pee Mak” and “Bad Genius”

By

-

5 July 2019, 17:55

A still from “Pee Mak,” left. A still from “Bad Genius,” right. Photo: GDH 555

BANGKOK — There’s no magic formula behind Thailand’s highest-grossing films, says the studio behind “Bad Genius” and “Pee Mak.”

Making a hit movie is instead about the art of touching audiences, insisted both GDH (formerly GTH) cofounder Jira Maligool and head of script development Vanridee Pongsittisak at a Thursday discussion on ingenuity and film-making.

“The film has to touch the feelings of the audience in order to make a profit,” Vanridee said.

But that art, the pair philosophised, is about striking the right balance between the filmmaker’s personal interests and what might appeal to a mass audience.

Jira fundamentally believes that if filmmakers are fond of the film they are producing, audiences will probably feel the same. But in this simple philosophy for generating films with mass appeal is a daunting puzzle for filmmakers “who stand on top of the pyramid.”

Being on “top of the pyramid” refers to the fact that most filmmakers are graduates from the country’s prestigious Chulalongkorn University who “have distinguished tastes and lifestyles apart from the rest of the country,” said Jira, himself an alumnus.

“Directors can’t produce films that are outside their preferences, but they also have to make them appeal to everyone from the city center of Siam to the suburbs of Pak Nam in order to become commercially successful,” continued the studio co-founder.

Despite the insistence that there’s no magic ingredient for a successful film,

Ten of the nation’s 25 highest-grossing films are from GDH/GTH – with “Pee Mak” being the most commercially successful flick in Thai history. The studio claims that the 2013 comedy spin on a local horror legend earned a record-breaking 1 billion baht nationwide, though Thailand’s box office only records ticket sales in Bangkok and Chiang Mai.

At first, Jira and Vanridee fumbled their way to that fine balance between personal preference and mass appeal. They still feel their blockbuster successes were coincidences because they “didn’t really know what audiences wanted.” The pair did not have a particular target in their minds during the screenwriting process, but merely followed individual curiosity.

“The idea for Pee Mak came from Wan [Vanridee] questioning why Pee Mak had to run away from his wife when he found out she was a ghost. So we twisted the legend to make Pee Mak accept that his wife is a ghost to differentiate it from earlier adaptations. We also made it comedic,” Jira recalled the screenwriting process behind “Pee Mak.” “We never thought about adjusting the screenplay for grassroots audiences.”

Ideas for Thailand’s next potential blockbuster are floated around in the two-story house where the studio is based. Jira said ideas can be found anywhere but “you have to be able to see it as a dramatic plot.”

“Bad Genius was inspired from a short news piece I heard when I was running on a treadmill. The news was about an Asian student who was caught cheating in a standardized test. They sat the exam in an earlier time zone and told the answers to their counterparts sitting the same exam in a later time zone,” Jira said. “I called Vanridee immediately upon hearing that story.”

“Bad Genius” centers around highschool student and math whiz Lynn, who uses elaborate schemes to help rich, academically challenged students cheat on standardized exams.

The country’s second highest-grossing film, “I Fine..Thank You..Love You,” was galvanized when Jira overheard a tutoring session between an English teacher and a stugglish Thai student in a Starbucks. This common coffee-shop scene eventually earned the studio a whopping 300 million baht in 2014 because it touched the “fear of speaking English” mentality common among Thais.

“I Fine..Thank You..Love You” follows a Thai man who has been dumped by his Japanese girlfriend, Kaya, because he cannot speak speak English with her. In an attempt to win back her heart, Yim takes English classes with a teacher, who happens to a friend of Kaya.

Although many GDH/GTH titles have swept multiple awards from both domestic and international critics, Vanridee does not believe that her studio is influential enough to dictate the taste of Thai cinephiles.

“The only influence we have is changing their mindset to see that Thai film is a normal thing for moviegoers to watch,” said Vanridee, who didn’t watch any Thai films during her youth as she found them to be “not cool” compared to Western standards.

The studio is considered one of Thailand’s largest film studios, but it has about three releases per year, compared to rival Sahamongkol Film International who has more than five releases annually.

“We are slow filmmakers. Sometimes we spend a whole year just drafting the screenplay,” Vanridee said.

In 2015, GMM Tai Hub (GTH) dissolved after an internal dispute over taking the company public. GDH was founded in 2016 by two of three GTH shareholders who inherited GTH’s crews and resources.

GDH/GTH films can be watched on Netflix with English subtitles.

Jira Maligool, center, and Vanridee Pongsittisak, right during a panel held at Alliance Française Bangkok on June 4.

In Hong Kong, Colonial Flag Symbolizes Values and ‘Good Old Days’

By

Associated Press

-

5 July 2019, 17:33

In this July 1, 2019, file photo, protesters put a Hong Kong colonial flag and deface the Hong Kong logo at the Legislative Chamber after they broke into the Legislative Council building in Hong Kong. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu, File)

LONDON — They smashed glass windows, sprayed rude graffiti and defaced Hong Kong’s official emblem with black paint. But of all the dramatic photos showing hundreds of young protesters storming the city’s legislative building this week, one image makes for particularly uncomfortable viewing in Beijing: The British colonial flag draped aloft a podium in the assembly’s chamber.

That’s not all. On a day supposed to celebrate the 22nd anniversary of Hong Kong’s return to the “motherland,” other protesters were pictured defiantly flying giant Union flags in the Legislative Council.

Why are some protesters — many of them millennials — harking back to a bygone colonial era, two decades after Britain handed the city over to China as a semi-autonomous territory?

“Does it really mean that people seriously want colonial rule again? No — but I don’t think there’s any dispute among protesters that British rule was better than what we’ve got after the handover, especially in recent years,” said Lam Yin Pong, a Hong Kong journalist.

