‘Roses of the North’ Charity Exhibition

Flowers can make everyone feel happy…. H.E.Privy Councillor Palakorn Suwanrath and Thanpuying Dhasaniya Suwanrath recently presided over at ‘Roses of the North’ charity oil painting exhibition inspired by Bhubing Palace organized by L’Occitane and Baan Saen Doi Resort in Chiang Mai. The art of mercy rose oil painting exhibition was held at Peninsula Plaza and part of sales went to support schools and hospitals where are needed in Chiang Mai. Many kind hearted celebrities attended the event including Khunying Dhipavadee Meksawan, Mr.Harald Link, Arunee Bhirombhakdi, Atchara Tejapaibul, M.L.Sirichalerm Svasti, M.L.Thongmakut and Jarujit Thongyai, Yuwadee and Nidsinee Chirathivat, Dararatana and Toey Mahadumrongkul, Chadapah Snidvongs, Captain Deuntemduang Na Chiengmai, Pimpawan Limpichart, Joy Sopitpongstorn, Panitnuj Bunnag, Piranuj T.Suwan, Sodsoi Chomthavat, Mayura Savetsila, Wanchana Sawasdee and more.

The exhibition showcased of over 70 oil painting of roses flowers by artist and art lecturer Narin Phothisombat. Narin Phothisombat is a talented artist with an art degree from Chiang Mai Technology Rajchamonkol. His painting was inspired by roses from Phra Tamnak Bhubing Rajanives (Bhubing Palace). His painting reflected his pride and passions towards the beauty of nature for roses including Queen Sirikit, Eliza, Rouge Meilland, Queen Elizabeth and Royal Air Force.

In addition there was the charity auction on 2 oil painting pieces. The first one was the painting of Queen Elizabeth which won by Harald Link, CEO of B.Grimm for 120,000 Baht and the other piece on Queen Sirikit won by Arunee Bhirombhakdi for 75,000 Baht.

Accumetrics Closes 2009 with Positive Outlook

New distribution agreements, favorable clinical data, and significant capital financing position the company for continued growth in 2010 Accumetrics, Inc., developer and marketer of the VerifyNow(R) System, the first rapid and easy-to-use diagnostic system for measuring an individual's response to multiple antiplatelet agents, announced that 2009 included a doubling in the number of international and U.S. distribution agreements, as well as positive medical community support, and significant capital financing

that will take the company into 2011.

In 2009, the company continued its commitment to creating a powerful, worldwide distribution network aimed at gaining adoption of its products at end-user levels. Spanning Europe, Latin America and Asia, Accumetrics currently has partnerships with 20 leading international distributors who provide the company with local representation in over 30 countries. Latest additions to the international distribution network include Keller Medical in Germany, ZAO "Schag" in Russia and VSA Alta Complejidad S.A. in Argentina. Accumetrics continued to strengthen its U.S. presence by partnering with 10 cardiovascular specialty distributors to enhance support to the company's growing base of clinicians in the domestic hospital market. Accumetrics has

also partnered with National Distribution & Contracting, Inc. (NDC), the largest organization of independent medical supply distributors in North America, to expand its distribution network in the physician office lab
marketplace.

Increasing evidence of the clinical value of platelet reactivity testing was demonstrated in several presentations of new clinical studies including the POPular study, presented at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions in November, and a meta-analysis presented at a symposium during the 2009 Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT ) Conference. These data also build upon the anticipation of the results of the GRAVITAS trial, which has now completed 80% enrollment.

"2009 has proven to be an outstanding year of growth for Accumetrics," said Timothy I. Still, CEO and President of Accumetrics. "We look at 2010 as a breakthrough year for the company, and are pleased to be in a position to capitalize on the growing clinical acceptance of platelet reactivity testing."

Accumetrics concluded 2009 with $17.1 million in new capital financing, which will fully support the company into 2011. Proceeds will fund a number of key 2010 milestones including expanded claims for existing products, new product development and continued expansion of commercialization efforts. About Accumetrics (www.accumetrics.com)

Accumetrics is committed to advancing medical understanding of platelet function and enhancing quality of care for patients receiving antiplatelet therapies by providing industry-leading and widely accessible diagnostic tests for rapid platelet function assessment.

