Catatan Sederhana Maimon Herawati/Muthmainnah
Teman semua,
Esok sambungan internet sudah putus. Rabu insya Allah kami sekeluarga akan bertolak menuju tanah air.
Mohon pamit.....mungkin akan lama tak menyapa dan berkunjung....
Mohon doa, semoga kepulangan kami lancar dan tidak banyak hambatan...
Insya Allah akan menetap di Tanjung Sari ( 7 km dari Unpad Jatinangor).
Ta ra...
*Tulisan ini ditulis Muhammad di dalam School's gold book. Apa itu gold book, jangan tanya saya. Saya juga nggak ngerti.
Ini kisahnya:
I am going to Indonesia. I will miss all my friends but I have a red book that when I miss my friends I can open the book and read all of it.
At Indonesia I will be looking forward to my house because I might have a bunk bed. In my house, I have a brother, a sister and a baby.
People write in my red book and take it home for about 1 or 2 days. They also put their emails in the red book and photos. 4 poeple wrote in it.
The plane I am going on is a Emirate to Dubai and to Indonesia is a Air Asia to Jakarta.
The year I am going to in Indonesia is 2 (kelas disebut year 1 =kelas 1, year 2, kelas 2 dsb)
When I am in the airport of Dubie (Dubai, maksudnya), I will sleep in the airport because will have to get ready for my next journey. I will sleep in the airport for 1 day. My plane will arrive at Newcastle airport at 12.00 and I will be going at 9.00. I will be going to the airport by taxi. I have my lugage shared by my brother and my sister has her own one.
They might be an adventure everyday in school. In Malaysia, there is a place call Borneo with a forest in.
In Indonesia, you don't have to wear any shoes.(??! Masa sih??) In Indonesia, the math is much more harder than here. There is rice field in Indonesia and sometimes we might visit it.
The money in Indonesia is not pence and pound. It is rupeiah. When I arrive at Indonesia I will be going to visit a lot of places that is in Indonesia.
In Indonesia I will sell some books in the street.
(Baca kalimat terakhir Umi hampir terjatuh, tertawa. Aduh, Nak Sayang, jualan di jalan? Oh, boy...)
It was a bizarre spat. The Daily Mail's front page spluttered with outrage at a junior transport minister's musings on national gloom and pessimism. The paper seemed to take it as a personal affront - and in a way, of course, it was. No one tries harder to foster national anger, despair and fear than the Mail. No one paints a grimmer daily portrait of a nation that's been in terminal moral decline since Lord Northcliffe rolled the first edition off the presses in 1896. When asked at the end of his life for his magic formula, Northcliffe wheezed: "I give them a daily hate." So no wonder they were incensed that anyone might challenge the national gloom they have wrought.
The roads minister Tom Harris had pointed out that living standards have risen, crime is down, people live longer and they enjoy more pleasures and entertainments of every kind. "So why is everyone so bloody miserable?" he asked. Are "crippling levels of cynicism and pessimism part of the human condition ... Were we always like this? What happened to that postwar optimism and commitment to common values? Are they gone for ever, and if so, why? If not, how can we bring them back?"
He was forced to scramble into the studios to apologise: "Timing isn't my strong point," he admitted. Indeed, he didn't pick his moment, with unemployment starting to rise, petrol up 22% in a year, consumer prices up by 3.3% and the average family facing a drop of £8 a week in disposable income. At the same time, house prices are tumbling, mortgages cost more and new mortgages are vanishing amid warnings that things may get as bad as the early 1980s. So it probably wasn't the best week for a minister to be puzzled by pessimism.
But his remarks raise interesting questions - the first being a reminder that ministers are not allowed to raise interesting questions. If they say anything beyond the anodyne mantras of the day they will be crushed by the same negative forces that complain that modern politicians are uninspiring, never tell the truth and never engage honestly with the public. This is not a partisan point: any Tory saying anything out loud that is mildly speculative but off-script will be mangled just as fast by media that are, paradoxically, eager for politicians to say something even slightly original - yet squash the breath out of them if they do. Thinking aloud is not allowed. Indeed, thinking of any kind is dangerous. It was not always so at Westminster, or not to this degree.
But what of the substance of Harris's remarks? Let's imagine that he had made them before the recent turmoil; in the good times his words would have been just as true, for the public mood of cynicism and bloody miserableness flourished alongside healthy GDP growth. Loathing of politics and politicians was already reaching a peak, with disbelief of every fact and statistic, and support for any anti-politics gesture (David Davis, the Irish no, refusal to vote) - to the point where parliamentary democracy itself looked rocky.
