Lilik Wijayawati

Justified “Noises” in Consciousness Searching

noreply@blogger.com (Lilik Wijayawati) — Mon, 06 Jan 2014 01:26:00 +0000

Consciousness is not math. Still, it is an equation. Its presence is noticeable. Still, its absence is not that unnoticeable. If so, how do we define it? How do we figure out the function later on? It is the variable – the sense. Martin de sa Granja apparently tries to use his “auditory” sense, besides the visual, for consciousness searching. Does he? He seems to claim so… Through the use of “Noises” as the title… Through the main character… Through the never-been-used bat.

Visual or Auditory?

Most of the time, our visual comes first, followed by other senses. Scientists have claimed this theory since a long time ago with its justification of lightning and thunder phenomenon. As if following the classical rule of nature, the main character first saw his concern on “what he saw”. The author, over and over again, reminds the readers of this. The main character saw his discomfort of the TV show the other character was watching. He said how “stupid and poor” it was, with its “extremely poor jokes.” After that, he moved his concern on the seem-to-be-real problem – the noises. The noises, or the laughter, the other character made while watching the TV show had bothered him, possibly for a long time.

The Real Object or Subject

At a glance, it looks like the main character envied of the TV show for catching (too much of) the attention of the other character. Or, for making the other character made noises he hated. If so, why did not he hit the off-button? In fact, the object of this anger is neither the TV show nor the noises. Yet, it is on the other character. This caused everything, as the TV show and the noises, to trigger the anger inside. The character seemed feeling great discontentment at the other character after so long as seen in “Giving you time, supplying you with the chance to redeem even a fraction of your characteristic uselessness”. “There was no need to look in detail to notice” makes it even clearer. The main character looks tired and making a decision: not to expecting too much; although, the anger showed the hurt expectation itself. In great stage of discontentment, the anger seems to over-control himself: his feeling and his logic. This creates the noises worsen than ever before. This creates the object to become the subject, and the other way around. This loss of logic and feeling had driven him to draw a conclusion: taking the other character out. So why did the noises keep existing?

Noises as Distraction

What noises are they? Are they true or imaginative? In the very beginning of the story, the author wants to convince the readers that the noises came from the other character. “I heard the damn noises you were emitting with your mouth” said he. But subtly, the author gives the other clue “You know what I’m talking about”. It creates another possible answer of what noises he talked about, which he kept himself. The noises are possibly invisible, yet real.

Slow but sure, the unresolved question gives clues by itself. A couple of times, the main character denied the preliminary answers above. It is not the visual, not the auditory, which bothers him. It is something else. It is something out of the physical sense, more powerful and sensitive. It drives us to think “it must be something that can only be understood with feeling”. The emotion, it is. He stated “not because I had seen myself when I passed by the mirror, but because I could feel it”. And, “feeling waves of intense heat coming out from inside of” him. He even claimed to know that the consciousness of the other character yelling it [warning]. It delineates that the main character over-sensed things around him, and things inside of him.

The main character was equipped with limited omniscient point of view. He stood as one who understood everything that was going on including the ability to read the consciousness of the other character through the eyes. However, this seemed to be distracted by the ignorance of the other character. The main character was troubled by the undelivered message of his to the other character. He tried to give tests for a couple of times, yet he did not get to know the results for lack of responses. His attempt to disturb the other character’s attention to the TV show failed. He was troubled with himself, alone. The unbalanced sensibility of both creates an agreement of what was going on did not take place.

The noises, which are described as the subject of the story, could be the object. This works so by seeing the way the author treats “noises” to blind people’s focus on the main character. BUT, it can be simpler than that. The noises could be just a tool, used by the main characters for excuse, for justification. With the sensibility of the main character, it is clear that he knew what happened on the side of the other character. Yet, he still complained and asked “why did she does that?” or “why didn’t she does that?” And, the noises appeared to be an instant answer of his questions. Furthermore, he found some kind of justification for what he actually already planned before: a murder. This is shown in “remembering this, I feel fully justified in my actions”

The Dark World of a Room

The actions the main character planned and was planning were not without a reason. That the author moved the main character to a kind of store room, which was dark and full of unused stuff, was not without a reason too. After not finding the expected awareness of the other character, the main character dragged himself to the room as a way of reviewing the both characters’ life spent together. The dark lighting represents a state of getting lost. The dim light shows dim hope. The unused stuff represents the time they spent together. The story seems to lift up a “relationship” theme, which signifies some aspects of it: time or togetherness, although it could also be in its literal meaning. And, the most possible thing to represent it is the unused stuff, which has caught a lot of the main character’s attention. The main character reviewed the stuff the main character bought as useless; and this gave him other justification of his “actions”. The never-been-used bate is one example, aside from the old lawn mower which is much exposed.

Justification Gained, Actions Executed

The noises and bate are enough to justify his “actions” which seems to already be planned. This plan is more detected since “Now I felt agitated and nervous” is stated, and from the guessing “A saw? no… a drill ? neither … An axe?” The main character expected a tool to hit the other character since the very beginning. This happened unconsciously or consciously. And, he felt glad of finding a bate and said “I knew what it was! This is perfect…” He assured himself by saying “At least it was not a complete waste, I could put it to good use”. These sentences seem to inform us that the actions had already been in mind for a long time. But, there was always an obstacle which was represented by an “old lawn mower”. It could be the society, the situation, people or opinions around them, which was almost unlikely controlled. That is why he “did try to find it” when it fell down, and said nothing when “almost stumbling again with” it.

After that, the plans were put into actions. The anger took control and forgiveness (hope) was absent. “There was no way back, but you still tried to beg” said he. The main character murdered the other character. For a while, he felt glad and assured “And this, is the story of how you died… for making noises with your mouth. The noises, you know what I’m talking about”. But then, the confidence faded. He re-thought of what was going on. This put the main character into an imbalanced state, which was shown in “The listener was absorbed, with wide eyes and mouth also, infested with disbelief and overwhelmed by fear”. After the great fluctuation of emotions, the consciousness finally came up and cleared it up. The main character, in his loneliness, talked to himself. In the middle of confusion, he admitted “I killed you. Sometimes, I do that… “. “You” could be referred to the other character or the main character, himself. This last line justified he surrendered if the blame was on him, if the victim was actually him.

Is the Murder Real or Imaginative?

It was apparently made to be real at first, but the consciousness of the main character made the reality denied. It’s imaginative - only in the main character’s mind. After all, it’s more like self-character assassination.

Bibliography:

Granja, Martin de sa. “Noises”. Martincrazystories. 2013.

Image credit:

hesperado.blogspot.com & omsync.com

Note:

I recommend this short story for being so imaginative yet so true.
Good narrative exposition, excellent poetic denouement.

The Scarlet Letter: the Letter of Feminists in the 19th Century

noreply@blogger.com (Lilik Wijayawati) — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 17:00:00 +0000

1. Introduction

Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1804. He first put his hand at writing and producing historical sketches after college. At Brook Farm, Two intellects, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Margaret Fuller, drove him to promote transcendentalism. Transcendentalism delivers two principles. First, it is a religious, philosophical movement dedicated to the belief that divinity manifests itself everywhere. Second, it also advocates a personalized, direct relationship with the divine in place of formalized, structured religion. The second principle is manifested in The Scarlet Letter.

After his marriage in 1842, Hawthorne moved into an Old Manse. In 1846, he published Mosses from an Old Manse, a collection of American-related essays and stories. This collection made him earn praises from the literary establishment of America that paid attention to the attainments of cultural and political independence.

In 1850, after having lost his job, he published The Scarlet Letter to enthusiastic acclaim. His other outstanding novels include The House of the Seven Gables (1851), The Blithedale Romance (1852), and The Marble Faun (1860). After being one of the United States consuls in Europe for six years, Hawthorne died in 1864, a few years after returning to America.

Of all Howthorne’s works that take America’s Puritan as a subject, The Scarlet Letter is his masterpiece. Puritan was known for its intolerance of secular ideas and lifestyles. Hawthorne uses the repressive, authoritarian Puritan society as an analogue for humankind in general. Hawthorne specifically focuses on American issues without overriding aesthetic, thematic side of his works. His universality and his dramatic keenness have honored him in the literary canon.

In The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne slightly puts feminism issue as a matter of the Puritan’s society. According Barbara Ellis, the female-dominated environment of Howthorne “gave him a respect towards women” more than other writers do (1). This respect was markedly manifested in the major character of The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne. Hawthorne characterized Hester “as an internally complex and a source of fear to men”(1).

From the starting point above, the writer is interested in figuring out the attitudes toward women held by the society as seen in The Scarlet Letter.

2. Discussion

Set in Boston, Massachusetts in the 1600s, Howthorne’s The Scarlet Letter is colored by a religious-oriented concept of living. The society, which was Puritan, put all trust they had in religion's rules as the rules of God. The rules of the Church were radically applied to every aspect of life as a way of purifying the Church from secular ideas and lifestyle.

One of the aspects that were obviously affected by Puritanism is familial life. The rules of Puritanism were highly considered and strictly applied to a family even in the very beginning of a marriage. Supposed to be a part of worship, marriage was viewed crucial to be done in the fairly young phase of life. Based on the Bible, family is the center of devotion to God in which it becomes the entrance where a male is first given the responsibility for being a spiritual, financial head of the household while a female is asked for her obedience under her husband’s authority.

In The Scarlet Letter, the superiority of male upon female in family was dispensed by the absence of Hester’s husband, Roger Chillingworth, in their married life. Though, the obedience of Hester upon Chillingworth was narrated in the exposition in which Hester followed the order of her husband to sequentially move “to Europe, to Amsterdam” and to “New England”(2).

Even though Hester was seemingly free from the authority of her husband for some time, as a wife without a husband living together, she was oppressed by the authority of others represented by males. John Wilson, Arthur Dimmesdale and Roger Chillingworth took part in Little Pearl’s parenting, something that should be the right of a mother to manage. They planned on separating Little Pearl from Hester for her scarlet letter and bad-considered way of parenting. The males arrived to the conclusion after having unsatisfactory answers from Little Pearl when asked “Pearl, Can you tell me the answer to this question? Who made you?” to find out her knowledge of God (10).

In religious life, the superiority of male was an inviolable rule. As a whole, the positions in the Church were occupied by males. The religious life was centered in the oldest Church in Boston named Congregationalist Church. In here, meetings of Puritans were held, led by the board of ministers. During every meeting they made, the ministers had the authority in the decision as they were the representative of God in the world by saying such sentence as “You have to tell us the name of the child’s father. It will help you in the eyes of God. Tell us, please.” (2). After drawn, the decision was obeyed as if it was the voice of God.

The authority of the males of God was beyond the church. Orienting to the rules of God, the society placed such great obedience to the Church and the ministers. Arthur Dimmesdale was a major character that flawlessly represents the males in the Church. Hailed as “a great man of God”, the young minister was considered could do nothing wrong, though, he tried to confess the truth “I am the worst sinner in this town” to everybody (15). His sin was not believed by the town’s people and the situation, for instance he failed to confess the truth to the people even to John Wilson walking past the platform he stood on, ready to scream out this confession (17). Even, most of the town’s people only said nothing rather than being angry at Dimmesdale’s confession at the end of the story (35).

Females, however, did not have any voice in decision taking on political or social issues in the society. They only became passive participants in the meetings held in the town square or meeting house. In the exposition, some additional female characters were given chances to speak up their anger to Hester in “Hester is a child of the Devil” and “Look at her! Those are not the clothes of an adulteress” (1). Nonetheless, what was spoken by the females was just trivia and had no effect to the story.

The significance of female in the society, as seen in The Scarlet Letter, was so minor. The major characters are dominated by males, Arthur Dimmesdale and Roger Chillingworth. Even, the majority of the characters in the story are males namely the two major characters with the addition of John Wilson, Governor Bellingham, the man from the ship and some additional characters. The female characters that are obviously seen are only Hester and Little Pearl.

The position of females in the society was inferior, under the superiority of males. This inequality was implicitly seen in the difference of the ways people named males and females. Both in the narration of the story and in the utterances of the characters, female characters especially Hester was always called by using the first name or “you” as the naming of the second person or just “woman”, for instance: “Where did you come from, Hester?” (Dimmesdale to Hester) or “Woman!” (John Wilson to Hester in a sarcastic way). In opposite, male characters were called by using the last name or their occupation, for instance: “Mr. Wilson, what does the child know?” (Governor to John Wilson) or “Minister?” (Little Pearl to Dimmesdale). In western society, the use of last name is more informal and shows more respect than the use of first name.

Back to the fundamental concept of the society that was religion-based, females were always inferior and shown as devil or other negatively connotated things. Wikipedia stated that according to Puritans, “girls carried an additional number of Eve’s corruption and were catechized separately from boys at adolescence” (1). Such a thought created separation of education for girls and boys. Boys were prepared for vocations and leadership roles while girls were prepared for domestic and religious purposes. In fact, superiority of male was already characterized since the early phase of life.

3. Conclusion

The setting of the place and time of The Scarlet Letter made Puritanism look so fundamental as a part of the society. The radical, strict implementation of the rules of God had created some imbalance or inequality among genres, male and female. In the religion-oriented society, the superiority of male upon female was considered reasonable for the belief of Eve’s corruption. Eve’s corruption left girls or women to carry innate sin and encounter with some bad connotations such as devil.

The superiority of male upon female was rooted in the midst of society since the early phase of one’s life through the separation of education. Education became the basis of further superiority of male that happened in all basic aspects of life including familial, religious, political and social lives.

The authority of male was not only seen in the major aspects of life but also in the daily life. The ways people called a male or a female were different and showed different grades of respect. People called a male in a more formal, respectful way, compared to a female.

4. Bibliography

"Literary Criticisms". Oocities. 19 April 2013.

"Puritan" Wikipedia. 19 April 2013.

"The Scarlet Letter". Bartleby. 19 April 2013.

"The Scarlet Letter" Sparknotes. 19 April 2013.

"The Scarlet Letter". Wikipedia. 19 April 2013.

Bressler, Charles E.. Literary Criticism: an Introduction to Theory and Practice. 2nd Ed. New Jersey: Practice Hall, 1998.

Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter. New York: Dover Publications, 1994.

Image credit: fs1.beta.obami.com

Benefits of Sanseviera Plant at Home

noreply@blogger.com (Lilik Wijayawati) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 17:00:00 +0000

Being physically and psychologically healthy is not something pricey again thanks to the existence of Sanseviera plant at home. Sanseviera is a name of a flowering plant that is more well-known as mother-in-law’s tongue. It has greenish leaves identically arranged around the growing point, greenish-white flowers, as well as red-orange fruits. Due to its elegant shape, this plant is liked for being either indoor or outdoor ornamental plant. However, the benefits of Sanseviera are not only in the area of home design but also in the area of health and environment. Let’s find out what benefits Sanseviera brings into your home from those three areas.

Sanseviera has many benefits for health. According to Wikipedia, Sanseviera, especially its sap, has primarily been used as an antiseptic in traditional medication since the past. Sultan Said Lien, the owner of Nursery Oma Lien, also reported the use of the plant in modern medication. He said the mashed leaf of Sanseviera is able to alleviate any pains caused by bee stings or allergies. In addition, this extract is also good for being an herbal drink to cure some chronic diseases such as diabetes, hemorrhoid and syphilis. Even, the root of it works best for being hair tonic to maintain hair health.

In the area of environment, Sanseviera also brings a lot of positive effects. According to Wikipedia, Sanseviera majorly functions as a good air purifier for its capability of removing toxins namely formaldehyde, xylene and toluene. Even, Scientists found that this plant can absorb 107 types of poisonous substance in the air. As the further effect of this capability, this plant is believed to cure Sick Building Syndrome (SBS). Unlike other plants, Sanseviera releases oxygen instead of absorbing it at night, which makes it a suitable bedroom plant. Ithabise added that Sanseviera also balances the moisture of the air, which is then followed by its capability of lessening airborne allergens. Furthermore, Sultan Said Lien believed that it is also practically good for being an odor absorber.

Interestingly, as stated by Stush2049 on Garden Web forum, Sanseviera is able to antidote radiation. In the area of home design and Feng Shui, Sanseviera benefits for psychological health. Wikipedia shows that Sanseviera is popular as a houseplant. Even Chinese usually pots this plant as a part of house decoration together with phoenixes or dragons. The existence of this plant satisfies the need of aesthetics in psychology. Besides, in Feng Shui perspective, Sanseviera is believed to heal coarseness if located near the kid’s room due to its upwards-growing leaves.

In short, Sanseviera benefits are proven in the area of health, environment and Feng Shui. Homeowners are always able to take benefits from this plant anytime they get sick, crave a respiratory system-friendly environment or have an overactive kid. So, do not underestimate this full-of-precious-benefits plant simply because it costs cheap in price. Both physically and psychologically, you deserve to gain health with Sanseviera and all the benefits behind.

Image credit: wikimedia.org

If the Nature Has Soul and “Weapon”

noreply@blogger.com (Lilik Wijayawati) — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 17:00:00 +0000

“Responsibility weights heavily on every living thing” is a set of words explicitly exposed by Nguyen Huy Thiep through his short story entitled “Salt of the Jungle”. Lived in Vietnam in the era of war, the author portrays the flow of the internal Vietnam conflict and the intervention of America, the superpower country, during the Vietnam War without any judgement implied. The neutral point of view served is obviously reflected by considering how the author characterizes all of the characters: Mr.Dieu and Monkeys. Both characters survive to live for life as it should be, in a harmony. The nature defines its own concept of harmony; when human as a partner of the living things desires beyond what the nature gives, the nature has a soul and a weapon to restore the lost harmony.

Harmony is often interfered with self-importance possessed by humans. Self-importance is something universal, which is naturally owned by all people everywhere in the earth. This negative trait is directly presented in the forms of the two characters in differently-sized scopes. In the beginning of the story, the author directly shows how a male monkey is corrupt during his familial life. He selects the best fruit and eats himself, leaving the bad one to a baby monkey and a female monkey. This reflects the internal conflict of the corrupt government of Vietnam, which means monkey is a physical reflection of the Vietnamese. Still in relation to Vietnam, the author implicitly symbolizes the countries, North Vietnam and South Vietnam, with names Mount Hoa Qua and Thuy Liem Cave. Furthermore, as for international-sized harmony interference, America with its sophisticated, matchless technology, on behalf of peace or harmony, takes place its importance on this full-of-conflict country. In reality, harmony is a real problem encountered by humans.

The interference of harmony also occurs in the mutual relationship between humans and other living things – plants and animals. It is owing to an irrational desire, and also self-importance, of humans. Mr. Dieu portrays this latent character of humans very well. At the beginning of the story, the author tells how both a new shotgun and a spring day for the hunt really make life worth living for Mr. Dieu. Humans are too much obsessed with faked, temporary contentment, which makes them desire something beyond what the nature gives.

Nature virtually has a soul. The writer believes every living thing has a soul. He asks the readers to think so by creating a particular spot in the forest named Death Hallow in which “forsaken spirits usually take the form of white monkeys”. Humans and the living things (nature) are just the same. Both show anger if interfered. Nature has its own way or “weapon” to react the interference and to restore the lost harmony. Nature shows its anger and uses its weapon to Mr. Dieu twice. An avalanche is one. Even thanks to the soul, nature can also say thanks to humans. Nature thanks to Mr. Dieu for his kindness to a fine golden-haired female monkey with the Tu Huyen flowers and gentle spring rain.

“Salt of the Jungle” is recommended for all, due to its universality. Based on the way the life goes in Vietnam, the author views it with a deeper understanding of a reflection that is much bigger than war: lost harmony! Humans and nature live in a set harmony; when it is denied on behalf of self-importance or irrational, faked peace, the nature is ready with its “weapon” to get the harmony back.

