Saves Bali Asian Beach Games 2008

The 1^st Asian Beach Games is happening in Bali from October 18-26, 2008. Like any other major events, which by all means, represent the hosting countries, Bali Asian Beach Games has also a mascot. Bali Starling (Leucopar Rothschild) or Jalak Bali or Curik had been chosen as the mascot of Bali Asian Beach Games 2008 for reasons.

Similar to the Balinese who are beautiful and friendly, the white feathers, elegant crest, blue eyelid, and yellow beak Bali endemic species has also the same characteristic that is beautiful and friendly.

But unfortunately, Bali Starling population is only a few left now days.  Bayu Wirayudha of Friends of National Park and Begawan Giri Foundation mentioned that the population of Bali Starling is less than 10 in West Bali National Park in 2005. In 1966 International Union For The Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources announced that Bali Starling is considered as endangered species, while Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, appendix 1, 1978, stated that Bali Starling could no longer be traded or captivated without special sanction from the convention. Bali Starling conservation is not just a local issue, it is an international issue, and it’s best if we all take an active part in it.

Pertamina, a national oil and gas company, has decided to play a role in conserving Bali Starling via Pertamina Neo Habitat Program, ada hijau ada kicau. In conjunction with Bali Asian Beach Games 2008, Pertamina as the prestige and environmental partner of the first multi beach sport games, has announced its commitment to reforest the natural habitat of Bali Starling in Nusa Penida Island, Bali. With Pertamina donation, Friends of National Park will be able to conduct 100,000m2 habitat restoration by planting 4000 Talok Cherry (Muntingia Calabura). Talok Cherry is a kind of pioneer tree that has an excellent adaptation ability that can live from low land to highland, dry weather to wet weather. It can grow on a concrete floor or water drainage and the tree has flower and fuit year around as a source of food of many different species of birds and bats, including Bali Starling.  Pertamina Neo Habitat Program, Ada Hijau Ada Kicau, is to ensure the availability of food for Bali Starling and other species of birds and bats. “By restoring the habitat, I hope Bali Starling could remain exist and the population could grow. Pertamina Neo Habitat, ada Hijau ada Kicau is indeed inline with Pertamina strong commitment as a corporate citizen of the world in conserving the nature and natural resources,” Sudirman Said, Corporate Secretary of Pertamina.    

 

Beyond Just A Game: Bali Asian Beach Games, 2008.

The opening ceremony of the first Asian Beach Games was conducted last night (18/10) at Lotus Pond, Garuda Wisnu Kencana (GWK), Bali.  The caldron lit by I Gusti Oka Sulaksana, Asian Beach Surfing gold medalist. Top Asian singers Christian Bautista from the Philippines, Mark Lazaro from India, Marwan Khury from Lebanon, Reza Artamevia and Andre Hehanusa from Indonesia teamed up performing “Inspire the world” the theme song of the 1^st Asian Beach Games supported by 1,700 dancers. There were VVIP from 45 participating Asian nations and regions attended the event. Soesilo Bambang Yudhoyono, the President of Republic Indonesia was witnessing the ceremony and has spoken  to foster unity among the participating nations in his opening remarks. As there are more than 1000 medals are to be given only to the top, approximately 4000 athletes and officials are ready to battle and sweat to earn as many medals for their country. 5000 volunteers that are involved from October 18-26, 2008, are working hand in hand with Bali Asian Beach Games Organizing Committee (BABGOC), making sure the event runs successfully. While 500 journalists of mix media are eager to cover this historical sporting event. 

Historical? Yes, it is. Bali Asian Beach Games is happened to be the first Asian Beach Games. It’s not just the first in Asia, the game that involves 17 sport disciplines, is also the first multi beach sport games in the world! Further more, the best performers of the games also set the first Asian Beach Games standards and records.

