My Humble World

Blog jadul

2010-01-04T02:14:00.001+07:00

Sudah lama tidak buka blog, saya coba2 browsing lihat2 kreativitas blogger lain.

Waduuuuhhhh . . . bagus2 sekali.

Blog saya jadi seperti klipping koran anak SMP jaman dulu dibandingkan dg tulisan2 mbak Venus atau tika

Saluut . . . (Bagaimana ya caranya enhance my humble world?)

I Don't Like Monday

2009-11-30T01:09:00.003+07:00

Nagasasra Sabukinten

2009-10-07T11:20:00.004+07:00

Ada yang kangen mau baca2 buku cersil jawa karya SH Mintarja? Hitung2 nostalgia masa kecil dulu waktu belum ada PS3 dan Indovision :-)

Berikut ini website dari seorang penggemar (M Bambang Seputro) http://www.gajahsora.com/

Seluruh buku klasik terbitan tahun 1967 itu di upload lengkap 176 file approximately 200MB! Wow . . . You rock Dude! *two thumbs up*
Untuk sementara no comment dulu yaa . . . Saya juga baru nemu website ini n lagi sibuk upload. Ehehehe . . .

PT Sapta Reksa Utama

2009-10-07T10:49:00.002+07:00

Terlanjur Cinta

2009-02-28T19:05:00.001+07:00

Rossa feat. Pasha Ungu - Terlanjur Cinta

waktu bergulir lambat
merantai langkah perjalanan kita
berjuta cerita terukir dalam
menjadi sebuah dilema

mengertikah engkau
perasaanku tak terhapuskan

malam menangis
tetes embun membasahi mata hatiku

mencoba bertahan di atas puing-puing
cinta yang tlah rapuh

apa yang ku genggam
tak mudah untuk aku lepaskan

reff:

aku terlanjur cinta kepadamu
dan tlah kuberikan seluruh hatiku
tapi mengapa baru kini kau pertanyakan cintaku

aku pun tak mengerti yang terjadi
apa salah dan kurang ku padamu
kini terlambat sudah untuk dipersalahkan
karna sekali cinta, aku tetap cinta

mencoba bertahan di atas puing-puing
cinta yang tlah rapuh

apa yang ku genggam
tak mudah untuk aku lepaskan

repeat reff

Lirik lagu Rossa feat. Pasha Ungu - Terlanjur Cinta ini dipersembahkan oleh LirikLaguIndonesia.Net. Kunjungi DownloadLaguIndonesia.Net untuk download MP3 Rossa feat. Pasha Ungu - Terlanjur Cinta.

Enlightenment comes . . .

2009-02-20T05:00:00.003+07:00

"Enlighten the people generally, and tyranny and oppression of body and mind will vanish like evil spirits at the dawn of day" (Thomas Jefferson)

Is it too late?
Shall I remember the day we met?

For I am too damn fool to understand from the beginning
Only God knows what will happen next in my life . . .

My beloved children

2008-07-19T04:06:00.006+07:00

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيمِ

Dengan menyebut nama Allah Yang Maha Pemurah lagi Maha Penyayang

Al -Baqarah :148

وَلِكُلٍّ وِجْهَةٌ هُوَ مُوَلِّيهَا فَاسْتَبِقُواْ الْخَيْرَاتِ أَيْنَ مَا تَكُونُواْ يَأْتِ بِكُمُ اللّهُ جَمِيعًا إِنَّ اللّهَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ

To each is a goal to which Allah turns him; then strive together (as in a race) Towards all that is good. Wheresoever ye are, Allah will bring you Together. For Allah Hath power over all things.

Dan bagi tiap-tiap umat ada kiblatnya (sendiri) yang ia menghadap kepadanya. Maka berlomba-lombalah (dalam membuat) kebaikan. Di mana saja kamu berada pasti Allah akan mengumpulkan kamu sekalian (pada hari kiamat). Sesungguhnya Allah Maha Kuasa atas segala sesuatu.

Anak-anakku Nada dan Faiz, sungguh Ayah sangat mencintai kalian. Lebih dari yang kalian bayangkan. Kamu berdua permata hatiku, kamu berdua harapan masa depan Ayah.

Dari Hati . . .

2008-06-26T16:59:00.003+07:00

andai engkau tahu
bila menjadi aku
sejuta rasa dihati
lama tlah kupendam
tapi akan kucoba mengatakan

reff:
ku ingin kau menjadi milikku
entah bagaimana caranya
lihatlah mataku untuk memintamu
ku ingin jalani bersamamu
coba dengan sepenuh hati
ku ingin jujur apa adanya
dari hati

kini engkau tahu
aku menginginkanmu
tapi takkan kupaksakan
dan kupastikan
kau belahan hati bila milikku
reff

menarilah bersamaku dengan bintang-bintang
sambutlah diriku untuk memelukmu
reff:

Sebuah Kajian Al-Qur'an

2007-11-12T18:56:00.001+07:00

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيمِ

Dengan menyebut nama Allah Yang Maha Pemurah lagi Maha Penyayang

Al-Hasyr:021

لَوْ أَنزَلْنَا هَذَا الْقُرْآنَ عَلَى جَبَلٍ لَّرَأَيْتَهُ خَاشِعاً مُّتَصَدِّعاً مِّنْ خَشْيَةِ اللَّهِ وَتِلْكَ الْأَمْثَالُ نَضْرِبُهَا لِلنَّاسِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ

Kalau sekiranya Kami turunkan Al-Quraan ini kepada sebuah gunung, pasti kamu akan melihatnya tunduk terpecah belah disebabkan ketakutannya kepada Allah. Dan perumpamaan-perumpamaan itu Kami buat untuk manusia supaya mereka berfikir.

Had We sent down this Qur'an on a mountain, verily, thou wouldst have seen it humble itself and cleave asunder for fear of Allah. Such are the similitudes which We propound to men, that they may reflect.

Al-Hasyr:022

هُوَ اللَّهُ الَّذِي لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا هُوَ عَالِمُ الْغَيْبِ وَالشَّهَادَةِ هُوَ الرَّحْمَنُ الرَّحِيمُ

Dialah Allah Yang tiada Tuhan selain Dia, Yang Mengetahui yang ghaib dan yang nyata, Dia-lah Yang Maha Pemurah lagi Maha Penyayang.

Allah is He, than Whom there is no other god;- Who knows (all things) both secret and open; He, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

Al-Hasyr:023

هُوَ اللَّهُ الَّذِي لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا هُوَ الْمَلِكُ الْقُدُّوسُ السَّلَامُ الْمُؤْمِنُ الْمُهَيْمِنُ الْعَزِيزُ الْجَبَّارُ الْمُتَكَبِّرُ سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ عَمَّا يُشْرِكُونَ

Dialah Allah Yang tiada Tuhan selain Dia, Raja, Yang Maha Suci, Yang Maha Sejahtera, Yang Mengaruniakan Keamanan, Yang Maha Memelihara, Yang Maha Perkasa, Yang Maha Kuasa, Yang Memiliki segala Keagungan, Maha Suci Allah dari apa yang mereka persekutukan.

Allah is He, than Whom there is no other god;- the Sovereign, the Holy One, the Source of Peace (and Perfection), the Guardian of Faith, the Preserver of Safety, the Exalted in Might, the Irresistible, the Supreme: Glory to Allah! (High is He) above the partners they attribute to Him.

Al-Hasyr:024

هُوَ اللَّهُ الْخَالِقُ الْبَارِئُ الْمُصَوِّرُ لَهُ الْأَسْمَاء الْحُسْنَى يُسَبِّحُ لَهُ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الْحَكِيمُ

Dialah Allah Yang Menciptakan, Yang Mengadakan, Yang Membentuk Rupa, Yang Mempunyai Asmaaul Husna. Bertasbih kepadaNya apa yang di langit dan bumi. Dan Dialah Yang Maha Perkasa lagi Maha Bijaksana.

He is Allah, the Creator, the Evolver, the Bestower of Forms (or Colours). To Him belong the Most Beautiful Names: whatever is in the heavens and on earth, doth declare His Praises and Glory: and He is the Exalted in Might, the Wise.

At-Taubah:128

لَقَدْ جَاءكُمْ رَسُولٌ مِّنْ أَنفُسِكُمْ عَزِيزٌ عَلَيْهِ مَا عَنِتُّمْ حَرِيصٌ عَلَيْكُم بِالْمُؤْمِنِينَ رَؤُوفٌ رَّحِيمٌ

Sungguh telah datang kepadamu seorang Rasul dari kaummu sendiri, berat terasa olehnya penderitaanmu, sangat menginginkan (keimanan dan keselamatan) bagimu, amat belas kasihan lagi penyayang terhadap orang-orang mukmin.

Now hath come unto you a Messenger from amongst yourselves: it grieves him that ye should perish: ardently anxious is he over you: to the Believers is he most kind and merciful.

At-Taubah:129

فَإِن تَوَلَّوْاْ فَقُلْ حَسْبِيَ اللّهُ لا إِلَـهَ إِلاَّ هُوَ عَلَيْهِ تَوَكَّلْتُ وَهُوَ رَبُّ الْعَرْشِ الْعَظِيمِ

Jika mereka berpaling (dari keimanan), maka katakanlah: "Cukuplah Allah bagiku; tidak ada Tuhan selain Dia. Hanya kepada-Nya aku bertawakkal dan Dia adalah Tuhan yang memiliki `Arsy yang agung".

But if they turn away, Say: "Allah sufficeth me: there is no god but He: On Him is my trust,- He the Lord of the Throne (of Glory) Supreme!"