Image credit: alliancevast.info

Who Know Why?

noreply@blogger.com (Lilik Wijayawati) — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 17:00:00 +0000

In noon, The Sun swaggers his lightness

Showing off the milky way here

Who know, Sol wrapped by the darkness

Formed from fusion, shunned ‘way. Hear

At night, The Moon blinks her beauty

Glowing the waves of warmth here

Who know, Luna wrapped by ugly

Formed from debris, shunned, cold no warm. Hear

Who know, if The Lord is only one

Why Sun, Moon, Noon, Night’s two sides

Who know, if Lo is only someone

Why her Life, Love has two sides

White is the lightest Black, Why

Why is Black is the darkest White?

Live, Love, Leave

noreply@blogger.com (Lilik Wijayawati) — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 17:00:00 +0000

Morning, the sky gives the sun a birth

The world ends his sleep and feels alive

Morning adorned with flying, singing bird

The words “let’s together live for life”

Afternoon, the sky, the sun be one

The world’s smiling, living for life

Afternoon, warmth felt in the heart of one

The words now “let’s be in love for life”

Night, the sky, the sun be apart

The world’s losing the warmth, be cold life

Night, they take two different part

The words then “let me leave you for life”

All day, three words exist in life

The words simply “live, love, leave for life”

Image credit: artsygal13.wordpress.com

A Game Again

noreply@blogger.com (Lilik Wijayawati) — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 17:00:00 +0000

Spring was just in the corner. The flowers bloomed so beautifully, making the newborn greenish view even livelier. As lively as the day, some couple in Hereford, county town of Herefordshire, England, took a stroll and started talking about their next summer plan. The men in their the sober sack suits and Norfolk jackets and the women in their long, slightly tight dresses with high necks and puffed sleeves enthusiastically arranged dates to attend the entertaining performances held during the weeks. The names such as grand opera composer Michael Balfe, musical theater performer Arthur Sullivan, and circus player Pablo Fanque were, a lot, mentioned at talks.

A 20-year-old man with a good looking, clean-shaven face, short, dark brown hair, and blue big eyes kept enjoying loneliness at the back of one of the sash windows in the mini library of his three-floored house. His sight stopped at one spot outside, at a young lady in a deep-rate dress, who is possible at the age of 17, prettily sitting on the bench across the street. Nobody knew whom she was waiting for, so did herself.

“It is the time, Sir” a servant broke the silence in the full-of-books room, brought a cup of hot tea and put it on the table.

“Is it?”, the young man ascertained lustlessly.

“Absolutely, Sir. Johnny” , the servant answered, “Oh, that book. Mr. Ouseley had read it a couple of times. He was so inspired by the masterpiece.”

“I do believe it. He was a warm-hearted person”, the young man put down a Charles Dickens’ novel entitled Oliver Twist on the table and reached a case prepared by the loyal servant.

“Alright, I’ll go. But, don’t you think that a cup of your best-in-taste tea will be so helpful for the lady outside? She has been there for two hours now” the man suggested.

“It is her own fault to be there, Sir, to be the Great Social Evil”, the servant answered.

“Is it?, the man passed by the servant and said nothing.

The young man was Johnny Ouseley, the only son of Frederick Ouseley, both a musician and a founder of choir and music schools at St. Michael’s College, who just passed away a month ago. The musician was a respectable figure of the town but had no wife throughout his life. Ouseley adopted small Johnny and passed down his musical craftsmanship to his. He expected Johnny to be the second Ouseley or even more.Today Johnny was a well-known musician and a music teacher for upper-class children.

Not so long, Johnny arrived in front of a great house designed with slate roofs, stone details and modest decoration and kept walking through a neatly designed gardening area.

“Good evening, Teacher” a 16-year-old lady in a dark green dress suddenly stopped his walk, bringing some stalks of flowers.

“Good evening, Miss. Rosella. If I am not mistaken, we should have a lesson today”, Johnny asked politely.

“We should. But, I don’t think that we have to miss this beautiful day inside. Look, these are yours. I still have some for others” The lively lady left him alone without even waiting for his response. Her red-colored hair shone by the sunshine.

Some minutes later, a middle-aged couple delivered a greeting. They are the hosts of the house, Mr. and Mrs. Disraeli. Actually, Rosella was their niece, but after an accident that killed both of her parents they adopted 5-year-old Rosella.

“It is a really nice day, isn’t it?”Mr. Disraeli said.

“Yes, Sir. Miss Rosella gave me the flowers. If permitted, I would like to place them in the vase over the piano” Johnny politely asked.

“It is a nice idea. Seems our Rosella has had her own plan today. But, we will soon bring her to you. If you do not mind, please, go inside. There sits Annabelle.”

“Alright, Mrs. Disraeli.”

Annabelle was sitting on a stool at the open room next to the garden. Annabelle was an introvert lady, she rarely talked to others out of the family. Owing to this personality, she was never in a relationship. Only to Johnny, she started talking and sharing her feeling. She fell in love in this young man, from the first time they met.

“Nice flowers” Rosa commended and bowed.

“You can have them, if you want” Johnny handed over the flowers.

“ Really? I would love placing them in my room” she reached the flowers and gave a persimmon pudding, “I hope you want to taste it”

“With some new ingredients?”

“As usual, for you” she got ashamed and her cheeks turned into red.

The time went by, leaving plenties of stories behind. For Johnny, there lived only on a story to tell about, entitled “Guilt and Love”. The story only required one setting, Mr. Disraeli’s house, and two characters: Rosella and Annabelle. From time to time, Annabelle more intensively paid attention to him through her cooking, her handmade clothing, and all.

But love could not lie. By the time he spent with Rosella, something bloomed as the flowers in the spring. This was an invisible note he never knew he played, called Love. The days got more and more colorful with Rosella’s humorous, lively traits. He knew it sounded impossible to make a relationship with his student at that young. But, he believed impossibility was nothing, similar to his life.

“You play the note much better, Miss Rosella” Johnny complimented his young lady student.

“Thank you, Sir. May I leave now?”

“Yes, Of course. You are a busy lady. It seems you still actively get involved in the charitable organization” Johnny smiled nicely.

“Yes.” Rosella held the right hand of her teacher and said nothing again. In a few minutes, she had been in her carriage.

“Hope, I can play this note of love to you”

A carriage arrived in a big public house. A young lady in her dark-colored dress got off and entered a high, rustic, but sturdy door in front of her. Her casual appearance was not able to hide her aristocrat look from the poors. But her way of talking so much said that she was a friend. She gracefully walked through the narrow, stuffy alleys and rooms with a bad sanitation. Her feet stopped in a room of the olds. She walked toward a bed in the corner and greeted an old couple there.

“You, two, look better, Mr. and Mrs. Brown”

“Perhaps. You look beautiful as usual”

“You are so kind. Let’s have an evening walk, the weather is so nice”

“I do not know if I can. This cholera is weakening me so much. And, the master must not allow us to go out”, the old man politely refused.

“I have taken care of it. No problem”, the young lady helped the two old to walk through the narrow, stuffy alleys and rooms with a bad sanitation.

In a distance, a young man in a black suit that was much bigger for his body kept an eye on these three persons. He casually smoked a cigar and went somewhere. No one knew the man and his cold smile.

One day, Rosella just arrived at the entrance gate of her house, Johnny stood outside the gate, accompanied with cold and warm breezes that come at different times.

“Good evening, Miss Ross”

“Evening Mr Johnny. What are you doing here? It is cold outside”

“Yes. But, would you mind accompanying me to walk around for a while?”

“Honestly, it is a strange request. But it is okay.” The lady got off from the carriage and walked side by side with the man in silence. In order to break the ice, the man started a conversation.

“It has been 5 years since I first met you in the spring like this. It must need a special reason to be that long, isn’t it?”

“Sorry? What are you supposed to mean, Mr. Johnny?”

“Nothing. Happy birthday, Miss Rosella.” The man suddenly held the lady’s right hand and left a smaller wooden box in her hand.

Rosella noticed the unusual act of her teacher. In her room, she opened up the box and found an old handkerchief with a floral pattern on it as well as a letter. There is written, a latent, dark memory and the true feeling of Johnny toward her in words. With the box in hands, her mind got more complicated and questions uncontrollably keep popping up in her mind. Until the next 5 days, Mr Johnny did not come to teach her as usual.

“How can I help you, lady?” A servant greeted a guest of her host.

“I need to meet Mr. Johnny. Is he available?” a young lady asked politely when a young man went to out and reached the door.

“What are you doing here, Miss Ross?”

“Could I come in? It’s cold here” The lady responded him briefly.

“Yes, please.” The young man asked the young lady to come in and follow him to his favorite mini library. Right after he closed the door of the room, small hands hugged him from the back. Johnny got shocked but did nothing for a while.

“I do not ever think I will say it to a 20-year-old music teacher,” The young lady took a deep breath and continued, “I felt the same as yours. For years, I was worried if you loved Annabelle instead of me, if Annabelle was my rival. I am now sure you were the young man who saved me when the accident happened. I didn’t notice that I lost my handkerchief, this handkerchief.”

“I can say nothing again.”

From the time, they ran a secret, intimate relationship. Thanks to the regular schedules of the music lesson, they could meet more often. The relationship between Johnny and Mr. Disraeli’s family got closer as a family. At times, Johnny stayed overnight in the house and had meals together.

One day, when the sun lite so bright and the warm breezes came out from its some-month hiding. Disraeli’s family and Johnny involved in a garden party. Fresh salmon, pastas, and fruits were served on some silverware; chilled gin and champagne was poured into glasses by the ladies. All looked fine until an unexpected question was asked by Mr. Disraeli.

“Your father and I were best friends. When he was alive, he ever asked my opinion about the soon marriage of Rosella and you. I think the time is my turn to answer his question. You must understand what I said.”

“Sorry, Sir. I have nothing to say now.”

“Let me know the answer at the end of the week”

“Alright, Sir”

Some days later became much more complicated for Johnny. He often said nothing, staring outside one of the windows of his favorite mini library. As usual, a lady was prettily sitting on the bench, waiting for whom she did not know. Annabelle felt a difference in this young man. Getting involved in this awry situasion, she stated her anxiety on Johnny.

“I am sorry.”

“That’s fine”

“But, you aren’t. It has been some days you just come and talk less. Really unusual.”

“I only need a time of thinking”

“A honorable man as you must find it hard to choose the will of your father or love, Rosella” Tears ran down her while, pale cheeks.

“What do you mean?”

“I know about your secret affair with her. You, two, cannot cheat on me”

“…” The young man moved closer to the lady and unpredictably landed a kiss on the lips of her, “I never love Rosella, but you”, the man hugged the lady tightly for a short moment and left her alone.

The days later are the best moments ever for Annabelle. She spent much time with Johnny. The marriage was arranged, the riches and the respectable ones were invited, the wedding dress and suit were designed for the soon-in-marriage ones. The wedding had been a spotlight of the town for weeks.

A lady was walking through the street in a silent cry. Her woolen coat could not be able to refrain the night breeze from touching her white, smooth skin. The eyes of her were without happiness, hope, and warmth. She dared herself to step up the stairs in front of a nearby house and knocked the door of the house.

“Is Mr. available?”

“Yes, please. He is waiting for you inside”

“Thank you” the lady came in and sat on a chair.

Not long after than a young man in his casual apparel came out and landed a kiss on the right hand of the lady. He smoothly hugged the lady.

“You are evil” The lady cried and forcely finish the cold hug.

“No. I am not. What happened? I think you are worried on my sickness”

“I am pregnant”

Suddenly another young man appeared and impolitely joined the conversation.

“It should not that way, John. That’s a fault, really bad fault.” The new man argued.

“How can…? I must hallucinate.” The lady was extremely shocked seeing two identical young men in a same look argumentating in front of her.

“Sorry, Ross. I can explain” The first man tried to cool down the lady.

“Who are you all?” Lady angrily asked.

“Hear me, Ross. This is my twin. My family and I came from a rural village when I was 10. Our pristine land was damaged by the establishment of government-funded factories. My parents could cultivate nothing and my brother and I could hunt nothing again. All had been industrialized. But, our migration to this town resulted nothing but sacrifaction. My parents were placed in a urban house while we are in a separate orphanage house. Thanks to Mr. Frederick Ouseley who picked me up from the poor house and taught me music, I am here.” The first man stopped telling.

“But, these separated twins met again a week after the funeral ceremony of his Godfather. With all Mr Ouseley has, we afford to take our parents out, but we don’t. We want to save others too by taking an opportunity to marry a daughter of the most affective person of the town, Mr Disraeli.” The second man spoke out.

“So, you have fun on my family, and now my pregnant.” The lady cried louder.

“No, it’s fault. Annabelle is our target, the one who will soon get the inheritance and the authority of your family, not you. But this idiot messes up the whole game by loving you.”

“What should I do now. I do not want to be a fallen woman, but I am. I will never let you marry Annabelle.” She looked at the first man angrily.

“I won’t. Never.” The first man interrupted.

“You lie again, Mr Johnny. You show your love to Annabelle in hundreds of times during these weeks.

“How could it be? I was here for weeks suffering from this sickness. That must be him. Johnnie, say something. I want all to get over” The first man commanded the second one, but another one only gave a cold smile.

“I better die with this sinful pregnancy”

“Stop, you all. Let’s play a game again and all will be fine.” The second one lit a cigar and went to somewhere.

The summer was just in the corner. The leaves fell down so elegantly, making the brownish garden look dramatic. As dramatic as the day, a wedding was held in the house of one of the most affective persons in the town. The handsome groom Johnny and the beautiful bride Annabelle were tied in love and God, in front of tons of aristocrats. There, Mr and Mrs. Disraeli happily sat side by side with another old couple in their really simple dress and suit. The smile of happiness bloomed on the bride’s face, the smile of win bloomed on the groom’s face.

On a ship, another couple was hand in hand, seeing the incredibly gorgeous ocean sightseeing.

“Is it okay to let him alone there?” The lady asked.

“No, problem. He knows what he does, and Miss. Freedom will keep an eye on him.”

“Who is she?”

“The one who is waiting for someone whom she does not know.”

“It is not an answer, my dear Teacher.”

“She is who told me about where people like us can pursue the happiness, in the land of freedom, America.”

By R.T.

noreply@blogger.com (Lilik Wijayawati) — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 17:00:00 +0000

Gene passes down traits. Environment shapes traits. Which one is the dominant one? No one knows the answer so obviously. Even after some researchers show that both work side by side, still no one, so does the doer, knows which one is dominant the most until they reveal the veil of life in a really time-consuming journey. Timotti realizes it! Yet unpurposefully.

Born in Maine, a state that is called the most peaceful one in New England, Timotti has, more than just enough, all the criteria of being a with-happy-childhood child. It is Rose Taylor or Rose Nelson, a San Antonio-descent woman, who delivered the baby Timotti 19 years back and accompanied him during the age of looking for self-identity. Not to touch on the old hurt of Timothy and his mother, his father, James Nelson, was died at the right time the core family was on a vacation in Canada to celebrate the Timithy’s entry to a vocational school.

Like other healthy, happy teenagers, Timotti spent much time amongst his friends and families, if it was a weekend. He as well did a lot of sports with neighbors. Yes, the neighborhood where he lived was so friendly, which means all people mostly knew each other and held a local party at times. They did, really, in tens of times when it came to a long holiday. With seafood cuisine or BBQ, they, which mostly come from Asia and Europe, ‘plunged’ into a long conversation.

The time went by, so did Timotti and the people surrounding him. Her mother, who suffered from a breast cancer since he was 15, passed away after 2-month intensive treatment in Maine Medical Center, Cancer institute. The young Timotti was the one who was deeply hurt by the incident. Though some relatives asked him for staying with them, he decided to not go with anyone there. Starting his first journey alone, Timotti migrated to San Franscisco, California. Well, he believed that there had to be many things there to erase the sadness of him after losing his lovely mother.

He was right, for a while. At the time, the thing that he didn’t know was he actually went wrong. He tried to consume much alcohol and get addicted to it. Not even satisfied with this kind of quite heavy beverage, he started playing with drugs. For around a single year, he was able to level up his seat from a drug user to a drug dealer. He seemed successful in losing his sadness and something he never knew he had, traits.

From one state to another, Timotti moved on and on just to ensure he was safe enough to hide from the policy’s eyes. He was safe, but it was not something guaranteed. When he was just in New Mexico for some days, a friend of him told that he was in a ‘wanted’ status. There was no person who better understood that this time was going to happen than Timotti, himself. But still, it did make him ready. He tried to trace the small paths that were usually near to the borderline of two areas, just keep being far from the crowds and of course the police.

Around the clock, Timotti wearing a worn-out black T-shirt, a buttoned denim jacket, and a with-some-rips trouser was struggling to be unpaid attention too, or also unseen if possible. What was going on later was out of his expectation. In more than a half of New Mexico - San Antonio way, he got sick. With all of the power left, he dared himself to knock the door of the first house he found on the way.

It was a cottage, small but antique. The hardwood flooring porch combined with a set of two rustic benches and a table, a rocking chair, and lots of hanging potted plants and vines seemed like telling an old person was just inside, sitting near the firewood and knitting or drinking a cup of tea (It was spring, getting cold anytime).

One or two knocks were sounded, no person came. The weakening Timotti was fainted. Two or three hours later, he opened his eyes and found out himself lying on a bed. A bowl of chicken soup was just on the top of a side bed cabinet. He was so thankful and looking for the one who treated him with a really warm welcome like that way. He then went outside to the porch and sat at one of the benches. From there, he was able to see around and enjoy the small garden in front of the cottage. Not long after that, an old, healthy-looking woman was walking towards him from the obsolete wooden fence to the towards-porch stairs. She was smiling, and nothing could be done by Timotti except to smile back at the person who might have treated me in the past hours.

He was right, at least for the this time. The old woman was the one who owned the cottage, the one who helped him. Timotti and the woman were joining a small talk at the porch. Until he questioned the name of the woman. He politely asked, “Sorry for being rude, how should I call you, Madame?”. With the warm gaze looking at Timotti, the woman answered him, “ People around here call me Rosa Taylor”.

This name made him push the true Timotti’s spirit to get one important name back, his mother Rose Taylor, and to see the truth - what was unseen so far. This freedom-like life was not what he was looking for. Not to wait for a long time, the heathier Timotti moved the journey with the in-his-childhood sounds of someone reverberating in his mind. This time, he was not again walking through the rural, remote paths. He turned out his way to the city. Right at the corner of the street where a building of a government-funded rehab drug center, he stopped his way and came near the entrance door. Directly, he dropped his two bags and passed by the street to somewhere.

One day after the time Timotti stood in front of the rehab center, the newspaper seemed to get a quite lot news to be either broadcasted or printed. “Mexico – Once again, a drug dealer arrested in the neighbor state”, “San Antonio – millions dollars left by an unknown philanthropist in front of a rehab drug center”. This is the note left by the unknown philanthropist: “Please, use the money as it should be to support the youngs to get free from the drugs. By R.T”

Image credit: borderlessnewsandviews.com

Hurricane Sandy in America

noreply@blogger.com (Lilik Wijayawati) — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 17:00:00 +0000

1. Introduction

1.1.Background

At the end of October 2012, America encountered a great calamity named Hurricane Sandy. This calamity is mentioned by the media as the "Superstorm Sandy" in relation to its dreadful impacts throughout some countries of America. Some unusual phenomena such as great material loss, killed ones, power outages, flood until floor trading shutdown gave a great shock to America and the World. The eighteenth named storm has left some suffering felt by all elements of society.

However, in the midst of unpredicted weather, damaged infrastructure and increasing number of killed ones, the people of America have great efforts to relieve and recover themselves and the countries. National relief movement appeared to the surface in forms of not only government-initiated relief but also organization-initiated, citizen-initiated relief.

In regard of the starting point, exposing some Hurricane-Sandy-related information is interesting. This way, the writer concerns on the humanistic side of America, which is somewhat matchless compared to other countries in the world.

