Indonesian by birth, world citizen by choice, working and living in Brussels, Belgium. A lost soul among 6 billions of others, trying to make sense of life..
Learning from my fellow bloggers' experiences, I predict the title of this post alone will be arousing to many, which in effect will give me more blog traffic. Unfortunately for those who stumbled upon my blog after being directed here by the All-Knowing Google, expecting something else and getting this in return, they will be stiffly (no pun intended) disappointed.
When you're at home with your friends and you guys are feeling a bit hungry but all you have in the fridge is this
which you're not really in the mood for at the moment (maybe you are more in the mood for some Iraqi lesbians??), you might want to munch on
to temporarily satisfy your hungerbefore heading off to the nearest Burger King to
Or if you are bored of junk-food, your friends and you might want to visit your local chinese retaurant for some
which is probably very delicious. After your meal, be sure to quench your thirst with a bottle of fresh
Although I myself prefer warm beverages like
Whatever drink of choice you want I'm sure you'll find in the
menu at the restaurant.
Usually after the delicious meal and refreshing drink, one might feel the need to smoke a cigarette or have candies. Be sure to stay away from places showing
signs, unless of course you want to pay fine for chewing cum, or feel free to go there if you would like to chew some - although I'm not sure it can be chewed (anyone??)
At the end of the day you might want to part ways with your friends and say good bye, adieu and wish them a "bong" voyage
Before going home and read your secret stash of
Yes, I think I might do all this on the weekend...
This week I recommend you to visit these following blogs.
1. Mina Djarot. Not quite sure how to explain what this blog is about although designer lamb comes to mind. Very cute and best if you just click and see for yourself.
2. Queen of her own universe. This is a very entertaining blog. I had much fun reading it. An Excerpt from her entry titled "Lord Help Me":
Bless me Father for I have sinned... I have fallen into the wicked evil ways of on-line shopping. I've stayed pure and virginal to on-line money spending for my whole internet life Lord, but I was tested sorely today - and I failed.
I was weak... so very weak - and I fell into the temptation of sexy underwear, cleavage busting & figure hugging clothes and right into the downward financial spiral that comes with it all.
Victoria's Secret got me Lord... she got me good.
3. Metromad. I am fairly new to the blogging world which is why I have just discovered this blog a few weeks ago. This is an expat's take on, yes, jakarta (Indonesia). His latest discovery is a Jakarta shopping guide booklet of the Jakarta City Government Tourist Office. There are many, many interesting quotes from the booklet in the blog, such as:
Taman Anggrek? "More than hundreds of shop and boutique we can find here, with each uniquely." Pasar Rawa Belong Flower Market? "Fulfill your lungs with the freshness of flowers." That's poetry.
For more, be sure to visit simon pitchforth's metromad when you have time!
Indonesians like to have well-behaved children so much that we have various cruel ways methods to discipline our children. Our parents were highly imaginative and resourceful that they thought of many creative ways and ideas as to educate their children.
Although the following methods are more common among the older generation, some of us still use it due to the high success rate of the methods in question. One of the most proven methods of which is to scare them into being good use strict/stern disciplinary methods. Another is to lie and use superstitions or even ghost stories tell them them of ancient cultural/folk stories passed down to us for many generations.
Disciplinary Methods
When we are caught doing something we're not supposed to, some of us may experience the occasional well intentioned, albeit painful, rattan/belt/stick lashings; some might have been used to several hours of being locked in a room for the beneficial 'introspection and self-reflection'; some parents prefer to pinch, ear tug or humiliate their child but most felt the need to inflict some kind of pain in order to make their children regret their poor judgment/wrongdoing and promise themselves not to ever do it again.
In most cases, these children will still do whatever it is their parents told them not to do, but they will come up with ingenious and inventive ways as to not get caught. More often than not, these children will grow to be tough bullies or bad boys or tough and slightly slutty girls (and some 'special' boys, slutty as well). You might think our parents' rough way is some form of child abuse, but make no mistake, we don't hate our parents. In fact, many of us swap beating stories and regard this as normal.
Parents from the younger generation are fans of Dr. Phil and Oprah, some read Deepak Chopra's book and are not big believers of child beatings anymore. Instead, they use ' child psychology' and will not lay a hand on their children, which is why you will find many children in Indonesian malls these days who do anything they want, while their wussy enlightened parents can't do shit sit still and let their children run around to be annoying and torture the rest of us express their little selves.
Passing down ancient cultural/folk stories
Most Indonesians have absurd colorful stories from their childhood. Some of us know they're made up stories to make us do what our parents wanted, whether it's to make our beds, eat our food or not hurt ourselves.
To keep the doorway free, girls are told not to sit in it because girls who do, will not be desired by any men for marriage (I have known many girls who sat under one despite the 'scary' story and ended up having 2, 3 husbands). To keep children from running around outside after dark children are told that after sunset child snatcher ghosts roam around to look for prey. To keep us from having appendicitis from eating fruit seeds we were told if we swallowed a fruit seed, a tree will grow on our heads. To keep their children from gastric reflux or gastritis parents tell children not to lie down or sleep after a meal if they don't want their heads swollen up like a big balloon.
Those are just some sample stories we might have heard growing up. It seems Indonesian parents prefer fantastic stories rather than common sense when it comes to educating their children. Maybe it was done in hopes that their children have extraordinary imagination and be the next Stephen King, M. Night Shyamalan or even just one of the Punjabi producer brothers (anything as long as the money's good).
Having false mannered well-behaved children is something of a general obsession among Indonesian parents that they cannot understand white kids with their free and liberal ways. White kids call their friends' parents by their first names instead of 'aunty' and 'uncle' (we call all adults aunty and uncle), white kids often have their feet on the table and sometimes *gasps* on the sofa arm/headrest (instead of down on the ground nicely like they're supposed to) and even worse, *double gasps* they talk back to their parents when told off (a BIG no-no in any Indonesian households!)
Indonesian parents will never let their children grow up like white children.
*This piece was published in Indonesiamatters.com, 25 April 2008
If you are an Indonesian like me, or a foreigner living in Indonesia, or someone who has been following Indonesian current events, you might agree with me when I say that Barry Levinson’s “Wag the Dog” rings a familiar bell. It is somewhat similar to what has been happening lately in Indonesia.
The government knows the people is much more aware of the situation around them nowadays, the people can see right through them, and the people can see their impotence. So what do they (the government) do to take control of the situation? They create decoys as a weapon of mass distraction. They throw bait at the Indonesian media who in turn almost always turn the bait into a giant media circus, distracting the people’s attention from the real, much more urgent problems at hand.
The Indonesian government’s incapability in the eradication of poverty and improvement of the current economy, monetary and socio-political problems have inflicted what seems to be irreparable damage to the country, the keyword here being “seems”. It is pre-conditioned that way, and while nothing is impossible or irreparable, this situation is continuously yet implicitly portrayed in the media. A clever tactic by the government to throw the people off course and a cruel move by the money-hungry media that has resulted in the general feeling of despair and hopelessness across the nation.
The following media hoolabaloos are among some of the government’s attempts to make sure the public is forever misinformed of the truth; a sure fire diversion:
RUU ITE Indonesia’s newest law, the infamous Cyber Law;, and the latest,
The blocking of several websites following the release of the Dutch film “FITNA“.
Media circuses are certainly not against the law. It isn’t even all that evil. It is neither, only when it happens in a place with a higher number of educated people, or at least higher number of sanity. Sadly, Indonesia is not. The majority of the Indonesian people are uneducated people whose opinions are very easily formed by bombardments of information, much like what the media has been doing lately.
The fact shows the media’s prominent role in shaping the general consensus and I think it plays a big part in the rise of fall of the country’s future as well. It is time for the media industry to up their game and not take the government’s bait and fall into the lure of big sales and advertisement prospectives for the sake of profits only.
They must realize the chances of stimulating the people’s mind and making profit off hard journalism is also feasible. They need to start being serious; employ serious, credible and dignified journalists; focus on serious issues; stop exaggerating and over-blowing silly situations; and they need to put more effort into educating the nation with factual and hard truth. The Indonesian people deserve more than what they got, they need the media’s faith that they are able to digest real news.
