D o you ever need a bit of light humor to break up your day at the salt mines;

a touch of aged, refined culture to give you a different perspective on human existence;

or, just something to take your mind off that nagging question which has been plaguing

you non-stop for the last three decades: What is the real purpose of my life?

The solution to all these dilemmas has - at long last - been found at none other

than the Ettamogah Pub. Would you believe it?

Manny the Zookeeper, whose intimate associates refer to him as "Mr. Remote Control",

was surfing the skies one day and discovered to his great delight that a channel

from India broadcasts daily in English at 10AM (local time) that paragon of American

culture - The Three Stooges.

The Ettamogah is now completely hooked on the show, and its reported that some of

its clientele show up regularly at 10 to have their meat pie and mash early and take

in a few laughs.

Un-named sources also report that the pub's own kitchen staff have become addicted

to their daily dose of chuckles to the point that, on one occasion when someone forgot

to switch the channel on time, the three cooks stood at the bar, clenched fists raised

in defiance, and chanted "Moe, Larry, Curly! Moe, Larry, Curly!"

So if you're having trouble crafting that cable back to the home office which will

explain concisely the policy response to the Ieng Sary conundrum, take a break and

check it out.

** Speaking of visits to the Twilight Zone, believe it or not, Cambodia now

has a bowling alley. The lanes are open at the Hong Kong Center and the place is

already packed.

** One of the regulations posted in rooms at the Angkor Hotel in Battambang reads

as follows: "You bring the prostitutes into the room by yourself because the

manager is not a responsible person."

** Back to the Ieng Sary debate, who says its complicated? One twenty-something

Phnom Penhois summed up his view: "Before I thought he was bad, but now I think

he is good. I saw him on TV. He said Pol Pot did it, not him. He wants peace; he's

changed."

** By the way, in case you were wondering, there are ants in Phnom Malai as

well, thousands of them!

** "Why you need to go out?" Why indeed! A new business in town

offers home delivery for massages, "Asking someone to marry you", Sunday

picnics, or "others" for US$18 per hour. They even have "A very hot

line" mobile number and are open to suggestions. Yikes!