Stickman's Weekly Column January 20th, 2008

Lies, Lies, Lies

I have been going to the same hairdresser / barber for about 5 years. They guy who cuts my hair is not brilliant at his job but he knows what I want and I don't have to go through the hassle of explaining what I'm after. But that's not
the main reason I go there. I enjoy the banter with him. He's a Muslim and I haven't known many Muslims so the chit chat can be fascinating.

Before too long the conversation comes around to Thai politics. With the square-faced one living in exile, I never miss the opportunity to bring this up which is always met with chuckles from him and his staff. I tell him about how I would
vote for Khun Apisit, the leader of the Democrats, if I had the right to vote. He always nods and says that Apisit is a good man – although not yet experienced enough for the top post in his opinion. Numerous times he has told me that he and his
family have always voted for the Democrats – as do all good southern Muslims.

He Clinic Bangkok

On my most recent visit a female customer was sitting in the adjascent chair and the topic of the recent election came up. She said she had voted for the Democrats and that she thought Apisit was a good man. My hairdresser then said "Oh,
you should chat with farang as all he ever does is talk up Apisit and the Democrats." She looked across and gave me the glad eye.

My hairdresser casually said to her, "I voted for Mr. Samak this time as he is the next best thing with Mr. Thaksin away", and continued to chop away.

I don't know if he realised that I clued in to what he had just said but he was sprung. He had always gone on and on to me about Thaksin being a bad man, but then he admits that he likes him to this woman. Why had he been telling me
the complete opposite for years?

CBD bangkok

I remember the first time I met an ex-girlfriend a few years back. I actually first met her along with one of her friends. Both were single. Her friend went on a bit of a rant about wanting to find a good man and told me how much she hated men that lied.
She went on and on about it. This came without any prompting from me. She had volunteered it.

As the relationship developed, the truth came out. My girlfriend's friend actually had a gentleman in the UK supporting her handsomely. The gent had bought her a brand new apartment at a fair few million baht as well as a brand new car.
He also sent her a monthly salary that would be the envy of Bangkok English teachers.

Why did she come out and lie to me? I wasn't chasing her. Hell, she didn't know if I would even see her again! Yet she came out and told me this utter nonsense the first time I met her.

I enjoy the banter with the motorbike queue guys who revel in telling me all the neighbourhood gossip. On the way to an outing with the dirty doctor on the back of one of the bikes – Bangkok traffic on a Friday night is particularly nasty
so I usually go by bike – my rider told me that I need to exercise more, explaining that I had put on a good deal of weight over the New Year period. Charming. He then went on to tell me that I should join him at Lumpini Park where he does 12
laps every morning, in under an hour!

wonderland clinic

A circuit of Lumpini Park is 2.5 km so 12 laps is 30 km. That's just not possible. Why oh why did he tell me this fib? Looking at the state of him he'd be lucky to do two laps without keeling over and croaking it!

Any foreigner who has spent time in Thailand has most likely been told some right corkers.

"The Grand Palace is closed today."

"This is a special government discount only available this week."

"That hotel no good, I take you to better hotel."

Many lies are told so that the liar can benefit from what they say.

Some lies are made to save face, or to protect the face or reputation of another, often the person speaking's patriarch.

But what the hell was the purpose of the lies I was told? I just cannot see why each of the people in each of those situations would tell me such nonsense!

There are lies I can understand. For example, a working girl speaking nonsense should come as no surprise. You expect it. Asking her whether she has a boyfriend, or existing sponsors, is inviting her to lie. What has she got to gain from being truthful?

And I'll be the first to admit that when forced to, I have been known to lie, but I'd like to think that like many, I only lie when failing to do so would result in dire consequences. Furthermore, there are many people I would never lie to,
irrespective of the outcome. If they're in the Stick inner circle, it's the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Either that or a refusal to answer the question. But a lie? No way.

The truth is not always easy to come by in Bangkok and I long ago reached the point where I seldom believe anything I hear from locals I'm not yet familiar with without some sort of evidence or supporting reference. I have heard of serious lies from
people where even the thought of lies makes you cringe. Medical professionals lying about someone's condition so that that person undergoes treatment or a procedure which is unnecessary, for example.

The funny thing is that the local liars are not always that good at it, despite having no end of practice.

Or am *I* the problem? Is worshipping the truth, something an ex once said to me, a fault of mine?! If I invest my time, effort and money in something or someone am I asking too much to expect the truth and not what that person thinks I want to hear.
If cheated of time, effort and finances, you could argue that lying constitutes theft.

