Where in Bali is Indonesia?

Bali is *not* a country.

Apparently, these people thought otherwise:

http://www.chesterton.co.uk/international/default.asp

Random Quotes IV (or not so random...)

Only two things are infinite, the universe and the stupidity of mankind, and I'm not sure about the former.

~Albert Einstein.

Sonic weapon... (not the blue critter)

*Tom toro tom tom tom*
*Clash Bang*

Ahh... Chinese Lunar New Year would not be complete without this familiar sound of lion dance rythm. Pretty good entertainment!

That was what I initially thought as I was having my meal in a hawker center a few days back.
But wait a minute... the sound is getting louder, are they going to perform somewhere nearby? It turned out that I was right. These "dancers" were "performing" right beside my seat. Or rather, their drum was. And it was madly annoying.

I thought that if the hawker center was going to hire these guys to perform and bring good luck for them, they should have arranged for the troupe to perform at the open space just next to the stalls, and not have the lion stroll among the customers.

That was when I went: "Wait a minute... This does not seem right." A proper lion dance performance usually involves a 'chai ching' (picking the greens) and the arragement of an elaborate lucky symbol on the ground using fruits and vegetables, as well as some 'standard' lion dance moves that have special meanings. These guys were just shaking the lion head right in front of each stall, and not even perfoming a single "stand" (where the "head" - the guy acting as the front 2 legs - hops to stand on the "tail" - the other guy acting as the rear 2 legs.). Adding to the weirdness is that they were using a Black Lion - that is supposed to have the most aggressive, to make their limp "performance".

Then it dawned on me. These are equivalent to those 'pengamens' (so called "street performers") back home! They operate in much the same way those "street performers" in Indonesia operate: annoy the heck out of the customers until someone pays them to go away. (Believe me those drums were annoying when played less than 1 meter away from you.) It felt a lot like extortion to me though.

I have witnessed a new breed of 'pengamen', and I find it ironic that a symbol that traditionally is invited to bring good luck, is being paid off as they are bringing "bad luck". I wonder if this will catch on in Indonesia too :P

It is called a "Lion Shake".
(See if you can see the pun :D)

I feel like a hobo.

Well, I have just been informed that I can only stay in my present place for 1 more month.

Time to go house hunting again.

Why can't these people tell me stuff earlier?
Gaaaah!

Write, write, write.

Got myself some quick reference for writing.
I do wonder how useful it would be to write manuals though, I might put myself asleep first reading them outloud.

Twitchy eye

After lunch today, my right eyelid began twitching about once every 20 or so minutes. Initially I thought it was due to the fluorescent lamp that is blinking in my office (really irritating). But after the repairman came down and fixed it, the twitching syated. Grrr...

Google to the rescue!

Oh, it said that I am stressed and fatigued. Well... who'd have thunk!

On the boardgame side, I am now trying to 'infect' some of moi dance mates with the boardgame virus. So far it looks promising... :D

Limited perceptions...

I "stumbled" upon some opinions voiced by some of my fellow human beings that currently reside within (I assume) 60km radius of me, and I am amazed by the things that people formulate in their heads (or maybe knees for some). Although by now I should have realized that the amazement is redundant.

While some people insists that their children should be given the opportunity to learn a third language in school, some other are commenting that most people are not smart enough to learn two languages, and hence the second language should be scrapped. Yay to science and mathematics in Chinese (then they will argue which form is better)
一加一合计二！ 不是啦，等与二！
(One plus one totals two! No, it should be equals two!) <- approximation

While a group of teenagers spoke up against what they perceived to be a 'brainwashing' program, a professional adult gave the program glowing reviews while he does not have first hand knowledge nor has he experienced the said program as it is newly launched. Neither could his children have had as they too are grown ups. It seems that relevancy is being classified as "redundant" in more people's minds.

Then there is the international scene. Which one is worse? Cartoons or Death threats?
It seems that the correct answer is: It depends on which side of the fence you're on.
These people are not stupid, they are just very very limited in their perception. These limits come from various sources, and some are close to impossible to alter. Although it still baffles me how on earth people could be limited such that they think stereotypes could be debunked by acting exactly like the stereotype.

We will do all the things you said we did until you do not dare say that we did such things no more!!!!!!1111oneoneoneeleven!
And: X insulted us! We shall insult Y to show how wrong X was!
See? They might as well play a game of chicken, only in this case, one of the chickens has a 'force field' in the form of ignorance.

I see a red, round object with waxy surface and one line sticking out from the top.
That might be an Apple. Am I really seeing an Apple? It might be a Cherry.
A Japanese might see a "Ringo"
A Chinese might see a "Ping guo"
An Indonesian might see an "Apel"
An apple farmer might see "dollar signs"
What does a squirrel see?
If I drop it into a dolphin enclosure, what does it see? Food? Toy? or even a Threat? (Bright colors often signify threat in nature.)

I guess it is true, people do live in a world of their own creation.
I once said to a colleague: "If a person intends to take offense, even the words 'Thank you' can be a source of contention."

New year... what new year?

The two new years have came and gone... and I rather felt that something is missing.
I missed the feel of a year's actual passing as there is no seasonal change here. Although I personally am not very partial to winter, it was an interesting experience to actually yearn for the the weather to get warmer. And even more interesting when you see the grey earth suddenly sprout greenery, and then color all over the place.

Anyway, another haiku.

裸な木 （はだかなき）
緑の上着 （みどりのうわぎ）
を待っている （をまっている）

The buck naked trees
For green and lush overcoats
Awaiting they are