Unexpected guest at the wedding

Achara Ashayagachat
Reuters

Japanese Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi wrapped up his visit to Thailand in unusual style yesterday — he gatecrashed a wedding reception at his hotel.

As he left a press conference, Mr Obuchi darted under an arch of pink and white roses to congratulate the newlyweds and present them with flowers and a digital camera.

"I hope you will use this to record all the happiness of your new life, such as the birth of your children," he told Chamnong Puttima and his smiling bride Treenuch Thaichia.

And possibly most memorable of all, the 63-year-old prime minister wrote a Japanese haiku in their blessing book: "Pine, High, Shining" – expressing the wish their marriage and love would be long-lasting and as enduring as a pine tree.

Officials said the couple had been forced to reduce their celebrations due to Mr Obuchi’s visit and he wanted to congratulate them and show his appreciation.

"This is the last thing I ever thought would happen at my wedding," Mr Chamnong said.

Earlier in the day the Japanese premier drew cheers at Thammasat University during a visit to the main campus for talks with 45 students in a special programme.

Calligraphy has been used for over three thousand years and is admired all over the world for its grace and beauty. However, for the Chinese community, it has been and still is more than just an aesthetic mode of expression.

In dynastic times, China was run by a Mandarin class which was theoretically open to all. Examinations were held periodically and those who were successful took up positions in the administration, placing them at the top of society. Writing with style was considered a sign of intelligence and therefore a person’s passport into the government.

While good handwriting is not guaranteed to get you a Cabinet portfolio in today’s China, the art of calligraphy still serves more than a merely decorative function.

You don’t have to be a genius to be rich

Who gets to be a millionaire?

Conventional wisdom says it’s the students who get good grades and go to elite universities. Or maybe it’s the children born into wealthy families with brilliant connections.

Neither is typical, says Thomas Stanley, who surveyed 1,300 millionaires in the United States for his new book, The Millionaire Mind.

The average millionaire’s student test scores were not good enough for them to get into many top notch universities, and once at university, they didn’t excel, Mr Stanley says. In fact, most millionaires say they were told they were not intellectually gifted, not smart enough to succeed.

"I find no correlation between standardised test scores, grade point averages and economic achievement," Mr Stanley said.

Instead of relying on genius, millionaires choose careers that match their abilities, Mr Stanley said. They are creative and practical. They focus on a goal, take calculated risks and work harder than most people.

The average multimillionaire in the study is a 54-year-old man, married to the same woman for 28 years, with three children. They said the keys to success are honesty, discipline, getting along with people, having a supportive spouse and working hard. – AP

A right song and dance

Bangkok University presents musical extravaganza

PATTARA DANUTRA
Bangkok University is known for producing a whole host of talent and many people in the entertainment business hail from that educational institute. So it would seem one way to spot emerging stars is to check out campus theatre productions.

Normally, two groups from the Faculty of Communication Arts produce theatrical performances every year: the student drama club, and a team of faculty and students from the Performing Arts Department.

The former group usually produces original comic plays, while the latter tends towards standard dramatic pieces.

Asst Prof Pansak Sukee of the faculty team has continuously produced quality dramatic works year after year, often drawing on well-known international plays. His portfolio includes directing plays such as Peter Shaeffer’s Equus and Neil Simon’'s Lost in Yonkers.

The success of those works is largely due to this drama lecturer who is one of the few directors keen on modern realistic plays, while the trend elsewhere in current Thai theatre is towards stylised, anti-realistic work.

However, this month Mr Pansak offers something very different – something he has penned himself and which is not in keeping with his usual style.

Bewitched is a music revue comprising around a dozen songs of various musical styles including Broadway tunes, standard pop, Latin pop, Thai luk thong folk songs, and even Chinese pop.

The songs are strung together in the story of an acting teacher and her students. They have a shared dream, to produce a musical extravaganza once their course work is finished, but due to economic woes they have to cancel their production despite having fully rehearsed the work.

What the audience sees is the teacher narrating scenes from past rehearsals. "Actually, you can't consider it a musical, it is a stage show with music, dancing and singing. It is inspired by the fact I spend all term pushing my students to follow dramatic masterpieces and it’s about time I try to do something suitable to the nature of my students!" said Mr Pansak, who also directed the play.

Remembering Ruam Dao

February 12 at 2 & 7 p.m.

• Everyone who was a teenager 14 years ago must have sung along to the hit tunes of Ruam Dao. More than a decade has passed, and the then popular singers Ord Kiriboon, Chompoo Fruity, O Puifai and Eew Phenpayon, among others, are getting together again to remember the old days in the "Khoo Rak Ruam Dao" concert.
• Tickets are 350 and 500 baht, available at the theatre. Call 225-8757-8.

15. What part of the Bangkok Post would you most likely find this type of information? the news section the letters to the editor Friday’s r.t. (real.time) section opinion and analysis 16. The purpose of this short text is to… remind us of a time in the past to describe a popular group of musicians to talk about songs popular with teenagers to announce an upcoming concert

Dear Abby: My husband, "Wayne", and I met in high school. After high school, our friendship grew deeper and we fell in love. We married and had three beautiful children together who are now 10, eight and five. I thought we would have a bright future together and watch our children grow. Two years ago, he began experiencing unusual symptoms and went to see his doctor. We learned days later that he had leukaemia. For a year and a half Wayne fought to survive. Unfortunately, it was not to be. I lost my friend, my husband and the father of my children. I am now a 35-year-old widow, raising my children alone. I am trying to do the best I can without him. Wayne told me during his illness that he didn’t want another man to raise our children. It was one of his last wishes. Abby, was he being selfish, or should I abide by his wishes? I loved Wayne more than all the stars in the sky. What I fear now is living alone, and I didn’t plan on being a single parent. Should I allow myself to move past this and concentrate on my and my children’s future? Or am I being selfish? Lonely Mom in Rhode Island Dear lonely Mom: I offer my sincere sympathy for the untimely loss of your husband. Allowing yourself to move past this tragedy and get on with your life is not selfish – it’s practical. By eliciting a deathbed promise from you that you would never remarry, your husband was just trying to hold onto life – an impossibility. Please don’t feel guilty. Life is for the living. 17. What request did the husband (Wayne) make of his wife? 18. What happened to him after he made that request? 19. What was the purpose of the woman’s letter to the famous columnist Abby? In other words, why did she write the letter? 20. In one or two sentences, summarise what Abby said in her reply. 21. What is your opinion of Abby’s reply and why do you feel that why?

Did you know hornbills do not make their own nesting holes? Unlike woodpeckers, hornbills cannot chisel out a hole in hard wood. Their beaks, although huge and strong, are not designed for that kind of job. The birds have to seek existing tree cavities for the female to lay eggs and raise the offspring, usually just one, until it can fly. 22. Look at the picture. Which part of the bird is its beak? A B C D 23. If you chisel something, which of the following instruments would be most useful? a sharp knife a large soup spoon a paint container a hammer 24. What are the tree cavities referred to in the text? 25. What is the offspring?