Diana Krall

2007-07-10T12:57:00.000+07:00

Diana Krall was born in Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada, on the 16th of November, 1964. Music was always playing in the Krall family household, making music an integral part of Diana's childhood since she was able to crawl.
She learned how to play the classical piano at the age of 4, and enjoyed playing the instrument along with her grandmother. She chose to take the jazz route in her teenage years, and played piano in a high school band. By the time she was 15, Diana was playing piano professionally, as a regular act in a hockey bar -- an appropriate venue for a Canadian.
In 1981, Diana attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston, thanks to having won a Vancouver Jazz Fest scholarship. After a year and a half of studying in the United States, Diana returned to her native British Columbia. Diana's career as a jazz musician would finally become a reality after famous American musicians Ray Brown and Jeff Hamilton witnessed one of Diana's performances in Nanaimo.
Finally, she relocated in New York in 1990, where she began working on her first album. Stepping Out was released in 1993 on Justin Time Records, and featured long time mentor Ray Brown, Jeff Hamilton, and John Clayton.
As if the critical acclaim and commercial success of Diana's previous albums weren't enough, her latest album, When I Look Into Your Eyes (released on Verve in 1999), has been hailed as her best piece of work to date. Nominated for Best Album of the Year at this year's Grammy Awards, When I Look Into Your Eyes has become the first jazz album to earn a Best Album Grammy nomination in more than 20 years. It didn't win for Best Album, but the singer/songwriter/pianist did win the Grammy for Best Jazz Vocal Performance (taken from AskMen.com)

Check out her official website here and listen to her songs.

Crisis of Identity

2007-07-03T10:49:00.000+07:00

Get More at COMMENTYOU.com

Light Is More Important Than The Lantern

Light is more important than the lantern,
The poem more important than the notebook,
And the kiss more important than the lips.
My letters to you
Are greater and more important than both of us.
The are the only documents
Where people will discover
Your beauty
And my madness.

Nizar Qabbani

Get More at COMMENTYOU.com

Video: Maria Maria

June 21

2007-06-21T23:42:00.000+07:00

It is the best of times, it is the age of wisdom, it is the epoch of beliefs, it is the spring of hope . . . We have everything before us, we are all going to Heaven.

Music Compilation

2007-05-31T13:39:00.000+07:00

Josh Groban

Romantic Slow and Sentimental

Dealova

2007-05-29T13:02:00.000+07:00

Aku ingin menjadi mimpi indah dalam tidurmu
Aku ingin menjadi sesuatu yang mungkin bisa kau rindu
Karena langkah merapuh tanpa dirimu
Oh karena hati tlah letih . . .

Aku ingin menjadi sesuatu yang slalu bisa kau sentuh
Aku ingin kau tau bahwa aku selalu memujamu
Tanpamu sepinya waktu merantai hati
Oh bayangmu seakan-akan . . .

Kau seperti nyanyian dalam hatiku yang memanggil rinduku padamu Ooo
Seperti udara yang kuhela kau selalu ada . . .

Hanya dirimu yang bisa membuatku tenang
Tanpa dirimu aku merasa hilang
dan sepi . . dan sepi . . .

Kau seperti nyanyian dalam hatiku yang memanggil rinduku padamu Ooo
Seperti udara yang kuhela kau selalu ada . . .
Selalu ada . . .

I want to be your sweet dream
I want to be something that you could longing for
Since my footstep will be weaken without you
Oh since my heart was too tired...

I want to be something that you could touch
I want you to know that I always adore you
Without you this quiet moment is chaining my heart
Oh senses of you is as though as...

You are the song in my heart that called my longing for you Ooo
You are the air that I breath
you always there for me ...

Only you that could make me feel tranquil
Without you I feel lost
And in silence... And in silence...

You are the song in my heart that called my longing for you Ooo
You are the air that I breath
you always there for me . . .
Always there . . .

Solitude

2007-05-19T00:17:00.000+07:00

Dan kaupun terusir dari rumah
sebatas kata lembut namun tegas
sekuat hasrat diri dan kehormatan kaum
sebesar dosa yang tak berampun

Dan kaupun terusir dari rumah
sembilan belas tahun sudah,
mama gagal mendidikmu
pergilah, bawalah apa yang bukan dariku.
Tak lagi mama ingat telah melahirkanmu.

O demi cinta karena cinta
kaupun terusir dari rumah . . .

Mama maafkanlah adek,
adek sayang sama mama . . .
Tlah kau coreng muka mama
Siapakah laki-laki itu?
Jangan pernah kembali ke rumah ini

Oleh karena cinta
benih laki-laki kecintaannya
Oleh karena aib
dua minggu digugurkannya

Dan kaupun terusir dari rumah . . .
Duka dan lara tak mengusik senyum riangmu
Naluri kemudaanmu membuncah gejolak hati
Penuh rindu pada sang kekasih

Kasih, aku kini sebatang kara
Kutunggu engkau di tempat biasa
Darinya ku kan menapak jalan
yang tak pernah kulalui . . .

Perempuan Itu

2007-05-14T03:10:00.000+07:00

Sepinya malam ini, membawa kenangan masa lalu

Menusuk kalbu merobek jantung

Biar kau tau luka di hati takkan sembuh

Biar kau pahami dalamnya sayatan di hatiku

Kenangan indah menambah lara

Senyumanmu mengiris tulang bagai sembilu

Apa gerangan membuatmu setega itu

Sungguh aku menyesali telah mencintaimu

Hanya untuk terinjak dan teraniaya

Sungguh kutangisi cintaku yang tak pernah pudar padamu . . .

Katakanlah, apa gerangan membuatmu sekejam itu padaku

Perempuan

2007-04-02T18:59:00.000+07:00

Syahdan, konon katanya menurut tutur tinular petuah serta wejangan dari para Guru serta Alim Ulama, karakteristik sifat perempuan dari sudut pandang laki-laki (Timur?) dapat dibagi dalam 4 (empat) jenis perempuan. Tersebutlah perempuan Kunti, perempuan Japati, perempuan Pedati serta perempuan Sejati.

Perempuan Type Kunti, sebagaimana istri Pandudewanata dinisbahkan, adalah type perempuan yang jika suami meninggalkan rumah, maka dia akan kelayapan sendiri mencari laki-laki lain. Bagi yang mungkin kurang mengikuti kisah pewayangan, Kunti adalah ibu dari Pandawa Lima, yang kesemuanya berbeda ayah.
Perempuan Type Japati, layaknya si burung merpati (japati) yang terbang menghampiri waktu kita taburkan makanannya, perempuan jenis ini akan datang menghampiri setiap lelaki yang sanggup menghamburkan uang dan hartanya. Cantik, indah dan sedap dipandang mata, namun kesetiaan perempuan jenis ini hanya sebatas tebalnya kantong kaum lelaki. Jangan harapkan dia menemanimu di kala susah. Hana peng hana inong, nangadong hepeng nangadong biang.
Perempuan Type Pedati, waspadalah kaum lelaki dengan perempuan jenis ini. pecutnya akan bergetar melecut-lecut sekencang-kencangnya, bagaikan cambuk sais mengejar setoran setiap harinya. Lelaki bagi perempuan jenis ini hanyalah kuda beban yang harus bekerja keras untuk memenuhi kebutuhan serta keinginannya. Selebihnya, si lelaki berbuat apapun diluaran bukan urusan baginya.
Perempuan Type Sejati, Wahai kaum Lelaki, beruntunglah kalian jika mendapatkan perempuan jenis ini. Susah senang selalu menemani, manis tutur bahasanya lagi sedap dipandang mata. Hmmm, tentu saja perempuan idaman seperti ini jadi dambaan setiap lelaki.

Catatan Kaki:
Tulisan ini tentu saja akan terdengar sangat male-chauvinist (hehehe) dan jadul banget, apalagi jika dibaca oleh kaum perempuan modern jaman sekarang. Jadi silakan saja , monggo, di-challenge keabsahannya. Hanya tadi saya katakan ini kan konon katanya, jadi boleh percaya boleh tidak, tergantung keyakinan kita masing-masing saja.

Yang Terpijak

2007-03-09T23:02:00.000+07:00

Send Me a Leaf

Send me a leaf, but from a bush
That grows at least one half hour
Away from your house, then
You must go and will be strong, and I
Thank you for the pretty leaf.

Bertolt Brecht

Sampaikan padaku sepucuk daun

Sampaikan padaku sepucuk daun, dari sesemakan liar
tumbuhnya sejarak satu jam setengah
Dari rumahmu,

Lalu
Pergilah dan kuatkan dirimu,

Dan kusampaikan
terima kasih 'tuk daun yang indah . . .

saduran bebas dari Bertolt Brecht

"There are no whole truths; all truths are half-truths. It is trying to treat them as whole truths that play the devil" (Alfred North Whitehead).

Back from Hiatus . . .

2007-03-03T13:44:00.000+07:00

After a moment (or months? hehehe ) of contemplation, lazyness, hibernation and . . . whatever; something strikes me hard.
Just as she said, "Wake up man!"

I hope this time I move the first step of a ten thousand miles journey . . . a road less traveled by. So help me God ;)

Minal Aidin Wal Faidzin

2006-10-23T00:09:00.002+07:00

Mengucapkan Selamat Hari Raya Iedul Fitri 1427 Hijriah.
Mohon ma'af lahir dan Bathin.

Taqobalallahu minna waminkum syiamana wa syiamakum.
Minal Aidin Wal Faidzin.

May this Eid fill your heart and home with Peace and Joy!
Eid Mubarak from our home to yours . . .

Do'a Nabi Yunus AS

2006-10-17T19:17:00.000+07:00

Adakah kita suatu ketika merasa begitu dhalim pada diri sendiri sehingga kita sudah sepantasnya mengucapkan do'a yang diserukan Nabi Yunus AS sewaktu beliau terperangkap dalam perut ikan raksasa? Pernahkah suatu waktu kita berpikir betapa tidak sepatutnya kita bertindak dan berbuat di muka bumi ini?
Astaghfirullah . . . sungguh kami ini sangatlah bertindak melampaui batas, Yaa Allah Robbul Aalamiin.

وَذَا النُّونِ إِذ ذَّهَبَ مُغَاضِبًا فَظَنَّ أَن لَّن نَّقْدِرَ عَلَيْهِ فَنَادَى فِي الظُّلُمَاتِ أَن لَّا إِلَهَ إِلَّا أَنتَ سُبْحَانَكَ إِنِّي كُنتُ مِنَ الظَّالِمِينَ {87}

87. Dan (ingatlah kisah) Dzun Nun (Yunus), ketika ia pergi dalam keadaan marah, lalu ia menyangka bahwa Kami tidak akan mempersempitnya (menyulitkannya), maka ia menyeru dalam keadaan yang sangat gelap: "Bahwa tidak ada Tuhan selain Engkau. Maha Suci Engkau, sesungguhnya aku adalah termasuk orang-orang yang zalim."

