Books (& Discount) Frenzy

This has gotta be the best Christmas gift ever. Gramedia, which is one of the biggest bookstore chains in the country, just opened a huge 2-storeys new store in Grand Indonesia shopping center. The grand opening ceremony was attended by President SBY himself, who launched his new book Indonesia Unggul at occasion. You see, to run a campaign, one needs tons of money and months of intense public appearance. I wouldn't be a bit surprised if he went to kiss tens of babies after that. After all, what could be more important than cutting the ribbons of a new bookstore? Taking care of the country is so passé.

Nuff 'bout the president. The bookstore is undeniably spacious and has a more sophisticated interior compared to other Gramedia stores. Its size and wow-factor matched the grandiose mall. Although the books offered are dominated by local books and translated works, it carries more English books than previous stores. The stationery and office needs part is quite extensive, offering various essentials and surprising tidbits. Unfortunately, I don't think that it offers enough titles or kinds of books for a store its size. I expected to see rows of shelves dedicated to Indonesian literature ready to be browsed. I wanted to see if the store can offer more foreign books to expand its catalogue. Yet, it didn't live up to my expectations. I even think that the chain's flagship store in Matraman is more complete - and more convenient from my campus in Salemba. The new store lacks the bookstore trap that makes you want to buy more books than you had planned.

However, I went there twice in three days. Why?

From its opening until last Friday, it offered 30% discount on all items except electronics. On top of that, customers of a certain credit card get another 5% off. That kind of discount is very big for bookstores; the last all-items discount I had from another bookstore was only 15% and it wasn't really all-item. Nothing could make my "nerd alarm" ring more loudly.

Consequently, it also attracted hundreds -or maybe thousands- of other discount hunters. Before I went there, I had asked several friends who were lucky enough to go there first about how the new store was. "Crowded". "Packed". "Like a swarm of ants". When I was there myself, in the evening on both occasions, those words suited the urban vista. As I walked to the store, I saw people with happy faces carrying multiple black plastic bags from each hand. I read "Gramedia". It didn't take a genius to guess how crowded the store was. Shoppers everywhere, browsing through all shelves available. In the comics and novels section, books were literally flying off the racks and covering the floor, thanks to hundreds of clumsy, overexcited bookworms. Where there was no books lying, there were small kids *cough*and teenagers*cough* reading comics and other books for free. Carefully tiptoeing on the space left, finding the books I wanted was a struggle. The shelves are messy and most of the books were in a chaotic arrangement everywhere else. Fortunately, the stationery part was more peaceful, so was the foreign books part. Is it Indonesians' rising interest on reading, or just its deep, primal love of discounts?

Anyway, I got hold of some books and restocked my pencil case with 35% less bucks. Additionally, I genuinely hope that this discount frenzy is the reason of my less-than-great first impression of the store. I really look forward to go there again and reevaluate what I said before. By the way Mr SBY, my dad -strangely, he's a fan of yours- didn't buy your new book. You just have to look for campaign funds somewhere else.

Now...if Kinokuniya and Periplus gives 50% discount (although I'll settle for 30%), my life is too perfect.

Season's Greetings

With my hectic university life, it seems that time has shrunk into something that simply flies by. As I've told you before, this year's Ramadan was just a fleeting moment and then Idul Fitri came out of nowhere. I proceeded with my torturous lectures, which I -gladly- survived through. And suddenly, it's Christmas; now, I'm having a long holiday -relatively speaking, of course. My friends are currently on a two-months free time. Me? Just a modest two-weeks break. Yay. Anyway,...

I'm wishing you a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS. SELAMAT HARI NATAL. And let's not forget, HAPPY HOLIDAYS! Have a nice day and safe travels wherever you may be.

Finally Here

Hello world! For the second time in almost two months, I disappeared from the blogosphere-although not from the facebooksphere. A lot of things have happened since the last time I posted, some of which I really really wanted to blog about. But what can a simple, innocent guy like me *yeah right* do when faced with a mountain of tasks which, I may add, I know absolutely nothing about. And I said to myself, "So this is med school...now, where did I put my normal life?"

Anyway, what kind of things have happened? (And here I go again with my random, impulsive blurts) Well, there was World AIDS Day. I eagerly planned to take part in the Bloggers Unite campaign and I would have made a nice post if it had not been for the "lovely" school stuffs. There was a sad, horrifying news I read in The Jakarta Post which reported a survey that found the majority of religious studies teacher in the basic education level is breeding exclusivism, discrimination, antipluralism views, and perhaps they will contribute to future acts of terrorism. SBY got my attention at least twice: once for signing the troublesome Porn Law and once for allegedly blowing his top when a crowd of protesters in front of the Presidential Palace became too loud. Is it just me, or does our "Dear President" simply love to vent his anger publicly?

Switching to good stuffs, the last book of the Laskar Pelangi tetralogy was released and I've finished the wonderful book. It serves as an appropriate closing for the phenomenal series by a small town boy who lived a big live. Sorry, I meant who has lived a big life; he's not dead yet. I seriously recommend the book for everyone. I'm currently reading Perempuan Berkalung Sorban, a critical novel about the position of women and feminism in the ultraconservative views of Islam. I've just read about half of the book, but I expect to finish it soon since my workload is waaay lighter than the previous two weeks. Another good stuff, I watched a great movie that didn't involve the so-called "vegetarian vampires". It was The Day The Earth Stood Still. Great concept, great special effects, great wow-factor; yet, the movie didn't maximize those potentials.

One last thing, I made another blog which specifically deals with my (mis)adventure in the Faculty of Medicine in a certain university. Check it out! By the way, I think it's important for you to know that I'm trying my very best not to be so libelous in that blog. Two words: hard work.

And expect lots and lots of posts here and there soon!

Why Be A Follower?

Much of the muslims in South East Asia, or perhaps even the world, were surprised by a recent move by the Malaysian Fatwa Council to ban muslim Malaysians to practice yoga as it "can destroy the faith of muslims" due to its Hindu roots and influences. This news spread through the region; the quote above made it into Time magazine's Verbatim section this week. Naturally, a fatwa is not legally binding despite its influence among fatwa-obedient muslims. Nevertheless, as Islam is Malaysia's official religion, it is expected that it will soon make its mark in the national law. Of course this drew outrage from yoga practitioners, activists, and the mainstream muslim community for being too narrow-minded. Many Malaysian government officials, even some of its sultans, said that they will not rush adopting the fatwa to get a clearer picture of the issue.

At this point, you should be asking why I am taking this whole shebang seriously. It is happening in Malaysia, a country I've frequently ridiculed on this blog, while I myself am a proud Indonesian. Even though we're in the same regions and more often than not we've had some kind of a lover's quarrel, we shouldn't be meddling into each other's internal affairs, right?

Yeah right. Unless it is beginning to affect my beloved country Indonesia. Apparently, some of our ulamas (that's like the religious bigwigs), at least those who are not too busy campaigning for the next election, caught wind of this news and started their own brouhaha. The news said that they're taking this issue into consideration, although not instantly creating similar fatwa. First comments OK-ed yoga as long as muslims don't delve into the Hindu mysticism. However, it is also said that the Ulama Council will observe yoga practices in the country to finally arrive on a final decision. Errr, imagine you're minding your own yoga moves when an ulama barges in...wacko+ulama=wackolama.

I am very terribly sorry for the Malaysian community that they have to go through this unfunny joke. Yet, I setting my eyes on my country.

This is an alarming sign about the growing conservatism in Indonesia. After local governments throughout the country have been influenced into making deviant Sharia-inspired laws, and most recently the House passed the draconian Pornography Law, we cannot afford this kind of stupidity anymore. When I heard that the Council was going to ape its Malaysian counterpart, it was all blurgh, blurgh, and blurgh. How messed up must they be to prioritize this matter over a pedophile cleric and the worrying glorification of the Bali bombers? Those wackolamas should have known better to meddle into Indonesians' private lives.

Seriously, when was the last time their fatwa made as much as a ripple in our real life? I firmly believe that we, the majority of Indonesian muslims, are more than just a herd of animals that blindly obey what our ulamas spit out. This is where critical thinking plays a crucial part in keeping our faith stay true and avoiding the blind obedience that has wrapped women in restrictive hijabs and sent suicide bombers to wreak havoc on Earth. Keep in mind that Islam doesn't rely on any kind of hierarchy, which means that we don't need the approval of anyone to be a muslim and reach spiritual peace.

Our faith, our religion, and how we live our lives accordingly are strictly a private matter. No ulama can have the power forcing us to follow his/her fatwa. This is time that we stop such ridiculous trend in the country. I'm not saying that the ulama should just stay in their pesantrens or Qur'an recital groups, but they must place themselves in the community appropriately. If unfortunately this yoga fatwa actually comes out in Indonesia, don't blame us if people see Islam as a backward, isolated religion.