Accumetrics' VerifyNow System is the first rapid and easy to use platform for measuring an individual's response to multiple antiplatelet agents. Addressing every major antiplatelet drug, including FDA-cleared products for aspirin, P2Y12 inhibitors (e.g. prasugrel (Effient(TM)) and clopidogrel (Plavix(R))), and the GP IIb/IIIa inhibitors (e.g. ReoPro(R) and Integrilin(R)), the VerifyNow System provides a valuable tool to help
physicians make more informed treatment decisions.

The Accumetrics logo and VerifyNow are registered trademarks of Accumetrics, Inc. ReoPro is a registered trademark of Centocor, Inc. Integrilin is a registered trademark of Millennium Pharmaceuticals. Plavix is a registered trademark of sanofi-aventis. Effient is a trademark of Eli Lilly and Company.

Social Media for Travel Marketing

Social Media for Travel Marketing - - the latest seminar program by SPOTMARK is schedule on 11 November 2009 at The Westin Grand Sukhumvit, Bangkok. The seminar, organized in response to the popularity of social media marketing, will be a perfect educational session for travel marketers to learn how to master social media marketing and how to integrate it into the marketing mix.


In response to the popularity of social media marketing especially among travel marketers who want to capture the expanding social media user population, SPOTMARK is organizing a seminar on ‘Social Media for Travel Marketing. The seminar is scheduled on 11 November 2009 at the Westin Grande Sukhumvit, Bangkok, Thailand.

In addition to utterly presentations on social media marketing, the seminar will also touch on other digital marketing tools and trends for the travel industry. “Social media like any other marketing tools shouldn’t be use alone. It should be integrated into the whole marketing mix if you really want to make it works,” said Mr. Sirapat Kettarn, Managing Director of SPOTMARK, the professional business-to-business conference, exhibition & event marketing organizer adding that, “however, since there have been a lot of seminar and workshop on digital marketing in the past, the main focus for this seminar will be in social media, how it works and to make it works by itself and together with other tools. That is where other digital marketing will come into the picture. We will bring in a lot of real-life case studies to demonstrate what works well and what doesn’t.”

The growing popularity of social media marketing is not only because of the expanding population of social media users but its proven success as well. Social media has become the tools for various purposes - - branding, improving customer loyalty, lead generation, direct marketing and e-commerce. Debra Aho Williamson, eMarketer’s senior analyst once said the beauty of social networks is that they are a place where nearly any marketing goal can be achieved, with nearly any marketing tactic.

For the travel industry, social media is the future. The latest finding from Eye for Travel claims that 79% of travel industry executives view social media as a long-term part of the online marketing mix.

Why social media is so important for travel marketing? Some of the simple answers might because travel are collectors, critics, creators & spectators; seeing is believing - - pictures do speak louder than words; travelers want “insider information”; recommendations from fellow travelers are trusted and travelers want to share their experience.

The seminar will benefit anyone working in hotels & resorts, travel agencies, online travel, airlines, cruise from large hotel chains to independent hotels as well as international travel companies and online travel agencies that want to better understand of the fast moving travel technology and how to capitalize on technology to grow their business.