[21:87] And Jonas, when he went away in wrath, so he thought that We would not straiten him, so he called out among afflictions: There is no god but Thou, glory be to Thee; surely I am of those who make themselves to suffer loss.

Untuk Kehidupan

2006-10-11T01:25:00.000+07:00

picture Copyrighted by Farl @ http://static.flickr.com

Di keheningan senja hari,
Kala sang surya dalam pelukan cakrawala

Biduk kecil berangkat sauh,
Sendiri arungi lautan luas . . .

Di batas alam keemasan, dalam pesona sang surya . . .
Di tepi dunia hantu, sang dewi malam . . .

Biduk kecil menyusur ombak
Sendiri . . .
Di keheningan remang senja.

Januari 1986

Portrait of Poverty

2006-10-09T02:30:00.000+07:00

Recent National Statistic Bureau survey says poverty rate in Indonesia is 18%. It increases from 16 percent last year. It means now almost 40 million of Indonesians are poor. And, on top of that, another 29 million Indonesians are almost poor. This is a grim figure, indeed, because being poor in Indonesia means that you have to live with less than 0.5 USD a day!

What about the unemployment rate? It has risen to double digits. Despite its fluctuating drops, the unemployment rate has remained high. According to National Statistics Bureau data, as of June 30, 2006, the unemployment rate stood at 10.6 percent, or 11.6 million of the 106 million-person workforce, a 2 percent increase on the 9.5 million of the end of 2005. Under-unemployment, or those working less than 35 hours a week, has exceeded 43 million. (articles taken from Sarapan Ekonomi).

Meanwhile, forty names were crowned by Forbes Asia magazine as the richest in Indonesia. Three of them joined the list at the end of the economic and financial crises. Each of them have money not less than 80 million US dollar. While the riches is Aburizal Bakrie and family that have US$1,2 billion in their pocket! You could read the Asia Views articles of 40 riches tycoon for the rest of the list.

So, what shall we say? Many Javanese would quote their old saying, "aja kagetan, aja gumunan, aja gugupan". Don't be surprised, don't get confused and don't be nervous. Just live the life as the way it is.

Maybe someday, my friend, we will reach the ever-dreamt prosperity as our great great ancestors have said:
"Tata tentrem karta raharja, gemah ripah loh jinawi. Tuwuh kang sarwa tinandur, murah kang sarwa tinuku"
-Tertib, damai, senang dan selamat, makmur dan subur tanahnya, segala yang ditanam selalu tumbuh subur, segalanya dapat dibeli dengan harga murah-
-Live in harmony, peaceful, happiness and security; have prosperous and fertile land, in which any plants cultivated will grow up bountiful; and every things can be bought cheaply.

The dream of wealthy Indonesia seems so far away . . .

The Road Not Taken

2006-10-04T21:44:00.001+07:00

The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim
Because it was grassy and wanted wear,
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I marked the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Robert Frost

Jalan Yang Tak Kutempuh

Di pohon tua itu jalanku bercabang dua,
Menyesal daku tak dapat menempuh keduanya
Lama ku terpaku berdiri, si kelana sepi
Menatap jalan itu sejauh dapat memandang
Sampai ia membelok di kerimbunan;

Kuambil jalan lainnya, yang tampak serupa,
Dan barangkali lebih pantas dilalui
Karna jalan itu penuh onak dan tampaknya mesti kulalui,
Walau jalan yang satunya itu
Tlah pasar dan sungguh sangat serupa,

Pagi itu keduanya sama terbentang
Penuh dedaunan tak setapak orang menginjaknya
Oh, Kan kulalui jalan itu suatu ketika!
Walau kutahu jalanku ini mengarah entah kemana
Sungguh tak yakin ku kan pernah kembali.

Suatu saat kan kuhembuskan kisah
Entah berabad nanti:
Di pohon itu jalanku bercabang dua,
Kupilih yang tak biasa dilalui,
Dan semua menjadi berbeda.

Saduran bebas puisi Robert Frost

The Sea

2006-10-02T00:08:00.000+07:00

East cost of Bali

اللَّهُ الَّذِي سخَّرَ لَكُمُ الْبَحْرَ لِتَجْرِيَ الْفُلْكُ فِيهِ بِأَمْرِهِ وَلِتَبْتَغُوا مِن فَضْلِهِ وَلَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ

Allah-lah yang menundukkan lautan untukmu supaya kapal-kapal dapat berlayar padanya dengan seizin-Nya dan supaya kamu dapat mencari karunia -Nya dan mudah-mudahan kamu bersyukur. (Al Jaatsiyah:12)

It is Allah Who has subjected the sea to you, that ships may sail through it by His command, that ye may seek of his Bounty, and that ye may be grateful (45:12)

Nature Beauty

2006-09-27T22:53:00.000+07:00

Kelimutu - Flores, Indonesia

وَالْأَرْضَ مَدَدْنَاهَا وَأَلْقَيْنَا فِيهَا رَوَاسِيَ وَأَنبَتْنَا فِيهَا مِن كُلِّ زَوْجٍ بَهِيجٍ

Dan Kami hamparkan bumi itu dan Kami letakkan padanya gunung-gunung yang kokoh dan Kami tumbuhkan padanya segala macam tanaman yang indah dipandang mata (Qaaf:7)

And the earth- We have spread it out, and set thereon mountains standing firm, and produced therein every kind of beautiful growth (in pairs) (50:7)

Beauty

2006-09-22T22:36:00.000+07:00

Before the Dawn

2006-09-03T17:34:00.000+07:00

But like love
the archers
are blind

Upon the green night,
the piercing saetas
leave traces of warm
lily.

The keel of the moon
breaks through purple clouds
and their quivers
fill with dew.

Ay, but like love
the archers
are blind!

Federico García Lorca

Lorca

2006-09-02T23:51:00.000+07:00

Romansa Sonambulo

Hijau, betapa kuinginkan dirimu hijau.
Angin hijau. Dedahanan hijau.
Kapal di lautan
dan kuda di pegunungan.
Dengan bayangan melingkari pinggangnya
dia tidur di balkon.
Tubuhnya hijau, rambutnya hijau,
Dengan mata seperti perak dingin.
Hijau, betapa kuinginkan dirimu hijau.
Di bawah bulan gipsy
Semua saja menatapnya
Dan ia sendiri tak bisa melihat mereka.

Hijau, betapa kuinginkan dirimu hijau.
Bintang-bintang besar seputih salju
datang bersama bayang2 gelap malam
yang membawa munculnya fajar.
Pohon ara mengeluskan anginnya
dengan amplasnya dedahanan,
Dan gunung, si kucing licik,
menegakkan serat2nya yang rapuh.
Tapi siapa akan datang? Dari mana….?
Dia masih diam dibalkonnya,
Tubuhnya hijau, rambutnya hijau,
bermimpi dalam laut kepahitan.

--Kawan, aku mau menukar
kudaku untuk rumahnya,
pelanaku untuk cerminnya,
pisauku untuk selimutnya.
Kawan, aku datang berdarah
dari pintu gerbang Cabra.
-- Seandainya bisa, anakku,
Kubantu kau menukarnya.
Tapi aku bukan lagi diriku,
rumahku pun bukan lagi rumahku.
-Kawan, aku mau mati
di kasurku dengan layak,
Kasur baja, jika mungkin,
dengan selimut kain chambray.
Tak kau lihatkah lukaku
dari dada sampai leher?
-Baju putihmu tlah menyemai
mawar kering coklat kehitaman
Darahmu menetes dan berpencaran
disudut2 kain selendangmu.
Tapi aku bukan lagi diriku,
rumahku pun bukan lagi rumahku.
- Biarkan aku naik, paling tidak,
Sampai ke balkon paling tinggi;
Biarkan aku naik! biarkan,
Sampai ke balkon hijau.
Kisi-kisi sang rembulan,
dimana lewat air turun gemercik.

Sekarang naik sudah kedua kawan,
Ke balkon paling tinggi
Meninggalkan jejak darah.
Meninggalkan jejak tetes air mata.
Rerambatan dari kaleng
gemerisik diatas atap.
Seribu tambur kristal
Menantang cahaya fajar.

Hijau, betapa kuinginkan dirimu hijau.
Angin hijau. Dedahanan hijau.
Sudah naik kedua kawan.
Angin kaku membekaskan
Di mulut, satu rasa janggal
campuran empedu, permen dan dedaunan.
-Kawan, dimana dia – katakan-
dimana gadismu yang pahit itu?
Berapa kali dia sudah menantikanmu!
Berapa kali dia akan menantikanmu,
muka dingin, rambut hitam,
di balkon hijau ini!
Di atas pintu waduk air
Goyang berayun si gadis gipsy.
Tubuhnya hijau, rambutnya hijau,
Dengan mata seperti perak dingin.
Bayangan rembulan di air
menahannya di permukaan air.
Malam menjadi ramah
Serupa plaza kecil.
“Guardia Civiles” mabuk
Memukul-mukul di pintu.
Hijau, betapa kuinginkan dirimu hijau.
Angin hijau. Dedahanan hijau.
Kapal di lautan
dan kuda di pegunungan.

(Federico García Lorca)

Graffiti

2006-08-27T16:26:00.000+07:00

(Reminds me of Shakespeare's "Carpe Diem"

O mistress mine, where are you roaming?
O stay and hear! your true-love's coming
That can sing both high and low;
Trip no further, pretty sweeting,
Journey's end in lovers' meeting--
Every wise man's son doth know.

What is love? 'tis not hereafter;
Present mirth hath present laughter;
What's to come is still unsure:
In delay there lies no plenty,--
Then come kiss me, Sweet and twenty,
Youth's a stuff will not endure.

-William Shakespeare)

Sweet Dream O' Child

2006-08-13T09:19:00.000+07:00

God's Precious Gift

Child of love, child so bright,
child whose beauty out shines the light.
Angels sing from up above,
gracing baby Lickliter with all their love.