Wacky Facebook Groups

The massively popular Facebook, with millions and millions of users, now boasts a wide array of groups, formed by members for members. As nature goes, along with the same old normal groups of hobbies and collections, there's bound to be some wacky -thus funny- groups that actually make you realize something more about everyday life. Well, this trend shouldn't come as a surprise in a place where you can zombie-bite your friend and throw Oprah at him/her. In fact, I've joined quite a few that are surprisingly suitable to my thoughts or habits. Here are some of those groups I've found while browsing for a very short time; there's got to be a lot more:

1. "No, I Don't Care If I Die At 12 AM, I Refuse to Pass On Your Chain Letter" If you're constanly bugged by chain letters telling you to find an organ donor for a random guy who's dying from a disease you've never heard before, or telling you to pass on some cursed message to 10 or 20 friends if you don't want to lose your job; then this is the group to join! FYI, apparently one of those donor message was true and it saved someone's life, according to Yahoo! News. I tried to look for the link, but can't find it.

2. "I Secretly Want to Punch Slow Walking People In the Back Of the Head" Whoa! God must know what I'm feeling (duh!) when I'm walking between TransJakarta corridors. Ugh, this kind of people keeps getting in your way and they don't realize it, not even after you struggled to pass them.

3. "I Judge You When You Use Poor Grammar" This group may sound too judgmental, but really it is judgmental. In this group you can find mistakes people do when using English. Keep in mind that not only foreigners whose first tongue isn't English that make grammar mistakes, but also native users of the language.

4. "Mint Slice Addicts Anonymous" and other F&B products "appreciation" groups. Not actually wacky, but I was somewhat surprised to find people who have the same problem. Me want Mint Slice!!

5. "You Might Be in <<somewhere>> If..." or "You Might Be a Hardcore <<something>> If..." These groups are good in catching the perceived reality of what we do. Common victims include law school, med school (Ha!), and various sport players and fans. Oh yeah, you can never forget "You Might Be Indonesian If.../You Might Be Living in Indonesia Too Long If..."

6. "When I Was Your Age, ..." These ones will surely make you feel old in a few years. A quick search on Facebook yields these: Pluto was a planet, the first African American was elected president, there were only 151 Pokemon (I once memorized all of them, including their numbers. Nerd alert!), we solved Blue's Clues with Steve, not Joe, and Dumbledore was straight. When I have small kids, I'm gonna tell them that when I was their age, there was no such thing called Facebook, or internet for that matter.

7. "Keep Your Fucking Hand Down in Lecture and Shut Up. No One Cares." This is a bit bad, but acceptable in many cases. You know you want to say it when your friend starts a question with "according to my experience..."

Still interested? Go to your Facebook account -you have one, right?- and just browse around. I'm done with this post: You know you're in med school when you find it difficult to find time to blog.

Hello, Again

It's been too long since I last posted something on this blog. Perhaps, you've been asking "why is this blog so quiet?". Well, at least I have. Life has been somewhat unkind to this new university student and time is a privilege I can no longer have. Assignments, facebook, papers, facebook, presentations, facebook-what's a guy to do? I rarely have spare time, and the little I had was spent on the internet's newest guilty pleasure. I mentioned it, three times: Facebook! It's extremely and stealthily time-consuming. Hours simply pass by when you comment on your friends' "scandalous" high school photos or play its many fun, yet pointless games. That and I have like a million tasks to do. Please, I haven't even started the real med school stuff. Seriously!

Anyway...here I am! With nothing to write about. Actually, there has been lots of stuff going on and some ideas did spark on my head to be typed here. However, those ideas weren't lucky enough to make it into cyberspace. So, now I'm just letting you know that this blog is still alive. Expect a new post soon, after my end-of-semester exams.

Oh yeah, I'm participating in the next Bloggers Unite event on World AIDS Day. Are you?

And I'll get some real med school shebang next week, yay! (Or no yay?)

Movie Chitchat: High School Musical 3

"All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players"

That can be very true, especially if you live in a High School Musical world. The whole world, i.e. East High School, is a huge world where you can say anything, dream anything, or simply be an annoying narcissist, all in a song or two. Hey, where else can you find a basketball game with more choreography than the average dangdut singer? "And all the men and women are merely players". Well, they're mere players who rocketed into worldwide fame in a snap and has certainly earned big bucks, really really big bucks, for all three HSM movies plus their tie-ins.

Yesterday, my inner-child's curiosity got the best of me, and also to cherish my now-rare free time, I went to see the latest installment of High School Musical. For those of you who somehow haven't heard about it, I pray that God have mercy on you it's a world-famous Disney phenomenon about a group of your typical TV-beautiful high schoolers, living a high-school (love) life, that sings and dances throughout the movie. That's why it's called musical, duh! Perhaps, it's the current generation's answer to their parents', or grandparents', Mamma Mia!. The world went crazy over High School Musical, buzzed for High School Musical 2, and now it has to face High School Musical 3: Senior Year on the theatre screen.

Before we begin, I realize that I don't have an adequate level of Artistic Quotient -if it exists- which constantly makes me wonder why do I keep on reviewing stuffs and posting them on my blog. But men, assisted with a dose of boldness, can do unpredictable works. So, here goes nothing.

Basically, HSM3 is, well, very very HSM-ish in a good way. The Wildcats (that's the stars) are so close to the end of high school and must face the reality that they'll go separate ways in the future. Before that happens, however, they decided to stage another musical about none other but their own high school experience. I don't want to spoil the movie for you; thus, let's go straight to what I think about this record-breaking musical. Compared to the previous HSMs, this one is bigger, better, more cheerful, and more colorful; like Speed Racer but without the cars, the hallucinations, and the tacky outfits. Honestly, after seeing the step from HSM to HSM2, I lowered my expectations to this movie. Oh boy, I was totally wrong. Everything was wonderful and very fitting for a theatrical release. The storyline is a lot more acceptable than HSM2, which was more like a dreamland. The songs and choreography brilliantly follow the path of the previous movies. Maybe Disney has found the exact formula to lure every potential audience and to commercial success.

Now about the spoiled star of East High, Sharpay Evans played by Ashley Tisdale. I seriously have questions about her mental health. She was evil at the beginning of the first movie, and turned good at the end after losing the lead role in the school's musical. In the second, she started out as evil again, with a suitable blond hairdo, ditzy outfits and wicked ambition, only to turn good -again- after failing to get the boy of her dreams. *who else?* Well, (un)surprisingly, she became evil again in this third movie, although with a much better wardrobe and brain...and as (un)surprisingly, she decided to be nice and respectable at the end. I guess that's what you get for being the sole antagonist in the series.

Another thing, the drama teacher Ms. Darbus grew more likeable in this movie. In a dramatic turn from the first movie, she became some kind of a guardian angel, especially to the basketball/drama star Troy. HSM3 certainly showed the better side of her, similar to those wise old people who has gone through so much that they seem to know everything, like Yoda perhaps. (OMGosh, did I just do a Star Wars analogy? Curse you, Dark Side!!)

Well, I don't think it will do any good to recommend this movie to any of you because either you're a big fan of HSM and have seen it or you're the kind of person who lets your pride dictate your actions ;p Anyway, do take my word for it: it's a good option when you're looking for something to kill time and to simply have sheer good fun -that won't throw you in jail under the ridiculous Porn Law.

Strange Things #1

 

I used to think that my formal Bahasa Indonesia is near-abysmal, especially compared to my fluency in its everchanging spoken informal form, which is actually the form that's used most frequently in normal life -and by normal, I exclude Cinta Laura. It's not that I'm bad at it, it's just that I find myself unable to conform to what others (i.e. my teacher and national exam maker) want. Honestly, I was somewhat frustrated with exam-style Bahasa Indonesia. At that time, I really wanted to face the Bahasa bigwigs and give them a piece of my mind. Our current Bahasa Indonesia education is simply not working.

Look at that banner in the picture above and read what it says. "Kejahatan jalanan, penggembos ban, menunjuk-nunjuk ban, asap-asap...Mereka adalah pencuri, waspadalah" Before we proceed, let my take a shot at translating it: "Street crimes, tire deflators, pointing at tires, smokes...they're robbers, beware". Now that's abysmal. Seriously, I'm no language purist but this wicked sentences really set my alarms off.

