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A Kind of Magic - The triumphant and tragic story of Freddie Mercury
A Kind of Magic - The triumphant and tragic story of Freddie Mercury
The word ‘talent’ has become an oxymoron, literally replaced by ‘moron’. In a world where celebrities are ten-a-penny and earn their stardom stripes by such trivia as bearing their empty lives on soul-less and never-ending live TV shows and Twitter streams or eating grubs in a jungle, it’s no wonder we yearn for yesteryear’s true talent.
The breakfast of champions at Poached Cafe
The breakfast of champions at Poached Cafe
John Gunthur, the American journalist and author, once wrote, ‘All happiness depends on a leisurely breakfast’.
The Great Escape - A peaceful weekend in Cape Panwa
The Great Escape - A peaceful weekend in Cape Panwa
The pace and persistent nature of the busy modern world often finds us seeking a haven to unwind in those precious days off or weekends. The term ‘haven’ derives from the Old Norse word for ‘harbour’, a place where ships find shelter from the storm.
Guest Chef Evert Onderbeke at The Boathouse
Guest Chef Evert Onderbeke at The Boathouse
If you missed it, you’ll be disappointed to learn that across the month of October The Boathouse, Phuket hosted the ‘Feastival of Indulgence’. And yes, it was as delicious and decadent as it sounds.
Halloween Special - It’s a dog’s afterlife
Halloween Special - It’s a dog’s afterlife
Everyone loves to get a little spooked at Halloween. Whilst the cinemas tend to show adult ‘shock’ flicks to bring in the big kids looking for something a little meatier, it does leave the smaller ones with little more to do on this festive occasion than wreak havoc on the neighbours in penance for not handing over their candy stash.
The Holy Grail - Sunday roast at Shanti Lodge
The Holy Grail - Sunday roast at Shanti Lodge
The British can be a peculiar bunch. They can be as perplexing as they are particular. From a broadsheet newspaper over breakfast to afternoon tea and cake at three, they like things ‘just so’, and as creatures of habit, not a minute late.
Chalong Bay Wonderland - The people behind the improbable success story
Chalong Bay Wonderland - The people behind the improbable success story
You know what the issue is with this world? Everyone wants some magical solution to their problem, and everyone refuses to believe in magic.” - Alice in Wonderland
The Lifestyle Village - An ambitious future for Phuket Boat Lagoon
The Lifestyle Village - An ambitious future for Phuket Boat Lagoon
After covering a late-night event in Mai Khao, I dropped into Phuket Boat Lagoon for a little refreshment before heading home. Having recently returned to the island after a five-year absence in the West, I was surprisingly taken aback by the upgraded aesthetics and clear investment into the Lagoon Quay boardwalk since my last visit.
#fight4Phuket
#fight4Phuket
Travel and tourism have grown immensely and will continue to do so. The travel industry is in a new paradigm where it must be controlled and not just promoted. Examples of extreme environmental degradation, overcrowding, and public outcry among residents are emerging across the world as a tourism backlash.
Lessons in love: The Good Shepherd Centre, Phuket Town
Lessons in love: The Good Shepherd Centre, Phuket Town
The Good Shepherd Centre, located in the southern district of Phuket Town near Rassada Pier, is a solitary beacon of hope for the socially impoverished and politically displaced Myanmar communities living in squalid encampments within the surrounding areas.
Adventure at Cape Sienna: A narrative journey into fine dining
Adventure at Cape Sienna: A narrative journey into fine dining
Stormy evenings are perfect for sitting around and telling tall tales to entertain your housebound guests, as the rain and wind swirls about the gathering.
Last Punk Standing: The new Vivienne Westwood documentary
Last Punk Standing: The new Vivienne Westwood documentary
What was the genesis of the Punk movement? Fashion or music? Certainly it caught the wider media and public attention from the anarchistic explosion onto the music scene of The Sex Pistols in 1976, and their only studio album, Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols, in 1977.
The world of a Pop Surrealism artist
The world of a Pop Surrealism artist
It was on a stroll along Phang Nga Road in Phuket town on a particularly sun-blinding day that I realised just how surreal life is. Not more than a few months previous I was hauling my butt along Oxford Street, London through the pouring rain in a failed attempt to get to a tedious media launch on time. In the blink of an eye I’m living in S.E. Asia as a Lifestyle Editor. But I should have braced myself, it was about to get a whole lot weirder.
Woes to the Woebot: Can artificial intelligence replace human therapists?
Woes to the Woebot: Can artificial intelligence replace human therapists?
“We only use methods validated in our own research, or techniques that have been tested in the field. The more you can tell me, the more helpful I can be. For example, over time, I might be able to see patterns in your mood.”
Stand-up Singapore: Interview with comedian, Sam See
Stand-up Singapore: Interview with comedian, Sam See
Sam See is part of Asia’s new wave of stand-up comedians, entertaining audiences from around the globe for over half a decade with his unique blend of jokes, stories and improvised humour.
Slave to the rhythm - The natural phenomena of entrainment
Slave to the rhythm - The natural phenomena of entrainment
It was in Paris, 1666, that Christiaan Huygens, the Dutch physicist, became rather baffled. Huygens had invented the pendulum grandfather clock, along with a wide range of classic mechanics and mathematical physics formula for which he would become renowned. But his attention had turned to a surprising observation on the behaviour of two swinging pendulums.
