Source: National Geographic

Photograph by Mark Lewis/Stone/Getty Images

A forest of skyscrapers dominates modern Jakarta, but Islam looms much larger than this comparatively diminutive mosque. Indonesia is the world’s largest Muslim country.

Source: Jakarta Globe

October 19, 2009

Syviana Hamdani

For literature aficionados, the month of October has been one of tension, character and plot lines in spades — and the denouement is yet to come.

On the heels of the Ubud Writers and Readers Festival in Bali, Komunitas Utan Kayu, a cultural enclave consisting of literary writers, intellectuals, artists and journalists, opens its fifth literary biennale on Tuesday.

With the theme “Merandai,” or traversing, the literary biennale seeks to inspire a cross-cultural exchange of ideas between literary artists from different cultural and geographical backgrounds.

The biennale, in collaboration with Festival Winternachten in the Netherlands, brings together 10 international and 23 Indonesian literary writers, including Dacia Maraini from Italy, Reggie Baay from the Netherlands and Drisana Deborah Jack from St. Martin, to read and discuss their work at Jakarta’s Theater Salihara. Among the Indonesian writers are AS Laksana, Leila S Chudori and senior poet-essayist Sapardi Djoko Damono.

Hasif Amini, the event’s deputy director, says the gathering aims to inspire a greater appreciation for both local and international literary works, and perhaps lead to new opportunities for artists.

“When these artists meet it opens doors of opportunity for our writers to gain invitations to literary festivals abroad or to get their work published in different languages,” Hasif says.

Festival director Ayu Utami says the fifth biennale also crosses into new realms of the creative arts, placing visual arts and music alongside readings and discussions. Seventeen Indonesian painters and three independent bands from Bandung have been invited to interpret selected literary works in paintings and music. Musical performances will feature Tika and the Dissidents, Angsa and Serigala and Rumah Musik Harry Roesli.

Paintings presented by curator Wahyudin will be on display at Galeri Salihara from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily until Oct. 30.

And although widely published poets and authors star in this event, literary laymen and debutants with larger aspirations can take heart. Each evening during the biennale novice writers are invited to read their work in a “poetry slam” at Theater Salihara.

“We invite everyone who is interested to take an active part,” Ayu says.

The event will be open to the public from Wednesday through Saturday. Discussions in both Indonesian and English will feature a translator, and readings are to appear translated on LCD monitors.

For the first time ever, the opening ceremony will be taped and broadcast on YouTube, as well, providing a glimpse of participants as they visit Bogor Palace and attend a poetry reading at the Bogor Botanical Gardens.

Literary Biennale Schedule
Wednesday, Oct. 21
7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Theater Salihara:
Reading and Discussion: Women — Heroines and Concubines. Featuring Dacia Maraini (Italy), Lily Yulianti Farid (Indonesia), Reggie Baay (the Netherlands), Wendoko (Indonesia) and Yanusa Nugroho (Indonesia)
9 p.m. to 11 p.m. at Kafe Atap Salihara:
Reading, Music Performance and Poetry Slam. Featuring Hudan Hidayat (Indonesia), Iyut Fitra (Indonesia) and the indie band Tika and the Dissidents

Thursday, Oct. 22
7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Theater Salihara:
Reading and Discussion: Spaces and Traces. Featuring Agus Sardjono (Indonesia), Alfred Schaffer (the Netherlands), Bernice Chauly (Malaysia), Gus TF Sakai (Indonesia), M Aan Mansyur (Indonesia), Leila S Chudori (Indonesia). Book launch, Leila S Chudori
9 p.m. to 11 p.m. at Kafe Atap Salihara: Reading and Poetry Slam. Featuring Inggit Putria Marga (Indonesia), Jan Cornall (Australia), Ramon Damora (Indonesia) and Timur Sinar Suprabana (Indonesia)

Friday, Oct. 23
7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Theater Salihara:
Reading and Discussion: History and Irony. Featuring A Muttaqin (Indonesia), AS Laksana (Indonesia), Drisana Deborah Jack (St. Martin), Handri TM (Indonesia), Vanni Bianconi (Switzerland), Warih Wisatsana (Indonesia)
9 p.m. to 11 p.m. at Kafe Atap Salihara:
Reading, Music Performance and Poetry Slam. Featuring Ahda Imran (Indonesia), Beno Siang Pamungkas (Indonesia), Zeno Gabaglio (Switzerland) and percussion music by Rumah Musik Harry Roesli