“There might be some element of a rose-tinted lens. Perhaps some people are fantasizing about the ‘good old days,’” he added. “But what’s clear is that under colonial rule there was never a clear feeling of freedoms being gradually eroded, of a series of government actions completely against our interests.”

Hong Kong has been rocked by massive street protests and its most serious political crisis after its government tried to push through legislation that would allow suspects in crimes to be extradited to mainland China for trial. The proposed bills have triggered broader fears that China is chipping away at the freedoms and rights that Hong Kong was guaranteed for 50 years after its July 1, 1997, handover to Beijing rule under a “one country, two systems” deal.

Its constitution, the Basic Law, promised that Hong Kong voters should ultimately achieve universal suffrage, a goal that Beijing has pushed back indefinitely. That has long caused widespread resentment, especially among the city’s increasingly disenfranchised youth.

But Hong Kong never enjoyed democracy under 155 years of British rule either.

Governors at the time were appointed in London, and lawmakers were not directly elected to the Legislative Council until 1991. Most of parliament’s seats were either appointed or chosen by powerful professional groups. The city’s last British governor, Chris Patten, managed to push through democratic reforms only in the last years before his 1997 departure.

Even so, Britain was — and still is — widely seen in Hong Kong as a beacon of Western-style civil liberties and the rule of law, leaving a legacy of independent courts, a well-oiled civil service and institutions like an anti-corruption watchdog. The colonial years saw steady economic growth, and its free market policies meant the city flourished as one of the world’s leading business hubs.

“I miss the British-Hong Kong government before 1997. The British helped us build a lot of things: separation of powers, our rule of law, our entire social system,” said Alexandra Wong, 63, a protester who’s often seen raising the Union Jack at demonstrations and carried one into the legislative building on Monday night. “What I can do is to hopefully encourage young people to continue to persist” in fighting for their rights, she said.

It helped that Patten and his administration showed a gift for connecting with the populace and are remembered fondly by many to this day.

“He projected complete commitment to the people. People could feel he wanted to be on their side,” said Leo Goodstadt, a British economics professor and chief policy adviser to the colonial government from 1989 to 1997.

By contrast, Patten’s Chinese successors all suffered dismal popularity ratings — none more so than current Chief Executive Carrie Lam. Recent polls show that under her leadership, trust in Beijing and feelings of identification with China have plunged. Lam’s administration is widely seen as inept and arrogantly out of touch with public sentiment, bulldozing through unpopular policies with no regard for widespread opposition.

Many in the city see police violence against protesters in recent weeks as marking a new low for a government seen to be oblivious to residents’ rights.

1 oldhk — A 1920 photo of Des Voeux Road in British Hong Kong

“At least one million people have taken to the streets but they keep refusing to listen,” Lam said. “Never mind the British — any rational, civilized government would have backed off.”

Some say the protesters’ raising of the colonial-era and Union flags was a deliberate message for the world — especially Britain — to do more to uphold the democratic values they symbolize. Patten recently called for Britain to fulfil its “duty to help Hong Kong out of this dark moment.”

Both of Britain’s two leading prime ministerial candidates have made a point of stressing solidarity with Hong Kong’s protesters, and British media have featured the news prominently. Benedict Rogers, a human rights activist who heads the group Hong Kong Watch, said he’s been encouraged that the Hong Kong question is receiving much more attention in the British Parliament.

“We need to sustain this,” Rogers said. “Britain must take a lead in the international community and mobilize other countries to send a strong united message to allow Hong Kong’s freedoms to be preserved.”

It’s not clear, however, if the country has the appetite to take steps beyond offering words of concern and condemnation — or if the flags have had the opposite effect of hardening Beijing’s stance against the city.

In an escalating war of words, Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, in the running to be Britain’s next leader, has warned China not to use the Hong Kong protests as a “pretext for repression.” He threatened “serious consequences” if China failed to honor the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration upholding Hong Kong’s high degree of autonomy — though he stopped short of spelling out any measures.

The Chinese foreign ministry shot back, dismissing Hunt’s comments as “shameless” posturing and meddling and mocked him for “basking in the faded glory of British colonialism.”

Kerry Brown, director of the Lau China Institute at King’s College London, said the question now is what America and Europe will do.

“Right now it’s mostly just rhetoric and it’s not likely to get to the situation where the U.K. can unilaterally do anything beyond the symbolic,” he said.

Certainly not everyone in Hong Kong sees things as better in the colonial days — though some believe that the more widespread political apathy back then is no bad thing compared to the turmoil today.

“Back in the day, there was no one involved in political issues, everyone was politically apathetic. … I don’t understand the reason why there are so many political demands after the handover,” said a Chinese medicine shop owner who gave only his surname, Chan. “Everyone can say anything now. I don’t see there is no freedom. The time when our government was British, I think we didn’t have that much autonomy.”

___

Associated Press journalists Katie Tam and Phoebe Lai in Hong Kong contributed to this report.

Can Bangkok’s Fitness Craze Makes Gains Across Class Divides?

By

Pravit Rojanaphruk, Senior Staff Writer

-

5 July 2019, 16:38

Celebrity actress Khemanit "Pancake" Jamikorn, middle, poses for a promotional image of Adidas exercise kit in Bangkok on June 13, 2017.

BANGKOK — Bangkok will host the 11th Asia Fitness Conference (AFC) in October amid a burgeoning fitness craze. But is fitness in Bangkok the preserve of the middle class and wealthy?

The conference from Oct. 10-14 will feature 200 different fitness classes, as well as what AFC organizer Suzanne Hosley bills as the “biggest Saturday night party of any fitness event in the world.”

