Monday, April 02, 2007

When Jen Asks, She Shall Receive....


This morning, I blog-surfed as usual. One of my first stops is generally One Plus Two, as it is for many of us. In her current post, she answered five questions posed by another blogger and in turn offered to send five questions to anyone who would like to have them.

Sometimes it is dangerous to open up that comment box but I did and immediately offered to answer five questions. I'm always interested what others might find of interest or curious.

These are the five questions I got, with answers:

1. You've just been elected president of the USA. What is the first decision you make?

Well, the likelihood of my being elected to anything, especially president of the US, is rather remote but presuming revolution... :)

The first thing I would do is implement a plan I believe would solve the majority of social issues in the long term. For that reason, I would immediately establish two ministries: the Ministry of Economics and the Ministry of Culture and Family. I would appoint King Bhumibol Adulyadej as the Minister of Economics. He would have complete autonomy in establishing his self-suffiency economy model.

I would appoint Lee Kuan Yew as Minister of Family and Culture.

2. What is your favorite meal, from appetizer to dessert?

I am actually a rather simple eater. My favorite meal would be sa-tay chicken, jasmine rice and some deep fried vegetables with peanut sauce. Dessert would be mango. Finish it all off with a cup of chestnut tea.

3. If you could make a movie about any one topic, what would it be, and why?

It would be my vision of how a society would work in the ideal. That must mean it would be utopian science fiction. :)

4. If you could eradicate one social ill in the blink of an eye, what would it be?

Worker exploitation. It would simply end. Working people would be respected for what they produce, would be paid fairly, would have medical insurance and safe working conditions. There would be no such thing as "the working poor". All labor would be valued equally. It would be illegal to live off the labor of others which would mean a fundamental change in the inheritance laws.

5. What is your worst memory from your junior high school years?

The entire thing is a horrible memory. By that age, I was intellectually developed enough to observe group dynamics with some detachment. On the other hand, what I saw and watched broke my heart. Since I lacked the emotional maturity to process it, I wondered (at that age) how I'd ended up in hell.

~*

Thanks for the questions, Jen. :) I would like to extend the invitation. Anyone who would like five questions from me (guaranteed to be weird and offbeat), please leave a message in the comments box with an email address or let me know I can access it on your blog/profile.


Peace,


~Chani

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

ministry of culture and family.
i love it.

i loved these answers, and now want some jasmine rice.

SuperP. said...

"By that age, I was intellectually developed enough to observe group dynamics with some detachment. On the other hand, what I saw and watched broke my heart. Since I lacked the emotional maturity to process it, I wondered (at that age) how I'd ended up in hell."

Me too, Chani, me too.

Bones said...

In the US Capitol, each state is allowed to have two larger-than-life sized statues of famous people in their states history. Hawaii's choices are Father Damien, the jesuit priest who went to Molok'ai to minister to the leppars, and King Kameahmehah the first. The ruckus that selecting a statue of a historic king caused was inredible. I couldn't imagine what would happen if you actually HIRED a king for a secretary-level position.

And speaking of Thailand, there is no single larger perpetrator of child sex slavery on earth than Thailand. And while many of the consumers of the Thai sex trade are Americans, the Thai government and Thai justice system play a huge role in allowing sex slavery to continue. As good as adulyadej is on a lot of things, the sex trade remains a huge black eye. At least in my book.

Good choice with Lee Kuan Yew, though. He was able to develop Singapore from essentially a third-world nation in a way that helped the people.

thailandchani said...

Bones, I agree with you about it being a black eye. It is! I might quibble a bit about Thailand being the largest perpetrator. I suspect that dubious honor would go to Cambodia. Nevertheless, I agree that Thailand's government needs to do a lot more about it.

In my opinion, they are approaching it from the wrong end. They are making it more difficult for questionable people to get entrance visas.. but my personal opinion is that they need to start arresting and imprisoning Thai nationals who are involved.

I also believe that any American caught over there engaging in sex crimes should spend the rest of their lives at the Bangkok Hilton. To heck with this PNG business. Kick them out of the country so they can go somewhere else? That's no solution. I'm still mad at them for deporting John Mark Karr. He had charges pending in Thailand and they took the lazy way out.

Don't get me wrong. As should be obvious by now, I love Thailand.. very much.. but when they're wrong, they're often stupidly wrong.

Even though.. I know that I could never be a politician in the US. Honestly, I wouldn't even want to try.


Peace,

~Chani

Anonymous said...

Coming out of lurkdom....I loved reading your answers here and knew you'd give good responses. I'm very intrigued by the sound of chestnut tea, that sounds comforting and delicious.

Anonymous said...

I too love your responses. Very interesting reading and put me on a path to learn a bit. Thank you for that. I just found your blog last week, but am already am turning into a dedicated reader.

Pickled Olives said...

You certainly put a lot of thought into these answers. First decision to be made should I become president would probably have to do with whats on the dinner menu. After all, it is hard to make good decisions on an empty stomach.

My favorite meal would be lemon chicken in a white wine reduction with rosemary roasted red potatos and asperagas with a scoop of chocolate icecream for dessert.

Make a movie? I'd want an intellectual comedy that non intellectuals would laugh at too.

I would eradicate obesity.

My worst memory of Junior High? Junior High. It sucked.

Thanks for posting these questions. They are though provoking.

The Atavist said...

Thanks for another opportunity to get to know you better. I am always fascinated about the path we all take to get from where we started to where we are today and how we all thiink about what surrounds us.

OK, I'll play, Chani. Email me my questions to spedde at pedde dot net.
I know the questions are bound to be doozies, but I like to live dangerously!

Julie Pippert said...

Awesome answers. #4 especially. End worker exploitation. Perfect.

I'm so tired of what people do, using "capital" and "bottom line" and "money/earnings" as an excuse.

So much of what you wrote...very moving. You get into the heart.

KC said...

Was junior high good for anyone?

Me too, I want some jasmine rice and it's interesting to see the different spin of these questions from yours to mine...

Thoughtful as always.

Bob said...

I'll bite for a set of questions too!

I'll get back to you with contact info.

Anonymous said...

I also thought junior high school was hell.

I remember trying to figure out all the unspoken rules of behaviour by watching others closely.

But their faces never gave anything away.

Pam said...

I like the way your mind works and like your answeres.

The problem with the presidential issue is that the people who should be in charge are smart enough to avoid the political arena.

I don't even want to think about junior high.

QT said...

ACK! Junior high - whoever it was a good time for, they didn't live long enough to talk about it, cuz I haven't ever heard it described that way.

Love your answers, Chani.

Suzy said...

Chani, This week I am 5 days behind everyone else. But go ahead and send me some weird and offbeat questions.

Junior High ... don't want to go there ever again. (My youngest will be though, next year. Sigh.)

Didn't know you were legally blind. I will hold you in the light regarding your upcoming surgery.