SEPTEMBER

- Thailand’s First TRULY Viral Ad
1,258,716 views for a teacher destroying a student’s cell phone—too bad it was all an evil plot to sell spicy burgers.
-  THE BAHT
Stronger and stronger.
- CAT blocks 3G
On Sep 12, the Government-owned company wins the hatred of every single geek in the kingdom by blocking 3G—just as the rest of the world is gearing up for 4G.
-  IPHONE 4
You know something’s gone too far when even 10-year-olds on the BTS have a 26,000 baht phone.
- NAHM WARS
Everyone is cheering the opening of David Thompson’s Nahm, until the New York Times runs a story titled “Thais Bristle at Australian’s Take on Thai Cuisine” on Sep 23. Let the chauvinistic, misinformed mud-slinging commence.
-  TRENDING: POLITICAL ART
Tonson Gallery becomes an oasis of political expression in an increasingly repressed society. First, Pichet Klunchun impersonates reds and yellows in a gripping choreography. Then, Rirkrit Tiravanija illustrates the gallery’s walls with scenes from the protests. At Akko Art Gallery, Vasan Sitthiket lambasts Thaksin and the Army, while Pichet stages another very political performance at Patravadi.
- KRISPY KREME
‘Nuff said.

OCTOBER

- Rebellious FLIP-FLOPS
On Oct 3, a woman is arrested in Ayutthaya for selling flip-flops with Abhisit’s face on them and the message, “People died at Ratchaprasong.”
- Pinky vs Thunya
Hot chicks having slapfests over a guy in TV soaps are fine. But when it’s in real life, we’re totally psyched.
- TRENDING:ANANDA’S REMAKES
Released Oct 7, In See Daeng, by director Wisit Sasantieng (Fah Talai Jone) resurrects the 1960s superhero starring Ananda Everingham as the masked defender of good. Shortly after, Ananda stars in Eternity, another remake, this time of a 1955 movie based on a 1943 novel.
- TRENDING:HEALTHCARE WOES
2010 sees Thailand’s healthcare system fall apart. It starts with corrupt health ministry officials misappropriating Thai Khem Kaeng funds, followed by doctors refusing us the right to sue them for malpractice and, finally, the realization that healthcare costs for civil servants (which doubled from 2005 to 2009) are spiralling out of control.
- VAMPIRE WEEKEND
On Oct 22, the preppie band can’t live with the hype as fans complain their gig is just way too short.
- DANISH-THAI
Sra Bua, the sister restaurant of one-Michelin star restaurant Kiin Kiin opens. The big deal (apart from the star)? Kiin Kiin and Sra Bua serve Thai food although the original chef is Danish.
-  FLOODS!
Bad, bad weather. Boo!
- TRENDING: COMMUNITY MALLS
On Halloween, Mansion 7 opens, the last of a long string of community malls to open in Bangkok in 2010: K. Village, Grass Thonglor, Park Lane and Paradise Park.

NOVEMBER

- Aung San Suu Kyi is Free!
Following the Burmsese elections and her release from house arrest, she addresses the crowds on Nov 14.
- 2,000+ FETUSES FOUND IN TEMPLE
Nov 18, in Thonburi, Lanjakorn Jantamas, 33, performed illegal abortions, charging B5,000 for women under three months pregnant and up to B30,000 for those past five months. She also accepted fetuses from clinics, charging them B500 per fetus. She would then deliver the remains to a temple’s undertaker, who she paid B100 per fetus.

DECEMBER

- 8
Number of months between the US release of the iPad and its official release in Thailand, on Dec 3.
- WIKI-LEaks
Where we finally find out that Thailand’s politicians are considered corrupt by the rest of the world. Shocking!
- INSECTS BANNED
Insects in the Backyard, an indie film dealing frankly with sex while blurring gender lines, gets banned by the film commission.

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MAY

- ONG BAK 3
Tony Jaah puts on a few pounds and learns to dance.
- Naresuan-Gate
Half of the B200 million budget from the Ministry of Culture to support Thai cinema goes to King Naresuan, causing an uproar. It later gets halved when financial support for the film from other ministries comes to light.
- B36 billion
Amount transferred by Siam Commercial Bank from accounts held by the Shinawatra family to the Ministry of Finance, making the grand total seized B46 billlion.
- ATTACK!
The Thai Army launches an all-out assault on the Red Shirt camp and arrests its core leaders. The protests last over two months and leave 91 dead and some 2,100 injured. Red Shirts also torch parts of CentralWorld, Siam Square, Channel 3 and Victory Monument.
- TRENDING: ALL-NIGHT HOUSE PARTIES
With the curfew declared on May 19-29, Bangkokians take to partying at home or clubbing from dusk till dawn as it is stricly forbidden to be out and about from 8pm-6am. 
- BRT
The Bus Rapid Transit system opens, connecting Sathorn to the depths of Southern Bangkok.
- TRENDING: BANGKOK Love-in
On May 28, BK Magazine and A Day Bulletin simultaneously release post-protest covers with giant hearts (red for BK, pink for A Day). Soon, the “We (heart) Bangkok” gimmick is everywhere, culminating in the BMA’s Together We Can campaign.
- B170 billion
The Defense Ministry budget for 2011, nearly twice what it was in 2006 (B86 billion), before the coup.