The conference comes amid a blossoming fitness craze in Bangkok, with Hosley estimating that there are around 780 fitness studios in Bangkok alone. The AFC organizer has also noted the emergence of protein-rich food stalls at some more upscale BTS stations and the proliferation of 24-hour fitness centers.

Asia Fitness Conference 2019 ๑๙๐๗๐๔ 0010 — An opening ceremony of the 11th Asia Fitness Conference

Hosley insists that AFC is for anyone into fitness, not just the well off – though a three-day pass will cost between 14,250-17,450 baht, or roughly the monthly earnings of a recent university graduate. The conference will be held at a park, rather than a posh gym.

“Exercise doesn’t have to happen in a gym. Lumpini [Park] is full, with a lot of younger people,” said Hosley.

Still, there are some signs that the fitness craze is trickling down in Thailand. Calling itself a “Thai-price gym,” for example, Chob Gym Fitness in Pattaya offers a day pass at 50 baht and charges only 3,600 baht in annual membership fees – many times less than those found in Bangkok’s upscale fitness centers.

The Bangkok-based Hosley says AFC is Asia’s biggest fitness conference, with last year’s gathering drawing attendees from 35 countries. This year the organizer expects over 4,000 visitors.

01 e1562319477952 — Future Forward Party leader Thanathorn Juangrungruangkit goes out for a run at Lumphini Park in Bangkok on Oct. 27, 2018.

The conference will introduce new workouts such as the PowerWave Games, which relies on a new training device, and new fitness instruments at reduced prices. Participants can also seek a tailor-made fitness regime according to DNA tests. Five types of certificates will be awarded to those who successfully complete fitness courses during the conference.

Those needing advice about fitness-related injuries can seek it at the event from Bumrungrad International Hospital’s Vitallife Wellness Center. The conference will also host a dance competition with all types of dance accepted – except one.

“No strippers,” said Suphatchaya Lattisophonkul, a dance school manager and a judge for the AFC 2019 dance competition.

A breakdown of participants at past AFCs shows that 53 per cent were personal trainers, 11 per cent fitness facility owners or managers, and seven per cent general fitness enthusiasts.

New Cabinet Submitted to King, Gov’t Says

By

Teeranai Charuvastra, News Chief

-

5 July 2019, 15:14

Junta chairman Prayuth Chan-ocha chairs a government meeting on July 4, 2019.

BANGKOK — In a sign that the incoming government coalition has reached a truce, a senior official said Friday the new cabinet has been submitted to His Majesty the King for endorsement.

Echoing an earlier pledge made by the junta chairman, Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam said the next government will be in place before the month’s end. He declined to say who made the final cut.

“We expect everything will be done within July,” Wissanu said. “It’s in accordance with our roadmap.”

Wissanu did not mention how long King Vajiralongkorn will deliberate on the list.

The government was expected to submit the names to His Majesty the King as early as June, but infighting within the Phalang Pracharath Party over key cabinet posts prevented junta chairman Prayuth Chan-ocha from doing so.

Phalang Pracharath leaders said earlier this week that all disputes have been resolved.

Wissanu declined to disclose the names of new cabinet members today when questioned by reporters, saying he was not privy to the list.

“I don’t know,” the deputy prime minister said.

He also defended the lengthy delay between the March election and the formation of a new government. Wissanu said the old cabinet had to stay in power to welcome foreign delegates when they joined an international summit in Bangkok two weeks ago.

“If we had formed a new government before the ASEAN Summit, the new cabinet members would not have been able to prepare in time,” Wissanu said.

Future Forward MPs Don Local Dress, Stir Debates

By

Teeranai Charuvastra, News Chief

-

5 July 2019, 14:46

Future Forward spokeswoman Pannika Wanich at the parliament on July 4, 2019.

BANGKOK — Future Forward Party drew praise, criticism, and some head-scratching after its female MPs showed up for a parliamentary debate in traditional dress on Thursday.

In a colorful departure from the sea of black suits and yellow ties, the Future Forward lawmakers made a splash on social media with traditional northern garments. A representative of the group said she wants to highlight the diversity of Thai culture and promote regional products.

“I’ve liked these textiles since I was a kid, especially Thai fabric,” party spokeswoman Pannika Wanich told reporters at parliament. “Whenever I go somewhere, I buy garments from different places, because each place expresses its own culture.”

Read: Back in Fashion? Thai Traditional Dress and How to Pull it Off

Pannika said her party picked northern dress to kick-off the initiative, which will expand to cover other traditional garment styles. The politician also invited other parties to join her campaign to promote local textiles.

“I’d like to invite MPs from other parties to dress up too. I think many people actually want to wear it,” Pannika said. “Many male MPs also want to dress up, but might still feel shy about it.”

The move won admiration from some on social media, who say it’s refreshing to see lawmakers embracing local cultures.

“Beautiful. This is a good example,” user Nichanan Siwasauksarun wrote in a news thread.

ส.ส.หญิงประชันชุดพื้นเมือง

ส.ส.หญิงของพรรคอนาคตใหม่ที่พร้อมใจกันแต่งชุดผ้าไทยเข้าประชุม

โพสต์โดย Thairath เมื่อ วันพฤหัสบดีที่ 4 กรกฎาคม 2019

“I think it’s a good idea. It adds color to parliament and preserves Thai culture and tradition,” Chalerm Mahaprom wrote.

However, some also criticized the campaign as a political stunt, and questioned whether it was appropriate to turn a parliamentary session into a catwalk.

“The venue is not a place to organize a fashion show. They should have some common sense and humility,” user Virat Srianan wrote in the same news thread. “If they want to put on Thai dress, they can do so when there’s a cultural fair.”