While light and entertaining news should not be banned, I think the media should refrain from paying too much attention and merit to the actions of the morally and financially corrupt, those who are passing laws or building business that would only benefit a particular group of people while disadvantaging the majority of the Indonesian people.
Indonesia’s Problems du jour
At the present time, Indonesia has so many problems that, if not treated well, will be a threat to the country. We have environmental problems, three of which that are quite urgent are:
deforestation
pollution
floods
We have been hit with bad regular floods so often that it is starting to affect the economy, health and the well-being of the people. The fact of the matter is, the flood problem is something Indonesians cannot afford to put off any longer.
We have a shortage of food supply which has led to soaring food prices. This is also the culprit of many malnutrition cases across the country, some of which have even resulted in hunger related deaths. Something unthinkable and unheard of just a decade ago.
We are in a deep hole when it comes to labor and human rights issues. We have never had a transparent government and believing strongly in eastern taboos doesn’t help us get out of the top 10 most corrupt governments list either. Besides that, we also have an increasing growth in poverty and gap between the rich and poor, not to mention a mess of government bureaucracy, infrastructure and working system which it is imperative to improve.
One of our biggest problems yet, as you may already known from the reporting of the various local and international media, is that we have an alarming increase of intolerance among people of different groups and religions which could be the beginning of Indonesia’s journey into medieval times. It may as well be the start of the demise of the so-called world’s third biggest democracy. This is probably the deadliest poison, one that could kill this great nation of diverse people from all walks of life and different cultural, religious and racial backgrounds.
Problems in these areas are so serious and incessant that the government should and must re-evaluate its priorities and start doing something about it. They must stop doing nothing but create situations, laws and regulations that will further distract the general attention of the public from their impotence. They should have some kind of a dialogue with (competent) representatives of the people to brainstorm for solution ideas and to get the people’s aspirations on the table. They must stop hiding behind excuses and apologies of how hard it is to “clean up the mess” left by Suharto Inc. and his legacy of chaos. While it is true that time heals wounds and is important in the progress of change for the better, the decade that has passed by has not really showed significant improvement. On the contrary, many feel that we are now in a state of decline, further backwards than when we started 10 years ago.
Now, will the media wake up and start doing intelligent journalism? Will the government realize they are officials entrusted by the people to guide them to a better place? Will tolerance resurrect and save the people from doom?
Indonesians like designer brands. The fondness of designer brands is not limited to women but also to men, and now more than ever, kids are starting to feel the need for designer brands too, whether toys or shoes or clothes.
When you find yourself in a crowd of Indonesians, it is always good to sport one or two designer items, better if they are adorned by a very famous monogram.Some Indonesians will ask where you buy your stuff and how much it cost. If you are stupid and honest modest and trying to be helpful and reply with a, “oh I got it in a sale/garage sale, very cheap!” we will not be comfortable hearing that. Some of us might go as far as implying the stuff you own might be fake.
To get our attention and approval, it is imperative that you go all “Gossip Girl”-y and insist you bought your designer branded items at wholesale price. Throwing in stuff like, “I can’t be bothered to go to an outlet store,” or, “I really needed the purse/watch/shoes/dress for an event that week that I simply cannot wait until the sale season!” in the conversation is always a good thing to up your coolness. But if you really want to gain our respect you can say things – casually, of course - like this, "Oh I got it at a vintage store in Paris/Milan/London two summers ago." This way, although you are divulging information about how your stuff was not bought at wholesale price, you will appear more sophisticated and 'in the know'. Very Kate Moss and Sienna Miller-ish.
If you want to be accepted into an Indonesian clique AND be well-liked, you have to be able to do all the above while at the same time still able to show a hint of humility by, for example, complimenting our designer branded stuff. We like people who make us feel good about ourselves and we like to be admired.
One Indonesian faux-pas is be seen with a counterfit/replica designer item. If you cannot afford buying the real thing, NEVER go for fake. It is better to go down a class or two and wear stuff in the class of DKNY, Guess, Liz Claiborne and Kenneth Cole. Although we will not make a big fuss about you, you will still be able to sit with us and listen in to our conversations while feeling slightly inferior.
While we go crazy for famous high end brands like Gucci, Prada and LV, those of us who are smart and not from the nouveau riche group or the nouveau riche wannabe make sure we do not wear the ‘obvious’ or branded stuff for the common people. We go old school and obviously very expensive. Some of the brands best represents that are Hermès, Chanel, Cartier or Valentino.
The more ‘cultured’ and ‘traveled’ Indonesians are especially proud to sport obscure and exclusive designer brands, one that is not too widely known or easy to come across in Indonesia. Nicole Farhi, Jil Sanders, Vivienne Westwood, Alexander McQueen and Badgley Mischka are to name a few.
Some Indonesians take pride in their ability to know designer names by heart, even the most obscure ones. If you want to get in their good graces, be sure to be in awe of that person’s ability to recite and perfectly pronounce difficult foreign designer names. They will immediately take a liking to you.
But better yet, show your admiration and at the same time show them you are also up to date with designer news by saying things like, “Yes, I absolutely loooove Ann Demeulemeester’s fall line-up,” or, “I am surprised you are familiar with zac posen, I haven’t met many Indonesians who were!” make sure you exaggerate your surprise/admiration a bit to make us feel even better about ourselves. Throwing in designer gossip/news and tidbits will get you the ultimate recognition nod. Of course, you must NEVER seem better than us, remember, showing a certain level of humility will still be the best way into our clique.
I swear this guy (Jeff Dunham) is the funniest person after Russel Peters. Well, Achmed is the funny one really, Jeff is just the one holding Achmed up so the skeleton won't fall down.
I think if you look thoroughly and patiently, beauty is apparent anywhere, in anyone, no matter what race and nationality, what skin or eye color.
Unfortunately, the media has bombarded us with the insane and out-of-this-world idea and standard of beauty. The perpetual size "0", big breasts, straight hair, long legs, tiny waists, light skin. The truth of the matter is, women with all those qualities are the very tiny minuscule minority.
My idea of beauty is a laughing little girl, a smiling mother and her baby, a content mature woman who accepts who she is.
Self acceptance and love is the ultimate idea and basis of beauty. And brains. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, it is not skindeep, and it glows from within. When you feel beautiful, you will appear beautiful.
I have a secret dream of one day ruling the world. Everybody will worship the ground I walk on, they will all think I am the coolest most wonderful person that ever walked the face of the earth, better than any prophets, any gods.
Hell, I am God!!
When that time happens, you will see my name plastered all over the news sites. No matter where you go, my name will be there, my pictures, my face! you will not be able to escape me.
Click the screenshot above for an enlarged taste of my future ruling days. You better be nice to me, the High Priestess, no, Goddess of Awesomeness and Worldly Knowledge. Bow before me and I will spare your life and soul. What's this puddle of wet delight? Mmm... my drool smells of lavender. Damn it, I must've fallen asleep! Yes my drool is wonderful. Smells of lavender, vanilla, sometimes with a hint of cinnamon. Just like Christmas.
... I had the most wonderful dream of healing lepers and raising the dead ...
I blogwalk daily and I have found some very interesting and well written blogs. Of course if I were to put all good blogs in my blogroll it'll be an endless roll much like the rolls around my waist. So, today I have decided to appoint myself a blog critique, except there will be no critique but praise for the blogs I recommend.
1. Dottson - A blog of a guy living in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This blog is funny and smart. This guy writes about his life in the KSA with such chutzpah thus turning everything gloomy that is life in the KSA into something funny and/or sarcastic. This is an excerpt from his entry titled "Asshole of the week: Boredom":
I know there are a lot of other things that a person can do in life. Like go to a library or a museum or join some sort of group or go watch a movie. But guess what? There are no libraries in the KSA because the only book you need is the Quran who needs books when you have Dolce & Gabbana? Movie? As in movie theater? Are you crazy? Movies are bad, they have violence in them. And while joining Al-Qaeda is probably free, scuba diving or dune bashing costs MONEY, something that I don’t have a lot of to splurge around. And even if I wanted to spend money, I wouldn't do it so I can go see pretty fish in the red sea!