(Velmar Pewee Hale Johnson)

Sleep, sleep, my little one
Remember even the best
Most take a daily rest!

(from "sleep My Little One" by Sylvia Chidi)

My kiss will give peace now
And quiet to your heart -- -

(from "Sleep Now O Sleep Now" by James Joyce)

....In the night of weariness
let me give myself up to sleep without struggle,
resting my trust upon thee....

(taken from "Sleep" by Rabindranath Tagore)

Sweet dreams form a shade,
O'er my lovely infants head.
Sweet dreams of pleasant streams,
By happy silent moony beams

Sweet sleep with soft down.
Weave thy brows an infant crown.
Sweet sleep Angel mild,
Hover o'er my happy child.

Sweet smiles in the night,
Hover over my delight.
Sweet smiles Mothers smiles,
All the livelong night beguiles.

(taken from "A craddle Song" by William Blake)

Salahuddin al Ayyubi

2006-08-11T13:43:00.000+07:00

Sejak lama saya menyukai tulisan-tulisan Goenawan Mohammad di Majalah Tempo. Berikut ini saya sajikan salah satu tulisannya tentang Saladdin atau Salahuddin al Ayyubi, salah satu tokoh yang juga saya kagumi.

Saya coba mendoakan arwah Saladin di depan makamnya, di sebuah ruangan di belakang Masjid Umayyah yang berumur lebih dari 12 abad itu di Damaskus. Tapi konsentrasi diri saya rasanya tak betul. Barangkali sesuatu telah mengganggu hati saya. Makam itu - makam orang yang termasyhur dalam sejarah itu, orang yang besar jasanya itu, orang yang dipuji bahkan oleh musuh-musuhnya itu - terasa kusam. Seperti kesedihan yang dicoba disembunyikan, ruangan itu kelabu. Sebuah kubur dengan nisan yang tinggi tapi hanya tampil serasa kayu lapuk, logam yang aus. Sebuah ruang sekitar 4 X 6 meter, yang seperti kamar yang kehilangan peminat. Warna-warnanya hambar. Cahaya pudar. Sawang tebal. Debu. Orang tak akan tahu dengan segera bahwa di sinilah Sultan Saladin, pahlawan Islam dalam Perang Salib, terkubur. Hanya sebuah gambar kertas yang buruk - mungkin wajahnya - tergantung di dinding.

Makam memang tidak untuh dijadikan ruang pameran. Kubur memang hanya pertanda kesementaraan kita - juga keterbatasan seorang pahlawan. Tapi tidakkah manusia perlu berhenti sebentar dan mengenang? "Kenanglah segala yang baik," kata sebuah baris Chairil Anwar, "dan cintaku yang kekal." Tidakkah masa lalu punya sesuatu yang kekal, yang bisa diwakili dengan sebuah tanda, sebuah simbol, dengan sikap yang hormat?
Saya mencoba berdoa di depan makam Saladin di Damaskus, untuk arwahnya, juga untuk apa yang baik dalam sejarah - tapi saya merasa ada sesuatu yang meleset dalam ruang ini. Melangkah keluar, berjalan kembali ke lapangan terbuka di halaman dalam masjid, saya dengar suara penziarah-penziarah Syiah meraungkan tangis, di dekat peninggalan Hussein yang gugur di Kerbala berabad-abad yang lalu. Di tembok-tembok tinggi, masih tersisa bekas-bekas lukisan gaya Byzantium.
Masa lalu memang tidak mudah pergi meskipun kita seperti tak ingin menengoknya. Bahkan di salah satu tembok Masjid Umayyah yang dulu adalah Katedral Yahya Pembaptis yang dipermak jadi masjid yang indah di tahun 700-an itu, seorang sejarawan masih menemukan sisa inskripsi ini: "Kerajaan-Mu, ya, Kristus, adalah kerajaan abadi...."
Tapi jika masa lalu tak mudah pergi, dari bagian manakah dari Saladin yang akan datang kepada kita kini? Dari ruang makamnya yang kusam, mitos apa yang akan kita teruskan? Kisah Saladin adalah kisah peperangan. Dari zamannya kita dengar cerita dahsyat bagaimana agama-agama telah menunjukkan kemampuannya untuk memberi inspirasi keberanian dan ilham pengorbanan - yang kalau perlu dalam bentuk pembunuhan.
Tapi sebagian besar kisah Saladin - yang tersebar baik di Barat maupun di Timur dari sejarah Perang Salib yang panjang di abad ke- 12 itu - adalah juga cerita tentang seorang yang pemberani dalam pertempuran, yang sebenarnya tak ingin menumpahkan darah. Saladin merebut Jerusalem kembali di musim panas 1187. Tapi menjelang serbuan, ia beri kesempatan penguasa Kristen kota itu untuk menyiapkan diri agar mereka bisa melawan pasukannya dengan terhormat. Dan ketika pasukan Kristen itu akhirnya kalah juga, yang dilakukan Saladin bukanlah menjadikan penduduk Nasrani budak-budak. Saladin malah membebaskan sebagian besar mereka, tanpa dendam, meskipun dulu, di tahun 1099, ketika pasukan Perang Salib dari Eropa merebut Jerusalem, 70 ribu orang muslim kota itu dibantai dan sisa-sisa orang Yahudi digiring ke sinagog untuk dibakar.
"Anakku," konon begitulah pesan Sultan itu kepada anaknya, az-Zahir, menjelang wafat, "...Jangan tumpahkan darah... sebab darah yang terpercik tak akan tertidur." Dalam hidupnya yang cuma 55 tahun, ikhtiar itulah yang tampaknya dilakukan Saladin.Meskipun tak selamanya ia tanpa cacat, meskipun ia tak jarang memerintahkan pembunuhan, kita toh tahu, antara lain dan film Hollywood sekalipun, bagaimana pemimpin pasukan Islam itu bersikap baik kepada Raja Richard Berhati Singa yang datang dari Inggris untuk mengalahkannya. Ketika Richard sakit dalam pertempuran, Saladin mengiriminya buah pir yang segar dingin dalam salju, dan juga seorang dokter. Lalu perdamaian pun ditandatangani, 1 September 1192, dan pesta diadakan dengan pelbagai pertandingan, dan orang Eropa takjub bagaimana agama Islam bisa melahirkan orang sebaik itu.

Kita sekarang juga mungkin takjub bagaimana masa lalu bisa melahirkan orang sebaik itu. Terutama ketika orang hanya mencoba menghidupkan kembali apa yang gagah berani dari abad ke- 12 tapi meredam apa yang sabar dan damai dari sebuah zaman yang penuh peperangan. Tapi pentingkah sebenarnya masa silam?
Dari makam telantar orang Kurdi yang besar itu, suatu hari di tahun 1970-an, saya kembali ke pusat Damaskus, lewat lorong bazar yang sibuk di depan Masjid Umayyah. Kota itu riuh, keriuhan yang mungkin tanpa sejarah.

l9 Januari 1991

(Goenawan Mohamad, Catatan Pinggir 4, Grafiti, 1995, h.
388-390)

Beware! Mind Virus

2006-08-10T06:43:00.000+07:00

Virus of The Mind by Richard Brodie

Virus of the Mind is the first popular book devoted to the science of memetics. Richard Brodie is known as the author of Microsoft Word and an assistant to Bill Gates (amongst his many professions, I think).

What is memetics?
Memetics is a controversial new field that transcends psychology, biology, anthropology, and cognitive science. Memetics is the science of memes, the invisible but very real DNA of human society.

Professor Susan Blackmore from UK best describes this new science in her webpage as explained in the following paragraphs.

The term meme (it's pronounced like "dream" or "cream") was coined by Richard Dawkins, Professor of the Public Understanding of Science at Oxford University, in his 1976 book The Selfish Gene. As examples he suggested “tunes, ideas, catch-phrases, clothes fashions, ways of making pots or of building arches”.

Memes are habits, skills, songs, stories, or any other kind of information that is copied from person to person. Memes, like genes, are replicators. That is, they are information that is copied with variation and selection. Because only some of the variants survive, memes (and hence human cultures) evolve. Memes are copied by imitation, teaching and other methods, and they compete for space in our memories and for the chance to be copied again. Large groups of memes that are copied and passed on together are called co-adapted meme complexes, or memeplexes.
The word “meme” has recently been included in the Oxford English Dictionary where it is defined as follows “meme (mi:m), n. Biol. (shortened from mimeme ... that which is imitated, after GENE n.) “An element of a culture that may be considered to be passed on by non-genetic means, esp. imitation”.

According to memetics, our minds and cultures are designed by natural selection acting on memes, just as organisms are designed by natural selection acting on genes. A central question for memetics is therefore ‘why has this meme survived?’. Some succeed because they are genuinely useful to us, while others use a variety of tricks to get themselves copied. From the point of view of the “selfish memes” all that matters is replication, regardless of the effect on either us or our genes.
Some memes are almost entirely exploitative, or viral, in nature, including chain letters and e-mail viruses. These consist of a “copy-me” instruction backed up with threats and promises. Religions have a similar structure and this is why Dawkins refers to them as ‘viruses of the mind’. Many religions threaten hell and damnation, promise heaven or salvation, and insist that their followers pass on their beliefs to others. This ensures the survival of the memeplex. Other viral memes include alternative therapies that don’t work, and new age fads and cults. Relatively harmless memes include children’s games, urban legends and popular songs, all of which can spread like infections.
At the other end of the spectrum memes survive because of their value to us. The most valuable of memeplexes include all of the arts and sports, transport and communications systems, political and monetary systems, literature and science.

Memetics has been used to provide new explanations of human evolution, including theories of altruism, the origins of language and consciousness, and the evolution of the large human brain. The Internet can be seen as a vast realm of memes, growing rapidly by the process of memetic evolution and not under human control.
The field of memetics is still a new and controversial science, with many critics, and many difficulties to be resolved.

