Owning an iPod Video in Thailand

I've been with my new iPod (a.k.a. nong iVy) for 3 weeks now. Of course, I'm a strong supporter of iPod. But I never realized that the iPod community is so big here in Thailand. It's clearly a bandwagon that many late adopters now are catching. I don't really care about the thought that it's no longer unique. Everybody owns one. So what? That's just great since that means there'll be more iPod-specific products coming out, which means more choices.

So if you recently bought an iPod Video, read through this post coz I'll share with you the interesting stuff online for your beloved iPod. Here you go:-

As you may know, iPod doesn't support Thai language. And that's such a pain... I do not recommend changing the names into English karaoke. If you have any iPod but Video, you can download a hack that enables you to read Thai at pubble's blog. This guy is a genius. But even a genius like himself still cannot figure out how to hack the Video. If you look at the post, you'll notice some hundred miserable iPod Video owners waiting for him to come up with the hack. But now there's a petition to Apple to create Thai fonts for iPod (legally)! So, let's. Just go to the petition page and show your voice. There's only 45 voices so far.

Next is to protect your iPod from scratches. I recommend going to Fortune IT city to get the clear sticker pasted on your entire iPod body. I got the one that came with the silicon case. And it cost me just 700 baht.

Or if you fantasize something cooler, check out vaja cases. It's got tailor-made leather iPod cases, as well as other gadget cases. I'm getting this model called iVolution with blue and black leather. Cute, isn't it? The price tag isn't so cute though.

Or if that isn't cool enough, Coach and Kate Spade came out with cute cases, but only for the Mini and the 4th gens. So, the Nano & Video owners will have to wait.

What else do you need? You should get a software that converts other video formats to iPod format. I'm not telling you which ones and how to get them coz I got them the cheap way :) But you can check out at www.thaiipod.net .

That should get you going. And enjoy the iPod way of breezing through your music collection. I'll get back to my nong iVy now :)

The best time to buy cosmetic palettes

For me, December is the best time to buy cosmetics. All of the brands come out with limited edition palettes, be it lip gloss, eye shadow, blush on, or combination. Thanks to recent focus groups I had to attend that brought me outside of home & office. Since my office is just 15-min drive from my home, I barely come to downtown, which is kinda sad, esp approaching the end of the year like this. So after the groups, I walked to Central Chidlom 3 times in 2 days, and spent most of the time in cosmetic counters.

And as I mentioned, there were so many palettes! Laura Mercier came out with Beauty Books, combining colors of the season for lips, eyes, and cheeks. Lip book and Eye book come with the brushes. I think they're great buys, esp the Eye book, 2 base colors, 3 pinkish-purple shades, 3 earth-tone shades, and 1 black for liner and smokey eyes. But I already have purple shades (Mac, many years ago) and Bobby Brown Shimmer Brick. So I passed (but still think about it hourly!).

Nars, which hasn't been in Thailand for long, came up with too many palettes! I think they have 7 combination palettes and 3 lip palettes. 7 combination palettes are just too many! I mean, I for one couldn't make any sense of it. I couldn't tell which one is better than which. Plus, there's no emerging theme, just simply mix & match of colors. The management probably couldn't make up their mind and simply launched everything. Seriously, just launch a couple of great palettes and launch with a theme and you'll be doing so much better! (Plus it's $70 at website, and 3400 baht a the counter, what a ripoff!)

I also visited Mac, Stila, Bobbi Brown and Shu Uemura. Mac got gorgeous bags with (so-so) brushes and colors. The bags are so bohemian-chic. But I don't like Mac products, and I HATE Mac sellers. They're so mean.

Bobbi Brown got 2 brush sets and 2 lip palettes, all at good bargain. I bought the lip gloss palette one, 7 colors at 1600 Baht, good deal isnt it? Shu got 2 eye palettes and something else I don't remember, but not so exciting.

So I noticed that purple is in. Purple is in every single palette. Gloss and shimmer are still here, but not as much as the past few years. And the best thing is that everything is 10% off or more. And I'm sure today's not the last day in December I bought cosmetics.

Chill Chill at Bangkok Jazz Festival

So many things happening this past weekend. But I want to talk about Bangkok Jazz Festival the most. Heineken, along with TAT (Tourism Authority of Thailand) and other sponsors hosted the annual Bangkok Jazz Festival this past weekend at Sanam Sua Pa. I was there on Sat and Sun night. And boy, how impressed I was.

First, I was surprised by the number of people came. I estimated 5000, but let's see what other sources say. I guess this kind of event is long wanted by Bangkokians. Think about it. People are willing to travel to Hua Hin for jazz, if there's one in Bkk, it should be a guaranteed success.

