My Butt is Big: Nike Women...

I will let the picture speak for this post!

Or this version from 2005.

The Ugly Meter...

I do not own an iPhone, but now that I know that I can pay USD 0.99 and buy an application called the "Ugly Meter", I might just have to splash out and get one. The concept is an interesting one; face scanning technology that maps your face and then gives it a rating of somewhere from 1 to 10. I am no techno wizard, but I always thought that this would have to be a 3-D thingy in order to get some accuracy to the scanning and mapping. Perhaps I have been watching too much CSI and NCIS and Law & Order.

Anyways, the ugly meter seemingly scans and calls most people ugly. So, it appears to be an equal opportunity ugly meter and makes everyone ugly. It is hard to work out how best to use the ugly meter. I can see that if you can resist the urge to scan yourself and just scan all those around you, then there is a chance that this application will be good for yourself esteem and body image, well at least your face image. Then again, if you cannot resist that urge and you scan yourself and score a woeful ugly number then your hard-earned self-esteem could be shot in no time at all.

Yet, if trial runs are anything to go by this application could be a real winner. Brad Pitt, often cited as one of the beautiful people and one-time sexiest man alive, has found out that age does in fact weary him. Mr. Pitt scores a pretty ugly 8 on the ugly meter. When Brad Pitt scores an 8 it is almost worth buying the application just to see if you can score a 7. If I scored a 7 then you can rest assured that everyone I know will know that I am just that little bit "hotter" than Brad Pitt! But Mr. Pitt's better half scored a lot better. It just goes to prove that old adage; opposites attract.

Then again, knowing the reaction of my mirror when I stand in front of it, a ten is not outside the realm of possibility! Or better still, the application just laughs and says "Mate, you're so ugly that it is not even worth a score...but, 27!"

Apparently, the developers of this here "ugly meter" are doing beautiful business. They managed to sell some USD 10,000 worth over the past weekend. I really need to whack on the thinking cap and come up with an iPhone application that people will find amusing.

Miss Indonesia -- Learning to Speak Indonesian

I would have figured that to become Miss Indonesia that the ability to speak Indonesian, even Indonesian like Cinta Laura's hybrid version, would be a pre-requisite for entry into the competition. However, the crowning of the current Miss Indonesia proves otherwise.

The crowning of Karenina Sunny Halim (sometimes spelt Kerenina) is a interesting one. The young women are always stunningly beautiful, but pageants are supposed to have extended beyond the superficial looks to the judging of the women's skills and contributions to the greater community and not just whether she looks like a knock-out in an evening dress and a swimming costume. There is no doubt that Karenina is a beautiful young woman.

There is also little doubt that she is smart. She holds qualifications in public relations, teaching, performing arts, music, and marketing, among others. There is also little doubt that she does not speak much Indonesian. The question then is whether or not she is the best choice to represent Indonesia on the international stage?

Karenina needed a translator in order to be able to understand the questions from the Indonesian judges of the pageant. This is akin to, let's say, the winner of the Miss Australia pageant requiring a translator to answer the judges' questions in English. I don't know that it would ever happen.

It seems that Karenina is also a little short on the knowledge of Indonesian culture front as well. My guess is that she is in for a crash course in the Indonesian language and the culture of the vast archipelago that is Indonesia.

Nevertheless, I wish her nothing but the best as she represents Indonesia in the Miss World competition to be held in Johannesburg in South Africa.