Litani iklan lokal

orang periklanan sering mendaku insan kreatif
pemikir penantang arus, di luar kubus, kepala penuh ide yang tak pernah tergerus

tetapi

sengaku-ngaku kreatifnya agen periklanan lokal
nyaris tiada perempuan flores, ambon, papua tampak di produk kecantikan

sengaku-ngaku kreatifnya agen periklanan lokal

citra perempuan tiada jauh dari bubuk cuci baju, cuci piring, cuci kamar belakang

sengaku-ngaku kreatifnya agen periklanan lokal

citra lelaki tiada jauh dari pencari nafkah, petualang rimba, otot, mesin, kabel

sengaku-ngaku kreatifnya agen periklanan lokal

rupa yang menawan jadi pahlawan, yang kebal aib berperan abal

sengaku-ngaku kreatifnya agen periklanan lokal

si bunda yang mengganti popok, si ayah tak perlu repot

sengaku-ngaku kreatifnya agen periklanan lokal,

peran seksual tiada diubah, setiap kelamin dikurung dalam tempurung

Explaining collocations

There's one day when I had to teach English collocations. The simplest explanation of them, besides the definition 'two or more words that often come together', is a question like this.

'In infotainment, the word prahara (chaos, trouble) is always followed by...?'

Most students will reply in unison, 'RUMAH TANGGA!' (household).

Then I'll go, 'Now, why can you answer it almost instantly? The phrase (prahara rumah tangga) sounds so natural to you, doesn't it? And so do English collocations. There are fixed phrases that would come in tandem automatically, like commit a crime, apply for a job, bid farewell, etc. If you want your English sounds natural to native speakers, make use of collocations.'

Now they understand.

Culture as a learning process

Learning means the process of acquiring new knowledge, skills, or behaviour. In culture humans always accumulate knowledge and skills they have acquired and hand them over for generations. The knowledge, skills, and behaviour cover a wide range of topics, such as arts, religion, communications, technology, etc. In communications, for instance, humans have created and improved the Braille and sign languages, which allow the blind and the deaf to communicate with the world. As for technology, humans have invented different tools and machines enabling themselves to speed up the manufacture of goods—e.g. batik clothes, initially hand-painted by individuals, can be now produced using a stamp or a printing machine, which is much faster and more economical. The said examples obviously show that human knowledge accumulates along with human efforts to learn.

The accumulation and transfer of knowledge and skills are made possible thanks to language. This is perhaps the greatest human invention since it underlies all human activities, thereby rendering them possible. The term ‘language’ is defined broadly, including all forms of symbols and signs, which are manifested in words, pictures, dances, etc. Symbols are made by humans, external to their bodies, and thus are easy to modify to suit any problems that arise. For instance, when humans stored water only at room temperature, there was only one single tap needed. When humans created a machine able to heat water and store it, another tap was required—hence two colours, typically red and blue, identifying warm and cool water respectively.

Culture as a learning process indicates that humans have sociocultural inheritance, apart from biological inheritance. It means that learning activity always surpasses mere natural behaviour. For example, eating is a natural behaviour that occurs in all organic creatures. However, humans can go beyond their animal instinct by preparing the meal—cooking, decorating, and serving it in a delicate way—so that food satisfies not only their biological need but also their aesthetic sense. 

Bolak-balik Jakarta-Bandung

Dulu, Sherina panik, 'Jadi, Ayah tiap hari bolak-balik Jakarta-Bandung?'
Kini, si ayah menjawab, 'Naik travel juga bisa.'

French 'now'

The French word for 'now' is maintenant. Derived from main, hand, and tenant, holding, from tenir, to hold. So for the French, what you're holding in your hands, what you can take control of, is the now.

Smoking the Internet

Perhaps, cigarettes are to smokers like Internet connection is to me.

My preference for British spelling

I was designing an on-line exam on Google Docs for candidates of a youth exchange programme. Before publishing the form on the Internet, I let my co-trainer re-examine the questions. He pointed his finger at one spot on my laptop screen. 'Why is it organisational, not organizational?'.

British spelling is seen exotic for the eyes of many Indonesian learners of English today (note: -ize verbs are actually as acceptable as -ise verbs). It's understandable due to the great influence of US media on Indonesian population that they consider US spelling as the standard norm. To this category belong such words as standardize, traveler, skillful, etc.