“Parliament is a place to debate and discuss the people’s livelihood, not to show off fashion. Especially E Chor, she’s not pretty and acts disgusting,” Kasarapa Manacha commented, using a derogatory nickname for Pannika.

0B135A44 492A 41B4 AE36 8FBECAD054BE — An opposition MP dressed in traditional outfit addresses the parliament on July 4, 2019.

Chief among the detractors is Phalang Pracharath Party MP Parina Kraikup, who accused the Future Forward lawmakers of breaching parliament dress codes.

In an online post, Parina – who has a history of toxic feuds with Pannika – said she will complain to the House Speaker about the violation.

But an official in charge of drafting parliament rules said the dress codes for current parliament sessions – which will only allow Western-style suits and royally bestowed outfits – have yet to be enacted.

The dress codes, along with other rules for MPs like salaries and office spaces, will be submitted to the House Speaker on July 11, regulation commission spokeswoman Thanikarn Pornpongsaroj said.

After the rules are formally enacted, MPs who wish to don traditional garments or any other outfits not permitted by the dress codes will have to seek permission from the House Speaker on a case by case basis, Thanikarn said.

Even Poop Is Cute at Japanese Museum That Encourages Play

By

Associated Press

-

5 July 2019, 11:23

In this Tuesday, June 18, 2019, photo, a woman jokingly poses with large poop-shaped figurines at the Unko Museum in Yokohama, south of Tokyo. In a country known for its cult of cute, even poop is not an exception. A pop-up exhibition at the Unko Museum in the port city of Yokohama is all about unko, a Japanese word for poop. The poop installations there get their cutest makeovers. They come in the shape of soft cream, or cupcake toppings. Photo: Jae C. Hong / AP

YOKOHAMA — Japan’s culture of cute makes no exceptions for poop. It gets a pop twist at the Unko Museum in Yokohama near Tokyo.

Here, the poop is artificial, nothing like what would be in a toilet, and comes in twisty ice cream and cupcake shapes, in all colors and sizes.

“The poops are colorful and come out nicely in photos,” said Haruka Okubo, a student visiting part of the museum devoted to all-important selfies. “The shape is so round and cute.”

In Japan, little poop-shaped erasers with faces and other small items have long been popular items collected by children, and sometimes older folks. As elsewhere, scatological jokes are popular and bodily functions discussed openly: a recent morning variety show by public broadcaster NHK featured tips on how to deal with farts.

Visitors to the museum get a short video introduction and then are asked to sit on one of seven colorful, non-functional toilets lined up against the wall.

Music plays as a user pretends to poop, then a brightly colored souvenir “poop” can be collected from inside the toilet bowl, to be taken home after the tour.

A ceiling-high poop sculpture in the main hall erupts every 30 minutes, spitting out little foam poops.

The “Unstagenic” area of Instagram-worthy installations includes pastel-hued flying poops and a neon sign with the word “poop” written in different languages.

In another room, players use a projection-mapping game like “whack-a-mole” to stamp on and squash the most poops they can. In another game, participants compete to make the biggest “poop” by shouting the word in Japanese, “unko,” as loudly as possible.

A soccer video game involves using a controller to “kick” a poop into a goal.

Toshifumi Okuya, a system engineer, was amused to see adults having fun. “It’s funny because there are adults running around screaming ‘poop, poop,'” he said.

At the end of the tour, visitors get a bag to carry home their souvenir poop. If they want still more, the museum’s gift shop abounds with more poop-themed souvenirs.

The museum attracted more than 100,000 visitors in the first month after its opening in March. It will remain open until September.

In this Monday, July 1, 2019, photo, visitors laugh as they jokingly motion to give a push while sitting on colorful toilet bowls at the Unko Museum in Yokohama, south of Tokyo. In a country known for its cult of cute, even poop is not an exception. A pop-up exhibition at the Unko Museum in the port city of Yokohama is all about unko, a Japanese word for poop. The poop installations there get their cutest makeovers. They come in the shape of soft cream, or cupcake toppings. Photo: Jae C. Hong / AP

In this Tuesday, June 18, 2019, photo, a couple shares a light moment while sitting on toilet bowls at the Unko Museum in Yokohama, south of Tokyo. In a country known for its cult of cute, even poop is not an exception. A pop-up exhibition at the Unko Museum in the port city of Yokohama is all about unko, a Japanese word for poop. The poop installations there get their cutest makeovers. They come in the shape of soft cream, or cupcake toppings. Photo: Jae C. Hong / AP

In this Tuesday, June 18, 2019, photo, a visitor reaches into a toilet bowl to pick up a toy poop at the Unko Museum in Yokohama, south of Tokyo. In a country known for its cult of cute, even poop is not an exception. A pop-up exhibition at the Unko Museum in the port city of Yokohama is all about unko, a Japanese word for poop. The poop installations there get their cutest makeovers. They come in the shape of soft cream, or cupcake toppings. Photo: Jae C. Hong / AP

Story: Jae C. Hong. Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo contributed to this report.

Concerts, Fireworks and a Military Parade Mark July Fourth

By

Associated Press

-

5 July 2019, 11:15

Fireworks seen from the Lincoln Memorial explode over the Potomac River for Independence Day, Thursday, July 4, 2019, in Washington. Photo: Andrew Harnik / AP — Fireworks seen from the Lincoln Memorial explode over the Potomac River for Independence Day, Thursday, July 4, 2019, in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

NEW YORK — The national holiday to mark America’s birth as a country has been filled with parades, concerts, competitive eating and, of course, fireworks.

Boston, Philadelphia, Washington, New York and other places around the country are holding massive celebrations with big name artists like Jennifer Hudson, Luke Bryan and Carole King.

