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Illustrations by the reclusive cartoonist living in the south of Thailand
Soi Dog art by Chris Coles
To see all of The World According to Gop cartoon strips in one place click the picture of Bangkok Soi Dog #1, above, to be taken to Bangkok Beat – The Store. Thanks for stopping by.
Thailand Footprint is pleased to announce a collaboration and the addition of a new feature: The World According to Gop. A monthly cartoon, featuring Gop the frog in the coconut shell. Talented drawings all done by an award winning author living La Vida Loca down in the south of Thailand. His signature is evident in its own unique style. If and when he starts to think the strip is getting funny he may include a second signature. Kevin Cummings takes responsibility for the writing and humor, absent or present. Welcome to Gop’s World.
Night of Noir III Host James A. Newman with artist Chris Coles seen at a bar favored by fat cats
(Photo: Alasdair McLeod)
The Night of Noir III lineup to be held tomorrow evening at Check Inn 99 has shaped up nicely. From left to right you have host and pulp fiction writer extraordinaire, James A. Newman, expressionist artist Chris Coles, the multi-talented Kevin Wood, fan favorite and feminist foe Dean Barrett, publisher, editor and author, John Daysh making a rare Thailand appearance from New Zealand, the poet noir John Gartland, author of the excellent Gaijin Cowgirl Jame Dibiasio has flown in from Hong Kong and man of many hats, publisher, journalist, novelist and travel writer Tom Vater fills out the bill. In addition Thom Locke (T. Hunt Locke) will be milling around and if you look closely you’ll probably spot a few other authors in the crowd as well.
If you need additional incentive to get down to Check Inn 99 an exhibit featuring some of Chris Coles original paintings from the NAVIGATING THE BANGKOK NOIR book is part of the Bangkok Fiction Night of Noir event which will take place Thursday January 8th, 2015 featuring readings from many of Bangkok’s leading Expat authors, all part of the burgeoning Bangkok Noir movement.
Navigating the Bangkok Noir by Chris Coles
It should be a good two to three hours of entertainment at Check Inn 99 with rumors floating around that some of the authors may pick up their musical instruments and form an impromptu noir band. In addition Music of the Heart Band will be there. Books by the authors are available for purchase and signing.
It looks to be another memorable evening in what is becoming an annual Check Inn 99 tradition. For more information about seating and arrival time go to https://www.facebook.com/events/739996159402376/
Sexy Bar by Chris Coles on Exhibit at Check Inn 99
A happy couple, they each have dreamed of the other, hoping to find what they have been missing in themselves. But what happens if what they see is something they have imagined, not what is actually there…..(Words by Chris Coles)
Some of the Chris Coles paintings will be available for purchase as well at reasonable price points. So there are many reasons to check out Check Inn 99 and the Night of Noir III tomorrow night.
Check Inn 99 is located on Lower Sukhumvit between Soi 5 and Soi 7 opposite the Landmark Hotel…the Chris Coles exhibit will be up for about a month from December 26th onwards….open from 6pm to 2am every night…..musical performances by Music of the Heart band starting around 8pm…many thanks to Check Inn 99 Bangkok’s energetic and creative impresario Chris Catto-Smith.
Portrait of Bangkok Noir Poet John Gartland by Chris Coles
Anyone looking for a respite from the lock down city of Bangkok or anywhere in Thailand for that matter, might want to consider the relative tranquility of Phnom Penh, Cambodia on May 31st and June 1, 2014 respectively. On those dates poet noir, John Gartland will be reciting his original poetry. On May 31st he will be part of a lineup that will include the man in black, Christopher Minko and his Khmer vocalists in Krom. John, Christopher and Krom have all been featured here at Thailand Footprint. Perform a simple search to learn more about them if you are not already aware. On June 1, 2014 John and Christopher will both be performing at the renown Meta House in Phnom Penh. Check them out if you are within a 90 mile radius.
John has allowed me to share some of his original poetry here again. Chris Coles has also, once again, permitted his art to be shown here as well. Enjoy the art and poetry wherever they may find you:
THE GENERAL in the Bangkok Night by Chris Coles
The Eye: 1
Man, I’m an ex-Private Eye, I can strike a cool pose
while listening to others’ production-line prose,
self-published wunderkinds who believe their own hype,
burned-out actors on valium bogarting the mike,
tales of drug-hauls and bar girls and crooked police,
and hard-drinking dicks who’ve adopted the east.
Look! I‘m old-school detective, I’ve seen the whole bag,
Spillane-heads, in trenchcoats, Dash Hammett in drag.
Just a crime-writers’ gig, at the Mambo hotel,
but outside it’s for real, and they’re guilty as hell.
THE EYE : 2
It ‘s a crime-writers’ gig, at the Mambo hotel,
where whorehounds had partied for fifty odd years.
But life, like a crime scene’s not all it appears;
the old cathouse is cabaret, now; it’s a fact,
and, under new management, the riskiest act,
would be squeezing the original mama san’s hand,
which once, like the anthem, could make a room stand,
and left a broad smile on the girls in the band,
at the Mambo Hotel.