1.2.Objectives

The objective of the paper is to expose some Hurricane-related information from the scientific definition of Hurricane Sandy to the post-calamity relief.

2. Hurricane Sandy Information from Calamity to Relief

2.1 Definition

According to Wikipedia, Hurricane Sandy was a hurricane that devastated portions of the Caribbean and the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, with lesser impacts in the Southeastern and Midwestern states and Eastern Canada, in late October 2012.

As reported by Boston.com, Hurricane Sandy caused extensive damage along the East Coast this week. Sandy made landfall in southern New Jersey and brought with it major flooding, travel disruption, structural damage, and power outages. New York City was especially hard hit. The storm system was so large - nearly 1,000 miles wide at times -- it brought blizzard conditions to West Virginia and 20 foot waves to Lake Michigan. It is projected Sandy will have caused about $30 billion in damages in the United States. To date, the storm claimed more than 100 lives.

2.2 Chronological Development

The chronological development of Hurricane Sandy according to Wikipedia is as below.

On October 22, Sandy developed from a tropical wave in the western Caribbean Sea, quickly strengthened and was upgraded to Tropical Storm Sandy six hours later. Sandy moved slowly northward toward the Greater Antilles and gradually intensified.

On October 24, Sandy became a hurricane, made landfall near Kingston, Jamaica, a few hours later, re-emerged into the Caribbean Sea and strengthened into a Category 2 hurricane.

On October 25, Sandy hit Cuba, then weakened to a Category 1 hurricane.

On October 26, Sandy moved through the Bahamas.

On October 27, Sandy briefly weakened to a tropical storm and then restrengthened to a Category 1 hurricane.

On October 29, Sandy curved north-northwest and then moved ashore near Atlantic City, New Jersey as a "post-tropical cyclone" with hurricane-force winds.

2.3 Calamity-Affected Countries

a. Jamaica, Carribean

Trees and power lines were snapped and shanty houses were heavily damaged, both from the winds and flooding rains. Stones falling from a hillside crushed one man to death as he tried to get into his house in a rural village near Kingston.The country's sole electricity provider, the Jamaica Public Service Company, reported that 70 percent of its customers were without power. More than 1,000 people went to shelters.Jamaican authorities closed the island's international airports, and police ordered 48-hour curfews in major towns to keep people off the streets and deter looting.Most buildings in the eastern portion of the island lost their roofs.Damage totaled $55.23 million throughout the country.

b. Hispaniola, Carribean

In Haiti, which at least 54 people have died, and an estimated 200,000 were left homeless as of late Monday October 29, as a result of four days of ongoing rain from Hurricane Sandy. Heavy damage occurred in Port-Salut after rivers overflowed their banks. In the capital of Port-au-Prince, streets were flooded by the heavy rains, and it was reported that "the whole south of the country is underwater". Damage in Haiti was estimated at $74 million (2012 USD).

c. Cuba, Carribean

At least 55,000 people were evacuated before Hurricane Sandy's arrival. While moving ashore, the storm produced waves up to 29 feet (9 meters) and a 6 foot (2 meter) storm surge that caused extensive coastal flooding. There was widespread damage, particularly to Santiago de Cuba where 132,733 homes were damaged, of which 15,322 were destroyed and 43,426 lost their roof. Electricity and water services were knocked out, and most of the trees in the city were damaged. Total losses throughout Santiago de Cuba province is estimated as high as $2 billion (2012 USD).

d. Bahamas, Carribean

A NOAA automated station at Settlement Point on Grand Bahama Island reported sustained winds of 49 mph (74 km/h) and a wind gust of 63 mph (102 km/h). Portions of the Bahamas lost power or cellular service, including an islandwide power outage on Bimini. Five homes were severely damaged near Williams's Town.

e. Bermuda, Carribean

Owing to the sheer size of the storm, Sandy also impacted Bermuda with high winds and heavy rains. On October 28, an F1 tornado touched down in Sandys Parish, damaging homes and businesses. During a three-day span, the storm produced 0.98 in (25 mm) of rain at the L.F. Wade International Airport. The strongest winds were recorded on October 29: sustained winds reached 37 mph (60 km/h) and gusts peaked at 58 mph (93 km/h).

f. United States

The hurricane caused tens of billions of dollars in damage in the United States, destroyed thousands of homes, left millions without electric service, and killed at least 131 people in eight states, including 53 in New York, 37 in New Jersey, 13 in Pennsylvania, 11 in Maryland, six in West Virginia, five in Connecticut and three each in Virginia and North Carolina. Due to flooding and other storm-related problems, Amtrak canceled all Acela Express, Northeast Regional, Keystone, and Shuttle services for October 29 and 30. More than 13,000 flights were canceled across the U.S. on October 29, and more than 3,500 were called off October 30. From October 27 through early November 1, airlines canceled a total of 19,729 flights, according to FlightAware

g. Florida, South East

High winds and waves washed sand onto coastal roads in southeastern Florida. The storm left power outages across the region, which left many traffic lights out of order. The Coast Guard rescued two sea men in Volusia County off New Smyrna Beach on the morning of October 26. Brevard and Volusia Counties schools canceled all extracurricular activities for October 26, including football.

h. North Carolina, South East

North Carolina was spared from major damage through the late evening hours of October 28, though winds, rain, and inland snow could affect the state through October 30. Ocracoke and Highway 12 on Hatteras Island were flooded with up to 2 feet (0.6 m) of water, closing part of the highway.

i. Virginia, South East

On October 29, snow was falling in parts of the state. At Sandy's peak, 200,000 customers were without power, and in Northern Virginia where most of the outages occurred 92,000 customers were still without power on October 30; the local utility intended to restore full service by 1 November. As of late night November 2, there had been two Hurricane Sandy-related fatalities.

j. Mryland and Washington, D.C, Mid-Atlantic

Due to high winds, the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and the Millard E. Tydings Memorial Bridge on I-95 were closed. During the storm, the Mayor of Salisbury instituted a Civil Emergency and a curfew. Interstate 68 in far western Maryland and northern West Virginia closed due to heavy snow, stranding multiple vehicles and requiring assistance from the National Guard. Workers in Howard County tried to stop a sewage overflow caused by a power outage October 30. Raw sewage spilled at a rate of 2 million gallons per hour. It was unclear how much sewage had flowed into the Little Patuxent River. As of the morning of November 2, 28,600 are without power, down from 365,700.

k. Delaware, Mid-Atlantic

At 4 p.m. on October 29, Delmarva Power reported on its website that more than 13,900 customers in Delaware and portions of the Eastern Shore of Maryland had lost electric service as high winds brought down trees and power lines. About 3,500 of those were in New Castle County, 2,900 were in Sussex, and more than 100 were in Kent County. Some residents in Kent and Sussex Counties experienced power outages that lasted up to nearly six hours. A wind gust of 64 mph (103 km/h) was measured at Lewes just before 2:30 p.m. In Dewey, flood waters were 1 to 2 feet (0.30 to 0.61 m) in depth.

l. New Jersey, Mid-Atlantic

In the early morning of October 30, authorities in Bergen County, New Jersey, evacuated residents after a berm overflowed and flooded several communities. Police Chief of Staff Jeanne Baratta said there were up to five feet of water in the streets of Moonachie and Little Ferry. At least 24 people in the state were killed.

m. Pennsylvania, Mid-Atlantic

All major highways in and around the city of Philadelphia were closed on October 29 during the hurricane due to high winds. More than 1.2 million were reportedly left without power as a result of the storm. As of the morning of November 2, 372,000 customer is without power, down from 1.2 million On November 4, Pennsylvania reported 14 deaths believed to be related to Sandy according to the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency.

n. New York, Mid-Atlantic

Storm impacts in Upstate New York were much more limited than in New York City; there was some flooding and a few downed trees. Rochester area utilities reported slightly fewer than 19,000 customers without power, in seven counties.Sea water flooded the Ground Zero construction site. Gas shortages throughout the region led to an effort by the U.S. federal government to bring in gasoline and set up mobile truck distribution at which people could receive up to 10 gallons of gas, free of charge.

o. New England

Wind gusts to 83 mph were recorded on outer Cape Cod and Buzzards Bay. Over 385,000 customers were without power in Massachusetts, and roads and buildings were flooded. Over 100,000 customers lost power in Rhode Island. Most of the damage was along the coastline, where some communities were flooded. Mount Washington, New Hampshire saw the strongest measured wind gust from the storm at 140 mph. Over 200,000 customers lost power in the state.

p. West Virginia, Appalachia and Midwest

By the morning of October 31, there were still 36 roads closed due to downed trees, powerlines, and snow in the road. More than 200,000 customers lost power during the blizzard conditions. It is still difficult to assess the damage in the remote areas, accessible only by impassable back roads, that lost power and communications, but there are reports of collapsed buildings in several counties due to the sheer weight of the wet, heavy snow.

q. Ohio, Appalachia and Midwest

On October 30, at least 247,000 in northeast Ohio were without power, mostly in the Cleveland area. Many schools were closed or delayed as the hurricane brought high winds and the season's first snow to some parts of the state overnight.

r. Michigan, Appalachia and Midwest

DTE Energy said that more than 120,000 customers lost power, and Consumers Energy reported the same for 1,200 of its customers. The National Weather Service said that waves up to 23 feet high were reported on southern Lake Huron. As of the morning of November 2, 5,000 customers are without power, down from 154,000.

s. Kentucky, Appalachia and Midwest

More than a foot of snow fell in eastern Kentucky as Sandy merged with an Arctic front.

t. Canada

The remnants of Sandy produced high winds along Lake Huron and Georgian Bay, where gusts were measured at 105 km/h (63 mph). A 121 km/h (72 mph) gust was measured on top of the Bluewater Bridge. One woman died after being hit by a piece of flying debris in Toronto. At least 145,000 customers across Ontario lost power as of the morning of October 30, and a Bluewater Power worker was electrocuted in Sarnia while working to restore power. Around 49,000 homes and businesses lost power in Quebec during the storm, with nearly 40,000 of those in the Laurentides region of the province, as well as more than 4,000 customers in the Eastern Townships and 1,700 customers in Montreal. Hundreds of flights were canceled. Around 14,000 customers in Nova Scotia lost power during the height of the storm.

2.4 General Causalities and Damages

These are some general, most common damages that happened during and after Hurricane Sandy as reported by New York Times.

Snow. Hurricane Shandy left snow in Appalachia, power failures in Maine and untreated sewage pouring into the Patuxent River in Maryland after a treatment plant lost power.

Flood and Fire. Explosions and downed power lines left the lower part of Manhattan and 90 percent of Long Island in the dark. The New York City subway system — a lifeline for millions — was paralyzed by flooded tunnels and was expect to remain silent for days.

Paralyzed Subway Network. New York’s subway network, which suffered the worst damage in its 108-year-history, faced one of its longest shutdowns because the problems were so much worse than expected. Water climbed to the ceiling of the South Ferry subway station, the end of the No. 1 line in Lower Manhattan, and debris covered tracks in stations up and down other lines after the water rushed in and out. Mr. Lhota said that seven subway tunnels between Manhattan and Brooklyn were flooded.

Floor Trading Shutdown. Connecticut, New Jersey and New York reopened many closed roads and bridges, and the New York Stock Exchange made plans to resume floor trading on Wednesday after a two-day shutdown, its first because of weather since a blizzard in 1888.

Paralyzed Airports. Airports, too, took a beating. More than 15,000 flights were canceled, and water poured onto the runways at Kennedy International Airport and La Guardia Airport, both in Queens. Officials made plans to reopen Kennedy, the larger of the two and a major departure point for international flights, on Wednesday. Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said La Guardia would remain closed “because of extensive damage.”

Power Outages. In New Jersey, Public Service Electric and Gas said it had 1.3 million electric customers in the dark, including 500,000 without power because a surge in Newark Bay flooded substations and other equipment. Another New Jersey utility, Jersey Central Power and Light, whose territory covers many shore towns, said almost all of its customers had lost power in some counties, including Ocean and Monmouth. More than one-third of Connecticut Light and Power’s 1.2 million customers had no electricity, either.

2.5 Government, Organization, or Citizen Initiated Relief

a. Government-Initiated Relief

President Obama approved disaster declarations for New York and New Jersey, making them eligible for federal assistance for rebuilding. “All of us have been shocked by the force of mother nature,” said the president, who plans to visit New Jersey on Wednesday. He promised “all available resources” for recovery efforts.

Rescuers looked for survivors in the wet rubble in places like Atlantic City, and state and local officials surveyed wreckage. Utility crews began working their way through a wilderness of fallen trees and power lines. And from Virginia to Connecticut, there were stories of tragedy and survival — of people who lost everything when the water rushed in, of buildings that crumbled after being pounded hour after hour by rain and relentless wind, of hospitals that had to be evacuated when the storm knocked out the electricity.

From southern New Jersey to the East End of Long Island to the northern suburbs in Connecticut, power companies spent Tuesday trying to figure out just how much damage the storm had done to their wires, transformers and substations. The work will take at least a week, possibly longer, because the damage was so extensive, and utility companies called in thousands of crews from all around the country to help out. Consolidated Edison reached to San Francisco to bring in 150 workers from Pacific Gas and Electric. Even with the additional manpower, Con Edison said it could still take more than 10 days to complete the repairs. Con Edison had more than 285,000 customers in Manhattan who were in the dark on Tuesday, and more than 185,000 in Westchester.

There were no traffic signals on the walk from Fifth Avenue to the East River. Police officers were directing traffic; here and there, bodegas were open, selling batteries and soft drinks. Buses began running again on Tuesday afternoon, and the mayor ordered a ride-sharing program for taxis. There were 4,000 yellow cabs on the streets by Tuesday afternoon.

b. Organization-Initiated Relief

Care2.com reported that at City Harvest in New York City, for example, the storm caused about $100,000 of damage to some of their trucks. The Community Food Bank of New Jersey in Hillside is sheltering employees and their families whose homes have been damaged or who have no power.

Member food banks continue to provide food and other supplies to those effected by Hurricane Sandy and are now preparing for more displacement that could come as the result of the nor’easter storm that is threatening the region.

Food banks and other relief organizations, on the other hand, are able to take generous donations from supporters and use them in the most efficient, effective way possible to aid disaster relief. Ultimately, even when facing the effects of a disaster themselves, relief organizations and food banks like Feeding America are well prepared to get to work and help people back on their feet after a hurricane like Sandy.

c. Citizen-Initited Relief

Citizen also played an important role in post-disaster relief through social networks. At least four Facebook pages were created to reunite people with photographs, kayaks, wedding invitations and other cherished mementos they thought were lost during Superstorm Sandy. People who find photographs and articles can scan or photograph them and upload the images, along with details of where the items were found and other identifying characteristics.

Jeanne Esti started the Facebook page For Shore after going to her parents' home in Mantoloking, which sustained broken windows and minor property damage. While assessing it, she saw pieces of people's lives strewn in the backyard. The sites underscore the pivotal role social media has been playing after the storm, disseminating news, connecting people and organizations, soliciting information and organizing volunteer efforts.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency and Red Cross also have used social media during and after the storm. FEMA has people on the ground writing and answering Tweets and inquiries, a spokesman said. Kathleen Schmidt started the New Jersey Needs Facebook page as a way to connect people who needed assistance with those who wanted to help. She plans to continue the site as a clearinghouse for information. She wants to help families who can't provide for Christmas and keep the Jersey Shore in the front of peoples' minds, especially as fall fades into winter and the months pass.

3. Conclusion

Hurricane Sandy is, as the media said, “Superstorm Sandy”. America suffers from a great shock and spent much time, money, mind and energy for the relief. Interestingly, the paralysis in some aspects of the national life in the United States was simply contemporary and took no longer time. All elements of the society namely government, social organizations and citizens are all doing good at reacting the dreadful calamity. The national relief movement makes America stronger than it looks like.

4. Bibliography

“Hurricane Sandy” Wikipedia. 28 November 2012.

“Hurricane Sandy: The Superstorm”. 31 October 2012 Boston. 28 November 2012.

“Hurricane Sandy victims find hope by finding lost items online”. 24 November 2012 New Jersey. 28 November 2012.

“In the Aftermath of Sandy, Food Banks’ Disaster Relief Efforts Are Put to the Test”. 24 November 2012 Care2. 28 November 2012.

Barron, James. “After the Devastation, a Daunting Recovery”. 30 October 2012 New York Times. 28 November 2012.

Image credit: http://eoimages.gsfc.nasa.gov

The Life of Japanese Americans during the First Decades in America

noreply@blogger.com (Lilik Wijayawati) — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 17:00:00 +0000

1. Introduction

1.1 Background

Japanese Americans are Japan-descent Americans. The Americans are the second Asian American group to come to America and have historically been among the three largest Asian American communities. Now, it has become the sixth largest group at roughly 1,304,286, including those of mixed-race or mixed-ethnicity. The history of Japanese Americans is interesting to be discussed; the Japanese Americans had the start as similar to the African slave trade, but the the racially-based issues appeared during the first decades in America was, instead, the misconception of their their hard work and high educational attainment. And even until now, Japanese has been transforming into a highly regarded ethnic that plays a lot in economical-based fields.

1.2 Objectives

The objective of the paper is to figure out the way Japanese Americans survive during the first decades in America.

2. Japanese Immigration to America

2.1 First Immigration of Japanese to Hawaii and America

In 1835 in Hawaii, a sugar plantation system was set up by Americans and resulted in requiring to have a high number of agricultural workers.

In 1852, Chinese laborers were imported to fulfill the need of labor.

In 1865, after many Chinese stopped working for other jobs, the Foreign Minister of Hawaii imported 148 first-generation Japanese (also called as Issei) sailed with the Scioto from Yokohama to Honolulu with the help of an American friend of his in Japan, included samurai, cooks, sake brewers, potters, printers, tailors, wood workers, and one hairdresser

In 1869, Pacific Mail Company brought again displaced Japaneses, included samurai, farmers, tradesmen, and four women, to work in Wakamatsu Tea and Silk Farm Colony, San Francisco. But, after bankruptcy faced the company two years later, a small number of Japanese returned to home, while others do not.

2.2 Japanese Ban

In 1886, after a labor convention that allowed Japanese workers to be contracted in Hawaii and California, the increasing number of Japanese triggered an anti-Japanese movement and segregation.

In 1907, Gentlemen's Agreement, which accepted the already-in-America Japanese and the immediate family members, was created to maintain the relationship between Japan and America.

In 1924, Senator Hiram Johnson of California banned on all immigration from Japan.

2.3 Naturalization toward A Status of Japanese American

In 1952, the second wave of Japanese’s immigration landed in America due to the allowance of immigration stated in the McCarran-Walter Act.

In 1965, 46,000 immigrants from Japan got naturalized.

In 1982, Racially-based misconception, which assumed they better became technicians rather than leaders, was directed to Japanese by a part of Americans for their hard work and high educational attainment.

2.4 The Assimilation of Both Japanese and American Values

To pass down culture and values, Japaneses established halls to be the schools or places of drama, dramas, films, judō lessons, poetry readings, potlucks, and parties; Buddhist temples and Christian churches; shops of Japanese food and herbal medicines; and sport centers for sumō rings, baseball fields, and bath houses.

The descendants were educated to obtain white collar jobs rather than stay in farming communities and learn white middle-class American values. As a result, most of the Japanese Americans successfully competed in academic and job fields. At the end of World War II, the misconception toward the Japaneses was declined. They started studying in public schools, living in Caucasian-dominated neighborhoods, and seating in official positions.

The descendants of Japanese concerned about the lack of Japanese values. They started digging out Japanese culture through service to the Japanese community at centers for the elderly, participation in community festivals, involvement with Asian political and legal organizations, and learning Japanese arts.

As for the language, Japanese language had aesthetic appeal and contributed to a feeling on the part of many Japanese that they are unique among the world's peoples. For a variety of reasons, including negative pressures by the majority population and a lack of new Japanese immigrants in the United States, many next generations of Japanese American do not know the language of their ancestors.