JUNE

- Plastic Bag Crackdown
The BMA promises to launch a “No Bag No Baht” campaign at nine BMA markets to be enforced from June 5 onward. The bags showed up, but not the penalty for not bringing your own.
-WORLD CUP FEVER
The amount of money gambled in Thailand reaches B37 billion.
- FRENCH IS THE NEW ITALIAN
4 Garcons, Table de Tee, Triplets—finally Thais are cooking French food and bringing prices down, making the stodgy cuisine fun all over again.

JULY

- TRENDING: GOVT. FLEXESMUSCLES
First, red shirt activist Sombat Boonngamanong is arrested, then the “Kor Thod Pra Thet Thai” (Apologise Thailand) ad is banned; then student protesters in Chiang Rai are arrested and given a psychiatric evaluation.
- FACEBOOK KILLER
In Chonburi, on Jul 20, a man shoots his wife and himself because he catches her chatting with another man on Facebook.
- TRENDING: COCKTAILS DONE RIGHT
Bangkok is increasing committed to quality cocktails. With Soul Food Mahnakorn (opened in September), Fat Gut’z (July), Hyde & Seek and WTF (both in April), we now have four places that craft their drinks with attention and talent.
- NICHKHUN
K-Pop + Thai = [shrieks]

AUGUST

- TRENDING: INDIE CINEMA
In the wake of Apichatpong’s victory, auteur cinema in Thailand enjoys a brief surge of popularity. Anocha Suwichakornpong’s Mundane History, which won multiple awards at international film fests, kicks off the Director’s Screen series on Aug 5. Brown Sugar, an erotic series of shorts comes out on Aug 26, Agrarian Utopia screened Sep 2 and the 14th Thai Short Film and Video Festival runs Jul 1-Aug 1.
- 77
Number of provinces in Thailand since Bueng Kan’s upgrade.
- Hello Stranger
Bangkok Love Story production house GTH, Shutter director Banjong and A Day editor Zcongklod team up to bring us this feel-good romantic comedy which fanned the K-craze.
- Airport Link opens
Finally, an alternative to the dodgy taxi  ‘no meter’ mafia.
- GOOD COUNCIL
A handful of Bangkokians vote for  a sweeping Democrat majority in the district and city council elections.
- SPIRITS
TCDC’s spooky exhibition triggers screams with its dark rooms and grotesque figures. Originally charted to end in Nov, it is extended to Jan 9 due

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JANAUARY 

- GREENDAY
The top international act of the year—14 years after their first visit.
- TRENDING: CUPCAKES
Hot on the heels of New York, Bangkok goes crazy for the petite cakes as Cream by Cafe de Tu, Cupcake Carrousel, Pandora and Hi-Tim join the fray.
- CULTURE ONE
Bangkok’s ONLY dance music festival (sorry, ZoomOut you don’t count).
- B1.2 million
The price of one GT200. By the end of January, questions are raised about the bomb detectors, which ultimately proved completely useless when finally tested properly. The army purchased over 500 units.

FEBRUARY 

- TRENDING: BEAUTY DRINKS
Packed with sugar and with no real health benefits, beauty and supplement drinks start to crowd our shelves.
- CNY+VD
Chinese New Year and Valentine’s Day fall on the same day. Cuddly pink tiger anyone?
- BOAT SHOES
- Red Storm Rising
The red shirts march peacefully through Bangkok, in Thailand’s biggest demonstration ever, marking the beginning of a two-month standoff that would end in bloodshed and the destruction of parts of downtown Bangkok.

