Baht battered, deep-fried, flavour not improved

Published on October 29, 2007

The headlines say it all: "Slowdown curbs banks" "Consumer just not in the mood" "Oil price? Don't even ask".

But the financial news gets a bit complicated for Soopsip, whose brain has been scientifically certified as Laughably Average, so we have to look elsewhere for indicators of just how bad things are:

lSoap-opera production budgets have been slashed. Gone are the beach settings and romantic sunsets on the mountaintops. "Tukkata Ruangrabum" on Channel 7 is typical - every scene is shot indoors and, hey, are those walls cardboard?

lHold on to your noodle: The price of Mama is going up next year.

lA lot of high-society folks have traded in their Louis Vuitton and Gucci bags for cloth totes. They say they're doing it for the environment, but who's kidding whom?

lPolitical parties are graciously trying to follow the "sufficiency economy" scheme by merging and thus scaling back the scope of the election. On the other hand, if they did manage to stitch together a woolly mammoth called Pracharaj Machima Thippatai Ruam Jai Thai Chat Pattana, it would be approximately the same size as all of the Tesco Lotus supermarkets combined.