Two floors of short-time ghosts,
a locked up beauty shop, and dust;
now pulp-writers rap about crime here,
and must shoot the fictional breeze on stage.
But, as the Eye on the case, I’ll cut to the chase,
the major heist is on the street,
and there’s fresh blood on the page.
THE EYE: 3
Bent judges and psychopaths, hustlers and has-beens,
professional liars, Bangkok is a crime scene.
Hey, I was an Eye, wrestled crime for a living,
and still have a hunch for who’s making a killing.
The patriots and flag sniffers, feeling the force,
play patsy for billionaires, hit men, and punks,
they’ve closed down the city and cheered themselves hoarse,
till the tourists and hookers are packing their trunks.
Man, the hacks know the issue, but no one dares say;
destabilization is sent from upstairs,
since they can’t get joe public to vote the right way.
More generals than doormen, tear-gas everywhere,
there’s gold braid enough here to carpet a whorehouse,
gridlock on the streets, and a coup in the air.
Look, I’m just an Eye, with an odd tale to tell,
at a pulp writers’ gig at the Mambo Hotel.
But, outside? It’s for real, pal.
They’re guilty as hell.
You’d better believe it, they’re guilty as hell.
John Gartland
CIRCUMSTANTIAL EVIDENCE
We have your co-ordinates, and know precisely your destination.
It is election time, and in the street of the plastic surgeons,
posters of men in white uniforms and fixed grins flap in unison.
This is a one way street, and a u-turn invokes serious penalties.
Traffic proceeds at breakneck speed through the great arch of autocracy.
By the pantheon of patriarchs, diseased birds slumber on the frozen plumes
of bronze headgear, mildew eating at ceremonial swords. Stay in lane.
The great highway of charlatans is multi-lane, crowded at all hours
and will bring you invariably to hypocrisy monument, where all roads meet.
One way. Vendors swarm with incense sticks, crystal meth and dreams,
gold leaf to flatter a glowering idol at the revered corner of errors;
a bottleneck, as many pilgrims buy merit from the four faced god here;
dead slow as beggars kneel in the road, abandoned to divine protection.
Proceed by the grand plaza of pointless purchases, and slow down for
heavy traffic at narcissus mall, street of six names for your inferior.
You must pass through the groveling gate, temple of the abject loop;
this is street of six titles for your superior, leading to the institute
of impregnable ignorance, graced with a royal charter. Take a right
on the grand drive of distracting flags, to the causeway of embalmed kings.
Go forward to the mall of the eternal flame. At karaoke heaven,
superlative banality may cause your ears to bleed. Accelerate away.
Proceed. Traffic circles perpetually round the academy of harlots;
whores, constantly renewed, wind silk around the sacred trees,
disrobe, and leave a mekong to appease priapic spirits.
You must drive through the emporium of envy and unsatisfied desires,
bypass the chaotic terminus of transsexuals for denial drive,
speed on past Guess Wat buddhist theme park, en route for meth mall,
where it is always rush hour, and the men at Jamaica corner sell oblivion
in small packs to foreigners, who are ransomed by the tourist police.
Near the fountain of corrupted thought, pass beggar children
fishing for coins and fever in the catfish dark of drains:
at last you are near your destination, on a street of fortune tellers.
Here, gamblers with their cards and severed fingers,
taking pains to keep their face white and uncompromised,
play endlessly, and disregard their loss.
Your tinted windows let you pass unrecognized.
This dusty cul-de-sac is yours. Abandoned
lottery tickets blow across the nameless street,
and withered wreathes are strewn
about some broken idol’s feet. It is election time.
New posters of the white and smiling uniforms
wallpaper every space. This final cul-de-sac is yours;
self-hatred and the breath of street dogs, foul upon your face.
John Gartland
For more information about the poems and performance schedule of poet John Gartland go to http://www.johngartland.net or click picture, above.
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I like Chris Coles. The artist and the man. It’s been over 10 years since we first met at a meeting place less than a football field away from Baccara Bar on Soi Cowboy, where James A. Newman, Alasdair McLeod and I recently went to see Chris and his art on Friday the 14th. I wrote a previous piece about Baccara Bar last week partially titled: The Art of Seduction or the Art of the Deal?
That first meeting occurred because I had stumbled upon the art of Chris Coles on one of his web sites: Chris Coles Gallery Expressionist Art. I found the art interesting a decade ago. I still do, today. I surmised the man painting about the bright lights and big city of Bangkok might be equally interesting. We arranged to meet. When Chris arrived for that initial meeting I was sitting with a group of 5 or 6 guys around a table. I introduced Chris to the others and conversation ensued. Some interesting. Some mundane. It was always lively, to me, when Chris spoke. I remember thinking, “This guy is the smartest guy in the room.” The fact that the room was the outdoor bar at Tilac on Soi Cowboy, which had 50 or more people scattered about, drinking fluids under a polluted Bangkok night sky didn’t matter. Chris talked about his time in California and the movie business. The big budget film, Cutthroat Island, brought him to the Island of Phuket and eventually Bangkok, where the former Maine resident now calls home. Chris is like the carriage horse of a different color in the movie, The Wizard of Oz. Chris Coles pulls his own weight. There is only one of him and he is it.
