Willy Wonka and me ;)
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Umbra Mortis "Fates Of Illumination"
Umbra Mortis live at Vicky Sianipar Jakarta
Song title: Fates Of Illumination
Why I ♥ Bintaro - Sorabi
Buka tiap pagi, asli original taste
Lokasi :http://maps.BlackBerry.com?lat=-6.22886&lon=106.68276&z=1&label=Near+Jalan+Graha+Raya+-+Ciledug,Kunciran,Indonesia&address=Jalan+Graha+Raya+-+Ciledug&city=Kunciran®ion=Banten&country=Indonesia via mobile
is the jakarta globe trying to make us nicer people?
'My Jakarta' is my favourite part of The Jakarta Globe. Apparently, I'm not the only one who loves it. It is regularly in the top 10 read articles on the Globe's website -- almost daily, I think.
Reading this column has changed how I look at the world, particularly other people. Knowledge of how little money people make and how hard they work is powerful stuff.
There are a lot of people in Indonesia working very hard just to get by. Maybe -- just maybe -- if everyone understood this, we would start being nicer to each other. Maybe that's the Globe's mission.
Check out the smile on pak Yusup's face? He's doing what he loves. It's almost enough to make me want to take up tennis!
Faces
I took these photos with my now defunct Nokia phone few years ago while shopping at one of the large markets in Jakarta. These are of manequins used to model Moslem's attires. I was attracted by their eerie elegance, blank stare and frozen smiles. The faces weathered and grimed by years of peddling attractive headdress.
Mobile refueling trailers for Transjakarta buses?
"A mobile refueling system and “lane sterilization” were projects that could feasibly be implemented within 100 days, according to discussions after the two-day Sustainable Jakarta Convention.
Taufik Widianto, Transjakarta’s Busway Management Body (BLU) operation manager for equipment and infrastructure, said the mobile refueling system was urgently needed to make operations more efficient."
Experts Suggest Plans to Improve Jakarta Busway - The Jakarta Globe
I immediately imagined something like the mid-flight refueling system for fighter planes with the massive fuel plane hovering above the smaller aircraft and a hose floating in between.
I wonder how it's going to be implemented. It's fun to imagine but if it turns out to be a removable refueling unit on selected bus shelters, there's going to be some seriously disappointed people.
People before cars
"[Former Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs] Dorodjatun [Kuntjoro Jakti] said it was yet not too late for large cities such as Jakarta to move toward urban sustainability, but the city’s development planning should no longer be based on the “road” model, where spatial planning hinges on cars and road networks, but should rather focus on social and environmental aspects."
Jakarta GlobeNo doubt Jakarta is a complicated city to deal with. There are no clear zoning profiles, everything is everywhere. People flock to malls instead of public open spaces. Pollution is high thanks to more than five million cars, motorbikes, trucks, and buses stuck in traffic jams all over the city.
Traffic management is almost nonexistent despite the efforts of the Traffic Management Control agency which is run by the police department. Roads are built, rebuilt, rerouted, and maintained to the whims of not the city authority but those who have the loudest voice and the most money. Potholes and road qualities not maintained according to regulations, responsibilities being tossed back and forth between real estate developers and the public office.
There are office spaces inside residential areas and vice versa, so called "central" business districts spawn uncontrollably all over Jakarta, there is a distinct lack of open space for the public to spend their free time at. Mayoral offices seemingly pointless or powerless with city authorities under control of the governor. Real estate areas pop up on what used to be natural reserves, apartments grow, marketed, and sold only to the haves, malls sprout up on nearly every other corner.
Center of government, trade, business, culture, and entertainment, that's what Jakarta is. Some of its functions need to be jettisoned yet none wish to be away from Jakarta due to lack of infrastructure and opportunities in other areas.
Jakarta is a time bomb waiting to explode. Stress levels are high. Traffic jams are predicted to gridlock the city by 2014, some say by 2011. Right now, localized gridlocks are the norm. Try driving through jalan Sudirman from Senayan to Semanggi during daytime, or check out Karang Tengah in Cinere with one dead traffic light and no traffic police. Metro Pondok Indah any day of the week, especially Saturday.
And I haven't even mentioned the lack of green public space although things are moving along albeit rather slowly, with Taman Menteng and that other park near Mahakam having been built.
Everybody flocks to Jakarta looking for opportunities, from the very poor to the very rich. Population control and distribution is one other difficult thing for the city to deal with. Unequal development across the Java island and indeed across the country helps worsen the issue.
Jakarta is not a healthy place to live in. It needs a coordinated effort from all of its municipalities, the different government departments, various city authorities, the business sector including real estate, transport, and construction, central government, and most importantly, its residents to fix everything that's wrong with it.
