With my wife Chompooh dancing at the Oun I Rak Festival in Ronse (Belgium), I took the opportunity to test a few new items in my photography kit. Do take a look, the pictures are available here. Feedback welcome.
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Mystical Thailand: Nam Man Phrai, necromantic magic oil
In my research towards Kuman Thong and Sak Yant tattoos, I came across Nam Man Phrai, a kind of magical oil. When I started looking into the Thai love and mind control spells, the oil was an essential ingredient once again. Obviously important in Thai black magic, I decided to take a deeper look. Its origin is even darker than I expected. Quite honestly, it sends shivers down my spine.
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#fakenews not slowing down
Is it just my perception or is the fake news phenomenon not slowing down at all? When Facebook announced that it would weed out false reporting I was hopeful it would come to an end. Instead, the frequency of misleading sponsored posts on my timeline has increased and the phenomenon is getting deeper ingrained into our journalistic and even scientific culture. Let me tell you how.
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Review: Siam Senses restaurant (Antwerp, Belgium)
‘Three servings of Somtam with fermented crab, extra spicy’. When I heard the couple next to me order spicy papaya salad with their ice coffees, I knew I had to stick around. ‘Maybe you could try one portion first?’. The friendly waiter really wanted to ease them into Isan cuisine, but there was no stopping these weekend warriors out for an authentic adventure. Last Saturday, I paid a visit to Siam Senses in Antwerp.
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Mystical Thailand: Kuman Thong, or Ghost Babies
Beneath Thai Buddhist society, a strong undercurrent of superstition and black magic exists. Mysterious and taboo, these influences require research to be fully understood. Case in point is the phenomenon of Luk Thep. At face-value it comes across as adults infatuated with dolls, but deeper down it traces back to the dark history of child ghosts and occult ceremonies. Let’s dig into these subjects, shall we? Along the way we’ll discover the reason for the popularity of red Fanta in the vicinity of shrines.
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Phone Scam Fun – Episode 03: I’m a big fat liar
Got another call from our friends over at the fake Microsoft office. Once again, my intention was to drag them along as I can, get them irritated and make them hang up themselves. I was a bit scattered and caught by surprise, but the result is still a good laugh. Always fun to hear the sincere contempt in their voice when they realize they’ve been had. Sadly, I did not get to speak to my mate Frankie from my most successful attempt yet. Next time, I will try a new approach.
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Drama over Vilvoorde
Walking past the window, I caught a glimpse of this dramatic colorful sky and had to rush to capture it before it was gone. The sky was pink and purple with a splash of blue. The tiny hint of yellow light in the window really sets the scene off, in my eye at least. Larger version available if you continue reading.
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Adventures behind the Great Wall, my observations working in Shanghai
In the weeks before Christmas, I flew to Shanghai with every intention to blog about my experiences, working from the Chinese metropolis. The People’s Republic of China, however, had different intentions. Here is the report of my time behind the Great Firewall. China turned out be different from what I expected and was told.
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Glitterati Radio
Interested in having an ever-changing collection of interesting songs in a wide-variety of styles available anytime, anywhere? I present my Glitterati Radio Youtube playlist. An interesting mix of underground and mainstream music, often in surprising remixes and edits. Available if you continue reading, along with my motivation, approach and all options for listening. Enjoy and please do post any feedback or suggestions for tracks.
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Shanghai, from dusk till electric jungle
With the catch-up post about my adventures behind the Great Wall turning out to be more elaborate than I initially expected, here is a little sneak preview I would love to share ahead of time. These pictures the result of a nightly walk along the Bund and Nanjing Road in Puxi, the historical part of Shanghai, on the Western bank of the Huangpu River. Picture gallery available, just continue reading.