Opa Johan A Smart Lover

Opa Johan A Smart Lover

I tease, fondle, cuddle, kiss with words, my eyes. I didn’t remember I ever said such a stupid ‘I love you’ or presented flowers. to my pacar or lover. What’s to be kissed so freely given? I pretended to whisper her something, then suddenly steal me a kiss.

After a furious quarrel Opa Johan said: “I don’t need you, stay away, I hate you”.

Then, ...

Suddenly I were taken, captured, embraced, pressed by my lover who wanted to kiss me by force while I feigned to fight myself free and roar with laughter. That’s her kiss of peace, eager kisses not just one but many times what I never would forget you know?

I said, “Am I not a  very smart lover? Be forewarned you little fool, you might really love me some day. Ha. Ha.”

Saying ‘wife’ sounds so dreary, so dull, so stupid, so cold, so rude, so degrading he said.

 May 2010

Picture In Words

The Gardener

Opa (grandpa) Johan told his girlfriend – a lovely woman - about a beautiful garden.

“What a lovely garden. How did you manage it?” So I asked The Gardener.

“God granted me a little plot of earth. The rain came, the sun shone and the wind carried seeds. Then the soil became a seedbed, tiny plants were germinating. I dug a well to water them and they changed into ferns, chevelures, plants with beautiful flowers and some even into big trees. I haven’t expensive, special roses, only wild roses, wild flowers and wild plants. Sometimes I took back home seeds of plants which I liked to have in my garden. Sure, you could plant any plant you like if your plot of earth has sufficient space to support, you diligently water and care for it. 

I made a little pond, connected it with a ditch with running water. Water plants – I planted a wild water-lily, a lotus, a willow -, fish, freshwater shrimps, crabs, frogs, a little turtle, dragon-, damselflies settled there. Butterflies, bees, crickets, cicada’s, lizards, a squirrel and in the evening, bats, fireflies visited while birds were nesting in my garden. I have built myself a little cottage, - my nest - and am so grateful, my little plot of land changed into a paradise.” So said The Gardener. 

“Well, how able you are, though you look like a scarecrow” I said, “though you haven’t got a proper education, never  studied gardening or bought expensive flowering plants, yet you managed to create a paradise.”

“Do you want to make his acquaintance and see his garden?” Opa Johan asked her.

“ .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . “

“I’m myself that gardener. Ha, ha.

So am I congratulating myself? Don’t you think I’m very courageous saying it? I deserve a kiss.”

May 2012

Musing On The Same Rights For Women

Musing On The Same Rights For Women

It’s not just the same rights for women, not just the  human rights, but the same rights, the fundamental rights for all the inhabitants, the living on this earth.

“The right to eat and be eaten, ha, ha” said Opa Johan.

May 2012

Complain About The Almighty Who Created Man So Black

Complain About The Almighty Who Created Man So Black

Pak Arif whispered to me:

“ ... Instead of celebrating with publishing (at that time, 1995 in Jakarta), by gathering all the sins, atrocities perpetrated by men towards women.

Complain about The Almighty who created man so black! I would rather sing, praise woman, of her goodness, her warmth, her charm, her smile, her voice her dignity, … and be very grateful to The Creator who made her, instead of exposing her wickedness, deceit, as I myself am not better than she is.

It’s fortunate that we have a Valentine day to remember when man and woman, male and female are happy together; that time which is so praised, sung, painted by artists and celebrated by all creatures on the earth through all the ages.”

May 2012

What The Digital Camera Brought Me 2

Fantasy

I dreamed, as I so eagerly wanted to straighten an unsuccesful, poor picture, I edit it with the Microsoft Office Picture Manager just by rotating the picture by degrees and crop. Then  I succeeded to turn out a picture very challenging to the imagination, as just a patch of grass before, would look like a beautiful forest. And that’s just one out of an unsuccesful picture, not a recording.

Close up views

Editing with the ZoomBrowser EX, I got these close up pictures of the tiny colorful flowers.

Windows Life Movie Maker, makes these still pictures moving.

Original picture

Imagine that all was created out this one picture, of my poor, not succesful shooting with my pocket PowerShot A 490 digital camera.

You couldn’t learn, find it in books. Just try, experiment and a sea of possibilities open up. What a happy find. That’s my precious reward. How rich I am.

May 2012

What The Digital Camera Brought Me

What The Digital Camera Brought Me

I was a bit disappointed with my digital pocket camera Canon Powershot A490 before, though I was glad that I easily could take it with me on my travels. I thought that it was just for shooting pictures. But as I read the manual did I know that it could also make recordings. I was so happy when I knew this. I could record my choir, my dogs, birds twitter, crickets, cicadas singing and I thought to record butterflies, birds in flight, fireflies, water spiders, rising smoke from a joss stick, a flame, glowing embers, running, gurgling, rushing, splashing water, live fish, sailing clouds, ...

Imagine what the digital camera brought me. Even shooting pictures became fascinating, edit them with Movie Maker and make me a movie. What a joy it was as I learned by trial and error. How wonderful, superb is the camera, ZoomBrowser EX, the Movie Maker, Windows Live Photo Gallery, the Picture Manager. I could make me still pictures out of recordings, make these still pictures gently moving, I could color, crop, resize them, make them like pencil drawings, silhouet pictures and there’s a lot more I don’t know.

As I aimed at the swimming ducks, I only captured a vague picture of them, yet I can darken it to be more visible. I cut away a lot which is superfluous, mute it and paste the parts worth it, together. The tall weeds look like beautiful trees outlined against the sky and I got a lovely marsh besides to make me a nice video for You Tube and my videos blog.