Memes are behaviours, habits, skills, songs or stories, that are passed from person to person by imitation. Like genes, memes are copied with variation and selection. This means they are replicators and take part in an evolutionary process - in this case the evolution of mind and culture. In the past, the co-evolution of genes and memes has given rise to the enormous human brain and our unique capacity for language and culture. In today’s world memes have constructed new ways to get themselves copied, from writing and the printing press to computers and the Internet. Along the way they have shaped human consciousness.It is argued that ordinary human consciousness, with its false sense of a perceiving self and free will, is an illusion created by the memes for the memes. Memes are the basic building blocks of our minds and culture, in the same way that genes are the basic building blocks of biological life.

In Virus of the Mind, Richard Brodie carefully builds on the work of scientists Richard Dawkins, Douglas Hofstadter, Daniel Dennett, and others who have become fascinated with memes and their potential impact on our lives. But Brodie goes beyond science and dives into the meat of the issue: is the emergence of this new science going to have an impact on our lives like the emergence of atomic physics did in the Cold War? Brodie would say the impact will be at least as great. While atomic bombs affect everybody's life, viruses of the mind touch lives in a more personal and more pernicious way. Mind viruses have already infected governments, educational systems, and inner cities, leading to some of the most pervasive and troublesome problems of society today: youth gangs, the welfare cycle, the deterioration of the public schools, and ever-growing government bureaucracy. Viruses of the mind are not a future worry: they are here with us now and are evolving to become better and better at their job of infecting us. The recent explosion of mass media and the information superhighway has made the earth a prime breeding ground for viruses of the mind. Will there be a mental plague? Will only some of us survive with our free will intact? Brodie weaves together science, ethics, and current events as he raises these and other very disturbing questions about memes.
He has a website dedicated for his study of Memetics. In his essay, he pointed out that we should live a life in "Level 3". What does it mean? "It means not just living consciously, but consciously choosing the memes I allow to program me", he said.
In Level 1, we do not understand the world and consequently fear it. In Level 2, we replace the fear with understanding. The price of understanding is limits. Our approximate models of the universe are never completely accurate, never useful in all situations. In Level 3, we start with a vision of what we want to create. From there we choose our models. Sometimes a chosen model may seem insane to the other inhabitants of the little patch of space-time we happen to occupy. No matter. Men with a vision of goodwill have often looked insane in times of mistrust and scarcity. But in Level 3, we realize that the universe is not a maze to be navigated; it is a baby to be brought up. When we give it love, clarity, and opportunity, we raise a child to be a joyful, giving, successful adult. This is the opportunity we have to farm our little patch of space-time. Read more here.

Oh you would love this article from him. It gives an antidote for the computer mind viruses (You follow me?)

A comprehensive study on memetics was done by Joanna Bryson, a professor of Computer Sciences at Bath University. If you want to study more of memetics just visit her site here. Also publications from Susan Blackmore.

Notes

2006-08-06T21:10:00.000+07:00

Germany English

2006-08-04T13:57:00.000+07:00

The European Commission has just announced an agreement whereby English will be the official language of the European Union rather than German, which was the other possibility. As part of the negotiations, the British Government conceded that English spelling had some room for improvement and has accepted a 5- year phase-in plan that would become known as "Euro-English".
In the first year, "s" will replace the soft "c". Sertainly, this will make the sivil servants jump with joy. The hard "c" will be dropped in favour of "k". This should klear up konfusion, and keyboards kan have one less letter.
There will be growing publik enthusiasm in the sekond year when the troublesome "ph" will be replaced with "f". This will make words like fotograf 20% shorter.
In the 3rd year, publik akseptanse of the new spelling kan be expekted to reach the stage where more komplikated changes are possible. Governments will enkourage the removal of double letters which have always ben a deterent to akurate speling. Also, al wil agre that the horibl mes of the silent "e" in the languag is disgrasful and it should go away.
By the 4th yer people wil be reseptiv to steps such as replasing "th" with "z" and "w" with "v".
During ze fifz yer, ze unesesary "o" kan be dropd from vords kontaining "ou" and after ziz fifz yer, ve vil hav a reil sensibl riten styl. Zer vil be no mor trubl or difikultis and evrivun vil find it ezi tu understand ech oza. Ze drem of a united urop vil finali kum tru.
Und efter ze fifz yer, ve vil al be speking German like zey vunted in ze forst plas.
If zis mad you smil, pleas pas on to oza pepl.

(just a joke. No offense please . . .)

Google Earth!

2006-08-01T06:28:00.000+07:00

It's amazing . . . we can no longer have a safe hideout.

Oopps...you've found me!

Tsunami

2006-07-27T15:13:00.000+07:00

Akhir-akhir ini kita di Indonesia mengalami banyak bencana tsunami. Menyedihkan memang. Bahkan saat ini banyak penduduk - terutama yang tinggal di pinggir pantai - trauma, panik dan ketakutan setiap kali ada isu akan adanya gempa dan tsunami yang dilemparkan oleh orang-orang yang tidak bertanggung jawab. Mungkin sebaiknya kita sedikit banyak mempelajari tentang tsunami agar tidak termakan isu dan selalu siaga apabila terjadi gejala-gejala akan terjadinya tsunami di wilayah kita.
Ternyata tsunami sejak lama sudah berada di indonesia. Saya baca di artikel Tempo Online ini bahwa setidaknya laporan resmi tentang terjadinya tsunami di Indonesia dapat ditelusuri sejak tahun 1883 saat Krakatau meletus. Setidaknya 36 ribu jiwa melayang akibat tsunami setinggi bangunan 12 tingkat kala itu.
Bencana tsunami terbesar di Indonesia tentulah yang terjadi di Aceh NAD dan Nias bulan Desember tahun 2004. Bencana ini menelan korban lebih dari 104.000 orang di Indonesia saja. Tingkat eskalasi bencana kala itu bisa dilihat di website International Charter "Space and major Disasters" dan juga di Indonesia Tsunami Map 2004.
Bencana tsunami yang terakhir tentu saja yang melanda Pangandaran tanggal 17 Juli 2006. gelombang setinggi lebih dari 5 meter melanda pesisir pantai Jawa bagian selatan, merenggut nyawa hampir 500 orang. Kisah-kisah menarik tentang tsunami di Pangadaran ini, berikut komentar-komentar para ahli geologi dapat dibaca di situs blog milik Rovicky Dwi Putrohari, seorang ahli geologi yang tinggal di malaysia. Disana dibahas juga cara-cara menghadapi bencana gempa dan tsunami dan penjelasan tentang penyebab dari tsunami itu sendiri. Di situs itu juga dapat ditemukan link-link menarik seperti link resmi Direktorat Volkanologi dan situs ramalan cuaca Jakarta sehari-hari. Coba saja di klik salah satu link diatas.
Menurut pak Rovicky, ada beberapa tempat di Indonesia yang perlu diwaspadai akan terjadi gempa dan tsunami. Dengan menggunakan pemodelan Geostatistik, dibuat peta dari daerah rawan gempa di Indonesia. Waktunya kapan, tidak ada yang bisa memprediksi dengan tepat. Hanya kita yang tinggal di sekitar lokasi berpotensi gempa harus selalu waspada atas terjadinya gempa itu. Mungkin juga kita harus mendesain rumah kita sehingga tahan gempa seperti disarankan oleh Departemen PU di website ini atau rumah tahan gempa model jepang seperti yang dibuat di Aceh pasca tsunami.
Seharusnya kita lebih percaya dengan ahli geologi daripada paranormal. Walau banyak juga paranormal yang berkomentar dan meramalkan terjadinya bencana tsunami di Indonesia. Menurut Permadi, bencana alam terjadi akibat kemaksiatan dan ketidakadilan yang merajalela. Karena itu, Jakarta akan mengalami bencana besar karena pusat kemaksiatan dan ketidakadilan ya adanya di Jakarta. Wallahualam.
Oh ya, jangan lupa sering-sering lihat website Badan Meteorologi dan Geofisika. Ini situs resmi milik pemerintah Indonesia. Di dalamnya tersedia lengkap semua informasi cuaca, iklim, gempa bumi, kualitas udara, dan sebagainya. Ada juga nomor hotmail info dini gempa bumi (021-65866502, 021-4246321 ext 336, fax : 021-6546316). Rasanya kalau menyangkut masalah bencana alam kita harus percaya dengan instansi pemerintah ini.

Exotic DEBU

2006-07-27T13:20:00.000+07:00

Soothing and Relieving . . . The feeling arise when we hear this group sings their song. DEBU poetical lyrics giving us a sense of tranquility. DEBU's music is a lively blend of strings and percussion, with accompanying lyrics in several languages. In terms of (a) music genre, DEBU's music would have to be called world music, simply because of its varied nature, lack of adherence to any one concept, and the use of ethnic instruments. DEBU's brilliant fusing of East and West, traditional and contemporary, acoustic and electric, yields a unique sound, laced with familiar yet exciting elements. DEBU is a breath of fresh air wafting through the world music scene. DEBU's style and sound are a rich and colorful tapestry of East and West, traditional and modern, with a hint of Latin and a touch of jazz.
Consist of 19 personnel, mostly was born in the United States of America, DEBU is a new phenomenon in Indonesian music. DEBU takes its name from Indonesian and Malay "Dust". The name gives meaning that "Man cannot escape the truth of his most humble origin that he was created from the dust of the earth. We are not worthy of traveling this path. We are simply dust upon the road."
Just as they said in their official website, most importantly for DEBU is that the music is a means for the transmission of this universal message with the hope it may awaken in the hearts of those who listen to it a love and a longing and remind them of their noble origin. Their long-awaited message of love and peace is not new; to them it is the essence of Islam, the Sufi way.
If you want to know more about them or simply just want to listen to their music, just visit their website Debu Official Website.

My DNA

2006-07-22T14:05:00.000+07:00

Well, I was killing time by filling out the personality test from the internet. Here's the report. They said I'm a CONCERNED INVENTOR. Hehehe . . . I wonder what the report would say if my answers were "on the other way around" (My Personal DNA Report)

They also gave me a "personal DNA map" :-D

Concerned Inventor

My COLOR?

2006-07-22T13:02:00.000+07:00

Your Power Color Is Indigo

At Your Highest:

You are on a fast track to success - and others believe in you.

At Your Lowest:

You require a lot of attention and praise.

In Love:

You see people as how you want them to be, not as how they are.

How You're Attractive:

You're dramatic flair makes others see you as mysterious and romantic.