Meetings with Chris are always memorable. There was a mid-day meal at SUDA restaurant years ago where Chris informed me at our lunch table, “You need to buy, VERY THAI.” A book written by Philip Cornwel-Smith and now in its second edition, with additional photographs by John Goss. After we finished eating we walked to the Time Square Building on Sukumvit 12 and went up the escalator to Asia Books on the second floor. That Asia Books store is now gone. But I still own VERY THAI thanks to Chris Coles. It is a great book about everyday popular culture in Thailand.
Three years ago, Chris Coles had his art shown at Koi Gallery on Sukhumvit 31. An art exhibition called: Color of Day/Color of Night. One half of the gallery was filled with traditional impressionist paintings of trees and flowers. The other side was filled with the large and loud expressionist art of Chris Coles, in the self described style of Emil Nolde, Otto Dix and George Grosz. Coles’ art made the more favorable impression, on me. Chris was spread pretty thin that evening but still made time for me and I met some interesting people on a hot Bangkok night.
Another time I took my wife to hear Father Joe Maier speak, the American Catholic priest that lives and works in the Klong Toey slums. We had a dinner table reservation. Chris Coles was sitting at the bar in the packed Foreign Correspondent’s Club of Thailand. After Father Maier finished his very entertaining speaking engagement, Chris came over to our table, despite the fact he probably knew over 50% of the people in the large room. He spent thirty minutes talking to my wife about painting, colors, medium, style and art. My wife appreciated it and so did I. She had begun taking art classes at our community college in California. Chris had seen some of her work and shared his experiences and enthusiasm. Memorable table conversation, again.
Chris Coles Painting – 2:00 a.m. Street 51 Phnom Penh Night
More recently, I was just about to leave the Check Inn 99 in the early hours of the evening on a Sunday, after listening to Jazz for many hours, when in walks Chris Coles carrying one of his large acrylic paintings. Chris stood for awhile, holding the painting, looking for the owner, Chris Catto-Smith. They went and hung the painting and Chris eventually came back and joined our table. This is an image of the painting Chris Coles brought with him on that Bangkok night, which is displayed at Check Inn 99:
That prompted a call to my wife, “Honey, I’ll be home later than I said. Chris Coles just arrived.” She understood. She likes Chris too. Chris is the kind of friend that will let you know when you have put on an extra 10 pounds. He’s also encouraging – to my wife, to me and to others. As Chris puts it in the video interview with James A. Newman, “You need to bring something to the Bangkok night. And then make something out of it.” I appreciate Chris Coles. I also like and appreciate the fact that he has some critics. Show me a man with critics and I will show you a man with accomplishments.
Chris Coles stands next to one of his accomplishments at Baccara Bar in Bangkok, Thailand
Fast forward to Friday the 14th. Our group of four had just finished eating our dinners at Queen Victoria Pub. Big dinners. Bangers and Mash kind of dinners. We were to meet Chris at Baccara on Soi Cowboy. One of three infamous Entertainment Zones catering to foreign tourists and expats living in Bangkok. Someone joked that no one has ever seen Chris eat dinner, which may explain how he maintains his weight better than most in the City of Angels. Chris is not a starving artist, by any means. But he certainly knows how to paint the overweight, contrary and even the ugly side of life. Chris Coles paints Bangkok realities, not American fantasy. Thomas Kinkade he is not. The art made by the Ivy League graduate and father of an M.I.T grad daughter has been exhibited in at least four countries. His clientele is diverse, ranging from Baccara owner Patrick to people close to the Royal family, well known authors, art collectors and even a blogger or two.
“I like using distortion, sharply contrasting, often rather ugly images, disharmonious colors and a rough technique.” Chris Coles – artist and author of Navigating the Bangkok Noir
The above Chris Coles painting is not one of the four that hangs in Baccara Bar on Soi Cowboy. It depicts the front porch of Baccara at 2:30 a.m., after Soi Cowboy has mostly finished being what Chris describes as another, “long, hot, frenzied night.”
Chris Coles was waiting outside when we arrived, at a table in front of Baccara Bar, wearing one of his trademark plaid shirts and Levi 501 jeans. We had permission from the owner, Patrick to photograph inside and videotape outside; we had Chris Coles for a tour guide, he had agreed to a video interview and it was Friday night in Bangkok City. No one was talking politics and no one was complaining.
We went to the second floor of Baccara, where three of Coles’ paintings are showcased. The first floor and second floor of Baccara are quite different in atmosphere. If you have trouble making up your mind where to spend your time you need only look through the glass ceiling or glass floor, depending on your point of view. To get to the second floor one must climb up a spiral staircase, where at the top you will see this Chris Coles painting: [Addendum: fire on 2nd and third floor of Baccara Bar in early May, 2014 destroy three of four Chris Coles paintings – see them here].