MARCH

- NAK PROK
After being banned for three years, the movie about three criminals ordaining to escape the law finally hits screens.
- 100,000
Number of people who fall ill as a result of the smog in the Northern provinces. Things got pretty bad in Bangkok, too—then again, we’re used to polluted air.
- GEEK CHIC
- THAI KICK-OFF
A new season of the local football league kicks off to big crowds and big sponsors—the dawn of a more professional Thai Premier League.
- TRANSCOOL TOKYO
Finally the BACC gets something right with this truly “cool” exhibition mixing modern Japanese artists and Thai artists influenced by Japan.
- TRENDING:WINE
Wine Connection officially opens (along with K Village, Mar 26) and, soon, queues for a table are 40-minutes long. But it’s not just Wine Connection’s sub-B1,000, retail-priced wines. Siam Winery reports its sales doubled over the past few years and Pullman’s Wine Pub continues to be packed. 2010: the year wine went mass market in Bangkok.

APRIL

- TRENDING:#bullshit /#trustworthy
With increasing political polarization comes increasing dissatisfaction with traditional media both in and outside of Thailand. That, plus an appetite for minute-by-minute coverage of the protests sends Bangkokians running to Twitter for their fix of news.
- DESCENT INTO VIOLENCE
On Apr 8, a State of Emergency is declared. On Apr 10, red shirts and the army exchange fire at Phan Fah bridge, leaving 25 dead, including one Japanese journalist and five soldiers.

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BK: What are some previous projects you’ve been involved with?
Alice: It all started with a print ad for Maxim contact lenses. Then I started to get TV commercials and I was the field host for Sister Day. There are also some singing gigs every now and then. Right now I’m a VJ at Bang Channel and I’m currently in the TV series Chocolate 5 Ruedoo. As for movies, I’ll be appearing in Lood See Lood (out in 2011) and before that I was in Puan Mai Gao (2009).

BK: How did you get into movies?
Alice: A senior at my faculty invited me to the casting because he knew that I could speak Chinese and they were looking for someone who could for the part. I get to star alongside the band August.

BK: Did you always want to be an actress?
Alice: Actually when I was young I just knew that I wanted to be in the entertainment industry whether it was front and center or behind the scenes. I felt happy to be around music and didn’t specifically wanted to be an actress or anything. I wanted to work with music and wouldn’t have minded being a DJ or a VJ.

BK: How did you first get into the business?
Alice: There was this S Club Talented Boys and Girls 2008 contest run by Siam Center and Siam Discovery. It was when I first came back from the States, all my friends were studying and my term at Chula hadn’t started yet. I didn’t like having a lot of free time so I thought I’d try this out as there were all these workshops you could join. It wasn’t really a competition and there were so many workshops that you didn’t have to pay for, like VJ, MC, makeup, scuba-diving and martial arts. I got the Popular Vote and then work just started coming in after that. I thought I’d just do it for kicks.

BK: What are your future plans?
Alice: I’ll just keep doing this if the work’s still coming in so I can have more experiences. I’d like to do a musical; it’s one thing I haven’t done. But eventually it will come to a point where I’ll continue my studies, maybe get a doctorate degree. I think it would be pretty cool to be Doctor Alice.

BK: What do you have to say to women your age who want to be in show biz?
Alice: The reason I’m at this point is because I’ve been given opportunities by others. They see that there is something in me that can be refined and that I work hard. Be yourself and try to pull out the best you have to offer, whether in working or studying to show that you would be pleasant to work with and not cause problems for others. Interview by Parisa Pichitmarn

“Matt Damon talks to the dead in Hereafter, though after awhile, it’s hard to tell who’s who.” Gary Thompson, Philadelphia Daily News

“Hereafter occupies some muzzy twilight zone, too woo-woo sentimental to be real, too limp to make for even a halfway decent ghost story.” David Edelstein, New York Magazine

“Morbid medium hates the dead. Hereafter, Clint must write a new soundtrack or just retire to a Tuscany farmhouse to enjoy old age.” Victoria Alexander, FilmsInReview.com

“The only thing more disconcerting than seeing an action-disaster sequence open a Clint Eastwood drama is watching the 80-year-old auteur channel M. Night Shyamalan.” Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News

“Like a wasted appointment at a bad psychic’s reading room. All the set dressing is there, but it leaves you with an empty, unsatisfied feeling inside.” Kevin Carr, 7M Pictures

Taksura

334/1 Soi Dharmasaroja, Phayathai Rd., 02-215-8870. Open daily 6pm-1am
Second of the popular pub franchise, the 15-year-old Taksura Hua Chang stays true to its original design (or lack thereof) with its signature wooden house and vintage furniture. We heart its breezy garden area with a faux-colonial style fountain as a centerpiece. To guarantee your seat, head there early as the place gets packed nightly with hoards of uni students getting their fix of cheap drinks and glab gleam. The music sees the usual radio hits, but head here on Wed, Fri and Sat for some live acoustic.