Your Eternal Question:

"Does This Work Into My Future Plans?"

What's Your Power Color?

About Kierkegaard

2006-07-12T00:06:00.000+07:00

Søren Aabye Kierkegaard

(1813-1855)

Born to a prosperous Danish family and educated at Copenhagen, Søren Kierkegaard deliberately fostered his public reputation as a frivolous, witty conversationalist while suffering privately from severe melancholy and depression. In a series of (mostly pseudonymous) books, Kierkegaard rebelled against the prevailing Hegelianism of his time and developed many themes that would later be associated with the philosophy of existentialism. Much of his work, including Frygt og Bæven: Dialectisk Lyrik (Fear and Trembling) (1843), Begrebet Angest (The Concept of Dread) (1844), (Purity of Heart is to Will One Thing) (1847), and Sygdomen Til Døden (The Sickness unto Death) (1849), expressed a profound interest in religious issues.

Kierkegaard also produced several more directly philosophical writings. Om Begrebet Ironi (The Concept of Irony) (1841) was his dissertation at the University of Copenhagen. Enten-Eller (Either-Or) (1843) provides an extended contrast between aesthetic and ethical ways of life, with emphasis on the ways in which radical human freedom inevitably leads to despair. The massive Afsluttende Uvidenskabelig Efterskrift (Concluding Unscientific Postscript) (1846) describes a third way of life, the possibility of living by faith in the modern world by emphasizing the importance of the individual and developing a conception of subjective truth.

Kierkegaard's influence on twentieth-century thought has been rich and varied. Most obviously, existentialist thinkers like Jaspers and Heidegger drew extensively on his analysis of despair and freedom. Although he directly addressed few of the social concerns that most interested his contemporary, Karl Marx, Kierkegaard has received ample attention from more recent Marxists, including Marcuse and Lukacs. Philosophers from Adorno to Wittgenstein have expressed great respect for the Danish master's thought.

Kierkegaard: The Passionate Individual

An entirely different kind of reaction against the severe rationalism of Hegel came from Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard. Although he wrote extensively, Kierkegaard employed the rhetorical device of irony so successfully that it is difficult to be sure what views he would have defended seriously. Approaching the work through some of his self-conscious reflections upon the task may prove helpful.

At first, one might be inclined to accept Kierkegaard's straightforward declaration that his entire career as an author is nothing more than an earnest desire to achieve worldly fame. But even this appears in a work he published pseudonymously! Perhaps his claim to be preaching Christianity to the Christians is closer to the mark. Opposing the staid, traditional complacency in which many people live out their lives is a worthwhile goal that calls for an unusual approach.

Kierkegaard's life and work exemplify the paradox that he saw at the heart of modern life. Ever scornful of human pretensions, he deliberately chose the reverse deception of pretending to be less than he was. Since serious work should stand on its own, without deriving any arbitrary force from the presumed authority of its creator, Kierkegaard wrote privately and published under a variety of pseudonyms while frequently making flighty public appearances in his native Copenhagen. Perhaps this was a great project of personal ironic exhibitionism: how better to illustrate the uselessness of customary "social" life than by living it out to the fullest?

That Individual

But why would anyone take such great pains in a deliberate effort to be out-of-step with his own world? For Kierkegaard, this was the only way to be sure of the truth, by eliminating every possible ulterior motive for what one says. The pseudonymous writer is notably freed from any temptation to tailor his message to popular opinion, since it is impossible for him to achieve any fame. This is what mattered to Kierkegaard.

With regard to everything that counts in human life, including especially matters of ethical and religious concern, Kierkegaard held that the crowd is always wrong. Any appeal to the opinions of others is inherently false, since it involves an effort to avoid responsibility for the content and justification of my own convictions. Genuine action must always arise from the Individual, without any prospect of support or agreement from others. Thus, on Kierkegaard's view, both self-denial and the self-realization to which it may lead require absolute and uncompromising independence from the group. Social institutions—embodying "the system" of Hegelian idealism—are invariably bad; only the solitary perception of self can be worthwhile.

Freedom and Dread

Utter self-reliance, however, is a frightening prospect. Although we are strongly inclined to seek human freedom, Kierkegaard noted, contemplation of such a transcendence of all mental and bodily determinations tends only to produce grave anxiety in the individual person. Genuine innocence entails an inability to forsee all outcomes, which thereby renders one incapable of gaining control over one's own life.

Thus, in Begrebet Angest (The Concept of Dread) (1844), Kierkegaard examined the only appropriate emotional response to the condition of human freedom. Anxiety (Ger. Angst) is the dizziness produced in any reasonable being who stands at the brink of genuine freedom. Knowing that we can think and do as we will naturally inspires deep fear about what we shall think and do.

Even religious verities, Kierkegaard supposed, offer no lasting relief from the predicament. Christianity (as Paul had pointed out) makes no sense; its genius lies not in any appeal to the dictates of reason but rather in its total reliance on faith. But from our point of view, the content of an authoritative command is entirely irrelevant; all that matters is the claim that the command places upon our lives. There can be no proof of the authority behind the command, since any such demonstration of its value would make it impossible for us to accept it as a matter of faith.

Subjective Truth

What is at stake here is Kierkegaard's theoretical distinction between objective and subjective truth, worked out in the Afsluttende Uvidenskabelig Efterskrift (Concluding Unscientific Postscript) (1846) to the Philosophical Fragments. Considered objectively, truth merely seeks attachment to the right object, correspondence with an independent reality. Considered subjectively, however, truth seeks achievement of the right attitude, an appropriate relation between object and knower. Thus, for example, although Christianity is objectively merely one of many available religions in the world, it subjectively demands our complete devotion.

For Kierkegaard, it is clearly subjective truth that counts in life. How we believe matters much more than what we believe, since the "passionate inwardness" of subjective adherence is the only way to deal with our anxiety. Passionate attachment to a palpable falsehood, Kierkegaard supposed, is preferable to detached conviction of the obvious truth. Mild acceptance of traditional, institutional religion is useless, since god's existence can only be appreciated on wholly subjective grounds.

At one level, this amounts to acceptance of something like the slogan, "It doesn't matter what you believe, so long as you're sincere." But of course the Kierkegaardian standards for sincerity are very high.

(I am being too serious . . .contemplation....:-)

Hilbert's What?

2006-07-11T02:20:00.000+07:00

Hilbert's problems

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Hilbert's problems are a list of twenty-three problems in mathematics put forth by German mathematician David Hilbert at the Paris conference of the International Congress of Mathematicians in 1900. The problems were all unsolved at the time, and several of them turned out to be very influential for 20th century mathematics. Hilbert presented ten of the problems (1, 2, 6, 7, 8, 13, 16, 19, 21 and 22) at the conference, speaking on 8 August in the Sorbonne; the full list was published later.

Nature and influence of the problems

While there have been subsequent attempts to repeat the success of Hilbert's list, no other broadly based set of problems or conjectures has had a comparable effect on the development of the subject or attained a fraction of its celebrity. For example, the Weil conjectures are famous but were rather casually announced. André Weil was perhaps temperamentally unlikely to put himself in the position of vying with Hilbert. John von Neumann produced a list, but not to universal acclaim.

At first sight, this success might be put down to the eminence of the problems' author. Hilbert was at the height of his powers and reputation at the time and would go on to lead the outstanding school of mathematics at the University of Göttingen. On closer examination, matters are not quite so simple.

The mathematics of the time was still discursive: The tendency to replace words by symbols and appeals to intuition and concepts by bare axiomatics was still subdued, though it would come in strongly over the next generation. In 1900 Hilbert could not appeal to axiomatic set theory, the Lebesgue integral, topological spaces or Church's thesis, each of which would permanently change its field. Functional analysis, in one sense founded by Hilbert himself as the central notion of Hilbert space witnesses, had not yet differentiated itself from the calculus of variations; there are two problems on the list about variational mathematics, but nothing, as a naïve assumption might have had it, about spectral theory (problem 19 does have a connection to hypoellipticity).

In that sense the list was not predictive: It failed to register or anticipate the coming swift rises of topology, group theory, and measure theory in the twentieth century, as it did not roll with the way mathematical logic would pan out. Therefore its value as a document is as an essay: a partial, personal view. It suggests some programmes of research and open-ended investigations.

In fact many of the questions posed belie the idea of a professional mathematician of the twenty-first century, or even of 1950, that the form of a solution to a good question would take the shape of a paper published in a mathematical learned journal. If that were the case for all twenty-three problems, commentary would be simplified down to the point where either a journal reference could be given, or the question could be considered still open. In some cases the language used by Hilbert is still considered somewhat negotiable, as far as what the problem formulation actually means (in the absence, to repeat, of the axiomatic foundations, installed in pure mathematics starting with work of Hilbert himself on Euclidean geometry, through Principia Mathematica, and ending with the Bourbaki group and "intellectual terrorism" to finish the job). The First and Fifth problems are, perhaps surprisingly, in an unsettled status because of less-than-full clarity in formulation (see notes). In cases such as the Twelfth, the problem can reasonably be taken as an "inner", fairly accessible version in which it is quite plausible that the reader can know what Hilbert was driving at, and an "outer", speculative penumbra.

With all qualifications, then, the major point is the swift acceptance of the Hilbert list by the mathematical community of the time (less of a conventional form of words than now, in that there were few research leaders and they generally were in a small number of European countries, and personally acquainted). The problems were closely studied; solving one made a reputation.

At least as influential as the problem content was the style. Hilbert asked for clarification. He asked for solutions in principle to algorithmic questions, not practical algorithms. He asked for foundational strength in parts of mathematics that were still guided by intuitions opaque to non-practitioners (Schubert calculus and enumerative geometry).

These attitudes carried over to many followers, though they were also contested, and continue to be. Thirty years later, Hilbert had only sharpened his position.

The problems as Hilbert's manifesto

It is quite clear that the problem list, and its manner of discussion, were meant to be influential. Hilbert in no way fell short of the expectations of German academia on empire-building, programmatic verve, and the explicit setting of a direction and claiming of ground for a school. No one now talks of the 'Hilbert school' in quite those terms; nor did the Hilbert problems just have their moment as Felix Klein's Erlangen programme did. Klein was a colleague of Hilbert's, and in comparison the Hilbert list is far less prescriptive. Michael Atiyah has characterised the Erlangen programme as premature. The Hilbert problems, by contrast, showed the good timing of an expert. In pharmaceutical terms they operated both within 20 minutes and by slow release.

