Soap writers glued to charter debate, taking notes

Soap writers glued to charter debate, taking notes
THAI POLITICS has shown once again that it can out-soap any soap opera and draw bigger ratings too. The knock-’em-down-drag-’em-out drama in Parliament on Tuesday was riveting, at least until some party-pooper restored a semblance of order to the debate over constitutional change.
Angry protests, booing, pushing, shoving, tugging and some international-standard screaming from the women MPs inflamed TV sets across the land and then lit up the social media as well. The spectacle was at least as good as hit Channel 3 soap series “Grudging Love” (“Kan Saneha”), many agreed. Broadcast journalist Sarosha Pornudomsak tweeted that she couldn’t decide which one had the scarier cast.
The people on the social networks did what Thais always do when things get so bad they want to cry – they laughed. Among the more amusing online posts:
l “Kan Saneha” is ending, but our Parliamentary Grudge never ends.
l Are the Democrats smoking ya ba? They seem terrified of the police.
l Hi, this is Yingluck speaking. How’s our parliamentary talk going? See you after my vacation!
l We should put them all in a zoo.
l No, that might scare the animals.
l I cried a river today thinking of the taxes I pay for this.
l This is how our parliamentarians earn their [fornicating] salaries – by entertaining us.
Of course, the taxpayers can always turn off the TV when confronted with this rubbish, but 150 students from Rangsit University had no such choice: Attending the debate was presumably a requirement of their curriculum. Or were they being punished for something? If so, it’s a splendid idea for parents – threaten your kids that, if they don’t change their ways, they’ll grow up to be just like that!

Chaos in advertising
L’Oreal Thailand was evidently taken by surprise that its press conference was lasting so long, but the cosmetics firm shouldn’t have been. It had Janie Thienposuvan Asavahame making the big sales pitch, and the actress’ recent lightning wedding was bound to draw a crowd.
There’d been a rumour that advertisers would shun Janie as a presenter, so everyone wanted to confirm that wasn’t the case with l’Oreal. The press event, “New York Fashion Week Disclosure by Maybelline New York”, was the first time she’d faced the press since joining a family of some disrepute with her marriage to Samut Prakan politician Chonsawat Asavahame, whose dad is on the lam for political corruption. In keeping with her new social status, Janie arrived with 10 bodyguards. Reporters assumed her hubby had hired them, but no, she said, l’Oreal did.

Married life is sweet, she declared, certainly sweeter than single life. But, please, no questions about her husband’s former not-really-wife Nantida “Tu” Kaewbuasia.
Even when the press conference ended after half an hour of zigzagging topics, the press wanted to confer some more. With 100 reporters and photographers crowding in to see if Janie had any zits, the stage backdrop almost collapsed. What a coup for l’Oreal, with the image of Maybelline tumbling onto a beautiful star now burned into everyone’s brain!