Of slow blogging, and the reasons for it

Sorry for not posting for a while. In this economy-from-hell, I had to go and make some money while I still could!

But by way of an excuse, here's an interesting Slow Blogging Manifesto that I came across, and that nicely justifies my absence. Should blogging be about multiple daily posts, or should it be about more occasional worthy insights? Should bloggers work with a mindset of ever-passing deadlines, or with a goal of deeper breakthroughs?

The author's position is obvious ... here's a sample: "Slow Blogging is a rejection of immediacy. It is an affirmation that not all things worth reading are written quickly, and that many thoughts are best served after being fully baked and worded in an even temperament."

When time passes and we're all six feet under, is an ephemeral blog any kind of legacy to leave? Perhaps we should all return to the writerly habits of yore, and write personal letters in longhand. At least it would be something tangible to hold on to ...

Today's Top Stories

Papua simmers on rebel's return

Leader Nicolas Jouwe offers mixed messages

When Komodo dragons attack!

Poor fruit picker on the receiving end

More Islamic bonds on the way

Hey, anything's better than stocks

Islam the election's wild card

Won't get a prez candidate, but will shape results

Whither Papua?

Word that a key leader of the Free Papua movement is finally warming up to the idea of Indonesia.

Somewhat of a mystery, for beliefs that have been decades in the making for Nicolas Jouwe. A feint to wrest more powers from the government, and prevent much-needed funds from leaking back to Jakarta? An admission that a tiny country, alone, might not reach the promised land via independence alone (viz: East Timor)? Or a personal power grab, since he apparently would like to advise SBY on Papuan affairs?

Perhaps a combination of the three. Or, even, a touch of well-timed propaganda from the government - he was meeting with Minister Bakrie, after all, who might not be the most trustworthy mouthpiece in the world.

Currency's new world order

And you thought the rupiah had problems?

It almost went unnoticed, but this week we saw the first hints of a major global shift in finance and geopolitics. The Chinese are wringing their hands about their massive (read: trillion-dollar) investment in US Treasury bonds, say their leaders. Huge government spending in response to the financial meltdown, leading to the full-speed printing of money, leading to the eventual devaluation of American currency, is what's causing the nervousness. Seems rational to me.

Presumably this Chinese trial balloon will lead to a shift in how they invest their money, i.e. not US Treasuries as the default investment of choice. That, in turn, will put major pressure on American currency in years to come, and a significantly ramped-up inflation level. Not Zimbabwe, hopefully, but something to which Americans haven't been accustomed since the early 1980s when inflation reached double-digits.

Perhaps the only thing saving the US dollar right now is that a major alternative, the Euro, is also a major basket case, as they figure out how to prop up horrendous Eastern European economies. Long-term, though, remember this week as an early sign of the end of America's currency hegemony.


Today's Top Stories

World Cup: The bid is in
Indonesia wants football's greatest event

Obama says, Apa kabar?
Talks to SBY on the phone

iPhone 3G on the way to Indonesia
Get ready for the addiction

SBY figuring out new coalitions
What to do after Golkar defection?

Forbes: Indonesia's top billionaires

I thought we were all broke by now. But apparently there are still a few billionaires left in the world, according to Forbes magazine's new list.

Five Indonesians among them, in fact, close on the nerdy heels of Microsoft's Bill Gates. (Sorry, Warren Buffett, you can apply for social assistance now.) The winners: The Hartono brothers, Michael and Budi, whose love goes into every clove cigarette you suck down. The result: $1.7 billion. I haven't done the conversion, but that's a whole lot of rupiah.

Others with enough money to pay their mortgage include Sukanto Tanoto, of paper-construction-and-palm-oil fame; Martua Sitorus, another palm-oil magnate; Peter Sondakh, a telecommunications-and-hotels king (what's with the strange combinations?). If palm oil is such a sure path to enormous wealth, no wonder they're cutting down forests with abandon. Sorry, orangutans ...

Today's Top Stories

We're second best!

Indonesia runner-up for Asia's top travel destination

SBY falls ill from 'stomach ache'

Whispers of stroke in advance of elections

Ouch: Horse bites off man's balls

Bad day in Gorontalo province

Indonesia among cheapest stocks in world

No wonder after Jakarta Index falls straight into toilet

In breaking Buddha news ...

Pop quiz: How long would it take for a bar featuring a huge Muhammad statue, overlooking all the tasty drinks and appetizers, to be burned down? My guess is between five and seven seconds.

Even normally laid-back Buddhists, though, have got their backs up over Jakarta's Buddha Bar. Hence the new ruling that the trendy spot be shuttered, as offensive to the religion's followers. Fair enough, I suppose, since a massive Christ looming over one's mai-tai would probably be considered offensive too.

But note well that this Buddha Bar chain has a New York City outpost, which has gobbled up tourists' money for years now, with nary a peep from the local community. I suppose with ultimate enlightenment on their minds, true Buddhists have greater things to think about than who's misusing their religious iconography ...


Today's Top Stories

Stocks can go up? Hallelujah
US financials show signs of life

Aussies freed from Indo jail
Silly Papuan trip sparked international crisis

SBY kicks off Defense University
Praises warfare of all kinds

Not the way to woo EU
MD-90s keep crashing

Help Nila Tanzil!

When I wrote about Tourism Queensland's brilliant marketing campaign a while back, promoting the Best Job in the World, I had no idea that someone familiar might actually get it.

It's basically a stint blogging from a gorgeous island off the Great Barrier Reef. Snorkel, scuba, hike, fish, and write about how great your life is, thereby promoting the wonders of Australia. Oh, and you get $100,000 a year too. Not a bad gig.

Anyhow, it looks like the terrific Indonesian blogger Nila Tanzil actually has a shot at it. She's been writing about her travels for ages, so it's a perfect fit. Of course there are others who want it, too, and apparently there's public voting involved. So go to this link, and vote your ass off for her. It'd be fabulous to see a worthy Indonesian came out on top of an intense global competition.

Good luck Nila!

Today's Top Stories

Hambali homesick?!

Bomber wants out of Hotel Gitmo, please

Aviation chief suddenly canned

Presumably to woo fickle EU

Golkar, PPP secret deal

Scrambling for votes in advance of elections

Down with whitey

Shocker: Ads promote unrealistic body image

Obama snacks and postmodernism

Somehow I love the fact that "Obama snacks" are hitting the Indonesian streets. Not because they're nutritious (I assume not) or even legal (ripoff of likeness), but because they're a perfect distillation of messed-up postmodern society.

Something real, hopeful, and meaningful transformed and reworked into something cheap, throwaway and probably harmful. A powerful image taken over and destroyed by being associated with typical consumer emptiness. Postmodern theorists like Jean Beaudrillard might posit that nothing in our society is real or meaningful anyways (viz. his book The Gulf War Did Not Take Place), so a takedown of a particularly hopeful image - that of the new leader of the free world - by a little street-level capitalist hustling is perfectly appropriate.

If everything these days exists in a media simulacrum, a mirror of a mirror of a mirror of something else, a clever pastiche of things that were once original, isn't an Obama-branded snack part of that glorious and totally degraded mosaic?

A bit heavy, I know. But kudos to the Obama snack-sellers for their unintentional but brilliant contribution to postmodern debate.


Today's Top Stories

Central bank predicts rupiah will strengthen
In related news, L.A. Clippers plan to win NBA championship

The return of Golkar?
VP Kalla taking big, compensating for something

World energy solution: Seaweed?!
Sure, why the hell not

Most Indonesian domestic violence related to cash woes
Financial crunch only going to get worse