Saturday, Oct. 24
7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Theater Salihara:
Reading and Discussion: Traversing. Featuring M Iksaka Banu (Indonesia), Moon Chung Hee (South Korea), Triyanto Triwikromo (Indonesia), Sapardi Djoko Damono (Indonesia) and Sandra Thibodeaux (Australia)
9 p.m. to 11 p.m. at Kafe Atap Salihara:
Reading, Music Performance and Poetry Slam. Featuring Jimmy Maruli Alfian (Indonesia), Hasan Aspahani (Indonesia) and the indie band Angsa and Serigala

Theater Salihara
Jalan Salihara No. 16
Pasar Minggu
Jakarta
Tel. 021 789 1202

On the 2nd October 2009 at the 4th International Convention on Intangible Cultural Heritage in Abu Dhabi UAE, UNESCO has accepted the nomination of Indonesian Batik as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, amongst 111 nominees worldwide.

The announcement is proudly presented by the JAKARTA CONVENTION & EXHIBITION BUREAU and THE PRESIDENT POST

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The foreground batik, Babon Angrem, a Semen (budding, spring) or free motif, represents a roosting hen protective of her hen and egg, concerns with its growth in a safe environment. The tentacle liked motif known as Batara Kala, the one eyed God usually found on Central Java temple doors, represents as Protector. Created and hand writtened on both sides with profound compassion by the Late Nyai Bei Mardusari, a legendary Javanese Court dancer and singer of the Court of Mangkunegara VII, one of a kind only for her ruler, never for the common people. Worn at ceremonial events such as an impending birth of a child.

The background batik, Udan Liris (gentle rain), one of the famous Lereng (diagonal) motifs, incorporating a repeat of up to 24 different patterns, represents blessings for calm, stability and prosperity. The Courts of Central Java are fond of the motif and worn regularly at most traditional ceremonies such as the Anniversary to the ascension to the throne. This piece is highly priced for its meticulous detail of 24 Lereng motifs.

Babon Angrem and Udan Liris have been specially selected for this auspicious occasion for its philosophical symbols that reflects the way of life, appreciated by the Courts of Java in particular, its common people in general and since the past decades by the people of Indonesia.

The motif of Semen and Lereng are amongst the forebidden patterns reserved specially for the Courts.

Both are of Surakarta (Solo, Central Java) origin and its Babaran (dyeing process) is from the atelier of the Late Ibu Kanjeng Wonogiri Harjowiratmo, the most renown artisan famous for the yellowish soga natural dye.

Batiks from the Courts of Surakarta and Jogyakarta have been very popular among the Indonesian ladies and worn extensively in Indonesia and overseas. Batik has been part of our heritage for centuries, we are proud to receive the long overdue worlds recognition as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Batiks are the courtesy of Himpunan Ratna Busana, the Society of Indonesian Costume circa 1972.

Source:  Hello Bali

text peter stephenson
images courtesy of the ubud writers and readers festival

As one of the best literary festivals in Indonesia – and arguably the region – The Ubud Writes and Readers Festival is one of Bali’s yearly highlights. Among hundreds of exciting events on offer during the five-day event, we have chosen ten that makes a complete Bali literary experience.

1 Literary lunch with Wole Soyinka and Hari Kunzru at Four Seasons, Sayan.
Nobel Prize-winning playwright, political activist and connoisseur of fine wine, Nigeria’s Wole Soyinka, rubs shoulders over lunch with mercurial UK novelist, and all-round twenty-first-century-renaissance-man, Hari Kunzru. The alchemical possibilities of the combination are almost too many to bear thinking about but could well lead to the synthesis of a hitherto unacknowledged fifth-season at the Four Seasons resort. Bookings are essential, but if you can’t get a ticket, be on the lookout for startling atmospheric phenomena in the skies above Sayan.

2 Tribute to Rendra at Pura Dalem, Jalan Raya, Ubud.
Vale W.S. Rendra, who passed away in August this year, was perhaps Indonesia’s best-known poet and dramatist. Rising to prominence in the tumultuous 1960s, his flamboyant declamatory style came to epitomise the voice of protest first against Soekarno, then against his successor, Soeharto, whose takeover, Rendra had originally, problematically, supported. By the end of the 1970s, his experiments with the radical kampung-based ‘Bengkel Theatre’ led to a prison term, and a seven-year ban on all public performances. By the mid 1980s and into the 1990s he was back, performing his poetry to massive crowds of adoring fans. This tribute will feature a eulogy by Warih Wisatsana and readings of his work by other writers including Max Lane who produced the first English translations of his work.