If the 'school of Hilbert' means much, it probably refers to operator theory and the style of mathematical physics taking the Hilbert-Courant volumes as canonical. As was noted above, Hilbert did not use the list to pose problems directly about spectral theory. That, one could say, would have been in Klein's style. He also did not give any undue prominence to commutative algebra — ideal theory, as it would then have been known), his major algebraic contribution and preoccupation from his invariant theory days; nor, at least on the surface, did he preach against Leopold Kronecker, Georg Cantor's opponent, from whom he learned much but whose attitudes he almost detested (as is documented in Constance Reid's biography). The reader could draw ample conclusions from the presence of set theory at the head of the list.

The theory of functions of a complex variable, the branch of classical analysis that every pure mathematician would know, is though quite neglected: no Bieberbach conjecture or other neat question, short of the Riemann hypothesis. One of Hilbert's strategic aims was to have commutative algebra and complex function theory on the same level; this would, however, take 50 years (and still has not resulted in a changing of places).

Hilbert had a small peer group: Adolf Hurwitz and Hermann Minkowski were both close friends and intellectual equals. There is a nod to Minkowski's geometry of numbers in problem 18, and to his work on quadratic forms in problem 11. Hurwitz was the great developer of Riemann surface theory. Hilbert used the function field analogy, a guide in algebraic number theory by the use of geometric analogues, in developing class field theory within his own research, and this is reflected in problem 9, to some extent in problem 12, and in problems 21 and 22. Otherwise Hilbert's only rival in 1900 was Henri Poincaré, and the second part of problem 16 is a dynamical systems question in Poincaré's style.

A round two dozen

Hilbert originally included 24 problems on his list, but decided against including one of them in the published list. The "24th problem" (in proof theory, on a criterion for simplicity and general methods) was rediscovered in Hilbert's original manuscript notes by German historian Rüdiger Thiele in 2000.

Summary

Of the cleanly-formulated Hilbert problems, problems 3, 7, 10, 11, 13, 14, 17, 19 and 20 have a resolution that is accepted by consensus. On the other hand, problems 1, 2, 5, 9, 15, 18+, 21, and 22 have solutions that have partial acceptance, but where there exists some controversy as to whether it resolves the problem.

The + on 18 denotes that the Kepler problem solution is a computer-assisted proof, a notion anachronistic for a Hilbert problem and also to some extent controversial because of its lack of verifiability by a human reader in a reasonable time.

That leaves 8 (the Riemann hypothesis) and 12 unresolved, both being in number theory. On this classification 4, 6, 16, and 23 are too loose to be ever described as solved. The withdrawn 24 would also fall in this class.

(I wonder if somebody out there is still trying to resolve these problems.... For me, I have my own real life problems to resolve :-D)

Existentialism

2006-07-11T01:57:00.000+07:00

"The world of explanations and reasons is not the world of existence.".

Existentialism :

Existentialism is a diverse current of philosophers, who share a distinction between the categories of Being (Sein) and Existence (Existenz), holding that Being cannot be grasped through rational thought and perception, but only through personal existence.

Existentialism has its roots in the 19th century reaction against the “impersonal” Rationalism of the Enlightenment, Hegelianism and Positivism, especially Nietzsche and Kierkegaard. It also includes the Phenomenology of Edmund Husserl. Its founders are Martin Heidegger, Karl Jaspers, Simone de Beauvoir and Jean-Paul Sartre.

Sartre
Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980)

Educated in his native Paris and at German universities, Jean-Paul Sartre taught philosophy during the 1930s at La Havre and Paris. Captured by the Nazis while serving as an Army meteorologist, Sartre was a prisoner of war for one year before returning to his teaching position, where he participated actively in the French resistance to German occupation until the liberation. Recognizing a connection between the principles of existentialism and the more practical concerns of social and political struggle, Sartre wrote not only philosophical treatises but also novels, stories, plays, and political pamphlets. Sartre's personal and professional life was greatly enriched by his long-term collaboration with Simone de Beauvoir. Although he declined the Nobel Prize for literature in 1964, Sartre was one of the most respected leaders of post-war French culture, and his funeral in Paris drew an enormous crowd.

Sartre's philosophical influences clearly include Descartes, Kant, Marx, Husserl, and Heidegger. Employing the methods of descriptive phenomenology to new effect, his l'Être et le néant (Being and Nothingness) (1943) offers an account of existence in general, including both the being-in-itself of objects that simply are and the being-for-itself by which humans engage in independent action. Sartre devotes particular concern to emotion as a spontaneous activity of consciousness projected onto reality. Empasizing the radical freedom of all human action, Sartre warns of the dangers of mauvaise foi (bad faith), acting on the self-deceptive motives by which people often try to elude responsibility for what they do.

In the lecture l'Existentialisme est un humanisme ("Existentialism is a Humanism") (1946), Sartre described the human condition in summary form: freedom entails total responsibility, in the face of which we experience anguish, forlornness, and despair; genuine human dignity can be achieved only in our active acceptance of these emotions.

Sartre's complex and ambivalent intellectual relationship with traditional Marxism is more evident in Critique de la raison dialectique (Dialectical Reason) (1960), an extended sociological and philosophical essay.

(.....I've been thinking. OMG)

Fairy Tales

2006-07-06T23:10:00.000+07:00

I always love The Alchemist. Got one copy translated in Bahasa. Never really understand it thou. Here's a review I found in the internet. Hopefully can give some light over what Paulo Coelho really talking about. Anyway, perhaps it's just only a tale. Very nice fairy tale.
And then, there's Sophie's World, a really realistic yet provoking way of historytelling by Jostein Gaarder. This book makes me feel dizzy. History about philosophy? Hmmm never knew somebody can explain philosophy with such clarity. I even have to read it again and again just to understand one sentence. Hehehe. But still, this book is one of my favourite.

The Alchemist

Dreams, symbols, signs, and adventure follow the reader like echoes of ancient wise voices in "The Alchemist", a novel that combines an atmosphere of Medieval mysticism with the song of the desert. With this symbolic masterpiece Coelho states that we should not avoid our destinies, and urges people to follow their dreams, because to find our "Personal Myth" and our mission on Earth is the way to find "God", meaning happiness, fulfillment, and the ultimate purpose of creation.

The novel tells the tale of Santiago, a boy who has a dream and the courage to follow it. After listening to "the signs" the boy ventures in his personal, Ulysses-like journey of exploration and self-discovery, symbolically searching for a hidden treasure located near the pyramids in Egypt.

When he decides to go, his father's only advice is "Travel the world until you see that our castle is the greatest, and our women the most beautiful". In his journey, Santiago sees the greatness of the world, and meets all kinds of exciting people like kings and alchemists. However, by the end of the novel, he discovers that "treasure lies where your heart belongs", and that the treasure was the journey itself, the discoveries he made, and the wisdom he acquired.

"The Alchemist", is an exciting novel that bursts with optimism; it is the kind of novel that tells you that everything is possible as long as you really want it to happen. That may sound like an oversimplified version of new-age philosophy and mysticism, but as Coelho states "simple things are the most valuable and only wise people appreciate them".

As the alchemist himself says, when he appears to Santiago in the form of an old king "when you really want something to happen, the whole universe conspires so that your wish comes true". This is the core of the novel's philosophy and a motif that echoes behind Coelho's writing all through "The Alchemist". And isn't it true that the whole of humankind desperately wants to believe the old king when he says that the greatest lie in the world is that at some point we lose the ability to control our lives, and become the pawns of fate. Perhaps this is the secret of Coelho's success: that he tells people what they want to hear, or rather that he tells them that what they wish for but never thought possible could even be probable.
Coelho also suggests that those who do not have the courage to follow their " Personal Myth", are doomed to a life of emptiness, misery, and unfulfillment. Fear of failure seems to be the greatest obstacle to happiness. As the old crystal-seller tragically confesses: " I am afraid that great disappointment awaits me, and so I prefer to dream". This is where Coelho really captures the drama of man, who sacrifices fulfillment to conformity, who knows he can achieve greatness but denies to do so, and ends up living a life of void.

It is interesting to see that Coelho presents the person who denies to follow his dream as the person who denies to see God, and that "every happy person carries God within him". However, only few people choose to follow the road that has been made for them, and find God while searching for their destiny, and their mission on earth.

Consequently, is Coelho suggesting that the alchemists found God while searching for the elixir of life and the philosopher's stone? What is certain is that the symbolism of the text is a parallel to the symbolism and the symbolic language of alchemism, and similarly the symbolism of dreams is presented as " God's language".

It is also symbolic that Santiago finds his soul-mate, and the secrets of wisdom in the wilderness of the desert. The "wilderness" is a symbol that has been used by many great writers e.g.. Austen in "Mansfield Park", and Shakespeare in "King Lear". In the desert, Santiago meets his "twin-soul" and discovers that love is the core of existence and creation. As Coelho explains, when we love, we always try to improve ourselves, and that's when everything is possible. The subject of love inspires a beautiful lyricism in Coelho's writing: " I love you because the whole universe conspired for me to come close to you."

"The Alchemist" is a novel that may appeal to everybody, because we can all identify with Santiago: all of us have dreams, and are dying for somebody to tell us that they may come true. The novel skillfully combines words of wisdom, philosophy, and simplicity of meaning and language, which makes it particularly readable and accounts for its bestselling status.

Book review by Anna Hassapi

Sophie's World

Who are you? Where does the world come from? These are two questions Sophie, a fifteen year-old Norwegian girl, receives in her mailbox one day from an unknown stranger. Thus begins a mysterious adventure for Sophie, and an adventure for any person of any age who reads her story.

For Sophie becomes the student of a fifty year old philosopher, Alberto, who proceeds to teach her the history of philosophy. She gets a very creditable and understandable review of the ideas of major philosophers from the Pre-Socratic Greeks to Jean-Paul Sartre.

