I share my store with two cats —my stress balls. They have no interest in books.

If I controlled Singapore I’d order archaeological digs throughout the entire island.

Right now I’m reading Ayn Rand’s The Fountainhead, Pico Iyer’s The Open Road, Steve Jobs’ biography, and Murakami’s 1Q84.

I would rather have an ice-pick stuck in my eye than read Tiziano Terzani’s A Fortune-Teller Told Me again.

Three cups of black coffee a day, at least, makes me happy.

My own home is nothing like my store. It’s spartan—a cupboard, a TV, a desk—that’s it.

I love taxi uncles’ wealth of useful and useless knowledge.

The worst part about running a bookstore is being surrounded by books all day, every day, but not getting the chance to read as often as I’d like.

Running a small business is punishing; I’m there seven days a week from 10am to 9pm. My last holiday was six years ago!

If I could get away I’d go somewhere with a lot of bookstores—serious!

The most embarassing moment of my life was when I was 14. I couldn’t cycle to save my life on an outing to Pulau Ubin.

For the record, I can cycle very well these days.

The books that changed my life were Edgar Allan Poe, Selected Poems and Tales and Dead Poets Society by N.H.Kleinbaum. Reading them encouraged me that my command of English wasn’t that bad.

Most of my classmates failed English.

Bookstores can actually intimidate some people.

It might sound inconsistent, but I love digital books. They encourage non-readers to read and, perhaps, to step into a bookstore.

I write fiction, but suck at it. A novel, though. Hopefully. One day.

Wherever I go in life books will go with me.

BooksActually is located at 9 Yong Siak Street.

How would you describe your music in three words?
A natural high.

You look like a tribal sorcerer. Which dead musician’s spirit would you like to collaborate with?
Probably George Harrison because he seems so versatile. He could help me with my songs.

What are your jukebox picks if you are packing sardines in a dingy factory?
It’s a really boring job so I need some uplifting tunes. “Look at What the Light Did Now” by Feist & Little Wings, “Disorder” by Joy Division and “Qu’est-ce Qui Ne Tourne Pas Rond Chez Moi” by Antoine.

You seem like someone who’s into magical realist fables. What’s your all-time favorite story?
Antoine de St. Exupery’s The Little Prince. Simply because grown-ups don’t see the elephant inside a snake.

You were trained as a filmmaker. If you were going to make a biopic about a Thai band, who would you feature?
I actually have two bands in mind. Selina and Sirinya because they make really beautiful sad music while Yellow Fang can really rock the socks off everyone.

What can we expect at UptotheSky?
Expect to be surprised because I just formed a new band for this event. We’re still rehearsing, but it will be interesting to watch us live.

See Little Fox at the inaugural UpTotheSky Festival on December 3 at Old School.

I dreamed of being an astronaut when I was a kid. They seemed so cool in movies. Plus seeing the world from the outside is really beautiful. You realize you’re tiny.

I taught myself about computers and wrote programs when I was in high school, but I decided to study industrial engineering at college. You should keep what you love as a hobby so you can enjoy it forever.

It took me seven and a half years to finish my degree, but I only spent a year and a half working in a company before I quit. I had graduated late and wanted to move fast. I wanted to take risks. So I knew I had to do something on my own.

I opened my own publishing company where I wrote and printed how-to computer books. It was going well until the economy crashed in 1997. Bookshops were giving me checks dated for two years in the future.

I started a Geocities page that collected different content. It became Sanook.com, which became the #1 Thai website. I sold it in 1999.

If you just do what you want to do, you won’t succeed. But if you figure out what people want, it will work. On Sanook.com, I had no direction. I just added the things people wanted.

My life felt like a failure when I sold Sanook. I had to stay on with the foreign owners for two years, draining my life in work and meetings.

I was not a good dad. I had no time to take care of my only son when he started developing Asperger Syndrome [a mild form of autism].

I quit Sanook to be with him and my wife for a year. But I had to do something else so I bought Kapook.com.

Everyone was saying the internet was a flop but my instinct told me otherwise.
I don’t see myself as successful. I’ve had good and bad times. My life is simple and I don’t collect anything because aquiring things is an endless pursuit.

