Readwrotes Blog

The Jakarta Post | Thu, 07/21/2011 9:47 PM JAKARTA: Wanting to reinvigorate dangdut, Anang Hermansyah has added some color to the genre by forming Tiga Kembang (Three Flowers), a trio of divorced dangdut singers. He wants dangdut to become the music of Indonesia all over again, he said. Cici Paramida, Ikke Nurjanah and Kirstina were Anang’s picks for the dangdut group. But, wanting such huge names, how did he make this dangdut supergroup happen? “I was hanging out with my friend Irvan Nat. Irvan said, ‘this song Goyang Sayang would be great if it was sung by those three, can this be arranged?’ Then Irvan Nat called each of them,” Anang said as reported by kapanlagi.com. But the song was not written for Tiga Kembang but for Krisdayanti and Siti. Because the latter project ended up not happening, the song was given to Tiga Kembang. Anang said Goyang Sayang was filled with nuance, the rhythm of the song upbeat and fresh. “I witnessed the development of dangdut and how it beca...

A visitor looks at a Indonesian traditional buffalo-shaped coffin on display during a coffin exhibition at the National Museum in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Friday. Coffins from various races in Malaysia and ASEAN countries such as Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines are on display at the exhibition. AP/Lai Seng Sin

Kurniawan Hari ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Hongkong   |  Sun, 04/04/2010 9:54 AM  |  Travel JP/Kurniawan Hari The baggage claim process is very efficient. I just needed to know the flight number and go to a designated area as shown on an LCD monitor. The conveyor belt is accessible from different sides, so passengers don’t crowd at one point to get their belongings. After clearing through immigration and getting my bags, I went to a counter to sign up for a public transport vehicle. While waiting for the bus, I marveled at the modernity of the airport — until I heard a woman’s raised voice in the familiar East Javanese dialect. “Who would make a phone call in voice that loud?” I thought to myself. As I turned around to pinpoint the source of the cacophony, I saw an Indonesian woman speaking into her cell phone. That’s right, the loud voice came from an Indonesian. And soon I realized that Hong Kong, just like Malaysia and S...

Tue, 08/18/2009 1:08 PM | Lifestyle Independence Day on Aug. 17 was celebrated peacefully and cheerfully across the country. Formal flag hoisting ceremonies and games were held to commemorate the 64th anniversary of the country from Aceh to Papua. People from various walks of life observed the day, many wearing traditional costume, a symbol of the diversity of the country. The day belonged to all people and even foreigners joined in the freedom day celebrations.

The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Wed, 07/15/2009 11:23 AM | Headlines As a capital city with a population of around 12 million, Jakarta is the melting pot of Indonesia's more than 500 ethnic groups. Far from home, most of Jakarta's ethnic population regroup and get involved in various social activities. One such group gathers members from Sarik village in Bukittinggi, West Sumatra. "The street markets in Menteng have been dominated by Sarik folk since the 1960s," said Masrihal Jamaris, a souvenir vendor. The Sarik vendors have long been known for selling their wares along Jl. Surabaya, popularly known for a row of small kiosks selling antiques and souvenirs. The one way street has been a haven for collectors looking for rare items such as brasswares. Later, the Sarik community emerged in the 1970s in Ciputat, South Jakarta, Mashirhal said. Currently, there are more than 200 Sarik traders in Menteng and Ciputat, he said. ...

Matheos Viktor Messakh , The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Mon, 07/13/2009 11:28 AM | Features The tricky part about making a set of wind chimes is deciding what to leave out. Choosing which tones to include can be even trickier if the chimes are made from bamboo, glass, shell, stone, porcelain or wood. Tired with the routine of servicing his customers' pianos, Abdul Madjid Gangga decided to create a musical instrument that did not require regular fine tuning. He found his answer in wind chimes. "When I was servicing pianos, I was thinking about a musical instrument that needed tuning only once ever," Abdul Madjid told The Jakarta Post during the creative industries exhibition at the Jakarta Convention Center last week. "Although I made a living servicing pianos, the routine of it bored me." As the material used to create wind chimes can have a large impact on the sound it produces, Abdul Madjid spent four years fro...

The Jakarta Post , Yogyakarta | Mon, 07/13/2009 10:40 AM | People JP/Slamet Susanto People who see Hetty Ansing’s paintings are likely to guess that she is Indonesian, such is the authenticity of her depictions of the country. But the 50-year-old Dutch artist has no ties to Indonesia, other than frequent visits to the land she has come to love. Ansing’s artworks depict a complete character of Indonesian society, exploring elements ranging from its natural environment to its traditional culture. The impact of Ansing’s work is such that it has evoked tears among Dutch residents with memories of Indonesia, or Indonesian people living in Holland. “Indonesian society and culture, especially as practiced in Yogyakarta and Bali, are my sources of inspiration”, Ansing said on a recent visit to Yogyakarta. “That’s why many of them think that I come from Indonesia when they view my works.” The painting Plow is a prime example of the Indonesi...