2. Saudi Stepford Wife - Another blog from Saudi Arabia. It's a funny blog with witty and hilarious entries of her thoughts and life. This is the blog description:
American/Saudi with a dash of religiosity, a pinch of realistic feminism, and usually with humorous overtones.
and finally,
3. Dee Museum of the Unessentials - I observe, therefore I am. I mock, therefore I suck. A blog with people's contribution of funny Indonesian English signs, or funny sign, period.
I hope you enjoy my recommended reading for this week!
These are from a book called ” Disorder in the American Courts”, the transcripts of actual court hearings.
ATTORNEY: What was the first thing your husband said to you that morning? WITNESS: He said, “Where am I, Cathy?” ATTORNEY: And why did that upset you? WITNESS: My name is Susan!
ATTORNEY: This myasthenia gravis, does it affect your memory at all? WITNESS: Yes. ATTORNEY: And in what ways does it affect your memory? WITNESS: I forget. ATTORNEY: You forget? Can you give us an example of something you forgot?
ATTORNEY: Do you know if your daughter has ever been involved in voodoo? WITNESS: We both do. ATTORNEY: Voodoo? WITNESS: We do. ATTORNEY: You do? WITNESS: Yes, voodoo.
ATTORNEY: Now doctor, isn’t it true that when a person dies in his sleep, he doesn’t know about it until the next morning? WITNESS: Did you actually pass the bar exam?
ATTORNEY: So the date of conception (of the baby) was August 8th? WITNESS: Yes. ATTORNEY: And what were you doing at that time? WITNESS: Uh…. I was gett’in laid!
ATTORNEY: She had three children, right? WITNESS: Yes. ATTORNEY: How many were boys? WITNESS: None. ATTORNEY: Were there any girls? WITNESS: Your Honor, I think I need a different attorney. Can I get a new attorney?
ATTORNEY: How was your first marriage terminated? WITNESS: By death. ATTORNEY: And by whose death was it terminated? WITNESS: Now whose death do you suppose terminated it?
ATTORNEY: Is your appearance here this morning pursuant to a deposition notice which I sent to your attorney? WITNESS: No, this is how I dress when I go to work.
ATTORNEY: Doctor, before you performed the autopsy, did you check for a pulse? WITNESS: No. ATTORNEY: Did you check for blood pressure? WITNESS: No. ATTORNEY: Did you check for breathing? WITNESS: No. ATTORNEY: So, then it is possible that the patient was alive when you began the autopsy? WITNESS: No. ATTORNEY: How can you be so sure, Doctor? WITNESS: Because his brain was sitting on my desk in a jar. ATTORNEY: I see, but could the patient have still been alive, nevertheless? WITNESS: Yes, it is possible that he could have been alive and practicing law somewhere
Indonesians like having domestic helpers. We love them. Actually, this might even fall into the category of stuff Indonesians in Indonesia can’t live without.
The average middle-class Indonesian households have at least one maid. Many have two or three, and I actually know people who have more than 5 maids in their houses in addition to gardeners, drivers, security guards and baby sitters (many, for not being able to speak english very well, refer to themselves as “baby sisters”).
While it is obvious what a driver, a gardener, a security guard and a baby sitter does, it is not so clear what a maid does. The average maid will basically do cooking, cleaning, washing and ironing. Some maids become also a confidante (for lonely housewives who has no friend), a personal shopper, a psychiatrist (for lonely housewives whose friends are backstabbing bitches), a shopping buddy, a masseur, a courier/messenger, a spy (for jealous wives with cheating husbands) and for the lucky few, they end up as their employer’s wife.
As a heritage of the Dutch colonialism and ancient Indonesian kingdoms, the amount of your domestic helpers is a likely indication of how rich you are. When you go to an Indonesian’s house and the owner opens the door, the house owner will be regarded as poor. When a maid opens the door it is common. When there is a security guard in front of the house who goes in to inform the owner of the house who will in turn tell the maid to open the door, the house owner will be regarded as a rich person.
When you go to a house with a speaker phone at the front asking you who you are; followed by a jongos (usually an old man whose sole purpose is to hang around and keep an eye on things and open the gates) who looks at you and yells at 2 or more security guards to confirm that you are not dangerous/robbers/armed gunmen; followed by the guards informing the maids of the guest, who will then inform the home owner’s personal assistant/sister/brother of your arrival, who will at last ask the home owners whether they will accept you, (or not); followed by the personal assistant telling the maids to inform the security guards who will ask the jongos to take a look at you one more time before letting you in (or not), you will know that the home owner is not a paranoid lunatic but simply, a very rich, respectable and important person (VRRIP).
Some Indonesians have one maid for each of their children. Their torture objects nanny, if you will. It is a common sight when you go to an Indonesian mall and see a young couple walking with two kids, two nannies following them and a driver that might follow them around or wait in the mall’s “drivers’ quarters”. (This is one of the many reasons why Indonesians love SUVs and vans. Will be discussed in the future)
Indonesian domestic helpers careers are not only in the country, but overseas as well, with high wages of millions of rupiahs per month. Some of them are even bi/multilingual, with the ability to speak English/Malay/Bruneian/Chinese or Arabic in addition to Indonesian (and their local dialects). These are the “successful domestic helpers” (SDH).
SDHs are not only the ones who work overseas, those who work for the VRRIPs are also SDHs. Some of the SDHs actuallyl have maids of their own at their homes in their villages. Not only as a necessity, but also a way to show their neighbors of how successful they are as domestic helpers in big cities/other countries.
The average Indonesian living in Indonesia's worst nightmare is on Lebaran (The Muslim's Holy day of Aidl Fitri), when all their maids will be gone back to their families who they celebrate Lebaran with, and they are stuck doing household chores themselves. Rich Indonesians will usually enlist the help of their poor families or hire temps from temp agencies.
Indonesians love rice. We cannot live without it. Some of us eat rice for breakfast.
We have many kinds of breakfast varieties made from rice among which are, nasi uduk (rice cooked in coconut milk), nasi goreng (fried rice), bubur ayam (rice porridge with chicken), ketoprak (rice cake with soya, tofu and peanut sauce and lontong sayur (rice cake with vegetable coconut curry).
We think rice is God's gift to man-kind. Some of us also think there is a rice God, which is why you will find some Indonesians who keep a small jar of rice under the sink or those who will never let their rice containers empty. These practices are done to ensure the abundance of money to buy more rice for them in the future. You think “superstitious”, we think “common sense”.
Most Indonesians will never leave rice on their plates in a meal because we think rice is a living being that are able to cry if we don’t eat them. When we die and stand before God on judgment day, the thousands of rice we did not eat will cry and report us to God who will be so angry and throw us in hell. So you can imagine people who don’t eat rice. Hell hath no fury like a rice thrown away. (People who throw rice away at weddings, beware!)
We also think rice is like the Switzerland, neutral. You can eat rice with sweet dishes, spicy dishes, tasty dan salty dishes, watery dishes, dried dishes. It tastes good fried, steamed, microwaved and baked.
Many Indonesians feel that sandwiches, burgers, noodles, pizza, potatoes and other non-rice entities are snacks, therefore it is common to see a person eating a plate of rice 10 minutes after eating a bowl of noodles. “Because noodles is not a meal, it’s a snack”, or “I am hungry despite the noodles, because I haven’t had any rice”, or “I will be sick if I don’t eat rice” are common answers you will hear when you ask them why they rice after they have just eaten a Big Mac or a Whopper and fries.
With high nutrients, rice is rich in carbohydrates, the main sources of energy, low in fat, contains some protein and plenty of B vitamins. Among other nutrients, rice is a good source of insoluble fiber, which is also found in whole wheat, brand and nuts. Insoluble fiber reduces the risk of bowel disorders and fights constipation.
Besides fighting constipation, eating rice enables us to fight crime, corruption, stupidity and eradicate poverty. Oh wait, that's brown rice, Indonesians eat white rice which explains why all the above is still apparent in Indonesia.
