Notes from Zany Kazakhstan
Watched Borat with my teenager again last night. We think Sacha Baron Cohen is pretty cl
ose to genius. Too bad many of my age-cohorts (read 40-plus) think that Cohen’s movie is just for frat boys. Even though I’ve seen it several times, the chicken on the New York subway scene is still hysterical.
Several years ago, I was offered a grant to teach in Kazakhstan. The timing wasn’t right and I never went. Now I wish I had. Cohen gives the place such a rousing endorsement.
Did you know that Kazakhstan launched a huge marketing campaign to counter the Borat frenzy? Yup, massive advertising in the New York Times was called into play. They even re-issued their money. One small problem, though. The word “bank” was misspelled on the bills. Not so great success, but funny.