That public service banner by the local police makes my 3-years old cousin's story of his fun holiday sound like Shakespeare. First, it starts out with "street crimes"; then, it jumps to those criminal "tire deflators". All of a sudden, the list continues with "pointing at tires". To top the wackiness, it's then closed with "smokes". Moreover, the last sentence means that street crimes are robbers, tire deflators are robbers, pointing at tires are robbers, and smokes are robbers. What the *beep*!? Grammatically speaking, only the "tire deflators" part is forgivable, the rest is sentenced to third-degree stupidity and would have to suffer in Grammar Hell. Ya burnt!

Yes HE Can!

The world must have had a long, sleepless night; but finally, it has come to this wonderful end. American voters made history by electing their new president, Barack Obama of the Democratic Party. The junior senator from Illinois beat Republican war veteran John McCain after months of rigorous campaigning - and a Saturday Night Live appearance by Palin. Affectionately dubbed by Indonesians as the Menteng Kid (due to spending his younger years in the Menteng area in Jakarta), Obama becomes the first African American to be elected chief of the powerful nation. Moreover, the Democratic Party also succeeded in expanding its majority in both houses of the Congress, which will be of great benefit when he starts his job.

Yes HE really can! That's the first thing to strike me after getting the news of his victory. I knew that November 4 (November 5 in Jakarta) is election day, but I don't expect the results to pop out this fast. Despite everything, I have to admit that I still had doubts whether Obama will actually come out as a winner in this election. Something kept whispering to me that things could go wrong and the really old guy would continue Bush's legacy/mess. However, at the end of the day, Obama's win is a loud and firm answer to those doubts as well as to the questions of millions of Americans.

This historic moment is for the whole world to celebrate: papers, internet sites, personal blogs, radio stations, and all kinds of media are going wild with the news; foreign leaders congratulated him with hopes of a better future together; and it's not too much to say that people all over the world is united in extreme joy. Apart from the US itself, the citizens of Kenya -where his father was born- and Indonesia -where he spent four of his elementary school years- are swept in a wave of elation. Jakarta's attention was centered on SDN Menteng 01 where lil' Barry studied; the current students of the school instantly celebrated Obama's victory when the news got there. At last, we got a break from those streaks of bad news.

Well, I originally planned only a very short post, so I'm gonna wrap this up. Here's hoping that the new era brought about by American voters will get the United States back on track, to be the great nation it can be and also usher in a new era of mutual cooperation for every nation in the world. The road that lie ahead will certainly be rough, but this victory is a sign that Obama can lead his nation through that road. Ultimately, I'd like to quote Oz PM Kevin Rudd, "Forty-five years ago Martin Luther King had a dream of an America where men and women would be judged not on the colour of their skin but on the content of their character...Today what America has done is turn that dream into a reality."

Good luck!

Lust, Caution (Part 1)

Dear honorable members of the House, what were you thinking!? If you were thinking, that is.

Despite strong opposition, with official protests from several provinces, the Porn Bill was finally passed by the DPR in a session marked by massive walk-outs. On October 30, eight out of ten factions agreed to make the contentious bill into law. This pro-side surprisingly includes what's supposed to be 'nationalist' parties like Golkar and Partai Demokrat, plus parties that has only recently took a more nationalist stance like Partai Amanat Nasional. Anyway, by this time I think it's unnecessary to inform you that PKS lawmakers blindly gave their 'yes' to the bill. Shame on them all. It was reported that during the session, bill supporters shouted 'Allahu Akbar' each time a legislator voiced their support for the bill, as if God wanted them to bring to life such abominable law. Or, sarcastically speaking, was that a cry for extreme forgiveness for letting this monster get passed by the House?

On the contrary, I openly applaud the brains and bravery of PDI-P and PDS lawmakers for walking out of the ridiculous session as a sign that they are against the law until the very end of the day, from the very beginning of all this hubbub. Apparently, two Golkar legislators from Bali voting district also walked out on the session, a move that should've been followed by their party-mates. Another legislator, a prominent activist Nursjahbani Katjasungkana from Islamic-based PKB joined in the protest against the bill, although she didn't leave the session. Note to self: with only two choices left, now you really know which party to vote for.

Let's take a look at the bill-turned-law, shall we?

Article 1 defines pornography as "drawings, sketches, illustrations, photographs, texts, voices, sound, moving pictures, animations, cartoons, poetry, conversations, gestures, or other forms of communicative messages through various kinds of media; and/or performances in front of the public, which may incite obscenity, sexual exploitation and/or violate moral ethics in the community." Well, that's the nice translation from Bahasa Indonesia. The translation that best suits the Indonesian meaning would actually say "..., which may arouse lust/sexual desire...". Believe me or not.

This is a reckless definition that's been one of the hottest topic in the debate. In there, porn includes every and any thing that gets you 'up and wanting', even if it is a wrinkly old woman minding her own business or a bra-less cow. Perhaps if we see it in a different way, Indonesians are terribly lucky since all of us get to be a 'porn' star in such an easy way. You may draw, sketch, illustrate, take a picture, write, say, sing, dance, move, mendesah, and anything else; as long as you can 'excite' someone, voila, you're an instant porn star. Lucky you, a religious nation of porn stars!

Article 3 states the goals of the law, two of which are to improve the people's morality (that's something we love to debate on, isn't it?) and to prevent the spread of pornography in the society. Take a deep breath, count to 3, and laugh histerically at those points. To those lawmakers, good luck on preventing the spread of porn. Seriously, you'll need like a gazillion tons of luck to do it -although it only took a pinch of political-gain dreams to start this whole kerfuffle.

Articles 4 to 15 contain the actual prohibitions and exceptions. No one is allowed to produce, make, copy, air, export, import, rent out or provide materials that have these things: intercourse, including 'deviant' intercourses (e.g. homosexuality, bisexuality), sexual violence, masturbation, nudity, an impression of nudity, or sexual organs. Furthermore, no one can lend out, borrow, or download the defined porn materials. Yada, yada, yada. According to Article 42, after one month, you have to burn down your secret porn drawer/cupboard/harddisk; otherwise, you will be prosecuted. Well, unless you can prove that those manga girls in flowery bikinis don't turn you on.

Where should I start? It is blatantly a restriction against our freedom of expression. Just because those lawmakers don't like to watch porn -really?- doesn't mean that they should ban people from making or enjoying it. Such freedom, along with many others at risk from this law, is protected under the Constitution. So, these articles are simply unconstitutional. Additionally, it is also a breach to our private lives, which are our private domain (duh!) not to be groped obscenely by the government. Why would anyone feel that she/he has the power over the personal choices that other people make? The download part of the law reeks of internet censorship. In fact, another article actually give regional govts the power to block internet sites, bringing back ugly memories of the Fitna spat. Despite the imminent ignorance about this law (we're talking about Indonesia, dear), we cannot let this unfunny joke by the DPR to continue.

Article 14 makes the exception to the bans which only includes anything that has to do with a) arts and culture, b) tradition, and c) traditional rites. What strikes me first is that obviously this is an attempt to appease the opposition from many cultural groups and then to push on with this law. This is never a sincere gesture to keep the nation's culture, pluralism, and most of all, identity. Who can classify whether something is art or porn or maybe they overlap? Surely more open-minded people say that porn can be another form of art; after all, it is made for the sake of enjoyment. Or will we be forced to chip out the groin of Michelangelo's David? If someone makes a porn movie with skimpy batik bikinis, will they be exempt?

Oh my, this post is getting extra long...hence the (Part 1) in the title. Frankly, I'm not quite sure if Part 2 will actually come into being later, but at least let it serve as a sign that there's more to question and debate on this law. A last say, "I can't define porn, but I know it when I see it."

Rude Awakening

This enlightening misadventure started with a simple text message from my friend that asked me to take part in an English debate competition held by my university today. That's really nice to be chosen, isn't it? Well, to tell you the truth, we had to be substitutes for the original team; we were informed -and informed is clearly an overstatement, it was more like a yes/no question without the question- yesterday afternoon. Setting bad thoughts aside, I innocently thought this would be, let's say, a way to relive my exhausting and stressful debating past and also to respark my curiosity on all things debatable. I wanted to pick up from where I left off in high school, which wasn't that far. No drum roll, please. So, I absentmindedly happily said "Yeah, let's go."

Everything went fine: we assembled a team of three, gained clues on the motion (Welcome back to THW and THBT! Such memorable abbreviations.), went to Depok, and got to the debating room. And that's precisely where fine flies away, replaced by miserable. The motion for my debate was "THBT poverty in Indonesia is caused by foreign countries" with my team being the government side. Basically, it means we had to blame any random country besides our own for all the hardships most Indonesians have to face. The opposition? Uber debaters from the uni's debating society. Sarcastically, woohoo! So much for resparking my curiosity.