2.5 Non-Communalism of Japanese and American

Both Japanese and American did the same in a matter of family and community. The son and daughter of a family would be motivated to leave the home and to make a family. This tradition was intended to prepare their descendants to form families.

However, it did not mean that Japanese highly regarded a marriage of a Japanese and an American or someone from other ethnics. Only ten percent of Japanese married outside their ethnic group. They preferred to marry someone from their ethnic even if the couples were in two different areas and only able to meet some time later. For instance, couples were married while the bride was in Japan and the groom was in the United States. The marriage was arranged by parents.

2.6 Spiritual Life of Japanese American

In 1877, when Christian Missionaries intended to convert the immigrants, Japanese regularly came to Church.

In 1893, San Francisco Methodist minister, Yasuzo Shimizu successfully stimulated the Japanese back to Buddhists.

In 1899, due to the arrival of two Nishi Honganji priests, Shuyei Sonoda and Kukuryo Nishijima, the Japanese started going to Buddhist churches.

In 1990, Zen, Nichiren, and Shingon sects of Buddhism are represented in various cities throughout the United States.

Because of cultural assimilation, it is difficult to obtain statistics on the religious practices of Japanese Americans. However, followers of Christianity are probably more numerous than Buddhists.

2.7 The Discriminated Issei

Although the next generations of the first generation had already been accepted by many parts of American society, the Issei themselves were not. Those who immigrated to America in the late 1800s and early twentieth century were invisibly not allowed to work in factories or offices, means they had to struggle to work on the West Coast as contract seasonal agricultural workers, on the railroad, and in canneries. In spite of doing the farming or laboring works, the first generation Japanese Americans created small businesses such as hotels and restaurants to serve their own ethnic group or became small vegetable farmers. While doing so, they motivated the next generations to attain high educations and high positions in the world of job.

3. Conclusion

Japanese Americans concerned a lot about economics. To stand up in the midst of discrimination and racially-based misconception, the first (Issei) and the next generations (Sansei, Nisei, Yonsei) tried to level up their economics for independently providing what the society of the ethnic needed to survive such as schools, halls, sport centers, shops, churches, and so on.

But still, although Japanese was able to survive mostly by itself, the Japanese still paid attention to build a harmonious relationship with American. For the reason, the Japanese opened up their minds about any values and lifestyles of American. And, it was proven that they could be appreciated in many parts of America some time later.

Interestingly, they cared much about their cultural root. And, the descendant or the next generations tried to get closer to their culture through some cultural organizations and events. The Japanese still ran a close social control by keeping the lineage of the descends by preferring the marriage from one ethnic.

As for the conclusion, either Japanese or American does not dominate and be dominated. In Japanese Americans, “sociologist Harry Kitano observed that Japanese Americans developed a congruent Japanese culture within the framework of American society. Coexistence between Japanese and American cultures has been successful due to the willingness of both cultures to accommodate to one another”. And, the development of culture is actually the characteristic of Japanese, from the native land, that is capable of selectively importing foreign customs and adapting them to the archipelago.

4. Bibliography

Easton, Stanley E. and Lucien Ellington. “Japanese Americans” Countries and Their Cultures. 11 October 2012.

<http://www.everyculture.com/multi/Ha-La/Japanese-Americans.html>

“Japanese American” Wikipedia. 11 October 2012.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_American>

Image credit: Wikimedia.org

Reconvening the Innocent Voice of Childhood

noreply@blogger.com (Lilik Wijayawati) — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 17:00:00 +0000

Of the many American authors, Mark Twain undoubtedly stands out for his concern on childhood with a little bit more of innocence. The ever greatest masterpiece of his, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, transforms into a timeless proof of how the innocent voice of childhood contains a myriad of profound meanings. His pride of his childhood spent in Hanibal, Missouri and his talent of witticism have driven him to be “The father of American Literature” at the time he earns praise as “The greatest American humorist of his age”. By means of the simply-structured, casually-toned writing, he digs up the buried memories of childhood through a humorous, lively character named Thomas Sawyer. In here, this playful boy is accompanied by his sidekicks, Joe Harper and Huckleberry Finn, as well as other fellow friends. Under the flags of sincerity, friendship, and mischievousness, they walk on a fun way of life. These children make adults wake up and open their eyes that profound goodness is there, in the innocent voice of childhood.

The undeniable of children is sincerity. The way children see, think and feel something is so simple. There must be a simple yes, if a word yes comes out of their mouth, and vice versa. Never be an intricate thing for them is to feel gratified by what they have already possessed or not. But if children desire something, they will go for it, no matter what. Thomas Sawyer figures out “a great law of human action – A man or a boy will desire something if it is not easy”. He grasps that people forget how to do something on behalf of sincerity. Too many orientations and faked importance are a reason of it. He reminds us not to focus on the result but the process. “People stop when they almost find the box of gold” said he. Just be sincere; people do not need to undergo the lack of spirit at tow.

Children show, not tell, their friendship. This distant gap of the adults and children’s ways of thinking come into sight when being asked from what point they should uncover their views of friendship. More often than not, not many adults are able to express their view in a couple of words. They are totally different from children who mostly have no idea what the word means. But, look at this! The mischievous Thomas shows the significance of friendship through his actions flawlessly. Here are some of the examples. Although Thomas has a quarrel with Becky Thatcher, he lets himself punished for her fault. Just like a good motivator does, Thomas also advises Huckleberry Finn not to leave Mrs. Douglas’ house and encourages him to adapt his new way of life. And, at the end of the story, Huck speaks up his mind about their club and friends; “We will promise to help each other” he says. The children with a little or more of innocence obviously show what friendship is.

“Mischievousness, it is!” adults say, “Think out of the box!” children do. Adults are trapped in so-called homogeneity and monotonicity back and forth. They grumble every time but do nothing to make a change. They pleasantly go with the flow, no matter they undergo continuous torture on their mind and feeling Children are different. With fresh imagination and what is called mischievousness by adults, they effortlessly put colors on their lives. Thomas conveys this meaning through simple words “Church will be pleasure when something different happens.” He thinks people should not fool themselves as if it is a sin to let them under the spotlight of others. Thomas together with Huckleberry Finn and Joe Harper enjoys earning praise and being spotlighted with joy (a couple of TIMES!); they do everything different from being some pirates to discovering a buried box of gold.

To pique your interest in life could not be better without this humorous book The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. The clips of the adventures gift you great pleasure and entertainment in the hurly burly of life. But still, the book is a perfect pick for those who want to have such reflection during their days of fatigue or for those who feel that things go wrong. If you are currently suffocated by a long list of official work or paperwork and have no idea what it is for, reading this book will bring your faith back. The characters in the book are you in the past, when everything was full of joy, when anything was only waited for to raise up your challenge, when nothing was worried about but loved and when you dreamed of what you are now. Keep your head up high with the innocent voice of childhood in your mind!

Image credit: realismlit.blogspot.com

British Legend “Robin Hood” and Myth “Black Dog”

noreply@blogger.com (Lilik Wijayawati) — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 17:00:00 +0000

1. Introduction

Aside from a myriad of its literary works, Britain is also outstanding for its big number of legends and myths. Compared to Americans, British people place their belief on legends and myths so much more. In consequence, British people have a collection of legends and myths, which is varied in the term of number and variety.

This local belief is deeply rooted in the society and vaguely portrayed in some English literary works. British authors, including J.K. Rowling with Harry Potter, often manifest British legendary or mythological creatures in their works. For instance, Harry Potter contains a mythological creature named Boggart.
Some British legends and myth are even globally known. One of the immortal legendary figures that is outstanding throughout the globe is Robin Hood. He is well-known for his “robbing from the rich, giving to the poor”. In addition, the myth of the Black Dog is also popular until Latin America and perpetuated as a name of pub in Jersey.

From the starting point above, the group is interested in exploring British legend “Robin Hood” and myth “Black Dog”. Besides, the writer also wants to find out whether British legend “Robin Hood” and myth “Black Dog”share some similarities to Indonesian legend and myth.

2. Definitions of Legend and Myth

Prior to any discussion about British legend and myth, the definitions of the words legend and myth should be grasped. Below are the definition of legend and myth.

a. Legend

According to Oxford Dictionaries, the definition of the word legend is stated below.

Definition:

Noun

1a traditional story sometimes popularly regarded as historical but not authenticated: the legend of King Arthur [mass noun]:according to legend he banished all the snakes from Ireland
historical the story of a saint’s life: the mosaics illustrate the Legends of the Saints

2an extremely famous or notorious person, especially in a particular field:the man was a living legend a screen legend

3an inscription, especially on a coin or medal.
a caption:a picture of a tiger with the legend ‘Go ahead make my day’
the wording on a map or diagram explaining the symbols used:see legend to Fig. 1

Adjective

[predic.]

very well known: his speed and ferocity in attack were legend

Origin:

Middle English (in the sense 'story of a saint's life'): from Old French legende, from medieval Latin legenda 'things to be read', from Latin legere 'read'. legend (sense 1 of the noun) dates from the early 17th century.

Overview:

According to Wikipedia, a legend (Latin, legenda, "things to be read") is a narrative of human actions that are perceived both by teller and listeners to take place within human history and to possess certain qualities that give the tale verisimilitude. Legend, for its active and passive participants includes no happenings that are outside the realm of "possibility", defined by a highly flexible set of parameters, which may include miracles that are perceived as actually having happened, within the specific tradition of indoctrination where the legend arises, and within which it may be transformed over time, in order to keep it fresh and vital, and realistic. A majority of legends operates within the realm of uncertainty, never being entirely believed by the participants, but also never being resolutely doubted. Legend, typically, is a short (mono-) episodic, traditional, highly ecotypified historicized narrative performed in a conversational mode, reflecting on a psychological level a symbolic representation of folk belief and collective experiences and serving as a reaffirmation of commonly held values of the group to whose tradition it belongs.

b. Myth

According to Oxford Dictionaries, the definition and the origin of the word legend are stated below.

Definition:

Noun

1a traditional story, especially one concerning the early history of a people or explaining a natural or social phenomenon, and typically involving supernatural beings or events:ancient Celtic myths [mass noun]:the heroes of Greek myth

2a widely held but false belief or idea:the belief that evening primrose oil helps to cure eczema is a myth, according to dermatologists
a fictitious or imaginary person or thing: nobody had ever heard of Simon’s mysterious friend—Anna said he was a myth
an exaggerated or idealized conception of a person or thing:the book is a scholarly study of the Churchill myth

Origin:

The word myth is known in the mid 19th century: from modern Latin mythus, via late Latin from Greek muthos

Overview:

According to Wikipedia, The term "mythology" can refer either to the study of myths (e.g., comparative mythology), or to a body or collection of myths (a mythos, e.g., Inca mythology). In folkloristics, a myth is a sacred narrative usually explaining how the world or humankind came to be in its present form, although, in a very broad sense, the word can refer to any traditional story. Bruce Lincoln defines myth as "ideology in narrative form". Myths typically involve supernatural characters and are endorsed by rulers or priests. They may arise as either truthful depictions or overelaborated accounts of historical events, as allegory for or personification of natural phenomena, or as an explanation of ritual. They are transmitted to convey religious or idealized experience, to establish behavioral models, and to teach.

c. The Difference between Legend and Myth

A legend is an unverifiable story handed down by tradition from earlier times and accepted as historical from traditions. A myth is a story about superhuman begins of an earlier age taken by preliterate society to be a true account, usually of how natural phenomena, social customs, etc. came into existence.

3. British Legend “Robin Hood”

Robin Hood (spelled Robyn Hode in older manuscripts) is a heroic outlaw in English folklore, a highly skilled archer and swordsman. Although not part of his original character, since the beginning of the 19th century he has become known for "robbing from the rich and giving to the poor", assisted by a group of fellow outlaws known as his "Merry Men". Robin Hood and his band of "merry men" are usually portrayed as living in Sherwood Forest, in Nottinghamshire.

In the earliest sources, Robin Hood is a yeoman, but he was often later portrayed as an aristocrat wrongfully dispossessed of his lands and made into an outlaw by an unscrupulous sheriff.

In these early accounts, Robin Hood's partisanship of the lower classes, his Marianism and associated special regard for women, his outstanding skill as an archer, his anti-clericalism, and his particular animosity towards the Sheriff of Nottingham are already clear.

In popular culture, Robin Hood is typically seen as a contemporary and supporter of the late-12th-century king Richard the Lionheart, Robin being driven to outlaw during the misrule of Richard's brother John while Richard was away at the Third Crusade.

As well as ballads, the legend was also transmitted by "Robin Hood games" or plays that were an important part of the late medieval and early modern May Day festivities. The first record of a Robin Hood game was in 1426 in Exeter, but the reference does not indicate how old or widespread this custom was at the time.

The early ballads link Robin Hood to identifiable real places and many are convinced that he was a real person, more or less accurately portrayed. A number of theories as to the identity of "the real Robin Hood" have their supporters. Some of these theories posit that "Robin Hood" or "Robert Hood" or the like was his actual name; others suggest that this may have been merely a nickname disguising a medieval bandit perhaps known to history under another name.

4. British Myth “Black Dog”

A black dog is the name given to a being found primarily in the folklores of the British Isles. The black dog is essentially a nocturnal apparition, often said to be associated with the Devil or a Hellhound. Its appearance was regarded as a portent of death. It is generally supposed to be larger than a normal dog, and often has large, glowing eyes. It is often associated with electrical storms (such as Black Shuck's appearance at Bungay, Suffolk), and also with crossroads, places of execution and ancient pathways.

The origins of the black dog are difficult to discern. It is impossible to ascertain whether the creature originated in the Celtic or Germanic elements in British culture. Throughout European mythology, dogs have been associated with death. Examples of this are the Cŵn Annwn, Garmr and Cerberus, all of whom were in some way guardians of the underworld. This association seems to be due to the scavenging habits of dogs. It is possible that the black dog is a survival of these beliefs. Black dogs are almost universally regarded as malevolent, and a few (such as the Barghest) are said to be directly harmful. Some, however, like the Gurt Dog in Somerset and the Black Dog of the Hanging Hills in Connecticut, are said to behave benevolently.

A black dog has been said to haunt the Newgate Prison for over 400 years, appearing before executions. According to legend, in 1596, a scholar was sent to the prison for witchcraft, but was killed and eaten by starving prisoners before he was given a trial. The dog was said to appear soon after, and although the terrified men killed their guards and escaped, the beast is said to have haunted them wherever they fled.

Galley Hill in Luton, Bedfordshire, is said to have been haunted by a black dog ever since a storm set the gibbet alight sometime in the 18th century. People in this century still believe with a black dog, in Jersey it is depicted on the pub sign.

In Jersey folklore, the Black Dog of Death is also called the Tchico, but a related belief in the Tchian d'Bouôlé (Black Dog of Bouley) tells of a phantom dog whose appearance presages storms. The real reason for the superstition of the Black Dog of Bouley Bay is thought to be due to smugglers. If the superstition was fed and became 'real' to the locals, then the bay at night would be deserted and the smuggling could continue in security. The pier at Bouley Bay made this an exceptionally easy task. The pub retains the name "The Black Dog".

Black dogs with fiery eyes are reported throughout Latin America from Mexico to Argentina under a variety of names including the Perro Negro (Spanish for Black Dog), Nahual (Mexico), Huay Chivo and Huay Pek (Mexico) - alternatively spelled Uay/Way/Waay Chivo/Pek, Cadejo (Central America), the dog Familiar (Argentina) and the Lobizon (Paraguay and Argentina). They are usually said to be either incarnations of the Devil or a shape-changing sorcerer.

5. The Existence of Legend “Robin Hood and Myth “Black Dog” Today

Throughout history the legend “Robin Hood” and myth “Black Dog” have been passed down through the generations. Handed down from the past, the legend and the myth has been, and may still be, properly accepted as being true no matter it lacks accurate historical evidence.

Robin Hood is still debated up to this day as to whether he was real, or just the subject of a tale of ballads and poems to entertain listeners. Based on a real man or created as a fictional story for entertainment, the tales of Robin Hood have a rich history that many have tried to trace. Ballads were the first way that stories of a lively man named Robyn Hood were spread among the people of England. The high rate of illiteracy brought the oral traditions of passing on stories, or history because of the wandering minstrel. The legend continues an ever-evolving tradition in our culture and literature. In addition, Robin Hood is also introduced to children through Robin Hood games.

Today, Black Dog is still believed in many countries. The emersion of electrical storms, for instance, are sometimes associated with the presence of Black Dog that can bring havoc.

The truth of the legend and the myth in the past is still and might always be debatable. But, the message contained in the legend and myth is true. The message brings and emphasizes goodness over badness. For instance, Robin Hood is provoked to outlawry by legal violence, both go disguised as a potter, and both command substantial numbers of well-disciplined men.

6. British Legend “Robin Hood” vs. Indonesian Legend “Si Pitung”

Many Indonesians know about the most popular British legend Robin Hood, which is slightly similar to one of Indonesian legends known as Si Pitung. Both are well-known for their principle of “robbing from the rich and giving to the poor”. Here are the comparisons between Robin Hood and Si Pitung.

No.	Similarities	English Legend ‘Robin Hood’	Indonesian Legend ‘Si Pitung’
1	The variety of the legends	Great varied according to the parts of England	Varied in 3 versions: Indonesias, Dutchman and Chinese.
2	The existence of band	Yes, called Merry Men	Yes, Pituan Pitulung (group seven): Abdoelrachman, Moedjeran, Merais, Dji-ih, dan Gering
3	The heroic act	Robbing from the rich and giving it to the poor	Robbing from the rich and giving it to the poor
4	Social background at the time	Injustice done by the government and the noblemen. In an age when the Rule of Law was respected as the foundation of good government but some parties could twist the law to their own ends	Injustice done by the government and the noblemen, especially Ducth colonies. In an age when the Rule of Law was respected as the foundation of good government but some parties could twist the law to their own ends
5	Tactic	Disguise and fight	Disguise and fight
6	Passing-down method	through ballads plus "Robin Hood games" or plays	through ballads
7	Death	Shot	Shot
8	Targets of robbery	Lord of Land, government	Lord of Land, government
9	Religious side	Good. Obedient Moslem	Good. Christian, praised honor to Mother Maria
10	The biggest enemy	Police: Van Heyne	Police: the Sheriff of Nottingham
11	Message	rebellion against the authority and injustice	rebellion against the authority and injustice

No.	Differences	English Legend ‘Robin Hood’	Indonesian Legend ‘Si Pitung’
1	Occupation	Yeoman or aristocrat wrongfully dispossessed of his lands	Goat trader
2	The existence of his family	Unknown	Known: Piung (father) and Mpok Pinah (mother)
3	The exact location of the legend	Biased: Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, or some other parts in between	Known: Pengumben, Rawabelong
4	Skills	archery, swordplay	Martial art
5	The existence of wife	Yes, named Matilda	Unknown
6	The magical side	No.	Yes, able to disappear
7	Century	15 century	19 century

7. British Myth “Black Dog” vs. Indonesian Myth “Black Cat”

The myth of Black Dog in British Legend is almost similar to the myth of Black Cat in Indonesia. The primary concept of Black Dog and Cat Dog is an animal or nonhuman that brings misfortune or death. Besides, dog in Britain is as popular pet as cat in Indonesia. Here are the comparisons between Black Dog and Black Cat.

