I'm the Loose Bolt of a Complete Machine

What you consumed defines who you are.

I agree, and the definition of "what" should not be constricted to food and drinks only. It should also include reading materials, what you listen to and what you watch on TV. A month into my return to Malaysia, I still cannot stand the redundant abundance of one version of soap drama or the other, let alone all the hedonism-oriented entertainment programs on most channels. Hence, my staple channels so far have been Astro Oasis, which is an Islamic-oriented channel on cable, Astro Awani (worldwide news mostly in Malay) and National Geographic (self-explanatory, no?).

I usually watch TV after everyone has gone to bed, partly because what I want to watch are usually not the choice of the majority, partly because I prefer to hoard the TV all to myself. It was during one of those nights that I discovered an amazing travel-slash-adventure-slash-sociopolitical show on NGEO called "Don't Tell My Mother I'm in.."

The show is co-conceived and hosted by journalist/TV personality extraordinaire (he's even cuter than Anderson Cooper who's prior to this new found show was regarded by yours truly as the most gorgeous AND MOST IMPORTANTLY intelligent man on screen), Diego Bunuel. Some backgrounds: Bunuel is the grandson of the late famous Spanish filmmaker, Luis Bunuel. He is French by nationality, went to University of Chicago and had served in the French army. After the mandatory service to some God's forsaken country somewhere, Bunuel became a war correspondent. And the rest, as they say, is history.

The concept of the show is easy enough. Bunuel would go to a country per show, travels around, interviews a bunch of locals and tapes everything for the viewers. Easy enough, right?

NOT.

Instead of going to countries like Switzerland (the most neutral country in the world) or places like that, he ventures into war torn countries like Palestine, politically-unstable ones like Venezuela and countries so controversial like the one broadcast tonight - Iran, which took him half a year to get an entry visa.

The show is very eye-opening. It's unbiased in my opinion, and I had to chuckle along when Bunuel was scolded by a member of Iranian Parliament of Jewish descend that "you must change your perspective. I'm not the only Jew who is against Israel."

Obviously I haven't seen enough episodes to comment about the show in its entirety but I like what I've seen so far. It does not only cover the politics of the country he visited, but also the cultural and the sociological aspects. And THAT is my kind of a late night supper.