Poet in Bangkok

In September 2015, Dr. Pim Weeresethakul, a scientist working with the International Space Exploration and Coordination Group (ISECG), illegally released a batch of files to Wikileaks. Among the files was an unidentified audio transmission from Mars' orbit. The signal was detected by ISECG in March 2015, but ISECG chose to keep the audio secret.

The audio file of the signal spread quickly online and soon became known as the “Murdered by the sky” transmission, due to speculation that the signal contained a message in Morse code. There was an international furor over the release of the documents. Many praised Dr. Pim for her bravery in releasing the files, while others condemned her for causing panic at an undisclosed alien threat.

Fearing repercussion, Dr. Pim sought political asylum at the Mexican Embassy in Paris, France. She agreed to a single interview with Guardian reporter Drew Sutton, in December 2015.

March 14, 2016, Drew Sutton released the raw, unedited tape of their interview online—perhaps to encourage as many people as possible to prepare themselves for the arrival of the large whale-like objects currently headed to Earth. The tape includes many details not included in the original Guardian articles.

POET IN BANGKOK has decided to offer a copy of the file here because we’ve spoke a lot about Mars on the podcast, and during the interview Dr. Pim makes several comments about speech and cultural norms in Thailand.

Thanks to Drew Sutton for making the original document available. And thanks to our friends N.D. and K.L.H. for hooling us up with this file with us.

In this sixth episode, Colin and Donald chat with Pan Pan Narkprasert--perhaps more famously known by his drag queen persona, Pangina Heals. Pan talks about growing up as an outsider, and how art and drag taught him to embrace self-expression. He shares his disdain for the pomp and circus of the fine art scene in Thailand, and what he wants his audience to experience through the art of his drag performances. Pan also explains drag in the context of larger cultural norms and prejudices, why the term “lady boy” is so offensive to Thais who identify as trans, and gives his perspective on the giant whale-like unidentified objects currently speeding towards Earth from Mar's orbit.



The hosts address their frustration and fear following the discovery of a new transmission emanating from those large mysterious objects set to come crashing through the atmosphere in March. Colin reflects on his youth and faith when Donald explains what the deal is with spirits in Thailand. 
 

 


Written and produce by Donald and Colin.

Edited and mixed by Colin.

Theme music by Reports (https://reports.bandcamp.com/), and additional music by the Thai-Japanese band aire (https://www.facebook.com/aire.bkk). Additional recordings by Dr. Kenneth Nielson (https://mycologyink.wordpress.com , @ed-jr-1.

Thanks to Izotope (www.izotope.com) for the sound editing software, which beyond removing our clicking tongues and air con hum, helped get rid of almost all the drumming drifting from the next room at Rockademy!

Our friend Dr. Kenneth Nielson, an acoustic technician with the Trodza Institute at University of Copenhagen, provided us with this new transmission. It is believed to be coming from the unidentified objects--the "whales," as some continue to call them--en route to Earth.

Dr. Nielson wrote this in his email to us: "This is the transmission that was picked up by the La Silla observatory in the Atacama Desert, Chile. Dr. G.L. Ghatan, director of the observatory, detected this signal on 16 February 2016 at 3:07:15AM while tracking the objects approaching Earth. Disobeying orders of the Chilean government officer at La Silla, Dr. Ghatan decided to release this newest transmission. According to Dr. Ghatan, the transmission cycles and repeats every 11 minutes 8 seconds. My own analysis suggests that it is non-terrestrial in origin, and similar to the original transmission picked up in March 2015, but not publicly disclosed until Dr. Weerasethakul gave it to Wikileaks in November 2015. "

Dr. Nielson wrote later to say that Dr. Ghatan has since been arrested by the Chilean military.

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For further information about Dr. Kenneth Nielson: https://mycologyink.wordpress.com/

https://soundcloud.com/ed-jr-1

In this fifth episode, Colin and Donald sit down with Note "Dudesweet" Pongsuang: an artist and—as part of the Dudesweet collective—one of Bangkok’s most revered party organizers. Note talks about growing up queer and working-class poor, and he explains how the Dudesweet parties were created to respond to—and perhaps provide an escape from—social hierarchies in Thailand. He also explains why the landing of the Harbinger 2 went mostly overlooked in Thailand, and why Mars is apparently a lot like Singapore.

The hosts discuss the widespread anxiety on Earth in the wake of the approaching unidentified objects many call “the whales." Donald gets heated when Colin explains the deal with expats in Thailand. 
 


Written and produced by Donald and Colin.

Mixed and edited by Colin.

Theme music by Reports (https://reports.bandcamp.com/), with additional music by Wannarit "Pok" Pongprayoon of Stylish Nonsense (https://www.facebook.com/stylishnonsense/).