From the very first moment, the motion had me terribly dumbstruck. It was utterly surprising, like finding a clean public restroom outside the malls in Jakarta. In a previous post, I've already told you that I don't do so well in economics, let alone debate about it. I can bitch about abortion rights, freedom of expression, free condoms, and almost anything else except economics. The last time I argued acceptably was on free trade because the sacred well of knowledge, popularly known as Wikipedia, had a long page containing comprehensive arguments for and against it. Unfortunately, my team mates were also in the dark, although they had a better idea on the issue. In the fifteen minutes for case building, we scrambled to make a case blaming the spectres of unfair trade, protectionist policies, and the hidden agendas of evil developed countries for total world domination. *insert sinister laugh here*. To frankly summarize, it was a spectacular babblefest with a dash of subsidy here, a pinch of economic dependency there, and a whole mix of wicked jargons sprinkled everywhere to give the debate an exotic clueless taste. (The cooking analogy ends there, thank you).

As the third speaker, I had to make a grand rebuttal, hacking off at the opponent's arguments. What I did instead was a shameful act of treason against the meaning of grand. I virtually had no rebuttal against their case and I made up things about the "power and influence of the developed countries we depend on to make us go into bad trade/aid agreements". It originally lasted about two-and-a-half minutes, and I couldn't think of any other way to refute their claims. To make sure I survive the day, I didn't allow any of their POIs out of fear of being even worse. At such time of crisis, a little advice from my senior in high school kicked in: "whenever you are at a loss of words and you're stuck, just repeat everything you've said until you can safely close the speech". Repeat everything I certainly did. Blurgh.

After the debate, the adjudicator's comments didn't even need to be translated as a win for the opponent. He blatantly praised them for bringing strong points into the debate and elaborating those points well. On the other hand, I couldn't bring myself to writing what he said about our case; I just can't humiliate myself that badly. I'll tell you what he said about my speech, though. He told me that it lacked substance and I tend to repeat everything again and again. You know, saying the same stuffs over and over, blurting out things I've already said. Basically, using the same stuff for so many times. Just like this. For your information, dear adjudicator, I know that: I'm clueless, not stupid.

In the end, I realize that this is some kind of a rude awakening, if not an outright slap in the face, that I still have tons to learn and many sides to discover. I'm trying to be creepily positive and see this as a reminder, and perhaps a boost, to my future in debating. A bad experience is an experience nonetheless, and people say that experience is the best teacher -apart from the teachers who always give easy tasks and extra recess time. One more thing, kudos to my teammates for being the best impromptu debate team ever.

When Things Get Weird

In Indonesia, things tend to follow the path of least expectations, rather than of least resistance. Weird stuffs pop up in the media each and everyday without any sign of its stopping; in fact, I feel that we're currently in some kind of mystical renaissance. But no, I'm not talking -at least for now- about what the guys in DPR are doing. Frankly, there's plenty of weirdness to go around without involving Senayan. I'm talking about the growing popularity of bogus mysticism (pardon the pleonasm) in the society.

In the telly we have these disturbing REG PRIMBON and REG WETON guys, offering dubious advices based on the clients birthday in Javanese calendar. If they think that it's working...apparently it's true. These ads haven't stopped haunting the holy box, so it must be making mountains of money. In fact, we're getting more of similar stuffs. Oh man, those genies must be paid millions for this. Additionally, we are treated to an unhealthy dose of the infamous Indosiar sinetrons that jumps the evil snake the moment it starts. For one, the sinetron uses dubbing for some unknown reason, perhaps to distract us from the wooden acting. Or the questionable dialogue. Or the surreal storyline. It also has an endless array of poorly-rendered "horrifying" creatures to choose from: giant cobras, dragons, eagles, devils, and the whole lot. Expect Caribou Barbie to drop in soon. The funny thing is, most episodes are set in an imaginary Less-than-Lalaland, while the cars cruising around clearly sports Jakarta's "B" license plate. Here's hoping that Indosiar is actually desperate, not stupid.

Furthermore, a quick glance at any roadside magazine vendor will also reflect this otherworldly trend. Chances are you will have plenty of newspapers and magazines to satisfy your inner hunger for wicked "news" (mind the quotes). I've actually got the chance to see what's inside. Once, and only once. In that edition, a loyal reader gladly shares his encounter with your typical (dead) lady-in-white, while another expounds on the "science of ghosts". Wait, there's more. It also contains ads from quite a selection of dukuns/shamans/magicians/"smart people" who are ready to help you anytime, whether it's for seducing the next door pair-of-boobs, making you emit an irresistible aura, piling up the bucks, or giving Pfizer a run for its money. It seems that they can make all kinds of magical charms and amulets for any intention.

Now you won't be surprised by this particular mystical case in Bali that will make SBY's "Blue Energy" and "Supertoy Rice" tomfooleries sound like science and Donna Sheridan's sexual adventure in Mamma Mia! seem tame. A while ago, an elderly man in the famous Island of the Gods was caught red-handed having a little fling with a female cow. You know what I mean, right? I can't describe it too well here; I have no intention get this blog blocked by our self-righteous government. The poor guy, reports say 70-years old, was so strongly attracted to the cow that he didn't hesitate to do some nasty things; he just couldn't help it. If you think this story ends there, boy, are you so wrong. Later, people found out that the (un)lucky cow was pregnant with what's supposed to be a half-man, half-cow creature. (I know what you're thinking, just hold off those thoughts for a while.) Locals were enraged by this disgraceful action and said that the old guy practically cursed them all. Different doomsayers have their own doomsday scenarios, for example the Porn Bill being passed into law, but as far as I'm concerned, the guy messed up big time. Thus, to keep Hell from raining inferno upon their heads, the villagers decided to conduct a purification ritual to wash off the curse.

Funny enough, the ritual was as sensational as the cow-affair itself. The pregnant cow was tied to a motor boat, dragged for about 3 km into the ocean, and finally they let her drown -bringin with her the whole set of bad luck. At this point, I felt quite sorry for the elderly man because he hasn't got the buzz he deserves. Hello, he was the one who acted wildly, so for the sake of fairness he should get more exposure. Sadly, until today he's not half as popular as the now-drowned cow/victim. Meanwhile, this piece of story's 15 minutes of fame is stealthily fading away.

I rarely mess with other people's cultural practices, but this one is so wrong on so many levels. First of all, the rapist is a poor man, yet the cost of this ritual is quite steep. The punishment will surely send him further down the spiral of poverty. Second, it promotes an illogical way of thinking. Seriously, how can a cow be knocked up by a man, they simply don't match. Maybe the cow has been cheating on somebody else before being impregnated - again, seriously? Lastly, it is an unnecessary killing of animal. The drowning of the criminal cow can only mean that some people prioritize mysticism over logic and science, even in this so-called modern Indonesia, where one can access the internet from a roadside coffee shack.

Stay tuned in for the next weird things!!

A Sad Story and A New Hope

Before I begin anything, I'd like to say that I'm very sorry to have put this blog on hold for almost two weeks. Things have been happening so fast around me that sometimes I just can't get a grip on myself. Lebaran holiday, assignments, stuffs, other stuffs, surprise sickness, Trans-freakin'-Jakarta, and a whole lot of stuffs. Don't wanna sound sentimental, but I wholeheartedly miss my blog. Anyway, I'm glad to be back here -yay!- and I happened to remember that I pledged to join the Blog Action Day 2008 about Poverty, which is scheduled for October 15. I know it's a bit late, but I'll still do this post. (I don't quote Star Wars for nothing, you know).

Poverty. As an Indonesian, I hear the news everyday, I read about it, and most importantly, I see it with my own eyes. Unlike those who instantly associate poverty with bones-and-skin children of Africa and all those publicity stunts with Hollywood stars, it doesn't take more than a trip to the nearest mall, with all its glory, to really see how a considerable part of Indonesians actually live their life. Another mile will give anyone a knock on the car window, with all kinds of people begging them for money.

In the last days of Ramadan, lives were lost in a depressing, yet disgusting parade of poverty. Twenty-three people were crushed to death while struggling to receive Rp30,000 ($3) zakat money from a local businessman. Similar accidents from all around the country also made it into the media. The capital city was invaded by yearly beggars and whatever their intention may be. During Eid festival, more people line up in the governor's and president's houses for a chance to meet their leaders, and get an envelope of money. After the annual Eid homecoming, many unskilled workers -most of them armed only with dreams of a better life- try their luck in the cities with gold-paved streets.