Mixed in with the philosophy lessons is a wonderful story complete with a mysterious cabin in the woods, a magic brass mirror, a marvelous messenger dog named Hermes, and even brief appearances by Little-Red-Riding-Hood and Winnie-the-Pooh. And it is something of a shock to find out who Sophie and Alberto really are - although it should have been completely obvious to anyone from the very first page of the book.

The philosophy is wonderful and wonderfully presented. Sophie learns about Medieval philosophy while being lectured by a monk in an ancient church, and she learns about Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir in a French café. It all begins with a quotation from Goethe: "He who cannot draw on three thousand years is living from hand to mouth." Could the world have come from nothing? It all seemed so illogical until Democritus invented the most ingenious toy in the world. Next we see Socrates standing in front of a market stall packed with various goods. "What a wonderful number of things I have no use for." We learn about Plato and his theories about the existence of an ideal world of which we see only the dim reflection. But many mathematicians and scientists think they can catch a glimpse of that ideal world.

Alberto then takes Sophie through Hellenism to the rise of Christianity and its interaction with Greek thought and on into the Middle Ages. We even learn about Hildegard of Bingen, a 12th century Catholic Nun who was a preacher, physician, botanist, biologist, and composer. (You can even buy compact disks of her music.) He covers the Renaissance, Baroque, Enlightenment and Romantic periods. Other important figures presented are Descartes ("he wanted to clear all the rubble off the site"), Spinoza ("God is not a puppeteer"), Locke, Hume, Berkeley ("we exist only in the mind of God"), Bjerkely (How did that get in here?), Kant ("the starry heavens above me and the moral law within me"), Hegel, Kierkegaard ("it’s one thing to collect Barbie dolls, but worse to be one"), Marx, Darwin and Freud.

The book approaches its conclusion at a philosophical garden party which Sophie throws to celebrate her birthday. But alas, it turns into a rather sordid affair where Alberto finally speaks the plain truth and then he and Sophie use the confusion to escape to their true identities. The book has other wonderful features, but to mention them would give away too much in advance.

So, if you have anything of the fifteen year old girl in you, or of an elderly philosopher, or love ideas, then read this book, and if you have anyone close to you, read it aloud and argue out the ideas - that’s the way it used to be done. After all Socrates engaged in dialogues not because he claimed to be a teacher but because he believed it takes two to philosophize. The principal alternative is to watch the Medusa-TV sets and run the risk of having your heart turned to stone.

Reviewed by David Park

Bird's Conference

2006-06-24T10:27:00.000+07:00

excerpt from Conference of the Birds

by Farid ud-Din Attar, translated from the Persian by Afkham Darbandi and Dick Davis

Moths gathered in a fluttering throng one night
To learn the truth about the candle's light,
And they decided one of them should go
To gather news of the elusive glow.
One flew till in the distance he discerned
A palace window where a candle burned -
And went no nearer; back again he flew
To tell the others what he thought he knew.
The mentor of the moths dismissed his claim,
Remarking: "He knows nothing of the flame."
A moth more eager than the one before
Set out and passed beyond the palace door.
He hovered in the aura of the fire,
A trembling blur of timorous desire,
Then headed back to say how far he'd been,
And how much he had undergone and seen.
The mentor said: "You do not bear the signs
Of one who's fathomed how the candle shines."
Another moth flew out - his dizzy flight
Turned to an ardent wooing of the light
He dipped and soared, and in his frenzied trance
Both Self and fire were mingled by his dance -
The flame engulfed his wing-tips, body, head;
His being glowed a fierce translucent red;
And when the mentor saw that sudden blaze,
The moth's form lost within the glowing rays,
He said: "He knows, he knows the truth we seek,
That hidden truth of which we cannot speak."
To go beyond all knowledge is to find
That comprehension which eludes the mind,
And you can never gain the longed-for goal
Until you first outsoar both flesh and soul;
But should one part remain, a single hair
Will drag you back and plunge you in despair
No creature's Self can be admitted here,
Where all identity must disappear.

Fatherhood

2006-06-22T08:28:00.000+07:00

"Working far from family is the faith of a working man"

Al Baqarah: 223 said that As a father honestly fulfill his obligation by feeding his family, a sign of his observance to his God, would be considered invaluable alms before Allah SWT and his sweat and tiredness will expunge his sins.

Malam

2006-06-18T07:39:00.000+07:00

Malam

Aku suka mereka yang berjaga di tengah malam,
di kala dentang jam dinding mengoyak sepinya malam.

Disana,
di ujung tirai-tirai kelambu putih,
ketika kucing-kucing lapar membentuk bayang-bayang dunia hantu,
aku suka merenung malam.

Mungkin kau tak mengerti semua ini,
Biarlah . . .

Bumi berputar, waktu berlalu
dan malam ini
akan sirna dalam fajar pagi
Seperti juga malam-malam sebelumnya . . .

Jakarta, medio 1985.

Malamnya Pagi

2006-06-15T01:51:00.000+07:00

Malamnya Pagi

Oo . . . dunia kalang kabutan,

sepi mega menghanyut,

kelam di langit biru.

kabut

angin

malam

dingin

sepi

bisu

diam

senyap

kabut

dini hari

fajar pun meretak malam,
mengerkah merobek-robek.
Dan malam jadi gila,
meliuk-liuk meronta-ronta
meraup menggapai-gapai
menyapu semua yang tersisa
dari kotorannya yang berdaki
nista . . .

Oo . . . malam telah pergi
sambutlah kini fajar gemilang
hitam kelam warnanya
terang benderang seperti malam.

Jakarta, 17 Agustus 1993

White Shores

2006-06-15T01:42:00.000+07:00

Di Pantai Pasir Putih

Ada sepercik kegelisahanku
waktu kulihat kau menangis,
sebab ku tak punya sedikit keberanian
untuk mengusik dan bertanya….

Anak-anak Keabadian
yang berlarian di pantai pasir putih,
tidaklah menjadi sebab.
Karena sebagaimana pedang Democles,
kata-kata adalah absurditas
yang tersublim dalam bingkai emas.

Yogyakarta, 21 Juli 1991

Chairil's Poems

2006-06-06T15:36:00.000+07:00

sajak-sajak chairil anwar

AKU

Kalau sampai waktuku
'Ku mau tak seorang kan merayu
Tidak juga kau

Tak perlu sedu sedan itu

Aku ini binatang jalang
Dari kumpulannya terbuang

Biar peluru menembus kulitku
Aku tetap meradang menerjang

Luka dan bisa kubawa berlari
Berlari
Hingga hilang pedih peri

Dan aku akan lebih tidak perduli

Aku mau hidup seribu tahun lagi

Maret 1943

DOA

kepada pemeluk teguh

Tuhanku
Dalam termangu
Aku masih menyebut namamu

Biar susah sungguh
mengingat Kau penuh seluruh

cayaMu panas suci
tinggal kerdip lilin di kelam sunyi

Tuhanku

aku hilang bentuk
remuk

Tuhanku

aku mengembara di negeri asing

Tuhanku
di pintuMu aku mengetuk
aku tidak bisa berpaling

13 November 1943

SENJA DI PELABUHAN KECIL
buat: Sri Ajati

Ini kali tidak ada yang mencari cinta
di antara gudang, rumah tua, pada cerita
tiang serta temali. Kapal, perahu tiada berlaut
menghembus diri dalam mempercaya mau berpaut

Gerimis mempercepat kelam. Ada juga kelepak elang
menyinggung muram, desir hari lari berenang
menemu bujuk pangkal akanan. Tidak bergerak
dan kini tanah dan air tidur hilang ombak.

Tiada lagi. Aku sendiri. Berjalan
menyisir semenanjung, masih pengap harap
sekali tiba di ujung dan sekalian selamat jalan
dari pantai keempat, sedu penghabisan bisa terdekap

1946

YANG TERAMPAS DAN YANG PUTUS

kelam dan angin lalu mempesiang diriku,
menggigir juga ruang di mana dia yang kuingin,
malam tambah merasuk, rimba jadi semati tugu

di Karet, di Karet (daerahku y.a.d) sampai juga deru dingin

aku berbenah dalam kamar, dalam diriku jika kau datang
dan aku bisa lagi lepaskan kisah baru padamu;
tapi kini hanya tangan yang bergerak lantang

tubuhku diam dan sendiri, cerita dan peristiwa berlalu beku

1949

DERAI DERAI CEMARA

cemara menderai sampai jauh
terasa hari akan jadi malam
ada beberapa dahan di tingkap merapuh
dipukul angin yang terpendam

aku sekarang orangnya bisa tahan
sudah berapa waktu bukan kanak lagi
tapi dulu memang ada suatu bahan
yang bukan dasar perhitungan kini

hidup hanya menunda kekalahan
tambah terasing dari cinta sekolah rendah
dan tahu, ada yang tetap tidak terucapkan
sebelum pada akhirnya kita menyerah

1949

Of Children

2006-06-03T08:52:00.000+07:00

"To make your children capable of honesty is the beginning of education"
John Ruskin (1819-1900)

" Where children are, there is a golden age"
Friedrich Von Hardenberg (1772-1801)

"Let children be able to do all things, and love to do only the good"
Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592)

"You must teach your children that the ground beneath their feet is the ashes of your grandfathers. So that they will respect the land, tell your children that the earth is rich with the lives of our kin. Teach your children what we have taught our children, that the earth is our mother. Whatever befalls the earth befalls the sons of the earth. It men spit opun the ground, they spit upon themselves."
Seattle (1784-1866), native American chief of the Dwamish, Suquamish and allied native American tribes

" We can not shape our children according to our ideas,
We must keep and love them as God gave them to us"
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832)

"I long to be in the midst of the children, and have more pleasure in their little follies than in the wisdom of the wise"
Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826)

"For children preserve the fame of a man after his death"
Aeschylus (525-456 B.C.)

". . . It is children who are God's Presence, promise and hope for mankind . . ."

Mukadimah

2006-06-03T08:45:00.000+07:00

Bismillaahir-Rahmaanir-Rahiim

" Karena Masa Lalu tidak dapat menerangi Masa Depan, pikiran manusia berkelana di tengah kabut . . ."