But Independence Day won’t be free from politics, as President Donald Trump’s plan for a celebration in Washington featuring a display of tanks , fighter jets and a stealth bomber is garnering support from some and protests from others.

Highlights from celebrations around the country:

THE BIGGEST SHOW

Fireworks over New York’s East River lit up the Brooklyn Bridge, a display said to be one of the biggest in the country. As they waited for the show to start, people watched New York Police Department helicopters in a procession along the river.

Carmela Serino, a college student from Queens, said she liked how the crowd in Brooklyn Bridge Park reflected the diversity of the city. People were wearing everything from tank tops to burkas and chatting in Spanish, Japanese, Telugu, and a host of other languages.

Christina Garza, a flight attendant from Maine, agreed.

“With what’s going on with politics these days, it’s so nice to see this. No one’s arguing, no one’s fighting. We’re just gathered on this turf,” she said.

As the sun set, red, white, and blue lights shone from several buildings in Lower Manhattan and along the Brooklyn waterfront.

The fireworks spectacle, plus concert, is broadcast on NBC and this year features country powerhouses Luke Bryan, Maren Morris and Brad Paisley, as well as Jennifer Hudson, Ciara, Khalid and Derek Hough.

Fireworks light up the sky above the Brooklyn Bridge during Macy's Fourth of July fireworks show Thursday, July 4, 2019, in New York. Photo: Frank Franklin II / AP — Fireworks light up the sky above the Brooklyn Bridge during Macy’s Fourth of July fireworks show Thursday, July 4, 2019, in New York. Photo: Frank Franklin II / AP

POPPING OFF

Boston is marking Independence Day with a traditional procession, speeches, a Boston Pops concert and fireworks.

Festivities began Thursday morning at City Hall with a brief speaking program. Marchers then set off for the Old Granary Burial Ground where Samuel Adams, John Hancock and other prominent colonial leaders are buried.

They also made a stop at the Old State House, where the Declaration of Independence is read out from a balcony by a member of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company — just as it was in 1776.

The procession ended at Faneuil Hall where Boston University Dean of Students Kenneth Elmore delivered a speech in a tradition dating to 1773.

The Boston Pops orchestra performs at night with fireworks over the Charles River as a backdrop.

HISTORIC CELEBRATION

The nation’s oldest continuous Fourth of July celebration took place in Bristol, Rhode Island. The events began on Flag Day and culminated with a parade on July Fourth that drew tens of thousands. The annual celebration began in the seaside town in 1785.

THE NATION’S CAPITAL

A soggy, cheering crowd of spectators listened to President Donald Trump pay tribute to the U.S. military on the grounds of the Lincoln Memorial.

Trump’s speech unfolded in occasional rain, and the warplanes and presidential aircraft he had summoned conducted their flyovers as planned, capped by the Navy Blue Angels aerobatics team.

Supporters roared, but protesters also assailed the show, saying it put the president center stage on a holiday traditionally devoted to unity.

By adding his own, one-hour “Salute to America” production to capital festivities that typically draw hundreds of thousands anyway, Trump became the first president in nearly seven decades to address a crowd at the National Mall on Independence Day.

Earlier in the day, Washington held its traditional Fourth of July parade.

PBS is broadcasting a concert from the West Lawn of the Capitol featuring host John Stamos and performances by the National Symphony Orchestra, Carole King, Vanessa Williams, Colbie Caillat and Lee Brice.

Fireworks light the sky near the Lincoln Memorial, Thursday, July 4, 2019, in Washington. Photo: Alex Brandon / AP

NEW CITIZENS

Around the country, more than two dozen naturalization ceremonies will be held to welcome in the newest Americans in places like the Liberty Bell Center in Philadelphia and George Washington’s home in Mount Vernon, Virginia.

Vice President Mike Pence celebrated Independence Day by welcoming 44 immigrants into “the American family” in a naturalization ceremony in the nation’s capital.

Pence said it was “deeply humbling” to stand on “the hallowed ground” of the National Archives in Washington before the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. He told the new U.S. citizens, who hail from 26 other countries, that he and President Donald Trump were extending to them “the welcome of the American people.”

“Congratulations to you all,” he said.

FOR THE KIDS AND KIDS AT HEART

At Legoland in Winter Haven, Florida, children can help create a giant United States flag out of LEGO bricks on July 4 as part of the Red, White and Boom celebration. Once the sun goes down, special viewing glasses will allow guests to watch “a gazillion bricks explode from the sky” above Lake Eloise during the theme park’s largest fireworks display of the year.

In Orlando, Walt Disney World is hosting a special show called Celebrate America! A Fourth of July Concert in the Sky on Thursday night.

AMERICA’S BIRTHPLACE

In Philadelphia, the celebrations begin with a parade near Independence Hall and culminate with a concert featuring Meghan Trainor and Jennifer Hudson on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. The annual fireworks show blasts off after the concert around the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Police say 33 people protesting treatment of migrants and asylum seekers were cited after briefly interrupting the Salute to America parade in Philadelphia. The protesters, assembled by a group called “Never Again is Now,” were demanding closure of border detention centers and the abolition of the immigration and customs agency.

A DIFFERENT KIND OF BOOM

Thousands watched Willimantic’s annual Boom Box Parade in Connecticut. In what’s become an offbeat tradition, participants and spectators carry radios all tuned to the same local station, which provides traditional marching music.

The parade dates to 1986, when the town couldn’t find a marching band for its annual Memorial Day parade. Organizers approached radio station WILI-AM for help. Station officials said it was too late to organize and publicize an event for that holiday, but began planning for July Fourth, and the tradition was born.

EXPLODING ROCKETS

Firefighters in South Carolina had to dodge exploding rockets to douse a spectacular fire that destroyed at least two containers of fireworks stored for sale on the Fourth of July.