We often make decisions based on what someone has told us and our whole life is very much a journey, negotiating all that is thrown at us. We therefore *need* accurate information to take the best route. Lies seriously compromise and complicate that.

Should the discovery of lies not result in, at the very minimum, a loss of face for the liar? Seems not to be the case these days. In this maddening world we live in today, it seems to be that it is the person who makes someone upset who is at fault,
irrespective of whether that person deserved to be made upset or otherwise.

So just what was it that made me decide to write about these incessant lies that frustrate me so much? Well today I went out to buy a new mobile phone. A friend had bought a new mobile and I was well impressed. It had a host of features that I would actually
take advantage of. I researched the unit online and the reviews were overwhelmingly positive so I made the decision to buy one.

So off I trotted to a branch of the mobile manufacturer. No, not a cheap, shoddy, fly by night Mahboonkrong vendor, but an official store. You pay more, but you get good service. Or so I thought. I pointed to the model I wanted and the sales assistant
asked me why I wanted that particular model, to which I explained that it met my needs. Refusing to enquire as to just what those needs were, she went on to tell me that there were many models better and started recommended old models, expensive
models before telling me complete lies and untruths about the model I told her I wanted. Big mistake, I had been researching it all day and knew all that there was to know about it.

Safe in the knowledge that customers cannot actually try out a real phone in store (what the hell are these vendors thinking?), she must have thought I would believe her. I couldn't believe what I was hearing and called her on it. In fact, I did
more, I asked her straight out why she was lying to me. Silence. A major sulking was coming! "I'll take a black one!", I said.

"It finit" she muttered, scurrying off, out of sight. And then the penny dropped. The shop was out of stock so rather than lose a sale, she chose to lie to me to secure a sale. She would be happy. Who cares about the customer?
I was furious, muttered a few words and left the store.

Lying pisses me off big time and I am sorry to say that it is much more prevalent here than home. It drives me crazy and seriously reduces my admiration and respect for the locals.

Does the truth have any value in Thailand? Is life so tough that many will seemingly say ANYTHING if they perceive there could be some sort of (fiduciary) advantage for them? Am I being totally unreasonable to expect the truth most of the time?

Thai people have many wonderful traits that we love, but the propensity of many to be economical with the truth is something that I will always struggle with.

Where was this picture taken?

Last week's picture was taken of the Grand Palace, Thailand's most famous and most significant temple and quite possibly the most visited of the country's many attractions. Needless to say, plenty of people got it right! The first person
to email me with the correct location of the picture wins a 500 baht credit at Oh My Cod, the British Fish And Chips restaurant and the second wins a free jug of margarita, valued
at 840 baht from Charley Brown's, a well-established, popular restaurant, offering authentic Tex-Mex Cuisine and delicious margaritas. Charley Brown's is located in the small sub-soi off Sukhumvit Soi 11.

FROM STICK MARK II'S INBOX (These are emails from readers and what is written here was not written by Stick Mark II.) Preference may be given to emails which refer to the previous week's column.

EMAIL OF THE WEEK Global warming, just turn up the air-con!

The comfort of the Thais takes precedence over the globe's future. Walking is an activity that in Thailand is to be avoided at all cost and inconvenience. It is far better to drive around endlessly in the air-conditioned comfort of a car rather than
to endure the torture of a five minute walk. Observe the Hua Hin circus of Bangkokians at the weekend. Once I arranged for a lad to come and fix a broken window. The shop was about 35 metres from my house. He and his mate arrived on motorcycles.
And how many engines are left running whilst the owner eats a leisurely lunch or goes shopping? What prompted me to write this is a diesel powered truck sitting outside my house. For over an hour the rrrrmp rrrrmp rrrrmp has been getting on
my nerves. The driver left it running as he sat in a restaurant and he is now taking a well-deserved air-conned nap. Global warming is certainly not a problem concerning Thailand, we'll just all turn up our air-con. That will fix it.

The lure of the Euro.

Recently I caught a taxi to MoChit bus station which took about 40 minutes. The whole way the driver was talking to us in a mixture of rage and grief. He said he has been married 28 years and loved his wife very much. Her sister had somehow recently found
herself on the game in France – at the age of 52! Hearing about the amount she was making the driver's wife wanted a divorce and then to follow her sister's invitation to take up the age old game as well for she was a mere 49. His
last words were of him swearing that he would burn down the sister's house no matter what the consequences. I did feel for this guy but wondered how old is too old when it comes to prostitution.