Author, James A. Newman on the left. Artist, Chris Coles on the Right. Painting of the Bangkok night – center stage at Baccara Bar in Bangkok, Thailand. (Photograph by Alasdair McLeod)
James A. Newman, who writes about the entertainment zones in entertaining fashion interviews Chris Coles on video, in the thick of the Red Night Zone. Sit back and enjoy this revealing segment from the interview put together by Alasdair McLeod. You’ll learn what motivates Chris Coles to paint the Bangkok night, whether he goes looking for his subjects or makes them up at times? The thought behind the atmosphere at Baccara and whether a pulp fiction writer drinks white wine or red? The Bangkok night can be a big nightmare or a big party. But like any good party you are invited to, as Chris Coles suggests, it’s never a bad idea to bring something to it.
You can learn more about Chris Coles and his art at his blog: BANGKOK NOIR – CHRIS COLES EXPRESSIONIST ART IN THE BANGKOK NIGHT
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Last Friday pulp fiction writer, James A. Newman, Bangkok Night of Noir photographer and videographer, Alasdair McLeod and I were granted access to Baccara Bar on Soi Cowboy in Bangkok, Thailand for the purpose of photographing the art of Chris Coles and hanging out with the artist during our time there. Four paintings were recently purchased by the owner, a Frenchman named Patrick. Patrick gave us just one caveat, “No photographing the girls”. We complied. In addition to owning Baccara, which most consider to be the premier Go Go bar on Soi Cowboy and all of Bangkok, he also owns the former Insomnia Disco (now called Insanity), Bangkok Beat, Baccara A-Go Go on Walking Street, as well as 4 other popular venues in Pattaya City. Patrick is the exception to the expat bar-owner scene.
As Bangkok 8 author John Burdett recently pointed out in an excellent video interview, prostitution in Bangkok benefits from being illegal. It remains by and large a cottage industry, run much like a Mom and Pop store. Baccara and Patrick run things quite differently in the Kingdom. He would be the equivalent to the mansion on the hill owner. Baccara sees roughly 1,000 people go in and out their doors, most every night of the year. The numbers add up.
Patrick is creative. In a big way. Paying attention to lighting, layout, costumes, audio system, the rules of engagement or what I would call, the art of the deal. The women earn large monthly pay. Baht 200,000 a month and up for the elites. That is more money in one month than their father’s, if they come from Issan, make in years.
Patrick is a collector of Chris Coles’ paintings. The businessman showcases the original paintings depicting the Bangkok nightlife, along with 200+ dancing girls every night, at Baccara. Baccara a Go Go has distinguished itself from the crowd. High season or low season, the good times roll every night at Baccara, for a price.
The 1994 $5.00 milkshake in the movie, Pulp Fiction has been replaced with the 2014 $6.00 Coke at Baccara. Stay tuned at Thailand Footprint for an interview between pulp fiction writer, James A. Newman and Bangkok noir artist, Chris Coles in the next few days. In addition, you’ll get an inside look at Baccara Bar and the paintings in the neon world of the artist. Here is that post and video interview: Chris Coles – Bringing it to the Bangkok Night
Photo by Alasdair McLeod – Painting by Chris Coles
James A. Newman – The nattily attired Master of Ceremonies for Bangkok Night of Noir 2014
For the second time in less than 9 months author James A. Newman, artist Chris Coles and company decided it would be a good idea to hold a Bangkok Night of Noir. It was. The purpose was to have an evening of music, readings, art and photography depicting the numerous sources of noir found in Bangkok, Thailand. The Check Inn 99 is the perfect venue for such an event. A place where Bob Hope, Dean Martin and Raquel Welch relaxed after USO shows during the Viet Nam War. A colorful history understates the facts of the Check Inn 99 by a long shot. It’s a place where, for anyone who had forgotten, Christopher G. Moore reminded us in a finale reading that a dwarf once worked as the doorman for years at the entrance to the Check Inn 99 tunnel leading toward the door. And then one day he disappears. How does a dwarf go missing? It’s Bangkok, that’s how. Just down that tunnel a previous owner of the establishment was beaten so badly, over creative financing rumors, he died the next day. It happened on the eve of one of Thailand’s many political coups, decades ago.
The entrance to Check Inn 99 located on Sukhumvit Road in Bangkok, Thailand (Photo: Courtesy)
The very day of Bangkok Night of Noir, Sunday January 5th, 2014 there was a film crew shooting a Karaoke scene in the morning for an upcoming movie regarding Thailand’s infamous last executioner, Chaovaret Jaruboon, a drinking buddy of Bangkok author, Jim Algie and a living noir legend until he died in 2012. If you were looking for a setting to read dark fiction and show the neon noir world of Bangkok’s nightlife, you were in the right place. The 2014 Night of Noir kicked off, reading wise, later than some guests had anticipated. There was a full house, much more crowded than the one held in April 2013.
Photo Courtesy Check Inn 99 – Two Hours Before Tip Off. Veteran Waiters Rest While They Can
Music of the Heart Band came to the rescue as people were still buying books and getting them signed. Highlights for me, before readings began, were talking with Cara Black about some of her SoHo Crime colleagues and meeting John Burdett, author of the Royal Thai Police Detective Sonchai Jitpleecheep series, which started with Bangkok 8. Just when I was getting impatient, Music of the Heart Band broke out into a song in French, known for its dedication to the fighters of the French Foreign Legion: Non, je ne regrette rien, which caused out of town visiting, New York Times best selling author and Francophile, Cara Black to smile broadly and sing along.