No.	Similarities	English Myth “Black Dog”	Indonesian Myth “Black Cat”
1	Symbolization	Death, devil, misfortune	Death, devil, misfortune
2	Signs of Coming	Electrical storms	No signs
3	Time of Coming	Nocturnal apparition	Nocturnal apparition
4	Shape of eyes	Large, glowing eyes	Large, glowing eyes
5	Trait	Malevolent	Malevolent

No.	Differences	English Myth “Black Dog”	Indonesian Myth “Black Cat”
1	Form	Dog	Cat
2	Incarnation	Of sorcerer	Of a spy or a companion of a sorcerer
3	Place of coming	Places of execution and ancient pathways	Haunted places, graveyard

8. Conclusion

British legends and myths are many in number. Till now, the legends and myths are believed by the locals and variously known in different parts of Britain. Despite the debate on if it truly happened or not, the locals positively take the message of the legends and myths as their traditions and as a way of teaching moral lessons.

The popularity of the legends and the myths are known not only in Britain but also other countries including Indonesia. And even, some British legends and myths share similarities and differences to Indonesian legends and myths. In this case, British “Robin Hood” is comparable to Indonesian “Si Pitung” while British “Black Dog” is comparable to Indonesian “Black Cat”.

9. Bibliography

“Cerita Rakyat legenda si Pitung”. Kumpulan Dongeng. 10 March 2013.

“Legend”. Oxford Dictionary. 10 March 2013.

"Mitos di Masyarakat". NDI. 21 April 2013.

“Myth”. Oxford Dictionary. 10 March 2013.

“Mythology”. Wikipedia. 10 March 2013.

“Myths and Legends”. Telegraph. 10 March 2013.

“Robin Hood”. Wikipedia. 10 March 2013.

“Si Pitung”. Wikipedia. 10 March 2013.

The Truth ‘We Have Forgotten the Truth’

noreply@blogger.com (Lilik Wijayawati) — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 17:00:00 +0000

The truth is we have forgotten the truth, Graham Greene said. How this short-story writer defines the truth is somewhat peculiar, unexpected! The Blue Film reflects the truth the writer saw, thought, felt and believed during his stay in Vietnam that, at the time, was suffering from French colonization. The author uses two major characters, Mr. and Mrs. Carter, to deliver this fact. Packaged in a dry humor story line, the story conveys his opinion on what seemingly flared up in the minds of the Vietnamese: pessimism or optimism in relation to the possession of their motherland.

At hundreds of times, people fall into pessimism. People underrate their treasure as if it is unseen, meaningless. The two characters of the story purposefully reflect the blind side of this human trait. The major male character, Mr. Carter, degrades the presence of his beautiful wife and thinks that “a woman who is not desired” is better than “no company”. At the same time, Mrs. Carter complains about the discontentment of her life while being jealous that “other people enjoy themselves”. The couple looks at others’ possession as a comparison. But, rather than questioning the core cause, they make an excuse and consider it a matter of time. This thought was perhaps what Vietnamese put into their minds during a prolonged period of war under the authority of French. The Vietnamese desired to have a national independence as other nine ASEAN countries did; at the same time, they felt hopeless and exhausted for the war.

Optimism can only be seen in the absence of pessimism. Optimism and pessimism are contradictory and cannot walk in the paths side by side. Only by considering the discontentment, blaming no one, giving a chance for new life, people can deal with pessimism. Mr. and Mrs. Carter teach us how to respond to such a situation. Mrs. Carter considers her nonsense discontentment by spilling out the confession “I’d forgotten how nice you looked” toward Mr. Carter. Thus, after “screaming like an angry and hurt bird”, she concludes that “It’s years since that happened”. This clip nicely shows how she gives a chance for new life. Similarly, Mr. Carter realizes his narrow mind makes him betray “the only woman he loved” – the unseen treasure. In this clip, he writer places his hope in relation to the Vietnamese’s pessimism. He indirectly encourages the Vietnamese that their motherland is owned by no one but the natives, themselves. Thus, only they are able to determine the fate of the motherland.

For those who are just looking for the way to keep their faith on fire, this motivational story “The Blue Film” is recommended. Through the simple story line, all can learn about pessimism and optimism, a contradictory couple that is commonly forgotten, and how to transform pessimism into optimism. This way, we should not be one of those who have forgotten the truth.

Image credit: flickeringmyth.com

Resensi Film "The Kite Runner"

noreply@blogger.com (Lilik Wijayawati) — Tue, 31 May 2011 17:00:00 +0000

"Batas Tipis Kesetiaan dan Pengkhianatan" - Saya sempat bingung saat dosen saya memberi tugas menulis resensi film. Jujur, saya lebih memilih diberi tugas menulis resensi karya tulis. Jangankan untuk menulis resensinya, untuk memilih film apa yang akan diresensi saja sudah cukup bikin pusing. Untunglah dosen saya memberikan kesempatan menonton The Kite Runner sebagai alternatif pilihan. Hasilnya, saya malah jatuh cinta pada film ini. Sangat berbeda dengan kebanyakan film lainnya, film ini lebih natural dan sangat realistis. Mungkin hal itu yang membuat film ini tampak sangat menyentuh.

Judul Film: The Kite Runner
Pengarang: Khaled Hosseini
Pemain: Khalid Abdalla, Ahmad Khan, Mahmidzada, Atossa Leoni, Shaun Toub
Sutradara: Marc Forster (2007)
Genre: Drama

Film ini diadopsi dari sebuah novel dengan judul yang sama karya Khaled Hosseini. Film berdurasi hampir dua jam ini menceritakan tentang persahabatan dua orang anak yang berbeda kedudukan sosialnya. Oleh karena itu, tidak mengherankan hampir semua adegan dihiasi wajah dua anak ini, Amir Khan dan Hassan.

Tokoh utama dari film ini adalah Amir Khan. Ia seorang anak dari ayah yang sering kali dipanggil oleh Amir Khan dengan sebutan Baba. Amir Khan hidup dalam kemewahan. Ayahnya adalah seorang pengusaha yang antikomunis. Ayah Amir Khan adalah salah satu orang terkemuka di Afganistan. Tokoh lain yang tidak kalah penting adalah Hassan. Ia adalah sahabat Amir Khan. Hidup Hassan sangat berbeda dengan Amir Khan. Ia adalah anak seorang Pembantu di rumah Amir Khan yang bernama Ali. Bersahabat dengan Amir Khan bukanlah suatu hal yang mudah baginya karena dirinya kerap kali disudutkan sebagai seorang Hazzara (sebuah kaum “terbuang” di Afghanistan dan dianggap berkedudukan paling rendah karena perawakannya yang lebih menyerupai bangsa Mongol dari Asia).

Hassan dan Amir Khan tidak hanya berbeda status sosial tetapi juga berbeda karakter. Hassan memiliki karakter yang pipih. Dari awal hingga akhir film karakternya selalu stabil terkesan monoton. Berbeda dengan Amir Khan yang berkarakter bulat lebih mendekati karakter orang pada umumnya. Tokoh lain yang juga ambil bagian dalam pembentukan jalan hidup Amir Khan adalah Rahim Khan, paman Amir Khan, ia selalu memberikan semangat menulis pada Amir Khan. Ia menemukan sisi lain dari Amir Khan yang tidak diperhatikan oleh Baba.

Latarbelakang kultur kehidupan Afghanistan sangat kental di film ini. Kita dapat melihat bagaimana kondisi ekonomi, politik, sosial, hingga pertahanan Afghanistan saat itu. Sepertinya konflik yang sering terjadi di Afghanistan membuat Khaled Hossein tertarik untuk sedikit banyak mengekspos suasana perang yang terjadi di sana. Secara tidak langsung Khaled mengatakan bahwa perang telah menyengsarakan banyak orang yang tidak berdosa. Mungkin yang terjadi adalah invasi politik terhadap suatu wilayah. Namun, efek samping yang terjadi adalah semua penduduk sipil ditelanjangi hak-hak asasi nya dengan mengatasnamakan agama ataupun kepentingan lain. Keadaan yang digambarkan sangat menyayat hati siapapun yang menontonnya.

Film ini beralur maju mundur. Kisah dimulai dengan Amir Khan dewasa di Amerika yang menerima telepon dari Rahim Khan pamannya untuk segera datang ke Irak untuk menemuinya. Saat itulah pikirannya beralih ke ingatannya masa kecilnya di Afghanistan bersama Hassan sahabatnya. Begitu gamblang Amir Khan mengisahkan kembali ingatan masa kecilnya. Hidup sebagai anak orang kaya tidak membuatnya bahagia. Sejak kecil ia telah dibayang-bayangi rasa bersalah atas kematian ibunya saat melahirkan dirinya. Itu membuat Amir Khan kecil menjadi pribadi yang pendiam dan tenang. Ia tumbuh menjadi anak tidak dapat membela dirinya sendiri. Baginya menjauhi masalah adalah yang terpenting. Sikap inilah yang membuat Baba membandingkan Amir Khan dengan anak pembantunya Hassan. Ia sangat simpati terhadap Hassan. Ia tahu bahwa Hassan yang selama ini melindungi Amir Khan setiap ada anak yang ingin mengganggunya. Ia sangat tidak menyukai cara Amir Khan yang selalu mencari aman dibalik kebaikan Hassan.

Hingga suatu hari keegoisan Amir Khan terhadap Hassan semakin menjadi. Hari itu, Amir Khan memenangkan pertandingan layang-layang, sebuah pertandingan bergengsi di Afghanistan. Hassan ingin menghadiahkan layang-layang putus milik lawan Amir Khan. Saat itulah tiga orang anak yang lebih tua mengejar Hassan untuk merebut layang-layang itu. Namun, karena tidak mau menyerahkan layang-layang itu, Hassan disodomi oleh Sheff, pemimpin dari geng itu. Amir Khan mengetahui situasi yang dihadapi Hassan. Akan tetapi, ia hanya bersembunyi dan pergi dari tempat itu. Saat Hasan datang sambil menahan sakit, Amir Khan hanya berpura-pura tidak mengetahui apapun. Ternyata kejadian itu membuatnya gelisah karena kesetiaan Hassan yang berlebihan untuknya. Ia malu karena ia sendiri tidak dapat berbuat yang sama untuk Hassan. Akhirnya ia menjauh dari Hassan. Ia menjebak Hassan agar Hassan dapat pergi dari rumah Baba. Ia menuduh Hassan telah mencuri jam tangan yang Baba hadiahkan untuknya. Hal itu ternyata disadari oleh Hassan. Akhirnya Hassan berbohong dan mengakui tuduhan tersebut. Baba mengampuni Hassan yang jujur. Namun, Ali memutuskan untuk tetap pergi dari rumah itu.

Tidak berselang lama, Uni Soviet melaksanakan invasi ke Afghanistan. Baba yang antikomunis pun pergi membawa Amir Khan pergi ke Amerika mencari kebebasan. Di Amerika, Baba bekerja menjadi pekerja pompa ban. Berkat kerja kerasnya ia berhasil menyekolahkan Amir Khan di college hingga Amir Khan lulus. Setelah lulus Amir Khan memutuskan untuk menjadi penulis dan ia menikahi Soraya, anak seorang mantan Jenderal Afghanistan yang juga seorang pelarian.

Ingatan Amir Khan kembali ke saat ia menerima telepon. Ia pun memutuskan datang ke Irak menemui pamannya. Sesampainya di Irak pamannya memberitahukan bahwa Hassan telah meninggal akibat mengorbankan nyawanya demi rumah Amir Khan yang dijaganya. Hassan menitipkan surat untuk Amir Khan. Dalam surat itu ia menyatakan betapa bangganya ia pada Amir Khan. Satu hal yang penting dalam surat itu adalah Hassan ingin Amir Khan membawa Sohrab anaknya ke Amerika karena Afghanistan sudah tidak aman lagi. Akhirnya, dengan bantuan seorang sopir kenalan Rahim Khan, ia pergi ke Aghanistan. Disana ia harus menerima kenyataan bahwa Sohrab telah berada dalam genggaman Sheff yang telah menjadi salah satu pemimpin Taliban di Afghanistan. Setelah melewati rintangan demi rintangan akhirnya Amir Khan berhasil membawa Sohrab keluar Afghanistan. Sejak saat itu Sohrab dirawat oleh Amir Khan seperti anaknya sendiri.

Film ini sangat menarik karena sarat akan nilai-nilai kehidupan. Kita diajak memahami begitu banyak pilihan. Kita diajak belajar dari sikap Amir Khan yang telah berhasil memaknai hubungannya dengan Hassan justru saat orang Hassan tiada. Kesetiaan Hassan padanya membuat Amir Khan tidak hanya menyesali pengkhianatannya namun justru merubahnya sebagai suatu keberanian untuk mempertahankan apa yang masih dapat dipertahankan dari Hassan yaitu Sohrab. Satu pesan sederhana namun mengena adalah pesan Baba kepada Amir Khan : Jangan Mencuri. Pesan itu sepertinya juga menyindir kita karena saat ini orang tidak lagi memikirkan hak orang lain demi kepuasan dan kekayaan pribadi.

Film yang bergenre drama ini mengajak penonton menyadari bahwa sikap kita yang hanya ingin mencari aman dapat menjadi petaka bagi orang yang kita sayang. Secara tidak langsung film ini juga menyindir sifat-sifat orang pada umumnya seperti keegoisan, sifat mau menang sendiri, dan lari dari masalah. Keegoisan tampak tentu saja tampak dari sikap Amir terhadap Hassan. Keangkuhan mungkin dapat terlihat dari sikap mertua Amir yang notabene mantan seorang Jenderal. Ia tetap saja merasa memiliki tingkatan yang lebih tinggi walaupun sama-sama dalam pelarian. Selain itu sikap fanatik ayah Amir Khan yang sangat ekstrim terhadap komunis juga menjadi sindiran yang malah dapat menghibur. Sikap ini tampak saat ayah Amir Khan mendorong dokter imigran dari Rusia yang memeriksanya. Film ini juga secara eksplisit mengkritik tindakan Taliban yang tidak bermoral hanya karena merasa mendapat “mandat” dari Tuhan. Taliban yang merasa diri mereka adalah orang-orang pilihan Tuhan malah berbuat layaknya seorang Hittler.

Film ini disajikan sangat menarik. Adegan saat pertandingan layang-layang juga sangat memukau. Layang-layang seolah bermanuver berirama seperti pertunjukan pesawat tempur jet yang melesat dengan cepat. Efek suara yang digunakan saat perang pun tidak terlalu berlebihan sehingga penonton tidak melulu dibuat kaget oleh suara peluru atau bom seperti film perang kebanyakan. Walaupun begitu, penonton tetap dapat merasakan tegangnya peperangan. Film ini menampakkan kondisi peperangan di Afghanistan tanpa melebih-lebihkan dengan tidak menampakkan kekerasan dan pelecehan hak-hak korban perang secara langsung.

Akhirnya saya berani jamin anda tidak akan kecewa menonton film ini. Film ini cocok untuk dinikmati penonton dari segala usia dan kalangan. Film ini sungguh menunjukkan betapa tipis jarak kesetiaan dan pengkhianatan dalam persahabatan…

Tram and Train as a Trend

noreply@blogger.com (Lilik Wijayawati) — Sat, 14 May 2011 17:00:00 +0000

People live among many trends as long as they live. People have an imitative behavior. As a result, they will copy the style of someone else who is considered as a trendsetter. This imitative phenomenon also occurs among provinces.

A capital country tends to be a trendsetter for other provinces in the country in many sectors includes transportation. The capital country which becomes the trendsetter of Indonesia provinces is Jakarta. In transportation sector, Jakarta is famous for the varieties of the transports. One of the transports which makes Jakarta a trendsetter is KRL (Kereta Rel Listrik). KRL is an electric train which is operated to link many parts of Jakarta and surrounding. Most people do not know that the concept of this rail vehicle is not really new. In previous century, a vehicle named tram with a similar concept ever became a trend in transportation of Jakarta. A tram is similar to a train, but in some ways like the physical appearance, the location, the route, and the performance, they are different.

Physically, a tram and a train have some differences include the length and the weight. A tram is shorter than a train. If a train has many carriages, a tram just has two carriages. In addition, a tram is lighter compared to a train. A tram is 20 tons and a train is at least 40 tons. So, a tram absolutely looks shorter and lighter than a train.

Another difference between a tram and a train is the location of the tracks. A railway of a train is located outside the city to avoid the crowd of the city. Differently, a tramway was located inside a city because this vehicle is operated to link many parts of the city. A railway of train is outside the city, but a tramway is inside the city.

The previous difference happens because there is a different route between a train and a tram. A train is used by the passengers to go to other cities. In contrast, a tram is used by the passengers to go to other parts of a city. It means that a train has a longer route than a tram.

Both train and tram performances are different. A train is suitable for a straight railway because it is operated outside the city. It can run on a hilly and extreme area. Compared to a train, a tram is suitable for crankle tramway because it is operated inside the city and it has to follow the main road of a city. A tram can also run on a flat area. Each performances of a train and a tram are totally unsimilar.

Despite of these differences, these transportation have some similarities include the similarities of the source power and the track.

The power sources for a train and a tram are the same. The source usage has already developed depend on the technology development. At the first time, both a train and a tram were moved by some horses. But, horse power could not move them for a long distance. So, a train and a tram were pulled by a long cable. The sources always change from steams, diesel, petrol(gasoline), and the newest one, electricity. Now, some developed countries like French, Germany, and England still use tram for the public transportation in their cities with electricity power.

A tram just like a train runs only on the track. A train and a tram can just move on a special tracks named railway for a train and tramway for a tram. This tracks are made based on the routes that will be followed.

Although a train and a tram are a trend in transportation with many similarities, they also have some differences. On one hand, people can distinguish a train and a tram from several things like the physical appearance, the location, the route, and the performance. On the other hand, people can get the similarities from the power source and the track. In addition, we can realize that something can be a trend again after missing in a long period.

Motorcyle Growth in Jakarta

noreply@blogger.com (Lilik Wijayawati) — Sat, 30 Apr 2011 17:00:00 +0000

Traffic jam has become a serious problem in urban area such as Jakarta, but the government still have no effective solutions. Nowadays, most dwellers set about to blame motorcycle for the traffic jam. The opinion is based on the number of motorcycle in primary roads in Jakarta which is really fantastic. The quantity of motorcycle in Jakarta regularly increases. Consequently, even policemen can not avoid this phenomenon. The rules to reduce the number of motorcycle also sound impossible, since motorcycle is the best-liked transport which offers the cheapness, effectiveness and efficiency, and ease.

Indonesia is one of some countries which offers the lowest motorcycle price. The cheapness is interesting for the citizen to buy motorcycle. It means that they can enjoy the advantages just with some million rupiahs depending on their salary. Sometimes, one family has more than one motorcycle. Moreover, premium, the gasoline for motorcycle, is cheaper than pertamax, the gasoline for car. Unless the price is expensive, the number of motorcyle will always increase.

People will choose motorcyle than car for the effectiveness and efficiency. The advantage of a motorcyle is that people can ride it in different road conditions such as primary road, street, etc. People can easily avoid the traffic jam through other alternative streets. In additon, people can park it in their house without garage. The effectiveness and efficiency of motorcyle answer what people need in a city.

It is easy to buy a motorcyle than other transports. Some dealers offer the ease to buy a motorcyle. One of many eases in buying motorcycle is a long-term credit. It means that people can pay for a motorcyle monthly during certain year. In addition, the dealers also offer a low advance for every motorcycle. As a result, people can sometimes get a motorcycle credit with some thousand rupiahs as an advance payment.

Even though, the motorcycle offers the cheapness, effectiveness and efficiency, and ease for the rider, it has some bad effects on the environmental and health. It is necessary for people to know both the causes and the bad effects of motorcycle growth.

A motorcycle growth gives a bad effect for the environment. Motorcycle produces a dirty smog from the gasoline burning process. This smog contains many harmful particles in the air. As a consequence, the smog will contaminate the air for a long time and become an air pollution. The higher the number of motorcycle, the higher the air pollution.

The smog of motorcycle will have some bad effects on health as well. The harmful smog contains some dangerous particles such as lead. This particle can disturb respiratory, nervous, digestive, reproductive, and circulatory systems. The most dangerous thing is that it produces cancer that is diffusive and can kill people.