It all began in Beijing in 2004. In a meeting of Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), all members of OCA decided to appoint Indonesia (Bali) as the host of the first Asian Beach Games, by acclamation. Rita Soebowo, Chairwoman of Indonesian Olympic Committee, who also sits as the Vice President of OCA, then brought the good news to Indonesia and formed Bali Asian Beach Games Organizing Committee. Wherein Indonesia, the history of Asian Beach Games started as Suryo Agung, SEA Games gold medalist and record holder in men 100m and 200m sprint athletic, ignited the Asian Beach Games’ torch from the natural flames in Mrapen, Central of Java, and started to relay the flames to Jakarta, before it reached Bali and lit the Asian Beach Games’ caldron at the opening ceremony at GWK, which symbolizes the spirit of the participants.

Do we all should feel proud and actively giving support in making Bali Asian Beach Games a successful event? Yes, indeed. After all Indonesia have been through in the past, Bali Asian Beach Games will surely put Indonesia back in the world map. On top of that, sport is not just a game. My mom used to tell me that sport is the perfect mediums that teaches and trains people how to live life in this world. There is goal in life, so does sport. If you want to achieve those goals, you have to prepare yourself to be physically and mentally strong. You ought to work hard, think smart, obey the rules, fair and honest, be patient and able to work in a team. If you have all of these criteria, which sport teaches you, then you are ready to win the competition in whatever you do in life. If you top everybody in the competition, you surely can live and make your family and country very proud. I agree. Sport is not just sport, Bali Asian Beach Games is not just a game! 

Making History in Bali!

Recently, I've joined in Bali Asian Beach Games Organizing Committee (BABGOC). I was pulled to the stream by Rachmat Gobel (deputy of support BABGOC) to handle pr, look of the game, event mascot creation, event book, torch relay, sponsorship account servicing and some part of the cultural events. They are not easy, but somebody have to take care of them. Bali Asian Beach Games, is actually not only the first Asian Beach Games, but also the first multi sport disciplines games in the world!  It's participated by 45 Asian nations and regions, competing 17 sport disciplines. Yeah, I'm proud to be part of this and will share the story to my child and grand child (later)!

Nadal only good on clay's? Wrong!

I watched Wimbledon (2008) final match between Nadal and Federer and agreed to what most people said about it. The match might be the best Wimbledon final ever! 

Before the match begun, a bunch a friends told me that Federer will secure his 6th Wimbledon titles as Nadal never won against Federer on grass and that's what statistic tells us. But people have to see other thing provided by the statistic too. Nadal has won 12 times over Federer since they first met in 2004, while Federer has only won 6 times over Nadal! Can you believe that? Besides topping Federer on clay's, Nadal also defeated Federer on hard court couple of times. Can you believe there is an athlete out there could be so dominant over Federer? I do. So, I took my chances and stood the opposite way of my friends. I'm on Nadal side that night ... and you already knew the result, he was on my side and proved that everybody was wrong ... he won over Federer in 5 sets!

I always love watching Nadal play tennis. On top of his great talent, he has the spirit of a gladiator. Although, I personally think Federer has a better tennis skill, he might be smarter too. But sport is not merely about skill and talent.  One thing, I noticed from sport ... you also have to be strong mentally, you must have guts. We've witnessed talented soccer players such as David Beckham, Ronaldo, John Terry, Anelka couldn't score a goal during a penalty shoot out ... what was the problem? They crack under pressure!  The same thing happened to Federer almost every time when he meet Nadal, he cracks under pressure. 

And the credits should goes to Nadal, especially if you noticed how hard he fought just to get one point. If you have to face the best service game player in the world, you will soon get frustrated because he would probably finish the set very soon by utilzing his serve, just like what it's showed during the final Wimbledon between Federer and Nadal. Nadal's serve is not as good as Federer, he is only ranked at 31 in aces, 30 in first serve won ... shortly, he's not known as the king of serve ... and serve plays critical role in modern tennis! So if Nadal has nothing, how could he won most of his matches against Federer?