3 Launch of the 2009 Anthology of Indonesian writers in translation at Neka Art Museum Jalan Raya Campuhan, Ubud.
An important goal of the UWRF is to promote contemporary Indonesian literary culture to a much wider readership. Recognising the crucial role of translation in achieving this, each year the festival publishes an English-language anthology that showcases new Indonesian essays, short stories and poetry by established and emerging writers. This year’s launch will feature bilingual readings of work from the anthology, most by authors who have never before been translated. This free event once again proves to be a lively introduction to the incredibly vibrant and diverse Indonesian literary scene.

4 Poetry Slam at Casa Pasta, Monkey Forest Road
You’ve probably all seen this sort of thing on the sports network, but for those who don’t know, a poetry slam is a bit like world championship wrestling. It can be brutal, sweaty, and downright gruesome and that’s just the audience. Watch heavyweight wordsmiths battle it out with the poetic equivalents of the flying mare, the sleeper, the dreaded hammerlock, all to the accompaniment of cheering, jeering, foot stomping fans whose participation is all part of the entertainment. Performance poet extraordinaire Omar Musa, who is no stranger to the gladiatorial arena, having creamed the opposition in the 2008 Australian final, will start as firm favourite. But will he be a match for the talented line-up at this year’s UWRF slam? A no-holds-barred contest of wit, hilarity and sheer linguistic brawn. Hey! Is that a haiku in your tights?

5 Literary Lunch with Fatima Bhutto and Desi Anwar, Alila resort, Desa Melinggih Kelod, Payangan.
A survey conducted in Pakistan recently ranked Fatima Bhutto a close third in the list of preferred Prime Ministers, but to date she has steadfastly resisted the dynastic and popular pressure to enter politics, focussing instead on poetry, journalism and points between. She is also such a disarmingly eloquent speaker, and fearless critic of injustices in her own country and around the world, that raising the topic of her alleged relationship with George Clooney would seem exceedingly shallow. Offering Fatima a platter of deliciously poised hors d’ oeuvres will be Desi Anwar, broadcaster with Metro TV, journalist and former presenter of the ground-breaking news and current affairs programme Seputar Indonesia.

6 Twilight Playreadings at The Yoga Barn, Jalan Pengosekan, Ubud.
Plays by three celebrated playwrights and festival guests: Nigerian Wole Soyinka, Indonesian Cok Sawitri, and Italian Marco Calvani, will be presented by an all-star cast from Indonesia, Australia, Zimbabwe, and Italy. Settle back, close your eyes and listen, or focus on the faces talking. The stagecraft is inside your head. It’s amazing how the images come. Go and give it a try yourself.

7Writers Rock Hard at Hard Rock Café, Jalan Pantai, Kuta.
Rock ‘n’ Read! Sam Cutler, former tour manager for the Grateful Dead and the Rolling Stones – most notoriously during their 1969 “Let it Bleed” tour of the US, which ended on a dark and bitter-cold night at Altamont – has just written a book. “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” is a candid memoir of those days on the road that throws a whole new light on the 1960s and 70s and the rock stars and spectaculars they spawned. Cutler will be joined by Jerinx from Bali’s ambassadors of punk and custom culture, Superman is Dead, recently returned from their own tour of the US. Check, one, two.

8 Ode to the martini @ Naughty Nuri’s, Jalan Raya Sanggingan, Ubud.
Literature is like distillation; both seek to capture precious essences. Try saying that after a few drinks! One part inspiration, three parts rocket fuel with a tantalising twist, Nuri’s’ martinis, with or without a side order of her equally famous char-grilled ribs, tuna or lambchops, have reputedly reduced “grown men” to tears. One or two writers at this year’s festival have sworn off the stuff. And that just means more for the rest of them. An elegiac dedication to that most elemental of drinks, go hear their tales and odes and get yourself a taste of what they’re talking about.

9 Midsummer night’s dream, theatre fireFLY at ARMA museum, Jalan Pengosekan, Ubud.
Shakespeare teleported to the lush gardens of the ARMA Museum in Pengosekan. A cross-cultural, multi-everything production that combines sampled sounds with junkyard percussion, digital projections with natural features, and amateurs with professionals, to look at relationships: between communities, between people, between people and the environment, and between the seen and unseen worlds. The Bard’s fairies in this adaptation are transformed into Balinese river spirits – played by young participants in a workshop programme run by the troupe.

10 Q & A cocktails with Vikas Swarup at Amandari, Kedewatan, Ubud.
Meet Vikas Swarup, Indian diplomat and author of Q&A, the runaway success topped and tailed to become the multi-Academy Award-winning Slumdog Millionaire. His second novel Six Suspects, a Gordian knot of a thriller about the assassination of a reprehensible and politically well-connected playboy murderer, has also recently been optioned. Ask him, over a cocktail, how he finds the time to write, about the challenges and joys of cinematic adaptation, and about…well, anything really.

