short? tall? brown, yellow, or black?

my boss told me something today that i found terribly amusing.

you see, he was a tour guide back in the day, and he's traveled many different places many times over, and knows a lot of things that normal tourists just wouldn't know. to share stories of past happenings is a favourite past time of his when there are no customers around.

today, he told me about a little experience in china many years ago. he had brought his tour group to a karaoke lounge in one of their town stops, and man... karaoke lounges there are "so technologically advanced".

you walk in and there's a big room with two live bands - one on each end of the room - and people can dance in the middle. you sit down on one of the comfy lounge chairs, and someone will come and wait on you hand and feet.

so that night, boss and a friend visited the place.

the first thing they ask you once you're comfortable is "would you like a girl to accompany you? to sing?". [when my boss told me this, i snorted]. well, my boss's friend said yes. and you know what happened?

out of nowhere this TV screen flips on, and the friend is handed a remote control. on screen, there are pictures of girls... lots and lots of girls [use your imagination].... change the channel and there's more girls. all for him to choose from -____-. all he has to do is press the remote control, and just like that, a girl appears. apparently there were about five hundred there for his taking. all with a price tag, of course. [HAH!]

but what is that? it's like shopping on e-bay. Great Selection & Fantastic Prices On All Items. Power at Your Fingertips. Delivery on click.

i've honestly never heard of this before, [have you?] but i just find it so bizzare, and consequently, so amusing.

i mean, can you imagine sitting there choosing a person like you're choosing wall colours? or like choosing live chickens in malaysia?

"how much for the brown one over there? no, that one too skinny. i want the fat one."

i could launch into a whole tirade against the objectification of women here, but i'm sure we've all heard that one before. and if you haven't, someone you know will be able to tell you. preferably not a male.

and besides, there's supposed to be nothing sleazy about it - it's purely professional. it''s like contracting an accompanist so that you don't have to sing your own harmonies; so that you don't have to be both aladdin AND jasmine when you sing a whole new world. that kinda thing. so i don't really feel a need to defend female rights.

i do however, get angry when i think about what Sheikh Al-Hilali [he of the comparison between women and meat] said in an al-Jazeera interview the other day. what he ALWAYS says whenever he's given an opportunity to slander the respectability of women everywhere. pisses me off. but that's another story. maybe tomorrow.

and for the record, my boss is the good guy. it was his companion who was the pervert.