Honestly, this post won't offer much solution because I myself am in a lost of words about this matter. Poverty isn't as simple as running out of money. There are a lot of things that play their part in this phenomenon: education, culture, government, politics, public services, environment, finance, law, just to pop out a few. Furthermore, poverty is like an evil spider that spins its web tangling all nations on this planet, from America to Africa, Indonesia to Israel, Paris to Papua; including you. Addressing this issue is never an easy task; otherwise, it won't be as bad as it is now.

In Indonesia, it is too easy to yell at the government, especially since they somewhat deserve such yelling for choosing to prioritize dividing this nation with draconian bills rather than to fulfill the citizens' basic rights. Our lawmakers have been living in luxury for too long while people don't have access to the most basic housing and schools are literally collapsing on students. They've been flying all around the world for dubious political trips when their constituents have to walk kilometers for a bucket of water.

Opportunities are wide open to contribute to the fight against poverty through many channels. Foreign aid agencies have set up branches here, and local ones are also sprouting everywhere. Additionally, the call to zakat (alms) has grown louder each year with organizers that grow more professional. Somehow, people see such organizations as the best way to help the noble cause.

Nevertheless, I still firmly believe that the government should maximize their role in this global fight. It is too bad for anyone to lose faith in our country's systems and its ability to eradicate poverty because only the government has control over all fields related to poverty and thus, they should be able to come up with a comprehensive plan. We need a government with a clear vision and goodwill to spearhead efforts to lift people from poverty. The people of this proud nation can no longer afford to have a feeble-minded government leading Indonesia to nowhere.

Therefore, I urge each and every fellow Indonesians eligible to vote in the upcoming 2009 elections to bring the best candidates to Senayan and to the Istana Negara. How our future government handles poverty depends on our choice; the power to bring a massive positive change upon this country lies in our very hands. Going golput is a choice, but it is not an answer: how can you look at anyone else after you decide not to help this country build a stronger government? We have been given a chance to help fight poverty through the polling booths, why give it up?

In the end, it is up to you. Just remember, DON'T VOTE UNLESS YOU CARE.

---

This post is part of Blog Action Day 08 - Poverty

Can't Buy Me Love, Even With 700 Billion Dollars

...but it will buy me a lot of everything else.

As long as I can remember, economics has never been my forte. Well, unless you count extorting money from my parents as an economic activity, then I'm skilled at a part of economics. Otherwise, I don't really understand how money could support or strangle a country with all its consequences. I rarely read the business part in the newspaper, and when I do scan an article out of curiosity, I don't have any idea what it's talking about. Taxes, stocks, commodities - they're as alien to me as the internet is to McCain.

However, these days I just can't escape from the news about the US economy meltdown and the possibility of a subsequent worldwide depression. Freddie and Fannie Mac; Lehman Bros; AIG; Washington Mutual. These names are competing for the most tragic story in every channel of news with tales of bankruptcy and all that jazz. Then, the issue has become one of the main points in the US Presidential race with both candidates trying to gain the confidence of voters in this matter. Honestly, I don't know how this whole thing started except about the fact that Americans are borrowing more money than they can afford and the banks were too glad to lend as much money as possible. The cause also has something to do with the housing industry bubble, which eventually burst due to oversupply of homes in the country.

I just updated myself (read: opened Wikipedia) and apparently, the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 -or simply the bailout plan- was passed by the Congress and signed by Dubya. What is this Act? From what I can gather, it will give the US Treasury US$700 billion to go on a distressed-assets shopping spree. It is an attempt to rescue the US economy, and possibly the world's too. I don't know how they're going to throw the lifesaving 700 billion dollars to help the drowning economy. Nevertheless, with the help of some basic math, we can figure out many things we can buy with that ginormous sum of money. (Seven hundred billion dollars, that's a '7' with eleven zeroes following it: 700,000,000,000; just in case you're wondering.) I have traversed the net to compile many stats about this 700 billion, especially for you guys. This will be a silly post; you have been warned.

If you have that kind of money with you, you can give about $2300 to each person in the United States or $6200 per household. Or maybe you want to treat each American to 4500 McDonald's Apple Pie, that's fine. You can also jolt every Brazilian with 2 cups of Starbucks coffee everyday in a year, unless you want to buy a brand new Hummer for each of the 11 million living in Cuba. Why stop there? You can also literally buy Coca-Cola for the whole world, 2-litre bottle every week for a year. Are you game enough? With such money, you can buy 10 Monopoly games for each of the world's 6.7 billion human beings. Last but not least, you can help Alaskans (including Mrs Sarah "Tina-Fey-glasses" Palin) see Russia a lot more clearly from their houses by buying each of them 10.5 million lightbulbs.

If you are more of an individualistic person, you don't have to spend all that money on being Santa Claus. You can run your own country, or buy one for fun. For example, you can buy the Netherlands, which isn't too bad, or two Denmarks. Definitely a great bargain. That $700 billion dollars will also give you the right to humiliate Bill Gates: twelve Bill Gateses to be exact. Feeling devilish? Start your own war: the US govt has spent only a little bit over $600 billion in Iraq so far. Then again, if you somehow think that this monster cannot be stopped, you can prepare yourself and buy 400 space shuttles to launch yourself away to colonize another planet.

I'm trying to put it in local perspective -this is an original work, mind you. In rupiah, $700 billion sounds even scarier: '7' with 11 zeroes, multiply with '9' with 3 zeroes (that's taking the lower estimate). Say your prayers, honey; it's 63 with 14 zeroes. Rp6,300,000,000,000,000. You can give each of Indonesia's 235 million citizens about Rp26,800,000 which is 27.5 times the official minimum wage in Jakarta. Get your abang gorengan, then every Indonesian can get 53,600 of those 500-rupiahs fried snacks. If you'd rather go to the movies, you can spend your life there with 180,000,000,000 tickets on your hand -taking the price in Pondok Indah XXI (Rp35,000). Well, it's not so fun to go see a movie alone, right? Take along the whole country everyday for two years.

I don't know where to look for the fancy statistics, but I'm totally sure that 63-with-14-zeroes rupiahs can educate millions of underprivileged Indonesian children, give them proper nutrition, provide adequate healthcare for the whole country, build decent infrastructure in every province, and be put to good use in helping people get themselves out of poverty. I'm not a fan of the military; however, I'm sure that Indonesian military will appreciate even just a part of the money to bring their equipments to the 21st century. Indonesia can also channel the money to its talented researchers and artists to discover the riches our nature and culture can offer: alternative energy, arts, biology, medicine, music, and many more.

The problem is...Rp6,300,000,000,000,000 doesn't grow on trees and neither does it lie around free for the taking.

Celebrate the Eid!

Jakarta is left by millions of its inhabitants, shops are offering extra discounts, and special foods are springing up everywhere. In television, the wicked have repented and the b*tches have traded their hot skirts for head scarves. It can only mean one thing: Ramadan is over and Idul Fitri (or Lebaran) is just around the corner. If you, like millions of other muslims, go to more religious services during the fasting month, you've probably heard something like "Good muslims grieve at the end of Ramadan, for it means the month of infinite blessing will be over soon". However, I proudly beg to differ. There is no good in weeping for a passing month, right?

Personally, this Ramadan felt like only a snap with all the stuffs I had to do while starting at the university. It ends as suddenly as it came. The fasting was surprisingly not as hard as I had expected, although some scorching days really did test my faith and I had to suppress my anger at the nearly-inhumane TransJakarta. I did enjoy the month since it's even better without all the brouhaha I used to endure in high school. I also appreciate the fact that my life kept going as usual while I was fasting. Previously, I felt like I have to lives: normal life and Ramadan life, which is ridiculous. I believe that Ramadan is a moment to improve our lives for the whole year, not a month of pious alter ego.

Anyway, Ramadan ended today at magrib (dusk) and tomorrow we'll celebrate the Eid. The date is mostly uniform throughout Indonesia after all major Islamic organizations agreed that Eid will fall on October 1. That's another good news because there won't be any confusion like last year when Muhammadiyah ends Ramadan a day early. It was like "Minal aidin wal faizin. When did you celebrate eid?". Not nice at all. As every year, my schedule for the day stays unchanged. Eid prayer in the morning, dad's side of the family gathering, and then my mom's. It's a law set just after the universe was born.

Eid is one huge celebration after fasting for the whole Ramadan. Don't get me wrong guys, I don't do "new Lebaran clothes" and neither do I "fantabulously overdress" for the occasion like some clueless Indonesians. Nevertheless, Lebaran is undoubtedly a fun day that can never be replaced. Precisely what God made it to be -or at least what I think God made it to be. I simply love the whole festive atmosphere everywhere as if the whole world were a party. For one, there will be plenty of the promised ketupat and opor ayam, along with other wonderful food. Oh yeah, it's so close, I can taste it already. I also get to meet my relatives -some of them I never knew I had- and apologize for whatever wrong I might have done him/her. It makes me smile all day, even at my "Lebaran relatives" (most of them from my dad's extended family. Sorry dad!)

