No Smoking!

It has been a year since our company imposed a ban of smoking in all areas of the company. For many years before the ban, the company provided some restricted points where smokers had a chance to smoke cigarettes. But since August 17, 2008 no more smokers might have a dream of taking pleasure of smoking. Not only does the ban prohibit smoking in all areas of the mill, but also forbid any one, without any exception, from taking cigarettes or matches into the areas. This good campaign of healthy life has got much appreciation from all parties.

As the biggest paper manufacturer in the South East Asia, the company has to apply to all the necessities that improve the image of the company to both domestic and international markets. Now, this giant paper mill, PT. Pabrik Kertas Tjiwi Kimia Tbk., is exporting its products to countries all over the world. Taking the role of campaigning smoking ban would certainly be a great support to the WHO-sponsored program: the day without tobacco.

Smoking in the mill areas, more than just the harmful effects to the employees, was to be considered as a dangerous activity. The most apparent danger is the fire risk as most of the raw materials are pulp paper and chemicals, which are inflammable and prone to fire. Another aim of this no-smoking campaign is the real participation of keeping the young people free from the danger of smoking.

The fact that many people have been involved in the bad habit of smoking has drawn the attention of some provincial offices. The Jakarta cosmopolitan office, the main city, has issued a ban of smoking in the public areas. This policy should be a pattern for other provinces to keep people from bad smoking. Considering that nowadays a big number of teenagers have also been toppled into this harmful-to-heath smoking, this policy would be of a great help.

The problem why the government does not straightly impose the ban of producing cigarettes or even close the manufacturers of tobacco and cigarettes is that the fact that this industry has been supporting the revenue with the high tax. It seems that government would be facing the huge loss of income from this double-effect industry.

What the government can do is just to campaign for the harmful effect of smoking without having any enforcement. It would take a high risk to the economic situation to close the industry. Campaigning to avoid life from smoking directly to the public or other means of warnings like enforcement to print a warning about the danger of smoking to health on the packaging. But this does not give any positive impact as no smoker even see it.

In the market, and for the sake of commercial trickery, it has been now a tendency to promote the cigarette branding that misleads smokers into believing that some products are less harmful than other products. Subtle branding like ‘mild’, ‘light’, and ‘law tar’ are generally believed to be healthier and less harmful. The word ‘slim’ can mislead women smokers to the wrong perception that smoking this product will make their body slim. Attractive macho pictures on the packets also mislead teenagers to have belief that to be a man they should have courage of smoking.

Since 2002 it has been illegal under EU legislation for manufacturers to use trademarks, text or any sign to suggest that one tobacco product is less harmful than others are. Banned phrases include "low tar", "light" and "mild". In the UK, the Liberal Democrats are currently trying to reintroduce an amendment to the Health Bill to further restrict branding and designs on packs.

With the above reference, it is the time for the government to think over the legislation to ban the subtle branding that can mislead people to thinking of certain brands are less harmful with the others. The truth is that all cigarettes are equally hazardous, regardless of what color the pack is or what words appear on it. There should be a restriction of producing cigarette packing with such attractive pictures deliberately to tempt people to smoking.

The tobacco and cigarette industry is likely a blade with two sharp sides. On one side, it is generally judged as the agent of the bad habit of living, but on the other hand, the government still has to make money with it. With this condition, we cannot expect more but think over our health.

Have a good life!

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Bali: The Island of Paradise

Foreigners may know Bali better than our country, Indonesia. As a matter of fact, Bali is a province of Indonesia, the country in the East that comprises a thousand of islands. Bali is one of those islands, the islands that are scattered across the archipelago. This may have happened, as Bali is among those of interesting places of the world that is always charming visitors. One should not have ever visited our country unless he/she visits Bali, nor should they proclaim themselves as the real travelers without travelling this paradise. The splendid beauty of the island that has been enchanting its visitors all the times refers Bali Island to as the Island of Paradise.

Bali was discovered by a Mr. Cornellis de Houtman, during his world expedition to explore for species around the world in 1579. From Java they sailed to the east, before finally they landed on the beautiful Bali Island.

In Bali, he did not find any species thereto but the society with a unique living that he had never seen in other places during his expedition all over the word. The beautiful landscape of the island and its religious living tradition of the society were distinctive attraction that no other places of the world might offer. He reported this marvelous discovery to the king in Holland, then.

Since 1920, tourists from the European countries had been coming to this island. Hollandaise commercial vessels called on Bali during their exploration to find out resources of species and then promoted Bali Island as the Island of God.

Some of the visitors were cultural specialists and artists that visited Bali with special purpose of exploring the Balinese cultures and arts. Many publications about Bali were launched to promote Bali Island.