For full details, go straight to the UWRF website:www.ubudwritersfestival.com

“When you have something they’re not making any more of, the value goes up,” said comedian Jay Leno, host of the Jay Leno Show, who has a collection of 105 cars, including 8 Duesenbergs, and 90 motorcycles. “If you’re knowledgeable, you’ll probably end up making money.”

Source: Bloomberg.com

Sept. 25 (Bloomberg) — Stephen Serio, a Waltham, Massachusetts classic-cardealer, expects the 1966 Ferrari 275GTB on his lot to sell for about $810,000. Five years ago, the same car sold for $500,000.

“When you have something they’re not making any more of, the value goes up,” said comedian Jay Leno, host of the Jay Leno Show, who has a collection of 105 cars, including 8 Duesenbergs, and 90 motorcycles. “If you’re knowledgeable, you’ll probably end up making money.”

Prices on collectible cars have gained about 60 percent since September 2006 according to an index created by David Kinney, publisher of “Hagerty’s Cars That Matter,” a pricing guide and Web site. His Blue Chip index of 25 vehicles tracks actual sales and includes automobiles such as the 1960 to 1963 Ferrari 250 GT California Spyder, which has gained 112 percent since September 2006, and has a current book value of $4.2 million.

Collectible cars have beaten art, wine, stocks and gold, which is up 30 percent since September 2006. The Art Market Confidence Index at Artprice.com has fallen 37 percent from a year ago and is down 69 percent since September 2006. The WinePrices Fine Wine 100 Index dropped 38 percent between April 2008 and January 2009, and the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index has declined 24 percent over the past three years.

“It’s an addiction, a passion,” said Guy Anderson, 56, a Georgia collector. “We all make sacrifices to have these cars. You can’t have just one. Each car does something different.” He rents buildings around his Woodstock, Georgia, home to house his 15-car collection, which includes a 1965 Abarth Simca race car.

Aston Martin Sale

A 1953 Aston Martin DB 2/4 Coupe sold at the Gooding & Company auction in Pebble Beach, California, in August for $1.65 million, more than triple some pre-auction appraisals of about $500,000, said Serio, the Massachusetts dealer. The last time the one-of-a-kind vehicle was available, in 2007, it sold for $887,000.

“That car just blew the roof off the market,” Serio said. “Everybody in the car world was looking at each other and saying, ‘Are you kidding me?’”

Television has helped fuel today’s market boom, said Ford Heacock III, president of Heacock Classic, a collector-car insurance company. The Speed Channel, a unit of News Corp., has been expanding coverage of auto auctionssince 2002. Bidding under cameras and lights gets people excited, Heacock said. Transactions among private parties are generally priced well below auctions, he said, a flaw most pricing guides don’t account for.

‘Glitz and Glitter’

“There’s a lot of glitz and glitter. It’s hard not to get mesmerized. The whole industry is driven by passion,” Heacock said.

Some collectible cars, such as the ‘57 Chevy, have declined, said Richard Lentinello, editor-in-chief of Hemmings Motor News, a collector-car publisher in Bennington, Vermont.

The most-desired cars such as Italian-made Ferraris and Bugattis and have held up very well, Lentinello said. A 1938 Bugatti Type 57C sold at Gooding & Company’s August auction for $1.38 million.

“If you’re reasonably knowledgeable and you know what you like, there’s a good chance other people will like it too,” Leno said.

Cars that were popular 30 or 40 years ago will generally remain popular today, Lentinello said. Collectors are attracted to features such as hand-made bodies, small production runs, certain types of engines, and a racing pedigree.

“All Ferraris aren’t worth $1 million to $2 million,” Lentinello said. “Some are worth only $200,000. You have to do your homework. You can get burned fast.”

Among the traps for buyers: cars that aren’t the advertised model, switched vehicle identification numbers, restamped engines, cars restored with shoddy workmanship, and cars whose most valuable production parts have been removed.

Detroit Declines

The biggest declines among collectible cars are high- octane muscle cars from Detroit’s so-called golden age: the 1967 Corvette 427 Convertible and the 1970 Plymouth Hemi ‘Cuda Convertible, down 25 percent last year and 47 percent over three years, according to Hagerty’s guide.

Bonhams auction house has sold 5 or 6 cars for more than $1 million in the U.S. over the past year, and between 10 and 15 worldwide, said Rupert Banner, director of business development for the firm’s motorcar department in New York.

Cars that were expensive when built tend to be expensive now, he said. A 1933 Duesenberg Model J Torpedo Convertible once owned by William Boyd, the actor who played Hopalong Cassidy in U.S. movie Westerns, was sold at a Bonham’s auction in Carmel, California, for $1.44 million in August.

