"Chatchart takes the lead in the fashion world" WWW/FACEBOOK.COM/RUKPONG
By Terry Fredrickson
Some people can kill two birds with one stone, but Chadchart can kill two stones with one bird. How did caretaker Transport Minister Chadchart Sittipunt become a superhero? Here is the story.
Below are excerpts from a story that appeared today in the Bangkok Post Life section. You can read the full original story here: http://www.bangkokpost.com/learning/learning-from-news/393705/chatchart-the-superhero
Please join us on our Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/bangkokpostlearning
Click button to listen rightclick to download
Go Chadchart, Go!
Kaona Pongpipat
Amornrat Mahithirook
Superbowl fans around the world were amazed at the humble man from Thailand. WWW/FACEBOOK.COM/M.BENZKEI
Some people can kill two birds with one stone, but Chadchart can kill two stones with one bird.
Clad in a sleeveless shirt and shorts, the man walked barefoot to give alms to the monks early one morning. In his hand was a plastic bag, his face expressionless as though the idea of putting on a pair of slippers was as unthinkable as putting on an overcoat on a hot sunny day.
Not exactly an unusual sight. A lot of people give alms to monks on a regular basis and some do so barefoot. But that man in the sleeveless shirt was caretaker Transport Minister Chadchart Sittipunt and a photograph, capturing that serene instant, found its way online and went viral.
Not much of a challenge. @SAKCHAI INFAHSAENG
Chadchart has already been to Mars, that's why there are no living creatures there.
The minister has become a household name, an icon. Working from that original alms-giving image, he has been recast as a fireproof superhero, a destroyer of zombies, the Spartan king from fantasy-action film 300, a model on Vivienne Westwood and Victoria's Secret's catwalks.
Chadchart has also inspired several dozen jokes, mostly hyperboles about his supposed toughness and superhuman powers
The real Chatchart Sittipunt is also the centre of attention.
If Chatchart walks in the sun, it's the sun that gets burnt.
Chadchart is taking it all in stride. "I was surprised at first, then I was amazed, because some of these pictures are full of imagination and creativity," the minister told the Bangkok Post recently. "I laugh along with them. I don't take it seriously because those photos are meant in jest, and they're cute. I think they create a positive impact because when people are more interested in me, they will become more interested in the work of the ministry.
If you don't "Like" Chadchart's Facebook page, your computer will explode.
"Humour is important, because life is so stressful," he added. "I don't see those photos as nonsensical; I think they imply something deeper. Maybe people are looking for a hero — no, I don't mean myself. I mean people may see my character and let their imagination take it further
WWW/FACEBOOK.COM/anupong.ishihara
Chadchart once kicked the chin of a horse, now the same creature is generally referred to as a "giraffe' '.
"It's good for me because now that people have accepted me as that, I don't have to act cool," joked the man who reveals that his favourite superhero is Tiger Mask.
"Sometimes members of my family send me weird pictures of myself, and I've been teased [by other ministers] in the Cabinet's LINE [online chatroom] group. Now that this 'fever' has broken out, I'll let it run its course. It will fade out eventually."
Don't mess with the guy on the right. WWW/FACEBOOK.COM/nickykung.khaoseeda
Chadchart can count from one to infinity — twice.
Oh, what was in that plastic bag that Chatchart was carrying in the famous photo? Here are some guesses from social media fans: Dragon meat stir-fried with spices. Rice grown on the surface of the sun. Unicorn liver. Ground kryptonite (Superman's nemesis).
All wrong. "I was carrying one pack of rice, two packs of gaeng [curry] and an envelope containing 100 baht to be given to the monks," he told the Life section of the Bangkok Post.
Chadchart was once bitten by a snake; the snake died.