Easy solution to a common problem.

The solution for girls doing a runner after an hour but promising long time is very simple. Before you bar fine her, make it very clear you will only pay her in the morning. If she walks out before that she gets no money. That way, you make it very clear
who is in charge and you control the situation. If she demurs you know she would have done a runner. And if she does try to leave even after she has agreed and gone to your room you are quite justified in refusing to pay. Works for me.

Preventing her from ordering too much food.

My best solution for ending the over-ordering of food in the restaurants has been to, just prior to ordering, give the girl about the amount you want and are willing, to spend (i.e. a 500 baht note or so) and tell her "order enough for us both and
we share" then excuse yourself go to the restroom and give her enough time to order before returning. You'll be surprised at how much food you will have but also how little it will cost you. I also use this ploy in the bars that
don't serve food by getting one of the girls to go out (to the street vendors) get stuff to eat. They always bring back enough food to feed an army and in most cases quite a bit of change. It usually breaks the ice when they see you eat
"real" Thai food and most Thai women are always ready to eat. Over the years it has saved me on buying expensive rounds of drinks with little to show in return and seems to have curried great favour with several of the ladies as
it makes me a farang with a good heart.


Thai dating at ThaiFriendly.com

If you're not bored of it, you're a pervert.

What you write about going in circles is a phenomenon that sooner or later catches in. As big as Bangkok and Thailand may be what makes it interesting (be honest) is the girls…and they are mostly shallow and the sex is far too easy to get (you documented
it with your online experiences – not that any proof was needed!) So unless you become a real pervert, there sooner or later simply is almost no fascination to it anymore.

Thailand is no longer exotic.

After living here for so long, it all becomes boring and repetitive, there is nothing new and exciting, or even vaguely interesting happening. The same old stuff keeps on coming around. Thailand is no longer "exotic", at least for me. Thais
are boring. A lot of farangs are also boring. Dealing with visas, visa runs, is utterly tedious and look at the new requirements to have four photos of marriage bliss in the home. Why four? Why not two? Why any? Maybe when I am dead they will
require four photos showing me in various phases of decay? I wonder if I will need to be photographed hanging on to a Zimmerman for my retirement visa renewal? They already require a photo of the house, maybe I'll take a few of me smiling
in the lounge, smiling in bed, smiling in the kitchen and smiling on the toilet? The stupid things that Thais do no longer amuse me. Why, if you make a pavement, do you then plant trees down the middle, so that you cannot walk down it? Why,
in Hua Hin, did some idiot mount a new road sign in the middle of a pavement with the lower corner at exactly 171 cm, so that any pedestrian is walking edge on to it, resulting in a gash down the forehead, as happened to me? Why are the roll
down blinds on shop fronts designed to take out the "farang" eye? I used to think all this was amusing and quaint. Now it's just boring and a reflection on the inability of the Thais to plan further the next meal and take responsibility
for their own actions. And the list could go on, but I'm getting even more depressed thinking about it…

Is falling in love with Thailand the equivalent of being on crack cocaine?

Had some in depth serious conversations today about trying to rationalise why I was living here in Thailand. To outside strangers my arguments and defence just didn't add up and hold water. We've come a long way to be able to settle in such
a strange, alien, discriminatory environment that one really forgets just how much we are prepared to accept and sweep under the carpet. The price we've paid to compromise made me come to the conclusion that Thailand is so addictive I
might as well be on crack cocaine.

We're back to the old days of cat and mouse in Nana. Despite the fact that showing had been common place in at least a couple of bars for the best part of a month, word reached the boys in brown and some of their number were dispatched to check out the accused bars on Friday night. Needless to say, the view was much less exciting than previous Fridays.

And if you wondered why no bars on the ground floor had been showing, one bar owner came straight out and said that their position on the ground floor doesn't allow adequate time to have an effective warning system in place for the nudies to leap offstage and bikini- clad girls jump up on to the stage before the boys in brown storm the premises.

In typically confusing Thai fashion, girls from the Hollywood bars upstairs in Nana were holding placards at the bottom of the stairs advertising happy hour from 7:00 – 9:30 with beers priced at a reasonable 95 baht. But while they were strutting their stuff, right next to them was a large cardboard cut out which said the happy hour ran until 9:00 PM and the beer was priced at 100 baht. Confused? I was. You'll be pleased to know the happy hour does in fact run through until 9:30 PM and the price is the happier 95 baht.