When you visit an Indonesian's home, you will find that most, if not all, of them own at least one rice cooking device. We are so used to this device that many of us do not know how to cook rice otherwise. Fortunately for those living in Indonesia, food vendors pass by every 5 minutes offering many dishes involving rice, for those whose electricity is cut/cannot cook rice without a ricecooker/cannot cook rice period. Indonesians overseas who cannot cook and have discovered Uncle Ben’s microwaved rice think Uncle Ben is smarter than Einstein.
Thanks to Jakartass for posting Andre's letter in my earlier post as a response to my posting of Mr. Vltchek's article (and my thoughts after reading it). I would like to apologize for mis-spelling his name, and have now corrected all, both here and in my previous blog entry (although I would also like to remind Mr. Vltchek, if he ever visits my blog again, that my name is RiMa not RiNa)
Rina and all, Thank you for your comments regarding my piece. Please correct the spelling of my second name which is VLTCHEK, not VITCHEK. This way you can google and read more acid stuff that I am producing.
As Jakartass mentioned, I am not really a resident of the city ... and that's because I refuse to reside anywhere and to belong to anything. I live in Japan and Samoa and also in Jakarta, moving constantly around the globe. As a novelist and journalist I feel I have to do it - the world is evolving and I don't want to lose the beat.
I am trying to be objective about Indonesia. Although it is not easy; I witnessed some terrible things there - consequences of mass rape in small town of Ermera in East Timor (more than 10 years ago), killing in Ambon, Aceh, Papua, pogroms in Solo. I also experienced the bitterness of your greatest thinker and novelist Pramoedya Ananta Toer. Pram wrote his last book with me. It is called "Exile" in English (Haymarket Press, Ney York) and "Saya Terbakar Amarah Sendirian" (Gramedia) in Bahasa.
I also had to suck in the bitterness and pain of the victims of 1965 massacres (or call it a genocide of leftists, Chinese and non-believers) when I made 90 minutes long documentary film "Terlena - Breaking of a Nation". There is something very, very wrong with the country.
As you probably notice, I am very tough on other nations as well. In my non-fiction book "Western Terror - From Potosi to Baghdad" I trashed our own neo-colonialism. And in my latest novel "Point of No Return" I am dealing with confusion and disgrace of being a war correspondent in the late decades of 20th century. As it is, I am very frustrated about the state of the world. And the more I see (I've visited more than 130 countries), the more angry I become. And when I get angry, I work. I write. That's my only weapon. Pen, computer, still camera, video camera ...
Take this as a greeting from Solomon Islands - another conflict area where I am presently stuck. Thank you for reading... And caring for what is happening around you.
Andre
Thank you very much Mr. VLTCHEK for paying my blog and thoughts the attention I am not sure it deserved. Thank you for writing and giving us another take of life and situation in Indonesia, I hope to read more stuff from you.
I was in a heavy reminiscing mode today. Maybe it's because the weather has been playing a cruel joke on me, or maybe it's the flu meds that’s making me semi-hallucinating, but either way, I ended up reminiscing my golden years i.e. being single, actively partying and dating eligible men.
I remember being young and carefree, partying with my girlfriends, going bar hopping, flirting outrageously with men then going home with a huge hangover.
My girlfriends and I never use our real names when we have fun. My party name was Georgia, C’s name was Victory, V’s name was Roxanne and E’s name was Claudia. We refuse to get picked up by men. We will give out our party names and fake phone numbers flirt with them and then go home. We figured, it’s not like we’re putting out or anything, it was harmless bar/club flirting, so no foul no harm.
One of our guy friends asked me why we flirted but never put out. I told him unless we feel something, we wont put out. We’d have to be on several dates first, feel the connection and chemistry, see the possibility of a relationship, then we’d put out. He then asked me what did it take to be on our good graces, so that a guy can have the chance to “ride the storm,” so to speak. I told him to use his brains.
I don’t get men’s perpetual obsession with sex. What is it with them and their wanting to have sex all the time? We see a bowl of spaghetti on the kitchen counter, they see having sex with us on the kitchen counter. We see dirty laundry piling up in the washroom, they see having sex with us on top of the washing machine in the washroom. We see a sexy sling back stiletto, they see having sex with us butt naked except for the stiletto. We see a soccer match on the telly, they see a soccer match on the telly. Ok, maybe the last is the only similar thing we both see.
It seems we are wired extremely differently. Behold a man’s brain and the schematic of its functions; (CLICK TO ENLARGE)
And then of a woman’s;
From the pictures above, it’s clear we are different, we might as well be of different species altogether. It’s a mystery to me how a man and a woman can be so different yet be together.
Let me close this entry with some of my favorite quotes about men and women.
To be happy with a man, you must understand him a lot and love him a little. To be happy with a woman, you must love her a lot and not try to understand her at all."
"According to a recent survey, men say the first thing they notice about a woman is their eyes, and women say the first thing they notice about men is they're a bunch of liars."
"Women always worry about the things that men forget; men always worry about the things women remember."
"Sure God created man before woman, but then again, you always make a rough draft before creating the final masterpiece."
"God made woman beautiful and foolish; beautiful that a man might love her and foolisn that she might love him."
"Women marry men hoping they will change. Men marry women hoping they will not. So each is inevitable disappointed."
"Behind every successful man is a surprised woman.
Not only is my blog only R-rated, according to the Blog Cuss-O-Meter;
Around 10.3% of the pages on your website contain cussing.This is 14% MORE than other websites who took this test.
So there you have it folks, only 10.3%. I am actually quite polite.
A bit disappointing considering when I was younger, I had a mouth like a truckdriver's, but I guess I am really getting old and all proper. Now, I can't even cuss online!
Aku sudah capek menjadi seorang beragama. Aku sudah capek membenci umat beragama selainku. Aku sudah capek percaya kepada Tuhan yang sudah mati. Aku sudah capek.
Aku sekarang sudah naik kelas. Aku sekarang sudah banyak berubah. Aku sekarang sudah percaya kepada diriku sendiri. Aku sekarang sudah pasrah.
Agamaku adalah Tuhan. Agamaku adalah Tuhan yang Penyayang, Tuhan yang Maha Adil, Tuhan yang Berkuasa, Tuhan yang Baik hati dan Pengasih, Tuhan yang Hidup. Agamaku adalah bukan Tuhan para pengikut agama, Tuhan yang orgasme melihat umatnya saling membenci, Tuhan yang senang mengkotak-kotakkan manusia sehingga menimbulkan prasangka dan murka, Tuhan yang gila kuasa. Agamaku adalah Tuhan.
I was reading an article in Indonesia matters today, about the Ahmadiyya sect almost banned in Indonesia, and that some people are suggesting to kill the followers of the sect. After reading, I found a trackback to this site with an article titled "Mengajak teman untuk membunuh SBY, bolehkah?".
Excerpts from the site:
Pak Sobri Lubis mengajak umatnya untuk membunuhi orang-orang Ahmadiyah.
Pak Abu Bakar Ba’ashir mengajak umatnya untuk memukuli turis asing yang menurutnya kafir, seperti cacing dan belatung.
Saya tidak sedang bicara agama. Saya cuma ingin tahu:
Kalau dua tokoh diatas boleh melakukan seperti itu tanpa ditangkap, tanpa diberi sanksi apapun, apakah itu berarti anda dan saya juga boleh mengajak orang-orang untuk membunuh SBY, atau kalau setidaknya menyerukan untuk memukuli Ibu Ani Yudhoyono? Atau… bolehkan berpidato untuk mengajak anak-anak muda agar membunuhi seluruh anggota keluarga Pak KAPOLRI?
(MORE can be read at the site, my apologies, it is fully in Indonesian) rough translation:
Mr. Sobri is asking his followers to kill Ahmadiyya followers.Mr. Abu Bakar Ba'ashir is asking his followers to beat foreign tourists he thinks are infidels, like worms and maggots.I am not talking about religion here, I just want to know:If those two people may do such things without getting arrested, without any consequences, does it mean I can also ask people to kill SBY (the Indonesian President) or suggest people beat up Ibu Ani Yudhoyono (The President's wife)? Or can I make a speech to urge people to kill the family of the Head of the Indonesian Police Force?
