[breakfast] an english exercise

As I can't leave the job just now, I'll bring part of the job to you - the English part. The task - fill in the gaps and make the verbs in bold in to the correct form. They might already be.

For teens look___ to keep weight off, it doesn't have to be a breakfast of champions, but it should to be some kind of brea___st -- and preferably a he___hy one. Yet another study confirm that adole__ents who sk_p breakfast have a higher ri_k of being overweight.

"There's a pretty sign___ant inverse association between how frequently kids report breakfast and how much weight they eat gain over time, and we take into ac__unt other diet__y factors and ph__ical activity," said Mark Pereira, co-a__hor of the study, publish in the March is__e of Pediatrics.

"It's inter___ing to note that the kids who eat breakfast on a daily basis overall have a much better diet and are more ph__ically active," Pereira said.

Added Dr. Peter Richel, chief of pediatrics at Northern Westchester Hospital Center in Mount Kisco, N.Y.: "Grandma and Mom are right. When we s_ip breakfast, especially in the teenage years, then kids tend snack and graze."

Election Day Report (Albeit Very Late)

So, I will not be talking about the results. Zapatero´s party, PSOE, won but not by enough to have an absolute majority in the Congreso de Diputados. Here are some photos of the day, with explanations ;-)This is the first polling place I was able to find. I woke up at 9 a.m. with the intention of finding one in my neighborhood (Tetuán). Unfortunately, I didn´t realize they only open some high schools (where the polling takes place) for polling, not all of them. So I spent thirty five minutes trying to find the one in my neighborhood before going to an area that I knew better than my own neighborhood, pathetic I know!

The list of who votes where with regards to the interior of the school. People from one street vote in one room, others vote in another, etc.

These photos are just for fun. The school isn´t too far from a church. There´s always at least one member of La Guardia Civil on the street on Sundays, they have a barracks nearby. So I decided to take his photo w/o him realizing.

After lunch, I finally made it to my barrio´s high school for the elections. Here I was able to take every single list for the parties that could be elected to the Congreso de Diputados and their version of the Senate. The Senate´s ballot was much simpler than the Congreso´s. I had to come back later and finish the job, as I was only able to take about 10 of the 40 lists for the diputados before someone looked at me with a ,"What are you doing?" look on his face.

Izquierda Unida observer. Iu is the only hard left party that ever garners any votes. When I mean hard left, I mean borderline Communist!An advisory about the elections (forget what it´s about and am too lazy to translate right now).


The end of the night, about fifteen minutes before the polls closed. We were given estimates by gov´t TV a few minutes later. They weren´t too far off.

[housekeeping] issues

Readers, for five days, major things have been happening with me on the personal front, fundamental things.

They came to a head last night. I shall be blogging as soon as possible but this is very important what's happening here and it must be attended to.

I apologize to regulars and will be with you as soon as I can. Everything's fine so don't worry. Have a lovely remainder to your Friday.

There is truly nothing interesting in the news.

We have rain.

[superhero] when it's best not to be

Sometimes a glowing report signs your death warrant. the conventional wisdom was that Admiral Fallon was forced out over his criticisms of Iraq. There is another take:

Which is why, after reading Thomas Barnett's Esquire article on America's CENTCOM commander, I knew that Admiral William "Fox" Fallon would be forced into retirement. After reading the article, the men around that table would have thought as I do: that he was lucky he wasn't fired. In truth, I would have busted him to Seaman Recruit.

On Tuesday, Fallon submitted his resignation.

Barnett's piece has to rank as one of the most embarrassing portraits of an American officer in US military history. Both for Barnett, as well as for Fallon.

If this is the true story, then it might have availed Fallon to have the Esquire piece pulled. No one likes someone presented as a superhero when he is one of any number in the field of battle. One would have thought they'd have learnt from the MacArthur demise.

[truth] seven deadly sins

Greed:	Low
Gluttony:	Medium
Wrath:	Medium
Sloth:	Low
Envy:	Very Low
Lust:	Medium
Pride:	Medium

The Seven Deadly Sins Quiz on 4degreez.com

H/T Jams

Actually disagree with gluttony - I'm anything but. Think lust should rank higher for me.