The blaze early Thursday provided for an impressive, though sparsely attended show as shells and rockets burst through the metal containers, sending colorful showers into the air above the Davey Jones Fireworks and the House of Fireworks stores in Fort Mill.

BIG DOGS

In New York City, Joey Chestnut and Miki Sudo defended their titles to once again win at the annual Nathan’s Famous July Fourth hot dog eating contest on the Coney Island boardwalk.

Chestnut ate 71 franks and buns while Sudo chowed down 31. Both fell short of their records but easily took home the trophies.

A ‘KEY’ WINNER

A Key West man has won the Mile-High Key Lime Pie Eatin’ Contest on the subtropical island where the pie originated.

David Johnson plunged face-first into a 9-inch pie smothered with whipped cream during Thursday’s challenge. The rules forbid contestants from using their hands.

He consumed it in 58.2 seconds, besting 24 rivals in the kickoff of the annual Key Lime Festival.

A TOXIC FOURTH

Thousands of people were expected on Mississippi’s beaches for the July Fourth holiday even though they can’t go into the water because toxic bacteria are flourishing along the coast.

The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality has warned that polluted Midwest floodwaters have fed an outbreak of cyanobacterium. Popularly known as blue-green algae, it can cause rashes, diarrhea and vomiting.

Karen Miller rests with Dr. Bernard Harris on his Bugatti classic car during the Santa Monica Fourth Of July Parade on Thursday, July 4, 2019 in Santa Monica, Calif. Photo: Richard Vogel / AP

Strongest Earthquake in 20 Years Rattles Southern California

By

Associated Press

-

5 July 2019, 10:57

In this photo provided by Adam Graehl, food and other merchandise lies on the floor at the Stater Bros. on China Lake Blvd., after an earthquake, Thursday, July 4, 2019, in Ridgecrest, Calif. The strongest earthquake in 20 years shook a large swath of Southern California and parts of Nevada on Thursday, rattling nerves on the July 4th holiday and causing injuries and damage in a town near the epicenter, followed by a swarm of ongoing aftershocks. Photo: Adam Graehl via AP

LOS ANGELES — The strongest earthquake in 20 years shook a large swath of Southern California and parts of Nevada on Thursday, rattling nerves on the July 4th holiday and causing injuries and damage in a town near the epicenter, followed by a swarm of ongoing aftershocks.

The 6.4 magnitude quake struck at 10:33 a.m. in the Mojave Desert, about 150 miles (240 kilometers) northeast of Los Angeles, near the town of Ridgecrest, California.

Multiple injuries and two house fires were reported in the town of 28,000. Emergency crews were also dealing with small vegetation fires, gas leaks and reports of cracked roads, said Kern County Fire Chief David Witt.

He said 15 patients were evacuated from the Ridgecrest Regional Hospital as a precaution and out of concern for aftershocks.

Kern County District Supervisor Mick Gleason told CNN there were some structural issues with the hospital and some patients had to be moved from one ward to another and that others were taken to a neighboring building.

Gleason did not say what the structural issues were.

Ridgecrest Mayor Peggy Breeden said that utility workers were assessing broken gas lines and turning off gas where necessary.

The local senior center was holding a July 4th event when the quake hit and everyone made it out shaken up but without injuries, she said.

“Oh, my goodness, there’s another one (quake) right now,” Breeden said on live television as an aftershock struck.

Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency for Kern County. The declaration means that the state will help the county and municipalities in it with emergency aid and recovery efforts.

Ridgecrest Mayor Peggy Breeden praised Newsom for declaring the emergency. She also noted at a news conference that other nearby governments have offered to help the recovery effort.

President Donald Trump said he was fully briefed on the earthquake and that it “all seems to be very much under control!”

Police and fire officials said at a news conference Thursday afternoon that they have enough resources so far to meet needs in the wake of the earthquake. Ridgecrest Police Chief Jed McLaughlin said at a news conference that “we have plenty of resources.”

California Highway Patrol Lt. John Williams says officials have found cracks on several roads in the county, but overpasses and underpasses are in good shape.

A series of aftershocks included a 4.5 magnitude temblor, according to the United States Geological Survey.

“It almost gave me a heart attack,” said Cora Burke, a waitress at Midway Cafe in Ridgecrest, of the big jolt. “It’s just a rolling feeling inside the building, inside the cafe and all of a sudden everything started falling off the shelf, glasses, the refrigerator and everything in the small refrigerator fell over.”

Video posted online of a liquor store in Ridgecrest showed the aisles filled with broken wine and liquor bottles, knocked down boxes and other groceries strewn on the floor. Flames were seen shooting out of one home in the community.

Lucy Jones, a seismologist with the California Institute of Technology’s seismology lab, said the earthquake was the strongest since a 7.1 quake struck in the area on October 16, 1999.

“This has been an extremely quiet abnormal time,” Jones said. “This type of earthquake is much more normal … The long term average is probably once every five or 10 years somewhere in Southern California.”

Jones said that the 6.4 quake centered near the town of Ridgecrest was preceded by a magnitude 4.2 temblor about a half hour earlier.

She said vigorous aftershocks were occurring and that she wouldn’t be surprised if a magnitude 5 quake hit but that they were striking in a remote area, sparsely populated area. “This is an isolated enough location that that’s going to greatly reduce the damage,” she said.

People from Las Vegas to the Pacific Coast reported feeling a rolling motion and took to social media to report it.

Local emergency agencies also took to social media to ask people to only call 911 for emergencies.

“We are very much aware of the significant earthquake that just occurred in Southern California. Please DO NOT call 9-1-1 unless there are injuries or other dangerous conditions. Don’t call for questions please,” the LAPD said in a statement published on Twitter.