Furthermore, I admit that I am quite behind in sending out Lebaran greetings via SMS. Looking back, it was an SMS near-disaster last year because of capacity overload in almost every, if not all, mobile operators. Piles of text messages -if you want to call it so- got stuck the whole day and somehow, the overload somehow tells you how much profit these telecommunication giants make each Lebaran. Perhaps that's why I've already been receiving Lebaran SMS's from about half of everyone. Basically, they're trying to outspeed the trouble; SMS now when it's "quiet" and don't burden the cellphone network anymore. 

What about me? I am pleased to announce that I haven't even composed my message yet. Making the Lebaran greeting is no easy matter because it has to reflect the wonderful spirit of the day, be fun enough to read and remember, and not sound so pretentious. It means no weird Arabic chants and no faux-poetic regretful expressions. In my previous SMS's, the main ingredients are the all-important apology ("minal aidin..., mohon maaf..."), a prayer for the future, and also a "happy holidays" remark. Then, to choose the appropriate words and sentences, I have to thread the thin line between being creepily rigid and being annoyingly perky very very carefully. In Grey's Anatomy terms, maybe right between Preston Burke and Sydney Heron with a little nudge toward Sydney. Well, just wait for it.

So, let's have tons of fun tomorrow, because having fun is never a sin. Start a whole new page in your life, strengthen your family ties, and eat like there's no tomorrow. I was moved by a Lebaran ad by Pertamina, in which a Pertamina gas station helper (yes guys, you don't fill your own gas in Indonesia) shows a customer that the counter starts from zero. It has two meanings: that the station is one of the few reliable stations in the city and also that after Lebaran, we get over our mistakes and start from zero again. Anyway,... .

EID MUBARAK 1429 H. HAPPY EID FITR. SELAMAT HARI RAYA IDUL FITRI. HAVE A BLESSED LEBARAN. MINAL AIDIN WAL FAIZIN. MOHON MAAF LAHIR & BATIN. PLEASE FORGIVE ME IF MY BLOG HAS EVER OFFENDED YOU. HAVE FUN and HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

And that would be my cellphone ringing with another SMS...

Hear No (Indonesian Music) Evil

As a proud Indonesian, I just don't get it why people are so amazed by our neighbour across the strait, Malaysia. Malaysia this, Malaysia that, and whatever Malaysia, oooooh... Oh puh-leeze, just because they're airing fancy tourism advertisments doesn't mean that they're really all that. Frankly, it only shows that they are more than ready to sweeten up their otherwise mediocre stuffs. Indonesia has a lot more than that; it's just that we haven't mastered the art of extorting money from gullible tourists who will pay for anything we label as "unique" or "exotic". If we realize it, Indonesia has so many things to brag about. Maybe that's why Malaysia relentlessly tries to be Indonesia's 34th province -if I counted that correctly anyway: they love our exquisite batik, glorify our reog Ponorogo, and sing our traditional songs. They will do anything to make everyone believe that they're a part of Indonesia. However, as far as I'm concerned, Indonesia is the more developed of the two countries.

Take one thing (which is actually the topic of this post): music. It is a well-known fact that Indonesian music is conquering its neighbours, especially Malaysia and Brunei Darussalam. Citizens of those countries are big fans of Indonesian bands such as Nidji, Gigi, Ungu, and even Radja. What's that I hear just now? Kangen Band? Well, I won't be surprised to know that it has found some followers there too. Songs from Indonesia are dominating radio airplay in Malaysia, day after day, year after year. To quote a Malaysian artist, "KL in the night feels like Jakarta" with all the Indonesian songs playing everywhere. Malaysians are craving for Indonesian music.

On the other hand, Malaysian music hasn't gained much ground in the archipelago. I, for one, feel that they're music is too "dangdut"esque and is so not on the same level with our music. At times, they're not trying hard enough to sound -and look- good, while at other times, they're trying a wee bit too hard. Some songs did create a minor buzz, like the weird "Angguk Angguk Geleng Geleng" but most of them failed miserably. Siti Nurhaliza might be an exception...because she upgraded herself by collaborating heavily with Indonesian musicians. For example, many of her songs are written by Dewiq, and her more recent video clips are made by a famous Indonesian director (forgot his name, but he's really good). See it for yourself, this is her back then before all the collabs; feel sorry for her.

Nevertheless, some people aren't happy with the way things are. Unable to compete, Malaysian artists are struggling to gain followers in their own territory. There has been many reports that a group of Malaysian artists are trying to block Indonesian music from being the ruler of their world. The latest news said that the group even met with the Malaysian Minister of something and Communications to pass the message. They proposed that Malaysian radio station must fill 90% of their airtimes with local (Malaysian) music, leaving only 10% for Indonesian. It seems that they already knew the plan's too wacky because they are ready to negotiate for 80%:20% ratio, if the proposal is deemed to heavy.

One thing: the plan is utterly ridiculous. First of all, it simply tells everyone that those artists cannot learn from the competition and therefore, they always lag behind. They should've realized that they need to develop if they want to survive the Indonesian invasion. Frankly, it is not Indonesia's fault if they can't or don't want to learn from us and keep making all those lame dangdut songs. Second, it's too much intervention. Radio playlists are determined from many factors, one of them is how popular it is among the audience. If Indonesian songs are so wanted there, they automatically top all the charts. The limitation will only violate the supply and demand relationship; it puts radio stations at risk of being left by their listeners. Furthermore, the plan will not have any effect to business there. It can't break the wave of Indonesian music's popularity among Malaysians. When they can't listen to Indonesian songs on radio, they'll simply go to a music store and buy the CD. As simple as that. Ultimately, it is unfair for the Malaysian people. They need good music and they have the full freedom to choose what they listen to. Apparently, our music can fulfill the need better. So please let them enjoy it. Why would those Malaysian artist sacrifice their own people by forcing them to listen to unwanted music?

A "Quickie" with God

Aaaah...Ramadan, the month of selfless sacrifice and pure devotion. Heaven breaks loose and everybody becomes an angel. Mosques are packed with people hoping to gain everything Ramadan has to offer. They go to Qur'an recitals and maybe try to finish all 114 surahs in 30 days (Kind late, but good luck!). Some participate in religious discussion groups to enrich their knowledge about Islam. In the last 10 days of the month, people go to their favorite mosques to do i'tikaf -devoting the night for God, only God, and nothing but God. Although I haven't quite reached that level, I believe that these practices are beneficial to us, like all religious practices are.

But those are not what I'm going to blog about. Instead, I'm writing about a practice unique to the fasting month (apart from watching those horrible Ramadan sinetrons or Islamic talkshows hosted by overpaid ustads): the tarawih prayer/salat. According to everyone else, this is a very recommended sunnah. It's not compulsory, but it earns you a giant truckload of good deeds - if you really want to count your blessings. Basically, tarawih is done like the plain ol' salat, only the number of rakaats differ. The "rule" states that it is performed in even number of rakaats, starting from two. In practice, people also differ: most people do 8 rakaats, 20 is also common, although 30 or 40 is not unheard of. Me? I personally prefer 8, if I'm in a mood to do tarawih at all. (I'm not that bad, but now you know that I don't walk with a halo over my head).

Now, that brings us to my annual experience at one of my relative's house. The family hosts a breaking-the-fast gathering every year, inviting extended families plus children and an ustad from an orphanage. It starts from more than an hour before magrib, and they (emphasis on they) do Qur'an recitals waiting for the azan magrib to be heard. No story to tell there...until tarawih. This particular ustad, who is the always the same year after year, does the tarawih in 20 rakaats, divided into 10 sets of 2 rakaats. Obviously, those 20 rakaats take more time than my preferred 8-rakaat prayer does; however, that's not the source of my agony.

The ustad, as the imam (leader of the congregation), loves to speed up all the prayers, surahs, and moves. Probably, he's trying to minimize the time required to perform all 20 rakaats, but his speed is somewhat untolerable. Coming from me, you just have to believe that he is obscenely fast. For one, his surah reading speed will humble any fast-talking gossiper you meet. Some may say that he's blessed with an agile tongue; I say he's ridiculous. Furthermore,  he completes his salat moves (e.g. ruku' and sujud) faster than you can say "supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" or "hidup adalah perbuatan". When doing the sujud, my head hardly touches the prayer mat when he's starting the next move. And he left nothing unaccelerated, even the after-salat zikir sounds like random chants to the infidel untrained ears.

