The above post was submitted a month or two ago to the
Jakarta Post for inclusion in their Sunday edition. Rather than allowing it to linger in the limbo of their in trays, I figured I may as well publish it myself. This is, of course, one of the benefits of blogging.
What worries me somewhat is that the Post editor doesn't have the courtesy to inform contributors if their invited articles are not going to be used. The Sunday Post is really nothing more than a glorified advertising broadsheet with blurbs about museums in Austria, beaches in Hawaii and vineyards in South Africa. One can expect little of substance on the front page because seemingly little newsworthy happens on a Saturday.
Pesta Blogger did take place yesterday and the Minister of Communications and Information, Muhammed Nuh, made what will hopefully be a long-lasting commitment. Apart from naming October 27th National Bloggers Day (but surely
every day is a bloggers day?!?), he said, "
Blogs can be educational, empowering and enlightening. That's why I can guarantee you curbing blogs will never happen in this country."
That's a bold statement and an issue I'll return to another day ~ perhaps as an article for the Jakarta Post. It is worth noting, however, that
blogs have been curbed to varying degrees in fellow ASEAN countries Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia, Myanmar and Thailand, plus near neighbours China, India and Pakistan. If they haven't been curbed here, except by the occasional severing of an undersea cable, perhaps it's because telecommunications are generally, and for the majority of the country, crap.
Anyway, the lead story is that apparently
Indonesia 'needs younger leaders' as they are less likely to have been contaminated for too long by the New Order régime. Ah, but their teachers and parents will have been. Accompanying this story is a strange dichotomy of a photo: a junior high school choir is seen practicing, presumably, the national anthem,
Indonesia Raya, whilst in the foreground,
veteran musician Idris Sardi plays a violin that was used by the composer of the national anthem Wage Rudolf Supratman. Were the choir leading Pak Idris?
Sports stories feature on the back and back inside pages, many of which are about sports which you know nothing about and only gripping in their elusiveness.
For example, do you what sports today's headlines connect to? (Please leave your answers in the comments.)
a.
Schnyder downs Chakvetadze in Linzb.
Matsuzaka set to make historyc.
Flying Without Wingsd.
Red Sox mania grips BostonFrom Irish folk dancing to red-dyed goatees, Boston Red Sox fans are rallying behind their team's quest for ....There are a number of columnists who I do regularly read; Simon Pitchforth of
Metro Mad, Kadek Krisna Adidharma with
Walking Home and Priya Tuti who's
Keeping Mum. Of occasional interest to me is Ibu Suryatini's column about regional foods; even though I'm not a foodie by any stretch of the imagination, it is of interest to note how localised Indonesian culture can be.
I very rarely read what
Jeremy Wagstaffe writes as I really don't have an interest in techie stuff, but
today's column is about a handphone, the
Nokia 1100, which, he says, is just that, a phone that makes and receives phone calls and text messages. What is more, it apparently costs $20, roughly the same as an
esia.
Of course, there are features I don't want, such as Picture Messaging, Stopwatch and countdown timer, built-in alarm and reminders, full-size animated screensavers, and two built-in games. There are also at least
49 accessories available.
So, here's my dilemma: should I buy an
esia or a Nokia 1100?
Your comments on their user-friendliness and the after-sales service, especially here in Indonesia, would be much appreciated. Otherwise I'll do what I usually do.
Nothing.
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