Wandering deep down into Soi 4 this week, I see bars down the soi and around on to sois 6 and 8 are faring no better than the mediocre bars in the plaza where many are much quieter than you would expect at this time of year. Even the bigger name beer bars on soi 4 like the Hillary and Swan bars did not have that many punters. By the way, there's a newly fitted out bar down that way, Oasis Bar I, which has a 50 baht happy hour running from 4 – 7 PM.

Electric Blue Patpong will start opening from 4 PM from Friday 1st February. There will be a happy hour with 2 drinks for the price of 1.

I get fed up with people talking shit about Boss Hogg. Long after he left, bar owners still talk of him as if he was the devil's sporne. All of my dealings with him were straightforward and I always enjoyed his forthrightness. I guess some struggle with such candor. The membership of the Boss Hogg fan club extends to his bar staff who average over 20,000 baht per month in salary and tips ALONE. Every member of staff who had been with him for more than 1 year just received a bonus equal to one month's pay. They're obviously doing a great job and Bully's had its best year ever, due in part to their hard work. How many bars offered such a bonus? I think you will find the answer is a big fat zero.

It's hardly a new spot, but sick and tired of Cowboy and Nana, I checked out Soi 7/1 in pursuit of a new party spot. The soi's home to a few interesting bars but perhaps the most interesting of all is Magic Table and the more Tequila the girls drink, the better it gets. And with just 95 baht asked for most beers and 100 baht for lady drinks, it is much more affordable than the silly money now asked for in most Nana bars. But do be careful of the New Zealand owned bar (NOT the Down Under Bar which is Aussie owned and a spot with a great atmosphere) where there are some shenanigans going on amongst the staff. Sitting down at the bar with my regular Friday night date, the dirty doctor, I was too lazy to converse in the local lingo so told the girls I only spoke English. I was appalled at what they started saying to themselves about us and before we knew it, unordered lady drinks had arrived. You can guess what happened next…the Stick told them in no uncertain terms what to do with those. Needless to say, as we left, we got a mouthful of verbal from one of the wenches. So, if you enter the bar with the big New Zealand flag, be wary of girls taking liberties with lady drinks. A shame, as that aside, it was a pleasant spot AND they had meat pies for sale too!

A friend ended up in that oasis of diddling, Toy Bar, renowned for its naughty girls. Well they WERE naughty, but not in the way he expected. He was approached by two girls, as is the norm there, and he graciously offered each a drink. A Tequila and a
Coke were requested, which turned out to be TWO separate drinks for each girl – and a resultant bill of 420 baht. As soon as the drinks arrived one of the girls excused herself to spend 10 minutes in the bathroom. When she returned, her friend
then went to do the same. After downing both drinks they asked for another round (and potentially another 420 baht), but he had had enough already. Imagine, sitting talking for a total of 15 minutes being talked to by just one girl and running
up almost 1,000 baht. Wasn't its affordability one of the reasons we came to the 'Kok in the first place?

Thank goodness, the Sunday roast carvery buffet is back at Molly Malone's. If you haven't checked it out, do so because it's great. (And don't think I am saying this because they advertise – I eat it regularly myself.) It's a great deal and runs from 12 – 7 PM. The meats include roast rib of beef, roast pork loin with crackling, roast leg of lamb and honey roast ham. The vegetables are good and there's a soup of the day as well as a small salad bar plus dessert as well as tea or coffee. All this for only 350 baht. It's half price for children and just to top it off, there's a complimentary glass of house wine (red or white) plus free soft drinks for children – and colouring books to keep 'em quiet.

Following on from the mention in last week's column, Immigration is now asking some applicants of one year visas based on a work permit to provide photos of them in the workplace. It seems to come down to an arbitrary decision made by the official on the day, depending on the mood he or she is in. So you might be asked to produce such photos, or you might not!

The boys in the too-tight brown uniforms are at it again in Sukhumvit Soi 22, randomly stopping foreigners and asking them to produce ID, to turn out their pockets and to explain what they are doing on the face of the earth. The latest report from a long term reader who was stopped yesterday afternoon has a nasty twist. He was stopped between Denny's Corner and the Imperial Queens Park while walking. His pockets and wallet were searched and he was lucky to have the receipt for the medicine on his person which he had just bought. Upon checking his wallet shortly afterwards he discovered that 1,000 baht from the 10,000 he had just withdrawn (and counted) from an ATM was missing! Very, very sad.

