WHEN I MET TED FISHMAN!
09 Oct 2011 Leave a Comment
in Random
—-The dialogue happens in 23rd June, 2011
Forrest Gump’s mother always said that life was like a box of chocolate. You’ll never know what you’re gonna have.
A fortnight ago, I had the rare chance to meet this incredible guy personally. In case you haven’t heard of him, he’s a journalist, the author of China, Inc. as well as Shock of Gray. This guy was once a lecturer in Universitas Gajah Mada and is now on a two-month trip in Jakarta. He was about to treat me a Big Mac-if only I hadn’t bought my own meal.
Ted: (to a mas-mas) “Terima kasih!” (“Thank you!” in English)
Vid: “You must’ve been here before. You speak Bahasa!”
Ted: “Well, actually, yes. But you only see the part of language that I know. There are parts that I don’t-and that’s a lot more!”
Vid: “Haha, alright.”
Ted: “Okay. So…”
Vid: “So, yes. What would I do, as a research assistant?”
Ted: “Well, I think I’ll have to tell you how I work. I never have specific things in mind when I decided to write something. I just talk with people-talk with almost everyone, and then I observe their thoughts, I discover the concerns that they have, and then I narrow my topic down.
Vid: (that’s pretty much what I myself do)
Ted: “I contacted a friend of mine to help finding these people…yet, instead of bringing me to the market or kampungs, he made appointments with far too great people-like the ministers and all those politicians. I don’t think I’m smart enough to meet them now. So I freaked out.”
Vid: (what a humble guy-he can’t even tell who’s smarter than whom)
Ted: “Basically, I need someone to be a translator-to falicitate me converse with real Indonesian people in the suburbs, in the market…preferably in the afternoon. Because that’s when people slow down from their morning rush.
Vid: “Well, I’d love to. I think it’ll be a great opportunity to directly learn from the field.”
Ted: “Really? Great!”
Vid: (asks technical questions)
Ted: (answers technical questions)
Vid: (nods in agreement)
Ted: “Your English is excellent, by the way. Did you grow up somewhere abroad?”
Vid: “Thank you. Nope. Actually, no. I just watch movies.”
Ted: “Wow, that’s great. So, tell me about yourself. Your interests, your dream…your plans in the future?”
Vid: “I…aspire to be a writer…just like you. An academic one, who argues about. I also want to give lectures in classes, and I hope I can do both simultaneously. But I’m not really sure where to start.
Ted: “Well. I think Indonesia is a great place for writers. The people here are hungry for information. There are a lot of newspapers to start writing for.”
Vid: “True. But that’s exactly why we can’t tell which news is worth reading and which is not. There are too many of them.”
Ted: “Well, the thing that you have to bear in mind is that books are not newspapers-nor magazines. People buy your book because they like your idea. Newspapers and magazines, on the other hand, are issued frequently. People buy them on a habit, for example.”
Vid: “Can’t agree more.”
Ted: “I’m not saying that magazines are bad–I subscribe to a number of them. But you know, you’ll have to have the idea to sell a book.”
I don’t know what point I’m making by posting this up, but I think when you’re really great, it would be hard for you to realize that you are. He’s such an increadibly smart, family-loving, and amicable man. He has all the checklist that ladies compose for their candidate husband. I fell so fortunate to have met him in person, on a table at McDonald’s Pasar Festival.
Bonne nuit à vous toutes et tous, faites de beaux rêves !!!
29 May 2011 Leave a Comment
in Random
La Nuit des nuits
(Extraits)
Le jour, ce beau fils du Soleil,
Dont le visage non pareil
Donne le teint aux belles choses,
Prêt d’entrer en la mer, enlumine son bord
De ses dernières roses,
Et ses premiers rayons vont lui marquer le port.
Ce doux créateur des beautés,
Roi des glorieuses clartés,
Qui dessus nous sont répandues,
Nous donnant le bonsoir se cache dans les eaux,
Et les ombres tendues
Avertissent le ciel d’allumer ses flambeaux.
Les bois ne paraissent plus verts,
La Nuit entrant dans l’univers
Couvre le sommet des montagne
Déjà l’air orphelin arrose de ses pleurs
La face des campagnes,
Et les larmes du soir tombent dessus les fleurs.
Le monde change de couleurs,
Une générale pâleur
Efface la beauté des plaines,
Et les oiseaux surpris sur le bord des marais
Courtisant les fontaines
Se vont mettre à couvert dans le sein des forêts.
Quelques brins d’écarlate et d’or
Paraissent attachés encor
À quelques pièces de nuage ;
Des restes de rayons peignant tout à l’entour
Le fond du paysage
Font un troisième temps qui n’est ni nuit ni jour.
Les rougeurs qu’on voit dans les airs
Jeter ces languissants éclairs
Qui meurent dans les plis de l’onde,
Sont les hontes du jour fuyant le successeur
Qui le chasse du monde,
L’astre des belles nuits que gouverne sa soeur.
Le Silence vêtu de noir
Retournant faire son devoir
Vole sur la mer et la terre,
Et l’Océan joyeux de sa tranquillité
Est un liquide verre
Où la face du Ciel imprime sa beauté.
Le visage du firmament
Descendu de cet élément
Y fait voir sa figure peinte,
Les feux du Ciel sans peur nagent dedans la mer,
Et les poissons sans crainte
Glissent parmi ces feux qui semblent les aimer.
Dans le fond de ce grand miroir
La nature se plaît à voir
L’onde et la flamme si voisines,
Et les astres tombés en ces pays nouveaux,
Salamandres marines,
Se baignent à plaisir dans le giron des eaux.
[...] Un bel oeil nageant dans ses pleurs
Fait soupirer de ses douleurs
La plus insensible poitrine ;
Ô larmes de Jésus, que ne ferez-vous pas ?
Chère enfance divine,
Qui pourra résister à vos chastes appas ?
Belle Iris, nourrice des fleurs,
Arc de rayons et de couleurs,
Dont les flèches sont les rosées,
Vos larmes céderont aux pleurs de cet Amour
Quoiqu’elles soient puisées
En des sources de musc et des canaux de jour.
Rosée, agréable présent,
Dont l’Aurore va courtisant
Les nourrissons de la prairie,
De qui l’été reçoit ses aimables fraîcheurs,
Et la plaine fleurie
Les parfums embaumés de ses riches blancheurs ;
Gouttes, filles des beaux matins,
Yeux des fleurs, astres argentins,
Nourriture des prés humides,
Étoiles des jardins, douces sueurs des cieux,
Cristaux, perles liquides,
Vous n’avez rien d’égal aux larmes de ces yeux.
Ruisseaux, délicieux serpents
Qui vous glissez à pas rampants
Parmi les herbages des plaines,
Grossissez-vous des pleurs qui mouillent ce beau corps,
Ces deux riches fontaines
De vos flots roturiers en feront des trésors.
Fleuves, de roseaux habillés,
Prenez vos vases écaillés
Pour recueillir ces douces pluies,
Ils n’ont jamais reçu de plus riche liqueur,
Venez remplir vos buies
Des chers écoulements du sang de ce beau coeur. […]
Gabriel DU BOIS-HUS (1599-1655)
Je vais essayer de trouver le poème en entier.
Which Language Do You Pray with?
17 May 2011 Leave a Comment
in Random
I am carried away realizing the fact that billions of people in this planet are establishing their private connections to God from different cities in different continents, through prayers in at least a via different languages. How each and every single one of them have the exact same concept of God as omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, and omniunderstanding although they learn through different words and sentences is simply astonishing.
Now an intriguing question comes knocking my unresting mind: Does the language you use to pray with affect the way you perceive God? Or, the way you comprehend the idea of ‘praying’ itself?
Some languages facilitate its users to communicate better narratively, some others are more romantic, mnemonic, sermonic, or plain blunt. There are values attached to each language, histories behind words, and stories behind expressions.
For instance, American English has less complicated combination of words and is relatively more straightforward. Whilst Turkish possesses extra rooms for amorous metaphors and bahasa Jawa helps you to feel much less-powerful than the Kings.
When I was a kid, I used to pray in bahasa Indonesia, in which I see God as a close-yet-unreachable respected Figure. I bet you’re very familiar with this:
” Ya Allah, mudahkanlah hamba dalam melaksanakan ujian besok, semoga hamba dapat mengerjakannya dengan tenang, berikan hamba kecermatan dan kekuatan untuk menyelesaikannya sebaik mungkin. Hanya Engkau yang dapat menolong hambamu.”
Now, when I try to call Him, I talk English. He’s become a dear and close Friend that understands me better than anyone else, that has power to solve my every problem, that causes things to happen. The word ‘hamba‘ and ‘Engkau‘ which have significantly different meanings with the normal ‘saya‘ and ‘kamu‘ (don’t forget that we still have ‘aku‘, ‘kau‘, and many others) do not exist in English. In English there’s only one ‘I’ and ‘you’, which are useable for both parents and peers, boss and colleagues. This, to some extent, blurs the separating distance (in a positive way) that bahasa Indonesia puts between you and your God.
In this context, back then I prayed only when I need to ask for things, because ‘problems’ once meant ‘not-being-able-to-watch-Sailor-Moon-due-to-electricity-cut-off’. However, today, the word ‘problems’ grows as ‘complicated-situation-between-me-and-campus-matters’. Thus, I pray not only to make humble requests, but also to tell stories, to let go burdens, and to feel peaceful. In both ways, the practice of praying itself will always be a sacred ritual that calms and sooths my agitated heart.
Do you experience the same shift of language-use in your prayers?
Is “Natural Family Planning” a Real Method of Birth Control?
12 May 2011 Leave a Comment
My favorite part of fertility awareness is that it makes women more aware of their cycle. When I say cycle, I don’t mean the length of your period. I mean the number of days from the first day of one period to the first day of your next period. Once you’ve charted that over a few months, you can figure out the average length of your cycle. It can be anything from 28 days to 40 days or something else entirely. Fertility awareness only works for women who have a regular period. What’s important is that you chart your cycle for a few months and figure out how many days it is. One way to keep track of your period is to mark on your calendar every month on the first day. That will also make counting the days of your cycle much easier.
Once you’ve done that for a few months and/or when you’re confident that you know the number of days of your cycle, it’s time to figure out when you ovulate. Look at the first day of your period for one particular month, and then count back 14 days. Generally, women ovulate 14 days before their period. Ovulation can also occur a few days before and a few days after that particular day. This is the window of time in your cycle when you’re MOST likely to get pregnant. If you’re trying to become pregnant, this is the time that you want to have sex. If you’re trying to AVOID pregnancy, that week is the time when you should avoid having sex.
That’s not to say that you can’t get pregnant any other time of the month, but that sex during ovulation is the time when you’re most likely to become pregnant. Using this method, called the “calendar” method of fertility awareness, does require an understanding partner and careful monitoring of your period. I think it’s a great thing to get in the habit of doing even if you’re not using it for birth control so that you can be more in tune with your body.
There are two other methods that are associated with fertility awareness. One is the temperature method, which involves monitoring your basal body temperature over the course of your cycle to determine when you’re ovulating. The other method is called the cervical mucus method, which involves keeping track of the consistency of the mucus around your cervix. The most effective way to use these methods is to combine all three of them, giving you an even more heightened awareness of signs that you are ovulating.
How effective these methods are depends on how well you’re able to use them, like any birth control. Planned Parenthood says that “Between 12 and 25 out of every 100 couples who use fertility awareness methods each year will have a pregnancy if they don’t always use the method correctly or consistently. Always practicing these methods correctly will make them more effective. How well FAMs work depends on both partners. That’s why it is important for both to learn about the methods and support each other in their use.” Fertility awareness can be great if you have regular periods, a supportive partner, don’t take any medications, don’t have any STIs, and are willing to put in the work of monitoring your cycle.
With all that said, fertility awareness is best coupled with the emergency contraceptive pill to help prevent unwanted pregnancy.
What do you think about fertility awareness? Would you use it as your birth control method?
Why is everyone worth knowing?
12 May 2011 Leave a Comment
Women Worth Knowing: Everyone is Worth Knowing. I want to explain why I believe that is true.
While I do believe we are all made equal in the eyes of our Creator, talents and gifts were certainly not equally distributed. We can’t all be Cindy Crawford, and it’s a rare one of us who is Marie Curie. I’m waiting for a Crawford-Curie hybrid to pop up, but as long as wearing clothes pays higher than scientific and medical discovery, I think I’ll have to keep waiting. I digress already. One paragraph in might be a record!
At some point in our lives, we were–every one of us–fresh and new, a completely blank slate. As we were passed around from parents to family members, to friends and peers, to coworkers and bosses, and to society in general everyone we ever bumped into left some sort of inscription, which we read and interpreted into who we are today. Some of us read wonderful, positive things. Some of us were penned into tragedies. Some of us ended up with a dismorphic sense of self, to the positive, or the negative. Some of us were confused. Some of us had to become multi-lingual. And some of us were left as blank as Martha Dumptruck’s high school yearbook.
But at some point, we were all equal. Innocent. Pure. Nothing but possibility.
I believe that equality still exists within each of us. That original spark is still there. And we are all worth knowing, because we are all part of the same body of Mankind, and since we must coexist, why not get to know each other as we can?
I am the last person on earth who wants to be intimate friends with everyone. I am way too cranky for that. But if we can meet each other as equals, all of us, then I think we can get to a starting point with erasers and maybe clean some of the uglier writing off our slates, and add some new superlatives instead. And in doing so, we stand a chance at making the world a better place. It ain’t curing cancer, but maybe by treating each other as equals as human beings, we make a positive mark on a woman who will do just that.
Everyone is worth knowing because everyone brings something to the table, even if it is simply an example of what not to do. 
A review: Historical Women in Fictions
10 May 2011 Leave a Comment
in Feminism
One of my favorite ways to experience history is through the historical fiction novel. While all of the details of the story are not technically rooted in historical fact, you get really get a sense of the spirit of the story and the people who populate it, and you get to read an exciting novel, not a dry history book (I do admit a complete literary bias in this respect). The best historical novelists write an afterword that detail where the creative liberties were taken in the story, which are not intended to alter historical facts, but rather to fill in gaps where information is lacking. Some historical fictions are more fiction than others, but in each one you get a sense of the inner being of an historical character that you cannot get otherwise. The following is a list of my favorite historical fictions (eventhough I couldn’t read them all completely).
The Memoirs of Cleopatra by Margaret George
With a childhood love of Cleop
atra, Margaret George sifts through all of the historical documentation about Cleopatra and constructs an historical novel that has very little embellishment. The love and passion for Cleopatra with which this novel was written comes across in every page and I finished this novel with a new found love and devotion for Cleopatra.
Most interesting to me was the reclaiming of Cleopatra’s character as a strong powerful woman, not the deceitful, conniving seductress that she has so famously been portrayed to be. Also quite interesting was the revelation that Julius Caesar was Cleopatra’s true love, not Mark Anthony. While Cleopatra and Antony were lovers, their relationship only began after the demise of Caesar and while it seems Cleopatra did love Antony, it was not nearly as intimate a relationship as she had with Caesar.
Quite a bit of historical documentation exists about Cleopatra and yet what is commonly known about her is often inaccurate. Much of the common mythos was propaganda spread about Cleopatra just after her demise in order to discredit and defame her. I my opinion, this is a must read for everyone.
Girl in a Blue Dress by Gaynor Arnold
This is a wonderful book, though at times it is difficult to read because either you can’t believe that Dorothea’s impulsive decisions or the horrific actions of her husband. The story is loosely based on the life of Charles and Catherine Dickens, however Arnold choosing to change their names and only keep the perimeters of the main narrative true to historical record in order to create a space outside of the Dickens scholars that gave her the creative freedom to pen her novel. It’s well written and takes you on a journey into the inter-workings of a tragic love affair.
The Lady in the Tower by Jean Plaidy
The famous Anne Boleyn has had numerous stories, fiction and non, penned about her. I have read a few and many of them can be dry and boring. This novel, however, is neither as it tells the tale of Anne from a young age at the French court all the way through her marriage and subsequent exile as the love of King Henry VIII. Much is known of this illustrious couple and this book doesn’t deviate from the usual telling or offer new insight, rather its just an entertaining read of an historical story, much more enjoyable that the dry historical versions.
Helen of Troy by Margaret George
I have not come to the conclusion of Helen of Troy, having only possessed the book for two weeks, but I am absolutely loving every minute of reading it. I am a huge fan of Margaret George, as several of her historical fictions populate this list, and as always I am intrigued on the angle she takes in presenting the story of the hero. Most interestingly thus far is Helen’s willingness to abscond with Paris, rather than her being kidnapped as is so often recounted. I did a little research, and ancient Greek sources are often elliptical and contradictory and stories of Helen going willingly, being abducted or Paris simple being the chosen suitor all exist. I always find it interesting when the story that gives the woman the least amount of agency becomes the most popularly known version.
The Virgin’s Lover by Philippa Gregory
Philippa Gregory has written several novels in this genre. I have not had the chance to read them all, but I like this one because of the crime novel aspect to it–my love of crime novels stemming from early days of reaing Nancy Drew, is disgraced by all of the Mary Higgins Clark novels I devoured as a tween and peaks with a profound love of Lawrence Sanders’ McNally series. But I digress, Philippa Gregory likes to include the most scandalous aspects of a long lost history, whether they have the most probability of being true or not. This makes her novels page turners and the Virign’s Lover is no different. Gregory offers the opportunity to get lost in the romanticized days at the British court.
Well, it’s the end of my review. Get inspired, guys? Anyone excited reading or being ‘drowned’ in one of their stories? I hope.
~Vidya~
A medical student in last year, as she has turned into doctor zhivago, one of her favorite fictional figure.
Holland Starts Taxing Prostitutes
10 May 2011 Leave a Comment
The Netherlands will start collecting income taxes from prostitutes this year. Tax inspectors have started to make visits to over 3000 of the country’s prostitutes in order to talk to sex workers about the average number of clients they serve each day, and how much the sex workers charge per visit, in order to make an estimate about the salary range of the prostitutes.
Sex workers are viewed as independent contractors in
the Netherlands, and they have not been required to pay income taxes in the past. But Holland is feeling the economic crunch as badly as the rest of the world, and this is no doubt a very practical approach to generating tax revenue. According to the Dutch newspaper Parool:
“Prostitutes in Amsterdam did not pay income tax on humanitarian grounds. The taxman always left them untouched. The reasoning was that prostitutes were in fact victims of trafficking, and all were exploited by pimps, and that taxes would cause another form of exploitation. Such leniency was towards both Dutch and foreign prostitutes, but Dutch women were generally treated less leniently than victims of trafficking from Eastern Europe. The new taxes will be equally applied . . .
The City of Amsterdam believes that the exploitation of women still occurs in prostitution, but the Treasury now considers it high time prostitutes to start treating as ordinary taxpayers. “
(Please excuse any errors in translation.)
This story fascinates me. Prostitution is legal in the Netherlands, and it is highly regulated. Sex workers must register with the government, they are issued a registration pass, and clients may ask to see a prostitute’s pass. This is a result of the Dutch paradigm of “harm reduction.” The Dutch generally accept that people are going to have sex with prostitutes. By legalizing and regulating sex work, the government is better able to control the environment surrounding it. Moreover, Holland has nationalized health care. It is in the country’s best interest to ensure that sex workers are regularly checked for STI’s, especially if the government is going to pick up the tab if a sex worker or a client gets sick.
This is not to say that everything is fine and dandy in the Netherlands. Because of the prevalence of brothels and sex tourism in Holland, sex trafficking is very common. It seems like sending tax inspectors into the brothels to talk to sex workers is one way of keeping tabs on the working conditions, and making sure that the brothels are operating above board. This is a very Dutch approach to addressing criminal activity.
What do you think of this story? Should sex workers be required to report their wages? Do you think that they will give an honest reporting of their earnings? How many hairdressers or waiters give an honest report of their tips? I would be willing to bet money that the sex workers will under-report their earnings. Until the brothels start issuing customers a receipt for their hand jobs, there is no way to accurately report and tax the income.
That’s just my opinion, though. What do you think?
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