Quote of the day...

Q: “So, does that mean the more than 2,300 websites that were banned were all done so by court order, and that the ICT has not preemptively or illegally banned any websites?”
A: “Yes. But it takes time to get court orders, so we may delete certain content deemed inappropriate before we go through the process.”
— Bangkok Post

The Computer Crime Act allows the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology to block websites only after successfully applying for a court order. Interviewed by Voranai Vanijaka in today’s Bangkok Post, ICT Minister Ranongrak Suwanchawee initially denied preemptively blocking websites, though she then immediately contradicted herself, and admitted to violating the Computer Crime Act. (In a previous quote of the day, a Ministry of Culture official patronised Thai filmgoers.)

San-Dan-Ka

A new butoh dance performance titled San-Dan-Ka, directed by Teerawat Mulvilai, will begin today at the Democrazy Theatre Studio in Bangkok. The performance was inspired by Anupong Chantorn's painting representing monks as crows. The final performance will be on 8th February.

Dirty Words

Dirty Words: A Literary Encyclopedia Of Sex, edited by Ellen Sussman, consists of almost 100 chapters, each of which discusses a different 'dirty' word. The chapters are more anecdotal than literary, but it's great that a serious book on this subject has been published, especially with an uncensored cover.

In his chapter on one of the words (yes, that one), Jonathan Wilson quotes a paragraph verbatim from my website without any attribution. The editor has already confirmed that I'll be referenced properly when the book is reprinted.