Beefcake Update #3

Over the course of his several drop-ins over the years here at the Café, Jakarta's Adrian Maulana has proven himself something of a chameleon -  spokesmodel, author, political candidate (!), and more.

Since last we saw him, he would seem to have been a busy man.  He's now, if his sadly under-construction website is to be believed, "Indonesia No. 1 Fitness Motivator" (and not far behind in terms of possessive-ignorers, to boot).  His Twitter account (the very butch "@MrAdrianMaulana" - as if there were any question!), sadly mostly in Indonesian, is more prolix, adding to his roster of talents "Health & Wealth Speaker, Investment Consultant, MC & Presenter, Celebrity Traders."  What that last one is supposed to mean is anybody's guess.

He's a tad more sinewy, not to mentioned depilated, than one (for which, read "I") normally goes for, but on the whole it's a pretty compelling look; I can think of any number of celebrities I'd trade him for...

File Under "Day Job, Keep Your"...

Well, I finally got around to googling it, and the sad news is that our friend Adrian Maulana was unsuccessful in his quest for a seat in the Indonesian parliament.

Legislation's loss is our gain, and I think we can be sure that he will continue to do all he can to promote good health, and shirtlessness. We'll keep an eye out for further developments...

Is He Or Isn't He?

I mean, of course, after this week's elections, is the handsome Mr. Adrian Maulana a member-elect of the Indonesian parliament? I can't seem to track down any news, and even his Indonesian Wikipedia page is (even in translation) of no use (although it does disclose two discouraging facts: he was born in 1977, for Christ's sake, and, all appearances to the contrary, he's married. Alas.).

So, until some Gentle Reader can update us, we'll have to settle for this remarkable commercial, in which Our Boy (conveniently identified as a "Selebriti") shills for what appears to be some kind of invigorating nutritional supplement made from Andean roots. You'll want to sit through the rather interminable Peruvian and "scientific" footage for the ad's second half. Believe me, you will.

Well, What Brings You Here?

Koko, Miss Crawford, Dalida videos, Upen Patel - even Mr. Muscato. You'd think that any one of these Café regulars would be among the leading attractions hereabouts. But no. A quick perusal of our visitors indicates one clear favorite:

Yes, it's dapper Indonesian spokesmodel and political candidate Adrian Maulana!

In recent weeks, we've had scores of visitors from all over seeking our trenchant, cogent pensées on his chances in the coming parliamentary general elections. Dear Mr. M., you see, is one of a number of non-traditional aspirants - actors, models, TV personalities - known collectively as artis.

From Jakarta to Uppsala, Sweden (where there seems to be a positive Maulana-mania - hello, Uppsala!) and any number of points in between, they come for Adrian, and stay for the wry musings about Eastern-bloc design and misty recollections of days gone by.

I tend to find that Adrian's appeal is in inverse proportion to the actual amount of clothing he is wearing, and so find him preferable in sportswear...

...but really most in his element in even more casual attire. One almost hopes, guiltily, that he is not the choice of the Indonesian voters, just so we can be assured that he will continue in a career so clearly suited to his (considerable) gifts.

I hope our Adrian-seeking visitors find what they're looking for. I have to confess that beyond Mr. M., I know virtually nothing of Indonesia (although I do enjoy, as who doesn't, a nice Nasi Goreng now and again), and I really can't think that most of them are all that interested in Kay Francis and terriers.

But isn't that the joy of the Internet - how we can savor the way totally random things collide?

Political Roundup: Candid Candidates

From time to time, I think it's important to remember that it's not all starlets and Champagne here at the Café. Last September, for example, we took what I think was a rather searching look at Indonesia's upcoming parliamentary elections.

That the candidates include a number of celebrities and models, and that this gentleman is one of them may, to be fair, have had something to do with our interest. Here's Adrian Maulana, looking very candidate-y (and very date-y, for that matter) in shirt and tie.

And here he is in what I'm presuming is up-to-the-minute Indonesian contemporary casual, undoubtedly taking a legislative interest in issues relating to the country's retail malls.

I can't help thinking that if our Congress looked more like this and less like, say, James Inhofe, interest in things electoral might be a tad livelier back home.

Oh, I give up. Things pretty much are starlets and Champagne in these parts. Anybody got a problem with that?

Ars Gratia Artis

Here's some depressing news: the nomination of Sarah "Caribou Barbie" Palin as a vice-presidential candidate notwithstanding, even when it comes to political pandering to the lowest common denominator, the good ol' U.S. of A. is falling behind the developing world.

For example: according to Agence France Presse (and who am I to say them nay?), Indonesian political parties have taken to bypassing even the pretense of boring old things like issues, platforms, and policies, and just started to go ahead and nominate celebrities and models without even a reaganische veneer of prior experience or, it seems, the slightest aptitude for anything but what is said to be "the common touch." Locally, such candidates are known, it seems with a mixture of condescenion and admiration, as "artis".

Here's one such candidate, male model Adrian Maulana:


I suppose I can see the appeal in the shot above, but is he really parliamentary material?

The following image, I'm sure, will banish any doubt that may linger:

I don't know about you, but - not to wax vulgar - I'd stuff that ballot box any day.