I admired Steve Jobs long before he came back to Apple and released the iPhone. He started his own business in a garage and it beat giant companies.

Facebook can change the world more than anyone can imagine. Google and Microsoft should be afraid.

I am worried about cyber bullying. It can cause suicides among teens. We need to tell people that it’s serious.

I created Thaiflood.com right after I watched the floods in Nakhon Rachasima on Channel 3 in October last year. It was really violent.

I knew that flood wouldn’t be the last and there would be more severe ones, so I called my team at Kapook to create a website that night.

Thaiflood.com has 500,000 views each day. People are craving information, and there’s no centralized source of knowledge.

My life is so busy right now. I’ve had three meetings today and I’m really tired. I wouldn’t be this busy if government administrators did their jobs. I’ve spent nearly a million baht of my money running the site. I want to wake up and have nothing to do. It would also people are safe.

My Thaiflood team volunteered our services to the Flood Relief Operation Center (FROC) at Don Muang. We hoped FROC would agree regular citizens and representatives of the private sector could help, too.

I finally walked out of FROC after seeing that they were essentially ignoring us and that we’d just become their mouthpiece. It was better for us to leave and work in our own way.

People have given up on this government already. No one trusts them anymore.

Thailand doesn’t have a culture of accountability. When kapook.com was criticized for its content, even though it wasn’t showing anything illegal, I stepped down as head of the Thaiwebmaster’s association. But our leaders will never do that, even though so many people have died because of their mistakes.

My grasp on technology is deteriorating. New generations are smarter, but they don’t have experience. So we have to guide them in doing the right thing.

You can’t change the world on your own. I will continue doing what I believe in, but I hope others will join.

How did your passion for music start?
I’ve always had a great urge to express myself. As a kid I was always inventing stuff, creating different ways to express who I was and what I think. When we grow up we sometimes lose these natural ways of expressing ourselves. I found my own instrument at the age of fifteen, when I started to play the piano. You could say it was then that my passion for music started. And when we started Zebra and Snake about three years ago, I discovered so many new things about making music.

Why are you called Zebra and Snake?
We got the name from an old t-shirt with a print of these animals. We felt it was a perfectly dadaistic name for a band without limits.

What are you listening to these days?
I like melodramatic artists, such as Antony Hegarty, Scott Walker and David Bowie. I also listen to classical music a lot, since I play classical piano. We also have a few power songs we listen to when we’re touring, like Michael Rothers “Sonnenrad,” Anna Calvis “Desire” and, of course, all the hits from Bruce Springsteen.

What is your musical guilty pleasure?
This is a tricky one. I can’t help listening to Britney Spears’ Blackout album every once in a while. A couple of songs in that album just stick in your head. And Britney, she was in such a weird state making that album. There’s a weird appeal, you could say. And I know that Matti [bassist and backing vocalist] likes this album too, so I’m not the only one. Oh yeah, and there’s one song I feel bad for liking so much. It’s Desiree’s “Kissing You.”

What is the best gig you’ve done?
There are many gigs that have been great in different ways. For instance, our gig in a sky-scraper in Tokyo, last year. Or the gig in a small club in Oslo with one of our idols, Jonsi from Sigur Ros, standing in the audience. And of course, every gig with a noisy and dancing crowd is great.

What can we expect to see at your upcoming gig in Bangkok at Popscene?
We can give you intense and comforting music from the North that is easy to dance to and hopefully easy to fall in love with as well.

What are you most excited about?
The temperature! The winter is really arriving in Finland. I’m typing this with freezing fingers.

How do you see yourself in 20 years? What would you like to be remembered as?
I’d like to see Zebra and Snake still making music as intuitively as we do now. We really value our honest way of making our music, our small town background and the healing aspect as well. Hopefully those things will be remembered.

BK: How were your respective childhoods?
Pompam: I grew up without friends in my neighborhood because everyone hated our family. My dad would kick the neighbor’s dogs because they would shit in front of our house. So I spent most of my time watching TV at home. I loved game shows more than cartoons. Doraemon was the only cartoon that I could watch because I didn’t get the humor in other cartoons.
Got: I am the only child of my family. So my dad really loved to spend time with me and nurture me. But when he noticed that I behaved like a girl, he tried to bring me to play football and other sports but it was too late! [laughs].

