Wednesday Witterings About WeblogsI have nothing to say today so I'll let a couple of Indonesian-orientated bloggers say it for me.
nothing is nothinga good friend emailed the other day to say she had nothing to say and that was it. nothing else. so brief. then it kept me thinking about nothing -- i mean about something she wrote about, which revolves around, er ... yes, nothing. first, i thought about her nothing in particular, then about nothing in general. i mean the nothing in general application by anyone. obviously there is something truly intriguing about nothing. this nothing is quite something. thus: is nothing nothing? nothing is nothing? is no thing nothing? is nothing no thing? or is no thing no thing? nothing successfully got me confused. nothing confused me. to generalize, therefore, nothing confuses.No apologies for lifting this wholesale from
Once Upon A Weblog, especially when he links to an article about the
Indonesian Psyche written by an Indonesian, Julia I. Suryakusuma, a sociologist and social commentator based in Jakarta.
We are a fearful people, lacking in spirit due to years of authoritarian rule, first by our kings and queens, then the colonialists. Leader after leader colludes with the neo-colonialists who come bringing loans, laden with conditions that strip us of our autonomy and often, dignity and self. No wonder we have become selfish and petty, mediocre and conformist, all a function of fear and characterlessness.
We are a jealous and envious people, coveting what another has or afraid that someone will take what we have. While these tendencies are corrosive to the heart, we are strangely attached to these traits as they act as a prop for our insecurity. Envy is a compulsion which is made up of desire but at the same time self denial, creating frustration and obsessiveness, which Indonesians are clearly manifesting. And, in the thick of envy, one is blind to one's own nature when in fact knowing and understanding who we are is a fundamental prerequisite to solving our manifold problems...................
Everybody knows that Indonesia is part of Bali. That's because we can all say that
I've Been To Bali Too and someone who does is a new blogger on the scene who resides in Melbourne, Australia and thinks he's Trapped In A Suit.
If he is, it probably stinks as he says:
At the moment, I have only one suit, a blue pinstriped suit I had stitched by a team of tailors and tailor apprentices over a 24 hour period for $130 (extra pair of trousers included) in Udaipur, Rajhasthan many years ago. I am destined to buy a suit in Bali; I will be unable to help it despite having seen some truly terrible suits on returnees from the Island of the Gods. However, a blogger who can tie in
Japanese anime,
John Pilger,
Javanese script and Bali culture vultures in the mere three weeks that he's been at it is worthy of immense respect.
Both have been awarded permanent status in the links list on the right (in
Firefox and Opera, but fiddle-arsing around the bottom of the screen in I.E.)
..................
Finally, folk interested in where Jakartass (mis)spent his youth, should have a look at
this post from Inspector Sands who spent a Sunday patrolling on foot the boundaries of my old domain.
Brave lad. I used to use a bike.
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