Latest on Fri, 06:13 am
Let the Bali Bombers tidy up the graveyards
It’s in the papers here, there and everywhere: the Bali bombers will be executed at long last by a firing squad next month. That is five years after their death sentence. In the meantime they have become real media celebrities in the region. Almost pop stars.
I don’t doubt this is the correct outcome of fair Indonesian justice. Nor will I dispute the emotions of relief felt by the surviving victims and the next of kin of those who were killed by the blasts of 2002. Yet, I doubt the wisdom of the decision.
Fly safe
If the meltdown of the economic system can be stopped in time, some of us will leave the financial safe houses where we have run for cover and fly to Indonesia next year. There will probably be visits to family in Sumatra, friends in Jakarta, places of leisure in Bali or Lombok and reconnaissance operations on Ambon. For instance. That means we have to plan quite a lot of transport.
We could do that by car or bus. But everybody knows that road traffic Indonesian style is quite adventurous. In other words extraordinary dangerous and rather uncomfortable- though the chances of colliding with a politician as intoxicated as the Austrian politician Haider was last week, before he crashed himself to death, are small in a predominantly Islamic country, I presume.
Maybe in some instances railways can provide the solution. Or sailing. We could take ferries. Not a bad idea. Though pretty slow and hazardous as well. They are in the habit to be overcrowded, capsizing and sinking. And not all of us are tremendous swimmers. So, after all, if we want from, say, Benkulu to, say, Yokyakarta, it probably leaves us no choice than to look for airlines. That is if you leave out swimming, cycling or walking. Read More
Mental Illness & The Pornography Bill
I wonder whether it occasionally happens to you also. I mean the instances you are are so stunned about someone’s words, ideas or behavior that you want to ask: “Jeez, in what world are you living?!”
Some minutes ago it happened to me. I did hit upon this line in a The Jakarta Post article on the consequences for Bali of the Pornography Bill. The sentence reads: “The bill, currently in draft form at the House of Representatives, defines pornography as acts that incite sexual desire.”
So, to some members of Parliament any act that incites sexual desire is pornography. How crazy can you get?!!!
It’s a definition which will make the Creator feel uncomfortable – because His/Her decision to create men and women is at the root of sexual desire and thus has to be considered pornography. Putting on lipstick is accentuating the seductiveness of, and attracting attention to, those kissable lips – which may incite sexual desire and thus is pornography. Being a beautiful young woman as such may inflame one’s sexual desire. Yeah, being beautiful is pornography. Power, as is well known, is a major aphrodisiac. So SBY himself can be considered to be pornography.
Yes, some lawmakers in Jakarta have gone nuts.
Update: Maybe the House of Representatives is coming to its senses. The passing of the bill has been posponed like Mulia wrote in her comment. Probably due to the reaction in Bali: “The outright rejection, including by the island’s governor and councilors, coupled with widespread opposition from several other provinces, forced the House to postpone passage of the bill” ( The Jakarta Post).
Sit and Smile
A very simple way to reach the state of happiness. Just sit in silence and smile, even your liver should be able to smile. Then you will reach the ectasy of happiness. At least this is what Ketut Liyer, the spiritual guide of Elizabeth Gilbert taught her to in her spiritual journey to pursue happiness in Bali. Great advice!! Sit in Silence and Smile. Have you ever tried it ?
This piece of advice comes from Elizabeth Gilbert latest book: Eat, Pray, Love. Another story of her travelling pilgrimage around three “I” countries; Italy (for pure indulgence in pleasure–therefore Italy chapters called as Eat), India (to learn the devotion to God-this is the Pray chapters), and Indonesia (to learn how to balance these two–yeah baby this is the LOVE chapter). Yes yes…another book…as if we haven’t got the chance to see any films…so this time why not write about a book…especially with such a mystic title: Eat, Pray, Love.
I was a skeptic at the beginning. It must be some kind of another self-finding-help-book that targets women in their 30′s and all their misery (if there’s any). It is so obvious from the title: EAT, PRAY, LOVE. Must be some kind of book full with advice on how to balance your life blabla yabyab nabnab. So I start reading it with skeptism. Hate the first three chapters. Some mambo jambo about her difficulties in getting divorced, being needy, being sad, talking to God, at some points a thought crossed my mind, “who CARES?!”. So I fast forward to the area that I found more interesting…her journey in Indonesia (well we need to stress here that in this blog we like everything about Indonesia so yes this part of this book better be really interesting to read and should be unique).
And here..things are getting interesting. I hoped to be dissappointed and find she’s some young writer that tries to judge how Balinese society lead their lifes. Luckily my assumption was not true at all. She’s actually able to write the piece with some airy-light-tone but with some good sense in it about her journey in Bali. It is seriously all about her own journey. How she choose to act on different things everyday. No judgemental attitude whatsoever. Just a “plain” spiritual journey of Ms. Gilbert. Her spiritual journey and learning points that came from the discussions and events that she shared with Ketut Liyer, the healer/Balinese spiritual teacher, Wayan-fellow healer/tough Balinese woman, and some other characters that taught her what is the meaning to live your life to the fullest (no empty hole in your heart). Read More
Europecinema- Part 2: Foreign Food
To be honest: this post more or less is the intellectual property of Rick de Gier (author of film reviews in a Dutch Weekly and this site). This week he wrote about movies which deal with food, in connection to the release of this Brazilian-Italian movie called “Estrômago“. It promises to be a black comedy about a weird guy who even in jail shows he really commands the art of cooking. This is the trailer:
According to De Gier it is in the category of food movies in which gastronomy is made sexy. He points out that “The wayward cloud” (2006, Taiwan), a semi musical, in which watermelons play an important part, can be labeled in the same way. It is one of the ten characteristics he distinguishes to make a success out of a food movie. In the process he proves that apart from European, non European cinema also contributed several distinguished movies on the subject of food. Summarized De Gier’s essentials of good food movies are when it deals with: