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Barack Obama everywhere

The 44th President of the United States, Barrack Obama, seems to take the global attention. Face Bookers are talking about him, medias are also talking about him...and some person who look like Obama are also showing up, from Miami (a Cuban immigrant), then from Honduras, and also from Indonesia...Ilham Anas. I found him through the daily journal for children "Berani", but on the internet amazingly I found him in the Vietnamese VN Express' news, and another blog shows the Malaysian newspaper, the Sun.

Hopefully the idea of change can be taken into a real account, then there would be more little Obama around the world...kids who would brave enough to dream about changing the world into a better world. It won't be just a resemblance of physical appearance, but the most important thing of all...the same vision of change!

A lot of expectation came on Obama's shoulders to carry on. A friend's blog also share his expectation or even how the world expects a new leadership style from Obama.

In another media, the Chinese lunar New Year made this media calculate his chinese horoscope. In an article "Year of the Ox Looking Very Un-Bullish", it is even predicted

"The new U.S. president is not having good luck this year. His honeymoon will only be short-lived," said fortuneteller Alion Yeo, predicting Obama may even face impeachment in his first year in office. "The Year of the Ox looks slightly better and less dire than last year, but it will still be bumpy."

Luckily, there is another opinion on that...

But Malaysian numerologist Weng Shi Ming suggested Obama's birth year would offset his bad luck. Weng said the symmetry of 1961 is "the perfect mix of ying and yang," rendering Obama "immune to the effects of 44."

I don't really want to know what his horoscope might say, but I do know that we do need to pray for him so the dream for the changing world can be taken into a reality, at least a new step into a better future...

A New Approach in the New Year

It seems a bit tiring to maintain both citizen journalism and blog, they are a bit different for me. CJ is my way of sharing news, while my blog is my online diary of being a citizen reporter. It would be easier for me to blog, but the value of the news would be a bit different... I would perhaps just write down all the new experience of life. But, then I would not be digging into more comprehensive information on the topic.

I wrote about my battling mind in seeking the essence of being a citizen reporter, in "Pewarta Warga: Pencarian Jati Diri (1)", and "Pewarta Warga: Pencarian Jati Diri (2)". Am I being more citizen or more journalist? Actually I've never thinking of myself as a journalist. I'm a citizen reporting through a citizen journalism website...

Time is the only obstacle right now. Having no assistant at home made it more difficult to work on articles these days.

Stepping into 2009: My End of the Year Reflection as a Citizen Reporter

Ending the year 2008 means that I've been diving in citizen journalism for almost two years. My end of the year reflection is about my being a citizen reporter. There are three part of articles; Refleksi Seorang Pewarta Warga di Penghujung 2008, Pewarta Warga: Pencarian Jati Diri (1), Pewarta Warga: Pencarian Jati Diri (2)

Yet, no time to translate it into English...And still no time to continue into the next article Pewarta Warga: Mencari Media yang Tepat.

It is still the same song about time management...
There are so much in my head...
Ready to pop out..
Blowing away my head into the horizon of the cyberspace...
Yet so many commitments are still awaiting me...
So real...so urgent...
Clinging to me not to loose me into the cyberworld...
Keeping me sane enough to realize my duty today...

Majapahit, the bitterness approach of reviving glory

Good intention is not always going the right way. Majapahit, the name came from the bitterness of the fruit named Maja. Yet, the good intention to revive the glorious achievement of Majapahit came through the wrong path.

It is nice to have the internet storing articles from the past edition. I found this article dated back from 2005.

Deserted historical site of past glories

The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Sat, 08/27/2005 10:31 AM | Life

Evi Mariani, The Jakarta Post/Mojokerto, East Java

Archeologists dream of turning Indonesia's biggest excavation site in Trowulan, East Java, into an education center and tourist destination as interesting as Borobudur and Prambanan.

Believed to be the center of the Majapahit kingdom from the 13th century to 15th century, the site reveals not only the past glory of Majapahit's ancient terra-cotta art, culture and political system, but also the roots of Javanese trade and agricultural history.

In 1985, a number of archeologists completed a book containing a master plan for the 99 square kilometer site.

Over the last 20 years some progress has been made at the site. However, the government has failed to play a major role in the project, leaving the site largely undeveloped. Although the government did form an agency to salvage the site, the agency was unable to accomplish much because of a severe lack of funding.

Research from 18th century

Research and restoration work at the Trowulan site dates back to the 18th century. The results of the first research were published in Raffles' History of Java in 1817.

History shows that the first work at the site was initiated by A.A Kromojoyo Adinegoro, the Mojokerto regent who in 1914 found the remnants of Candi Tikus (Tikus Temple).

Adinegoro also pioneered the development of a museum to house the Majapahit artifacts found in Trowulan. The museum, located in the town of Trowulan, has more than 84,000 pieces from all over East Java.

Another important figure in the Trowulan restoration was Henri Maclaine Pont, an architect who in the 1920s found a large pond that is believed to have been a reservoir in a Majapahit irrigation system. The pond is now known as Segaran Pond.

In a 1926 book written in Dutch, Pont gathered information on the ancient irrigation system in Trowulan, which he found had canals.

French historian Denys Lombard wrote in his tome about Java that although the Trowulan pond was not as large as the water reservoir in Angkor, Cambodia, it showed that the Javanese were using hydraulic systems for agriculture since as early as the 9th century.

Pont also led an excavation project in the mid-1920s, finding a number of artifacts now housed in Trowulan Museum.

The restoration has continued slowly over the years. Of more than a dozen structures -- temples, gates, tombs -- only five have been restored completely.

The five are the water reservoir, Kolam Segaran, a spring temple, Candi Tikus, the Candi Brahu cremation temple, Candi Bajang Ratu gate and the gate to Candi Wringin Lawang.

Slow pace of restoration

There are at least three buildings, Candi Gentong, Candi Minak Jinggo and Candi Kedaton, that are in the process of being restored. However, a lack of funds has slowed the work.

The excavation for Candi Kedaton's restoration has been stopped for about a decade, while the excavation for Candi Gentong is going on, but at a snail's pace.

Other sites also have gone through some restoration. Sadly, the work, although paved with good intentions, has removed the historical value of some of the sites.

For example, a place called Pendopo Agung is believed to be the former main hall of the palace. But a newly built structure glorifying the East Java Brawijaya Military Command now covers the place.

There is no trace of the former palace. Instead, the walls of the modern hall is filled with pictures of Brawijaya military commanders.

Separately, the ancient tomb Sitihinggil was ""restored"" in the 1960s, when some donors helped locals construct a new, modern building right on top of the terra-cotta brick foundation.

Sitihinggil has been for decades one of the main destinations for spiritual visits to Trowulan. Another destination is the tomb of Cempo Princess.

Locals say these two places can get crowded at night, when people gather to pray.

They come from around Java to ask for blessings, good luck or love.

Indeed, while very few tourists visiting Trowulan for its archeological treasures, a reasonable number of visitors come to Trowulan for religious or spiritual reasons.

One of the main destinations for religious tours is Troloyo Tomb, an early Islamic tomb from the Majapahit period.

Due to the number of visitors the local administration, once again with good intentions, constructed a large complex with little resemblance to the Majapahit architectural style.

Indonesian archeologists, once upon a time, had a dream, a faded and deserted dream, as lonely as the town and the museum.

Then a president and a minister would like to come as the one who revived the glory. The Majapahit Exhibition in the National Museum was very nice, but they would like people to come to visit the site...

I don't know the process of making this dream come true...but suddenly...

Govt ruined Majapahit artifacts

The Jakarta Post , JAKARTA | Thu, 01/15/2009 3:29 PM | Headlines

The government admitted Wednesday the construction of Majapahit Park in Trowulan, East Javaa project initiated by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono - has ruined ancient artifacts buried beneath the site, and announced a plan to relocate the park immediately.

Bowing to mounting public pressure, Minister for Culture and Tourism Jero Wacik told reporters in Jakarta that the decision had been reached after he and several senior archeologists and architects had spoken about the damages to artifacts of the ancient Majapahit kingdom on the site. "I swear, I never meant to destroy Indonesia's heritage by constructing the Majapahit Park. I just wanted to follow the presidential instruction to revive the civilization of the Majapahit Kingdom as our heritage and to introduce it to young people," he said.

The project, initiated by Yudhoyono in November 2008 to establish a public cultural center dedicated to the ancient Majapahit kingdom, which was at the height of its powers in the 13th century, is located on a 2,200 square-meter plot just north of the center of what was once Trowulanthe largest city in the kingdom.

A number of archeologists have said the park construction, which sunk support pillars into the ground, had destroyed ancient stones, walls and artifacts.

understand why the archeologists are mad at me. I'm also angry at the situation. This is human error and we have to fix it rather than blaming one another," Jero said.

"We have decided to relocate Majapahit Park to another area to prevent further damage to the artifacts."

Arya Abieta, a member of the team appointed to evaluate the damage, said the archeologists and architects working in the area had recommended that the park instead be developed on the edges of the historical site.

can use the area that has been heavily looted by locals. It will be safer than building on top of the remaining artifacts," Arya said.

The Trowulan site, located in Mojokerto, 70 kilometers southwest of Surabaya, East Java, was the site of tradition full-moon rituals during the golden era of the Majapahit Kingdom.

Long after the decline of the kingdom in 14th century, locals began to loot the palace and religious buildings, including Tikus Temple. Many artifacts have been stolen or destroyed.

"No one seemed to care much about this old city before the Majapahit Park project began. Now, every one seems to care, and this is good because we have to protect the Majapahit artifacts," Jero said. (naf)

As an architect my first reaction was asking "Weren't they doing the AMDAL procedure?", as they do need to go through AMDAL to start building on a site like Trowulan. The destruction is too precious if it is only to take public attention. The money spent should be quite a big sum already...why it is happened?

First of all, it is miscommunication. The owner of the project did not really know what they would like to present to the public. Then the architect chosen for this project worked as a drafter designing building without asking site inspection...or did a site inspection without getting the information on how precious an archeological site is...

Pusat Informasi Majapahit(PIM) was actually founded in 2007 according to this article from Mojokerto. Yet, between the two years of development into a very big leap of "the grandeur of Majapahit" in the form of a big project of "destruction".

The comment from the IAI Jabar mentioned in an article in Kompas.com is also worth noted, sometimes the project owner in Indonesia did not really respect the architect. It's the mentality of "I've got the money...and you should provide the drawing I need a.s.a.p..."

If there is one thing that I really hate here in Indonesia, then it is the reason "human error". Airplane crash, car accidents...all blamed to the human error, and now this project... There are human errors, but unprofessional error. The real owner of that project should be the archeologists and the local government of Mojokerto. The investor could be the Ministry for Culture and Tourism, and as the investor they should know why they are investing in that site...and how to get their investment worthwhile: by keeping its function!

Then come the unprofessional approach towards the project. Instead of digging into its function, those who involved in that project prefer to remake the grandeur of Majapahit by making a new grand building on the top of its spirit.

We don't want to blame anybody, and it is sad that the person who leaks this story should be removed from his post. But we should learn not to make a silly human error...

I was fascinated to see those bricks taken from Trowulan in the Majapahit Exhibition (unfortunately my photos are gone...perhaps it was gone when the virus came into my computer)...they were intact! Big sizes, and solid, not one of the red bricks we are seeing these days.

Perhaps it is just like what Christina Kreps,an American museum curator, said about Indonesian museums. Sometimes we do not value our artifacts as we think that they are common things, we do have it at home...use it, so it is not that "precious". I think that would be another story if we are talking about gold, perhaps that is why Rudy Badil talk about gold in daily Kompas.

Another reading:
http://www.pu.go.id/index.asp?link=Humas/news2003/ppw130109bcr.htm (bahasa Indonesia)

Obama has an interesting background

It seems that the Uncle Sam's new president has a very interesting background. I've just read this article from Yahoo News:

Obama's half brother performs in China
By WILLIAM FOREMAN, Associated Press Writer William Foreman, Associated Press Writer – Fri Jan 16,

SHENZHEN, China – The news release didn't say who Mark Ndesandjo was. Nor did the posters and e-mails promoting the concert Friday in this southern Chinese boomtown where he played piano to raise money for orphans.

But the 200 or so people who showed up for the fundraiser at a posh hotel resort knew the man in a Chinese-style brown silk shirt was the half brother of President-elect Barack Obama. They had a rare encounter with Ndesandjo, who has been dodging the media since his family ties were made public last summer.

For the past seven years, Ndesandjo has been living in Shenzhen, a freewheeling city just across the border from Hong Kong. The announcement for his piano concert identified him as a strategic marketing consultant. He also helped start a chain of eateries in China called Cabin BBQ.

Ndesandjo has a thin mustache, shaved head and a gold stud in his left earlobe. He slightly resembles his half brother, and shares the same trim, athletic physique. He speaks Mandarin, is a vegetarian and practices Chinese calligraphy.

And he said Friday that he has just finished a novel called "Nairobi to Shenzhen," but as yet has no publisher.

Ndesandjo apparently wants a low-key life separate from Obama. No one mentioned his family when he was introduced at the charity concert and cocktail party sponsored by the American Chamber of Commerce in South China.

During brief remarks on stage, Ndesandjo mentioned that he would visit the U.S. in a couple days, apparently to attend Tuesday's presidential inauguration. He said if he didn't make the trip in time, he would embarrass his family.

And he told the crowd that chamber president, Harley Seyedin, was fond of the president-elect. Ndesandjo added, "I like my president, too!" That was the closest he came to mentioning Barack Obama.

Ndesandjo's reluctance to play up his famous relative is extremely unusual in China, where people commonly name drop and use their connections to advance their interests. In China, relationships, or "guanxi," with powerful people are golden and rarely wasted in winning new business or opening other doors.

As his Chinese wife watched, Ndesandjo began his performance with a Chinese tune called "Liuyang River" followed by what he said was "Chopin's First Nocturne." His third and final piece was a jazz tune by Fats Waller called "Viper's Drag."

He played with passion, at times hunched over the keyboard or rocking back with his eyes closed and lips slightly parted in expressions of ectasy and agony.

His Chinese friend and restaurant business partner, Sui Zhenjun, said he has known Ndesandjo since he arrived in China in 2002.

"But it wasn't until July when media reports started surfacing about him being related to Obama that I found out they were related," he told The Associated Press. "He called and told me."

Ndesandjo declined to answer questions from the AP at Friday's concert. He wouldn't confirm basic details about his past or discuss his relationship with Obama.

He uses the surname of his mother, Ruth, the third wife of his father, who died in 1982. He was born in Kenya and moved to the United States when he was a child.

Footage from a Chinese TV news show posted on Youtube shows him practicing calligraphy at home and teaching children how to play the piano, praising them in Mandarin and English.

On Friday, he said he had visited a Shenzhen orphanage shortly after arriving in China and saw rows and rows of sleeping babies while a harried staff of two nurses tried to care for them.

"One child with big black eyes seized my finger and would not let it go," he told the crowd.

After the charity event, Ndesandjo chatted with friends and shook hands as he slowly walked out of the venue pursued by journalists hoping for a comment. He slipped into an elevator and continued to ignore questions as the door slowly closed.

So Obama is representing the new world, the world without border where family ties come between continents...

I pray that he'll be given wisdom and lots of luck, so hopefully we are going to a peaceful track...

Apakah Manusia Selalu Berubah?

Saya tidak terlalu mengenal Marco secara dekat, saya hanya ingat dia mahasiswa cemerlang yang mendapat beasiswa ke Leuven. Pertemuan pertama kami adalah di pertemuan Arsitek Muda Indonesia. Saat itu saya masih mahasiswi tingkat akhir. AMI sendiri baru dibentuk rasanya.

Kemudian saya bertemu lagi dengannya ketika membawa teman-teman Architecture Study Group dari Indonesian Heritage Society ke Wisma Danamon (sekarang jadi Sampoerna Building).

Ada beberapa kali kami bertemu, atau sekedar percakapan lewat e-mail. Mungkin juga sekarang dia tidak ingat lagi nama saya.

Tapi saya benar-benar terkejut membaca tulisan di milis Penulis Lepas

--- On Thu, 1/8/09, Satrio Arismunandar wrote:

Subject: Marco Ketua Dewan Kesenian Jakarta Mengusir Saut Situmorang dkk
Date: Thursday, January 8, 2009, 10:53 PM

Jumat 19 Desember 2008 kira-kira jam 2 siang lebih. Saya Saut Situmorang, Wowok Hesti Prabowo dan Viddy A Daery masuk ke sebuah ruangan tempat diadakannya "mukernas" dewan kesenian se-Indonesia di hotel Sheraton Media Jakarta. Saya mendapat info bahwa mukernas tersebut akan membahas soal "dewan kesenian Indonesia" yang beberapa waktu dulu ide pembentukannya mendapat tentangan keras dari banyak seniman. Ide awal pembentukan dewan kesenian Indonesia tersebut, kata orang, berasal dari Ratna Sarumpaet dan dia hari itu akan memberikan pidato tanggapan atas idenya yang mungkin dia rasa dicuri orang itu. Sebuah acara menarik untuk ditonton, bukan? Di pintu masuk ruangan mukernas itu saya sempat disapa oleh seorang cewek yang bekerja untuk Dewan Kesenian Jakarta alias DKJ, yang merupakan tuan rumah mukernas. Di pintu masuk saya tidak melihat ada pengumuman "YANG TIDAK DIUNDANG DILARANG MASUK!".

Setelah
berada di dalam ruangan saya dipanggil oleh Iyut Fitrah kawan penyair dari Payakumbuh, Sumatera Barat. Dia minta saya duduk dekatnya. Saya pun pergi ke arahnya dan duduk di sebuah kursi di dekatnya. Begitu pula Wowok dan Viddy. Sambil ngomong-ngomong, saya bagikan jurnal keren "boemipoetra" yang segera saja beredar ke meja-meja para peserta mukernas. Saya juga melihat bekas adik kelas saya di Fakultas Sastra Universitas Sumatera Utara dulu, Jabatin, duduk di meja dekat saya itu dan saya pun menyapanya. Wowok kemudian berdiri dan mulai membagikan "boemipoetra" ke meja-meja di sudut lain ruangan. Saat itu Ratna Sarumpaet sudah berdiri di podium setelah
diundang untuk memberikan pidatonya.

Pada waktu itulah tiba-tiba saja terdengar suara seseorang berteriak membentak, "Wowok, keluar!!! Anda tidak diundang, keluar!!!" Begitulah kira-kira bunyi teriakan tersebut yang ternyata berasal dari mulut seseorang bernama Marco yang adalah ketua Dewan Kesenian Jakarta. Wowok merespon dengan mengatakan bahwa dia "diundang" oleh Ratna Sarumpaet. Ratna membenarkan waktu Sang Marco mengkonfirmasikanny a ke dia. Tentu saja peristiwa itu menciptakan suasana tegang. Para peserta pun nampak kaget heran kebingungan penasaran. What the fuck is going on? Saya yakin begitulah yang mereka gumamkan dalam gumaman mereka. Lalu tiba-tiba lagi suara tadi berteriak membentak lagi, "Saut, keluar!!! Saya tidak mengundang Anda, keluar!!!" Saya nyaris gemetaran mendengar bentakan yang kayaknya dikeluarkan pakek sinkang ala ilmu Auman Singa Kim-mo Say-ong Cia Sun dari kitab "Ie Thian To Liong" karya Chin Yung itu! Kemudian Sang Pangcu DKJ itu melambai-lambaikan jurnal
"boemipoetra" ke udara sambil berkata sesuatu seperti "Dilarang membagikan 'boemipoetra' di sini. Ini cuma berisi fitnah!". Untunglah berkat latihan Kiuyang Sinkang yang saya pelajari dari Bu Kie saya cepat memperolah ketenangan saya kembali dan segera menjawab Sang Pangcu DKJ itu, "Kalau benar jurnal 'boemipoetra' adalah fitnah, silahkan bawa kami ke pengadilan!" Di tengah-tengah keributan itu saya mendengar Ratna Sarumpaet berkata sesuatu seperti kenapa acara kesenian bisa jadi sekaku ini, atau yang mirip-mirip itu maksudnya. Lalu, entah dari mana nongolnya, seorang laki-laki bertampang sangar kayak "bouncer bar" di Selandia Baru sana mulai juga berteriak-teriak sambil berpidato di tengah ruangan bahwa dia akan membubarkan acara tersebut! Pokoknya penuh otoritas macam itulah. Saya gak kenal makhluk
aneh ini tapi Wowok kemudian di taxi mengatakan dia itu orang DKJ juga. Karena bosan mendengar retorika kekuasaannya itu saya berdiri dan mengajak Wowok dan Viddy untuk keluar saja dari hiruk-pikuk drama kekuasaan Dewan Kesenian Jakarta tersebut. Banyak juga ternyata peserta dari dewan kesenian se-Indonesia di situ yang keluar ruangan. Waktu saya mulai beranjak dari tempat duduk saya itulah Sang Marco, sambil tetap teriak-teriak, mendatangai saya dan tiba-tiba saja memegang lengan kiri saya. Tentu saja secara spontan ilmu Kiankun Taylo-ie Sinkang dari Bengkaw yang juga saya warisi dari suhu Bu Kie bereaksi cepat dan saya tampar tangan jahat yang penuh racun itu! Dia nampak kaget jugak rupanya, hahaha... Tapi dia tidak melakukan apa-apa lagi dan kami bertiga pun keluar dari ruangan pibu itu dengan penuh kemenangan.

Di luar, seorang kawan dari Jawa
Tengah yang juga salah seorang peserta mukernas tersebut menghampiri dan menyalami kami. Oiya, di luar itu saya juga tidak melihat ada pengumuman, "DILARANG MEMBAGIKAN 'BOEMIPOETRA' DI DALAM RUANGAN!"

Bagaimana ya seandainya yang kami bagikan itu adalah majalah "Kalam" milik Teater Utan Kayu? Apa kami akan mendapat perlakuan yang sangat premanis, ketimbang Pramis, begitu? Siapa sebenarnya yang direpresentasikan Marco dan Dewan Kesenian Jakarta-nya di acara dewan kesenian se-Indonesia tersebut? Lucunya lagi, waktu dia membuat kericuhan di acara dewan kesenian se-Indonesia itu, tidak pernah sekalipun dia menanyakan pendapat para peserta mukernas soal "kehadiran" kami, apa mereka keberatan atau tidak! Menurut SMS seorang kawan yang juga peserta "diundang" acara, setelah kami bertiga keluar ruangan, para peserta dipaksa untuk "mengembalikan" kepada DKJ jurnal "boemipoetra" yang sedang dibaca
para peserta tersebut! Banyak juga, kata kawan tersebut, yang tidak bersedia "mengembalikan" jurnal keren kami itu, hahaha...

Oiya, ada yang bilang (saya tidak tahu benar atau salah karena saya sendiri tidak diundang juga, hehehe...) ada yang bilang bahwa para peserta mukernas dewan kesenian se-Indonesia itu dibawa Marco dan DKJ-nya makan malam di Salihara, hahaha...

Saut Situmorang

http://www.facebook .com/profile. php?id=554828232 &ref=name
http://sautsitumora ng.multiply. com/

-During times of universal deceit,
telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act
(George Orwell)

Apa iya Marco bisa seperti itu? Ada apa di balik kejadian ini?
Berjuang di dalam sistem terkadang memang menyesakkan, dan butuh ketangguhan lebih untuk tetap bertahan waras di dalamnya. Mungkin saya kurang mengenal Marco, tapi rasanya dia tidak memiliki sifat kasar seperti itu...

Sebenarnya saya mengharapkan lebih dari seorang Marco. Tadinya saya pikir dia akan meneruskan perjuangan pak Bian Poen dalam bidang tata kota.

Terlepas dari Marco, saya juga jadi bertanya-tanya ada apa dengan DKJ, sejak masalah lukisan yang heboh itu sepertinya masalah antara seniman dan DKJ tidak juga tuntas.
Kesenian Indonesia sebenarnya sebuah mutiara yang perlu diasah, dan diperkenalkan dengan profesional. Sayang sekali kalau akhirnya hancur hanya karena pengasahnya tumpul saling beradu.

Ketika saya bertanya dalam hati, apakah Marco demikian berubah? Orang yang tampak santun bisa berubah dalam kurun waktu yang berlalu? Atau memang manusia selalu berubah? Tergantung situasi dan kondisi yang melatar belakangi kehidupannya? Atau mungkin juga manusia justru tidak pernah berubah? Sejak dahulu bangsa ini terkalahkan karena politik adu domba. Kalau kita masih selalu mengedepankan pertengkaran dan bukannya komunikasi maka kita mungkin tidak pernah berubah...reformasi yang didengungkan bisa jadi hanya sekedar mengembalikan bentuk ke masa silam dimana pertengkaran dan ketidak-rukunan yang menjadi tuan.

New Year's Wish...is it for all?

An interesting e-card comes to my inbox today...touching, very familiar here in Indonesia...



If you can't read the reading on the wall, it is "Merry Crisis, and a Happy New Fear"

New Year for those who are living in Gaza is also another sad story...
I do hope that we are going to have a better future.
On the afternoon of December 30, 2008, I saw the rainbow over the mountain...
Rainbow is something rarely seen in the big city recently
The symbol of God's commitment to human kind...



Hope it is also offering hopes for the days to come...hopefully for everybody.

Stepping into 2009 (2): Family

One thing that is very important in one's life is probably his/her family. At least that is how it works for me.

My grandmother (from my mom) passed away last October, so this is the first New Year we celebrate without her. This year my parents went to Puncak, I joined them, and we came back after New Year. Before, we went out of town either before or after the New Year, as we were respecting her and would like to join together on the first day of the new year.

My parents usually go to the church on Christmas' eve, so we do not have that Christmas family dinner. I went with them when I was still living with them, although there were also times I went with friends. After having my own kids, I used to go for a children Christmas' mass in the morning, then joining the family Christmas' lunch. We don't have a special boxing day, it would be between Christmas and the several days after New Year. It depends on the ability to gather all the family members, especially those who are playing 'santa'. It's not that we'll see a santa costume, but there are some family members who always prepare Christmas presents...we call those who prepare presents for all of us as 'Santa'. It's not exchanging presents, but rather continuing the tradition of our childhood happiness in receiving Christmas presents. Children are the focus of this activity.

Last year, one of my friends was also called back Home by her Creator. Her children are still very young, but we do believe that God has His own plan.

Another cyber friend lost his wife after 45 years sharing the up and down of life together. He used to put pictures taken by his wife in his article in OMNI. I used to admire those pictures...So we'll both be missing her.

Collected memories taken from those who were left behind made me realized how important to share the quality time together to be able to have unforgettable moments together.

Last month, my father was told that he had prostate cancer, stadium II. Luckily it is not spreading to the bone yet, but the gleason score is already 6...the upper limit for the low risk cancer. We are still discussing the best treatment he would take. We are also collecting information about treatment and side effects. The internet is really being helpful in gathering informations.

The special moment of this end of the year and the beginning of the new year was a wonderful family time together. Smaller family exactly, as my brothers did not join us.

Spending quality time together with family is something priceless in this era of financial difficulties, yet it would be something more precious than anything in the end.

When my grandma (from my father) passed away years ago, I was regretting my quality time with my family as I was busy with works. Yet, now...without full time work...it is still a struggling effort to provide quality time for my family (in Indonesia, the word family is always belong to the whole big family).

I do hope to be able to provide a better quality time with my whole family...Yet, first, as Reda Gaudiamo, a writer, said: "A healthy mother makes a healthy family, and a happy mother grows a happy family...". Hope that I'm strong and wise enough to be that happy and healthy mom.

(With prayers for my whole family, my friends, and also for those families in Gaza who are living far from happiness at this moment; Dear God please give us a wonderful family time together...receive our beloved family and friends in Your Eternal Love, amen.)

Stepping Into 2009 (1); memory of friendship

The year 2008 is going to say goodbye, and we are going to step into 2009. Even today is already a new year for my fellow Moslems,the 1430 H.

I'm still looking for the amazing internet to find my old pen-pals. When I was still in High School, I wrote to some foreign friends and some local pen friends. Mireille Fain (France),should be Mireille Siegel now, was the longest in contact...but I lost her contact about some years ago. Others are Nick Tsiotakis from Greece, Barbara Fiaschi from Italy, Zeila C. Facci from Brazil, Magda Majewska from Poland, etc. Thanks to IYS that I've got friends from all over the world (I do need to check names for those from the USA, Germany, and Finland)

Why I write this post? I can't contact a friend whom I met through the internet (Hi John, my e-mails bounced back...how are you?). Then I remember an old friend I've found recently by making a comment in someone's blog. The writer of the blog wrote about her French language teacher; my friend - a Philippine woman, I left a comment asking her whereabout. The blogger never answer, but my friend found that message while googling...amazing! She contacted me and we found each other again.

I'm also curious about what happened to Annie and Leon Pecasse. Last year I did not receive their yearly letter (or perhaps it was already two years?). I knew that Annie's health was already weak, but I did not even heard any news from them. My letter was unanswered, and e-mail bounced back too. The latest news I got from Mr. Google is a newsletter from May 2006.

I've been joining Face Book for some times but without really being busy with that account. Yet, recently my schoolmates from the elementary to the university also joined Face Book (or we've just found each other)...now Face Book is making me addicted! It's so much fun finding out old friends, hear their news...and become the witness of how small the world is (imagine my elementary schoolmate is the husband of a friend from the University...small world isn't it?). Sometimes it is just astonishing to know that people I knew also knew each other. Things that might probably not coming into our daily conversation came out in Face Book. Sometimes time (especially as a full time housewife) is not really free until a little late at night, so the only open schedule for chatting with my neighbour (who is also stuck at home with her "newborn" baby- which is actually about one-year-old now) is through Face Book at night...

The internet is taking me back into the memory of friendship. So, stepping into 2009 I do hope that I'll keep better communication with old friends through the internet...sharing just a couple of words but pertaining the feeling of closeness. Dear readers, I hope I'll be able to continue blogging, and continue being your friend...

Just a promise away...

There are a lot of things dancing in my mind
But sometimes it stay there unable to get out
It is being there reminding my promises...
Promise...promise...promise...

And the end of the year is now searching his way out
While the new year is peeking eagerly to come in
I'm sitting here unmoved
Fingers are dancing on the qwerty...
But nothing is really written down
Emptiness is coming as 2008 is slipping out of the house
Yet the sunshine of the new year is still behind the window
Resolution...resolution...resolution...

I'm looking forward to the new beginning
Look compassionately forward...
Eager to jump into new experiences
Promise to take care time as wise as possible...
Hoping it is not just a promise away...

Wishing You a Very Merry Christmas!

I wonder if those who say those words are also becoming Christian only by wishing us a very merry Christmas. I won't be converted into Islam even if I sincerely said "Mohon maaf lahir dan batin. Selamat Idul Fitri" (asking forgiveness and wishing good deed for the peaceful Eid Mubarak). For me the essence of forgiving each other is something beautiful and meaningful. Another Catholic friend is perhaps taking the same meaning as he added in his Christmas and New Year's e-mail (greeting) the word, "please forgive all the wrongdoing we had probably done throughout the year."

I found the 24th December's issue of the Jakarta Post is really worth reading and worth sharing. That is why I've made the article "Memandang Natal Dalam Perbedaan".

Of course not all of my Moslem friends are in the reluctant group to mention "Merry Christmas", but some close friends who are apparantly stop doing it are also my reason to take this issue into a CJ website.

Another international citizen reporter was asking me the news of Christmas from Indonesia. Yet, I do not really have time to prepare one. The only story will be from my parents' church where I had my first experience joining mass performed by a priest in the costume of Santa. I don't think it will be interesting enough.

I think that's the different aspect of blogging and reporting. By reporting we are thinking about the value of news, the readers' target, etc. While for blogging there are no limitation...I can write a short sentence like "A very tiring Christmas" and upload pictures, or I can also mumbling thousands of words without the need to shortened it.

Marching Down the Memory Lane

I've made one picture article and two articles for this Marching Band reunion, you can read the Bahasa Indonesia in wikimu, here and here.
The English article took my other perspective, can be reviewed here.

I was involved in Drum Band since my junior high school, but I did not have the luck to be a real part of it. I was blaming my parents for that, but with maturity I know that I should be more persistent in persuading them to support me.

Seeing kak Budi and Mas Kir will always made me reflect back to the Youth Red Cross Drum Band (DB PMR Jakarta Selatan). That was my first time encounter DB, first time encounter GPMB. I did not continue joining the group because I was not getting the permission to do the long march from Jakarta to Bogor. My parents were afraid that I fainted (which was also a good reason actually). They said that they don't know my other friends from other schools in South Jakarta, we have waited for friends from my school to show up...no signs that any of them were coming (no cellphone at that time, hu...hu...hu). Unluckily my friends (from my school) arrived after we went home, so I'm the only person from my school who did not join the long march. I don't know why I did not try to keep joining the band even without joining their long march. Pride perhaps?!

Now, everytime I saw a marching band performance my mind will went back to the DB PMR, to my friends from that group who passed away. One of them is Olaf, the major of the group (the first generation of the group), he passed away in the military helicopter (or airplane?) accident quite a long time ago. The other friend is Sancoyo, he passed away while doing a volunteer job rescuing people.

Another encounter is the DB Tri Tar (which is now Korps Putri Tarakanita), and the old story came back with another reason to quit. This time is my bad remarks in Science class. My mother insisted that I choose science instead of my interest to the language class. Actually I did not really know where I should be heading, so I just follow her will. Yet, as the consequences I can't continue playing in the marching band...I need more time to study the Chemistry. Even after quitting the marching band my Chemistry was still singing do..re...mi...fa...sol...he...he...he...

Without entering the Science class (IPA) I wouldn't be able to enter the Architecture department, so there is always another reason to thank God for all the trail of my old days.

I was on my museum duty that Saturday, but because I knew that this reunion will be an event that would get a MURI recognition so my reporter antenna moved on. I went to there even without any entrance ticket. Thanks God (and friends he..he..he..) that I can come in and cover how they made the history.

My mom was a bit annoyed that I left my children with her from morning (because I had to be in my volunteer guide duty in the museum) until very late afternoon (for covering the marching band story), but sometimes it is a risk to take...(ha..ha..ha...I am being childish again).

Friends were very supportive, they were quick answering when I asked them for the pictures for OMNI (my pictures as not as good as theirs he..he..he...). Unfortunately the internet was not supportive, I was not able to send all the pictures that I would like to appear in OhmyNews International. Instead I just send one picture from my friend to the editor, and he was helping me uploading it later.

The internet connection, the price of the connection, and the capability of using the internet are some factors that would be important for the continuation of citizen journalism in the online media for Indonesian people.

I still have a lot of things in my mind, but stealing time is a real effort as I have no helpers at home for the last two months. Now I'm trying to be a super Retty ha..ha...ha.. Yet, this is a good way to calm down friends who live in other countries as they always think life is easier here with helpers around us. I should write about helpers tomorrow as we are going to celebrate International Migrant Day...

Keadilan bagi Mereka yang Berkemampuan Berbeda

Rabu, 03-12-2008 13:26:43 oleh: Retty N. Hakim
Kanal: Opini

http://www.wikimu.com/News/DisplayNews.aspx?id=11995

I wrote "Justice for those with disabilities" for the International Day of Persons with Disabilities. Indonesia signed the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its Optional Protocol in UN, but according to the public relation manager of Yayasan Mitranetra, it is not ratified yet.

I was already aware about the lack of facilities for those with disabilities in 1990. I was preparing my final project for my graduation as an architect, and I had to prepare a presentation of an art museum. That time I was mostly focused on those with wheelchairs. It is a sad fact that our newly open wing in the National Museum did not have the access ramp for wheelchairs, and the stairs would also be a real struggle for visually impaired friends.

I think there are a lot of things we should all worked out together, but there are also some important issues that should be on the governments' shoulders. Public transportation and access into education are some example.

As I don't have much time to write lately, I slightly mentioned the environmental design approach as the example of how to make a man-made environment that's comfortable for human being both in aestethic and functional aspects. Urban planners and architects are also responsible to give their voices/suggestions about the facilities for differently able persons.

Writing is also helping me to search for more facts. I gathered the news about the CD selling in Pesta Blogger 2008 (Jakarta). 4.5 million rupiahs or 90 CDs were sold in one day, all donated to Yayasan Mitranetra (Friends for the visually impaired persons).

Media was also giving more attention to the differently-able persons, I hope that they will continue doing it. Writing this article for the citizen journalism website is my way to knock on the professional journalists to dig more into it. Cross my fingers...(as it seems that it is not a popular article).

Menatap Mumbai, Mengenang Duka

Minggu, 30-11-2008 08:46:39 oleh: Retty N. Hakim
Kanal: Peristiwa

http://www.wikimu.com/News/DisplayNews.aspx?id=11939

I used the picture from Rajen Nair, a fellow citizen reporter from OMNI. Nobody wrote about Mumbai in wikimu, so I tried to write mine. I was actually stealing time to do it. It was not just about Mumbai, it was also about terrorism. Indonesia had the experience, that's why the title is "Looking at Mumbai, Remembering(our)Sadness"

I would like to stress out the answer from Gulam Noor to Nair's question about his feeling after being released: “I am fortunate to come out of this incident alive and am thankful to the Mumbai police force for saving my life. At the same time I am sad to know that so many innocent people lost their lives. I think these terrorists have no religion and these attacks are a most barbaric and cowardly act.”

We should not took the terrorists' bait that would fire the war between religions. I think Noor's answer is really make sense, these terrorists (including those terrorists who did all the bombing in Indonesia) have no religion. I think no religion teaches its followers to kill others. God is not teaching us to hate each others, but our pride and prejudice brought us into war, into killing and hatred.

Indonesian tourism was affected by those bombings. Some countries are still issuing travel warning for visiting Indonesia. Perhaps Mumbai will have different stories. But I think we are still going to share the same story of struggle to overcome the nightmare from the survived victims.

P.S.
I link the article. It is tiring to copy and paste it again here. It took too much time to copy all the links and uploading the pictures again.

Enlarging Network, Enhancing Solidarity (1)

Pesta Blogger 2008 was a real big party. 1500 bloggers enlisted, but I don't think they were all showing up that Saturday. I was having a flu for more than a week, so I decided to go to the doctor for medicine on Thursday...It helped, I did enjoy the party although I could not really going around, chatting with others as usual. I was mostly busy with my nose...he..he..he...

They've made a whole day party, and then on my way back (by busway) I got stuck in Blok M station for almost an hour. That made my three sons protested (not to mention their keeper...my mom and dad). We drove back to Serpong that night because in the morning we need to go to the Sunday school. I skipped helping the Sunday School's activities since my grandmother passed away, mostly because we spent our week-ends in my parents' house...but I do need to be more responsible...so we drove back that night.

Perhaps I was too tired lately. It's been two months since I'm without any helper at home, and also because of the bad weather...And today is the worst. I have to forget about making an article for OhmyNews International. I need my time to take a good rest, but perhaps I can blog a little bit :)

I think we can't expect much from a party...it's a party, time to enjoy the event, to meet friends and new friends. That's why I like to compare it with the Indonesian wedding party.

What I like about this year's event is the chance to know a little bit about bloggers' community around Indonesia, and of course...the presence of the five international bloggers.

It was a bit surprising to see the booth of the US Embassy, they were offering Green Card - the US Diversity Visa Lottery. I asked the lady who is giving away some brochures about this lottery, and she kindly asked me back: "Would you like to register?" I said politely: "No, thank you," but actually my mind is racing around. "Why are they campaigning for visa lottery here?" I remembered the article I've read that the racist incidents were increasing after Obama was elected as the President of the USA. Non Caucasian immigrants' number is already increased, and if it keeps going up...then in the year 2040 there will be different story of majority. So, why do they need to promote their -free to register- visa lottery? Another question that popped in my mind was the consequences of taking this lottery. I saw some youngsters gathered there, took their pictures and register themselves. I wonder if their registration would do no harm to their visa application in the future. Being young,sometimes people do what their peers do, without asking the detailed consequences of their acts in the future, nor even think of its possibility. Actually I don't know anything about visa to go to US, except that it is difficult to get, and it is expensive...And green card? No idea...

Another surprised that came to me was the fact that the auditorium for the discussion session should be shared for three groups. It was a little bit annoying, but the discussion seemed so much better than last year's session. The topics available were all interesting, but we have to choose...

I joined the citizen journalism group which was talking about ethics and the boundary of writing a blog. We had Budi Putra, an professional journalist who turned to be the first Indonesian full time blogger, and Pepih Nugraha, a professional journalist from Kompas daily as our speakers.

When Budi Putra started his talk, he mentioned about a law suit that came across a citizen reporter. He mentioned about how important it is to check and rechecking data, to have all the important facts checked and ready to defend the article, as it is how a journalist work. Writing news is easy, but having the access to the right resources is more important there. Blog in his view should come back to its essence; something unique, personal, and worth reading. Every person is unique, and they have their own unique experiences. When a blogger write something that they really like, a subject in which he/she has the expertise, then the content of the blog is going to show "something".

To be continued.

Pesta Blogger 2008: Galang Persatuan dan Tawarkan Keramahan

Minggu, 23-11-2008 11:11:13 oleh: Retty N. Hakim
Kanal: Peristiwa

Kemarin (22 November 2008) di gedung BPPT II telah dilaksanakan Pesta Blogger 2008. Pesta yang sedikit terundur dari hari Blogger Nasional (27 Oktober) ini menghadirkan peserta yang jauh lebih besar dari Pesta Blogger 2007. Jumlah blogger Indonesia yang terlibat dalam pesta kali ini jauh lebih besar dari yang hadir di gedung BPPT II karena sebelumnya di Bali dan Jogjakarta komunitas lokal blogger sudah memulai perhelatan dengan menjadi tuan rumah bagi lima orang blogger internasional yang diundang panitia.


Wicaksono, yang lebih dikenal sebagai Ndoro Kakung di ranah blog, menyatakan kegembiraannya karena blogger-blogger melalui kegiatan dengan komunitas blog masing-masing sudah menunjukkan kontribusi positif kepada masyarakat sekitar. Hal ini sangat sesuai dengan tema yang diusung oleh Pesta Blogger tahun ini: Blogging for Society.

Tahun ini Pesta Blogger memberikan penghargaan Blogging for Society Award 2008 bagi komunitas blogger yang dinilai telah menggunakan kekuatan blog secara maksimal, menunjukkan konsistensi mereka dalam berkiprah di ranah blog, serta memiliki serangkaian aktivitas sosial sepanjang tahun 2008.


Cukup banyak komunitas blogger yang mendaftar ke panitia, dan dari kehadiran beragam komunitas ini dalam Pesta Blogger 2008 mengingatkan Cahyana Ahmadjayadi, Dirjen Aplikasi Telematika, akan semangat Sumpah Pemuda yang diikrarkan 80 tahun lalu. Mewakili Menkominfo, Cahyana memberikan sambutannya dan mengharapkan kedepannya blogger Indonesia bukan hanya Blogging for Society, tapi juga sudah lebih luas lagi menjadi Blogging for Humanity.

Beliau juga memuji kesigapan blogger Indonesia, Enda Nasution, yang dengan cepat mengabari wordpress akan kehadiran blog yang bisa memicu terjadi keributan antar umat beragama itu, sehingga blog tersebut ditutup.

Menteri Negara Riset dan Teknologi, Kusmayanto Kadiman, mengingatkan kembali akan kesamaan pemetaan blog dan demokrasi. Tetapi beliau juga menekankan kembali kalimat terkahir dalam janji Menkominfo, Muhammad Nuh setahun yang lalu: “Selama saya jadi menteri tidak akan ada (blogger) yang ditangkap, selama tidak melanggar peraturan dan undang-undang.”

Keberagaman blog yang mengupas mulai dari teknologi, ekonomi, maupun sosial politik, tentunya akan memperkaya pengetahuan. Menarik mendengarkan ungkapan Menristek bahwa blog, seperti juga yang bisa dilihat di dalam kamus, bukan sekedar kata benda tetapi juga kata kerja. Bagi saya terjemahannya berarti blogging for society (mungkin lebih akrab: nge’blog’ bagi masyarakat) bukan sekedar mengisi blog sebagai benda, tetapi juga secara serius mengerjakan sesuatu atau memberikan sesuatu yang berharga bagi masyarakat.

Karena itu penghargaan yang diberikan kepada komunitas blogger tahun ini terasa menyemangati untuk lebih giat lagi memberikan manfaat bagi masyarakat. Blogging for Society Award 2008 diberikan kepada Cahandong dari Jogjakarta. Sementara itu The most promising Blogger Community 2008 diberikan kepada Bali Blogger Community. Sebuah penghargaan khusus berupa HP Nokia N95 diberikan kepada Gage Batubara yang membuat desain logo Pesta Blogger 2008. Untuk Photo Contest 2008, pemenang I dimenangkan oleh Raiyani Muharramah dengan karya “Ke Museum Wayang, Yuk!” dan pemenang II adalah I Gusti Ngurah Pradnyana dengan foto “Bertiga Satu Tujuan” (Pemenang III mohon nanti di periksa di portal Pesta Blogger 2008).


Lebih banyak wajah baru yang muncul, walaupun tetap ada beberapa wajah yang saya kenal dari perjumpaan di Pesta Blogger 2007. Tahun ini Maylaffayza menghadirkan lebih banyak lagu dari biolanya, bahkan juga memperdengarkan alunan suaranya. Kecanggihan permainan biolanya membuat permintaan untuk berfoto bersamanya tampaknya tidak henti mengalir. Ada pula blogger kreatif yang tampil seru dengan kostum twitternya.



Kesan Blogger Tamu

Bila tahun lalu di ranah blog sempat terdengar kekecewaan blogger asing (pemerhati Indonesia) yang merasa di anak tirikan, maka tahun ini secara khusus, dengan dukungan dari Departemen Kebudayaan dan Pariwisata, didatangkan lima orang blogger asing untuk mengikuti acara Blogging Trip dari tanggal 17 – 21 November 2008.

Kelima blogger ini, Mark Tafoya dari Amerika Serikat, Anthony Bianco dari Australia, Jeff Ooi dari Malaysia, Mike Aquino dari Filipina, Mr. Brown dari Singapura, tampaknya sepakat bahwa keramah-tamahan dan kehangatan sambutan orang Indonesia yang sangat menarik bagi mereka. Kekayaan budaya dan adat istiadat Indonesia yang sangat beraneka ragam sebelumnya tidak terbayangkan oleh mereka. Bagi Mr. Brown, dengan kiat marketing yang lebih baik, infra-struktur yang menunjang, serta informasi yang lebih meluas maka Indonesia bisa menggali potensi wisatanya dengan lebih baik. Hal lain yang sempat dikomentarinya adalah lambatnya koneksi internet di Indonesia. Dengan potensi blogger yang sedemikian besar, menurutnya tinggal meningkatkan sarana yang ada agar bisa mengembangkan eksistensi komunitas blogger untuk membawa nama Indonesia di kancah internasional. Tentu saja peran bahasa Inggris atau bridge blogger dalam hal ini sangat diperlukan.

Kesan-kesan mereka secara mendetail akan lebih terbaca di blog mereka masing-masing. Satu hal yang saya tangkap dari tampilan foto-foto yang mereka tangkap di Bali, dan Jogja yang dipresentasikan di depan undangan lain, serta penampilan di blog mereka adalah pentingnya menguasai teknologi dan menggunakan bahasa gambar untuk menarik minat yang lebih besar untuk mengunjungi Indonesia. Menurut saya, koneksi internet yang lambat membuat mahalnya biaya yang diperlukan untuk menampilkan gambar-gambar menarik itu di blog, sehingga bisa jadi hal ini yang mengurangi tampilan foto di blog.



Pesta tentu saja selalu terasa meriah, bahkan kali ini juga bertaburan hadiah (Dua orang kontributor Wikimu, Eryawan dan Yunus Bani Sadar, termasuk kelompok orang-orang beruntung yang mendapatkan door prize). Tetapi dari acara sesi diskusi pararel selain saling bertukar informasi dan menambah ilmu, juga muncul keinginan untuk lebih meningkatkan rasa setia kawan sebagai sesama blogger sambil ikut berpartisipasi dalam memberikan arti kepada masyarakat. Satu hal lain yang menarik bagi blogger muda adalah tawaran Bloggership dari Microsoft. Tawaran yang terbuka untuk menjadi kandidat Bloggership ini terbuka untuk blogger sampai tanggal 15 Desember 2008 (lebih jelasnya hubungi hanny@maverick.co.id atau baca di portal Pesta Blogger).

Sudah dua kali Pesta Blogger tersalenggara, selama dua tahun kita sudah banyak belajar dan memperluas pertemanan. Sambil mencoba nge'blog' yang berguna untuk masyarakat, meningkatkan kemampuan komunikasi (tertulis), dan berharap lebih meningkatkan pelaksanaan demokrasi di Indonesia.

Pesta Blogger 2008 is already started...

Indonesia has a tradition of partying for several days. Pesta Blogger Indonesia 2008 seems to take this tradition to enlarge the crowd. The chairman of PB 2008 in his blog mentioned the five international bloggers who came and join this party. There are five bloggers; Mike Aquino (the Philippines), Jeff Ooi (Malaysia), Mr. Brown (Singapore), Mark Tafoya (USA), and Anthony Bianco (Australia).

It seems that they do have different way of blogging. One of them, Mr. Brown from Singapore, seems to use the daily journal type. It does help me to see how he experienced Indonesia. Others are not really writing their journey. There are formal introduction about Pesta Blogger in Indonesia, but the experience is yet to come...

Anyway, I would also be the one who prefer to feel and enjoy the trip before writing down my experience. Yet, it is nice to read short postings, or see pictures or video (I've got to admit I didn't view the video yet). A posting in the official Pesta Blogger 2008 website is also presenting a complete story of the journey (in Bahasa Indonesia).

So, they were experiencing Bali, and Jogjakarta...we'll see them this Saturday in Jakarta. There will be about 1000 bloggers interested to attend the party...a very crowded party just like the usual big wedding party in Jakarta. Only this time, other than the five guests do need to pay for entrance fee (Rp. 50.000,-), hope it is for the blogging for society cause.

Mengintip Istana Merdeka dan Gedung Putih

Senin, 17-11-2008 15:45:30 oleh: Retty N. Hakim
Kanal: Peristiwa

Judul artikel ini memang ‘mengintip’, karena rasanya saya hanya sempat melongok sebentar dan keluar lagi. Waktu yang lebih lama habis di halaman parkir. Waktu inipun tidak efektif terpakai karena panas yang menyengat membuat teman-teman Wikimu berkelompok di bawah tenda-tenda yang tersedia, sehingga harus lebih rajin menyambangi dan kenalan ke beberapa tenda untuk mencocokkan antara wajah di wikimu (dan imajinasi saya) dengan aslinya.

Walaupun Istana Merdeka berwarna putih, tetapi yang saya maksud dengan Gedung Putih adalah The White House di Amerika. Penasaran? Simak saja tulisan ini…

Sehari sebelumnya di rumah sudah terjadi kehebohan kecil. Si kembar ingin ikut ke istana, tapi saya tolak dengan alasan hanya anak kelas 5 SD (usia kakaknya) yang boleh masuk istana. Mereka ngambek dan menyembunyikan kartu perpustakaan kakaknya yang akan saya jadikan pengganti kartu pelajar. Pada hari ‘H’, terpaksa mereka sedikit dikecoh sehingga saya dan Ray, putra tertua saya, bisa ‘aman’ meninggalkan mereka di rumah kakek dan neneknya.

Menunggu terasa membosankan, bahkan bagi saya yang masih bisa bertegur sapa ke sana kemari. Tidak heran beberapa anak yang ikut kemudian menjadi rewel ingin pulang saja. Anak temanku dengan gemas berkata, “Ayo ibu, pulang saja. Mau masuk istana saja kok susah banget!” Tentu saja kami tersenyum mendengarnya. “Nanti kalau Bayu yang jadi presiden, dipikirkan ya bagaimana supaya rakyat yang mau lihat istana tidak usah capek,” jawab saya menghiburnya (Nama anaknya kebetulan memang Bayu, jadi bukan nama mas admin wikimu yang tersohor. Tapi hak jadi presiden bisa buat siapa saja kok…). Maklum, dia dan keluarganya sudah ada di sana sejak menjelang pukul delapan pagi.

Saya termasuk rombongan wikimu 4, rombongan terakhir dari Wikimu yang memasuki istana. Bukan hanya petugas yang bisa bikin aturan, ternyata rakyat juga suka membuat aturan sendiri. Ketika kami baru memasuki ruangan untuk melihat film pengantar kunjungan, pemandu meminta kami mengisi barisan di kiri ruangan terlebih dahulu. Baru saja duduk, ibu-ibu yang duduk di depan kami meminta kami pindah dengan alasan tempat duduk itu khusus untuk rombongan (mereka). Baru merasakan nyamannya pendingin udara di dalam ruangan, membuat saya tidak ingin bertengkar mengenai kursi. Toh, nanti kami juga harus berdiri lagi…

Sayang sekali kami tidak boleh memotret, selain dipotret di tangga depan istana Merdeka oleh pemotret istana. Banyak hal menarik yang sebenarnya mencuri perhatian saya.

Mesjid Baiturrahim, yang katanya pada hari Jumat terbuka untuk masyarakat ingin yang ingin sholat Jumat di sana, menarik saya dengan tampilan kubahnya. Pada bagian bawah kubah tampak kelopak-kelopak bunga yang biasanya ada di patung-patung dari candi kita. Teratai yang menjadi simbol kemurnian, kesucian, dan pengharapan akan kehidupan yang baru setiap hari, menjadi salah satu elemen dekoratif yang dipakai arsitek Indonesia R.M. Soedarsono dalam pembangunan mesjid mungil ini.

Memasuki Istana Merdeka, saya segera tertarik dengan bebagai benda seni yang terpajang disana. Di tembok istana, yang menurut pemandu tidak pernah diubah sejak zaman Belanda kecuali lambang negara yang berada di puncak empat buah cermin yang menghiasi Ruang Kredensial ini, terlihat ornamen bergambar ikan dengan wajah naga yang saling bersilangan. Di bagian atas ornamen itu terlihat gambar burung, yang kemungkinan besar burung elang. Saya selalu tertarik dengan simbol-simbol seperti ini, dan sesungguhnya ingin tahu apakah ornamen ini juga berasal dari arsitek Belanda, Drossaers, atau bahkan berasal dari sejak masih menjadi rumah biasa milik JA van Braam (1796).

Yang pernah saya dengar, istana Bogor memiliki lebih banyak lagi koleksi benda seni. Tapi disini saya merasa sudah cukup senang bisa melihat sedikit dari kekayaan koleksi negara ini. Patung pengantin karya F. Widayanto mengucapkan selamat datang kepada kami yang baru memasuki istana, lalu koleksi lain seperti keramik kuno, dan lukisan-lukisan pelukis terkenal seperti Basoeki Abdullah dan Raden Saleh. Ada juga lukisan Gajah Mada karya Henk Ngantung, pelukis dan budayawan yang pernah menjadi gubernur Jakarta pada periode 1964-1965. Atau lukisan pelukis istana Harijadi yang menggambarkan wajah Tuanku Imam Bonjol.

Tentu saja saya tidak boleh berlama-lama di dalam istana, karena saya bisa tertinggal rombongan lainnya. Di halaman tengah istana saya terpesona melihat patung Pertapa Tua karya Bambang Krisyono, juga sebuah patung ibu dan anak yang tampaknya sedang belajar. Patung yang ini saya tidak tahu karya siapa, karena posisi pemandu agak jauh dari saya sehingga sulit bagi saya untuk bertanya. Ada juga sebuah patung batu berasal dari candi abad ke IX yang menggambarkan Dhyani Bodisatva.

Pemandu kelompok kami adalah seorang Polisi Wanita yang cantik dan ramah bernama Selvi. Hari itu kebetulan kelompok kami menjadi rombongan pertama yang harus dipandunya, tapi pernah juga dia harus memandu lima kali dalam satu hari. Terbayang betapa penatnya, karena yang diterangkan tentunya harus sama. Tidak seperti di Museum Nasional yang memungkinkan pemandu berganti topik atau memilih benda pamer yang berbeda untuk dijelaskan.

Sejak dibuka akhir bulan Mei 2008 ini memang gairah masyarakat untuk mengenal istana lebih dekat terasa tinggi, paling kurang seribu orang dalam satu hari kunjungan, bahkan kunjungan pernah mencapai seribu enam ratus orang dalam satu hari. Biasanya hari Sabtu jauh lebih padat kunjungan daripada hari Minggu. Tapi Minggu pagi kemarin, rombongan dari luar kota berdatangan sehingga terasa sekali kepadatannya.

Sistem masuk yang siapa datang terlebih dahulu dan mendaftar di tempat memang lebih menyenangkan bagi orang-orang yang suka datang dadakan. Beberapa tahun yang lalu saya pernah ke Istana Bogor dan tidak bisa masuk karena tidak mendaftar terlebih dahulu ke Sekretariat Negara.

Indonesia memang memiliki lima buah istana kepresidenan yaitu di Jakarta, Bogor, Cipanas, Jogjakarta, dan Tampaksiring (Bali). Yang dahulu saya ketahui boleh dimasuki umum dengan mendaftar dan pemeriksaan melalui Sekretariat Negara adalah istana Bogor dan istana Cipanas.

Tetapi bagi pengunjung dadakan ini biasanya juga tidak terlalu mengerti aturan baku istana. Tampaknya akan lebih bijaksana untuk mengizinkan masyarakat masuk asal berpakaian rapi dan pantas untuk masuk. Dengan demikian turis asing backpackers yang ingin masuk ke istana juga bisa masuk, asal bersedia antri lama.

Teman-teman yang tidak berhasil masuk ke dalam istana membuat saya penasaran dengan kebiasaan secara universal dalam mengunjungi bangunan yang teramat penting bagi negara ini. Karena merasa tidak berpengalaman memasuki gedung istimewa yang sehari-harinya dihuni pemimpin negara, maka saya mencoba mengunjungi web site Gedung Putih, dan menemukan sebuah link yang lebih detail menjelaskan tentang kunjungan ke Gedung Putih. Yang memandu perjalanan di Ruang Oval bahkan mantan presiden George W. Bush sendiri, mungkin karena link ini memang portal Presiden George W. Bush. Beliau banyak menjelaskan tentang lukisan yang kebanyakan berkisah tentang Texas, daerah asalnya yang juga akan menjadi tempatnya selepas menjadi Presiden Amerika Serikat.

Tampaknya untuk kunjungan ke Gedung Putih di dunia nyata pakaian tidak menjadi perhatian utama. Hanya jenis barang bawaan sangat diperhatikan, walaupun payung ternyata masih tetap boleh dibawa.

Tetapi ada satu hal penting yang biasanya saya perhatikan, tetapi kemarin terlupakan karena pesona karya para maestro di dalam aura Istana. Hal itu adalah fasilitas bagi orang dengan kemampuan berbeda. Di Gedung Putih, fasilitas ini tersedia bagi mereka yang memiliki kebutuhan khusus secara fisik, pendengaran yang berbeda, maupun yang memiliki penglihatan yang berbeda. Saya rasa seharusnya Istana Merdeka memiliki fasilitas serupa, bukankah kita pernah memiliki Presiden K.H. Abdurrahman Wahid dan Ibu negara Sinta Nuriyah Abdurrahman Wahid? Mereka pernah bertempat tinggal di dalam istana Merdeka. Yang jelas, tidak terdapat fasilitas khusus kamar kecil bagi pengunjung berkebutuhan khusus di ruangan penerima dimana kami dipersilahkan memakai fasilitas kamar kecil. Kebetulan kemarin saya juga tidak melihat pengunjung dengan kriteria berkebutuhan khusus.

Perjalanan ke bangunan tua selalu menarik perhatian saya, apalagi sebuah kunjungan ke Istana Merdeka yang baru pertama kali ini saya kunjungi. Sebuah kunjungan yang membuat saya tertarik menyambangi Gedung Putih melalui dunia maya. Semoga istana untuk rakyat ini tetap akan terbuka untuk rakyat.

Indonesia Japan Expo 2008 Tinggal Dua Hari Lho…

Jumat, 07-11-2008 19:31:39 oleh: Retty N. Hakim
Kanal: Peristiwa

Tidak terasa sudah hampir seminggu acara Indonesia Japan Expo 2008 berlangsung. Banyak acara yang rasanya menggoda sekali untuk dikunjungi. Sebenarnya acara-acara yang digelar sangat menarik bagi saya. Sekali ini terasa benar bedanya menjadi seorang ibu rumah tangga dengan tanggung jawab terhadap anak-anak, dibandingkan dengan mereka yang masih lajang.

Saya mendapat undangan untuk mengunjungi pembukaan Pameran Indonesia Japan Expo 2008 melalui milis Forum Pembaca Kompas. Berniat membuat liputan anak-anak saya titipkan di rumah oma/opa mereka yang sebenarnya hari itu baru akan kembali dari luar kota. Maklum di rumah saya juga tidak ada orang yang menjaga mereka.

Kalau mengunjungi acara di Museum yang dibuka oleh Presiden RI saya tidak pernah sempat melihat kehadiran anjing pelacak, tapi di acara Pembukaan Pameran Indonesia Japan Expo 2008 saya melihat sedikitnya tiga ekor anjing pelacak yang tampangnya santai, tapi saya yakin gigitannya maut.

Selesai acara pembukaan saya menyempatkan diri berkeliling arena pameran. Kalau mengikuti ego saya bisa-bisa saya bertahan disana sampai malam, entah ikut seminar atau sekedar melihat-lihat acara. Sewaktu lajang dahulu saya terbiasa menonton acara taiko (gendang Jepang) sampai malam di Kemayoran ini. Ada beberapa hal yang menarik perhatian saya, saya tuliskan disini sekedar berbagi cerita. Siapa tahu ada yang jadi lebih berminat mengunjungi pameran ini sebelum ditutup.

Fashion

Sebenarnya kalau saya bisa bertahan lebih lama di Kemayoran hari pertama itu atau lebih sering datang di hari-hari berikutnya, pasti banyak hasil foto menarik yang berangkat dari tema ini. Ada gadis-gadis berkimono tradisional, ada juga yang bergaya kimono tapi sebenarnya gaya anak muda terkini, ada lagi yang terimbas model Harajuku Street, ataupun anak-anak muda yang menampilkan pertunjukan tokoh-tokoh cosplay . Tapi di hari pertama itu saya juga menemukan gadis-gadis dalam balutan pakaian tradisional Indonesia yang tidak kalah cantiknya.





































Katanya ada peragaan kimono berbahan batik Indonesia, sayang sekali yang saya foto hanya penjaga gerai yang kebetulan menggunakan pakaian trendi gaya kimono tadi. Tapi di sebuah gerai lain saya mendapat informasi bahwa Indonesia juga mengekspor kain ke Jepang. Menarik sekali. Saya jadi teringat pada seorang teman yang dengan bangga membeli oleh-oleh sandal cantik dari Perancis. Dia terhenyak ketika sampai di rumah membaca labelnya: “made in Indonesia.” Mudah-mudahan kita tidak perlu membeli batik “made in Indonesia” di Jepang...

Produk ramah lingkungan

Tampaknya hampir semua peserta pameran mengusung tema produk ramah lingkungan. Dari mobil hingga printer, semua mengklaim dirinya mereduksi pemakaian bahan yang memungkinkan kontribusi kepada pemanasan global. Buat saya pribadi yang menarik adalah kehadiran rumah ramah lingkungan yang tampil di gerai NEDO (New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization). Rumah yang mengarah kepada “Zero Emission House” sesuai dengan hasil KTT G8 Hokkaido.

Rumah ini sangat banyak menggunakan matahari sebagai sumber tenaga listrik. Selain sumber pembangkit listrik bertenaga surya, matahari juga dimanfaatkan dalam sistem pencahayaan dengan “Mirror-Duct”.

Beberapa waktu lalu saya pernah membaca komentar Menristek Kusmayanto Kadiman di harian cetak Kompas bahwa industri sel surya memiliki hasil akhir yang ramah lingkungan tapi dalam proses pembuatannya harus dicermati karena tergolong tidak ramah lingkungan. Pernyataan tersebut menarik perhatian saya karena beberapa waktu sebelumnya saya pernah bertanya-tanya dalam hati mengapa kita tidak memanfaatkan sinar surya yang jauh lebih melimpah di Indonesia daripada saling meributkan PLTN.

Dari pencarian di internet saya menemukan artikel di Kompas.com yang menyebutkan bahwa sudah ada sel surya hasil buatan dalam negeri, yang juga tidak lagi mengandalkan penggunaan logam berat merkuri. Lucunya dalam artikel tersebut disebutkan bahwa sel surya buatan dalam negeri itu sudah dipesan pembeli dari luar negeri sementara dari dalam negeri belum mendapatkan konsumen.

Sistem pencahayaan “Mirror-Duct” juga menarik untuk dicoba sebenarnya, karena pada kenyataannya penggunaan genteng kaca seringkali sangat panas, mungkin dengan teknologi pantulan pencahayaan ini bisa menghantarkan sinar dengan mengurangi transmisi kalori panasnya. Atau mungkin juga panasnya bisa dialihkan untuk memanaskan pemanas air dengan pompa kalor untuk rumah tangga yang juga digunakan dalam rumah ini.

Selain rumah ramah lingkungan ini, masih ada beberapa gerai lain yang menarik bagi para desainer. Entah produk-produk yang dilabel ramah lingkungan seperti eco-washer dari TOTO, ataupun produk Sunenergy green dari Asahimas yang disebut bisa mereduksi panas matahari yang ditransmisi melalui kaca sehingga kenyamanan suhu udara di dalam ruang bisa dimaksimalkan dengan biaya pendinginan ruangan yang lebih rendah. Penggunaan AC yang lebih rendah tentunya juga lebih bersifat ramah lingkungan.

Masih banyak aspek menarik lain yang bisa diperoleh dari berbagai macam produsen yang ikut pameran. Ada juga acara bincang-bincang menarik seperti yang pada hari pembukaan itu diadakan di gerai Kajima Corporation, sayang sekali waktu saya tidak cukup untuk meliputnya.

Acara seni dan budaya

Yang biasanya paling saya sukai tentunya adalah acara-acara kesenian dan kebudayaan. Ada berbagai macam kesenian yang dimunculkan baik dari Indonesia maupun dari Jepang. Kalau dari Indonesia, acara membuat batik pasti sangat menarik, sementara dari Jepang acara membuat ikebana juga tidak kurang menariknya.

Sore ini Indonesia Japan Expo 2008 tampil Lisa Halim. Nama yang sangat kental bau Indonesianya ini ternyata adalah penyanyi Jepang keturunan Indonesia. Di acara ini ia akan membawakan lagu-lagu dari albumnya berjudul “Daddy”.

Saya sudah berjanji pada anak-anak saya untuk membawa mereka ke pameran ini, tinggal dua hari lagi…Entah hari Sabtu atau hari Minggu, kami pasti ikutan antri wahana 3D untuk melihat yang namanya Shinkasen, juga supaya anak-anak melihat kecanggihan teknologi sehingga mereka nantinya juga bisa ikut kreatif.

Jakob Oetama, Pemimpin Umum Harian Kompas, dalam konperensi pers di hari pembukaan pameran bahwa acara ini juga bertujuan menarik perhatian generasi muda terhadap kemajuan teknologi agar mereka di kemudian hari bisa ikut mengisi kemajuan teknologi. Selain itu tentunya adalah bagi para pengusaha agar bisa terjalin kerjasama yang lebih baik lagi. Memang ada beberapa produk yang belum masuk ke Indonesia juga tampil disini, selain itu mungkin minat orang Jepang sendiri kepada produksi Indonesia seperti kopi, ataupun furniture bisa jadi membukakan peluang usaha bagi anda.

Bagaimana, anda sudah kesana dan terinspirasi?