‘Tuner’ Cars Gain

It’s one of a very small number of cars manufactured by the Auburn, Indiana-based company in the 1920s and 1930s. Duesenbergs gained cachet from a 265-horsepower engine with a top speed of 119 miles per hour. They were bought by Hollywood stars Clark Gable and Gary Cooper, the gangster Al Capone and Alfonso XIII, the king of Spain. Leno said he has his staff manufacture replacement parts for his Duesenbergs.

Japanese “tuner” cars — souped-up models from Honda and Mitsubishi featured in movies such as “The Fast and the Furious” — are becoming more collectible.

Anderson, the Georgia collector, said obtaining the cars he really likes is becoming harder as more bidders from Europe and Asia enter the market. He said there may be repeat of a bubble that developed in the early ‘90s, when prices shot up. Everybody thought each car was going to be worth more than $1 million, he said.

“Rare cars are still appreciating,” Lentinello said. “There are cars out there that are one in three or one in four. They’re like a Picasso, a rolling sculpture.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Jeff Plungis in Washington at jplungis@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: September 25, 2009 00:01 EDT

Source: Jakarta Globe

Out of Shape and Into Yoga: One Man Discovers the Relief of Exercise After Years on the Couch

As a dedicated couch potato who would eat potatoes on the couch if my wife would let me, I firmly believe exercise can kill you. After decades of being ridiculously sedentary, I still have not only my boyish figure but, on most mornings, a pulse.

Lately, however, I have begun to think that, at 55, I really ought to do more than what is now my main form of physical activity, which is to get up once a night to go to the bathroom.

So I recently took a yoga class.

I signed up for one very important reason: It was free. And, all modesty aside, I figured I was worth every penny.

Also, I received great encouragement from my older daughter, Katie, who is something of a yoga guru. She has been taking classes for the past few years and once participated in a “yoga challenge,” which required participants to do yoga every day for a month. I would have been dead on Day Three.

“Are you doing hot yoga or regular yoga?” Katie asked.

“What’s the difference?” I replied.

“About 40 degrees,” Katie said, explaining that regular yoga takes place at room temperature, whereas hot yoga is done at 110 degrees Fahrenheit. At that rate, I’d have to be in either a sauna or Death Valley, so I was guessing, and hoping, it was the regular kind.

Then Katie said I had to buy a yoga mat.

“What’s that?” I inquired.

“It’s a mat,” Katie said, very patiently, “on which you do yoga.”

Who would have guessed? So I forked over $12 for a baby blue mat that perfectly matched the baby blue T-shirt I planned to wear to the class.

After all, sometimes a boy just likes to feel pretty, especially when he’s sweating like a stuck pig.

The first thing I noticed about the yoga class, which was held at work, was that there were 20 women and one guy. That guy was, of course, yours truly.

“Is this your first time?” asked Diane, who took a spot behind me.

“Yes,” I said bashfully. Then I asked if anyone knew CPR, which I figured I would need, although I was worried that my T-shirt would blend in with my mat, and nobody would notice that I had collapsed.

“You’ll do fine,” Liz, another participant, said reassuringly.

I hoped I could say the same for the women around me, because the instructor, Dawn, suggested we do the session in bare feet. Fortunately, when I removed my sneakers and socks, nobody keeled over.

Dawn began the class by talking about positions, none of which was third base or, the place where I am always accused of being, left field. Instead, she said we would be doing down dog, plank, cobra and warrior two. They involved gently stretching, twisting and otherwise contorting our bodies in ways I didn’t know a body could move.

Dawn instructed us to extend one arm while crossing the opposing leg over our bodies as we lay on our yoga mats. Then we had to get on all fours and extend one leg, then the other. I was so confused that I resorted to cheating by looking at the other participants to see which limb I was supposed to be lifting, extending or stretching at any given moment.

At the end of the 45-minute class, I had a sense of both peace (the soothing music helped) and accomplishment (because I didn’t have to be hospitalized). In fact, I seldom have felt better.

“You did very well,” Dawn told me afterward. When I said I hadn’t exercised in years, she said, “You look like you’re in really good shape.”

“Looks can be deceiving,” I noted, “but this made me feel great. I’m not sore at all.”

“That’s because we did hatha yoga,” Dawn explained.

“Well,” I replied, “hatha yoga is better than none.”

Dawn politely ignored the remark and said that hatha is the regular kind of yoga, while bikram is the hot version.

Either way, I had such an enjoyable experience that I definitely would take another class. Until then, maybe I can just be a couch potato on my yoga mat.

Stamford Advocate