In short, people may know some causes to buy motorcycle such as the cheapness, the effectiveness and efficiency, and the ease, but they also have to know about the bad effects for the environmental and health. Just use it wisely.

Image credit: Indosight.com

Careers in Hospitality Industry

noreply@blogger.com (Lilik Wijayawati) — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 17:00:00 +0000

1. Bellhop

What :

A bellhop, also bellboy or bellman, is a hotel porter. Bellhops often wear a uniform, like certain other page boys or doormen. The job's name is derived from the fact that the hotel's front desk clerk rang a bell to summon an employee, who would "hop" (jump) to attention at the desk to receive instructions. This employee traditionally was a boy or adolescent male, hence the term bellboy. Today's bellman must be quick witted, good with people, and outgoing. The term porter is used in the United Kingdom. "Bellboy" or "bellhop" is an American English term. In many countries, such as the United States, it is customary to tip such an employee for his service.

Job Description :

a. Helping patrons with their luggage while checking in or out

b. Opening the front door

c. valeting cars

d. calling cabs

e. transporting guests

f. giving directions

g. performing basic concierge work

h. responding to the guest's needs

2. Concierge

What :

A concierge is an employee who lives on the premises of a hotel and serves guests with duties similar to those of a butler. While the phenomenon and the term are most common in France, they can be seen elsewhere, for example in the French-influenced neighborhood of Heliopolis in Cairo, Egypt. A similar position, known as the portero, exists in Spanish-speaking regions. In upscale establishments, a concierge is often expected to "achieve the impossible", dealing with any request a guest may have, no matter how strange, relying on an extensive list of contacts with local merchants and service providers. Hotel concierge staff have their own professional association, called Les Clefs d'Or ("The Golden Keys"). It was formed in France in October 1929. It now reaches over 3000 members in over 40 countries. Members can be distinguished by the gold keys they display on their lapels.

Job Description :

a. arranging for spa services

b. recommending night life hot spots

c. booking transportation (limousines, airplanes, boats, etc.) and procurement of tickets to special events

d. assisting with various travel arrangements and tours of local attractions

3. Front Desk clerk ( Front Officer)

What :

A front desk clerk is responsible for check in and check out services to guests in hotel. Front desk clerk operates the front desk systems. They give correct charges to related rooms and verify or assign bank balances at the end of shift. They see over the quality, guest's satisfaction, safety, security and other things for them.

Job Description :

a. Maintaining an inventory of vacancies, reservations and room assignments

b. Registering arriving guests and assign rooms

c. Answering enquiries regarding hotel services and registration by letter, by telephone and in person

d. providing information about services available in the community

e. responding to guests' complaints

f. Compile and check daily record sheets, guest accounts, receipts and vouchers using computerized or manual systems

4. General Manager

What :

General manager (sometimes abbreviated GM) is a descriptive term for certain executives in a business operation. It is also a formal title held by some business executives, most commonly in the hospitality industry. In hotels, the General Manager is the executive manager responsible for the overall operation of a hotel establishment. The extent of duties of a hotel General Manager vary significantly depending on the size of the hotel and company; for example, General Managers of smaller hotels may have additional duties such as accounting, human resources, payroll, purchasing, and other duties that would usually be handled by other managers or departments in a larger hotel.

Job Description :

a. holding ultimate authority over the hotel operation and usually reports directly to a corporate office or hotel owner.

b. hiring and managing a management team, overall management of hotel staff,

c. budgeting and financial management,

d. creating and enforcing business objectives and goals,

e. managing projects and renovations,

f. Managing the emergencies and other major issues involving guests, employees, or the facility, public relations with the media, local governments, and other businesses,

5. Night Auditor

What :

A night auditor is a person who works at night at the reception of a hotel. He typically handles both the duties of the front desk agent and some of the duties of the accounting department. This is necessitated by the fact that most fiscal days close at or around midnight, and the normal workday of the employees in the accounting department does not extend to cover this time of day. Most hotels currently use computerized property management systems (PMS) to help perform the night audit.

Job Description :

a. ensuring the accuracy of all financial information,

b. gathering all needed paperwork to complete the audit.

c. pulling any or all checked-out guests' registration cards,

d. making sure all guests are checked-out in the system that should be checked-out.

e. posting the day's room rate and room tax to each guest folio at the close of business

f. ensuring that the sum of revenues due to accounts receivable from the various departments

g. printing and delivering the folia (billing receipt) to the guest who are scheduled to leave the next morning

6. Housekeeping Personnel

What :

Housekeeping’ is the usual term for the department that supervises the maids responsible for cleaning the rooms of a hotel or motel.

Job Description :

a. ensuring the cleanliness of all rooms in such a way that a guest would not realize someone had just checked out of the room earlier that same morning.

b. strip every linen off each bed and make each bed according to the hotel standards

c. cleaning and sanitizing before a guest arrives

7. Laundry Staff

What :

Laundry staff is the usual term for the department that is responsible for cleaning the guest’s room property from fabrics, including sheets, pillowcases, comforters and blankets as well as the guest laundry service.

Job Description :

a. washing, drying and folding all linens, including sheets, pillowcases, comforters and blankets.

b. removing stains that may be in any linens, when possible.

c. doing the laundry processes, from marking, washing, pressing, ironing, and sorting, folding, packing, placing or delivering.

8. Accounting

What :

An accountant is a practitioner of accountancy (UK) or accounting (US), which is the measurement, disclosure or provision of assurance about financial information that helps managers, investors, tax authorities and others make decisions about allocating resources.

Job Description :

a. Assisting the accounting and financial experts in budgetary and accounting policies.

b. Drafting plans and accounting statements for presentation to the board of directors and chief financial officer of the firm.

c. In case of mergers and acquisitions, advising the firm by studying the merits of the financial transactions, based on the scientific principles.

d. Helping the institutions in checking the accuracy of the information given in financial matters.

f. Preparing financial reports in case of asset management investments.

g. Excel in the use of computer accounting principles and use them often.

9. Human Resources Staff

What :

Human resource managers seek to achieve this by aligning the supply of skilled and qualified individuals and the capabilities of the current workforce, with the organization's ongoing and future business plans and requirements to maximize return on investment and secure future survival and success.

Job Description :

a. Maintaining awareness of and compliance with local, state and federal labor laws (Department of Labor federal labor law information)

b. Recruitment, selection, and on boarding (resourcing)

c. Employee recordkeeping and confidentiality

d. Organizational design and development

e. Business transformation and change management

f. Performance, conduct and behavior management

g. Industrial and employee relations

h. Human resources (workforce) analysis and workforce personnel data management

i. Compensation and employee benefit management

j. Training and development (learning management)

k. Employee motivation and morale-building (employee retention and loyalty)

10. Marketing Staff

What :

A hotel marketing manager finds creative ways to propel a hotel into the public to boost sales and productivity.

Job Description :

a. finding creative ways to propel a hotel into the public to boost sales and productivity.

b. coordinating tactics for appealing to guests, groups and business clientele looking for the next place to stay for vacation or to host a business meeting.

c. promoting the hotel's services and amenities.

d. creating new clientele such as offering hotel deals and incentives like free welcome drinks,a complimentary massage at the hotel spa, or complimentary use of a business center.

e. learning what travelers want and estimate the cost of including those services

11. Security Guard

What :

A security guard, (or security officer) is usually a privately and formally employed person who is paid to protect property, assets, or people.

Job Description :

a. protect property by maintaining a high visibility presence to deter illegal and inappropriate actions,

b. observing (either directly, through patrols, or by watching alarm systems or video cameras) for signs of crime, fire or disorder

c. taking action and reporting any incidents to their client and emergency services as appropriate.

12. Doorman ( Bouncer)

What :

A doorman (also called porter in UK English) is an individual hired to provide courtesy and security services at a residential building or hotel. They are particularly common in urban luxury highrises.

Job Description :

a. opening doors and screening visitors and deliveries

b. signing for packages

c. carrying luggage between the elevator and the street

d. hailing taxis for residents and guests.

Content credit: (I don't own the credit)
Image credit: andrews.edu

Breast Cancer Information: Be Careful Ladies!

noreply@blogger.com (Lilik Wijayawati) — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 17:00:00 +0000

Breast cancer is the worst dream for every woman. Even though it also occurs in men, the occurrence in women is far higher. It is caused by abnormal cells that grow out of control and affects the tissue of the breast. As a heterogeneous disease, cancer shows different condition on individual, gender, age group and even the cells inside the cancer itself. It is obvious that diagnosed as people with cancer can change one’s whole life. However, breast cancer is not necessarily means they will soon dead. With recent technology on the medication, thousands of women are surviving from it. Each year, more than two hundred thousand women are diagnosed and more than 40,000 die from it. There are some types of breast cancer as well as the causes of breast cancer and breast cancer treatment. Basically, there are two types of cancer, invasive and non-invasive. Invasive or infiltrating cancer can spread to the surrounding tissues of the cancer and even to lymph nodes. In other hand, non-invasive cancer remains on their origin place and don’t spread to other part. Usually, invasive breast cancer is in stage I, II, II and IV while noninvasive one is in stage 0.

Breast Cancer Facts and Early Detections

As mentioned before, breast cancer can occur in both women and men. However the occurrence in women is bigger than men. About one of eight women is suffering from it. Moreover, 70% of woman with cancer are above 50 years old. Other breast cancer facts are about the risk and the early detections. Early detection of breast cancer can be done by doing mammogram or other imaging test like ultrasound and MRI. However, only biopsy (the smear of the tissue to look for cancer) can tell for sure if one has cancer or not. Early detections can make better treatments and actions taken by the doctor. The sooner a cancer is detected, the bigger chance to survive from it. Since it doesn’t give any sign when they are on early stage, the condition of the cancer is often already bad when they are found. Thus make almost 40 percents of it doesn’t survive for their first five years. Indeed early detections are very defining for the survival from the breast cancer.

Treatments of Breast Cancer

Some people are more risky than other when it comes to any type of cancer. No one knows the certain cause of breast cancer, yet some are more likely to have it than others. It is important to note that the risk of it is higher as one gets older. Having abnormal breast cells like lobular carcinoma, atypical hyperplasia and ductal carcinoma in it can raise the risk of invasive breast cancer. Family health history and mutation are other factors that make the occurrence of it higher. Women whose family have had cancer are more likely to have it compared others who don’t. Moreover, people who had radiation therapy in chest, too early when get first menstruation and late menopause are also more risky than others. Since the symptoms of early breast cancer are not obvious, it only appears when reaching invasive cancer stage. The symptoms include thickening breast or in the surrounding area, the change of shape or size of the breast, wrinkle in the skin of the breast, inward breast nipple and discharge of blood and other fluid from the nipple. In many case, the breast, nipple or are surrounded the cancer turn red, scaly, swollen or pitting like the skin of orange.

Basically, the treatments of breast cancer are decided by the stage of the cancer and the conditions of the patients. People with stage 0 or noninvasive cancer will have breast-sparing surgery and radiation therapy. They may also choose total mastectomy over those treatments. People with stage 0 cancer usually receive medications like tamoxifen to control the cells where the cancer occurred. In other side, invasive stages of cancer may have different combinations of treatments based on the size of cancer and the area where it is spread. Some people may choose breast-sparing surgery combined with radiation or mastectomy. The removal of lymph nodes is also possible to be taken for them who are in stage II or IIIA. To control up the breast cancer, some people receive chemotherapy before the surgery. After done the surgery, they will have adjutant therapy. This is intended to decrease the risk of returning cancer. Aside from the cancer treatments, they may also have other medication to reduce the pain and other side effects of it. We all know that cancer is very dangerous disease. Early detections and healthy life style will help many people to reduce the occurrence of breast cancer and to control up the cancer that already appear.

Image credit: ieo.it

Saat Itu

noreply@blogger.com (Lilik Wijayawati) — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 17:00:00 +0000

Pagi ini begitu berbeda. Walaupun jam dinding di kamarku masih menunjukkan pukul 05.30 WIB tetapi, rumah mungil ini, tepatnya rumah kakek nenek ku, telah begitu ramai. Bukan ramai seperti keramaian di pasar atau terminal tetapi, ramai handai taulan saling berbincang di ruang tamu. Sepintas aku mendengar percakapan mereka. Tidak jauh dari berbagai pengalaman dan keadaan satu sama lain di rantau. Tidak semua berbincang memang. Sebagian malah mengantri kamar mandi. Wajar saja keluarga besar dari Tangerang, Solo, dan Surabaya berkumpul semua di rumah berukuran dua puluh kali tiga puluh meter yang hanya memiliki dua kamar mandi ini.

Para kepala keluarga duduk di ruang tamu saling berbalas kata sambil sesekali menghisap rokok mereka. Dapat aku lihat asbak di atas meja ruang tamu tidak luput dari abu rokok mereka. Para ibu sibuk saling membantu menghangatkan ketupat dan masakan lainnya yang sudah disiapkan satu hari yang lalu. Sungguh akrab. Sesekali canda tawa terdengar riuh. Apalagi banyak warga-warga kecil(dibaca: anak-anak kecil) di sini. Tepatnya lima anak balita di sini. Walau tidak banyak yang dapat mereka lakukan. Akan tetapi tingkah mereka terkadang mengundang gelak tawa dari semua yang ada di sana. Sungguh menyenangkan dapat memulai hari dengan begitu banyak kebahagiaan di tengah orang-orang yang berbahagia.

Pagi pun tidak sudi kehilangan momen indah lebaran kali ini. Cuaca begitu cerah. Indah. Masih dapat kudengar kicauan burung-burung kecil yang menempati sangkar di salah satu batang pohon jambu di depan rumah. Suara percikan air terjun buatan di sebelah kanan rumah seperti instrumen alam yang menambah indahnya momen ini. Sesekali suara deru mobil terdengar mengeras dan kemudian mengecil lalu hilang bak alunan biola. Suara gesekan alas kaki beradu saat waktunya tiba untuk kami pergi ke masjid. Aku masih di sini sambil melihat kembali penampilanku di jendela terasku. Pagi ini begitu hijau. Tak hanya alam sekitarku yang masih asri. Hanya saja keluarga besar kami memakai baju yang sewarna, hijau toska. Inilah satu lagi yang jarang kualami di hari biasanya. Aku merasa hawa kekerabatan begitu kental. Seperti kami ini selalu bertemu setiap hari dan bercanda bersama.

Minal Aidin Wal Fa Idzin. Satu kalimat yang selalu menggema di telingaku saat ini. Satu kalimat yang selalu diucapkan mungkin oleh seluruh muslim di dunia untuk mulai meninggalkan tahun yang lama dan menyambut tahun yang baru. Aku di sini sekarang. Berada di sebuah rumah yang tidak terlalu besar namun teduh di tengah kota Semarang yang panasnya bukan main. Aku melepas lelah setelah hampir dua jam sejak pukul 06.30 pagi tadi berada di luar untuk sholat Id dan saling berkunjung ke sanak saudara dan tetangga.

Duduk di atas sebuah bangku plastik mungkin tidaklah terlalu nyaman seperti kursi sofa di rumahku. Namun, cukup nyaman untuk mensirnakan lelahku. Teras ini tidak terlalu luas. Mungkin hanya berukuran empat meter kali enam meter dengan lantai berkeramik hijau lembut. Hanya saja di sinilah momen terpenting itu terjadi. Aku dan keluargaku saling mengucapkan minal aidin wal fa idzin satu sama lain. Bangku yang aku duduki ini adalah bangku yang tadi nenekku duduki saat acara sungkem kami lakukan. Beliau duduk di sini tanpa ada yang menemani di sebelahnya. Kakek sudah tiada sejak tiga tahun lalu. Walaupun begitu masih dapat kulihat seberkas kebahagiaan dan senyum di wajah nenek yang renta. Secara bergilir kami sungkem pada beliau. Dimulai dari anak-anak nenek, termasuk papa. Kemudian dilanjut oleh para menantu, lalu kami cucu-cucunya. Sepintas hal ini tampak biasa. Aku hanya perlu berlutut dan mencium tangan nenekku itu. Tetapi aku merasakan hal yang lebih dari itu. Tiba-tiba saja dadaku terasa sesak dan mata ingin menangis. Saat kusentuh tangan keriput nenek, hal yang tidak biasa terbersit dipikiranku. Nenek begitu baik padaku. Apa aku masih sempat membalas kebaikannya pada waktunya nanti. Aku merasa jahat memikirkan itu. Saat nenek mencium keningku kubiarkan pikiran itu berlalu dengan sendirinya. Yang jelas semua bahagia dan akupun harus bahagia.

Kukembalikan pikiranku ke teras ini. Teras yang setiap sudutnya berdiri kokoh beraneka macam suplir yang indah. Kadang tegak tangkainya, kadang merunduk kekanan atau kekiri mengikuti tiupan angin. Mungkin inilah cara alam saling bersilahturahmi. Pikirku jahil. Berderet tanaman euporbhia dan kamboja mengelilingi setengah dari teras ini. Dari kananku hingga depanku, lalu dibatasi sebuah pot suplir. Bagian yang tak dibatasi euporbhia atau kamboja adalah tempat jalan masuk menuju ke ruang tamu. Hanya selebar satu setengah meter. Di sini tenang dan sejuk. Sangat signifikan dengan jalan raya di depan rumah ini yang panas dengan pasirnya yang bertebangan menyusuri setiap jengkal aspal kering itu. Di depanku berdiri kokoh sebuah pohon jambu batu yang sudah tua. Tahun lalu saat aku ke sini pohon ini sedang berbuah. Namun tidak untuk tahun ini. Setiap alur di batangnya makin menunjukkan betapa tua umurnya. Dahannya bercabang tiga di atas, membuatnya seperti manusia besar yang mengadahkan tangan menyapa yang kuasa. Daun-daunnya yang besar sesekali jatuh menjatuhi jalan berbatu dan euphorbia di bawahnya. Batangnya yang kokoh berongga-rongga menjadi rumah semut-semut merah yang dari tadi berbaris menyusuri pohon jambu batu yang tua.

Aku menundukkan wajahku. Kulihat jalanan berbatu itu tidak lagi sama seperti saat pertama kali kulihat. Batu-batu yang disusun sendiri oleh almarhum kakek saat beliau masih sehat walafiat. Sekarang batu- batu kecil yang tersusun rapi itu telah menyatu dengan lumut-lumut hijau yang lembut. Terlebih lagi di batu-batu yang paling ujung dekat tembok itu. Tempat sebuah pancuran kecil mengairi kolam yang lebih rendah darinya. Bau lumut dan air begitu terasa. Rindangnya pohon membuat lumut menjadi mendapatkan kebebasannya. Percikan air di kolam semakin menyemarakkan suasana.

