JET LAG TV

Dateline
Siem Reap Town - Wed, June 29, 2011, 10:28 p.m.
Pat E Lyon

Gradually, I am turning myself around so that it is now 9:07 a.m. and not 9:07 p.m. At first I would find myself just treading water and not being able to think because I was tired when I wanted to be awake. Then when I wanted to sleep, I was wide awake. I occupied myself by creating purse tie kits. I matched up a tie with fabric I had brought from the U.S. and cut enough for each pattern piece, depending on how much fabric there was and which style of purse it would become. During this time, I would watch TV beyond borders. There are 84 channels which includes many Khmer, German, French, Korean, Malaysian, Chinese, Korean, Thai, HBO, Star, AXN, and "F" which is a fashion channel. There are also channels that I think are like MTV. The Khmer MTV is very innocent. Slow music with background scenes of Angkor Wat. Sometimes the song is about romance that goes awry. Early this morning I was just perplexed at what I saw. I realize that music videos areartistic expression, but this one struck me as very far away from my American culture. I do not know its origin. There was a singer wearing South Asian clothing from traditional dance, but it had been greatly modified into a rock star two piece swim suit kind of thing. A man dressed a little like Liberace was dancing next to her, but I don't think he was singing. There were many dancers on the stage with her. What bothered me the most was that there was a large group of Playboy bunnies wearing white suits and white and pink ears as background dancers. You might want to laugh, but I take a real Gloria Steinem stance on this Hugh Hefner-inspired stuff. I have seen little grade school girls wearing bunny T-shirts. What kind of charm does this hold in part of the world where children are kidnapped and sold into a world of violence and depravity? Please watch the Demi Moore special on CNN about sex trafficking in the world and do what you can to stop it. Feminist Grandmother