My wedding souvenir :)

Motivated by not knowing what to do with the numerous wedding souvenirs that ended up collecting dust in random corners of the house, I went slightly out of my way to find these.

These fragrant jasmine soap wedding souvenirs were purchased from Sekolah Kami, a non-profit school for under-privileged children and scavengers.  Aside from normal curriculum, the school also teaches vocational skills, such as making these pretty little soaps.  Sekolah Kami can be contacted via their patron, Ibu Irina Amongpradja (Ina), at +62816831507. Please have a look at their inspiring website at www.sekolahkami.web.id.  

The batik wrappings were self-wrapped by yours truly (helped by Mom), inspired by the Japanese paperless tradition of wrapping presents the furoshiki way.  In my opinion, batik wraps are a natural way for Indonesians to wrap presents!  The wraps can be reused as handkerchiefs.

Sudirman Business District Love Story

Despite being together forever, they couldn't help but feel maddeningly empty.

Pillars and statues

{Behold, the citizens of Roman Jakarta shall be safe under my ever-vigilant wings}

This residential house in Kemang is a source of endless entertainment whenever I drive by.  Is that an eagle or a garuda or a vulture? Is it about to lift-off or land? Are the six pillars a coy symbol of the Islamic rukun iman or an echo of the glorious roman ionian legacy on the other side of the world?  What distressed damsel lives in that lonesome turret right underneath the claws of the gigantic bird? 

I need answers, goddammit, answers!
I saved this suffocating lemper from four layers of redundant wrapping.

Spatial

And we

are still

quite stuck

figuring out

which forests

go on

which map.

When Trees Have Standing

My favorite jurisprudence is Sierra Club vs. Morton, US Supreme Court in 1972.

Justice Douglas had a dissenting opinion that environmental issues should be able to be litigated before courts in the name of the inanimate object about to be spoilt by roads or bulldozers and such, which causes public outrage. He is basically saying that humans don't need to have suffered any damage to sue. He is basically saying that trees have rights too.

But my favorite part about this case is where one of the attorney's for the plaintiff (who won), made a whimsical reply to Justice Douglas:

"If Justice Douglas has his way
O come not that dreadful day

We'll be sued by lakes and hills,
Seeking a redress of ills.

Great mountain peaks of name prestigious,
Suddenly become litigious.

Our brooks will babble in the courts,
Seeking damages for torts.

How can I rest beneath a tree,
If it may soon be suing me?

Or enjoy the playful porpoise,
While it's seeking habeas corpus?

Every beast within his paws
Will clutch an order to show cause.

The courts, besieged on every hand,
Will crowd with suits by chunks of land.

Ah! But vengeance will be sweet,
Since this must be a two-way street.

I'll promptly sue my neighbor's tree,
For shedding all its leaves on me."


:)

Bagai sulap, ternyata buku manual itu ada!

Polisi dan jaksa benar-benar dibuat terperangah dan kehabisan kata-kata saat terdakwa Charlie 'iPad' Sianipar mampu menunjukan buku manual berbahasa Indonesia di pengadilan. Sebab, buku itulah yang menjadi sebab musabab kenapa Charlie dituduh melanggar UU Perlindungan Konsumen dengan tidak mampu menunjukan ke polisi saat digeledah di tokonya, di Mall Ambasador November tahun lalu.

"Apakah bapak pernah melihat ini? Buku manual berbahasa Indonesia untuk menggunakan iPad?" tanya kuasa hukum Charlie, Andi Simangunsong, kepada polisi yang menggeledah toko Charlie, Brigadir Satu (Briptu) Atang Setiawan saat sidang di PN Jakarta Selatan, Jl Ampera Raya, Rabu (21/9/2011).


"Ya. Tapi itu tidak ada dalam dus kemasan iPad," jawab Briptu Atang dengan mata kaget.


"Apakah bapak tahu, ini bisa diperoleh dengan mendownload begitu konsumen beli iPad?" cecar Andi.


"Saya tidak tahu. Buku manual itu berupa lembaran, di dalam dus," jawab Atang.


"Dalam peraturan menyebutkan bahwa kewajiban menyertakan buku petunjuk manual berbahasa Indonesia atau 'dalam bentuk lain'. Apakah Saudara tidak tahu 'bentuk lain' tersebut bisa berupa digital, didownload versi pdf? " tandas Andi sambil mengangkat 209 halaman buku petunjuk yang telah di-print dari versi pdf.


"Saya tidak mempelajari. Saya hanya menjalankan perintah atasan," jawab Briptu Atang.


Sementara saksi kedua yang merupakan rekan Briptu Atang, Aiptu Yeni Dwiningsih mengaku hal serupa. Aiptu Yeni menyatakan telah menggeledah toko Charlie yang kemudian membawa 14 unit iPad sebagai barang bukti, tanpa menanyakan secara detail apakah iPad mempunyai buku petunjuk berbahasa Indonesia.


"Saya hanya menjalankan perintah atasan. Saya habis apel pagi, dapat perintah langsung laksanakan," jawab Aiptu Yeni di depan ketua majelis hakim Yonisman.


Sementara di meja penuntut umum, jaksa hanya diam. Jaksa mengalihkan perhatian dengan mengangkat faktur pembelian iPad yag digeledah di toko Charlie. Faktur tersebut yang dianggap jaksa sebagai bukti telah terjadi transaksi penjual dan konsumen seperti dalam dakwaan.


Rencananya, sidang akan dilanjutkan Rabu pekan depan dengan memeriksa saksi-saksi yang di surat dakwaan. Sementara usai sidang, Andi menyatakan ketidakpahaman polisi yang membuat Charlie sampai berurusan dengan pengadilan yang tidak perlu tersebut.


"Sangat disayangkan, polisi tidak memahami versi digital manual book. Ini justru paperless, go green. Dengan ini, hutan kita terselamatkan dari penebangan untuk bubur kertas," tukas Andi.



(Ari/irw)


Excerpt from detiknews.com. Oh what I would give to see the expression on Briptu Atang's face.