[сообщение] как я обещал, девченки

Привет, Гузель, Маша и Таня

[dirtiest place on earth] where?

New York on a good day from the World Trade Centre

Just reading about the dirtiest places on earth:

Naples might be known for its great pizza, but it's also known for its ridiculous garbage problem, something no doubt exacerbated by the local Mafia's control over the garbage disposal. The result is that, for all its good points, Naples is a bit of a hell-hole.

... but the author selected Agra as the worst and took a snap of it. What is your dirtiest place in the world? Mine would be Cairo. Remember, we're not just talking about air quality:

Linfen was named by the World Bank last year as having the worst air quality on earth. It features alongside Chernobyl in the Blacksmith Institute's list of the 10 most polluted places in the world and tops the list of most polluted cities compiled by China's own state environmental protection authority.

[from indonesia with love part 2] to be a woman

All photos are Wiki

Decided to run the whole text of Santi's. This was what she had on her own site and then she translated it for me:

Saya menghormati kaum pria. Bahkan berniat untuk mencintai satu pria nantinya. Bagi saya, pria adalah seperti layaknya hakim yang memimpin pengadilan, presiden yang memimpin suatu negara, dan semacamnya. Pada intinya, pria-lah yang sudah ditakdirkan untuk berada di barisan paling depan. Mengendarai kuda putih dengan sebilah pedang di tangan kanan dan seikat mawar untuk saya di tangan kirinya.

I respect men. I even still have an intention to love one of them for good one day. On my perspective, a man is just like a judge that leads a court, a president that leads a country, or things alike. A man is destined to stand in front. With his white horse and sword on his right hand, and a bucket of rose for me on his left hand.

Pada akhirnya, saya akan berlindung di balik jubahnya. Saya akan bersandar di pundaknya dan akan menyambut uluran tangannya.

At the end, I'll be safe behind his sheild. I will lay on his shoulder and took his helping hand.

Pria adalah kekuatan, sejatinya kekuatan. Dari tangannya bisa tercipta sebuah rumah yang kokoh dan nyaman sebagai tempat berlindung. Pria juga adalah sebetulnya tulang punggung yang menyangga wanita dan keluarganya. Coba bayangkan kalau badan anda tidak ada tulang punggung.

A man is a strength itself. From his bare hands, he could build a house as a safe shelter. A man is also the backbone which is a brace for his family and his woman. Could you imagine if your body doesn't have a backbone?

Saya mengagumi ke-logis-an alam pikiran pada pria. Betapa pria dapat mengambil keputusan dengan menggunakan “kalkulator” pikirannya tanpa dipengaruhi tangisan cengeng. Saya pun mengagumi taktik mereka dalam menyikapi hidup, serta kekerasan hatinya yang menurut saya melambangkan kegagahan. Saya mengagumi pria, itu pastinya.

I adore the logical way of thinking on men. How they could make a logical decision with their "calculator" sense without being effected with tear drops. I admire their tactics on life, also their resoluteness, which I always thought that it symbolized the masculinity of men.

Lalu bagaimana dengan wanita? Terlepas dari sebuah fakta bahwa saya adalah seorang wanita, pun saya mengagumi sifat-sifat kewanitaan yang seorang wanita miliki. Wanita adalah selayaknya benang. Halus dan lentur. Sekarang bayangkan jika pakaian yang anda kenakan sekarang adalah dari kayu, bukan rajutan benang.

Then, how about women? Aside from a fact that I'm a woman myself, I also adore the femininity on women. A woman is like a thread. It's soft and flexibel. Now, could you imagine if the clothes that you were wearing right now are made from woods?



Untuk merobek-robek pakaian pun tidaklah segampang menjatuhkan kaca atau mematahkan kayu. Wanita identik dengan kehalusan perasaan dan emosi-emosi yang justru dibutuhkan oleh pria. Wanita juga akan terus bergelut dengan perasaan-perasaannya, itu pastinya. Moderennya, wanita akan mencoba merasionalkan apa yang dirasakannya. Yang membuat fatal adalah, jika perbandingan yang digunakannya adalah pria. Kenapa pria bisa begini dan begitu. Kenapa pria bisa. Lalu “kita”?