BK: What are your day jobs?
Pompam: I am a creative group head at Bang Channel, GMM. I have worked there for 10 years.
Got: I am a creative at Five Live at GMM. I used to be a secretary for a Chinese company but I got bored so Pompam, who was my senior at Chulalongkorn University, asked me to apply as a creative here, and I got the job.

BK: How did Tei Tiaw Thai get started?
Pompam: It actually came from an idea I proposed for Bang Channel’s 2012 year-plan. They wanted to create a travel show with only one concept: fun. So I asked myself a lot of questions. What’s made other travel shows boring? The hosts go alone. Why do I always have fun when I travel? Because I go with my friends. And all my friends are toot [gay]. So I proposed the idea that I would go travel with my toot friends and my bosses totally loved it. They wanted to do it immediately and not wait. So I asked my uni friends Got and Golf [another host] to join.

BK: How does it feel, now that the show has become such an massive hit?
Pompam: It’s great and really terrible at the same time. When I posted the Tei Tiew Thai teaser on my Facebook, it was shared so fast and everyone was waiting to see it. I thought, “Shit!” It was more stressful than joyful, because I worried they would be disappointed when the episode officially came out. Our video editor even got gastritis because of this stress. But our first episode got more than 100,000 views in five days. That’s very cool.
Got: I am surprised that many of our fans are straight. At first I thought, “Who’s going to want to see us? We are just toots who travel.” But now I am just overjoyed that everyone loves it.

BK: Where is your favorite travel destination?
Pompam: I love Switzerland and all the nature. But it doesn’t need to be abroad. It can be our rural areas, too. Life goes fast in the city, but when I see green fields, I feel calm, like time has stopped.
Got: I don’t really have a favorite destination. Anywhere can be special if I go withfriends who make trouble and make me laugh.

Why did you choose to focus on political prisoners?
I have been following Burma for many years and in particular the issue of Burma’s political prisoners for the past five years. As a documentary photographer or filmmaker, you have an opportunity to inform and educate people about situations and events in ways different from mainstream media. In Burma’s case, the world has had to rely on state propaganda with extremely limited international coverage for many years, so to be able to work in a society with these limitations challenges you to find new ways to tell any one of the powerful stories that need to be told about Burma. Political prisoners is one of those stories that I wanted to try to tell, but there are many more.

How did you find all these people?
I was extremely privileged to receive the support and guidance of the former political prisoners themselves, both those in exile and those still inside Burma. And without their belief in the work I would never have undertaken it in the first place. These are their stories and their struggles to bring freedom to their friends and their country. The courage they have shown in the face of such inhumanity is a shining example to us all.

Tell us about your previous series Even Though I’m Free, I Am Not.
Abhaya—Burma’s Fearlessness is the name of the book and the exhibition but the work is still the same work. All I hope for is that people have learned more about the issue of political prisoners in Burma and will decide to help bring about their freedom in whatever way they can. That’s all that matters, nothing else. It’s why we have carried out this work.

How will the release of Aung San Suu Kyi affect politics in the country?
Releasing Aung San Suu Kyi was something that the military regime had to do. They could not keep her under arrest any longer, and it certainly was not an act of reform. Her release is important on many levels, as she is perhaps the one person who has the ability to bring a sense of unity to the country, if she is given the opportunity. Whether or not she will really be given the opportunity is another matter. So far Burma has seen talk of reform but very little substantive action. More than 1,800 political prisoners remain behind bars. Only if there is real change and real reform in the country can Aung San Suu Kyi or others bring democracy and a new dawn to Burma.

After this exhibition, what’s next?
The book, featuring a foreword by Aung San Suu Kyi, is being published and from November 30 the work is being exhibited by the Open Society Institute in New York as part of the Moving Walls program for the next 18 months. As for my colleagues and I, we will keep working on a number of projects inside Burma.

I actually wanted to be a pilot, but didn’t have the eyesight for it.

I’ve always looked up to people who have an unrelenting drive and stubbornness to be the best.