What's the point of all those 20 rakaats if their only meaning is a "quickie" with God, instead of a deep and full devotion to the Almighty. I don't know if the imam actually recites all the salat prayers, let alone if he does that correctly. For God's sake, he's the imam! He should show utmost piety to his congregation, not show off that he can finish the whole thing in a jiffy. Even I know that in salat, there's a principle called tuma'ninah which requires us to do every move and say every prayer with serenity, calmness, tranquility. These qualities are needed to help us understand what we're saying. The prayers won't mean anything if they just flew off like a bullet because after all, what we can gain from salat depends on how we take in its wonderful essences.

So please, spare us from your meaningless salat...It's far better to do 8 rakaat with your full, undivided attention than 20 without any benefit. Finally, I'd like to quote Bree from Desperate Housewives: "I go for worship, not for a workout."

Porn Bill: Back From the Dead

If you're an Indonesian political party, how do you woo "muslim" voters to pick your party in next year's election? To some factions in the DPR (Indonesia's lower house), the answer is wickedly simple: you revive a controversial law that will ban whatever things deemed pornographic by those lawmakers. It was gloriously struck down about three or four years ago, after being the subject of many heated debates. As far as the "debate" went, it was more like a one-sided debate since the pro-side basically just made pointless show-of-force rallies without any real argument. The discussion went on and on for so long...

...and somehow, deliberations were finally stopped and the law was left to rot. Or so we thought.

Earlier this month, the media caught our honorable lawmakers rekindling their lost love. It is now renamed as Pornography Bill, dropping the infamous pornoaction part which is actually a made-up word by the former committee. (Who's had the stupidity to coin that word? What a dumb joke, and I'm laughing.) It is supported by all but two factions, giving it an easy pass if the House is (dys)functional enough to do so. The pair of factions opposing the bill are PDI-P (Indonesian Democratic Party - Struggle) and PDS (Prosperous Peace Party) with 122 seats combined out of 550. They have shown a firm stance against anything that might compromise the identity of our great nation and its Bhinneka Tunggal Ika. In the process, they also defended the people's rights to freedom of expression and the freedom to choose.

On the other hand, the supporting factions want to haste the deliberation of the bill and make it into a law as soon as possible. This group includes ruling Golkar and Demokrat parties, and an array of other parties: PAN, PKB, PPP, PPP, PBR, and of course, PKS. Surprise, surprise...not. The latter wants the law so badly that they're pushing for its endorsement before Lebaran as a "Ramadan present". It's so "sweet", your tummy will hurt. Other than revealing that PKS is a lousy present-giver, this law shows what these parties are craving: votes from Indonesia's muslim majority in the 2009 elections. If not for that, why would Golkar, which boasts itself as a centrist-nationalist party, pitch in on this laughable bill?

They are trying to fool people into believing that this bill is about saving the moral of Indonesians, claimed to be ruined by porn, among other things. "Thou shalt accept porn bill, for it is salvation...and millions of precious votes." People are made to think that this bill will develop religious (i.e. Islamic) values in the society by banning anything related to sexualism. Thus, the good-for-nothing MUI (Indonesian Council of Ulama) happily threw their weight behind this bill.

I believe that you are smarter than that. The unclear definition of pornography in the bill is very prone to be abused. Seriously, I'd like to ask how can those lawmakers believe that they can fairly define what pornography is. Besides, the conservative nature of Islamist parties in the House will certainly take things to even worse direction. In fact, the law is more likely to hurt whom it should protect. A law should be made as carefully as possible, since it will be applied to all parts of the country and it will affect people's lives. We must not take any risk by enacting a law with such vagueness. Last but not least, this law is blatantly based on Islamic law which should be applied, as a religious obligation, only personally. This proud nation stands firmly on its core principles of Pancasila and no one is allowed take that away from us.

Fool Me Twice, Shame on Me

First, he wanted to turn water into fuel. As it progressed, the project generated more ridicule than electricity through its dubious processes invented by a mysterious, if not fake, inventor. Then, he promoted a newly-developed high-productivity rice plant dubbed Supertoy, a variety that can be harvested multiple times without replanting. It is now revealed to be another hoax. Next time we see him in the news, he'll be turning water into wine or send a feast down from the sky.

Who is this certain "he" are we talking about? Boy, I don't expect him to be a government big shot, let alone be a president. He'd be one ridiculous president, if you ask me. So, once again, who is this "he"?

It hurts me to say this (believe me, I'm crying on the inside), but the "he" is our very own President of the Republic of Indonesia, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. I think he totally beat the paranormal out of those creepy "reg weton" and "reg primbon" guys. He's only another step away from claiming himself to be a prophet sent down to fix this nation and clean my room. Seriously, I don't get it how he could simply fall into the same hole twice. Is he trying to get an instant popularity boost before the election or is he just plain gullible?

So, Mister Miracle Worker here quickly denied any link to the project-turned-hoax, but what can he do? The media has been feeding on this story like crazy and now, everybody knows that the Supertoy is indeed a toy. In affected area Purworejo, enraged farmers burned their unproducing fields, fueling further media circus. Panicky SBY camp tried to clear up the mess, saying that the prez was only fulfilling an invitation to promote the toy. They blamed the company that developed the rice variety for not conducting thorough tests and also for cutting so many corners to release the seeds. "Coincidentally" (mind the quotes), the company is led by none other than Heru Lelono, the presidential staff who also goaded SBY into the Blue Energy fiasco. Anyway, the die is cast and now everybody openly questions the professionalism of RI-1.

Aaargh, I don't know where to start or what to write! This is so stupid on so many levels. SBY was duped by his own staff member into shameful schemes, twice, as if once is not enough. There are allegations that Mr. HL was involved in the hoax with a big neon sign saying "nepotism": previously, he was already close to SBY from some sorta organization. He should take the responsibility to somehow clean up this mess, but you can see that Heru is still here, safe and sound. Oh please, how can you pull a presidential prank twice and get away with it?

Then, how could the company release the rice seeds before its being certified by the Ministry of Agriculture? News sources said that the new variety hasn't been properly tested, although there are strict rules and a long road before a rice variety can be used for commercial purposes. I guess it is not so wrong to say that there must've been some "play" in the process. Presidential play much? I'm not so surprised.

Next, how can he not know about what he's promoting? His being a president is reason enough to be extra careful in endorsing anything, especially before facing an election. He made the mistake once when endorsing the Blue Energy, now he's more than glad to repeat it. Ugh, he could've simply waved his hand and his aides will happily research into the Supertoy. Maybe he wouldn't have to deal with all this brouhaha had he done his tiny bit of homework...

And he wants to run for president again next year? Blurgh. I hope he will at least think twice before choosing to promote his next solution-to-all-life's-problems rather than to watch Rihanna's latest video. Come on, everybody knows that Disturbia is much better than hectares of empty rice plants. (Well, duh!)

I Offended the Busway, and I Paid for It

When I was writing my last post, I didn't expect any retaliation from TransJakarta. Honestly, it didn't even occur to me to diss the bus. That time, I was innocently sharing all my experiences in being a busway regular: the long walk between shelters under the sweltering heat, the mysterious delays of the buses. It's kinda fun because I believe that some of you haven't tried it. And I had a lot to say about TransJakarta anyway.

Call it a divine punishment or anything you want, but the busway successfully made me suffer this week. On Monday, I couldn't go home until 6 o'clock-something. I proceeded to the Salemba UI shelter as usual with a happy, unsuspecting heart. Well, the fun ended there. The shelter was already quite packed, but it turns out that most of the crowd were lining for the bus to Matraman like I. Just my wonderful luck! To allow us more time to let in the bustling busway shelter atmosphere, no bus came for almost fifteen minutes...only on my side. The other side, heading to Ancol, got rows of mostly-empty buses in a tight conga line.

When a bus finally came, the passengers inside were packed more tightly than Dewi Persik's bum in her jeans. No-no, I didn't pay Rp 3500 to get squeezed in a bus of many smells, so I gladly let it go. Then another bus came, not so full, but the holy guardian of busway doors only allowed half of the line to board it. If you notice this post's pattern, you can guess what's coming: yeah, the guy in front of me got on the promised bus, but I can only curse him wave him goodbye. Another ten minutes, another grey bus finally approached the shelter with enough space to let this humble man in. Finally I could start the journey home...although I couldn't say that it's a fun journey.

The pattern prevails; the busway god hadn't forgiven me yet. I had to make full use of my hands and feet during the ride, i.e. I had to stand in the narrow aisle, hands holding fast to the grippie-thingy. (If you have the heart to help me expand my vocab, help me change that "grippie-thingy".) Salemba to Matraman, standing tall; Matraman to Dukuh Atas, standing and surviving; Dukuh Atas to Al-Azhar; hardly even standing. I should really ask for a partial refund of my 3500 rupiahs since I didn't use any seating facility on the bus. Blurgh.