Aku berlalu masuk ke pintu menuju ruang tamu di sebelah kiri terasku. Ku temukan makanan-makanan kecil tersaji rapi di dalam toples-toples kaca yang lucu dengan tutup berwarna emas berpita di atasnya. Sepintas kulihat kacang mede kesukaanku tersaji di antara toples-toples itu. Ingin kucicipi namun suara ibu yang lembut telah memanggilku untuk segera berkumpul di ruang keluarga. Kulewati beberapa bangku yang berjajar di sekeliling meja kayu itu. Kusibakkan tirai kerang yang membatasi ruang tamu dan ruang keluarga. Hmm. Belum juga kulangkahkan kakiku ke ruang keluarga hidungku sudah dapat mencium aroma berbagai masakan lebaran yang kutunggu. Cepat-cepat kuhampiri sebuah meja di sudut kiri ruangan itu. Wow. Begitu banyak sajian hidangan lebaran terhidang di sana. Hampir-hampir tidak cukup meja kayu itu menampung begitu banyak makanan itu. Dari kiri ke kanan kulihat sambal goreng, opor ayam, rendang, sayur lodeh, sate kambing, sate ayam. Di pojok sekali sebaskom penuh lontong yang masih utuh dengan kulitnya menggunung. Tepat di sebelahnya, berjejer piring-piring besar yang sudah dikupas dan dipotong. Di pojok kanan sepiring besar ketupat tersedia. Agak ke kanan toples-toples kerupuk ikan, emping, dan bawang goreng telah terbuka tutupnya, menunggu untuk dicoba. Hanya satu yang kupikirkan. Masakan apa yang akan kucoba pertama…

Analysis on Poem “Daffodils” by William Wordsworth (1770-1850)

noreply@blogger.com (Lilik Wijayawati) — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 17:00:00 +0000

A. Poem

Daffodils (1804)

(1) I WANDER’D lonely as a cloud / klaƱd /

(2) That floats on high o’er vales and hills / hıls /

(3) When all at once I saw a crowd, / kraƱd /

(4) A host, of golden daffodils / dæfadıls /

(5) Beside the lake, beneath the trees / tri:z /

(6) Fluttering and dancing in the breeze. / bri:z /

(7) Continuous as the stars that shine / ʃaın /

(8) And twinkle on the Milky Way, / weı /

(9) They stretch’d in never ending line / laın /

(10) Along the margin of a bay: / beı /

(11) Ten thousand saw I at a glance, / gla:ns /

(12) Tossing their heads in sprightly dance. / da:ns /

(13) The waves beside them danced; but they / ðeı /

(14) Out-did the sparkling waves in glee; / gli: /

(15) A poet could not but be gay / geı /

(16) In such a jocund company / kᴧmpəni /

(17) I gazed -- and gazed – but little thought / ϴϽ:t /

(18) What wealth the show to me had brought: / brϽ:t /

(19) For oft, when on my couch I lie / laı /

(20) In vacant or in pensive mood / mu:d /

(21) They flash upon that inward eye / aı /

(22) Which is the bliss of solitude; / sɒlıtju:d /

(23) And then my heart with pleasure fills, / fıls /

(24) And dances with the daffodils. / dæfadıls /

B. Analysis

1. Devices in Poetry

“Device in poetry is a technique or tool used in poetry, which helps to improve the quality of poetry and is not applied in any other form of writing.”

No	Device	Device in “Daffodils”	Explanation
1	Contraction	(1) WANDER’D (2) o’ver (9) stretch’d	WANDERED over stretched
2	Inversion	(11) Ten thousand saw I at a glance, (18) What wealth the show to me had brought: (19) For oft, when on my couch I lie (23) And then my heart with pleasure fills,	At a glance, I saw ten thousand, What wealth the show had brought to me: For often, When I lie on my coach And then my heart fills with pleasure,
3	Omission/Ellipsis	(6) Fluttering and dancing in the breeze. (7) Continuous as the stars that shine (12) Tossing their heads in sprightly dance. (15) A poet could not but be gay	(They were) fluttering and dancing in the breeze. (They were) continuous as the stars that shine (Which were) tossing their heads in sprightly dance. A poet could not (do) but be gay
4	The use of archaic words	(19) oft	often
5	End-stopped line and run-on line	End-stopped line: - Run-on line: all (1) – (24)	-

2. Element: Subject and Theme

“Subject is a central concept that is developed indirectly (through symbol); A theme is a central concept that is developed directly (without symbol)”

No	Element	Element in “Daffodils”	Explanation
1	Subject	-	There is no symbol.
2	Theme	The beauty and the joy of daffodils	-

3. Element: Message

“Message is the basic idea that the poet wants to convey in a poem through the theme.”

No	Element	Element in “Daffodils”	Explanation
3	Message	1…Just fill your empty mood with pleasure given by the memory of natural beauty. 2… Just be happy for your surroundings if lonely, just like daffodils. 3…Learn from the nature.	1…Implicitly stated in the fourth stanza. “(20) In vacant or in pensive mood \| (21) They flash upon that inward eye \| (23) And then my heart with pleasure fills,” 2… Implicitly stated in the first stanza. “(5) Beside the lake, beneath the trees \| (6) Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.” Daffodils are always happy for the existence of the lake, the trees, and the breeze. 3… Implicitly stated in the third stanza. “(13) The waves beside them danced \| (15) A poet could not but be gay” Daffodils bring bliss to their surroundings.

4. Element: Tone

“Tone is the feeling/nuances/general situation that a poem creates”

No	Element	Element in “Daffodils”	Explanation
4	Tone	1…Impressive 2…Joyful	1…The author is impressed at the beauty of daffodils and considers them “(18) wealth” that creates “(22) bliss” 2…The author uses some connotations of joy such as “(12) sprightly”, “(14) glee”, “(15) gay”, “(16) jocund”, “(22) bliss” and “(23) pleasure”

5. Speaker

“Speaker is the person who speaks in a poem.”

No	Element	Element in “Daffodils”	Explanation
5	Speaker	First speaker/ Autobiographical speaker	The author uses I and my. He wants to tell his experience directly to the readers.

6. Setting of Place and Setting of Time

“Setting of place is the place in which the poem is located (where it is set); Setting of time is the historical period of time in which the poem is set (when it is set)”

No	Element	Element in “Daffodils”	Explanation
6	Setting of Place	Exterior setting: 1…a road near to a lake and a daffodil field that are positioned lower than the road 2…a couch	1…“(1) I WANDER’D lonely as a cloud \| (5) Beside the lake, beneath the trees, \| Ten thousand saw I at a glance” 2…“(19) For oft, when on my couch I lie”
7	Setting of Time	1…on a sunny, breezy day 2…in the spring	1…“(4) A host, of golden daffodils;” Yellow daffodils are considered golden under the sunlight. “(6) Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.” Daffodils look like dancing because of the breeze. 2…Blooming flowers, breeze and vivid sunlight are the characteristics of the spring.

7. Rhyme (Type and Patter)

“Rhyme is the repetition of sounds”

No	Element	Element in “Daffodils”	Explanation
8	Rhyme: Type	1…Based on the fullness: Full rhyme 2…Based on the position: End rhyme	1…Some vowels following consonants in open syllables are identical, some vowels and any following consonants in closed syllables are identical. 2…Rhyme is positioned at the end of lines.
9	Rhyme: Pattern	Stanza 1: ABABCC Stanza 2: DEDEFF Stanza 3: EGEGHH Stanza 4: IJIJBB

8. Rhythm

“Rhythm is the arrangement or pattern of accented/stressed and unaccented/unstressed syllables”

No	Element	Element in “Daffodils”	Explanation
10	Rhythm	Metrical pattern: iambic tetrameter	Each line has four iambs.

9. Figures of Speech

“Figures of Speech is a deviation from what speakers of a language apprehend as the ordinary, or standard, significance or sequence of words, in order to achieve some special meaning or effect.”

No	Element	Element in “Daffodils”	Explanation
11	Figures of Speech	1…Asyndeton (5) Beside the lake, beneath the trees, 2…Simile (1) I WANDER’D lonely as a cloud \| That floats on high o’er vales and hills, (7) Continuous as the stars that shine \| And twinkle on the Milky Way, (16) In such a jocund company 3…Personification (6) Fluttering and dancing in the breeze. (7) They stretch’d in never ending line (12) Tossing their heads in sprightly dance. (13) The waves beside them danced; but they (14) Out-did the sparkling waves in glee; (24) And dances with the daffodils. 4…Epizuexis (5) Beside the lake, beneath the trees (17) I gazed -- and gazed – but little thought 5…Epistrophe (4) A host, of golden daffodils (24) And dances with the daffodils. 6… Imagery: Visual (3) When all at once I saw a crowd (11) Ten thousand saw I at a glance,	1…Several parallel and consecutive forms (words, phrases, or clauses) which are not connected with any conjunction. 2…An direct comparison, in which something is compared to something else using such words as: like, as, seem, etc. 3…A depiction of an inanimate object, plant, or animal/non-human or lifeless things as a human being. 4…Consecutive repetition in a line. 5…Repetition at the end of lines 6…An expression that refers to any sensory experience, in this case: visual sensory.

10. Form of Stanza

“Stanza is a group of lines in a poem and separated from other stanzas by providing more spaces. A stanza can also be of any length; it may consist of a single line or more.”

No	Element	Element in “Daffodils”	Explanation
11	Stanza: Form	Closed-form poem Sestet	It has the same number of lines in each stanza – 6 lines, a regular sum and a regular rhyme pattern ABABCC, etc. It contains six lines for each stanza

11. Type of Poem

No	Element	Element in “Daffodils”	Explanation
12	Type of Poem	Lyric poem (ode)	It expresses the poet’s feeling.

12. Genre

No	Element	Element in “Daffodils”	Explanation
13	Genre	Romanticism	It expresses the beauty of nature and uses the elements of nature such as “(1) cloud”, “(2) vales”, “(2) hills”, “(4) daffodils”, “(5) lake”, “(5) trees”, “(6) breeze”, “(7) stars”, “(8) the Milky Way”, “(10) bay” and “(13) waves”.

13. Background of Author

William Wordsworth is a well-known romantic poet who believed in conveying simple and creative expressions through his poems. In English literature, Wordsworth was one of the pioneers in the development of the Romantic Movement, or romanticism, a movement that championed imagination and emotions as more powerful than reason and systematic thinking.

Nature was a guiding force to the romantic poet. Romanticism began in the mid-1700's as a rebellion against the principles of classicism. It promoted subjectivity, emotional effusiveness, and freedom of expression.

14. Background of Poem
William Wordsworth's "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” is a lyric poem focusing on the poet's response to the beauty of nature. The final version of the poem was first published in Collected Poems in 1815. An earlier version was published in Poems in Two Volumes in 1807 as a three-stanza poem. The final version has four stanzas. Wordsworth wrote the earlier version in 1804, two years after seeing the lakeside daffodils that inspired the poem.

15. Background of Setting
The poem recaptures a moment on April 15, 1802, when Wordsworth and his sister, Dorothy, were walking near a lake at Grasmere, Cumbria County, England, and came upon a shore lined with daffodils.

Grasmere is in northwestern England's Lake District, between Morecambe Bay on the south and the Solway Firth on the north. The Lake District extends twenty-five miles east to west and thirty miles north to south. Among its attractions are England’s highest mountain, Scafell Pike (3,210 feet), and Esthwaite Lake and other picturesque meres radiating outward, like the points of a star, from the town of Grasmere. The Lake District was the haunt of not only Wordsworth but also poets Robert Southey, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and Thomas De Quincey.

Wordsworth and his sister, Dorothy, moved to a cottage at Grasmere in 1799. After Wordsworth married in 1802, his wife resided there also. The family continued to live there until 1813. Dorothy, who kept a diary, described what she and her brother saw on that April day in 1802:

“When we were in the woods beyond Gowbarrow park we saw a few daffodils close to the water side, we fancied that the lake had floated the seeds ashore & that the little colony had so sprung up— But as we went along there were more & yet more & at last under the boughs of the trees, we saw that there was a long belt of them along the shore, about the breadth of a country turnpike road . . . [S]ome rested their heads on [mossy] stones as on a pillow for weariness & the rest tossed & reeled & danced & seemed as if they verily laughed with the wind that blew upon them over the Lake, they looked so gay ever glancing ever changing. This wind blew directly over the lake to them. There was here & there a little knot & a few stragglers a few yards higher up but they were so few as not to disturb the simplicity & unity & life of that one busy highway... —Rain came on, we were wet.”

16. Bibliography

Cummings, Michael J., “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud”. Cummings Study Guide. 18 April 2013.

Thanks to my discussion group:

Lili

Wanelga F. Chasel

M. Izmir Alkatiri

Image credit:
redbubble.com

Film Review "The Kite Runner"

noreply@blogger.com (Lilik Wijayawati) — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 17:00:00 +0000

Tittle: The Kite Runner
Author: Khaled Hosseini
Actor/Actress: Khalid Abdalla, Ahmad Khan, Mahmidzada, Atossa Leoni, Shaun Toub
Sutradara: Marc Forster (2007)
Genre: Drama

What does it tell about?
This film was adoptived from a novel with same tittle that was written by Khaled Hosseini. The film is about two hours. The Kite Runner tells about a friendship of two children who have different social class. Their name are Amir Khan and Hassan.

Characters
Main characters from this film is Amir Khan. He is a Baba’s child.. Amir Khan lives in luxurious life because his father is a rich person in Afghanistan. Baba is an anticommunist person. He is a famous person in Afghanistan because of his kindness and braveness to communist. Another important character is Hassan. Hassan is Amir Khan’s bestfriend. He has a different life with Amir. He is a child of a housekeeper in Amir Khan’s house. His father’s name is Ali. To be a Amir Khan’s bestfriend is a difficult thing to do because Ali and Hassan are a Hazzara( the lowest social class in Afghanistan). Another character is Amir Khan’s uncle, Rahim Khan. Rahim Khan is an important person for Amir Khan because Rahim Khan always give Amir Khan spirit to be an author. There is some bad characters in this film, they are Sheff and his friends. They will give the changing of the friendship from Amir Khan and Hassan. In the last part of the film, there is a new character. His name is Sohrab, Hassan’s son.

Background
This film shows the culture of Afghanistan very well. We can see the condition of economics, politics, social, and security there. At the time, we will see the war situation that is very sadness. Many people there are killed without a clear reason.

Plot and Summary
This film uses flashback plot. The story began when Amir Khan who lived in America got a phone from his uncle, Rahim Khan, in order to come to meet him in Irak. At the moment, he remembered what else has happened in his childhood. Living in a rich family didn’t make him happy. His father considered him as a murder of his mother. It because his mother died when he was born. As a result, he became a quite and calm boy. Amir Khan had a bestfriend, named Hassan. Hassan came from poor family. He didn’t have mother since he was child. Hassan always took care of Amir Khan. Hassan always tried to make Amir Khan safe.

Amir Khan became an egotistical person. One day, Amir Khan won a kite competition. In Afghanistan, playing kite was a popular game. At the end, Hassan wanted to get the rival kite for Amir Khan. Suddenly, there were three bad boy came and hurted Hassan. It because Hassan don’t want to give his kite that will be given for Amir Khan. At the same time, Amir Khan found Hassan and he saw when the three boys hurted Hassan, but he did nothing. In addition, Amir Khan don’t want to be a Hassan bestfriend again. He made Hassan and his father went out from his house.

Not a long time from the moment, Amir Khan and her father went to America because communist found them to be killed. In fact, Uni Soviet was invating Afghanistan when they escaped. In America, Baba do hard work to spend Amir tuition. Baba was successful father because he could Amir passed in his college. After finishing his study, Amir worked as an author. He also married Soraya, a daughter of his father friend.

His mind went back to the time when he got a phone. He decided to go to Irak. Finally, Amir Khan met with his uncle. His uncle said that he had to take Hassan’s son, named Sohrab, from Taliban. From that moment, he gave the best of his spirit to help this child. Fortunately, He was successful. He took this child as his child. He helped Sohrab because he felt that Sohrab’s father was the best person for him.

Values
There are some values in this Afghanistan film. This film is made to show a friendship between two child with different culture. They are Amir Khan and Hassan. Amir Khan is one of rich people from upper class in Afghanistan. Hassan is a poor child from lower class, called Hazzara. In this film, people can see a loyalty and treason in the same time. Eventhough this film is made by an India director of stage film and is acted by Afganistan actors, it has same values with West films. For example: individuality, achievement and success, humanity, education, activities and working, and freedom.

1. Achievement and Success
This value we can see from how Amir Khan and his father went to America because of chaos in Afghanistan. I’ am sure it is a brave choice. They got ready to leave their rich and position in Afghanistan to have freedom in America. The father works as low job. It’s because to spent Amir Khan’s college. Finally, Amir Khan could pass from the college and then Amir Khan tried to be author. They had showed their good achievement.

2. Humanity
Humanity can we find from scene when Amir Khan in America came back to Afghanistan.He found Hassan child, Sahrob, in the chaos of Afghanistan. He thought that helping Sahrob is an important thing to do because Sahrob’s father is a special people for him.

3. EducationIn this film we can see that people in all condition always thought that education is important. Amir Khan try to pass his study in America eventhough he and his father didn’t have anything again. And then there is obsession from his father to see his child become a doctor. He think that doctor is good job. It is same with Indonesia nowadays. Indonesia people begin to realize how important to give education for their children. Indonesia people doesn’t think that riches and possition from parents always can help their future like before.

4. Freedom
There is a wish to get freedom in this film. We can see from scene when Amir Khan and his father went to America because of invation Uni Soviet in Afghanistan. They want to get their new life in America. If they didn’t go to America, there is possible that Amir’s father will be killed because his father opposed communist very much. He defended Afghanistan right as long as his life.

7 Sapta Pesona Pariwisata Indonesia

noreply@blogger.com (Lilik Wijayawati) — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 17:00:00 +0000

Makna logo Sapta Pesona dilambangkan dengan Matahari yang bersinar sebanyak 7 buah yang terdiri atas unsur Kemanan, Ketertiban, Kebersihan, Kesejukan, Keindahan, Keramahan, dan Kenangan.

Tujuan diselenggarakan program Sapta Pesona adalah untuk meningkatkan kesadaran, rasa tanggung jawab segenap lapisan masyarakat, baik pemerintah, swasta maupun masyarakat luas untuk mampu bertindak dan mewujudkannya dalam kehidupan sehari-hari.

1. Keamanan
Wisatawan akan senang berkunjung ke suatu tempat apabila merasa aman, tenteram, merasa terlindungi dan bebas dari :
a. Penyakit yang menyerang.
b. Kecelakaan yang disebabkan oleh alat perlengkapan dan fasilitas yang kurang baik, seperti kendaraan, peralatan, alat perlengkapan lainnya.
c. Gangguan oleh masyarakat, antara lain berupa pemaksaan oleh pedagang, ucapan atau tindakan yang tidak bersahabat.
d. Tindakan kekerasan seperti pencopetan, penodongan, penipuan dan lainnya.

2. Ketertiban
Kondisi yang tertib merupakan sesuatu yang sangat didambakan oleh setiap orang termasuk wisatawan.
Implementasi dari kondisi tersebut antara lain :
a. lalu lintas tertib,
b. bangunan yang tersusun rapi,
c. pelayanan yang baik,
d. informasi yang benar dan tidak membingungkan.

3. Kebersihan
Bersih merupakan suatu keadaan/kondisi lingkungan yang menampilkan suasana lingkungan dan bebas dari kotoran.

4. Kenyamanan
Lingkungan yang serba hijau, segar, rapi memberikan suana yang nyaman bagi wisatawan.

5. Keindahan
Keindahan merupakan keadaan atau suasana yang menarik dan enak dipandang. Indah dapat dilihat dari berbagai segi, seperti warna, gerak, tekstur dan sebagainya.

6. Keramah-tamahan
Keramah – tamahan merupakan suatu sikap dan perilaku seseorang yang menunjukkan keakraban, sopan, tingkah laku, senyum dan menarik hati. Sikap ramah tamah merupakan salah satu obyek daya tarik wisatawan, oleh karena itu harus kita pertahankan.

7. Kenangan
Kenangan dapat berupa yang indah dan menyenangkan. Kenangan yang indah dapat diciptakan dengan antara lain: akomodasi yang nyaman, bersihm dan sehat, suasana yang mencerminkan ciri khas suatu daerah bentuk dan gaya bangunan serta hiasannya.

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Values Seen In "The Kite Runner"

noreply@blogger.com (Lilik Wijayawati) — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 17:00:00 +0000

There are some values in this Afghanistan film. This film is made to show a friendship between two children coming from different cultures, they are Amir Khan and Hassan. Amir Khan is one of rich people from the upper class in Afghanistan. Hassan is a poor child from the lower class, called Hazzara. In this film, people can see loyalty and treason in the same time. Even though this film is made by an India director of stage film and is acted by Afghanistan actors, it loads similar values to Western films, for example: individuality, achievement and success, humanity, education, activities and working and freedom.