Writers of Balinese literature at that time were among others:

Dr Gregor Krause from Germany was sent to Wetherisnds East Idies (Indonesia) in 1921 with a special task of compiling writings and photographs of the Balinese traditions.
Miguel Covarrubias, wrote his book of the Island of Bali in 1930
Magaret Mead
Collin Mc Phee
Jone Bello
Mrs Menc (Ni Ketut Tantri) wrote her book of Revolt In Paradise
Roelof Goris, wrote a book of Prasasti Bali (Balinese historic inscription) lived in Bali in 1928
Lovis Conperus (1863-1923) wrote a book of Easwords (The journey to the east), contents of which was his admiration to Bali Island, especially Kintamani.

Arts painters who had been working in Bali:

R. Bonet built Ratna Warta museum
Walter Spies, who came to Bali in 1925, together with Tjokorde established Pita Maha Foundation. He also wrote a book of Dance and Drama in Bali.
Arie Smith, coming with style of young artist
Le Mayeur, a Belgian, married with a Balinese girl and was living in Sanur, Bali Island in 1930 with his Museum Le Mayeur.
Mario Blanco, a Spanish painter, also married with Balinese girl and was living in Ubud.

Many foreigners had been coming to Bali and made many publications about Bali, and they promoted Bali to Europeans and Americans since then. Visitors who had ever been to Bali share their experiences to others and this is a tremendous way to introduce the splendid Bali to the world. This long way of promotion which was at the first time from mouth-to-mouth that perhaps had been affecting people in other countries, up to this time being, to know Bali better than Indonesia.

Bali was getting more and more well known in the world when Legong Peliatan conducted a mission of tourism in 1932, to almost all countries in Europe and America. Bali was named as:
The Island of Gods
The Island of Paradise
The Island of Thousand Temples
The Morning of The World, by Pandit Jawahral Nehru
The Last Paradise on Earth, ect.

From any airport all over the world, visitor may fly to international airport Ngurah Rai in Denpasar, the provincial city of Bali. Since you step your feed on the airport, you will then experience the unique atmosphere of Bali: the living tradition of praying at pura (small temples for praying), beautiful Bali landscapes or enchanting seas panorama.

Guesthouses, motels, non-rated or five-star hotels are available in Bali and you may pick out one that most suit you. You may hire cars or motorcycles and enjoy exploring distinctive Bali at your preference.

The government has been unceasingly promoting Bali to other countries in many ways, such as: promoting through Embassy offices, tourism package tours to some other countries, brochures and leaflets, and other means of promotion. Now Bali has been the most visited-tourism destination in Indonesia, both by domestic and foreign visitors.

So, experience Bali! Bali Island, the Island of Paradise, it is true!

*pictures: from www.bali-pictures.com

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Happy Birthday to My President!

The President Elect Susilo Bambang Yudoyono is celebrating his 60th birthday today, on 09-09-09. Happy Birthday to my President! It is a belief that ‘9’ (nine) is a symbol of top achievement before something restarts counting again from ‘0’ (zero). When the president is today celebrating his birthday on this unique composition of figure, it is not only a happiness of himself and his family, but also a hope of all the people of the country to be the accumulated good fate to the nation.

The modern numeric prophecy believes that the sacred 9 refer to accomplishment, satisfaction and utmost achievement. Nine is the culmination of anything before it has to restart counting again from zero. For this reason some has taken the chance to commence or promote something on the ‘good’ date.

Reuters has reported that a government office in Florida is offering a special wedding party, which costs of USD.99, 99 for today. Many companies have decided to take this good chance to gain the advantages. A Company of iPod was reported to launch their new product on the 09-09, and Film Features is launching a film titled as ‘9’.

As the ordinary people of the republic, we are here placing a hope of having any significant improvements on the conditions closed us. That, with this good moment, the president will be starting his second term of presidency with the good commencement. People are expecting betterment of the national economic growth, wider job opportunities, national stability, and clean governance.

Happy birthday to my president!

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Our Independence Day

It has been a tradition to every one in our kampoong to do something special to welcome the Independence Day. Pak RT, the kampoong chief, hold a meeting with the residents to discuss what agenda to be taken. It is almost to be certain that we start it by setting up a committee, called as ‘Panitia Tujuh Belasan’ or ‘Panitia Pitulasan’. Tujuh Belas in Indonesian or Pitulasan in Javanese means the seventeenth of August, when we commemorate the Independence Day. This committee organizes all the events such as the mass social works to clean and dress up the environment, festive competitions and gathering for praying at the Independence Eve. There are many ways to celebrate our Independence Day, of course.

The committee usually organizes festive competition of some sports like volleyball, table tennis, and chess game for fathers and mothers. Some funny games or competitions are for children of the surroundings. We clean and dress up the environment with red-and-white flags and colorful banners to make splendid atmosphere. We do all the things to celebrate our independence to recall the great moment in history about 64 years ago when we get freedom from the colonists.