This is a recording

I made snapshots of the recording and again I got a nice picture and a pencil drawing for my pictures blog. Great.

This is a still picture

 

This is a Picture Drawing

And whenever I turn out a poor picture, video, I myself am to blame.

May 2012

A Kiss Of Farewell

A Kiss Of Farewell

Gretl was so listless as she vomited, discharged blood on her way to the doctor. The second time si Upik visited, her doctor said:

“There’s almost no hope she would recover.”

Then she wept silently, watching the doctor giving, providing the last, best possible treatment. On her way home she stopped to see the last moments of Gretl, her convulsive movements of nearing death. She drove the car while one hand was gently stroking her body, held her convulsive paws, trying to soothe her. Gretl still breathed back home. Si Upik didn’t cry anymore. She pressed a silent kiss so long on Gretl’s face as though to say farewell, as though she wished to retrieve her back to life. Twice did she succeed to save her.

And I thought of Princess Diana who was so loved by the whole world. But there’s no one so close, so loved as Gretl - just a former unwanted doggy - by si Upik.

September 2009

Praise The Lord, Halleluya

Praise The Lord, Halleluya

“May I have all your sekoteng (gingerly warm drink) left?” So asked Opa Johan’s wife.

“Sure, good job, go ahead my dear little fool. Praise The Lord, Halleluya. Amen. Ha, ha.”

May 2012

That's A Kiss

That’s A Kiss

“As my wife was cutting my hair so conscientiously, looking closely, her face so temptingly near, then I suddenly kiss her. Ha.ha. What’s a kiss were it offered freely? Were I to cut her hair, I’d kiss her till I’m worn out as she’s without her defences.” So said Opa Johan.

“When after my choir’s singing, some woman listener suddenly nears, without saying a word kisses me, that’s a kiss from her heart. What’s a thousand thanks, a deafening applause, standing ovation?” So said the Choir Conductor.

“Receiving something which is really good, beautiful, is invaluable, unforgettable, not to be paid with all the money, the gold in the world. That’s like receiving a kiss in one’s soul.” So thinks Pak Arif.

May 2012

Opa Johan Comments On My Writing

Opa Johan Comments On My Writing

“When Mr Chew speaks of “Hail To Freedom Of Speech”, then be sure it is a warning to be prepared to read something you don’t like, something that’s counter the public’s conviction, opinion, your belief. So don’t read it. Ha, ha.”

“When he talks about “you think you’re a genius“ he has the story of the “scholar and the boatman in mind.” *

*There is a story of Rumi about a scholar who was reading a book when he crossed the river with a boat.

“Have you ever read Omar Khayam’s book?” asked the scholar to the boatman.

“No, Sir, I cannot read nor write.”

“Well, than you waste the time of your life, because you cannot enjoy the great pieces of Omar Khayam, Shakespeare or Goethe.” said the scholar.

Soon the weather was getting cloudy and the wind blew very hard.

“Can you swim?” asked the boatman.

“No,” he said. “Well, your knowledge, status and life are useless because there will be a storm.”

The illiterate boatman was safe because he could swim.

May 2012

Why Is She So Beautiful?

Why Is She So Beautiful?

“Why is she so beautiful?”

“?”

“I’m a man, you dear little fool. Ha.ha.” So said Opa Johan to his wife.

May 2012

Rate Your Self

Rate Your Self

In the near future there will be no examinations anymore. Anyone could learn, teach himself and rate himself through the internet. Who then wants a Master’s, a PhD degree?

The exam questions could be found in the internet. The candidate, there are no barriers of education, of gender, of age, of place, of time, ... anyone can answer the questions; given a limited time. Then he could see the right answers, know what’s right, wrong to his answers and so rate himself. Private. No one knowing his rating.

Knowing that you rate high you certainly are proud and you eagerly want that the whole world know this but when your rating is poor you don’t want anyone to know it. That’s just plain knowing one’s self, common sense, not psychology.

When you think you’re a genius, then you should, could compete openly, not so much as designing the most ingenious, prestigious bridges, ships, fastest jets, that’s nothing, but designing a modern space city, a deep ocean city, a deep underground city, clone creatures that are extinct and bring them, the mammoth, dinosaur, ... back to life and be the champion in the world, watched on the internet as the Olympic Games on TV.

That’s a challenge, that would be really great, really a feat which is not impossible in the future. Stephen Hawking even asserts that it is theoretically possible  to travel in time, to the future or the past.

May 2012

Woman Dalang Singing

Woman Dalang Singing

And there’s the woman dalang (puppeteer), Ny. Kenuk, conducting the gamelan (Javanese orchestra) with her knocking stick: tock, tock, ..., enchanting the wayangs or puppets to life, singing so beautifully. I couldn’t follow her narration as I haven’t mastered the Javanese language, yet it was so captivating. Imagine, it’s something as a puppet opera and this shortened version staged in the wayang museum takes 4 hours, the real show staged in the open air could hold the common folk the whole night. 

My pocket camera couldn’t capture a sharp picture of her and the puppets, but most important is, I got her singing, the gamelan playing. Where should I start recording, where should I end?

I felt she sings as beautiful as wellknown professional opera artists singing in a concert hall or bewitching as a Lorelei. Just hear her and the gamelan. It is sad when the traditional wayang show will be forgotten, lost. So said my Choir Conductor.

May 2012