Sunk Cost Error - The irrationality behind decision making
Sunk Cost Error - The irrationality behind decision making
Here’s the scenario. Last week you thought it was a really smart manoeuvre to purchase tickets to see a new-fangled guitar band at a venue in Patong. Now it’s Friday night after a long week at work and sitting in rush-hour traffic. The concert starts in two hours, and whatever rock demon that possessed you to buy the damn ticket in the first place has left the building. And if it couldn’t get any worse, you’re south of the Chalong Circle. Great. In truth, you’re less than enamoured about the whole affair.
Hungry ghosts, red turtles - The Por Tor Festival
Hungry ghosts, red turtles - The Por Tor Festival
The Twenty-four Filial Exemplars is a classic Chinese text of Confucian family piety written by Guo Jujing during the Yuan dynasty (1260–1368). The text is an example of, in certain cases, extreme actions to fulfilling familial obligations. From killing offspring to free up their ration of food, breastfeeding toothless grandparents to tales of rather gruesome self harm, it’s not without its controversy nor for the faint of heart.
One Giant Flop...The ‘game changer’ for mixed reality stumbles
One Giant Flop...The ‘game changer’ for mixed reality stumbles
Have you ever heard of Magic Leap? If not, you’ll be surprised to learn that this American start-up company, founded in 2010, has raised an enormous US$2.3 billion for a previously non-released technology platform development programme employing more than 1,500 employees. For those that do know about Magic Leap’s existence, you’ll also know that whilst there has been much hype about the potential of their technology, supported by the occasional ‘life changing’ CGI image or two, the actual method and product has been shrouded in total secrecy for the past seven years of development. Magic Leap is a ‘mixed reality’ platform. The company prefers to differentiate this as ‘spatial computing’. In essence it’s the ability to enhance your surrounding ‘real’ environment with the integration and interaction with menu systems, 3D objects and animations. The current technological limitation and delivery method is for the user to wear a headset tethered to a wearable device which projects content into your field of vision... ideally with as much spatial accuracy as possible to prevent breaking the illusion that it’s actually ‘there’. It’s fair to say that the intensity of ‘real-time’ information processing and tracking, paired with a wearable computer powerful enough to deliver this experience seamlessly has to this point been lacking. Microsoft’s offering, The HoloLens, has been in the market for several years, and whilst it has its primitive uses in commercial training with an increasing potential in education, it certainly has underwhelming consumer value. So, is Magic Leap the next case of Emperor’s New Clothes? And what have they been doing with all of this time and money? According to the company founder and CEO, Rony Abovitz, with a company statement that is unlikely to calm the investors’ nerves, “When we’re not here talking about mixed reality and the future of computing, we’re busy putting robots in your kitchen and making music you can touch.” Well that’s alrighty then. No further explanation needed. Please carry on. And so they did. Right up to August 8 when the Magic Leap One headset and developer’s kit was unleashed to a poised world… most notably without a convincing domestic android nor ‘touchy-feely’ semiquavers in augmented sight. So the first technical journalist reviews are out. Now brace yourselves. Guess what? After billions of dollars spent and promises of floating ginormous sea mammals in your school gymnasium – and why is this the visual pinnacle of our future? – they’re far from encouraging. The Verge’s Adi Robertson wrote a hands-on review of the launch product, describing the experience as a ‘flawed glimpse’ of the potential in this field of technology. "Based on an afternoon with Magic Leap, the Magic Leap One Creator Edition is a functional, thoughtfully designed headset with some very real advantages over competitors like the Microsoft HoloLens. But it doesn’t seem like a satisfying computing device or a radical step forward for mixed reality." "While not as restrictive as Microsoft’s HoloLens, the Lightwear (headset) has a limited field of view that constrains the experience. Some objects appeared cut off unless I turned my head or took a few steps back. I don’t suggest anyone run out to buy one – maybe not for years. I found many of Magic Leap’s technically impressive demos to be little more than a novelty.” And MIT Technology Review was also less than complimentary. “Yet while the experiences in the demo room are fun and visually impressive, none of it is truly mind-blowing.” “I want to feel like those robots are actually coming after me. I want the life-size whale coming out of the gym floor. And I want to forget that I’m weighed down by a headset and pocket-sized computer, peering at this visually enhanced world one rectangle at a time. For this to happen, the hardware will have to get still smaller and better.” “More to the point, cool as the gadget is, the question remains: can Magic Leap turn it into a money-making business?” So where is this going? I’m not sure even Magic Leap know. They’re certainly keen to promote a magical idea of a technically-enhanced future, but with little direction on what this will actually achieve. And will they be the ones to do it even if the roadmap to a digitally enhanced future is imagined? Whilst Magic Leap have constrained any serious questions or information from within the company with strict non-disclosure agreements with all employees, and some clearly PR-orchestrated positive statements… various leaks from within the company have confirmed what we’ve secretly been wondering all along. “Either management doesn’t appear to have a clue, or they are in on a very giant scam.” “Unless you’re drinking the Kool-Aid you’ll quickly see how much of a facade this company is.” Ouch. Perhaps they’ve been too busy working on a mixed-reality experience for their investors? One in which cryptocurrency literally falls off the swooning purple trees straight into their clean, glowing hands, neatly obscuring their regal butt-naked frames. The Garden of Eden this is not. Check out the unforgettable first experiences created by Magic Leap Studios at www.magicleap.com
Clean the Beach Boot Camp making us all feel a little respect
Clean the Beach Boot Camp making us all feel a little respect
Whilst loving the world-class beaches we have on offer across the island, it’s a little difficult at times not to be disappointed at how badly they are maintained and looked after.