Cynthia Webb , Contributor , Yogyakarta | Sun, 07/12/2009 11:09 AM | Arts & Design Kinkin with two of his works at Via Via Café. JP/Cynthia Webb Kinkin's second solo exhibition "Indonesia Today", opened recently in Via Via Caf*, Yogyakarta. Via Via supports emerging young artists by exhibiting their works, which are seen there by the many foreign tourists who come to this trendy and busy caf* in the heart of the tourist accommodation area. This show can be seen until Aug. 6 The 35-year-old artist is based in Bali, but is originally from Tasikmalaya, West Java. His real name is Abdul Aziz, but he works under his professional name of Kinkin. When he was very young, Kinkin was naturally gifted as a draughtsman, although there was no-one else in the family with artistic talent or interest. Only when he went to study at Jakarta State University (UNJ) did he at last receive formal training. He has the rare talent of being ...

By Phil Mercer Sydney 04 July 2009 An aboriginal man drinks a beverage outside a store in the remote outback town of Wadeye in the Northern Territory, Australia, 01 Jun 2009 As the number of swine flu cases in Australia soars past 4,500, new research indicates that indigenous people may be more susceptible to the contagious virus, compounding an array of existing health conditions. The findings have been detailed in the medical journal The Lancet . The authors have warned of a looming international public health catastrophe. Experts are concerned that indigenous peoples, such as Australia's Aborigines and Native American Indians, suffer poor health that puts them at higher risk from the H1N1 virus, which is commonly known as swine flu. One Aboriginal man in Australia has already died from the infection, while Native Indians in Canada have seen many cases. Australian researchers, writing in The Lancet , h...

When you choose your fruits, vegetables, meat, bread...make it the very best you can afford. Chocolate is no exception. That way you’ll really savour it. So what determines a good quality chocolate? It all amounts to a hill of beans...cocoa beans, that is. The cocoa beans from the cacao tree are ground into a paste called chocolate liquor, which is then used to make either cocoa or solid chocolate. Aztecs and Spanish explorers were drinking chocolate back in the 1500's. The first US chocolate factory opened for business in Massachusetts in 1765, but it was the Swiss who perfected milk chocolate over a century later. Chocolate contains caffeine and a close relative called theobromine, which are both stimulants. In fact Hersheys first extracted theobromine in the 1940's and sold it to Coca-Cola. If you've ever wondered why dogs get their own blend of chocolates, it's because their bodies metabolise these chemicals very slowly. Fido may have a heart attack if you give ...

If you earn a thousand dollars per month, you should map out all the necessary expenses you will have to incur during the month such as payment for your house, food and transportation. What remains after you deduct your total expenses from your income is your savings. What you do with your savings will make a difference later on, when the need arises. Here are seven ways that you can use to change your daily lifestyle for more positive spending habits to achieve your saving objectives: Maintain a logbook. A log book is the place where you can list your income and expense account on a weekly or monthly schedule. Do more walking than driving. If you can reach your destination within ten minutes by car, consider leaving the car behind and walk instead. Or, use a bicycle if the destination is within 30 minutes by car. This helps promote blood circulation in your body and also reduces environmental pollution. Both alternatives offer savings on gasoline and parking fees . ...

Sleeping on a problem really can help solve it, say scientists who found a dreamy nap boosts creative powers. They tested whether "incubating" a problem allowed a flash of insight, and found it did, especially when people entered a phase of sleep known as REM. Volunteers who had entered REM or rapid eye movement sleep - when most dreams occur - were then better able to solve a new problem with lateral thinking. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences has published the US work. In the morning of the test day, 77 volunteers were given a series of creative problems to solve and were told to mull over the problem until the afternoon either by resting but staying awake or by taking a nap monitored by the scientists. Compared with quiet rest and non-REM sleep, REM sleep increased the chances of success on the problem-solving task. The study at the University of California San Diego showed that the volunteers who entered REM during sleep improved their creative problem so...

Google Adsense: How to Write Great Blogs and Watch Your Adsense Dollars Add Up The best thing about blogging is that there are no rules. You can write about anything you want. A self - publisher’s dream! There are some things you can do though to maximize your Google Adsense profits. Narrow your subject. Don’t just write about shopping. Write about shopping for antique dresser drawer pulls. Write every day. Have a blog at more than one site. If you develop a readership, you’re more likely to increase your profits. Write about something you know or want to know or at the very least care about. If you try to write a great blog based on a “hot keyword” yet it’s something you could care less about, you’ll likely not stay with it long. Experiment and see what works for you. You can write based on your own opinion or something factual. You can review a product or service or a movie. Read other people’s blogs and notice how many reads they’re getting. Above all, have fun. After all, it’s free...