The next day, I had to ride the bus again and I think the busway still held some grudge. I had to wait for ages before a bus came, without any empty seat. Then, from Salemba to Dukuh, the faux-scheduling system intervened. At one point before Manggarai, the bus suddenly stopped for nothing. It just stayed in the middle of the lane, which was actually empty. You cannot call me impatient: I had waited for a considerable time before my trip resumed at full speed.

Fortunately, the remainder of the trip wasn't as torturous. I finally got a seat because after one particular shelter the bus became empty like a mosque after Ramadan. The mighty busway had been appeased. Hurray!

Twice the Ride

Oh yeah. It didn't take too long before I finally used the TransJakarta busway service from my university in Salemba to my high school Al-Azhar 1. In fact, I've already done the route twice in three days, with another test-ride to measure the time required. The best thing about it is that both ends of my public transport journey are right where I need them to be. The bus shelter in Salemba is right in front of my campus, hence the name "Salemba UI", while the one in Al-Azhar is, well, right in front of the mosque, hence "Masjid Agung". From Salemba UI, I go to Matraman I shelter to transfer to another route, which takes me to Dukuh Atas. Then, I change routes once again to reach my beloved Al-Azhar campus. Actually, I've already known that I can do the route on Bang Yos' legacy project, but that knowledge didn't help me withstand all the shocks from the unpredictable adventure.

First of all, when I told you about changing routes, I really mean it. Don't imagine that route transfer is simply strolling to another door in the same kaleng kerupuk bus shelter. Click on the image above, look for Matraman I and Dukuh Atas 2. You'll notice that both of them are connected by a long oval to another shelter. If there were a legend for the map, the explanation for the oval would be "a hellish walk on a ridiculously long bridge through the city's heat and pollution, plus beggars if you're lucky enough". Basically, they're separate stops which are close enough to each other to make people walk far enough between them. Or perhaps the bridges are built-in jogging tracks to keep Jakartans healthy.

Next, I was dumbfounded by how the faux-scheduling system works. If, in any case, there are buses that goes too closely between each other, the one at the back will go ultra-slowly to let the bus in front gain an acceptable distance. It is a way to avoid rows of buses in one shelter and to have some time between buses. That won't bother you at all, unless you're riding the second bus and have a short temper. You paid the same price for your ticket like the passengers of the first bus, so why do you have to be delayed just for the freakin' system to look great? It's not even our fault that the buses often clump together.

In conclusion, I now understand why so many people still hesitate to ride TransJakarta. Well, frankly, I'm not so satisfied with it either. If it wasn't for the traffic jam-free portions of the route, I'd rather not use it. The city council has tons of stuffs to improve so that the city's first real pulic transportation system can do what it's supposed to do the from the very first place. It has taken so much of already-rare road spaces, so it'd better be worth it, soon.

Happy Ramadan for Everyone

It's here and it's staying for the whole month, and it's not your in-laws. Although I might seem a wee bit unwelcoming to Ramadan in the previous post, I do look forward to the festive month. This is the moment when it's OK to be so freaking pious without any "tobat loe?" ("look who's repenting?") comment and this is also the moment when you can go out till waay late at night without being interrogated...err, I should stop before I ruin the Ramadan magic.

Today, we performed the first day of self-control. Many of us (read: I) are still in mental confusion due to the fact that this year's Ramadan came right after the start of university activities. It simply began before I had known it would come soon. Frankly, I had so many thoughts like "where to go for lunch?" or "a cold drink will be totally nice" earlier, especially because now I don't live in an exclusively muslim community. It felt quite comfortable actually; there's no more ridiculous Ramadan myths from sources as reliable as Paris Hilton and it's not like the nonmuslims show off what they're eating for lunch. I just need to constantly remind myself that I'm fasting, that's all.

Undeniably, this is only the start of Ramadan. There are millions of opportunities to grab in this holy month to get to know God better and essentially be a better person to everyone, including yourself. That's what Islam rahmatan lil 'alamin means, right? Ramadan is no Ramadan unless it motivates you to do good each and everyday in all facet of life. We don't need bearded religiofakers who can only spread hatred among the people in the name of religion; we need people with a functioning conscience who can make their lives be of benefit to mankind.

To start things off, I humbly apologize for any mistake I might have done, any words that might've hurt (sorry to Malaysians), and also any typo since I'm doing my blog with my eyes half-shut after 10 PM. Happy Ramadan for Everyone!

Now you can go back to watching your favorite gossip shows, Ramadan style!

Fasting Comes (Too) Fast (Enough)?

It's that time of the year again, the fasting month of Ramadan. Yeah, I know what you're thinking, "Lebaran was just over, wasn't it?...What, it's been a year already?!" I don't know why, but Ramadan has successfully caught me by surprise each year. I guess I was deceived by the false sense of security after Idul Fitri. (Wait, for the sake of being not-so-formal, I'll use Lebaran to refer to Idul Fitri hereafter)

It is totally normal, if not enjoyable, to experience some kind of "Lebaran hangover" after each occasion: you say sorry to anyone you meet during the hangover, including your best frenemies; you happily struggle to chat with your "Lebaran relatives" (the err-what's-his-name extended family you only see once a year during Lebaran feast); and you eat like there's no tomorrow -I can smell the Ketupat & Opor Ayam already. After you recover from the hangover, all you think is "I'm done, no more fasting. Viva la kaki lima! Let's live to eat." The world becomes one ginormous foodcourt. Then, as you gorge yourself on anything for almost a year, ads for Ramadan programs -including Ramadan editions of gossip shows- start to invade the television, again.

As the next Ramadan approaches, you begin to feel left behind, while everybody else is so gung-ho welcoming the blessed month. The one thing that assures you that Ramadan is coming is the media's covering skyrocketing food prices. In my case, I would only realize that the holy month's coming when people start apologizing to each other to "cleanse" themselves before entering Ramadan. My cellphone would start to ring continuously as my contacts begin to spread the love, and mobile operators can start amassing the "grace" early: for those who are still skeptical about Ramadan's being a bountiful month, just ask Telkomsel. Yet, I wouldn't really grasp the urgency until my mom wakes me so freakin' early in the morning for the sahur meal. Blurgh. No, not blurgh for Ramadan; but blurgh for my being so oblivious.

At this point, I question myself for using the pronoun you to describe my personal experiences related to Ramadan since my Ramadan and Lebaran traditions are somewhat off-the-beaten-track. I was writing as if all of you were so un-gung-ho about the fasting month, or as if all of you have got "Lebaran relatives" (oh God, just admit it already that you have such relative). Anyway, let's welcome Ramadan the Blessed Month with embracing arms and get the most out of it.

A Historical Time for Bloggers

...and it's not about my coming back here. First things first, hiya everyone! Totally sorry for my first long absence: 3 weeks. I really miss ranting wildly about whatever stuffs writing about everything going on in my life, which may also concern you -or it may not, I don't care anyway. During that period, a lot of things transpired, like Paris Hilton's joining the US presidential race, Indonesia's cointinuing badminton legacy, Phelps' breaking records, Indonesia's 63rd Independence Day celebration, and whatever you can find in Yahoo! News.

Anyhoo, let's move on to the main topic. Bloggers - their (or perhaps our) voice counts. The Democratic National Committee realizes that it can reach a broader audience by recruiting bloggers into their publicity legion since blogs cater to a more specific group of people. Each state is represented by a blogger, and so are other demographic, if not made-up, groups. (An Argentinian cattle rancher, for example, serves the US expat community in Buenos Aires). There are 120 blogs with credentials from the Democratic Party; their bloggers have access to the convention floor in Pepsi Center, Denver, and they have the chance to follow the state delegations. Another 500 set up a huge tent outside as their own media center. Let's see the GOP use the "series of tubes" for their advantage.

Coming home to Indonesia, I think it is imperative that bloggers are empowered to stimulate Indonesian politics, develop thoughts, and give a boost to the coming elections. Of course, we can't really expect blogs flaunting their political stances outright like right- or left-leaning; liberal, conservative, or even centrist. Our political constellation doesn't really set those lines, which should make any person in his/her right mind to question the necessity of thirty-four parties. Oh wait, thirty-eight parties; forty four if you're in Aceh. Then again, we'll just have to make do with this outrageous situation. Blogs can participate in educating the public and in advancing political ideas because they are gaining more and more popularity among Indonesian net-goers. Furthermore, it will also promote tolerance between different views and political camps. No longer will there be useless uneducated debates with sentences more offensive than Habib Rizieq.

Viva Bloggers!