When I compare myself to the kids growing up these days, especially in Asia, I feel very fortunate to have been given the time and space to be a kid without the overbearing burden of studying and achievement.

My best childhood memory is the smell of freshly baked bread from the bakery tucked under my T-shirt to keep warm while cycling out to a nearby river, where my mates and I would go trout fishing.

Location and views are key ingredients in a dream home; as well as a sense of drama—the feeling of being on the edge.

I’m lucky to have found my passion.

Concrete is the foundation we build our dreams upon.

I wish I’d designed Antonio Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia in Barcelona. While I wish I’d designed the building, I’d rather not accept the fate of the architect [Gaudi was run over by a tram].

There’s no secret to hard work.

There is never an excuse for rudeness. The quality of life is largely about small human transactions and politeness makes human existence bearable.

My ideal phone would not take up much room in my pocket. It would be implanted in my brain so I can roll like Jack Bauer, and would have unlimited battery life.

In Singapore, models and people in fashion take themselves way too seriously.

There’s no room for mistakes in the name of experimentation when the result will be permanent.

I’ve definitely got a few epic adventures left in me. A mate and I have often talked about climbing Mount Kilimanjaro and Mount Kenya back to back, getting from one mountain to the other with rally cars and dirt bikes.

No matter what they look like I can’t date a crazy girl. You learn the hard way that it’s just not worth it—usually when they’re standing on your driveway at four in the morning spray-painting “I hate you loser” on your next-door neighbor’s car.

Talking of bromances who would yours be with?
I’d love to have one with Ricky Gervais. I just don’t think anyone can get more hilarious than him.

What was the first album you bought?
A greatest hits album from Kiss. My elder siblings, who are my role models, have always been big fans.

How do you craft your set list?
I build my sets on energy. The energy of a set is much like the energy of a house track. You have the intro, the drop, the break, a bigger drop and an ending. Depending on where the crowd’s energy is at, you have to adjust your set list. I’m fortunate enough to have learned this early on, but you can never get enough experience.

Are you a music snob ?
Not really. I listen to all kinds of music; I’m not locked into any specific genre or type. If I like it, I like it for what it is.

Any funny rituals before you get on decks?
I always do a shot of Jägermeister before going on. Tiësto got me into it.

You doing anything special for ZoukOut?
Definitely! I just finished a couple tracks in Stockholm. I’m going to try out at least one new exclusive track at the festival.

ZoukOut 2011 is happening on December 10 at Siloso Beach, Sentosa.

What runs through your mind when you’re shooting in conflict zones?
The most important thing is not to be seduced by the rush and excitement, and to be sensitive to the environment; to really try to understand what’s happening and why. The best ways to do this is to be as educated as you can about the situation by doing lots of research, and secondly by being as neutral as possible. Coming from a small, neutral country helps with the latter.

What rules do you follow when you’re working?
I always shoot with a wide angle lens. In order to fill the frame, this obliges me to get physically close to my subjects. This helps me get mentally and emotionally close to them. I shoot with a small, unobtrusive camera, without a flash and the other paraphernalia of photographers, so as not to intimidate people.

You did a stint at Magnum. What was the most invaluable lesson you learned there?
The privilege of looking through the work of the great photographers was the best. Just being around them and absorbing many lessons, either through their direct teaching or by osmosis.

The Intimate Moment runs through Nov 30 with a talk by Yian Huang on Nov 26 at Galerie Steph.

All along, it has been our plan to… make the transition from a club to a seated space like the Esplanade Recital Studio. It’s always been our mission to play in different venues and reach everyone.

The biggest difference is going to be… not worrying about entertaining drunk kids, but that also means we have to be absolutely tight and subtle in our approach.

Collaborating with KoFlow is going to be… a challenge, because he’s an extraordinary improviser.

Octover is all about… fresh, soulful electronica where the jazz-influenced vocals of Vanessa Fernandez meet iconic local producer Jason Tan’s wizardry.

The visuals on this night would transport you… to a neo-noir futuristic world. Think Blade Runner.

If you enjoy the gig, don’t forget to… grab a copy of our new Syndicate album. CDs are the new vinyl.

Brace yourself for a multi-sensory journey with Syndicate on November 25 at the Esplanade Recital Studio.