A short while back I wrote that some people should simply not be allowed to procreate. In that particular case I was referring to a foul-mouthed, tab-smoking four-year old from Surabaya – or rather his moronic parents – who provoked my not inconsiderable ire.

Look we certainly don’t have to hurt people. And we don’t even have to lock them up. A simple state-funded operation will do – hell, a free holiday for recuperation purposes could even be thrown in as part of the package as well - just to be extra nice.

Snip, snip, snip.

It would be one of the best investments the state could ever make.

Don’t agree with me?

John The Baptist Brown?!!!!!

WTF!

>>>>Link

I am an antichrist
I am an anarchist

The most memorial opening lines of a rock song ever are arguably those of the classic Sex Pistols’ Anarchy In The UK, the group's debut recording on 26 November 1976 (hell, was it really that long ago?!!)

I was too young to recall its release but one of my earliest childhood memories was attending a London street party to celebrate the Silver Jubilee of “Her Majesty”.

My cousin busted his teeth as I remember (falling off a skateboard), but generally it was all good fun and there were lots of bright balloons and jelly.

But trouble was brewing.

I was too young to know what but there was something in the air that didn’t smell quite right. And it wasn’t just the fumes of the glue that youngsters were sniffing at the time.

Anyway, I got home and heard it.

The Pistol’s rip-roaring “God Save the Queen”.

Basically, the UK was screwed. If it had been a car you would have had it scrapped. Hell, in 1977 Old Blighty was in worse shape than Les Dawson after a night of binge eating. In fact so bad was the UK’s political malaise that it makes Indonesia’s current political shenanigans look pale by comparison (during the 1978–1979 winter of discontent the dead weren’t even being buried in Liverpool and plans were being made to dump the bodies into the sea if necessary!).

Looking back at that era raises one of the biggest questions in rock music: did punk music originate from the UK or the US? Well, the US had the Ramones. But we had the Pistols and The Clash. Sorry, but that’s no contest in my book: the UK was where the punk spirit was truly born.

One kid at my school lived next door to Jimmy Pursey – lead singer of the legendary Sham 69 (Hurry up Harry, Borstal Breakout, Hersham Boys). Needless to say, he was the most popular kid in school and we came up with all sorts of ridiculous excuses to visit his house just for the chance to get a glimpse of Jimmy (or more likely hear him playing loud music through the walls of the house!) There were tons of other great British punk bands of course, my favorites including: The Stranglers, The Vibrators, The Buzzcocks, Ian Dury (God Bless him) and the Blockheads, The UK Subs, Peter and the Test Tube Babies, Stiff Little Fingers etc etc.

The musical nitroglycerin of punk helped it to attract many followers of course, but most importantly punk was a two-fingered salute to the British establishment – a war cry of the young against the UK’s class-based society – as perpetuated by both the left and right in British politics.

But even at its peak noone expected the punk phenomenon to last long. And sure enough it didn’t - it quickly gave way to the post-punk and new wave musical genres.

But punk ain’t dead and it lives on in the most unlikely of places: Indonesia!



I witnessed this myself a few months ago when I was in Bandung and one Sunday morning found myself among loads of young punks - a more incongruous sight you will not see – not far from the Siliwangi football stadium. The punks told me they were going to a live gig. Unfortunately I didn’t have my camera on me at the time so I wasn’t able to get any shots.

In Jakarta, punks aren’t around in great numbers but you do occasionally come across them – like this girl I saw a few weeks back:

But Indonesia is still a conservative society and the punk groups who do take on the Indonesian establishment (like the military or established political forces) do so at some risk.

“If we play in front of the wrong audience ... maybe we could be killed or we could be in trouble,” says Wimo Ambala a member of the provocatively named Indonesian punk band Punkasila.

And he’s not kidding either.

Sid Vicious would be proud: Indonesian punks in Batik military uniforms (WTF!) and armed with guitars resembling AK 47 and M16 machine guns! Go for it lads!!!

What is Indonesia’s best destination for nightlife?

Well, many would say Jakarta. From its sophisticated wine bars and ultra-hip clubs to its massage parlors and billiard halls – there is something for everyone to enjoy in the Big Durian.

Others however might cite Bali’s Kuta for its low key and unpretentious Australian surfer culture. Beach, Bintangs and babes. What more could a young man want? (don’t answer that: it’s a rhetorical question, obviously!)

Less known, but equally alluring are Bandung - where the women are said to prowl like tigers during the night - and Surabaya with its multitude of attractions for the adventurous hedonist.

And then there’s Puncak.

Puncak?!! You mean that hilly area just out of Jakarta, where the capital city’s stressed out professionals venture at weekends to spend most of the time gazing at tea plantations in soul crushing traffic jams - which of course just makes them even more stressed out?!!!

Yep that Puncak.

And it’s currently one of Indonesia’s hottest tourist spots – at least for visitors from the Middle East.

In fact so busy was it when I passed through (to visit the Safari Zoo I might add) that I had time to leave my car in the traffic jam, wolf down a really tasty Biryani rice dish at one of the local restaurants and then get back in my car before the car ahead of me had even moved!

