Isaac Laquedem

And the winner of "Best Laotian Film of 2008" is ...

When Laos became communist in 1975, it removed many influences of Western culture, among them film.  A new film entitled Sabaidee Luang Prabang (Good morning, Luang Prabang) premiered on May 24 in Vientiane (the capital of Laos).  It's the first commercial film shot in Laos since 1975.  It was shown at the Laos National Cultural Center, perhaps out of national pride but also possibly out of necessity; Laos has only two movie theatres, both in Vientiane.

How open Laos is to new films is a good question; Agence France-Presse (from whom I swiped this story) implied that the May 24 screening was a one-shot; the story notes diplomatically, "It is not clear when, or if, further screenings in Laos are planned."

Condominiums are still booming on the waterfront

Not the Portland waterfront, as has been obvious for months, but the Singapore waterfront, or nearby, at a place called Nassim Park Residences near the Botanic Gardens.  The Singapore Business Times (registration required) reports in its weekend edition that three members of a wealthy family named Wee have purchased units in the project, the least costly of which was $10,598,000 S$, or about US$7,800,000.  Wee Ee Cheong, chief executive officer of United Overseas Bank and son of the family patriarch, paid S$18,333,000 (US$13,800,000) for his little place of 6,867 square feet, and the son of one of the other directors bought a 4,574 square foot ground floor unit for the equivalent of US$8,500,000.  (Even at that low price, the unit has its own pool, not shared with the other residents.)

If you've bought a house or condominium unit in Portland in the last 10 years you will have noticed that the real estate agents are careful not to say anything about the square footage.  If they quote a number at all it comes with disclaimers: "not guaranteed," "according to county records," and "if it's important to you, measure the place yourself."  So our local measurements of house areas aren't intended to be precise.

Not so in Singapore: the newspaper reports the size of the Wee condominiums down to the second decimal.  Wee Ee Cheong's unit, for example, is not just 6,867 square feet, but 6,867.37 square feet.  He's paying US$2,000 for each of those square feet, of course, so an extra 1/100 of a square foot is still US$20.  At those prices I wouldn't dare to set foot on the floor -- each shoe would take up $800 of prime real estate.

A diplomat's green card makes the opposition see red

The Republic of China (Taiwan) hasn't exchanged ambassadors with the United States since President Nixon chose, 35 years ago, to recognize the People's  Republic of China (Beijing) as the government of all China.   Taiwan and the United States have remained on good terms, and exchange, if not ambassadors, then persons called representatives who do much the same thing.  Taiwan recently appointed a diplomat named Jason Yuan, a member of Taiwan's ruling Kuomintang party, to be its representative to the United States.

"Not so fast," said Taiwan legislator Kuan Bi-ling, who is of the opposition Democratic Progressive Party, who on Friday told the Taiwanese legislature (named the Yuan, as it happens), "Mr. Yuan applied for a USA green card in 2004 and is on the waiting list to get one."  (She backed up her accusation by giving Mr. Yuan's immigration visa number.)    Mr. Yuan is the second Taiwanese official to be caught on the green card list; last week Taiwan Foreign Minister Francisco Oh, for whom Mr. Yuan is about to work, apologized for holding a USA green card while he was the ambassador to Guatemala. 

The Taiwan News, where I found this delightful story, doesn't give the ages of Messrs. Yuan and Oh.  I'd guess that Mr. Oh is older and wiser; when the story hit about his green card, he apologized and said that he had already given it up.  Mr. Yuan, on the other hand, said he would sue the legislators who had violated his privacy.

A dinner-only restaurant offers a lunch discount

I received a pack of promotional postcards this week, one of which proudly proclaims that the restaurant Oba, in northwest Portland, is now open for lunch.  The reverse offers a $10 discount for lunch for 4 or more persons.

Someone at the advertising agency wasn't thinking.  Down at the bottom of the card, it proclaims that Oba offers dinner only, and doesn't open until 4:30.

Senator Clinton's concession speech (some advice for her speechwriters)

As Senator Hillary Clinton's speechwriters have frequently turned a tin ear toward the public, I thought I should help them out with an outline of what she might say on Saturday when she has scheduled a campaign rally to give her concession speech.  (I know that sounds contradictory.)  Here's what she should, but likely won't, tell the crowd:

My fellow Americans:  A long and vigorous primary and caucus season has drawn to a close. The pledged delegates and announced superdelegates who have committed to Barack Obama are a majority of the convention, and he will be our party's nominee.  Given that fact -- and it is a fact -- many have asked if our campaign will end.

Our campaign to bring affordable health care to every American -- will not end.

Our campaign to restore sense to our nation's foreign policy -- will not end.

Our campaign to hold recipients of corporate welfare accountable for the public dollars they receive -- will not end.

And our campaign to make the White House once again open and accountable to you, the citizens of the United States -- will not end.  Today it begins anew.

When I was a child people said, "In America anyone can grow up to be President."  But not everyone could share that dream.  I'm proud to help bring that dream to all Americans, of both genders.  And when my name is placed in nomination at our convention, I will be proud to endorse then and there, as I do here and now, the candidacy of a man who through his unfailingly principled campaign this spring has helped bring the same dream to all Americans, of all races.  This morning I telephoned Senator Obama to congratulate him on his forthcoming nomination and pledge to him my unswerving support in the fall campaign.  I ask my supporters to join me in this important effort.  Together we can -- we will -- elect Senator Obama as our next president.  Yes, we can.  Yes, we will!  Thank you.

An alternate explanation of Grandfather Farmer's given names

Grandfather Farmer's given names were Frank and James.  Our family believes that his parents named him Frank after his great-grandfather Francis, and James after his two grandfathers, both of whom were named James. 

A few days ago it occurred to me that great-grandfather Farmer, a man of stately and Southern appearance who didn't trust financial institutions, might have had, in the 1880s in Kansas, another reason to name a son Frank James.  I don't think Mrs. Laquedem would agree to name another son Nicholas Leeson Laquedem or Conrad Black Laquedem, but it's an intriguing thought.

A rumination on corporate bankruptcies and the BARF Act

A few years ago in response to pressure from the lending industry, Congress passed the Bankruptcy Reform Act, irreverently nicknamed the BARF Act by practitioners.  One argument in support of the BARF Act was that consumers were abusing the remedy of bankruptcy and in some way were morally at fault for filing bankruptcy in the first place.

I recall something that one of my professors said in class, and which I've heard from other sources, to the effect that most consumers file bankruptcy not because they are poor planners (though some are) but because they've lost their jobs, faced large uninsured medical bills, become divorced, or had some catastrophic loss.

In the last few years we've seen several large corporations file petitions in bankruptcy, not because of catastrophic loss, but because they can't figure out how to run at a profit.  Management stays in place.

I've not yet figured out why consumers who file bankruptcy demonstrate moral failings, but corporations who file bankruptcy don't.