The readings started shortly thereafter with screenwriter, actor and presentation coach John Marengo reading from James A. Newman’s latest, The White Flamingo. Marengo has decades of acting and voice over credits. Newman’s fictional Fun City, AKA Pattaya never sounded better or bleaker, depending on your perspective, coming from Marengo’s microphone. That was followed by his reading of the Charles Bukowski poem, Dinosauria, We. A dark Buk special about death, decay and pessimism for mankind.
Tom Vater read next, publisher of Crime Wave Press, author of Devil’s Road to Kathmandu and The Cambodian Book of the Dead. The latter I have reviewed and recommend. When Tom Vater talks, I listen. He always has something interesting to say. He prefaced his reading with some fascinating history regarding the world’s busiest airport up until 1975, run by the CIA in Long Cheng in Laos. Tom is the co-author of the screenplay, The Most Secret Place on Earth – The CIA’s Covert War in Laos. That background will make his upcoming novel, The Man With The Golden Mind – a Detective Maier novel, which Tom read from, invaluable. It was a riveting read.
The Dean of Bangkok fiction was up next to read from a book I am proud to say is in my library: The Go Go Dancer Who Stole My Viagra and other Poetic Tragedies of Thailand. I am a fan of Dean Barrett’s writing and poetry. I am also a Dean Barrett fan. I’m going to go out on a limb here and make what could be misconstrued as a political statement, but what the hell: the world needs more Dean Barrett’s. A lot more. Always entertaining, gracious and humorous. All of Dean’s readings are good but it’s tough to beat the classic, No One Wants to Boom Boom, Anymore.
John Burdett was in the house and that was a pleasure to see and to listen too as well. Mr. Burdett read from his latest Sonchai Jitpleecheep series, VULTURE PEAK about organ trafficking. He starts off with these two quotations from the beginning of Vulture Peak, juxtaposing the two, which gets one thinking about morality and unintended consequences:
What you do to yourself, you do to the world.
What you do to the world, you do to yourself. – Buddhist proverb
If a living donor can do without an organ, why shouldn’t the donor profit and medical science benefit? – Janet Radcliffe-Richards, Lancet 352 (1998), p. 1951
John then read a wonderful passage regarding the murder investigation from Vulture Peak, which I have only included the very last part of the brilliant conclusion :
“Really? That will be helpful. By the way, what genders are the victims?”
“Two men and a woman.”
Now I notice something else. “No blood?”
“Somebody cleaned up meticulously. They even used some chemical that neutralizes our tests. I tell you, whoever did it were professionals. There were certainly more than one.” I nod.
“Any ideas?” the doctor asks when we have replaced the sheet.
“You mean whodunit? Only in the more general sense.” She raises her eyes. “Ronald Reagan, Milton Friedman, Margaret Thatcher, Adam Smith. Capitalism dunit. Those organs are being worn by somebody else right now.”
Cara Black wearing her Crime Fiction Writer’s Reading Glasses
The out of town guest of honor for the evening was Cara Black. John Burdett handed Cara the copy of Vulture Peak from which he read, after he finished. Cara seemed genuinely thrilled to receive the copy. Likewise, Chris Coles presented Cara Black with a copy of his book, Navigating the Bangkok Noir. I would learn later, the copy of The Marriage Tree, which Christopher G. Moore read from last, now resides with Cara in The City by the Bay. Charles Bukowski got it all wrong. This was a congenial, generous and optimistic group of noir scribes.
Cara Black, deemed Madam Noir by M.C. James A. Newman was next up. Her protagonist is Aimee Leduc, half-French; half-American. Aimee is an computer fraud expert, can dress fashionably in Paris or in disguise for the job. She can handle a Beretta when need be. Her partner is a 4’0″ dwarf and computer genius, named Rene. Together they could probably team up with Vincent Calvino and solve the mystery of the missing Check Inn 99 doorman in two weeks time. But that was not the task at hand. Cara Black read from her first of 13 Aimee Leduc Investigations, MURDER IN THE MARAIS, but she did need the assistance of Calvino’s creator as she wore Mr. Moore’s spectacles to get the job done. I find her writing style eloquent and tense where it needs to be. Cara lives in San Francisco with her husband and son. Paris, the City of Light, is always a central character in her novels. I got the feeling Cara likes a good adventure and she got one at Night of Noir. She seemed to appreciate every moment and be in the moment.
Bangkok Noir artist Chris Coles – Author of Navigating the Bangkok Noir speaks about: The Stuff That Lies Beneath Bangkok and South East Asia – Click the Photo to take you to the Chris Coles Blog
A Night of Noir is incomplete without a Chris Coles presentation. Enthusiastic about the where and when of Bangkok and what lies beneath the city. The where being almost anywhere after dark and the when being, now. Please take the time to click the above picture to take you an excellent review of the presentation Chris put together, complete with copies of all the pictures flashed onto the screen at 4’x5′ size. You can also go to his blog by clickng here: CHRIS COLES NIGHT OF NOIR TALK AND PICTURES. Chris also had the honor of introducing the final author of the evening, Christopher G. Moore, well known for his over two dozen novels, including the Vincent Calvino Crime Series, The Thai Smile Trilogy and his cultural books of essays, among others.