How Bloggers Can Earn Better with Adsense People who requirement to make some money over the Internet are getting more and more knowledgeable that a blog can help them earn some online income. One of the most popular way to monetize a blog is through Adsense. The first thing that has to be done is to think of a niche market. This instrument searching for a theme for your blog that people are willing to pament for the information one is willing to equip. If research proves that there is a go over, then the entrepreneur has just taken another step forward in making money through blogs. Before launching the blog, it will be a good idea to run it a few times and even have friends give comments. The entrepreneur may think it is good already so someone from the exterior may offer a better perspective. Many people choose a good host or deed that will accept the site. It is always good to think of keywords therefore that this will appear almost instantly when people are searching for it. A sma...

Bid-based PPC In the bid-based model, the advertiser signs a contract that allows them to compete against other advertisers in a private auction hosted by a publisher or, more commonly, an advertising network. Each advertiser informs the host of the maximum amount that he or she is willing to pay for a given ad spot (often based on a keyword ), usually using online tools to do so. The auction plays out in an automated fashion every time a visitor triggers the ad spot. When the ad spot is part of a search engine results page ( SERP ), the automated auction takes place whenever a search for the keyword that is being bid upon occurs. All bids for the keyword that target the searcher's geo-location, the day and time of the search, etc. are then compared and the winner determined. In situations where there are multiple ad spots, a common occurrence on SERPs, there can be multiple winners whose positions on the page are influenced by the amount each has bid. The ad with the highest bid...

Pay per click ( PPC ) is an Internet advertising model used on search engines , advertising networks , and content sites, such as blogs , in which advertisers pay their host only when their ad is clicked. With search engines, advertisers typically bid on keyword phrases relevant to their target market . Content sites commonly charge a fixed price per click rather than use a bidding system. Websites that utilize PPC ads will display an advertisement when a keyword query matches an advertiser's keyword list, or when a content site displays relevant content. Such advertisements are called sponsored links or sponsored ads , and appear adjacent to or above organic results on search engine results pages, or anywhere a web developer chooses on a content site. Although many PPC providers exist, Google AdWords , Yahoo! Search Marketing , and Microsoft adCenter are the three largest network operators, and all three operate under a bid-based model. Cost per click (CPC) varies dependi...

A psychologist is urging people to get off Facebook and other social networking sites, and get a life instead. Dr Aric Sigman says the amount of time we spend with each other has slumped dramatically and in turn is damaging our health. He says our devotion to such sites could alter the way genes work, upset immune responses, hormone levels, and the function of arteries, and influence mental performance. Levels of hormones such as the "cuddle chemical" oxytocin, which promotes bonding, altered according to whether people were in close contact or not. This could increase the risk of health problems as serious as cancer strokes, heart disease and dementia. Dr Sigman spells out his warning in the latest issue of Biologist, the journal of the Institute of Biology, and maintains that social networking sites have played a significant role in people becoming more isolated. He said: "Social networking is the internet's biggest growth area, particular among young childre...

Shopping in Bali is not simply walking into a shop, picking something from a shelf and paying for it. Shopping is an art. In every traditional market and art shop around Bali bargaining is a must. This traditional way makes shopping in Bali a fun time, where you can feel the warmth of human value in every transaction. Before you begin your shopping tour on this island, please obtain cash because most places do not accept credit cards. Even if you are not a seasoned negotiator be prepared to enjoy the bargaining process. It is a fun activity and be patient and you will get the 'best (and maybe even local) price'. In some places you can bargain until you get 50...

Paintings Is One Of The Most Famouse Balinese Art Form Before foreign painters came to Bali in the 1920 and 1930s, paintings were rigidly one dimensional, but western influence brought a flowering of representational art, often of typical village scenes, flowers or animal. Examples of both classical mostly calendars and of the Penestanan and Pengosekan representational style are found in many shops that offer painting. There are many art studios around Ubud and in the villages of Batuan, Bedulu, Kamasan and Kerambitan, there is such an explosion of interest in Balinese art that visitors may find it difficult to find work of true quality. If you are just looking something charming to remind you of your visit to Bali , you’ll find it in one of the hundred of tourist shops which sell paintings. However if you want to find work of real talent, then the up market galleries found in Ubud and in the shopping malls attached to 5 star hotels would be a good place to start. Galleries include ...

Asta Kosala-Kosali Is The Basically Principle Concept For Balinese Architecture . The Balinese people believe that all their daily life active is connecting to the Yadnya and all the religious ceremonial which is implementation their sacrifice or Bakthi to the god Ida Sang Hyang Widhi Wasa (the balinese Hindu god), they belive if they don’t do the ceremonial so they will take the karma pahala. Karma phala is result that what we have done in the pass goodness and badness, basically the Hindu concept is commences to its follower to make good behavior respect, help and loving each other, (well I thing all the religious in the world has good purpose) which base on Trikaya Parisuda which consist of manacika good thinking, wacika good speaking, kayika good behavior this all concept are implementation in symbol in daily Balinese activity. Asta Kosala-Kosali is basically principle role for Balinese people to build house, commonly before build the there are some ritual that done in the land...