It got me thinking as to why is the government putting more emphasis and importance on internet pornography all the while ignoring anarchists like these two morons. This is a much more urgent and alarming matter to be dealt with, not porn, or blog censorship, or the film FITNA. This is it, our country's core problem besides poverty and corruption!
The site has a blogroll leading me to another site that reported it is now compulsory for non-Muslim students in Padang to wear hijab (headscarves).
excerpts from the second site:
(1) Melalui pengamatan saya secara langsung terhadap beberapa sekolah negeri umum pemerintah dan swasta, dari SMP, SMU, dan SMK seluruh siswi-siswinya memakai jilbab. Jilbab bagi siswi disamakan dengan aturan baju seragam yang menjadi kewajiban siswi untuk masuk sekolah, seperti baju putih lengan panjang, rok panjang warna abu-abu, sepatu hitam, kaos kaki, dan topi sekolah (lihat foto di www.jurnalperempuan.com) (2)Pandangan umum sekolah-sekolah negeri telah berubah menjadi sekolah agama (“madrasah”) melalui busana muslimah yang dikenakan oleh siswi—sedangkan siswa berkewajiban memakai baju “taqwa” (koko) pada hari Jumat—sekolah-sekolah umum negeri juga dipenuhi dengan papan, baleho, dan simbol-simbol keislaman lainnya. Pada hari Jumat ada kuliah tujuh menit (Kultum) ceramah agama. (3)Secara umum kondisi umat non-muslim Kristen di Padang merasa tertekan dengan adanya Perda-perda dan aturan yang berdasarkan syariat Islam. Kondisi tersebut merupakan “teror psikis” yang disampaikan oleh anggota jemaat Gereja Kristen Protestan atau pun Katolik (terlampir wawancara).
(MORE can be read at the site, my apologies again for it is fully in Indonesian)
rough translation:
(1)Through my own direct observation of several state and private schools, from junior high, high to vocational schools, all female students are wearing headscarves. Headscarf for a female student is now regularized as a uniform, which is an obligation for all female students wanting to go to school. Not only headscarves, white long sleeved shirts, gray long skirts, black shoes, socks and school hats (see pictures at www.jurnalperempuan.com)
(2) General opinion on the schools that has changed into ‘madrassa’ (islamic school) through the muslim outfits worn by the female students, and “taqwa/koko” shirts (muslim male shirts) that are worn by the male students on Friday. Most of the schools are filled with Islamic boards, banners and symbols and there is the 7 minute lecture every Friday, which is an Islamic religious sermon.
(3) Generally, the condition of non-muslim (Christian) believers in Padang, they feel oppressed with the existence of state rulings and regulations based on Islam Sharia. They feel the conditions as “psychological terror”, as said by the parishioners of the Protestant and Catholic Church (read interview).
So my questions today are: Anyone can tell me what the hell is happening to our country? Why is the government all strict and strong when it comes to stupid things like internet pornography or blasphemous films but when it comes to violation of human rights they are acting like men with small puny impotent dicks? Isn't what's happening in Padang, and those morons urging to kill people also something that disgraces Islam? Why isn't anybody banning the morons or the silly regulations for non-Muslims and Muslims students who do not (yet) choose to wear headscarves?
I have thousands of other questions, but this is enough for now.
I just want to say,
Wake up people! Life is not all about religion. Religion should be a part of your life if you choose, but life should not be part of a religion!
The American writer Sylvia Wright coined the term mondegreen in an essay "The Death of Lady Mondegreen," which was published in Haper's Magazine in November 1954. In the essay, Wright described how, as a young girl, she misheard the final line from the 17th centuryballad "The Bonnie Earl O'Murray." She wrote:
"When I was a child, my mother used to read aloud to me from Percy's Reliques and one of my favorite poems began, as I remember:
Ye Highlands and ye Lowlands,
Oh, where hae ye been?
They hae slain the Earl Amurray, [sic]
And Lady Mondegreen."
The actual fourth line is "And laid him on the green." As Wright explained the need for a new term, "The point about what I shall hereafter call mondegreens, since no one else has thought up a word for them, is that they are better than the original."
Other examples Wright suggested are:
Surely Good Mrs. Murphy shall follow me all the days of my life ("Surely goodness and mercy…" from Psalms 23)
The wild, strange battle cry "Haffely, Gaffely, Gaffely, Gonward." ("Half a league, half a league,/ Half a league onward," from "The Charge of the Light Brigade")
The columnists William Safire of The New York Times and, later, Jon Carroll of the San Francisco Chronicle have long been popularizers of the term and collectors of mondegreens. They may have been the chief links between Wright's work and the general popularity of the notion today
* The "top 3" mondegreens according to Jon Carroll are:
1. Gladly the cross-eyed bear (from the line in the hymn "Keep Thou My Way" by Fanny Crosby, "Kept by Thy tender care, gladly the cross I'll bear") Carroll and many others quote it as "Gladly the cross I'd bear". Ed McBain used the mondegreen as the title of a novel. Also, this mondegreen is paraphrased by the band They Might Be Giants in their song "Hide Away Folk Family" (Sadly the cross-eyed bear's been put to sleep behind the stairs, and his shoes are laced with irony.)
2. There's a bathroom on the right (the line at the end of each verse of "Bad Moon Rising" by Creedence Clearwater Revival: "There's a bad moon on the rise")
3. 'Scuse me while I kiss this guy (from a lyric in the song "Purple Haze", by Jimi Hendrix: "'Scuse me while I kiss the sky").
Both Creedence's John Fogerty and Hendrix eventually capitalized on these mishearings and deliberately sang the "mondegreen" versions of their songs in concert.
* The film "Angels In The Outfield" makes a reference to the mishearing of mistakes "O, say can you see" from The Star-Spangled Banner as "José can you see?". Bill Dana used this mondegreen in a comedy bit as the Hispanic character José Jimenez. In Beverly Cleary's children's novel Ramona the Pest, Ramona refers to the "Dawnzer lee light" (dawn's early light).
* "Olive, the other reindeer ...", from the song "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" misinterprets the line "All of the other reindeer ..." This mondegreen is the title of a children's book about a dog named Olive who stands in for one of Santa's reindeer, which was later made into an animated holiday program featuring the voice of Drew Barrymore.
* In an episode of the television sitcom Friends, Phoebe believes the lyric from Elton John's "Tiny Dancer", "Hold me closer, tiny dancer" is actually "Hold me closer, Tony Danza."
* The line "Try to detect it" from Devo's song "Whip It" is often misheard as "Tattoo Detective."
* "The girl with kaleidoscope eyes," from the song "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" by The Beatles, is misheard as "The girl with colitis goes by."
* "A wean in a manger," using the Scottish word for a baby, instead of "Away in a Manger." Gervase Phinn used "A Wayne in a Manger" as the title of a book about a children's nativity play.
* In 2007, Cingular aired commercials in which young men are comically clueless about the lyrics of the songs they listen to, hearing The Clash's "Rock the Casbah" as both "lock the cash box" and "stop the cat box", among other mondegreens.
* The Israeli pop-rock band Tislam has a famous line in one of their greatest hits, "Tnu Li Rockn'Roll" (Give me Rock 'n' Roll), that says "Hoshavt oti bacheder etmol ad meuchar, lishmo'a Indonezi shel Anshei Hakfar" (You sat me down in the room till late yesterday evening, to hear "Indonezi" by the Village People). The songwriter, Yair Nitzani, was a DJ at a club where people kept asking him to put on the song "Indonezi" (meaning "Indonesian"), because they misheard the real name of the song, "In the Navy". The popular Israeli website Avatiach is a forum devoted to mondegreens in Israeli songs, so called because of the common mishearing of "avatiach" (watermelon) in place of "ahavtiah" (I loved her) in a well-known song by Shlomo Artzi.
* In Manfred Mann's cover of Bruce Springsteen's "Blinded by the Light", the line "revved up like a deuce, another runner in the night" is often cited as a prominent example of a mondegreen in popular music. The line is often misinterpreted in Mann's version (whose pronunciation is very exaggerated) as "wrapped up like a douche" (Springsteen's original lyric was "cut loose like a deuce"). Deuce, in the song, refers to a 1932 Ford Deuce Coupe, and not a hygienic procedure.
