You don’t learn a country from “Best Hidden Beaches in somewhere.”
You learn it from someone complaining about council rates while fixing a fence in the rain.

That’s anthropology.

You understand a country faster through what people argue about.

“We love the Lord, and the Lord will include us;

Share the love of the Lord, come on down to Saint Judas.”

Reverend Greene was kind of, singing-rapping, in season 12 of “The Brokenwood Mysteries”.

With his Kiwi charm, he is trying to absorb locals, and maybe in an international level, to the Brokenwood community of the church attendees.

I don’t think they have any idea on how much they are loved, on this side of the planet.

They have no idea how famous they are in some families, and how much their show takes priority over every other series airing here.

Movies like Frankenweenie and Holland, and even American Pie, make it so much easier to explain why the Midwest can be a haunting place.

These films clearly show—and confirm—that there are major flaws in the Midwestern society, and in America as a whole.

Even that woman’s voice, the way she speaks, the way she emphasizes things—everything shows how much they tried to make the film accurate. Yes, it looks scary. But the bigger fear is that strangers really get this feeling when they live there.

The locals are trapped in a kind of cycle—a routine they can’t break out of. But outsiders see it, and they understand. And when they talk about it or try to escape, others think they’re crazy, hysterical, or paranoid. But the truth is, the more sensitive you are and the more intelligent you are, the more you realize how frightening the Midwest is—especially those upper states.

I used to talk about Iran’s problems, for ordinary people, who lack support. And people would mock me, and call me too much.

And now they understand. Out and in, no matter where they live, they do realize what it meant to be an ordinary Iranian.

The scariest part is, as long as they haven’t lived that situation, those movies seem superficial, absurd, or, I don’t know, unreal; maybe sci-fi, even. “How can a country survive, and become leader in everything, if these movies are its perfect examples?!”

But to those people who have lived through it, damn!

“Ladies, gentlemen. I think the confusion here is that you are all very ignorant. Is that right word, ignorant? I mean stupid, primitive, unenlightened. You do not understand science, so you are afraid of it.”

Then, Mr. Rzykruski quits, or kind off force quits, or gets fired; and leaves, forever.

It’s not just that. It’s everything that happens. It seems far from reality, I know. But sentence by sentence, word by word, scene by scene, those movies have pictured everything.

Who would have thought that the French have a cake called croquembouche, made of lots of cream puffs stacked together? It’s basically a tower of cream puffs. And why should Oceania have that, but not here?!

Australian tv shows are absolute opposite of anything you see in the western world.

They are festive, calming, and, although you will see actual incidents happening all over the show, they are not overly exaggrated.

There is this peace, I have not figured out how they manage that, in these tv shows. Ordinary people, doing ordinary things, and somehow, it feels noble, clean, and pretty.

I sit by the tv, drink some tea with family, and I watch.

It feels reviving after work.

Australians know how to run the show business.

And they always tackle real life issues. You get to learn a lot from them.

New Zealand is the same, but with drier humor, and more serious tone.

I love these two countries.

There is this feels like home, old, clean taste in the smoky teas.

Reminds me of my childhood. Of the times people would go all the way to smoke something, to make it, tasty, traditional, if you may.

For every single spoon of ranch that I have consumed in the Midwest, I have to run for a couple of hours.

It is working, but hard.

Fellos, don’t go for ranch.

Do people actually grow up, with aging?

I don’t know.

But I know one thing; if you have been pushing yourself, and have done the homework over the years, then I think you will.

But I highly doubt many people would actually go through leaps and bounds to do so.

They just keep circling.

The Golden Globes, the Emmys, and the Oscars used to be global ceremonies. People from all countries were present.

Now they’re just full of a bunch of depressed, talentless, surgically-enhanced Americans showing off their latest procedures to each other. This year, as in recent years, hardly anyone from Europe or the rest of the world was willing to attend — except maybe two or three people.

Frankly, I don’t understand why they were there.