Other Excitement

On Friday night I joined the rush to see the new American blockbuster 2012. Somewhat bizarrely there has been much debate in Indonesia over a potential ban on the film after the Indonesian Ulema Council (Indonesia’s highest self-proclaimed Islamic authority) called for the film to be removed from cinemas. I’m remain slightly unclear as to the reasons for this proposed ban, but it appears to be an excellent marketing ploy as people queued all weekend to see the film before it gets pulled from the screens!

Leaving the cinema I was drawn towards loud music emanating from Jakarta’s Hard Rock Café and picked up a ticket to see local sensations “Kahitna” . Their collection of ballads and cheesy tunes could probably best be described as Asiapop, and was accompanied by some fantastic Night Fever style dancing. In any case it seemed to down a storm with the packed crowd, whose singing / screeching drowned out at least half the songs.

The next afternoon saw many years of hard work on the football pitch come good, as my delicate blend of skill and power finally caught the eye of a passing talent spotter. Emerging sweaty and victorious from Saturday’s five-a-side, I was approached by the well known Ella Agency for a starring role in an upcoming TV commercial, and after graciously agreeing to have my photo taken for their talent files headed to celebrate at the second best expat bar in town. Not so coincidentally, it happened to be Cazbar’s fourth anniversary which was being marked by the crazy concept of four hours of free beer. This built up nicely to the family derby (Sunderland v Arsenal) at 10pm but sadly the result made for a gloomy journey back to the apartment for a well earned sleep.

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