Hundreds of years our nation had been suffering from the wildest life of the colonialism era, and these miseries invited local and sporadic attacks against the colonist. Uncounted lost of possessions and souls were sacrificed with no result, until the nation came to the national awakening for which we recall it as Hari Kebangkitan Nasional on every May 20. Since the day all efforts to get rid of the colonialism were not on district basis, but on national basis. It was the change of the paradigm in the efforts and struggles to get freedom.

It was on the August 17, 1945 when Mr. Soekarno and Mr. Moh.Hatta, for and on behalf of the nation, proclaimed the Indonesia’s Independence to the world. Since then, we have been an independent nation after so long-sufferings from colonialism. History has recorded that this independence was not granted, but it was fought over with terrible pains, efforts and struggles. It was engraved with tears and paints, bodies and souls.

In commemoration to the Independence Day, we arrange festive events to express our thanks and joy for the freedom. In other side, it is to pray for the heroes passed away in the battles for the independence. Festivals are usually held a few days before or after the August 17. On the Independence Eve, we all gather in a wide-open space with foods offerings. After a written speech from the local regent or major usually read by the village chief, and one from the kampoong chief, an ulama prays for the predecessor heroes. In the same time, he appeals His blessing for the strength and tough to continue the on going development of the country.

A few days, usually until a week later, some festive events are still going on in some villages. Funny games such as panjat pinang (palm tree climbing) are popular among the village residents. In this game, participants will have to climb a palm tree to take some gifts on the top of the tree. It is not an easy game to do as the tree greased with fat before and is becoming slick when the contestants climbing it. Music shows are often presented to end the subsequent events arranged during the commemoration period. This is the way of how to express our thanksgivings to God for the freedom moment.

Now, after 64 years of the Independence Day, we are not holding guns and fire the enemies. We do not have to go to the battlefields confronting the colonists. What we have to do is to develop the country to pursue justice and welfare for all people. This is not an easy task to do of course, and is not only in the hands of the government officials but on ours, all the elements of the nation. It is the task of the nation to get rid of the backwardness.

There are some barriers that we have to overcome. Those might be coming for the outside such as global economic crisis and the fluctuation of the world oil prices. The hard works are how to create a breakthrough to be sustainable to these attacks. From the inside, the low economic growth, the increase of jobless, corruption and illiteracy are waiting tasks of the nation to be overcome. In addition, the country is still prone to any security disturbance and separatism that may hamper foreign investors to come.

We have been 64 years free from the chain of colonialism, but we are facing the new manifestation of it that curbs us from being the developed country. Could we now get rid of all these disadvantages? We may have been left some decades behind those developed countries, but there is only one answer from this nation: YES!

Mojokerto, August 2009

The site keeper

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How to Catch Ideas For Writing

Some people say that writing is easy, whereas others still stay at their contradictory. Advanced writers have likely been experiencing a long journey prior to their current writing world, and that is why they say that writing is easy to do. In this case, perhaps they do not remember again all their pains they might have been facing during their long road of journey. They are harvesting what they have planted long before, and writing seems to have been coming easy. Writing has been one of their hobbies and it has been intact in life. How is about the beginner writers? From which side should they start writing? Catch the ideas first!

Most beginners are likely not in the line opinion with the seasoned writers. They still find it difficult to write; it is hard to spill their idea into the subsequent powerful sentences on paper. Some people say that there are unlimited ideas that we can catch everywhere at any time, at any occasion. In fact, beginners - like me- do not always grab this idea easily and often do not see any idea. We feel blank.

In order to know from which side we should write and how we may catch the ideas and engrave them in the form of subsequent words, these ways may be useful.

1. Be alert to catch up the ideas

It is true that there are unlimited ideas around. They may come to us at a sudden, in spontaneous, and unpredictable fixed time. Ideas may be coming from stimulus when we are in the use of five human senses of touching; tasting; smelling; visioning; hearing. They may also vanish in a twinkling, so we must always be ready to catch them and to ‘stick’ them on paper. When ideas are suddenly coming, write them down on paper or type it on computer without any delay before they jump up.

2. Find ideas by experiencing whatsoever at surroundings

Ideas are rampant at our surroundings. The problem is that we are not accustomed to see them and take them out. We are not sensible enough to discover these veiled ideas. Many people may be taking some trips, visiting certain places or meet someone to make a little bit of interview. By developing the sense of ‘investigation’, we unveil the disguised valuable ideas to write down. From the long journey we may record what we have seen and felt, which are not only valuable ideas for writing but it may be valuable learning process of living.

3. Read supporting sources to develop ideas

When we have caught an idea from the surroundings, it may be just a plain and simple one, which is not at all attractive to anyone. Then, it is the next step to develop this idea into one that is interest capturing and reliable, so that when it is presented in the form of writing it will evoke readers’ interest. What we are writing will not only show readers the contents; it will further represent how far our insight about the topics is. So, read related sources to enrich and support the idea.