Email spam has long been a nuisance but these days I find myself getting more and more pissed off at the amount of spam I get on my mobile phone. It might not sound like a lot but I get at least one spam SMS a day, everyday. It is one of a number of reasons
why my mobile is often turned off. I'm not sure if this is a Thailand problem or a problem worldwide but for sure, it's a pain.

A new, clean, well-lighted, well-managed restaurant specialising in Isaan food has just opened up in Sukhumvit 22 called Hi Isaan. I have not tried it out myself yet, but it is getting great raps, from both foreigners and Thais. As you can imagine, most
customers are Isaan ladies with their farang boyfriends. It's located right next to Larry's Dive, perhaps 100 meters in from the top of the soi where it took over the former premises of the Kiwi Cafe. It's an interesting concept
for a restaurant with Isaan food combined with Western standards of quality, service and presentation. You could say it is cleaned-up, Isaan-style, sanitized for the Western men who pick up the checkbin. There is parking available
behind Larry's. Whoever put this together might just be on to a winner.

I'd been hearing many positive reports about the burger at The Tavern on Sukhumvit Soi 4 so I swung by, still in my quest to find a regular replacement for the Big Mango's great, but no longer available burger. 110 baht gets you a 1/3 pound
burger. The burger itself wasn't bad, but a pre-requisite of a good burger is fresh buns – and these weren't. Also, the idea of having to traipse around the pokey bar to put your own toppings on the burger is far too reminiscent of 7
Eleven's 20 baht burger for my liking. A nice attempt, but the Bus Stop and the Big Mango boys (upon their imminent return) will not be sweating too much about the competition from The Tavern.

My latest groan about service in Thailand is the growing trend in many venues for the wait staff to come to your table, shove a menu at you, and glare at you, almost willing you to order ASAP. You order, they snatch the menu and walk away. Such brusque
manner is appalling and they say nothing. NOTHING! This is starting to happen in more and more predominantly farang venues. To make matters worse, sometimes the mouth finally opens…to ask for a tip!

I have to wonder about the guys who help girls sell themselves online. Yes, most of the Thailand dating websites feature birds on the make – and many got there with the assistance of a farang male friend, invariably a former bonk. I don't know, but
I find this a little perturbing. Is it that much different that the guys who write love letters claiming to be Thai girls? Speaking of that, did I tell you the story of the high profile Brit – who has appeared in the news from time – to time who
used to do this from a certain bar at the mouth of Nana? Rumour has it he made hundreds of thousands of baht a month from his fellow countrymen…

If you are downtown and you have an hour or two to spare, the museum at the snake farm has been redone and is said to be well worth a visit. I haven't seen it myself yet but do plan to swing by soon. The snake farm is inside the Red Cross complex
on Rama 4 Road, between Phyathai and Henri Dunant Roads. In bar speak, it's only a few hundred metres from Patpong.

I hate to ask for anything from readers, but if there are any readers coming over this way who would have space for a bottle of wine to feed the Mrs.' dreadful habit of drinking too much red wine, let me know. I will happily reimburse you for the
cost of it and buy you a beer for your troubles too.

Quote of the week comes from a friend who read an article with words to the effect that a Thai woman was described as having the elegance and grace that all Thai women have. "The way they complain about others you think that Thais believe that they
have a monopoly on manners and grace."

A public service notice on behalf of a reader: Does anyone know of the whereabouts of the (cheap) "Charlie", con artist, whose real name starts with M, English bloke, aged mid-40s, who was the owner of a language school and agency in Bangkok
On Nut, Soi 16, called Upside English (also: "Update English") employing about 15 native teachers, who closed down his school and disappeared around mid December, without paying the teachers' wages for November and December? The
government schools you sent the teachers to, as well as the teachers are looking for you. Also on the run: receptionist "Apple", Thai nationality, in her late 20s, currently on the run in Isaan. Reward for information as for the whereabouts
of both: 15,000 baht. Email: ajan_tom@yahoo.com.

If you're in the market for some Thailand-related reading, check out this at Amazon for excerpts of a story from a new novelist. Do write a
review of what you read too for this Thailand-based book has a Stickman connection…

Here's a nice article about elephants in Bangkok from this week's International Herald Tribune.