Christopher G. Moore – Author of the Vincent Calvino Crime Series
Christopher G. Moore read from his latest Calvino caper: The Marriage Tree, the 14th in the popular series, which has Calvino dealing with some cumulative trauma issues regarding the deaths of close friends in Rangoon and Bangkok. Christopher’s reading was appropriate as he chose a scene where the fictional Calvino walks down the real life tunnel of the Check Inn 99 to find Colonel Pratt playing the saxophone near some white flamingos. It was art imitating life and it was fun. Even the ancient waiters were smiling.
Check Inn 99 owner Chris Catto-Smith
Chris Catto-Smith was coaxed onto the main floor one more time to recount the colorful history of the Cabaret Club. I never tire of listening to Chris speak about the history or seeing the old black and white photos of the club and Bangkok of an earlier time flashed onto the big screen. Among the things I learned, those white flamingos may like to hang-out around plastic flowers but they are made of cast iron and Chris even hammered the point home for the audience. Music of the Heart Band came back on to perform. Some stayed but it was late and many headed for home or wherever into the Bangkok night.
Could the readings have started a little earlier? I suppose they could have. But for one night some of the top noir stars from Bangkok and San Francisco aligned just as they were meant to align – perfectly. James A. Newman, Chris Coles, Chris Catto-Smith and all the authors are to be commended, once again, for pulling it off. Anyone who plans to live or stay in Bangkok for any length of time would be well served by the words of Alan Watts: “Things are as they are.” Since the group picture was taken late some of the authors had already left due to commitments the next day. When asked to join in for the group photo, no one had to ask me twice. I’m not a noir writer or a noir artist, but the world still needs them. And as Chris Coles stated more than once, enthusiastically, during his presentation, this is a city with an almost infinite source of inspiration for noir. It was a memorable evening. As I was headed up the elevator to my condo around 1:15 a.m. my telephone vibrated. It was one of the authors: “Back at the bar!” it read. I smiled as the doors opened to my floor. The beat goes on in Bangkok City.
L to R John Marengo, Dean Barrett, Christopher G. Moore, Kevin Cummings, James A. Newman, Cara Black, Chris Coles
All Photographs shown, with the exception of Check Inn 99 Entrance and waiters, taken by Alasdair McLeod of Bangkok, Thailand. Permission for the reproduction of these photographs is needed from Thailand Footprint if used for commercial purposes.
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A few announcements today: The Night of Noir is coming this Sunday, January 5th, 2014 at Check Inn 99. An evening of Reading, Art, Film, and Music. The scheduled (but not 100% confirmed) lineup includes: Cara Black, Dean Barrett, John Burdett, Chris Coles, John Marengo, Christopher G. Moore, James A. Newman, Tom Vater and others to be announced. Photographs by Stickman will also be on display.
Also, I just noticed today that The Marriage Tree by Christopher G. Moore, which I reviewed on this blog, is now available on Kindle. You can click the image above to take you to Amazon USA. I am sure it is on Smashwords too. Anyone who knows Christopher knows he doesn’t buy book reviews. So if you are like me and have already read The Marriage Tree and like it, leave a review on Amazon.
This just arrived today and seemed like a good addition to this post.
And if you haven’t read it, I recommend it for any crime fiction fan, in either paper or plastic. Christopher has a unique Rohingya angle to the novel, which has been in the news from a human rights standpoint and a freedom of the press point of view. Authors depend on genuine reviews, so think of the last couple of books you have read and write a review for Amazon or Smashwords or where ever. You might even enjoy it.
Finally, I’d like to give advance notice that I will be running an interview I did with Cara Black, tomorrow, author of the Aimee Leduc Investigation series. The fourteenth in the series, MURDER IN PIGALLE will available from SoHo Crime Press in March 2014. It’s a fun and interesting interview. Cara will be reading from her first is the series, MURDER IN THE MARAIS at the NIGHT OF THE NOIR event. Tune in tomorrow. You weren’t planning to go back to work anyway …
“Develop an interest in life as you see it; the people, things, literature, music – the world is so rich, simply throbbing with rich treasures, beautiful souls and interesting people. Forget yourself.”
― Henry Miller
Everything starts with an idea. I have long believed that. The thing is, it doesn’t even have to be an original idea. In the case of this blog the genesis came from the Henry Miller quote, above. I figured Henry was a lot smarter than me. Being around people smarter than I am has never bothered me. In my business I seek them out and hire them. With friendships it’s an added bonus.
Let’s take a look at Thailand Footprint’s first year, Miller style. You can click on most of the pictures to take you to the discussed post or do a search on the site, if you like.