These are the villages of North and South Tugu (in the Cisarua district of Bogor) and they are bustling with travel agents, car rentals, salons, and supermarkets, and – as I have already mentioned – there are some pretty decent restaurants as well.



But what's behind all the activity?

Well, love. Or lust. - depending on how you look at it.

Someone I met here (jokingly) told me that Puncak was referred to as Jabal (mountain) – but that what the visitors had in mind was not so much one “mound” but two! Hahaha!

Unsurprisingly, the allure of forex for sex has attracted many young "working" women from nearby Cianjur, Cimahi and Garut, but also from Jakarta and even Cengkareng in Tangerang.

The marriages, as you might expect, don’t have to last very long. Married on Friday, over by Sunday is certainly possible – although many chaps are so pleased at having found heaven on earth that they tend to make it last quite a bit longer than that.

Yusuf Kalla, the previous VP and Golkar Party stalwart, once praised the efforts made by foreigners to “ingratiate” themselves into Indonesian society, saying that:

“"If the janda [divorcees] get modest homes even if the foreign tourists later leave them, then it's OK. The children resulting from these relationships will have good genes. There will be more television actors and actresses from these pretty boys and girls."

Quite.

It's easy to find love in Puncak. If only for a few days!

As is often the case with mob rule, the innocent get rounded up with the guilty - especially when guilt is not clearly defined. Babies get thrown out with the bath water. It’s not a pretty sight and the non-participants - who usually seek praise and honor - make grandiose speeches of reconciliation.

Link

You want yourselves some fried frogs to go with them greasy chips?

Well, Shame on you!

“No frogs’ legs!” croak the hopping mad animal rights protestors in Sunderland (one of them even dressed in a bloody frog costume – hahaha!)

Demonstrators from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) stood outside Katie Mac's Fish Bar at Pennywell shopping centre, to try to persuade the shop's owners to stop selling the unusual treat.

Peta claims that the majority of frogs' legs sold in the UK come from Indonesia, where they say villagers snatch the amphibians from swamps before cramming them into sacks and killing them in a cruel manner.

"I think more and more people are starting to realize that it's a barbaric thing to do,” said the group's special projects co-ordinator, Terry Yaki.

Barbaric? Well I wouldn’t say so. Cos let’s face it: killing frogs may not be the sort of thing that Buddhist monks would get up to at the weekend but - at the same time - it’s hardly on a par with invading foreign lands and lopping people’s heads off, is it?

So perplexed by this nonsense I decided to make a moral stand by risking life and limb in a torturous cross-Jakarta journey to the wayward outpost of Kelapa Gading for – you’ve guessed it – a nice frogs' legs dinner (called swikee in Indonesian)!


This is a small restaurant located in the food court of Kelapa Gading Mall. I ordered a plate of fried frogs' legs and a bowl of really delicious tauco (frogs' legs soup with a really distinctive flavor).

Highly recommended and I was so impressed that I even ordered another portion of frogs' legs soup as a takeaway.

Perfect.

Although Kermit might beg to differ! Hahaha!

You know the economy is picking up when works of art start to sell for record breaking prices:

A 1960s oil painting of Balinese villagers by Indonesia’s Lee Man Fong fetched a record HK$25.3 million ($3.3 million) in Hong Kong, the top lot at an Asian art auction marked by signs of return to pre-credit-crisis prices. Lee’s 2-meter-long “Bali Life” depicts a rustic scene of the islanders at rest.

Source: Bloomberg


Lee Man Fong painted classic Bali scenes and was - for obvious reasons - one of Sukarno’s favorite painters.

And the buyer of “Bali Life”? An unidentified Asian private collector, according to Sotheby’s (let’s just hope he’s not an employee of the Indonesian tax office).

Interestingly, 78 of the 145 artworks at the auction were done by Indonesian artists.

They include Affandi’s “Cuenca,” I Nyoman Masriadi’s “I’m Still Lucky” and Agus Suwage’s studies of human psychology, “I See, I Hear, I Feel” and “Don’t Be Amazed, Don’t Be Entitled.”

Affandi is of course an Indonesian legend, and while it is worrying that many of his artworks have gone overseas it may for the better given that high air humidity and high temperatures are raising concerns about the condition of his paintings kept in the Affandi museum in Jogyakarta.

And as for Agus Suwage, well you may remember him for the controversy surrounding his wonderful Pinkswing Park exhibit at Jakarta's international biennale a number of years back.

Who could ever forget that, eh?!!!

It’s a steep final ascent. Every step now is a struggle in the deep volcanic ash and you have to draw deep to keep going. Hell. How much longer is it going to be before you finally reach the crater’s rim?

Physically you are shattered. Your thighs burn like buggery and your Achilles tendon feels as if it could snap at any moment like an over tensioned guitar string. And your throat is so parched you can’t even swallow - let alone talk.

But at last you reach the rim! You peer over the edge, breathless and in awe of the breathtaking spectacle that greets you, but then… you lose your footing… slip … and tumble forwards into the great crater - never to be seen again …

And that’s pretty much what happened to Daniel Fetersan, a 25-year-old Swedish tourist, who tragically plunged to his death into the active Mount Batur volcano in Bali.