There were no reports of serious damage or injuries in Los Angeles, the department said.

The quake was detected by California’s new ShakeAlert system and it provided 48 seconds of warning to the seismology lab well before the shaking arrived at Caltech in the Los Angeles suburb of Pasadena but it did not trigger a public warning through an app recently made available in Los Angeles County.

USGS seismologist Robert Graves said the ShakeAlert system worked properly.

Graves said it calculated an intensity level for the Los Angeles area that was below the threshold for a public alert. The limits are intended to avoid false alarms.

Ashleigh Chandler, a helicopter rescue EMT at Fort Irwin, California, said the quake happened as she was getting ready for a July 4th party.

“I was just in the living room getting everything ready, we start to feel the shaking, so then I look up and then the wine bottles start rattling and I thought, ‘They’re going to fall.’

“My stepson was in the house and my dog, so we just got everyone outside and then it ended. It was like 15, 20 seconds, maybe. It was pretty good shaking, so I’m out of breath.”

“Everyone’s OK.”

Glenn Pomeroy, the head of California’s Earthquake Authority, said the earthquake is “an important reminder that all of California is earthquake country.”

Pomeroy urged the estimated 2,000 people in the region hit by the quake who have California Earthquake Authority insurance policies to contact their residential insurance agencies as soon as possible. Information on how to file a policy claim is on the agency’s website: EarthquakeAuthority.com, he said.

Story: John Antczak and Olga R. Rodriguez. Rachel Lerman in San Francisco and Shelly Adler in Washington, D.C., contributed to this story.

Daikin brings air conditioning innovation to BASIS International School Bangkok to offer the school with pure, fresh air and strengthens its position as the leader in energy efficiency and environmentally friendly operations

By

Khaosod English

-

5 July 2019, 05:18

Daikin, the world’s leader in air conditioning technology from Japan, brought innovative air condition system to BASIS International School Bangkok and strengthened its position as the leader in environmentally friendly energy efficiency by giving pure and safe air to the children.

Currently, due to ambient air quality problems and heat from outdoors, most of city people spend more than 90% of their time in a day indoors or closed environment. However, a study by World Health Organization (WHO) reveals that 30% of buildings around the world have poor air condition with possibility to have 100 times more pollution than the air outside, which may cause various adverse effects to the people who live in that environment. Poor air ventilation is one of the main causes of many indoor air quality issues which may results on pollutant buildup, especially in congested buildings. Other causes of indoor pollution include transportation of outside pollution into indoors environment or the specific indoor sources e.g. uses of chemicals indoors, uses of some office equipment, building materials, deteriorated air condition system, and unsuitable air condition system. Ideally a building should have efficient and high-quality air-conditioning system to prevent indoor pollution buildup that can seriously harm the health of the tenants. Daikin, the manufacturer of air conditioners that are energy efficient and environmentally friendly, is entrusted by BASIS International School Bangkok to provide air conditioning system in the school, covering 10,000 square meters of space.

Mr. Bundit Srivallapanondh, Managing Director of Siam Daikin Sales Co., Ltd., revealed that, “We’re delighted and proud to provide clean and safe air for the students of a world-renowned school who will grow up to be valuable citizens in the future. What Daikin carefully considers when installing air conditioning systems in schools with small children are safety, functionality and the cleanliness of the air. Children need pure and safe air to develop and grow. The system installed at BASIS is our latest innovation that harnesses both excellent cooling system and energy efficiency.”

The chosen air conditioning system for the project to cover 9,960 square meters is the VRV System (Variable Refrigerant Volume system) that includes Air-Cooled and Water-Cooled features. The indoor fan coil is a cassette type that is easy to maintain. The Air Handling Unit, which can purify the air and increase clean air, is operated with a MERV13 filter standard that can reduce PM2.5. The air that is added to the building is adjusted to cooler temperature and less humidity, providing a comfortable environment and energy saving for air conditioners. In addition, this system can reduce PM2.5 as well as protect PM2.5 from outside into the building. BASIS is the first school that will use Daikin’s latest innovation.

This is also the first time Daikin will use a Water-Cooled system in school. The heat from the condensing unit is used to heat the water in the swimming pool. Once the swimming pool is at the desired temperature, the system will then divert the heat at the Cooling Tower. Automatically operated with Daikin central control, the system is convenient for the building superintendent and also energy efficient.

“The reason we chose VRV system for this project is to stress Daikin’s standpoint in energy savings. Other technologies of VRV that include VRT and VRT Smart, also boost efficiency of the system’s performance and at the same time save energy,” Mr. Bundit said.

Mr. Jonathan Schwimmer, Co-Founder and Board of BASIS International School Bangkok, revealed that, “Besides globally recognized curriculum, what BASIS International School Bangkok considers the first priority is air quality that has to be pure and clean for the children. Children at this age do not have immunity that adults have, and that makes them sensitive to change in the air quality. This is why the school opted for an innovative air conditioning system that adds fresh air into the building, decreases indoor air pollution problem and uses high efficiency filter to decontaminate pollutants from outside. The air conditioning system that we use also has temperature control precision to maintain comfortable environment for the children.”

BASIS International School Bangkok offers a course of study that is connected through every grade level, starting with a student’s first preschool lessons, and ending with grade 12 Capstone courses. The academic year begins in August 2019 with capacity to accommodate 1,500 students. Located next to Central Plaza Rama II, the school’s facility spans 25,000 square meters with black box theater, art studio, comprehensive science and technology complex, 25-meter salt-water swimming pool and 12 rai of land dedicated for extracurricular activities and sports. Designed under the environmentally friendly concept with emphasis on energy efficiency and creative design, the concept in incorporated into the building structure, air conditioning system, high indoor air quality, swimming pool, garden and landscape, water management, electricity and energy system, road traffic as well as a mission to the community.