4. Make reading a habit

To be a visionary, as a writer should be, it seems that reading is not a separate activity from writing. As a beginner writer, at first stage, we may start reading whatsoever of our preference. Then, step by step, we have to develop reading as our daily needs, like our body needs food and drink to survive. At the later stage, reading is not just a habit but it is the part of life. As in fact, reading is the part of writing; it will shape and color what we would like to write.

5. Start writing

Like ammunition of a mortar, people will not know how powerful it is until the weapon launches and it explodes, hitting the targets. How brilliant your idea is, just like ammunition, it does not give any effect to others unless you write it down. That is why writing should be directly commenced soon after we catch the idea, without fail. Write it down before it vanishes from us. Do not think that our writing will be automatically perfect from the beginning, it will come as a result of many practices or rehearsals. Our writing will be getting smooth and perfect in the line of how much practices we have been doing, so start writing from now and at any time.

This blog will not justify how perfect the articles are, but it is more likely a forum where I myself, and anyone who may concern to English learning, can spill out their ideas, a place for free expression of viewpoints and opinions.

Mojokerto, 07/07/2009
the site keeper

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I want to write!

I used to dream of being a famous writer or journalist when I was in Junior High School. What encouraged me for the dream was the thought of having my name printed under the tittle of every my works. It would have been such a pride if readers recognized me as the author of what they were reading at hands. Years have passed since that dream, and now I am neither a writer, nor a journalist at all. Now, with limitation of nearly all aspects, I would be still having a dream of being a writer. Not because I would like to gain popularity and still have a dream of a famous writer, but it is just because I still love writing. Yes, I want to write!

People said that writing is easy. Arswendo Atmowiloto even writes a book, entitled ‘Mengarang Itu Gampang’. Writing is easy. Is that saying really true? To my personal opinion, at least there are three steps of requirements that someone should acquire before he decides to start writing. The three of them are the knowledge of the contents or topic of writing, the competency of the language in which we are willing to write in, and the writing techniques.

Before I start writing, I have to know what the topic is about. How can I write something that I do not know much? Thus, it is a must to collect necessary data about the topic. It might not be an excessive statement if reading is an activity that is not separable from writing. Even, if I may say, reading is a preliminary step that a candidate of a writer should have been their habit first, prior to deciding to start writing as by reading we collect what we would like to write. A little observation may also be necessary to support the data, so that we can present reliable writing to readers.

A language competency is also an absolute preliminary step of writing activities. The language is like the frame into which we should place the topics in, in the forms of subsequent sentences. From words to sentences, from sentences to paragraphs, and paragraphs subsequently build the whole integral text. No fixed rules of how to express ideas by means of a language, but in transferring the ideas into the sentences certain grammatical and structural rules must be followed. Not following the rules will not only fail in revealing the idea, but also lead readers to misunderstanding and confusion.

To make it easier for readers to catch what is the text about, we should certainly adopt writing techniques or strategy. Writing is not just a matter of supplying readers with information or particular data. It is more like an art of entertaining them while they are searching for the information through words. Thus, they will gain what they are looking for in the form of enjoyable activity of reading. As writing is the art of offering information in the form of entertaining people with enjoyable activity, guidance of how to write effectively must be taken into account.

As a matter of fact, it is not easy to write down our ideas to paper. If people said that writing is easy, it is just to motivate people to like writing. It is far more like motivational saying to boost the interest of writing. I do feel how hard it is to write. As the beginner, I have to struggle hard in both how I should make use of grammatically correct words choice, powerful phrases, and interest-provoking-sentences and how express my ideas from head to the language smoothly, like water flows.

I have been often making some mistakes as I arrange words into phrases, phrases into sentences and compile sentences into paragraphs, before finally it is coming to a text or article. From so many factors, this may have happened since English is not my mother tongue and, as elementary learner of the language, I still don’t have adequate competency in it. At one side, I still have to sharpen the competency of the respective language itself, and at the other hand, as a new-born learner I often find it difficult to ‘flow’ the ideas in the mind into the sentences. I often feel every thing is like stuck at the head and nothing comes out. Sometimes, I feel blank and don’t see anything to write. It looks like just sitting on desk with blood stop running to the brain and hands caught in chain.

To be a writer, it is still a long road ahead, through which I have to pace with full of efforts, struggles and pains. But, despite the limitation of competency, skills, and time, I am trying not to escape from this uneven path, a long road of dreaming as a writer. Indeed, I still want to write. No matter how hard the road and the long distance that I will have to cope with, it seems that no other way than just pacing it through. Yes, I still want to write, at least here, in this web log.

the site keeper,
a man who is dreaming of a writer

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