Ohh The Irony

Apparently there a new sheriff in town over at the UN Comission On The Status Of Women. You will never guess who it is (Hint: not Gloria Steinem).

Ladies meet your new buddy.  At least he smiles sometimes.Check first to see if he has any rocks in his hand.

This is absurd. Don't even get me started on the boobquake guy.

That Seventies Show

No not that seventies show.

Several of my colleagues (including myself) are known colloquially as silverbacks. Too old to promote and too young to quit. Pretty good bunch though experience wise - not much in this industry that we haven't collectively seen or done. Anyway somehow over cocktails we got to talking about old obscure TV shows. Here was something I used to watch as a teenager in the 70's. We had just got color and cable TV and were experiencing the joys of American late night programming. The show was called Fernwood Tonight and was a spoof on American late night talk shows. The clip shows a youngish Tom Waites parodying "the piano has been drinking". Love the lyrics!

Sinetron

Anyone who has ever watched Indonesian sinetron (soap opera) will appreciate the potential for an incredibly long drawn out story in the making. Goes something like this.

A friend of mine "A" has 2 kids, B and C. B is the child of her ex-husband D and C is the  adopted child of the ex-maid E. Problem now is to confirm the status of B and C (get identity cards). This is proving difficult  now as A also has identity status issues. Firstly although separated from D she has never received a divorce certificate. Additionally after separating from D she changed her name from F to A.
So what happens now? Simple really. A has to change name to F, divorce D, change name back to A. After that it should be a simple matter to clarify the status of B and C. The lawyers and judges are circling this case like piranhas. Could take years to sort out and that's only if nobody contests custody of B and C and the courts don't try to screw with A. There are indications that E may contest custody of C and the interests of D  towards B have been hitherto unknown. As to the courts... well there is an interesting post here on trying to resolve identity issues in Indonesia. Its hardly optimistic.

Just another day in paradise.

I wish I could make this stuff up. Could be a future in soap operas.

Renovations

I'm planning a general spruce up of the property this year. Keeping up with the Wayans, Mades, Nyomans, Ketuts and the like. There has been  a something of a building boom  in the neighborhood lately and I'm feeling left behind. Its also a chance to fix up some of the more glaring problems of the old house. Anyways I've clipped a first draft of the reno. Trying to think of a name for the place. Ideas gratefully entertained...

The Crocodile Farm

I remember going to a crocodile farm once. The guide showed us a small pool with a tall heavy mesh fence around it. "Watch this" he said and carefully inserted a long bamboo shaft through the mesh and tickled the edge of the pool. There was an immediate splash and the biggest crocodile that I would ever care to meet came lunging out towards us. We were all properly shocked and frightened, much to the amusement of our guide. I don't think I ever went back to that crocodile farm again.

This memory surfaced when I was reading about the recent riots in Tanjung Priok. Sometimes the crocodiles only need a little prodding to come charging out of their pools. I'm not sure who was carrying the pole this time. The incident requires credible investigation before blame, and ultimately punishment, can be apportioned. The police arrived ready for the trouble and an armed mob was waiting for them. Somebody tickled the pond and the crocodiles reacted predictably.

Now that the fires are out the blame game has started. There have been calls for the police to be disbanded, the mayor to be fired, the governor to be fired, and the vigilante group that imposed itself on the situation to be banned. Everyone is getting in on it. The Minister of Information has stupidly called for images of the riot to be banned as they would be bad for the nation. Someone forgot to tell him that there is a free press in Indonesia not to mention that the photos have already made it to the international agencies. The  Jakarta Governor has gone to visit the families of the bereaved, promised compensation, and pledged to convert the tomb of Mbah Priok to a historical site. Too bad he didn't think to communicate to the residents before the incident-lives may have been saved. And in probably the best instance of bad timing Home Affairs minister has trotted out his latest absurdity: that of the moral elegibility of  entertainers as elected officials. He's got it mixed up. They are already lots of politicians playing at governing  - they should be more concerned with being seen as actors such rather than actors being seen as politicians. Whats needed are leaders to calm the waters and and keep the crocodiles in their pools. Better yet if they can drain the ponds. Instead the guys with sticks seem to be in charge.

Photo clipped from the BBC