Here's an article from the Washington Post about the CIA with a Bangkok connection…

Ask Mrs. Stick

Mrs. Stick returns after a lengthy sojourn to help you with your relationship and culture questions and the things that baffle you about life in Thailand. She accepts questions on matters of the heart or cultural misunderstandings. Her answers are entirely her own without any influence or editing by me. She looks forward to reading and answering your questions, so please give her a big welcome by sending in some thought-provoking things.

Question 1: I recently gave into the Mrs. constant nagging for a new car. She has never had one but just started lessons. Having given her the money for a top of the range Toyota she overnight lost all interest in getting the car coming out with silly
excuses such as the parking and price of gas. She even stopped lessons. She refuses to return the cash or spend it on anything else which is causing arguments and making me feel like giving up on this three year marriage. My wife never worked
in a bar but is a self employed professional earning a good wage by Thai standards. I suggested we spend a portion of it on her family, but any discussion always ends in hysterics and her saying she will give the lot back, but never does. I think
she will never spend it on a car, return it or spend it on the family. Obviously I should have waited and paid for the car myself. My question is this: Do you think I am unreasonable in expecting at least part of this money for 'our'
car to be returned? She says I am lucky to have her as 99% of Thai women only marry farang for money but not her (I am not making this up) as I do not give her a monthly allowance. She adds that as I am old and poor nobody else would want me.
I feel like packing up and going home. What do you advise?

Mrs. Stick says: When it comes to money, I think it is a very personal issue and every couple is different. But given what you have told me, it is wrong for her to say one thing and do another, especially to you, as her husband. In a Thai family, a husband normally provides financial support, even if his wife also works. Certainly both have mutual responsibilities i.e. house, car, kids. But as a man, the husband still takes a bigger part of the financial responsibility. I hope you work things out with her anyway.

Mr. Stick says: I have to add something here. This question gives me GREAT CONCERN. To me, this almost seems as if there was a plan to part you with your money. If she is not willing and ready to return the money then I think the marriage is well on the way to being over. She has lied to you and cheated you out of a great deal of money. There can be no excuses for this. This is totally unacceptable behaviour from her, in fact it is inexcusable. I really am sorry to hear it. I hope it can be worked out but A) I cannot see her admitting that what she did was wrong and B) I cannot see her returning the money – and then I cannot see how or why you would want to stay in a relationship like that. Besides the whole issue, her comments putting you down show a nasty edge.

Question 2: There is an alarming number of young Thai women who choose a tom (masculine Thai woman) for a sexual partner instead of a man. Some people say this is because Thai women are tired of Thai men, some say it is because the gay population is just so enormous. I really have reserved judgment up to now. Can you speculate as to the cause of this?

Mrs. Stick says: I really don't know actually. From my point of view and from my experience so far, I only saw lesbians when I was in high school as some kind of “fashion”. But in my work environment and in society in general, I do not think there are that many of them. I might be wrong though.

Question 3: I lived in rural Korat for two years in the late 80's. Because of a childhood illness, I have impaired coordination and balance. I also run very slowly. People in the small town where I lived would frequently comment on this. "Why
are you so slow and clumsy?" "You aren't strong enough to live in Thailand." And another one I heard frequently, "He's not very healthy." Sometimes these comments made me angry. Other times I just brushed them
off as comments from ignorant, narrow-minded and shallow people. Sure, I'm clumsy and slow. But that certainly didn't mean I wasn't healthy and wasn't strong enough to live in Thailand. I actually enjoyed my two years in Thailand.
So what is it about Thais and Thai culture that make many people in Thailand so obsessed with a person's physical abilities and physical appearance? Was I treated this way because I'm a farang or are Thais with physical limitations treated
the same way?

Mrs. Stick says: Short answer; some Thai people, especially in rural areas do not have concept. Sometimes they mean no harm but they criticize without realising what they said may be offensive and could hurt others' feelings. I think you dealt with it quite well by the way.

Apologies to all for last week's column being 12 hours late due to a server problem. In hindsight, it may have been a good thing. I'll be the first to admit that I make mistakes, and in last week's column I almost made a classic. As mentioned
in the column, I had an internet girl drop her drawers on camera. Well, being the dirty boy that I am, I made a series of screen captures of the incident. I included one of the pictures with the naughty bits as well as her eyes blacked out. The
picture was all ready to go and I went to upload the column and damn, the server had a problem. On Sunday evening I started to dwell on the idea of including the picture when it occurred to me as being horribly wrong. So some good came out of
the column being late!


Yours,

Stick Mark II

nana plaza