Of course Nadal talent is greater than the average Indonesian players, including me. Nadal physical well being is also greater than the rest of us, including Federer. Nadal is 185 cm and 85 kg, while Federer has the same hight but 3 kg heavier than Nadal, Federer is 88kg. Do you notice that Nadal is more muscular and looks bigger than Federer? I also believe Nadal has better footwork than the rest of us. Just to get one point from Federer he has to run back and forth, side to side, jump and fall ... for minutes! People like us may find battling against Federer is frustating, he finds it challenging ... when Federer cracks, he is not. I suppose we will see Nadal as tennis world men's no. 1 very very soon. 

white at heart.

A letter for Prof. George. 

Sewaktu (90an) saya menimba ilmu desain produk di Maryland University, Schwabisch Gmund, Jerman, dalam rangka menggapai cita-cita untuk meneruskan usaha yang dirintis ibu saya di bidang kids furniture, kami para siswa di wajibkan untuk datang dan melihat salah satu fashion show besar yang ada di benua Eropa. Saya dan beberapa orang teman asal Asia, memilih untuk datang ke Milan, Italia. Di sela-sela kesenangan karena akan melakukan study tour ke Milan, dalam hati kami bertanya kenapa kami para siswa/i diwajibkan untuk melihat salah satu fashion show yang ada di Eropa? Seorang teman saya menyatakan keherananya dengan berkata,”Kita kan mau jadi desainer produk, kok malah disuruh liat peragaan busana sih?” Selang berapa hari kemudian saya memberanikan diri bertanya kepada Prof. George (asal Inggris dan menetap di Jerman pasca perang dunia ke II yang juga memperkenalkan saya untuk pertama kalinya dengan metode mind mapping yang menurut saya sangat berguna),”Warum mussen Wir die Fashion show sehen? Was sie uns, produkt designer, bringen?” (Kenapa kita mesti melihat peragaan busana? Apa guna peragaan busana bagi kita calon produk desainer?). Beliau menjelaskan,”Der Mecca die design produkte ist Fashion design. Fashion ist die ausgang von Design der einfachste die menchen abnehmen. Wan ein bestimte design abgenomen wurde, Sie werden suchen gleichwie produkte als die trendy Fashion. Du must die Fashion Show schauen damit kanst du die andere produkte eintragen  (Kiblat dari desain produk adalah desain fesyen. Fesyen adalah output dari desain yang paling mudah diterima dan paling awal diadaptasi manusia. Ketika suatu jenis desain tertentu diadaptasi oleh manusia, mereka akan mulai mencari produk-produk pendukung gaya hidup mereka yang seirama dengan gaya atau desain pakaian yang sedang mereka gandrungi. Kalian harus liat apa yang menjadi trend fesyen sekarang untuk bisa mengadaptasikannya dalam bentuk desain produk lainnya!). Setelah merenung sejenak saya mulai mengerti maksud Prof. George dan berkata Alles klar! (Semua jelas!).

 

Pasca perang dunia ke II, eks tentara Amerika melampiaskan kegembiraan mereka atas tekanan mental dan fisik akibat perang serta tekanan chain of command ala milter, dengan memanjangkan rambut dan berpakaian tanpa aturan. Kendaraan roda dua yang kala itu juga mulai merambah Amerika, dirubah (modifikasi) seenaknya  oleh mereka dan hadirlah kendaraan desain roda dua yang sekarang kita kenal dengan desain chopper (motor dengan garpu penopang roda yang extra panjang dan cat exterior warna warni). …

 

Akhir-akhir ini saya punya pandangan lain mengenai hubungan desain fesyen dan produk. Saya berkenalan dan mulai berinteraksi dengan komputer Apple Macintosh sewaktu di sekolah dulu. Sebagai seorang Indonesia, saat itu saya menggunakan komputer PC based, dan semua orang mencela saya. Semua orang di sana berkata bahwa Apple adalah komputernya para desainer, desainer gak pake PC mereka bilang. Terus terang saya bukan seorang Einstein, saya kesulitan untuk mengoperasikan PC pada awalnya karena banyak yang harus dipelajari, termasuk bahasa operating system (OS) DOS. Setelah saya akhirnya mencoba menggunakan Apple, saya mendapatkan interface Apple sangat user friendly. Hal lain yang membuat mengoperasikan Apple sangat menyenangkan adalah desain produknya yang menurut saya beyond its era! Di kala Central Unit Procesor (CPU) PC terpisah dari monitornya, Apple menyatukan keduanya! Dan hingga kini saya tidak terpisahkan dari MacBook saya yang putih.