* The first line of the Australian National Anthem "Advance Australia Fair" was originally written as "Australia’s Sons let us rejoice, for we are young and free"; the song became popularly known as "The Ostrich Song" after the mondegreen "Australia, Sunset Ostriches for we are young and free".
* "Tell the Huns it's time for me" (from the song "Beneath the Lights of Home (In a Little Sleepy Town)" sung by Deanna Durbin in Nice Girl? (1941): "Turn the hands of time for me") on the BBC radio programme Quote Unquote in 2002.
* The Joni Mitchell cover of the Lambert, Hendricks & Ross song "Twisted" includes a mondegreen: the original lyric They all laughed at A. Graham Bell was misheard and subsequently recorded by Mitchell as They all laughed at angry young men.
* When Chaka Khan sang her pop hit song, I'm Every Woman, during the 1970s, it sounded like Climb Every Woman to some listeners.
Now here are some of the most popular and funniest mondegreens on the internet:
Bulgarian Valentina Hassan's "Ken Lee" (Can't Live - Mariah Carey's Without You), and Filipino Alyssa Alano's "Keys Me" (Kiss me)
Andre Vltchek's article on the Asia Times Online portray quite an accurate view on life in present Indonesia. The article's got most facts right, and it is not pretty.
As an Indonesian, I am deeply saddened by what's happening in my country. It seems the country is in deeper shit than it was a decade ago.
I wonder will Mr. Vltchek be subject to the Indonesian Cyber law. For some, what he wrote could be misconstrued as libelous or slanderous.
You be the judge, read it and tell me what you think.
Apparently the chastity belt is another one of the (chauvinistic) government's brilliant ideas to decrease promiscuity. I personally think that the government is silly not to have their mouths padlocked as well as amputate their arms...
Because we all know that women are the the root of all things evil and immoral, and men fall prey to them ALL THE TIME, right? (You have got to be fucking kidding me)
But I gotta get me some of those belts, just in case hubby wants some and I have another one of my migraine episodes, I can just put one of those on and throw the key away.
... but what If I need to go to the toilet while it's dark at night and I have to find the key in the array of messy madness that is my apartment?...
On the self-help book, How to catch Mr. Bule (bule is an Indonesian term for a light skinned person/albino, also used to describe a caucasian): It is evident that (some) Indonesian girls dream of having a bule man to sweep her off her feet and import her to the promised land where the river flows honey, the trees bear golden fruits and the clouds are made of marshmallow. NOT.
As if it isn't hard enough to catch a good man (regardless of skin color) now the girls in Indonesia are pressured to get themselves their own Mr. Bule? I strongly feel this book and the obsession of (some) Indonesian girls of marrying bules are silly and overrated.
For the girls reading: Men are ...(please fill in the dotted lines with whatever a man is to you)...!! It doesn't matter what color they are, they're the same, they're men. There are good ones in brown, tan, cocoa, beige, pink, red, black, yellow and orange. The good ones does not always come in white. (I like my brown man just fine, thank you)
For the guys reading: don't get me wrong, I love men of all color. But honestly, If I were a mechanic moonlighting as an electrician and computer technician who bench presses 120 lbs easy, I would still be single right now.
I should write a book titled "how to catch a guy, ANY guy!" Maybe this will also be on the best seller list? What about girls who wants to catch a Ms. Bule? Dildos, anyone?
Well, this is just outrageous. 91 k?? (you know, there are free naked pictures on the internet)
I wonder if one of me would beat the price. I think it would reach millions, maybe googllions. Except it would probably be paid in small change of old currency that has no more value except when put in bags and used as weight to drown a dead body into the ocean.
On wanting what I don't really need and needing what I don't really want:
When I go to the shopping mall with my husband I tend to have more things I want than when I go shopping alone.
Last week I went with him to the mall and stopped in front of the display window of a shoe store. He had the panic look on his face and was desperately trying to pull me away. I just stood there and pointed out my fingers. FingerS- plural, not singular. I pointed out all 10 of them.
I didn't buy any, but I wanted to. That day, what I needed was thinner socks for the coming spring, all my good socks are thick winter ones. I didn't buy those either, because socks aren't exciting, shoes are (and bags, and perfume, and make-up, and clothes...)
Hubby still could not understand why I have 15 different pairs of black shoes and boots, several reds, grays, beige, browns, greens, blues, one in gold and two in silver (my stage shoes - you know, for when I'm singing) for a total of approximately 50 pairs, yet every time I pass by a shoe store, I still wanted more.
An article in CNN titled Settle your disputes in Comedy Court reported of a new TV Court show with real people who like to settle their real problems in court.
The show, which launched last month on DirecTV, is taped at the Laugh Factory.
The premise is the same as shows like "The People's Court" or "Judge Joe Brown," with a twist: The plaintiffs and defendants are represented by comedians acting as their lawyers.
"They are real people with legitimate small claims disputes," says Ronit Larone of DirecTV, adding that the show's producers comb through hundreds of cases to find ones involving things like a guy who sued a house-sitting friend for allegedly absconding with his sex tape. Arnold and Sinbad squared off against each other in that episode.
In another, Paul Rodriguez defended a man against charges of taking his former girlfriend's clothes and wearing them at a club, where one of her friends saw him.
Comic Dom Irrera presides over each episode as the judge.
"We spend so much money on these cases, and they really belong in a comedy club, not a courtroom," Masada said of his idea to take them to TV.
I don't need more convincing, I think this maybe is what the world needs right now. Silly, petty problems, dealt with in a funny court.
Funny beats scary. Sometimes I think serious problems of the world are silly and petty. If it is dealt with a lighthearted manner and humor, maybe people won't be too quick to judge and hate another . It's amazing what laughter and humor can do for us.
I am a comic myself sometime, too. Of course I do my stand-ups at home, in front of the mirror with my collection of Teddy Bears watching me, all 2 of them. After reading this, the other night I pretended to be a comedian lawyer defending a filmmaker sued by a religious fundamentalist. Although at the end, I was distracted by cake (yes, cake), I still think I was an amazing lawyer.
My arguments:
"Your honor, my client has been accused of having produced a blasphemous film that has offended the plaintiff greatly, allegedly causing irreparable damage caused by trauma." "What's that? No, the film contains no excerpts of the plaintiff's holy book. it contains of two homosexual chimpanzees in love, it's on BBC." "I beg your pardon?" "Apparently the plaintiff strongly believes that his religion forbids homosexuality among mankind and animals. Therefore my client is guilty for making this film" "Yes I am aware that we cannot have chimpanzees at the witness stand, but it is of the utmost importance that I demonstrate how harmless display of affection is between two homosexual chimps." "I believe some plants are hermaphrodites. Roses are all females, though, something that pretty can't be masculine" "Yes, Boy George is a pretty, pretty man" "Objection? What about bi-sexual chimpanzee witnesses?" "What shirt? They don't wear shirts?" "For God's sakes, the plaintiff is an asshole, and you know it!" *Throws a chair at the plaintiff* "What? There is no more water in the dispenser? But I'm thirsty!" "Oh thank God, there's some tea left. Thanks Bob" "ooohh... cake!!"
I hope you can help me here. The other day, I set off for work leaving my husband in the house watching the TV as usual. I hadn't gone more than a mile down the road when my engine conked out and the car shuddered to a halt. I walked back home to get my husband's help. When I got home I couldn't believe my eyes. He was in our bedroom with the neighbor lady. I am 32, my husband is 34, and we have been married for twelve years.
When I confronted him, he broke down and admitted that they had been having an affair for the past six months. I told him to stop or I would leave him. He was let go from his job six months ago and he says he has been feeling increasingly depressed and worthless. I love him very much, but ever since I gave him the ultimatum he has become increasingly distant. He won't go to counseling and I'm afraid I can't get through to him anymore.
Can you please help? Sincerely Sheila
Solution:
Dear Sheila
A car stalling after being driven a short distance can be causedby a variety of faults with the engine. Start by checking that there is no debris in the fuel line. If it is clear, check the vacuum pipes and hoses on the intake manifold and also check all grounding wires. If none of these approaches solves the problem, it could be that the fuel pump itself is faulty, causing low delivery pressure to the carburator float chamber.
