The Wonderful Wizard of Hollywood

After Hollywood, Bollywood... what will be next? Hoggywood (a suspicious derivative of Hogwarts)? Hm, doesn't sound so appealing, it better suits the Gauls (Obelix, in particular, if you know what I mean).

Not long later there will be the Indonesian spinoffs, I daresay. I can imagine the bombastic titles:

- "Suster Ngesot: I Had an Affair with Dhani Dewa!"

- "Police Break In Pocongs Orgy"

- "Timun Mas's Bad Hair Day"


Add as many as you wish, folks :D.


Picture is taken from here. Yes, my guilty pleasure! :(

They paved paradise and put up a parking lot

It was exactly on the parking lot that this conversation between me and my niece happened.

"You see," I tried to catch my breath as we walked down to Sir Coy, "these developed countries don't even care to fulfil their commitment, while they keep condemning us for our reducing number of trees."

Of course I was talking about the cap-and-trade system of the Kyoto Protocol. Or better name: crap-and-trade system, as the parties seem to blame each other most of the time and look for loopholes to escape from their obligation.

We were arguing earlier about a thing as small as turning off the lamps in our apartment. I usually let the computer on all the time and will prefer the lamps on too. I often remind my niece that the rent is inclusive of gas and electricity, and I therefore need not worry about the bills.

"I know," she answered back, rolling her eyes. "But we ought to save the energy for the environment."

Hence came my short lecture (and pointless defense) on developed industrial countries failing to live up to their emission trading commitment. "Remember, we don't have sufficient sources to do all those works. We don't have the money and the technology. Yet we keep being pushed, maybe even beyond our limit, while they can go away with it.

So I see my wasting their energy as a sort of compensation. We already paid for it."

"I totally understand," she responded after a while. "But if the whole world think like you do, it will be armageddon in an instant. Everyone continues harming the earth for stupid reasons such as everyone else is doing it anyway. I wouldn't give a damn about whether I get compensated for a super-easy task like turning off the lamps for I know this will eventually secure my future."

She was right, for sure. And I had known that earlier, even before I offered my insensible rationalization.

The convo brought me back to another chat I had with my sister. We were talking about, let's say, a room with a view.

"I guess the view from floor 16 should be awesome," I said.

"Well, the view is actually the creek. But they're gonna do something about it," my sister replied.

A filthy creek in Jakarta will be the most unpleasant sight. So I interpreted the treatment that my sister just mentioned as cleaning up the water, like the Surabaya's government had done to the Kalimas River.

"No, no, it's not like that," my sister corrected me. "Actually they will pave the area, plant some new trees and make a fountain."

What?

Suddenly I could hear Joni Mitchell singing.

Trading for luxury. The man-made paradise. Designed by architects, who are probably young people, at times wearing cool branded t-shirts that read "Save the Environment".

Isn't it also nice to see teenagers in the shopping malls, with their trendy outfits and hairdos, showing their concern by sporting their red bracelets with statements on environmental issues . Then they don't even care to turn off the tap water after they finish washing their hands.

Or celebrities who take part in shows or gigs with boasting labels such as "Live Earth", and refuse to share vehicles with other artists to go to the events.

There's me as well, who don't turn off the lights when leaving the house. Unofficially a first class hypocrite.

Don't it always seem to go that you don't know what you've got 'til they're gone...

I hope they won't, ironically, pave our Paradise Island in preparation of the Climate Change Convention.

Nial

Halo Lenje, apa kabar? Kata si Tia lagi di NYC. Berapa lama? Udah pulang? - Nial-.

Sender: Nial Djuliarso
+1917***********

Iya, betul, Nial Djuliarso yang itu. Pianis jazz muda lulusan Berklee College dan Juilliard School, yang sempat tampil di Java Jazz, juga di North Sea Jazz Festival dan tempat-tempat prestisius lain seperti Kennedy Center di DC dan - tentunya - Carnegie Hall di New York.

Walau sudah beberapa kali mendengar namanya (saya bukan jazz aficionado), baru tahun lalu saya ketemu dia, waktu dia sedang main ke kota saya yang kecil untuk mengantarkan CD-nya ke boss saya. Saya agak kaget ketika bertukar sapa pertama kali dengan anak muda kurus pemalu dan sangat rendah hati itu. Saya sebelumnya membayangkan sosok yang akan tampil sangat percaya diri, mungkin menjurus arogan, acuh, dan menolak berbahasa Indonesia (seperti banyak - sedihnya- anak Indonesia yang menetap di Amerika sejak masa SMA). Hal yang mungkin akan saya maklumi saja, mengingat prestasinya.

Bukan cuma terhadap saya saja sikap manisnya diperlihatkan. Teman saya, seorang penggemar jazz yang sempat bercakap-cakap dengannya di Jakarta, memperoleh kesan yang sama. (Baca ceritanya di sini).

Kalau sedang latihan, Nial juga membiarkan dirinya direcoki orang lain, termasuk Tia, sang kepala biro kantor berita tapi tidak punya anak buah. Dia dengan senang hati akan mengiringi para pengganggu ini menyanyi seenak perut mereka. Untungnya, karena dia yang mengiringi, suara mereka menjadi sedikit lebih bagus dari aslinya *nyengir*.

Eh, eh, maaf ya, tulisan pertama setelah sekian lama ini isinya super ringan dan agak pamer. Maksud hati sih bukan begitu. Aslinya MEMANG mau pamer. Maklum, namanya juga orang medioker, kan ingin kelihatan lebih menonjol dong daripada yang benar-benar berbakat atau berkuasa, hehehe...

Aduh, teman-teman, saya kangen kalian semua! Habis ini saya singgah ke rumah maya kalian ya!