Alumni to select youth leader, assistant of RI contingent for SSEAYP

Indonesian alumni association of the Ship for South East Asian Youth Programme (SSEAYP) holds a selection of youth leader and assistant youth leader (YL/AYL) of the Indonesian contingent over the weekend at the secretariat in South Jakarta. On the sidelines of the training, the board of directors of SSEAYP International Indonesia, Inc. (SII) interviewed the delegates attending the sessions. As for delegates residing in other provinces, a phone interview was conducted.

The shortlist of YL/AYL nominees was made based on, among others, recommendations from the contingent's members. Apart from the peer nomination, the SII board of directors also takes account of the nominees' CVs and the roles they have played in the contingent thus far.

Director of the SII directorate of SSEAYP Astary Dyah Sutjiningtyas reminded the delegates that the SII was not seeking the best individuals to fill the YL/AYL posts. 'We are looking for the most suitable couple,' she said ahead of the interview. She also said the YL was not necessarily a male participant and the AYL must be of the opposite sex.

During the interview, several candidates of Indonesia Participating Youth expressed their willingness to become a YL whereas the others preferred assuming other responsibilities. At the end of the selection process, former YLs/AYLs reserve the exclusive right to choose this year's YL/AYL.

SSEAYP is a Japan-ASEAN youth exchange programme sponsored by the Cabinet Office of Japan. Marking its 40th voyage, the programme will kick off in October.

Youth reps gear up for Japan-ASEAN exchange

Training: Youth delegates prepare themselves
for the 40th Ship for South East Asian Youth Programme.

Five youth delegates attend the training for Japan-sponsored Ship for South East Asian Youth Programme (SSEAYP) on Saturday in South Jakarta. Hailing from Jakarta, Depok, Tangerang, and Bandung, they will make up the Indonesian contingent together with other 23 delegates from across Indonesia.

Indonesian association of SSEAYP alumni, SSEAYP International Indonesia, Inc., holds the training sessions every weekend in the three months leading to the departure. The training module consists of a wide range of topics, from Indonesia's foreign affairs to discussion programme and contingent attire. Even though the training is attended merely by five participants, the knowledge gained from the sessions is then transferred to the other candidates via on-line conferences. 

Guest speakers delivered presentations to the participants and discussed different matters. In the attire session, Meika Hazim explained the classification of outfits required in the programme and the importance of personal grooming. Yunita of the Foreign Ministry put emphasis on ASEAN Community, which is slated to commence in 2015, and challenges thereof. 

During and after each session participants asked several questions. Naluri of West Java wanted to know about tips on attire funding, followed by Quincy of Jakarta, who had a query about managing clothes for the Pre-Departure Training and the programme. The latter was also curious about the extent to which CLMV countries were different from Indonesia. 

Indonesia as an autopilot state

Indonesia, an autopilot state?

My talk today examines the possibility of classifying Indonesia as an autopilot state. I would like to say that, yes, Indonesia is running on autopilot to some extent. The phrase ‘to some extent’ implies that such autopilot mode does not necessarily encompass the whole dynamics of human life within a state. In other words, there are some parts of human life that run with the state’s intervention and some that do not.

Before going any further, let me explain the outline of my talk. It behoves us, first of all, to agree on what the term ‘state on autopilot’ means—otherwise, the talk would be futile since we have got different definitions of it. Afterwards, we will compare the idea of the autopilot state with a number of examples taken from the three dimensions of human life in today’s Indonesian society, namely the economy, politics and law. Finally, there will be a conclusion drawn from the analysis.

Let us imagine an aeroplane. Suppose that an aeroplane is a republic. The pilot and the co-pilot then would be the president, the vice president—in short, the government; the flight attendants represent the state bureaucracy and the market; and the passengers are the citizens. Now, according to German philosopher Jürgen Habermas, we ought to distinguish two aspects: the System and the Lebenswelt. The System comprises the state bureaucracy and the market, while the Lebenswelt refers to the world of experience lived by the citizens.

Having this metaphor in mind, let us proceed to two kinds of situation. If the pilot strictly controls everything, then the aeroplane is a model of totalitarian state. On the other hand, if the pilot gives up everything to the mechanisms of the bureaucracy and the market, then the aeroplane is a model of liberal state, which is primarily based on a laissez-faire principle. 