This comment is from AnnaElissa's blog by a commenter named xanthippa. Of all the reactions, explanations, blog entries, writings and articles that I have found over the week and a half about Fitna, this is the one that hit the jackpot.
The name of the film ‘Fitna’, is meant as an exposition: these violent people, who themselves believe they are following the teachings of the Qur’an, THEY are the ones who bear FALSE WITNESS to their own faith!!! That was the point of the movie!
It is not an indictment of ALL Muslims. Yet, it is meant to show how SOME of them are abusing their holy book, taking verses out of context (which they DO in order to justify the violence), and how they are perverting their religion.
That is why, at the end of the movie, the filmmaker asks all ‘real’ Muslims to please reclaim their good and peaceful religion from the mis-representations these violent people who consider themselves to also be Muslims. Christians have had the same problem, and, to a great degree, they HAVE taken their religion away from the violent people who used it to make war (and they were just as bad as these violent people are!). The filmmaker made this movie to show proper Muslims what is being done in the name of their religion, and to ask them to reclaim Islam from them, make its name good again.
I hope this helps you make some sense of it.
Very good and insightful view, not to mention the most logical, level headed, reasonable and acceptable answer for (if ever there was such question) "What is the meaning of the Fitna film?"
Update: You can find the commenter's blog, Xathippa, here.
Dapat ini dari e-mail temen. Artikel ini (katanya) terbit di Jawa Pos 1 April. Yang ini juga bikin speechless... sedetik.. lalu tertawa terpingkal-pingkal. Klik untuk diperbesar...
Effective March 28, 2008, we should not exercise our right to freedom of expression because our opponents may (and are allowed to) become violent. For the first time in the 60 year history of UN Human Rights bodies, a fundamental human right has been limited simply because of the possible violent reaction by the enemies of human rights.
You can read excerpts (very few paragraphs) from the entry below,
For the past eleven years the organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC), representing the 57 Islamic States, has been tightening its grip on the throat of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Yesterday, 28 March 2008, they finally killed it.
With the support of their allies including China, Russia and Cuba (none well-known for their defence of human rights) the Islamic States succeeded in forcing through an amendment to a resolution on Freedom of Expression that has turned the entire concept on its head. The UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression will now be required to report on the “abuse” of this most cherished freedom by anyone who, for example, dares speak out against Sharia laws that require women to be stoned to death for adultery or young men to be hanged for being gay, or against the marriage of girls as young as nine, as in Iran.
But however important freedom of expression may be for us who live in the West, its overwhelming importance for those who live under the tyranny of Islamic law was highlighted by a courageous group of 21 NGOs from the Islamic States who issued a statement yesterday appealing to delegations to oppose the amendment. See http://www.article19.org/pdfs/press/petition-hrc.pdf
I am scared, people. Really scared.
This could be the beginning of the Third World War, or the world's reverse steps back to the middle ages. Soon we cannot say and do anything in fear committing something that will deemed as 'abuse' subject to fine, imprisonment or worse, death punishment.
The sacrifices of many people in the past that has bestowed us our freedom, our basic human rights is now for nothing. worth thinking about.
Religious people often accuse atheists of being arrogant and of placing ourselves in the position of God, but really it is the theist who has all the vanity. He can’t stand to think that he will ever cease to exist.
It's April, which is supposed to already be spring, with nice weather, blooming flowers, birds chirping and warmer temperature. To my recollection, same time last year, the temperature was up to between 8 and 12 degrees (Celsius) and I didn't have to wear my heavy wool coat anymore. This year, however, is quite different.
Today's forecast shows that the weather is warm-ish, with temperature ranging between 0 and 10 degrees. There was still some light snowing three days ago, by the way. The daytime is fine, the sun shines and the temperature is at a mild 10 degrees which I have no problem with. At night, it is still cold, while last night it was -1.
Minus one degree on April 8th, you say? Yes, that's true.
So last night, husband (who is now equally hooked on Battlestar Galactica as a result of Yours Truly who keeps on dragging him to watch it with her) and I were both watching the gut wrenching season 2 episode 9 of BG when I decided I needed something cool and sweet, something other than my cooln'sweet self. I got up, walked towards the refrigerator to get a Magnum ice cream, got back and sat next to him and started eating the cream. It was all gooey, a bit liquid-y, gross because it ran all over my hands and on to my shirt, but I still ate it anyway.
I told hubby, "hun, the fridge is not cold" to which came his reply, "then put the bloody thing outside."
I stared at him for a minute, then laughed. Because it's still -1 and I got me some minus one degree humor.
I visited Maverickid's blog and found an entry under this title 'Why do you blog?' I decided to answer it. By the time I finished, I realised that it is long enough to be a post on mine. So here it is, the answer to the simple question of "Why do you blog?'
I blog to write what's brewing in my mind, to fill my spare time by being sentimental of my pastime as a freelance journalist and copywriter, and to have interactions with my fellow Indonesian (and other nationals) bloggers.
The reward is to have my opinions 'out there' for the world to judge/counter/challenge/agree with, to hopefully have some kind of impact on other people, to try to open other people's minds - or being less arrogant - offer an optional/different view on current or past events that I blog about, or simply, for other people's entertainment and amusement.
In any case, I like to practice my right to voice my concerns, ideas and thoughts and at the same time, hone my writing skills, if I actually have any.
Many, many rewards this blogging thing brings people, methinks.
In Indonesia (and countries alike), blogs have revolutionized how people think and act, it has also been one of the main tools to stall the corrupt government's wish to stupidify the whole nation, thus making it easier to govern.
So as you can see, my comment was so long, it has turned into one of my rants, but also a reality check. I don't blog for the page ranking, nor for popularity (ok, maybe a bit of that). I do so because I like it and I would like to share my thoughts with the rest of the world. Maybe some find my writings depressing, or funny, or amusing, or silly, or bad, or inspirational, or stupid and hundreds more of other ors. The main point is, I like it, and I will continue blogging for as long as I can.
The first lungless frog found in the island of Borneo in Indonesia. Wow, if only there was a procedure that lets humans live without lungs, I would get it and will not have quit smoking.
Lungless we can't live, but heartless we can.
The Indonesian People's Representatives Council (DPR) will sue the famous rock band 'Slank' for one of their songs called Gossip Jalanan. Evidently, the song is Slank's way of supporting anti-corruption (that has been rampant in the country, especially within the members of the council). The lyrics of the song contains such as 'The Council makes laws and corruptions'. This has hit more than a few nerves. Even families of the Council members are worried that Slank's 'slanderous' lyrics will tarnish their (already tarnished since long ago) reputation.
Some citizens say this would probably result in another ridiculous proposal of a law that will govern song writings and lyrics. Many are saying the Council is panicking because they are guilty of corruption. I say, this is another amusing phenomenon as a result of the Newer Order's version of democracy and reformation.
After a week of total relaxation, I am back in the office today. It's almost lunch time, and I have a little bit of free time, so I decided to news-surf. I normally try to find Global news and information and also news about Belgium and Indonesia with the objective of finding something I deem interesting enough to write in my blog.
As luck would have it, I found a topic. The film FITNA is still topping the headlines, but wait, what do I see here? Detiknews1 and detiknews2 (all in Indonesian, I'm afraid) reports today that the Communications and Information Minister (in the letter no. 84/M/KOMINFO/04/08 dated 2 April 2008) have 'requested' that Indonesian ISPs block the following sites: - Youtube - Myspace - Rapidshare - Metacafe for taking part in broadcasting, publishing and spreading Geert Wilders' FITNA and making it accessible worldwide.
My first response was: Hooray!! After days of being in a slump with nothing interesting to write, I have finally found a topic for today. My second response was: Shit! Those are good sites they are banning. My last response was: Good thing I don't live there anymore.
The sad thing is, my last response has frequently been my response to many things upon reading Indonesian news. It shouldn't be, but the government's many idiotic policies have resulted in my thinking that way, and many others who share my sentiment.
