December 24 2014SAFE FROM FALLING COCONUTS Id like permission to shout and scream at every person who rides a motorbike without a buckledup helmet But of course this is Bali where showing anger is the mark of an animal not a human so I should just register confusion and express myself politely So I would be delighted if youd pass this simple message to anyone I realise it isnt you dear reader who has a helmet but doesnt wear it or wears it in the manner of a hat Or indeed carries it in his or her hands presumably as some sort of protective glove And in context may I refer to international statistics More than 95 of those who are permanently disabled or killed in road accidents are not wearing seat belts while in cars etc or not CLOSING THE CLIP on their helmet when riding a motorbike Simply put with the helmet on ones head one is perfectly safe from falling coconuts However the helmet leave
Read moreTag: 2014
December 24 2014
December 24 2014 This Sporting Life wishes season greetings for the festive season Christmas Kuninganand Prophets Birthday and happy 2015 to its readers MOTORING NEWS BALI FORMULA ONE CIRCUIT The idea of a Formula One motoring circuit in Bali is back in the news Over the last 15 years or so This Sporting Life has seen proposals for a circuit ranging from Jembrana West Bali Pulau Serengan Turtle Island and the Bukit come and go Now we see the management of Indonesian National Sports Committee KONI Bali urging the Ministry of Youth and Sports Kemenpora to build a Moto GP and F1 racing circuit in Bali Although not yet approved by the relevant Minister apparently the provincial government of Bali has debated the development ldquoWe strongly support the cons
Read moreDecember 24 2014
Its quiet out there on the streets the crowds have left its only us with a fantastic range of shops to rediscover so for those visitors still around along with us we have a lot of shopping pleasures to ourselves ndash
Read moreDecember 24 2014
Rounding off the Aquarius phase of the Suns journey this fortnight as we move into Pisces on the 19th Mercury moves into Aquarius on the 10th and Venus into Pisces on the 11th Neptune conjoins Chiron and the New Moon on the 14th along with the Sun marking a very profound and healing month After the latest of our Pluto square Saturn meetings this is welcome relief as we can now set in place some of the necessary changes the square provoked The long Mars retrograde finally turns direct in March at which time it will be apparent that we have been in a holding pattern with little action since December As I have mentioned previously Uranus moves into Aries in June and by July will be in opposition to Saturn and square to Pluto July and August promising to be potent months of intense change and emotional exchange Aries is always looking for a fight and by that time Uranus will be joined by Jupiter adding a larger than life agenda to all proceedings For now however Jupiter is working with Pluto to bring a compassionate overlay to the current transformative process and promoting Saturn to soften his hard edges a little As the Sun slides out of Aquarius and into Pisces to team up with Jupiter by months end the human heart strings will be plucked and asked to play a tender tune of unconditional love particularly if the world stage is set with natural catastrophes like HaitiNEW MOON 25 Aquarius 18 February 14 2010 1052 am
Read moreDecember 24 2014
December 24 2014 Saturn enters Sagittarius on the first day of this fortnight and will remain there until the end of 2017 apart from a 3 month return to Scorpio mid next year The orbit of Saturn takes approximately 29 years and our last transit was between 1986 and 1988 On the day of Saturns entry into Sagittarius we have 5 planets in the sign of Capricorn ruled by Saturn including Pluto with its square to Uranus Remember our New MoonSun conjunction has just occurred and the tone is sobering and the New Year Celebrations have not yet begun Sagittarius is the sign that advocates truth justice and freedom above all else and with Saturn there for this next cycle we may see a push towards political and religious restructuring The Chernobyl nuclear disaster happened during the last transit of Saturn in Sagittarius and we are currently in our cleanup of the Fukushima traged
Read moreDecember 24 2014
December 24 2014Art with a Frisson Two books recently given an Australian launch ndash at the University of Sydney ndash provide a more profound focus on the real Bali than any number of touristoriented creations The real Bali is of course not found in performances of the Kecap Dance and other wonderful expressions of the live art presented for gawkers moneyed or not but in the heritage and stillpractised and continuously renewed culture and lifestyle of the Balinese themselves These are not seen in the KLS triangle KutaLegianSeminyak or in multistar international hotels where tourists spend the money that fuels Balis economy They are found in the villages and are revealed to the fully interested and sentient through electivelysourced media principally books Adrian Vickers whose research at the University of Sydney itself constitutes an important body of work in Asian studies generally and from our perspective Bali in partic
Read moreDecember 24 2014
The Whistle BlowerIn this gritty movie inspired by true events an American female police officer takes on a job with a private contractor as a peacekeeper in the postwar torn Balkans There she is made head of Gender Affairs and through her work with women she stumbles upon a lsquowhite slave racket in which innocent young girls are viciously forced into prostitution Director Larysa Kondracki makes a strong movie and Oscar Winner Rachel Weisz as the peacekeeper also performs strongly In addition Rachel gets superb support from Monica Bellucci and Vanessa Redgrave as two ineffectual diplomats
Read moreDetoxification – Taking the Easy Way Out
Detoxification ndash Taking the Easy Way Out Everyday our bodies are under assault living as we do in an era of relentless toxic exposure from heavy metals plastics pesticides and additives or processes of one kind or another to our foods leading all too often to obesity and chronic ill health Small wonder then if after 30 years or so of toxic overload so many of us succumb to the great debilitating diseases of our age heart attack cancer and diabetes Various means of minimizing or lowering this toxic load are possible and the good news is that that they dont necessarily have to be unpleasantly radical Fasting for instance is supremely effective In fact it is the only true cure for all diseases The trouble with that is that it only works when you dont eat So while you may not die of cancer you will die of starvation Colonic irrigation liver purges and stringent diets can and do work if properly applied but these are n
Read moreDije kejang Rinsoe Cang kar ngumbah Hondane
Dije kejang Rinsoe Cang kar ngumbah Hondane A curious habit Ive noticed people have in Bali is to refer to everyday items using either their brand name or something that is associated with it rather than the actual name of the item According to Balinese Ive talked to about this this habit appeared around the 70s when motorbikes started to become a household item Then the most popular brand was Honda so most folks called a motorbike a you guessed it ldquoHondardquo A camera a curious foreign item mostly carried by tourists was a ldquoKodakrdquo because Kodak was also the name of the place you both bought film and printed your photos washing powder was ldquoRinsordquo soap was ldquoGiprdquo GIV toothpaste was ldquoPepsodenrdquo Pepsodent ldquoSoptekrdquo Softtex for sanitary pads and cigarettes were called ld
Read moreDoing Well by Doing GoodThe Nevhouse CompanyBy Ines Wynn
Doing Well by Doing GoodThe Nevhouse CompanyBy Ines Wynn Nevhouse Company calls itself a philantrocapitalist organization This concept in essence means that any forprofit business venture can opt to earmark a certain percentage of profit from their business to benefit the philanthropic goals of their choice The term philanthrocapitalism was coined by economists Matthew Bishop and Michael Green who coauthored a book How the Rich Can Save the World published in 2008 Its premise is that the profit motive can be harnessed to achieve social good The entrepreneurial skills of successful capitalists can be applied directly to help solve the worlds most pressing challenges the fight against poverty disease unequal wealth distribution etc Business billionaires like Ford Rockefeller and Bill Gates have traditionally set aside a portion of their wealth to establish charitable foundations whose many projects aim to imp
Read more