Individuality

This value is shown when Amir Khan did not help his bestfriend, Hassan, who is overwhelmed by three older boys. At that time, Amir Khan won a kite competition. As a good friend, Hassan wanted to get a kite from an Amir’s rival. Three older boys cought Hassan. Amir Khan knew it. He just hid, and then he left Hassan alone there. He did not defend Hassan and received the kite from Hassan without feeling sorry for his treason. I think this egoism is not too much in Indonesia. The basis of our ancestor's culture is to help others. It is because we are one big family in Indonesia, and helping our family is a must. But sometimes, because of the financial difficulty, people turn to be egoist.

Achievement and Success
This value we can see from how Amir Khan and his father went to America because of the chaos in Afghanistan. I am sure, it is a brave choice. They got ready to leave their rich and position in Afghanistan to have freedom in America. The father works as a low job for spending Amir Khan to a college. Finally, Amir Khan was graduated from the college, and he tried to be an author. They had showed their good achievement. This value is same with our culture. But, our culture is not that much.

Humanity
Humanity can we find from the scene when Amir Khan in America came back to Afghanistan. He found Hassan child, Sahrob, in the chaos of Afghanistan. He thought that helping Sahrob is an important thing to do because Sahrob’s father is a special person for him. Our culture is paying tribute to humanity. Not only as our ancestor culture but also as our regulation.

Education
In this film, we can see that people in all conditions always think that education is important. Amir Khan tried to finish his study in America even though his father and him had nothing. And, there was an obsession from his father to see his child become a doctor. He thought that doctor was a good job. It is same with Indonesia nowadays. Indonesia people begin to realize how important it is to give education for their children. Indonesia people do not think that wealth and possition from parents can always help their future.

Activities and Working
In this film, we can see that working and doing activities are need. Amir Khan’s father did it. Eventhough he had been old and sick, he tried to work as usual. There is a little different in this culture. In fact, Indonesia people do not think that working is a need. They think that working is a way to get money. So, many people do not do their best in this case. It can affect their achievement. It’s a very little number of people who can get their own career by themselves.

Freedom
There is a wish to get freedom in this film. We can see from the scene when Amir Khan and his father went to America because of the invasion of Uni Soviet in Afghanistan. They want to get their new life in America. If they did not go to America, it was possible that Amir’s father would be killed because his father opposed communist so much. He defended Afghanistan right through his life. I think it is also part of Indonesian culture. Our country is a democratic country. It means that everyone can claim their right or freedom; but sometimes, there are many people who cannot claim their freedom because they are in the lower class. However, there are many ways to help them. One of the ways is mass media. Mass media's freedom shows the success of this country.

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Seni Korupsi Jalanan

noreply@blogger.com (Lilik Wijayawati) — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 17:00:00 +0000

Beberapa hari yang lalu saya sempat membaca sebuah artikel menarik berjudul “Bisnis Orang Kuat di Tangan Si Kecil” di Harian Kompas, 8 April 2010. Artikel tersebut menguak bagaimana orang-orang kecil - yang uang hasil kerjanya hanya cukup untuk makan saja- di Jakarta mampu memberikan atasannya masukan hingga Rp. 300.000,00 per hari dengan menjadi tukang parkir. Tidak disangka sebuah pekerjaan yang selama ini dipandang sebelah mata oleh kebanyakan orang ternyata mampu memberikan masukan hingga 20 miliar dalam setahun untuk negara.

Mungkin Anda yang baru mengetahui hal ini akan terkejut melihat sebuah pekerjaan yang nyaris tanpa modal dan keahlian mampu menghasilkan uang dalam jumlah yang fantastis. Akan tetapi, angka itu seharusnya dapat mencapai tujuh kali lipatnya atau bahkan lebih. Kenyataan ini yang dikuak oleh penulis berdasarkan survei langsung di berbagai lahan parkir dan data Unit Pelaksanaan Teknis Perparkiran Pemerintah Provinsi DKI Jakarta. Dari survei tersebut diketahui bahwa rata – rata pendapatan lahan parkir sepanjang 15 meter menghasilkan Rp 400.000,00 per harinya. Dari seluruh pendapatan itu hanya Rp. 50.000,00 yang masuk ke dalam kas negara. Sebagian besar sisanya sebanyak Rp 300.000,00 akan dibayarkan pada “koordinator” tukang parkir. Akhirnya tukang parkir hanya mendapat sekitar Rp. 50.000,00.

Hal itu sangat menarik untuk diperbincangkan, hanya saja saya ingin melihat hal itu bukan lagi dari sudut pandang tukang parkir tetapi dari sudut pandang pengguna jalan. Saya beralih ke kota Yogyakarta yang penuh dengan lahan parkir liar di sepanjang jalan. Melihat kenyataan Yogyakarta hampir sama ramainya dengan Jakarta, saya berasumsi pendapatan parkir di Yogyakarta sama dengan di Jakarta. Yang menjadi pertanyaan saya adalah mengapa biaya parkir yang ditanggung pengguna jalan masih begitu mahal sedangkan biaya yang masuk ke negarapun sebenarnya hanya sedikit. Lalu untuk apa dan kemana sebenarnya biaya parkir itu? Toh, kebanyakan lahan parkir di Yogyakarta pun sebenarnya bukan khusus lahan parkir melainkan bahu jalan umum.

Sebaiknya, pemerintah Yogyakarta merefleksikan kembali aturan perparkiran di kota ini. Akan sangat disayangkan lahan parkir yang nyatanya mengganggu aktivitas jalan raya dan lagi tidak memberikan masukan yang selayaknya didapatkan negara dibiarkan begitu saja. Yang terpenting adalah jangan biarkan Kota Seni Yogyakarta dicemari pula oleh Seni Korupsi Jalanan!

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Perjudian: Alternatif Ekonomi atau Masalah Sosial?

noreply@blogger.com (Lilik Wijayawati) — Sun, 31 Oct 2010 17:00:00 +0000

Tahun 2010 perjudian dilegalkan. Mengapa tidak? Perjudian di Indonesia diatur dalam UU No 7 Tahun 1974 tentang Penertiban Perjudian. Judi sendiri diartikan dalam Pasal 303 ayat (3) WvS (terjemahan Indonesia versi BPHN) sebagai “tiap – tiap permainan dimana pada umumnya kemungkinan mendapat untung bergantung pada peruntungan belaka, juga karena pemainnya lebih terlatih atau lebih mahir. Di situ termasuk segala pertaruhan tentang keputusan perlombaan atau permainan lain-lainnya yang tidak diadakan antara mereka yang turut berlomba atau bermain, demikian juga pertaruhan lainnya.

“Yang membuat saya bertanya-tanya adalah kalimat “juga karena pemainnya terlatih atau lebih mahir”. Saya tidak tahu apakah Anda sependapat dengan saya bahwa kata “terlatih” dan “mahir” lebih cocok digunakan untuk sesuatu yang baik, dalam hal ini seperti permainan atau perlombaan. Lalu apakah itu berarti judi itu permainan atau perlombaan? UU No 7 Tahun 1974 pada pasal 1 menyatakan bahwa segala jenis perjudian dinyatakan sebagai kejahatan, untuk itu Pasal 542 WvS yang semula judi di jalanan umum dinyatakan sebagai pelanggaran telah berubah menjadi kejahatan dan Pasal 542 WvS diubah menjadi Pasal 303 bis WvS. Satu lagi yang menarik untuk disimak dalam pasal ini. Pasal di atas menyatakan bahwa segala judi di jalanan umum dinyatakan sebagai kejahatan. Apakah itu berarti perjudian yang terlokalisasi diperbolehkan? Jikalau dua pernyataan saya mengenai dua pasal di atas benar mestinya sudah cukup untuk saya mengatakan judi legal.

Akan tetapi tidak semudah itu permasalahannya. Sudah tidak terhitung lagi berapa banyak orang menghujat aksi perjudian dengan mengatasnamakan agama. Indonesia adalah negara yang berke-Tuhan-an sehingga segala peraturan memang diarahkan sesuai dengan ajaran agama. Sadarkah Anda selama ini kita begitu mudah mengadopsi pikiran-pikiran yang kadang hanya menjunjung kekolotan berpikir. Padahal ada sesuatu mendasar yang luput dari pemikiran. Indonesia memang negara berke-Tuhan-an (beragama). Namun, bukan sebagai negara Islam yang segala ajaran-ajarannya diambil dari Al-qur’an atau As-sunnah. Semenjak empat belas abad silam, agama Islam mengharamkan judi secara mutlak bagi pemeluk-pemeluknya. Bahkan dalam hukum Islam jika seorang muslim tertangkap sedang berjudi, maka ia akan menghadapi tuntutan pidana (uqubat), baik cambuk maupun penjara (ta'zir) oleh peradilan Islam. Meski demikian Islam sendiri menjamin dan melindungi hak-hak kaum minoritas di kalangan musim. Di Indonesia lima agama besar hidup dalam satu nafas Pancasila. Kebetulan saja agama Islam menjadi agama mayoritas sebab pemeluk agama Islam Indonesia memang banyak, bahkan terbesar di dunia. Mungkin karena hal ini maka peraturan atau undang-undang di negara kita pun turut mengadopsi peraturan dalam agama Islam. Salah satunya adalah pelarangan perjudian (QS. Al Maidah : 90).

Yang menjadi pertanyaan adalah apakah semua agama melarang adanya perjudian? Nyatanya tidak. Dalam agama Khatolik perjudian tidak dilarang meskipun juga tidak secara khusus dianjurkan. Khatolik sedikit mengenal haram dan dari sekian yang sedikit itu, judi tidak termasuk. (Franz Magis Suseno mengomentari surat pembaca Romo Alfons S. Suhardi dalam Suara Pembaruan, sebagaimana dimuat majalah Tempo, 23 Nopember 1991). Tidak ada pelarangan judi dalam Khatolik karena dalam Kitab Suci tidak ada acuan yang eksplisit, begitu pula dalam teologis. (Jawaban tertulis Konferensi Waligereja Indonesia (KWI) kepada majalah Tempo perihal SDSB. Tempo, 23 Nopember 1991).

Lalu mengapa mereka yang bukan agama Islam juga dibatasi untuk berjudi? Apakah ini sebagai bentuk toleransi beragama seperti yang terdapat pada sila pertama? Menurut saya tidak. Itu adalah satu bentuk pengekangan hak secara implisit. Secara historis, Indonesia adalah negara yang merdeka atas perjuangan berbagai pihak dengan latar belakang daerah dan agama yang berbeda sehingga tidak dapat dipungkiri bahwa semua kalangan itu berhak mendapat kebebasan yang sama. Apakah tidak lebih baik pelarangan perjudian hanya untuk kalangan agama tertentu yang memang melarangnya? Dengan begitu pemeluk agama lain tidak akan terkekang kebebasannya. Indonesia sebaiknya tidak melupakan bahwa bangsa ini adalah bangsa yang majemuk. Sudah saatnya umat Islam Indonesia mau terbuka, berpikir dewasa, dan belajar dari bangsa yang lain. Pada dasarnya kita tidak hidup sendirian di negara ini. Kita memiliki kelompok minoritas di luar agama kita. Oleh karena itu, tidak mungkin berpikiran seperti umat Islam di Semenanjung Arab yang notabene semua penduduknya Islam sehingga mereka dapat menerapkan ajaran Islam secara murni.

Lalu apa yang harus diperbaiki dari peraturan yang sudah ada? Pastilah jawabannya pelegalan perjudian di bumi pertiwi dengan membuat suatu lokalisasi perjudian di pulau tertentu. Pasti banyak orang yang tidak menyetujui hal ini. Saya juga menduga bahwa alasan yang diberikan pasti tidak jauh dari masalah agama dan sosial. Maka saya kembali lagi ingin menekankan bahwa Indonesia terdiri atas lima agama dan tidak semua agama melarang perjudian. Maka saatnya Islam memilih apa yang sebaiknya dilakukan. Apakah pantas Islam menjadi egois terhadap hak penganut lain hanya karena mereka berbeda prinsip? Saya pikir Islam tidak sekolot itu.

Kembali lagi ke pelokalisasian perjudian di bumi pertiwi. Sejak jaman ORBA pemberantasan perjudian berikut paket undang-undangnya sudah digembor-gemborkan. Namun kenyataannya pemerintahan malah melegalkan permainan-permainan yang mengarah pada perjudian seperti NALO, TSSB, KSOB, PORKAS, terakhir SDSB. Jadi, memang sejak awal pemerintah menyadari betul keuntungan dari perjudian. Hanya saja pemerintah tidak akan berani membolehkan itu secara hukum karena massa Islam yang banyak. Dan mereka tidak akan mau dicap sebagai perusak moral bangsa. Saya sendiri tidak yakin perjudian itu merusak moral bangsa. Membiarkan suap menyuap dalam institusi pendidikan lebih cocok dikatakan sebagai perusak moral tetapi mengapa tidak ada tindakan tegas dari pemerintah? Sebaiknya hal-hal seperti itu harus lebih dipikirkan. Lebih jauh lagi jika ditelaah, lokalisasi perjudian berguna untuk mempersempit ruang perjudian ke daerah pemukiman seperti yang terjadi sekarang ini. Perjudian yang terselubung akan berdampak lebih besar. Dalam kaidah fikih Islam "jika ada dua bahaya, maka harus diambil salah satu bahaya yang beresiko kecil", "Menolak bahaya harus didahulukan, daripada mengambil manfaat".

Bahkan ide lokalisasi perjudian sempat muncul dari mantan Gubernur DKI Sutiyoso dan disetujui oleh Bupati Kepulauan Seribu dengan menyiapkan 36 pulau untuk dipilih yang paling cocok. Lokalisasi perjudian juga pernah dilakukan di Pulau Seribu pada jaman Ali Sadikin menjadi Gubernur DKI. Dari perjudian ini mengalirlah dana pajak yang digunakan untuk membangun Jakarta. Masjid Istiqlal juga dibangun jaman Ali Sadikin juga dari hasil judi. Jika Islam mengharamkan semua uang dari perjudian, mengapa masih tetap membanggakan Istiqlal sebagai masjid terbesar di Jakarta? Hal itu perlu menjadi refleksi umat Islam semua. Dapat dibayangkan betapa cepat dana mengalir dari perjudian yang terlokalisasi itu. Sebuah pulau kecil di Utara Jawa mampu membiayai sebuah ibukota negara yang sedang dalam perbangunan. Apakah bukti itu kurang untuk cukup mengatakan Indonesia yang terseret-seret antara kemiskinan dan hutang butuh lokalisasi seperti itu lagi?

Sebenarnya saya enggan mengambil Malaysia sebagai contoh, namun memang kita patutnya berkaca pada Malaysia. Malaysia lebih ekstrem dari Indonesia dalam penerapan ajaran Islam, namun mereka memiliki Genting Highland sebagai tempat lokalisasi perjudian. Hasilnya? Sebagai negara yang lebih muda dari Indonesia mereka malah lebih maju. Toh, Mesir yang mempunyai Universitas Al-Azhar (dan banyak orang Indonesia yang belajar Islam di sana) saja punya lokalisasi perjudian sendiri.

Jika masih saja ada yang mempermasalahkan hukum di sini, mari kita lihat bagaimana kerja aparat dalam menegakkan pelarangan judi di Indonesia? Nyatanya aparatpun kewalahan melakukannya atau lebih tepatnya malah seakan membiarkan itu terjadi karena pasal yang mereka buat saja ambigu. Penegak hukum tidak berdaya jika para pengelola perjudian atau pemain judi telah mengantongi izin dari pemerintah. Undang-undang 'hanya' melarang perjudian yang tanpa izin. Jadi, selama ketentuan Pasal 303 dan 303 KUHP di atas hanya melarang judi tanpa izin, dan tidak melarang segala bentuk judi, maka secara yuridis penegak hukum akan mengalami kesulitan memberantas perjudian.

Lagipula negara ini butuh suntikan dana yang sangat besar. Bahkan karenanya, bayi yang baru lahir saja sudah memiliki beban hutang luar negeri mencapai angka milyaran. Apakah kita mau terus menerus berhutang dengan negara lain? Berhutang sama saja kita telah menyediakan lebih banyak hak pada negara pemberi hutang itu. Hasilnya kita akan merasa berhutang budi dengan negara tersebut. Kemandirian kita secara tidak langsung telah dirampas. Jadi, untuk mendapatkan dana dari luar tanpa mempunyai hutang budi perlu adanya legalisasi perjudian.

Mungkin orang akan berpikir bahwa manfaat judi untuk bidang ekonomi tidak seberapa besar dibandingkan dampaknya untuk moral dan sosial bangsa ini. Sekarang mari kita pikirkan bersama. Genting Highland Malaysia menghasilkan milyaran tiap minggunya. Dengan menyamakan aliran dana itu, lokalisasi perjudian selama setahun mungkin akan memberikan dana pembangunan untuk melunasi hutang luar negeri bahkan untuk pembangunan selama lima tahun ke depan. Terbebas dari hutang, pemerintah dapat lebih memikirkan pembangunan negara. Jika saja pembangunan telah tercapai dengan dana perjudian itu berarti pemerintah dapat langsung memberikan perhatiannnya untuk kelayakan hidup warganya. Subsidi bahan bakar dan bahan makanan bukan lagi sebuah mimpi. Dengan tercapainya masyarakat yang layak dalam pangan, sandang, dan papnnya saya yakin tingkat kriminal akan menurun drastis. Kehidupan moral pun akan meningkat dengan sendirinya. apakah akan berhenti cukup disana? Tidak. Pemerintah dapat saja meningkatkan mutu SDM dengan sekolah gratis dan balai-balai latihan kerja. Dengan mutu SDM yang tinggi maka kenyataan menjadi negara maju sudah di depan mata. Satu lagi yang perlu ditekankan bahwa yang mendapat keuntungan disini adalah SELURUH rakyat Indonesia tanpa terkecuali.

Sadarkah anda bahwa Indonesia terpuruk dari segala tindakan amoral tidak lain karena faktor ekonomi. Lalu mengapa tidak kita perbaiki dari akar permasalahannya. Untuk mencapai itu tentu saja harus ada yang diperjuangkan. Perjuangan itu adalah menyingkirkan kemunafikan dan keegoisan kita menghadapi realita bangsa ini. Toh, tanpa dilegalkan pun perjudian masih dan telah merajalela. Tanpa kita sadari pertukaran uang dari judi beredar tidak terkendali. Apakah tidak lebih baik pemerintah dapat memantau perjudian itu daripada harus main petak umpet dan akhirnya pemerintah tidak dapat apa-apa. Dapat saja pemerintah memberi peraturan tambahan agar penjudi yang ingin berjudi di lokasi tersebut harus menyiapkan setengah dari dana judi untuk dimasukkan kas negara alih-alih untuk ijin. Dengan begitu orang Indonesia dengan keterbatasan dana akan berpikir dua kali untuk berjudi sehingga mencegah adanya kerugian bagi individu itu sendiri.

Secara konsep memang lebih baik tidak ada perjudian dari pada ada perjudian, atau secara des sollen dalam konsep ekonomi. Namun secara des sein, apabila pada kenyataannya pemerintah memang tidak mampu mencegah atau menekan serendah-rendahnya kegiatan perjudian, dan jika dengan melegalkan perjudian dengan syarat-syarat dapat mengurangi transaksi perjudian, maka lebih baik dilegalkan.

Kesimpulannya legalisasi perjudian memang sangat dibutuhkan negara ini untuk perbaikan di segala aspek, tidak hanya untuk perbaikan ekonomi tetapi juga merambah untuk perbaikan moral Indonesia ke depan.

Note: Karya tulis ini ditulis untuk memenuhi tugas mata kuliah Bahasa Indonesia pada tahun 2009. Sayangnya, beberapa sumber yang dijadikan referensi tidak dapat ditemukan kembali.

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