Astro Boy manga to hit US iPhones

       Japan's Astro Boy and other comic heroes by late manga legend Osamu Tezuka will soon appear on iPhones and iPods in the United States, Japanese companies said recently.
       The English-language Weekly Astro Boy Magazine will be available for iPhone and iPod touch users as early as this month in volumes of about 100 pages each, said Tezuka Productions Co. and D-Arc Inc.
       The first large-volume manga service for mobile devices entirely in English comes after the release this weekend of a modern 3D computer animation take on Astro Boy in the United States and China.
       First sketched by Tezuka in the 1950s,the Astro Boy series charmed children across the globe with its tale of a powerful little robot boy built by a scientist in the image of his deceased son.
       A number of versions of the story have been produced since, most famously the 1960s series which heralded the rise of the influential Japanese anime style of cartoons used in television and film.
       The first mobile-device trial volume is free, and the companies aim for one million downloads, said Yoshihide Kinokawa, a director at D-Arc, who was behind the development of the English-language cartoon delivery for iPhones.
       Each volume afterwards will sell at 99 cents per weekly.
       Readers can see the whole page on the screen and zoom in for close-ups of individual cartoon cells.
       "I hope people who saw the movie will want to read the original," Kinokawa said. The companies plan to expand the service to other countries gradually.
       The digital weekly will also carry Phoenix ,Black Jack and other works by the late "God of Manga."

New twist in book-scan deal

       A judge has given Google Inc more time to revise a legal settlement that has drawn government scrutiny because it would give the Internet search leader the digital rights to millions of out-of-print books.
       Under a change approved on Monday,Google and groups representing US authors and publishers now have until Friday to change an agreement reached more than a year ago. It marked the latest twist in a copyright lawsuit that the authors and publishers filed against Google's digital book project four years ago.
       The revisions to the settlement were supposed to be filed by the end of Monday, but Google and its negotiating partners told US District Judge Denny Chin they still needed to address objections raised in September by the US Justice Department. Chin signed off on the extension without comment.
       The Justice Department has warned it probably would try to block the current agreement from taking effect because antitrust regulators had concluded it threatened to thwart competition and drive up prices.
       Some of the Justice Department's preliminary findings echoed concerns from a chorus of critics that include Google rivals Microsoft Corp, Yahoo Inc and Amazon.com Inc.
       Google had insisted the settlement merited court approval until the Justice Department raised red flags.
       In its current form, the settlement would entrust Google with a digital database containing millions of copyright-protected books, including volumes no longer being published. The Internet search leader would act as the sales agent for the authors and publishers,giving 63% of the revenue to the copyright holders.
       The Justice Department believes the arrangement could lead to collusion that would raise the prices for digital books a format that is expected to become increasingly popular with the advent of electronic readers such as Amazon's Kindle.
       Google contends its plan to make digital copies of so many hard-to-find books would benefit society by making more knowledge available to anyone with an Internet connection.
       For that reason, the Justice Department has said it hopes an acceptable compromise can be worked out.

INSPIRATIONAL LIVING

       Intukarn GajaseniSirisant brings Martha Stewart s Midas touch to the Thai edition of Martha Stewart Living writes Samila Wenin
       Intukarn Gajaseni Sirisant may be better known as an Isabella Bird-type than a Mrs Dalloway, as evidenced in the myriads of postcards collected from numerous places she's visited all over the world - a passion that earned the 41-year-old beauty over half a decade-long editorship post at Honeymoon & Travel magazine. Those who have not known the other side of Intukarn frowned when she took up the editor-in-chief post for the newly launched Martha Stewart Living Thailand.
       "Travel is my passion and I used to travel a lot. But I have this domestic side the Martha Stewart side - and it's my daily life," she said.
       Those close to her remember Intukarn as an excellent cook. She used to work as contributing editor for the culinary website Pai-Kin-Khao (Let's Go Eat), won a cooking contest and also co-wrote a culinary book titled,Spice of Life: The Recipes & Cooking Culture of Thailand , with renowned food stylist-columnist Ekarin Yusuksomboon.
       "The magazine is pretty close to who I am and my lifestyle, and I believe this would make it easier for me to understand what it's trying to present to readers," she explained.
       "Martha Stewart Living is a magazine for women who are interested in cooking,entertaining guests, home-keeping and doing crafts. I love to cook and entertain my friends with my home-cooked meals on the weekends. And that's why I said yes right away when I was offered the job. It's a very good opportunity."
       As part of the preparations for the launch of Martha Stewart Living Thailand, Intukarn,along with Post International Media Managing Director Siri Udomritthiruj, sales manager and art director flew to Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia's headquarters in New York to undergo training. Visiting the empire of the domestic queen is, as Intukarn reflected, both practical and inspirational. For example, the beautiful office that overlooks Hudson River boasts a large kitchen for the cooking team to try recipes and deliver the freshly-cooked dish to the studio for a photoshoot right from the stove.
       "What I have learned is that those who work here always go into great detail. They are real experts in the field and not just writers who go to interview experts. The crafts editor, for example, has innumerable materials stored in her office so that she can come up with and work on new ideas all the time. As for the food section, we have learned that each recipe has to be tried and tested by experts several times before it appears in the magazine."
       The team also has to work closely with headquarters. With the current content comprising of picked-up stories from the US edition and local stories -at the proportion of 80 to 20 percent - the Thai editorial team is required to send the content line-up to headquarters for approval.
       "The condition set for me is that, no matter what we do, the magazine has to stick to the Martha Stewart Living character.It has to be Martha and not any other woman. There are three key points in the framework we have to bear in mind. First,the stories are accessible for Thai readers.Second, each issue must come in a harmonious colour tone that is pleasing to the eyes for readers. Finally, you need to have a well-proportioned combination of stories to ensure the flow of content."
       Despite a large number of home, cooking and decoration magazines dominating local magazine racks, Intukarn remains confident that Martha Stewart Living Thailand will be able to secure its place in the publishing industry. Using her own experience as an example, she said that, unlike other home and decoration magazines which mostly feature content with respect to global trends,Martha Stewart Living does not pay heed to trends and instead offers ideas and tips that are timeless."I've been a fan of the magazine even before I became editor. I often borrowed ideas from it and never trashed a copy. When I was offered the job,I went back to the old issues and found that those ideas and recipes can be used even today. It's more like a reference book for dreamers and doers."