Second, I was impressed by how well organized it was. There are several sections you can choose to enjoy the event. You can bring your own mats & pillows and simply lay down on the grass. You can rent HK chairs and seat yourselves on the further area. You can buy food and sit at the tables in food court area. Or you can sit in one of the boutique bars scattered around the field. Plus there were several CD booths that sell popular and rare jazz CDs at lower prices. The toilets were even clean!

The artists represented were quite OK. Fourplay was the highlight. Each member also was featured with his own band. I also like Eldissa, the latin jazz/bossa nova duo that sings popular songs i.e. Can't Take My Eyes or Go West.So well done guys. And what a smart idea, indeed. Jazz is something enjoyable by people from 20's to ... well, very old. And those people have heavy pocket money. They are more than willing to spend whatever for their pleasure sake.

But one disappointment is the band selection. Fusion jazz isn't my favorite kind of jazz. But still, way to go HK. I now like your brand even more than before. You deserve that bright red star, really!!

awesomely entertaining and nothing else -- VH1

Since I didn't have to go to work, and didn't have money to spend, I decided to stay home. As I began browsing through TV channels, I realized how much I missed VH1 and E! TV is one of the very few things I miss about living in the U.S. (how shallow am I?)

VH1 is all about pop culture. You can read about VH1 in my earlier blog http://saowarat.blogspot.com At the beginning, it was just another music video channel that plays not-so-teens songs (since MTV always has to be young). But over time, like MTV, it evolves into a lifestyle channel, capturing whatever interests its target group. And it's so clear that VH1 target is Gen X (while MTV's is Gen Y). My age might belong to either Gen X or Y, but my mentality is clearly of an X. Of course, I'm so bitter about life and so sarcastic about everything, as if there were no hope left in the world (OK, more about that later).

Back to VH1. It's got pretty amazing programs. Mostly just compilation of short clips of something else e.g. songs, TV shows, interviews, award ceremonies, etc. But the very cool thing is the way it views those clips. It uses that sarcastic, bitter, dark, wacky humors of the Gen X as the lens to look at the clips i.e. it counts down how many days JLo and Mark Anthony stays in the marriage. The shows I like are "Best Week Ever", "The Fabulous Life of...", special ranking of things like "101 Hottest Hotties", "10 Jens", "Awesomely Bad Love Songs", etc.

How much more fun it can get than to watch funny people bitching about glamorous people? Someone once said that we have to gossip those celebrities because our normal lives are so boring and have nothing to talk about.

So now to UBC Inside. I think it's almost there. Now it's got some good documentaries about entertainment industry. (I really like Music Atlas and some episodes of Star Hunt.) But it's way too serious! Entertainment is meant to entertain. And this channel should be more entertaining, the way VH1 and E! are. I think Thai pop culture is no less juicier than others. So let's make use of it. Let's have some purely stupid, entertaining, shows that mock people around.

charlie and the chocolate factory

I just watched Charlie and the Chocolate Factory today, starring Johnny Depp and that kid from Finding Neverland. It's got Tim Burton's signature splashed all over the movie, but at a much softer level. It's got that sarcastic jokes and it's pretty dark at times. But it's easy to get the messages he tries to leave behind. All the kids could easily enjoy the movie without parents choking up on the cynical world Burton creates.

Depp is brilliant, as always. Unlike many friends of mine, I find Depp not so handsome or attractive. But he's sure a great, great actor. He impressed me so much in Finding Neverland, and now, Charlie. Keep up good job Johnny!

Now this makes me wanna see Corpse Bride. Burton & Depp tack team is a sure thing. As for those 5 kids in Charlie, that agressive, "I know everything", "grown-ups are so stupid" is my favorite. It's a pity his ending is too easy for an ingenious kid like himself!

If anyone thinks kids movies are for kids, you prob havent watched 'Charlie' and 'Finding Neverland'. I suggest you go watch these two and think again.

Nong iVy

I just got my new iPod Video last week from HK. Well, it wasn't that I've got so much money to spend since I already had an iPod (3G). But I lost it when I was shopping at JJ market. After that I tried to live without it for a while. It was so hard you know. Once you get used to listening to music the iPod way. I can't believe how iPod has changed my lifestyle so much! For one, I no longer carry a stack of CDs around. Nor I write mixed CD to listen in the car. I simply dump all my music into the iPod, and once in a while, I create playlists based on my mood at that time.

So I tried to stick to the radio. But it turned out that most of the songs the radio stations play I had in my iPod. And the radio spots, and the games. All that really made me miss my iPod. So it didn't take me a long time for this new one :)

Now I've got all of my music collection back. It's now 6853 songs and counting. And I finally got a cute name for it. It's called Nong iVy, from iPod Video. Thanks to Tul for his creativity. I'm so in love with it now. And will prob post more about how iPod changed me, well not just me I'm sure.