Therefore, when we claim that the Indonesian government is on autopilot, we are actually saying that the government does not intervene at all in neither the System nor the Lebenswelt. In other words, the passengers cannot feel the presence of the pilot; the flight attendants are the only channel through which they express their opinions.

However, one may ask: Is such situation true?

Premature bosses

These days the millennial generation seems to be in rush to entitle themselves Founder, Entrepreneur, Owner, CEO, Executive Director. It's all about me, me, me.

Bookshelves in the toilet

Have you ever thought of setting up bookshelves inside your toilet? Sometimes I read books in the toilet, even though for only a few pages. Perhaps I'll have some made in my future place.

Philosophy as a pedagogic strategy towards leadership development

Quite a few analysts say the future of Indonesia seems promising. Our economy is growing at approximately 6 per cent; we are the only South East Asian country taking part in the Group of Twenty (G20); and as the largest economy in the region Indonesia is expected to take a leading role in the ASEAN Economic Community, which is slated to commence in 2015. These are good news in macroeconomics. The bad news is, however, our society is facing ever-increasing sociopolitical challenges at grass-roots level. The media covers them all every day: corruption, inter-religious conflicts, student brawls due to petty things, separatist movements and so forth. Given these mind-perplexing challenges and problems, one can but ask: What solutions do we need? 

Obviously, since the phenomena I have described are all human activities, it is the very human being that is capable of dealing with them. The economic, political, religious, social systems, and all the drawbacks arising therefrom, are all established by human being, hence human responsibility for them. The key, then, lies in the development of human resources so that they can take initiative and lead the way. In other words, we are in need of leaders of considerable intelligence and exemplary character. By the term ‘leader’, we are not merely referring to those holding office in bureaucracy or having an executive position in enterprises, but rather we are talking about human potential residing in each person.

I have mentioned two dimensions of a leader: intelligence, which is the cognitive dimension, and character, which is the affective dimension. Now, these two dimensions ought to be nurtured if we are to have true leaders—which then raises another question: What instrument does our society employ to instil leadership qualities in succeeding generations? Plainly, education. By educating children both inside and outside classrooms, the society is investing energy and time in developing their intelligence and character to the utmost.

However, just how effective are our schools in carrying out this enormous responsibility? Ladies and gentlemen, when you were a child and the teacher asked you to draw a panorama, did you draw two cone-shaped mountains with the sun, clouds, and unidentified birds above them and a street going through a village in which are located a modest house and a rice field? Sadly speaking, you and me, we belong to the generation that considers the picture as the only valid representation of panorama.

Mengenali yang sama dan beda dari Filipina

Filipina dan Indonesia

Setiap kali misa berbahasa Inggris di Gereja Santa Theresia di bilangan Menteng, Jakarta Pusat, berakhir, dan ketika jemaat beranjak keluar, dua bahasa asing hampir pasti terdengar di sela-sela percakapan santai mereka: bahasa Inggris dan bahasa Filipino. Sementara yang pertama dituturkan para bule dan warga Jakarta sendiri, yang kedua secara khas menjadi tanda kehadiran warga negara Filipina di ibukota.

Semakin banyak warga Filipina bekerja di Jakarta. Data dari kedutaan besar Filipina menunjukkan, pada tahun 2012 sekitar 8.000 warganya menetap di Indonesia—sekitar 70 persen berbasis di Jakarta. Sebagian besar dari mereka bergerak di sektor pendidikan, pelatihan, perdagangan, industri, keuangan, media, dan lain-lain. Peningkatan jumlah warga Filipina di Indonesia sebesar 100 persen dalam kurun empat tahun terakhir ini dapat terlihat dalam uji coba sederhana: Kunjungi sekolah berlabel internasional mana pun di Jakarta, dan hampir pasti Anda akan menemukan seorang guru dari Filipina.

UK royal baby

Just read posts about some British aspiring to a republic country. Naturally, they aren't enthusiastic about the royal baby, George Alexander Louis. Why should this baby so special? they cried, comparing him to thousands of ordinary babies born in poverty or hardship. I'd say, What's wrong with being happy for a newborn baby? As if it were a sin?