Below the surface

       Sadly, Thai literature is little known outside Southeast Asia. What few books come to Western minds about the Realm were penned by farangs (i.e. Anna and the King of Siam by Margaret Landon;A Woman of Bangkok by Jack Reynolds). For that matter authors from Japan, China and India are only marginally better known overseas.
       To the extent that Prabhassorn Savikul rings a bell, it is from his distinguished career in the Thai Foreign Service, from which he retired after 40 years. He took to writing short stories and for a spell was President of the Writers' Association of Thailand.Letter from a Blind Old Man is his most recent work, comprising 10 short stories, the title referring to one of them.
       This is a thin volume of 133 numbered pages, with two blank pages between each story. Perusing it, this reviewer realises that he writes by indirection.Prabhassorn has something to say and does so offhandedly. Thais and expats will pick up on it because they live here and share the experiences of the personae, but readers abroad might not.
       His perspective is that of an old man witnessing the ongoing modernising in the Land of Smiles and nostalgically recalls the time it supersedes. Change isn't synonymous with progress. What disturbs him mostly is that the elderly,though hardworking for decades and who fought in past wars, are treated as
       doddering fools now and forgotten in death.
       Their children left the farm for the big city,never to return. The cottage industries which were the mainstay of the economy have given way to factories, mom and pop shops to 7-elevens, rice paddies to condominiums, bahtbuses to the Skytrain.The populace is clamouring for TVs, computers, mobile phones.Politicians lie. The rich only care about getting richer.
       None of which the author rants about.Perhaps his is the style of his Foreign Office reports, couched in politically correct language. His references to the street demonstrations of the 1970s, put down with bloodshed, are meaningful to us but not to outsiders. The underlying current of these stories is why is there no empathy for those who fell trying to bring about democracy?
       The Thais, once noted for their kindness and patience, are in the process of losing both. After initially displaying politeness, sales personnel turn rude. The senile are laughed at to their face. Bus drivers treat their passengers with contempt. Activists disappear. Selfishness is the order of the day, greed is their watchword.
       Perhaps this reviewer is overstating Prabhassorn's theme, yet I don't think so. It's there, just below the surface. For which Letter from a Blind Old Man is an irritating read. He also takes odd topics and goes off on free association trips.An ear turning up at the Lost & Found.Van Gogh's? A skull, etc. It's not a profound book yet offers some insights.