Recorded at the Friese Greene Club (www.fgc.in.th/) and Rockademy (http://www.rockademythailand.com/) in Bangkok, Thailand.

Special thanks to Izotope (https://www.izotope.com) for the sound editing software.

In this fourth episode, Colin and Donald chat with performer Sasapin "Pupe" Siriwanij, a core member of the avant-garde physical theatre troupe, B-Floor. Pupe talks about how she came to understand social restrictions on the female body and female identity. She also explains how physical theater allows her to pose—and explore—difficult questions about what it means to be Thai in a culture that doesn’t always welcome such questions.

The hosts discuss the appearance of the unidentified objects moving towards Earth from Mars—what some are calling “the whales." Donald tries to calm Colin’s increasing anxiety and explains the deal with elephants in Thailand.

Written and Produced by Donald and Colin.

Edited and Mixed by Colin.

Theme music by Reports (https://reports.bandcamp.com/), with additional music by Put Wednesday (https://www.fungjai.com/artist/Wednesday).

Recorded at Rockademy (http://www.rockademythailand.com/) in Bangkok.

Special thanks to Izotope (www.izotope.com) for audio editing software.

Visit www.poetinbangkok.com for the hosts' writings on life in Thailand and more information about our guests.

In this third episode, Colin and Donald speak with poet Zakariya "Che" Amataya and Kittiphol "Yo" Saragganonda, fiction writer and Editor-in-Chief at 1001 Nights Editions. They speak about growing up in the shadow of conflicts in Thailand’s southern provinces and the different kinds of censorship that Thai people experience in their daily lives, as well as in literature.

The hosts try to make sense of the official confirmation of the mysterious transmission from Mars and a radiation spike on Phobos. Colin explains what the deal is with taxis in Bangkok.

Written and Produced by Donald and Colin.

Edited and Mixed by Colin.

Music by Reports (https://reports.bandcamp.com/), courtesy of Martin Pavlinic.

Recorded at the Friese-Greene Club in Bangkok, Thailand.

Special thanks to Izotope (www.izotope.com) for audio editing software.

Visit www.poetinbangkok.com for the hosts' writings on life in Thailand and more information about our guests.

In this second episode, Donald and Colin hear stories from musician Dino Tarasin, guitarist and vocalist for the Bangkok-based rock band Degaruda. Dino talks about making music inspired by Karen Carpenter and DC Hardcore (a politically-charged kind of American punk) in a country in the grips of social division and military rule.

The hosts debate the controversy surrounding the Wikileaks release of the "murdered by the sky" transmission from Mars (supposedly), and Donald explains what the deal is with illegal immigration in Thailand.

Written and Produced by Donald and Colin.

Edited and Mixed by Colin.

Music by Degaruda (http://degaruda.bandcamp.com/), courtesy of Dino Tarasin.

Recorded at the Friese-Greene Club in Bangkok Thailand.

Special thanks to Izotope (www.izotope.com) for audio editing software.

Visit www.poetinbangkok.com for the hosts' writings on life in Thailand and more information about our guests.

In this first episode, Colin and Donald speak with cartoonist and artist Kathy MacLeod about inventing the cartoon versions of herself, why she hasn’t sought out a community of fellow comic book artists in Bangkok, and how painting the sex-tourists of Soi Cowboy helped her clarify why she makes art in the first place.

The hosts discuss why they started the podcast, and Colin tries to make sense of "attitude adjustment" under Thailand's military rule. Donald also explains what he and the astronauts of Harbinger 1 have in common.

Written and Produced by Donald and Colin.

Edited and Mixed by Colin.

Music by Reports (https://reports.bandcamp.com/), courtesy of Martin Pavlinic.

Recorded at the Friese-Greene Club in Bangkok, Thailand.

Special thanks to Izotope (www.izotope.com) for audio editing software.

Visit www.poetinbangkok.com for the hosts' writings on life in Thailand and more information about our guests.

This is a portion of what's being called the "Murdered by the Sky" transmission released by Wikileaks on 20 November 2015.

The International Space Exploration Coordination Group (ISECG) documents accompanying the transmission in the Wikileaks release indicate the transmission was first received in March 2015. ISECG documents refer to the signal as "VLA-2015," after the telescope that first detected it (the Very Large Array in New Mexico). The documents also suggest the transmission could originate from deep space, a re-booting ISECG satellite in Martian orbit, or perhaps Phobos, one of Mars' two moons.

Dr. Kenneth Nielson, an acoustic technician with the Trodza Institute at University of Copenhagen, provided us with this re-mastered recording. Dr. Nielson can neither confirm nor deny the existence of the supposed morse-code message "murdered by the sky" that several other astronomers and scientists have detected in the transmission.