Volcanoes are the connection between the inner earth and the world we live in, so it’s not surprising that many people are fascinated by them. But they are also very dangerous. I’ve been up a few myself and have always been amazed at seeing nonchalant tourists just walk around the rim of the crater as if they were standing on a stepladder or something!

In Indonesia there are at least 129 active volcanoes across the country – many of which could potentially erupt in the future. When you climb a volcano, plan the ascent to arrive at the summit at dawn and, if you’re lucky, you’ll be treated to a breathtaking sunrise – amongst, inevitably it seems in Indonesia, a sea of pop noodle packaging.

Here are some interesting facts about some Indonesian volcanoes:

Krakatau. The eruption of Krakatau volcano in 1883 was so huge that the top of the volcano literally blew off, creating the loudest sound on human record. The sound of the eruption even reached as far as Australia, some 3,450 kilometers to the east! Huge tsunamis were also generated, with waves up to 30 meters tall (no Ancol is not a good place to buy a property!).

For months after the Krakatau eruption, the world experienced unseasonably cool weather and brilliant orange sunsets – great news for artists like Edvard Munch whose painting "The Scream" was inspired by the vibrant twilights in Norway. Less than 80 years ago, Anak Krakatau rose from where the crater of its parent, Krakatau, used to be, and this is the volcano that you can see today.

Mount Bromo is not the largest volcano in Indonesia but it is famous for the vast sea of sand that surrounds the volcano and because of the ethereal, unforgettable spectacle it affords (the caldera is so impressive that when you walk up to the crater it really feels as if you are on the moon or something). The volcano is also sacred to the local Tenggerese people and every year they hold a sacrificial ceremony (called the Kasodo ceremony) in which they throw chickens and goats – among other things - into the crater to appease the Gods and bring them good fortune.

East Java's Mount Bromo

Tambora. When it erupted in 1815, it killed at least 92,000 people – or more people than in any known volcanic eruption. This was a “seven” grade volcanic eruption, making it the largest volcanic eruption in recorded history. So huge was the eruption its impact was far reaching and it created global climate anomalies - 1816 became known as the "Year Without a Summer" because of the effect on North American and European weather. This led to Europe’s worst famine in the 19th century and many Irish people fled to America.

Gunung Agung is a massive volcano in Bali and the Balinese believe it to be a replica of Mount Meru, the central axis of the universe. The most important temple on Bali, Pura Besakih, is located high on the slopes of Gunung Agung. When Gunung Agung last erupted in 1963-64, the lava flow stopped just meters short of the Pura Besakih temple! Amazing or what?

Gunung Agung as seen from Lembongan Island

Lake Toba. This is now a huge lake but what created the lake was a grade “eight” volcanic eruption (described as "mega-colossal") 69,000-77,000 years ago, making it the largest explosive volcanic eruption within the last twenty-five million years. Nearly all humans living at the time were killed – either directly or indirectly from the effects of the eruption.

To give an idea of its magnitude, consider that although the eruption took place in Indonesia, it deposited an ash layer approximately 15 centimetres thick over the entire Indian subcontinent; at one site in central India, the Toba ash layer today is up to 6 metres thick and parts of Malaysia were covered with 9 m of ashfall. In addition it has been calculated that 10,000 million metric tons of sulfuric acid was ejected into the atmosphere by the event, causing acid rain fallout.

Source: Wikipedia

Sort of puts today’s global warming hysteria in some perspective doesn’t it? :)

It’s officially the silly season (*) in Indonesia and all sorts of nonsense is being reported in the media.

One of the most bizarre stories surrounds Sandi Wedhus – a four-year old kid who smokes tabs and swears like a trooper!

The little kid shot to stardom after someone posted a video of the fag-puffing toddler up on YouTube.

In the video, our young hero – who comes from Surabaya - is seen taking a drag on a fag and making a well known gesture with his other hand:


And when young Sandi hasn’t got a fag in his gob he certainly knows how to gab:

"Duite digawe...? (What do you spend your money on..?)," they asked.

"Mba... (Girls)," he sniggered.

"Nang endi? (from where?)," they asked

"Dolly (Indonesia’s largest red light district: Ed)," he replied.

He then takes a huge drag on the fag and blows an impressive O shaped smoke circle!


"Ayo bikin yang bentuk kotak!" (but can you make one in a square shape?)”, says someone taking the piss.

But Sandi doesn’t think the joke’s so funny, grimaces, and then fires off a barrage of really spicy expletives, demonstrating a really impressive knowledge of female anatomy for a four year old.

I won’t repeat what he said but it doesn’t sound great coming from a little kid.

And as for where his parents are in all this, it isn’t made clear.

Hell, it’s the same old story.

Some people just shouldn’t be allowed to procreate, should they?

(*) The silly season is the name for the period lasting for a few months (starting in mid to late summer in the Northern Hemisphere) in the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, New Zealand, Portugal, and Australia and refers to the prevalence of frivolous news stories in the media. The term was apparently coined in the 19th century and is listed in the second edition of Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. In Indonesia, where the climate is tropical, the silly season is said to last all year long.