PEOPLE:
Henry Miller would have liked Malcolm Gault-Williams, shown with his three sons. I am sure of that. Malcolm now lives up country near the Laos border, he is engaged in a life long project, LEGENDARY SURFERS. Malcolm was featured in the first ever interview at Thailand Footprint: EACH ONE HIS OWN DIRECTION EACH ONE HIS OWN WAY kon-lá tít kon-lá taang / คนละทิศคนละทาง
Mook, the smiling waitress at the Soi 4 German restaurant in Pattaya whom I recounted the rather remarkable story of having my gold chain ripped off my neck by a 150 lb katoey as I drank a cup of coffee by the sea, only to get it back twenty minutes later, in the middle of a growing crowd, which included a few men in brown or Pattaya Policemen. A memorable evening where I explain why I love Thailand and learn that the word Mook in Thai means pearl.
There was the essay I wrote about Henry Miller called, Forget Yourself, What did Henry Miller mean? In that essay I pay tribute to an old friend, Dick, that passed away of a heart attack at age 76. I discuss that forgetting yourself is never easy but almost always worth it.
Two of the three most popular posts, traffic wise, had nothing to do with literature or music. It was all about Muay Thai. They both featured Muay Ying Champion Melissa Ray and the second one featured charismatic MAX Muay Thai Champion Hotchilli Ntg, who recently took home a $15,000 US purse in a four man tournament in which he finished second to a long time Champion. A special thanks to Bangkok photographer, Eric Nelson for those two posts in particular.
Author, T. (Thom) Hunt Locke
Author, Matt Carrell
For me personally it was a great year as I was able to get to to know many of the Bangkok authors whose books I had read over the years. But equally rewarding was making contact with out of town authors face to face after I had featured them at Thailand Footprint. One thing we can be sure of, Henry Miller would have preferred face to face over Facebook every time. My author collection has grown and so has my friendship collection. There are a lot of benefits to following Henry’s advice. I have gotten to know American , Thom Hunt Locke, whom I did an interview called, Jim Thompson is Alive! A Sam Collins Mystery. Thom has a new novel out now, The Chiang Mai Chronicle, with a new protagonist, Declan Power. I was also able to meet British author, Matt Carrell author of Thai Kiss among others, whom I featured in an essay called, Nobody Loves Goliath, about Amazon.com. Both are interesting men with second careers other than authors and a passion for writing and living life to the fullest.
There are also three fellow bloggers who helped me out a lot in 2013 before I ever published a single post and have always been supportive. I thank Robert Carraher of The Dirty Lowdown, a book and music review site, Voicu Minea Simamdan of http://www.Simandan.com – Writer, Archer, Travelor and Trevor Bide of http://www.engagingthailand.com , a site about Thailand culture, travel, cooking and much more.
THINGS:
Some of the memorable things in 2013 included the couch at The Living Room located at the Sheraton on Sukhumvit 12 in Bangkok. It was from a couch that we watched Steve Cannon play another thing, the trumpet. I wrote an essay about earning the couch. Henry Miller earned the couch most days, I reckon. It is always a worthy goal. One I will shoot for more often in 2014.
Thai University uniforms are things. I didn’t write the popular satirical essay on the Thai University uniform, Kaewmala did. She of http://www.thaiwomantalks.com . She kindly allowed me to re-post it. Henry Miller would have been against University uniforms and in favor of short skirts, if I had to take a guess.
Parks are some of my favorite things and I wrote about them in 2013 in The Parks of My Life. This is Suan Rot Fai, my favorite local park in Bangkok.
The fountain at Hemingway’s restaurant on Sukhumvit 14 is a thing and a perfect meeting place for friends. Owner Craig Bianchini and General Manager Damian Mackay have always been helpful and friendly about the restaurant named after the famous American writer, which is modeled after his Key West, Florida home.
Shrines are things and no one finds more interesting things than Jim Algie, one of many Footprint Makers featured on this blog. His book, Bizarre Thailand, is filled with things Henry Miller or anyone would find interesting.
A toilette is a thing of necessity. Who could forget a personal favorite of mine in 2013, Gop’s interview with that prickly protagonist, Joe Dylan when he decided to go tubing at Koh Samui Health Resort and Spa after taking a slide on Zone ice after solving the White Flamingo caper down in Fun City? Quite a few of you, apparently. That’s why I am here, to remind you. The White Flamingo novel by James A. Newman has been charting regularly in the noir rankings at Amazon, no doubt due to Gop’s probing questions and the piles of publicity it created.
Two more of my favorite things in 2013, speaking of famous plastic birds. This one is at the Check Inn 99 alongside the painting, Soi Cowboy by Chris Coles.
LITERATURE & MUSIC:
We’ve covered literature already this month with my list of favorite fiction and non-fiction for 2013. A revue of musical venues will be done in April. So I now turn to the first annual Thailand Footprint Makers of the Year Award. To the persons who have promoted literature and the arts of Thailand above and beyond the call of duty for the betterment of anyone with a dram of common sense and sense of appreciation. Drum roll please …
FOOTPRINT MAKERS OF THE YEAR FOR 2013 at Thailand Footprint
Let me tell you what these two men share in common, before I discuss them individually. Neither of them could have predicted 15 years ago what they are doing today. They get up most every day and get to work. They also have time for fun. They both love Bangkok and do not get back to their home countries that often. They both capture moments at every opportunity. They appreciate what the other one does. They have the same first name. They are Check Inn 99 owner, Chris Catto-Smith and artist and author of Navigating the Bangkok Noir, Chris Coles.