The Tree House

334 Soi Dharmasaroja, Phayathai Rd., 086-326-8275. Open daily 6pm-1am
Situated at the entrance of a charming vintage home turned hostel, The Tree House greets its customers with a large, dimly lit garden and cast-iron gate. Despite the stately guest house, the indoor-patio, complete with mix-and-match furniture, a pool table and an in-house DJ that plays both indie pop and international tunes, blends in easily with the rest of the relaxed crowd on this street. Here, you can grab house wine (B120 per glass) or a fish dish (B250) for a decent price. Otherwise, they offer your typical pub-grub food and local draught beer, available in pitchers and towers.

Hua Chang

Soi Dharmasaroja, Phayathai Rd., 087-539-1012. Open daily 6pm-1am
Don’t bother looking for the sign, this place doesn’t have one. Like The Tree House, Hua Chang sits in a vintage house belonging to some old-time aristocrat. The outdoor area is the most spacious of all the bars so if you’re with a group of friends, it’s a perfect spot. The crowd here are a bit more mature, albeit the laid-back t-shirt and jeans type. Foodwise, try their bestsellers like larb salmon (B100) and grilled pork neck with salt (B80). Like Taksura, Hua Chang has also branched out to the nearby neighborhood with La Moon in Din Daeng and HEAP in Phayathai (both with the suffix “by Hua Chang”).

@Rajdhevee

342/3-4 Soi Dharmasaroja, Phaya Thai Rd. 02-611-1414. Open daily 6pm-midnight
Although we can’t recommend the food, which is primarily Thai and a few clichéd Indian plates—and its owner can be slightly over enthusiastic—the atmosphere itself is an appealing sort of Mughal Empire meets 21st century mass-tourism. The have live folk music on Fri-Sat at 8:30pm, but we suggest making use of their comfy, upstairs pillow-lounge and their quality selection of Belgian beers, perhaps for an after-dinner social. By Carissa Devine, photography Gregoire Glachant

“If Stephen King wrote a romantic comedy, this would be it.” Gary Thompson, Philadelphia Daily News

“The title becomes a depressingly self-fulfilling prophecy: this is movie life as we have all come to know it.” Sean Means, Film.com

“It’s not that baby comedies aren’t a legitimate popcorn genre. But by comparison, this sleepwalk through pre-fab family-life makes Look Who’s Talking and Three Men and a Baby look like art.” Jim Slotek, Jam! Movies

“You can’t open a diaper and expect a diamond.” Matt Pais, Metromix.com

“It bravely explores untapped comedy wells such as how kids are expensive, how men hate changing nappies, and how single women fancy single men with babies.” Robbie Collin, News of the World
“Only the baby actors are spontaneous.” James Verniere, Boston Herald

BK: How long have you been selling coconut water?
Guy: Only for five months.

BK: What made you decide to start?
Guy: Well because it tastes good, and Thais believe that coconut water helps keep you young. Plus it’s healthy and easy to sell because I sell a raw product. You cut it open and it’s ready to go. I tried selling rambutan and pineapple, but coconut keeps for longer. I’ve also sold products made from coconut, like sweets and stuff, but coconut water is just so much more simple. This way I have time to work on my art. I also started to sell coconut water so I could make some more money on top of what I get from sale of my artwork.

BK: So art is the work you enjoy most?
Guy: Yes, it’s easy for me. I started when I was 13-years-old. I would draw Japanese cartoons all night long. That’s actually why I came to Bangkok, to study art.

BK: Where are you originally from?
Guy: I come from Srakeaw, near the Cambodian border, and I came to Bangkok when I was 13 with my master so that I could study art.

BK: Do you still work on your art?
Guy: Yes, in addition to selling coconut water I sell my artwork by Khao San Road. Selling coconut water is easy and quick, and it allows me to paint and draw during the day since the product I sell is ready as-is.

BK: Who is your target market for each product?
Guy: Well, for coconut water it depends on the time of day and location. I sell coconuts in the afternoon to catch people on their lunch breaks and in the early evening because the traffic has died down, allowing me to find a better place on the street side. I sell paintings to tourists at night.

BK: So you end up working day and night?
Guy: Actually my friend watches over my paintings for me now. I had a disagreement with someone in that area, so I try to avoid it. Now my friend sells my paintings, but it was much easier when I did it. Tourists like to hear the artist talk about his work, and my friend cannot do that, so now I sell fewer paintings.

BK: What is your favorite thing to paint or draw?
Guy: I like to paint elephants. Their skin has an interesting and fun texture to paint. Plus the tourists like to buy paintings with elephants, or so they tell me. Carissa Devine