Daikin’s innovative air conditioning system at BASIS International School Bangkok raises the standard of energy saving and environmentally friendly air conditioning system that provides pure air for the children’s healthy and safe wellbeing.

Australian Student Released in North Korea Says ‘I’m OK’

By

Associated Press

-

4 July 2019, 17:58

Australian student Alek Sigley arrives at Beijing Capital International Airport in Beijing, Thursday, July 4, 2019. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

CANBERRA, Australia — An Australian student released after a week in detention in North Korea described his condition to reporters in Beijing on Thursday as “very good,” without saying what happened.

Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced to Parliament that Alek Sigley, 29, had been released hours earlier following intervention from Swedish diplomats on Wednesday, and had been taken to the Australian Embassy in Beijing.

Sigley looked relaxed and gave a peace sign when he arrived at Beijing airport. He did not respond to reporters’ questions about what had happened in Pyongyang.

“I’m OK, I’m OK, I’m good. I’m very good,” Sigley said. Asked how he was feeling, Sigley replied: “Great.”

800 4 — Australian student Alek Sigley arrives at Beijing Capital International Airport in Beijing, Thursday, July 4, 2019. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

His father, Gary Sigley, a professor of Asian studies at University of Western Australia, said his son would soon be reunited with his Japanese wife Yuka Morinaga in Tokyo.

Later Thursday, Sigley entered the departure area at Beijing airport, apparently on his way to Tokyo.

“He’s fine. He’s in very good spirits. He’s been treated well,” the father told reporters in his hometown of Perth.

Sigley’s friend and fellow student of North Korea, University of Technology Sydney academic Bronwen Dalton, said she had recently spoken to Sigley’s wife, who was thrilled by the news.

“We were jumping up and down and we love Sweden,” Dalton said.

“He’s a fine, young, emerging Asian scholar, he is very applied to his studies. I really doubted whether he did actually anything wrong by the regime,” Dalton added.

Swedish diplomats had raised concerns about Sigley with North Korean authorities in Pyongyang, where Australia does not have an embassy.

800 5 — Australian student Alek Sigley arrives at Beijing Capital International Airport in Beijing, Thursday, July 4, 2019. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

“Alek is safe and well. Swedish authorities advised the Australian government that they met with senior officials from the DPRK yesterday and raised the issue of Alek’s disappearance on Australia’s behalf,” Morrison said, using the official acronym for North Korea.

Morrison thanked Swedish authorities for “their invaluable assistance in securing Alek’s prompt release.”

“This outcome demonstrates the value of discrete behind-the-scenes work of officials in resolving complex and sensitive consular cases in close partnership with other governments,” Morrison said.

In an interview with Swedish public radio Thursday, Sweden’s Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom said she had been in contact with Australia and Sweden’s special envoy to North Korea, Kent Harstedt. She said Sweden had “raised the issue of this case at highest level” in North Korea and the release happened during Harstedt’s visit to Pyongyang.

“Happy for the release of Australian citizen Alek Sigley today! Sweden has done its utmost to work for Mr Sigley under our bilateral agreement with Australia. Relieved that the situation was resolved,” Wallstrom tweeted. She also welcomed “Korean authorities’ rapid action in connection with the visit of Sweden’s special envoy for the Korean Peninsula,” according to the Swedish Foreign Ministry.

cover 1 — President Donald Trump meets with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at the border village of Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone, South Korea, Sunday, June 30, 2019. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency said the Swedish delegation led by Harstedt headed back home on Thursday after a four-day visit. The agency said the Swedes visited a stamp museum and shoe factory during their stay in the North, but made no mention of Sigley.

The Pyongyang university student and tour guide had been out of contact with family and friends in Japan and Australia since Tuesday last week. He had been active in social media about his experiences in North Korea and had boasted about the extraordinary freedom he had been allowed as one of the few foreign students living in Pyongyang.

Morrison’s announcement was the first confirmation that he had been detained.

Morrison said he discussed Sigley’s disappearance with other world leaders attending the Group of 20 summit in Japan last week and accepted offers to find out what happened to him. Morrison had dined with President Donald Trump in Osaka but declined to say with whom he had discussed Sigley’s disappearance.

North Korea has been accused in the past of detaining Westerners and using them as political pawns to gain concessions. Australia advises people to reconsider their need to travel to North Korea and warns that foreigners have been subject to arbitrary arrests and long detentions.

Leonid Petrov, an Australian National University expert on North Korea and friend of Sigley, last week speculated that Sigley had been “deliberately cut off from means of communications” temporarily because Trump was in the region.

Petrov said on Thursday that he had not been able to contact Sigley since he had been freed, but still suspected his disappearance was linked to Trump meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Sunday.

“It was as time of sensitivity in North Korea after the visit of (Chinese President Xi Jinping) and before the visit by Donald Trump,” Petrov said.

“I expected this to happen a couple of days earlier, but it was a good thing to see the Swedish government delegation arrive on Monday just after the summit. It was the right time to be there,” Petrov added.

___

Associated Press writer Jan M. Olsen in Copenhagen, Denmark, contributed to this report.

THE BIGGEST SHOW

POPPING OFF

HISTORIC CELEBRATION

THE NATION’S CAPITAL

NEW CITIZENS

FOR THE KIDS AND KIDS AT HEART

AMERICA’S BIRTHPLACE

A DIFFERENT KIND OF BOOM

EXPLODING ROCKETS

BIG DOGS

A ‘KEY’ WINNER

A TOXIC FOURTH

Hot News

LATEST NEWS