Who's to blame, and what might be done? Culprit number one is undoubtedly the media, more virulent than in almost any other western democracy, with too many newspapers competing for a shrinking readership. The Mail's doom-laden poison pretends to speak for an imaginary "middle England", just as the raucous Sun pretends to speak for a fictitious "white van man", reflecting back to the nation mythical caricatures of itself. Mercifully, real people are nicer. Three maverick rightwing owners controlling most of the press set the tone and the agenda - bullying the BBC to follow them in the name of "balance", which the BBC too often does, uncertain of its own compass. Rabidly anti-European, socially penal, xenophobic, anti-state, they spread the simple message that nothing works except markets mitigated by punishment. Instead of breaking away, the dominant voices of the blogosphere often echo and intensify this pessimism and malice.
The impact of newspapers is hard to measure, but over a century their caterwauling has helped make the British the worst Europeans, with the widest inequality, one of the lowest top tax rates, and more of its citizens jailed than anyone else. An Observer poll shows we are more likely to deny climate change, making it hard for politicians to take brave and necessary action - consider the Mail's constant promotion of climate doubt. Measles is back, and officials warn of the great decline in vaccination. Why? It's the Mail's weird campaign against MMR. And how spitefully the Mail makes all women miserable, like the mean girl in the playground bitching about the others - too thin, too fat, too bossy, too ambitious, too brassy, too chav, too divorced. The only good Mail women give up top careers for their children. No wonder this country is a more miserable place than it need be: fearful, mistrustful, angry.
But politicians deserve their share of blame. New Labour, modelled from the dull clay of focus groups, rarely dared challenge the nostrums of the media moguls. To keep pessimism at bay, people need a political endeavour to believe in. Politicians courting popularity by appealing to selfish individualism rightly earn contempt: they threw that 2p bribe back at Brown. Social animals need encouraging towards that "optimism and commitment to common values" whose passing Tom Harris regrets. But when both parties cling together in a deadly embrace to prevent any choice between them, politics is rightly despised.
Harris is right in one important regard: there never was a better time to be alive for this European generation, freer to shape their own destinies, freer to be themselves, defying the Mail's yearning for a better yesterday that never was.
But in another way, Harris was badly wrong. Airily he boasts of "average" per capita growth - but Labour hasn't understood the hard facts revealed in the latest ONS figures. Half the population has had little growth for five years, and a third - including skilled workers - has suffered a real fall. Homeowners saw their capital rise - but that may turn to dust. City bonuses grotesquely skew "average" earnings, while incomes fracture all the way up the scale among the top half. We are not two but three or four nations now: what's good for those on professional salaries has done no good to the rest.
All new research here and abroad shows how inequality diminishes wellbeing and makes people unhappier. Labour should be explaining these basic facts, persuading voters that it need not be so. Recapturing that postwar progressive optimism is what Labour's for.
Apa kabar temans?
Sudah lama tidak ngempi. Sebenarnya bukanlah sibuk-sibuk amat. Namun, toh ternyata tak banyak yang tercatat dari berlalunya hari-hari.
Walau belum jelas kapan, namun semakin dekat masa kembali ke tanah air setelah ditinggal 8 tahun. Odd, strange, sad, happy, excited, just a bunch of mixed feeling.
Odd...karena sekian lama berkutat dengan ide 'pulang' namun belum tersampiakan...lalu sudddenly, hm, yes, insya Allah, we can go home. Oh?
Sad...tanah Geordie ini demikian lekat dalam diri. Inilah tempat terlama menghabiskan kehidupan, kecuali palangki, desa kelahiran. Itupun, jika dihitung masa memori mulai lekat, masih lebih banyak memori di sini, tanah Alan Shearer. Di Palangki paling hanya 7 tahun (usia 10 tahun pindah ke PAdang), lalu di Padang juga hanya 7 tahun, lalu Bandung 6 tahun, lalu Jakarta 2 tahun....lalu Newcastle.
HAnya setahun masa pernikahan di habiskan di BAndung, sisanya di sini. Diri yang seorang istri dan ibu terbentuk di sini. Mengokohkan posisi sebagai bagian dari masyarakat. Walau ibu muda namun punya tanggung jawab...belajar berbuat...
A twinge of regret that it is possible I haven't done all I should had.
Akan meninggalkan tekuk tanah yang demikian lekat dengan langkah. Cowgate, Haji Mustafa, Watan, Mumtaz,Netto, hutchinson, Grainger Market. RVI, UMC, Westgate Clinic, Nuns Moor, dan lain-lain.