In my previous post titled 'Fitna: there's nothing wrong with it', I stated that the Indonesian People's Representatives Council (DPR) should educate our people so that they can calm down and ignore the film as opposed to making remarks to further fuel the anger of the people.
Today I realised that something very peculiar has indeed happened: I was wrong. Being the Goddess of Great and Correctness, I am very seldom-ly ever wrong! But sadly, today I am.
To correct my previous mistake, today I am willing to state that the DPR should not educate the people. They should instead educate themselves and the whole government, then educate people.
Back to the new-found topic of Menkominfo's request to block certain websites, I don't know whether the government is overly stupid or brilliant, but they seemed to have forgotten to ban the first website that posted FITNA, which is liveleak.
Blocking those four sites listed above isn't effective because there are other sites such as liveleak, multiply, blogger, wordpress, and many .com sites that have also helped spread the film.
Do you hear that government? BLOCK ALL THOSE SITES TOO!
Sadly, it seems that the Newer Order (our current government) are fucking up the country, worse than the New Order ever did. My friend Uga of thedyingsirens have written a rather articulate love letter for our government. I agree with his sentiments, and I couldn't have written a better one myself. The government is now actually promoting stupidity and ignorance amongst its people.
After a half hour or so of being gemes (this is an indonesian word that, I believe, has no English equivalent. In this context, gemes, can appropriately be replaced by 'upset' although it can mean several other emotions as well) at the Communication and Information Minister's decision/request to ban several sites, I came across this. Obviously many people are protesting this idiocy, um, policy. The last paragraph goes something like this:
APJII (Asosiasi Penyelenggara Jasa Internet Indonesia) sudah memblokir tapi pengguna tetap bisa mengakses jika memiliki back up akses. Pengguna yang cerdik tetap bisa mengakes YouTube. "Mereka bisa search lewat situs lain menuju ke YouYube, tak langsung ke YouTube."
Which means:
APJII (Indonesian Association of Internet Providers) has blocked (youtube) but internet users will still be able to access it with backup access. Smart users will still be able to access YouTube. "They can search via another site to YouTube, not directly going to the YouTube site."
I am once again sadly mistaken. The DPR and government should not waste precious time in attempting to educate the people. Obviously our people are smart enough if they are able to figure out how to access forbidden sites through other means. Apparently the government thinks that there is only one way to go to a site; open a browser window and type www.youtube.com. But as tempointeraktif reported (read: suggested), other ways are possible too. So now they have to ban not only the four plus several others I have suggested, but also search engines like Google, and any other sites that has an internet search engine.
I will now state my final and absolute statement of truth: The DPR and government should educate themselves (for many years preferably at My School of Great and Correctness) and should refrain from thinking that the Indonesian people are stupid and unresourceful.
My country is great and my people are great. However, my government is a group that consists of a bunch of bloody retards and morons.
*update: according to this article in detiknews, now youtube, multiply and myspace is officially inaccessible. Also, the Indonesian Cyber Law that was once a plan - and being heavily protested by many I thought would never have been implemented - is now officially underway. According to BBC, even those who access sites containing pornographic and violent material could be facing up to three years of jail and heavy fines.
I'm sorry, is this Indonesia or Afghanistan?
Furthermore, the Jakarta Post has reported that the Cyber Law would also target bloggers who state opinions (I do this) that are considered libelous or spreading words of hate.
Excerpts from this article:
"Blogger Enda Nasution said bloggers were being more careful now as the law opened up possibilities of prosecution for providing "sensitive" content about public figures and certain issues on their sites.
"Bloggers can get in trouble by just linking to a website containing defamation. In an indirect way, the law bans freedom of expression," Enda said.
After two years of deliberation, the House of Representatives passed the Electronic Information and Transaction Law last month, which prohibits citizens from distributing slander in any electronic format. Perpetrators can get a maximum of six years in prison or a fine of Rp 1 billion (US$107,526).
The law also prohibits any kind of pornography, gambling, blackmail, lies, threats and racist comments."
So much for upholding democracy and freedom of expression, huh? This is a blatant violation of our basic right of the freedom of expression. And to think they (the government) keep on warning the people of the latent danger of the 'red'.
This right here is a brilliant example of what a 'red' government would do, don't you think?
The Volksrant on FPI’s urge to sever diplomatic ties with The Netherlands.
Radicale Moslims in Jakarta: Wilders moet dood
AP gepubliceerd op 31 maart 2008 08:28, bijgewerkt op 31 maart 2008 11:04
JAKARTA - Zo’n veertig demonstranten hebben maandag bij de Nederlandse ambassade in de Indonesische hoofdstad Jakarta opgeroepen tot het vermoorden van Geert Wilders. Er was veel politie bij de demonstratie, die was georganiseerd door het Front van Verdedigers van de Islam, een radicale splintergroep.
Een woordvoerder van de groep, Soleh Mahmud, riep de regering op de banden met Nederland wegens Wilders’ film Fitna te verbreken. ‘De Nederlandse regering moet hem arresteren. Wilders moet worden gedood, omdat hij de moslims de oorlog heeft verklaard’, aldus Mahmud, die ook zei dat hij Fitna nog niet heeft gezien.
I will do my best to translate the last paragraph which I found rather funny.
A spokesman of the group, Soleh Mahmud, called the government to sever ties with the Netherlands because of Wilders film Fitna.` the Dutch government must arrest him. Wilders must be killed, because he has declared war with Moslems” says Mahmud who also said that he has not yet seen Fitna.
This is very interesting, the difference between East (mostly China, but surprisingly, it can be applied to other Asian countries as well, like Indonesia) and West. I received this in an e-mail from a friend. I thought it was amusing and, being the blog addict that I am, immediately wanted to post and share this with all of you. Yes, you! Why? Because I love you, that's why!
On what's trendy
On the way of life
On travelling
On transportation
On Daily Meals
On Sundays on the road
On Queueing (this is right on the money!) On punctuality (Indonesia's jam karet culture will show an even bigger margin than shown here)
On Parties
On opinions (why make is simple if we can make it colorful and interesting?lol) On the relation between mood and weather
In the restaurant (Don't speak with your mouths full!)
On handling problems
On the daily life of the elderly
On contacts (ha! Indonesian people's friendsters and facebooks clearly shows this 'it's a small world after all' phenomenon. Everybody knows everybody. Clearly no longer 6 degrees of separation, but rather, 2 or 3 degrees of separation? It's true, at least for the Jakartans)
On Children
On Anger
And my favorite of all, on 'boss' (yes, you must suck and lick good.. hee.. - nothing sexual here, just facts *wink*)
I thought it is cleverly portrayed, and very true. What do you think?
This was based on its findings of 3x the word hell, 2x the word crap and 1x the word die.
Frankly, I am insulted, I didn't think it was going to be 'R', I would've thought it was going to be more than that. But then I remembered, 'XXX' is the rating of the stories that are still in my mind.
I don't know if this blog rating site has any other rates, but at the pace my writings are going I am pretty sure in a month or two, this blog should be rated NC 17 (no one 17 and under admitted) and several months after that, XXX (Adults over 18 only).
I was curious to how many low cost airlines there was that cater to Indonesia. I did some google researching, and according to attitudetravel, these are the low cost airlines that cater to Indonesia:
It's nice to see many airlines extend services to many Indonesian cities, with affordable flights for many people from various economical background. I wanted to know, which of the airlines above are Indonesian-owned, so I scrolled down, and turns out, three of them were. Adam air (now grounded), Lion Air, and Mandala. Cool, or so I thought.
Looking at all the airlines' description, I was disappointed to see all three's safety records. There were casualties from (reported) 'incidents', while there seem to be no warning or incidents of the such from the other airlines from Singapore, the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia or even Macau.
So, low cost no frills Indonesian airlines, is it? Or isn't it?
Stuff Indonesians Like #15: Name Dropping
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If there is one thing we like more than sambal (tr. chili sauce) it's name
dropping.
Indonesians, well, Jakartans to be exact, love to name drop. It's one ...
Bless me Father for I have sinned... I have fallen into the wicked evil ways of on-line shopping. I've stayed pure and virginal to on-line money spending for my whole internet life Lord, but I was tested sorely today - and I failed.