Vocabulary
alms: food, money, and other items that are given to Buddhist monks; money, clothes and food that are given to poor people - ของทำบุญ ของบริจาค
barefoot: not wearing shoes - เท้าเปล่า
caretaker: in charge for a short time, until a new leader or government is chosen - รักษาการ
catwalk: the long stage that models walk on during a fashion show - พื้นที่ยกสูงขึ้นเป็นทางยาวและแคบ (สำหรับนางแบบเดินแบบ)
challenge: something that needs a lot of skill, energy, and determination to deal with or achieve - สิ่งที่ท้าทาย, การท้าทาย
chin: the part of the face below the mouth and above the neck - คาง
clad: dressed or covered - สวมใส่
cool: clever; impressive - ดีเลิศ (คำสแลง)
creativity: the ability to create new ideas or things using your imagination - ความสามารถในการสร้างสรรค์, ความคิดสร้างสรรค์
creature: anything that lives except plants - สิ่งมีชีวิต (คน, สัตว์)
dragon: a large dangerous creature in old stories that breathes fire and has wings and long pointed tale - มังกร
eventually: at the end of a period of time or at the end of a process - ในที่สุด
excerpt: a part of a longer story, speech, song, text, etc. - บทคัดย่อ
expressionless: not showing feelings, thoughts, etc - ซึ่งไม่แสดงความรู้สึก (ทางน้ำเสียงหรือสีหน้า)
fade: to slowly disappear or become weaker - อ่อนลง,หายไป
fantasy: a pleasant situation that you imagine but that is unlikely to happen - การจินตนาการ
favourite: something you like the best of all similar things - ที่ชอบมากที่สุด, ที่โปรดปราน, ของโปรด
fever: great interest or excitement about something - ความตื่นเต้น
fireproof: able to resist great heat without burning or being badly damaged - ทนไฟ, ไม่ไหม้ไฟ
giraffe: a tall African animal with a very long neck, long legs, and dark marks on its coat - ยีราฟ
ground: cut, chopped or crushed into very small pieces or powder - บดเป็นผง
humble: showing you do not think that you are as important as other people - ต่ำต้อย,อ่อนน้อมถ่อมตน
humour: the ability to find things funny, the way in which people see that some things are funny or the quality of being funny - ความตลกขบขัน
hyperbole: a way of speaking or writing that makes someone or something sound bigger, better, more, etc. than they are - คำพูดที่พูดเกินความจริง
imagination: the ability to form pictures in the mind - จินตนาการ
impact: an effect or influence - ผลกระทบ
imply: to suggest that you think something without saying it directly - บอกเป็นนัย, แสดงนัย
in jest: as a joke - การพูดตลก, การล้อเล่น
infinity: a number larger than any other; the state of having no end or limit - อนันต์; ความไม่มีที่สิ้นสุด
inspire: to give people a particular feeling or a desire to do somethng - จุดประกาย
kryptonite: a chemical element that exists only in stories, especially in stories about Superman, a character with special powers which he loses when he is near to kryptonite - เพชรสีเขียว ที่มาจากดาวคริปโต
liver: a large organ in the body that cleans the blood and produces bile - ตับ
Mars: the planet in the solar system that is fourth in order of distance from the sun, between the Earth and Jupiter - ดาวอังคาร
nemesis: someone or something that continues to oppose you and cannot easily be defeated - คนหรือสิ่งที่ไม่สามารถทำให้แพ้
nonsensical: of ideas, behaviour, or statements that are not true or sensible - ไม่มีสาระ, ไร้สาระ
overcoat: a long warm coat that you wear in cold weather - เสื้อคลุมใหญ่
positive: good - ที่ดี
recast: to change the actors or the role of a particular actor in a play, etc.; to change something by organizing or presenting it in a different way - ให้บทบาทใหม่; สร้างขึ้นใหม่,
regular: normal; following a pattern, especially with the same time and space in between each thing and the next - ปกติ
regular basis: the way things are normally organised, arranged or done - เป็นประจำ
reveal: to let something become known - เปิดเผย
run its course: to develop or continue in a natural way and gradually end -
serene: calm, peaceful - สงบนิ่ง
sleeveless: (of a shirt or coat) having no sleeves - ไม่มีแขนเสื้อ
slippers: loose soft shoes that you wear in the house - รองเท้าสวมเดินในบ้าน
social media: the use of web-based and mobile technologies to turn communication into an interactive dialogue, e.g., Facebook, Twitter, etc. - เครือข่ายสังคมออนไลน์
spice: one of the various types of powder or seed that come from plants and are used in cooking.Spices have a strong taste and smell - เครื่องเทศ, เครื่องปรุงแต่งรสชาติ
stir-fried: thin strips of vegetables or meat cooked quickly by stirring them in very hot oil - ผัด
stressful: involving or causing a lot of pressure or worry - ตึงเครียด
surface: the outside or top layer of something - ผิวหน้า, ผิวภายนอก, ด้านนอก
take in stride: to accept and deal with something difficult without letting it worry you too much -
take seriously: to think that somebody/something is important and deserves your attention and respect - ถือว่าเป็นสิ่งที่สำคัญ
tease: to say something to someone in order to have fun by embarrassing or annoying them slightly in either a friendly or an unkind way - หยอกล้อ, ยั่วเย้า
toughness: being strong enough to deal successfully with difficult conditions or situations - ความอดทน, ความทรหด
unicorn: (in stories) an animal like a white horse with a long straight horn on its head - สัตว์ชนิดหนึ่งในเทพนิยาย
unthinkable: extremely unpleasant or frightening, i.e., something you don't want to think about; impossible to imagine - ที่ไม่สามารถจินตนาการได้, คิดไม่ถึง,นึกไม่ถึง
viral: (of a video, photo, story, etc.) spread across the internet very quickly (like a virus spreading a disease) as people share it with their friends or the news media reports on it - แพร่กระจายผ่านทางอินเทอร์เน็ตอย่างรวดเร็ว
weird: very strange - แปลกประหลาด