Berpisah dengan sahabat yang menyertai kehidupan. Sarah, Mrs tucknott, Mrs Gillespie, Carol, John, Jenny, Kay.
Saudara-saudara yang akan terus di sini, dan tak mungkin bertemu kecuali mereka kembali ke tanah air.
Happy karena akan kembali bersama keluarga besar.
Excited karena kembali pada 'real world'.
What feeling should I allow myself to feel?
***
Rabb, semua untukMu. Di mana saja bumiMu. Dan yang fana hanyalah hari setelah qiyamah. Semua sekedar berlalu...kecuali amal baik.
Perfect proof that Britain is dumbing down comes from the toe-curlingly embarrassing answers given by many contestants on TV and radio general knowledge quiz shows. Here, CLAIRE COHEN presents some of the most outrageously stupid doing the rounds on the internet
UNIVERSITY CHALLENGE (BBC2)
Jeremy Paxman: What is another name for "cherrypickers" and "cheesemongers"?
Contestant: Homosexuals.
Paxman: No. They're regiments in the British Army who will be very upset with you.
The wrong answers on quiz shows up and down the country make many squirm with embarrassment
BEG, BORROW OR STEAL (BBC2) Jamie Theakston:
Contestant: Geography isn't my strong point.
Theakston: There's a clue in the title.
Contestant: Leicester.
Wood: What 'K' could be described as the Islamic Bible?
Contestant: Er. . .
Wood: It's got two syllables . . . Kor . . .
Contestant: Blimey?
Wood: Ha ha ha ha, no. The past participle of run . . .
Contestant: (Silence.)
Wood: OK, try it another way. Today I run, yesterday I . . .
Contestant: Walked?
BBC NORFOLK
Stewart White: Who had a worldwide hit with What A Wonderful World?
Contestant: I don't know.
White: I'll give you some clues. What do you call the part between your hand and your elbow?
Contestant: Arm.
White: Correct. And if you're not weak, you're . .?
Contestant: Strong.
White: Correct - and what was Lord Mountbatten's first name?
Contestant: Louis.
White: Well, there we are then. So, who had a worldwide hit with the song What A Wonderful World?
Contestant: Frank Sinatra?
LATE SHOW (BBC MIDLANDS)
Alex Trelinski: What's the capital of Italy?
Contestant: France.
Trelinski: France is another country. Try again.
Contestant: Oh, um, Benidorm.
Trelinski: Wrong, sorry, let's try another question. In which country is the Parthenon?
Contestant: Sorry, I don't know.
Trelinski: Just guess a country then.
Contestant: Paris.
THE WEAKEST LINK (BBC2)
Anne Robinson: Oscar Wilde, Adolf Hitler and Jeffrey Archer have all written books about their experiences in what: Prison or the Conservative Party?
Contestant: The Conservative Party.
BEACON RADIO, Wolverhampton
DJ Mark: For £10, what is the nationality of the Pope?
Ruth from Rowley Regis: I think I know that one. Is it Jewish?
UNIVERSITY CHALLENGE (BBC2)
Bamber Gascoigne: What was Gandhi's first name?
Contestant: Goosey?
GWR FM, Bristol
Presenter: What happened in Dallas on November 22, 1963?
Contestant: I don't know, I wasn't watching it then.
RTE RADIO 2FM, Ireland
Presenter: What is the name of the long-running TV comedy show about pensioners: Last Of The. .?
Caller: Mohicans.
RICHARD AND JUDY (C4))
Q: Which American actor is married to Nicole Kidman?
A: Forrest Gump.
LINCS FM PHONE-IN
Presenter: Which is the largest Spanish-speaking country in the world?
Contestant: Barcelona.
Presenter: I was really after the name of a country.
Contestant: I'm sorry; I don't know the names of any countries in Spain.
NATIONAL LOTTERY (BBC1)
Q: What is the world's largest continent?
A: The Pacific
RICHARD AND JUDY (C4))
Presenter: On which street did Sherlock Holmes live?
Contestant: Er. . .
Presenter: He makes bread. . .
Contestant: Err...
Presenter: He makes cakes . .
Contestant: Kipling Street?
THE BIGGEST GAME IN TOWN (ITV)
Steve Le Fevre: What was signed to bring World War I to an end in 1918?
Contestant: Magna Carta?
BREAKFAST SHOW (RADIO 1)
Chris Moyles: Which 's' is a kind of whale that can grow up to 80 tonnes?
Contestant: Ummm. . .
Moyles: It begins with 's' and rhymes with 'perm'.