2013 Footprint Maker of the Year – Chris Catto-Smith
Just some of the highlights for the former Royal Air Force jet fighter-pilot from Australia, Chris Catto-Smith in 2013: hosting Night of Noir; bringing The Rocky Horror Show to Bangkok; The Blues Brothers Show featuring Keith Nolan and company; Casablanca Night; Dean Barrett China Night and of course, Music of the Heart Band pretty much 7 nights a week. If you’ve never been to Check Inn 99 when you get to Bangkok, go. If you’ve been, you know. He could not do it without his wife, Mook who runs the show while raising their two children. Two full time jobs, done well.
2013 Footprint Maker of the Year , Chris Coles (Photo Credit Aroon Thaewchaturat)
American, Chris Coles is a former Ivy League guy, a former Hollywood big budget movie production manager. He has now been making a documentary on the Bangkok Night for over a decade one painting at a time. Author of Navigating the Bangkok Noir, Chris has spoken at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Bangkok, had art gallery showings in several different countries and can always be counted on to give an entertaining presentation highlighted by his own art and commentary. Chris is as comfortable in front of a camera as he is in front of a canvas. Google some of his YouTube interviews. You will be entertained. Chris Coles expressionist art works are impressive in volume and content. More impressive to me is that I have seen Chris Coles be encouraging to people in the arts time and again and to me personally.
His Soi Cowboy painting at Check Inn 99 is already iconic. Chris Catto-Smith received a big bucks offer for it and to his credit refused to sell it. It’s hard to imagine the place without it now. Like the plastic flamingos they all found a perfect home. Likewise, I cannot think of two better Footprint Makers to be singled out in 2013 at Thailand Footprint. Thank-you, gentlemen. Your gift certificates for a foot massage and dinner at Hemingway’s restaurant await you. Congratulations.
Thanks for reading Thailand Footprint in 2013. May 2014 be the beginning of a beautiful year for everyone. With no civil war in Thailand, for everyone’s sake.
Lest anyone think I am ignoring the three well known entertainment areas in Bangkok, Thailand on this blog, well, I am … kinda, sorta.
There are tons of web sites that deal with them, not enough that deal with all the other interesting happenings that go on in Bangkok and beyond. My focus is on the latter. Traffic is not my guiding light.
But truth be told these three areas can never be ignored, entirely. Density and velocity is how artist Chris Coles described the attraction of the Bangkok night. The reality is, of the 14 to 21 million visitors Bangkok gets ever year – a number growing by leaps and bounds – more go to these three zones than all the temples combined, despite what you may read from the Tourism Authority of Thailand. Bangkok, Thailand has now been recognized as the top travel destination in the world by Lonely Planet Travel Guides and Mastercard International.
So herewith I present all the cultural advice you will ever need to know about Nana Plaza, Soi Cowboy and Patpong:
Soi Dog #1 by Chris Coles
1. Never, ever go to an upstairs bar in Patpong even if you are, hypothetically, with a good mate that is Thai from your hometown in the USA.
2. If you do go to an upstairs bar in Patpong you will be ripped off, even if you are, hypothetically, with a good Thai mate that had lived in Bangkok for over twenty years.
3. By all means check out the culture of Nana Plaza. Everyone has. Mick Jagger has. Anthony Bourdain has. Husbands and wives have. Christian fundamentalists have. Groups of white women have. Groups of Arab men have tried. Go. Check it out. Be appalled. Be titillated. Don’t be a jerk but be something and go.
Jumpin’ Mick …being something
4. Soi Cowboy: Walk up and down the small street. Be surprised how small the street is. Be amazed at what goes on in such a small street. Eat outside. Look at the people. Some will look back. It’s not always easy to differentiate the animals from the spectators at this holy city zoo. Eat the street food. Eat an insect just so you can say you did. The pyropus pesticide levels in one or two grasshoppers won’t kill you. After that you are on your own.
Soi Cowboy painting by Chris Coles, shown hanging at CheckInn99 next to the well known White Flamingo, as the talented, Music of the Heart band entertain
5. Don’t drink too much alcohol. It’s poison to the body just like the pesticide in the insects. The body treats them both the same way – let’s get rid of this stuff before It does anything else. Moderation in eating insects and moderation in drinking alcohol. Take the middle path or the deep fried larvae. “Up to you” as the saying goes.
So there you have it. After you’ve been to all three entertainment areas or as Meatloaf says, “Two out of three ain’t bad”, eaten your insects and been in the same places as Mick Jagger and company, congratulate yourself. You’re in Bangkok, Thailand. And there are at least one-thousand other things you can see, eat and do. Better get started. Life is short. And economists can be philosophers, if you listen.
Thailand Footprint: Impressions left by the books, people, places and music of Thailand and South East Asia 