 

Lalu apa yang merubah pandangan saya mengenai hubungan desain fesyen dan produk? Ketika saya mulai menggunakan MacBook dan ipod saya yang putih menggantikan PowerBook (titanium silver), saya mulai merasa pakaian beserta aksesoris yang saya kenakan mulai tidak serasi. Mulailah saya mencari-cari pakaian dan aksesoris yang bisa membuat saya tampil indesign dengan komputer kesayangan saya. Apa yang saya dapatkan? Beragam aksesoris berwarna putih yang indesign dengan MacBook putih saya! Sebelum Apple me launch MacBook dan ipod (putih) di awal 2001, putih bukanlah warna yang populer di kalangan orang-orang muda or at least berjiwa muda. Sangat sulit untuk saya menemukan kacamata dengan bingkai putih, belt putih, wristwatch putih, backpack putih or even just a white jean! Walaupun pada awalnya saya pesimis di awal pencarian saya, sekarang saya senang dengan mudahnya mendapatkan aksesoris fesyen berwarna putih bertebaran di pusat perbelanjaan. And you know what makes me even shocked? Saya bukan satu-satunya manusia dengan fesyen dan aksesoris beraksen putih, banyak lagi selain saya pengguna warna putih yang saya jumpai … dan mereka paling tidak mengantongi ipod kalau tidak menenteng MacBook berwarna putih!

 

Apa yang saya pelajari dari fenomena ini? Saya mendapatkan pemikiran Prof. George tidak sepenuhnya benar! Ketika Apple menggemparkan dunia dengan mengeluarkan seri iMac dengan warna plastic transparent dengan shocking colors, saya mendaptakan dunia desain produk dan fesyen serta merta mengikutinya. Sekarang MacBook putih menjadi salah satu notebook terlaris, dunia pun menjadi putih! Setelah memiliki MacBook putih, terpikir oleh saya sekarang untuk memiliki Grand Vitara Putih (Show room Suzuki Pondok Indah), atau paling tidak Honda Vario putih (Show room Honda Jatinegara) untuk melengkapi jam tangan putih Levis, Jean putih Energie, dan kacamata putih Oakley yang menemani keseharian aktivitas saya. Steve Jobs (Apple) rules fashion design (at least for now). 

my epileptic daughter

her name is yastika dhanesvari. yastika means string of pearls, and dhanesvari means goddess of wealth. the name was taken from sanscript. she was born on september 7th, 2005. When she was 5 months old, she had her first seizure. ever since, she jerks frequently at least once in every 10 days or so. I really hope she could grow normal and healthy, and become as great as other famous people with epilepsy such as ... alexander de great, napoleon bonaparte, julius caesar, joan of arc, st. paul, vincent gogh, peter tchaikosvky, ludwig van beethoven, agatha christie, richard burton, margaux hemingway and danny glover! please God, i beg for your mercy.   

Proud to be part of Marlboro red racing moto x2

mrrmx2 is the latest brand activation initiative from Marlboro (Indonesia). The program was launched on dd/mm/yy  and will be ended on dd/mm/yy. The program allows 5 winners to have double riding experience on a two seaters' Ducati Desmosedechi. If you're among those winners, you will be seated behind Randy Mamola, previously GP500 champion. Randy will ride you up to 300 km/hours on Sepang International Circuit. Not enough? You will also be given a special access to Ducati Marlboro Team's paddock and meet MotoGP 2007's champion, Casey Stoner. And watching the race from the pit walk lane is not only a dream! Note: The program is only for 18+