Testing mobile blogging

I am testing the amazing mobile internet technology, blogging on the move. Yes the information age is far from over.
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Batavia yang Beringas

Beringas is an Indonesian adjective word that means: in a constant state of anger fluctuation, fierce, having a spiky temperament, capable of finishing a work or a life quickly, swiftly, crudely and devastatingly, always on the edge emotionally, and, lastly from me, have the capability or the desire to eat a whole homo sapiens alive. I don’t know the origin of the word, it might be an archaic Malay or Java. But that is my impression of Jakarta in the first month. Jakarta, Jakartans, and everything in it, them, are quite “beringas”. From the streets, the people, the things, and down to the mosquitoes. They all suck bloods out of you. I have nothing but my conscience. And everyday I have to trade it away to live. A Dutch painting of old Jakarta, Batavia Castle, at the Rijk Museum in Amsterdam still represents quite accurately everyday life (or butchery) today. The coconut trees sway tall and elegant like the rows of highrises on Sudirman-Thamrin and Kuningan. The market stalls on the left are the many hectic commercial places ranging from the tiny shed under a plastic tent to a gigantic upscale Grand Indonesia mall. The tropic clouds are still deceptively soft and 'cushionee' until the annual rain peak when they pour down the water and drown the city. I call it the Baptism Day. The river Ciliwung is the unattended bride of the city. The castle on the background is carefully and intentionally screened. It is all the unseen forces, the power centers, and the master puppets that each control one or few of the millions (8.8 to be exact) of strings below. Now the people scene in the fore-and-midground is the part that is more interesting to me. It represents all hues of richness or poorness of life. A rich man might have a poor heart (in health and in deed) and vice and versa. That is Jakarta, charming but dreaded. Beringas.

a good talk

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May Notice

Life is under construction, will resume business when done.

Kelu Malaikat

“ku susuri lembah nurani namun tak kudapat apa

di taman jiwa ku duduk dan bertanya pada asa yang resah”

– Kelu by Flabbergasting!

Angel, our friend is amazing. The quote above is from her latest poem on her blog. It’s always interesting to read poem from people you know. Because then you have another way to understanding or experiencing the magic. The particular passage above expands or illuminates the territory of the inner soul. I also see it as a painter painting the landscape of the heart, it’s vast and seemingly endless. Before all this I only know her as a sweet multi-talented girl that is occasionally strange. But little that I know she is also a psycho (in a “Van Gogh”tian’s style) when writing a poem. The photo above is from a photo I took today of the mountains of Kalimantan on my way from Banjarmasin to Balikpapan. I think if feelings have eyes, the quoted passage above will look something like that photo. The rest of the poem is even more overwhelming.

A Word with A Thousand Thoughts

Today, Cissy sent me an interesting excerpt from a travel book she is reading. Every cities has a word that defined it, a word that ALL people in the city is thinking at any moment when you stop and ask them. Rome is SEX, Vatican is POWER, NYC is ACHIVE, LA is SUCCEED, Stockholm is CONFORM, Naples is POWER. Now, I am thinking what if we can tweet our life. What if one month is one minute, what would you tweet?

"go and see"

Palangka

Hey, "clean city" in Indonesia is not a myth. Pardon my Jakartan snobbishness who sometimes sees and measures the rest of the country with it's own glasses including on city progress. Palangka Raya is clean and nice. It is the capital of Central Kalimantan and has a population of 110,000+ only. It is located inland just like Columbus. I love the buildings here all have huge and expressive roofs. Many big to medium normal buildings spent a lot of effort on the top. Just like the Baroque cities like Vienna or Prague. Palangka is a modest city with attitude and style. I might live here someday.