Contestant: Shark.
JAMES O'BRIEN SHOW (LBC)
O'Brien: How many kings of England have been called Henry?
Contestant: Well, I know there was a Henry the Eighth. . . er . . . Three?
CHRIS SEARLE SHOW (BBC RADIO BRISTOL)
Searle: In which European country is Mount Etna?
Caller: Japan.
Searle: I did say which European country, so in case you didn't hear that, I can let you try again.
Caller: Er . . . Mexico?
PAUL WAPPAT (BBC RADIO NEWCASTLE)
Wappat: How long did the Six-Day War between Egypt and Israel last?
Contestant (after long pause): Fourteen days.
DARYL DENHAM'S DRIVETIME (VIRGIN RADIO)
Denham: In which country would you spend shekels?
Contestant: Holland?
Denham: Try the next letter of the alphabet.
Contestant: Iceland? Ireland?
Denham (helpfully): It's a bad line. Did you say Israel?
Contestant: No.
THE VAULT (ITV)
Melanie Sykes: What is the name given to the condition where the sufferer can fall asleep at any time?
Contestant: Nostalgia.
STEVE WRIGHT IN THE AFTERNOON (RADIO 2)
Wright: Johnny Weissmuller died on this day. Which jungle-swinging character clad only in a loincloth did he play?
Contestant: Jesus
NATIONAL LOTTERY (BBC1)
Eamonn Holmes: Dizzy Gillespie is famous for playing what?
Contestant: Basketball.
DOG EAT DOG (BBC1)
Ulrika Jonsson: Who wrote Lord Of The Rings?
Contestant: Enid Blyton.
NATIONAL LOTTERY (BBC1)
Eamonn Holmes: There are three states of matter: solid, liquid and . . ?
Contestant: Jelly.
FORT BOYARD (CHALLENGE TV)
Jodie Marsh: Arrange these two groups of letters to form a word - CHED and PIT.
Team: Chedpit.
SIMPLY THE BEST (ITV)
Phil Tufnell: How many Olympic Games have been held?
Contestant: Six.
Tufnell: Higher!
Contestant: Five.
NOTTS AND CROSSES QUIZ (BBC RADIO NOTTINGHAM)
Jeff Owen: In which country is Mount Everest?
Contestant (long pause): Er, it's not in Scotland, is it?
THE WEAKEST LINK (BBC2)
Anne Robinson: In traffic, what 'j' is where two roads meet?
Contestant: Jool carriageway?
QUIZMANIA (ITV)
Greg Scott: We're looking for an occupation beginning with T.
Contestant: Doctor.
Scott: No, it's 'T'. 'T' for Tommy. 'T' for Tango.
Contestant: Oh, (pause) Doctor.
BIG QUIZ (LBC)
Gary King: Name the funny men who once entertained kings and queens at court.
Contestant: Lepers.
DANNY KELLY SHOW (RADIO WM)
Kelly: Which French Mediterranean town hosts a famous film festival every year?
Contestant: I need a clue.
Kelly: OK. What do beans come in?
Contestant: Cartons?
TALKSPORT
Andy Townsend: How many wheels does a tricycle have?
Caller: Two.
Townsend: The Beatles were known as the Fab...?
Caller: Five.
MAGIC 52 (NORTH-EAST ENGLAND)
Presenter: In what year was President Kennedy assassinated?
Contestant: Erm...
Presenter: Well, let's put it this way - he didn't see 1964.
Contestant: 1965?
WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE? (ITV)
Chris Tarrant (asking the audience): 'Jambon' is the French for which food?
11 per cent of the audience: Jam.
DAVE LEE TRAVIS SHOW (BREEZE FM)
DLT: In which European country are there people called Walloons?
Contestant: Wales.
JANICE FORSYTH SHOW (BBC RADIO SCOTLAND)
Forsyth: What is India's currency?
Contestant: Ramadan.
OWEN MONEY SHOW (BBC RADIO WALES)
Money: In 30 seconds, name as many well-known politicians as you can.
Caller: Er. . . Tony Brown. . . and Nigel Benn. (Silence.)
Berakhir sudah karyamu di sini, Bu. Semoga Allah terima semuanya dan tempatkan engkau di antara bidadari surga. Amiin.
Kami akan jaga, anak-anakmu, Bu. Juga lelaki besar, suamimu. Semoga tak akan terlalaikan mereka, di tengah juta aktivitas.
Tenanglah pergimu Bu Kastina Indriawati, kami ikhlas melepasmu.
Sampai jumpa lagi, nanti.