To tear apart clothes is not as easy as to break a glass or a piece of wood. A woman is identified by her feelings and emotions that is needed by a man. A woman will always have to deal with her feelings/emotions, that's for sure. What I feel right now is that a woman will always try to use her "rational" way of thinking on her feelings. What makes it fatal is when she's using a man as her comparison. Why men are able to do this. Why they can. Then, how about "us"?

Salah satu sifat sejati seorang wanita, baik itu di kota dan di desa, dari kutub ke kutub, adalah pecemburu. Selamanya, wanita akan mendeteksi yang manakah lawan dan kawan. Wanita juga sudah ditakdirkan untuk menjadi seorang penyelidik ulung. Hanya wanita yang bisa secara alami dan naluriah mendeteksi intonasi-intonasi kebohongan, raut wajah dan gerak-gerik lawan. Jika anda (pria) pernah terheran-heran karena pasangan anda pernah mengungkapkan kebohongan anda, maka anda pasti mengerti maksud saya. Hal ini bukanlah karena sihir si Nirmala atau jampi-jampi Mbah Dukun. Tapi ini adalah sifat alami wanita, seorang pendetektor ulung alami yang bermodalkan sensor di otaknya yang tajam.

One of the real character of a woman, whether she lives in a city or a pedestrian, from east to west, is jealousy. A woman will always seek and detect for friends or enemies. A woman is a true detective as she could detect a lie hidden in the intonation of voice, mimic, and other body language. Don't be surprised if your woman could always tell when you're lying. It's not her spells or black magic, but this is her natural instinct. A senser in her brain.

Mencemburui wanita idaman lain dari pasangannya itu masih terbilang wajar. Tapi terasa janggal jika wanita mencemburui pria. Seperti piring yang cemburu dengan gelas. Janggal bukan?

To get jealous because of another woman of her spouse is understandable. But it seems awkward when a woman get jealous of what a man has. Don't you think so? It's like a plate got jealous of a glass.

Merenungi ketiga artikel yang saya sebutkan di atas tadi, lantas terpikirkan oleh saya, apakah sudah semakin banyak wanita (dan pria) yang kehilangan jati dirinya? Seorang ibu yang rela mencari figuran utama untuk ditempatkan di rumahnya, seorang suami yang menyalahgunakan kekuatan fisiknya, dan seorang wanita yang cemburu berat dengan pria.

I was thinking, have women (and men) lost their identity? A mother who is willing to find for her substitute her house, a husband who misuses his strengh, a woman who is jealous of what a man has.

Wanita justru semakin indah dan bersinar karena kehalusan hatinya. Dan pria justru akan semakin terlihat seperti ksatria berkuda putih saat ia dapat menggunakan kekuatannya untuk melindungi.

A woman will become more beautiful and shining for her softness. A man will become more like a knight on white horse when he uses his strength to protect.

- Santi

Sigh. If men love through their eyes and women through their ears, which do you need to read a blogpost? Can you imagine certain western women writing anything like this? Others could do it easily. The world is a wonderful place.

- Higham

[from indonesia with love part 1] women of the archipelago

Modern Jakarta

The enigmatic Santi W [25] blogs from Jakarta and writes equally well in Bahasa or in English. I noticed she'd written on Feminism and ... ya iyalah ... I saw my name mentioned:

... sampai tentang Feminism - James ... Bahkan berniat untuk mencintai satu pria nantinya (ya iyalah).

... so I asked her to write a piece in English about women in Indonesia, maybe even Jakarta. Those bloggers out there have got quite a thing going, just as we have with our blogrolls and so on. How they take to an Englishman descending on them I'll have to find out.

In the light of recent comments here, particularly from North America, I think some of you aren't going to like the sentiments expressed in this post but you can be sure it's firsthand. Maybe you'll have questions for her and I'll ask her if she'll drop in and answer them. Here's her post:


There was a revolution in Indonesia regarding the equality of men and women. The equality of education, to be exact.

We (women in Indonesia) used to stay at home and were not allowed to study as much as men. This happened a long time ago, before Kartini published her story (about the situation in Indonesia) in the international (Dutch) media. And things were different ever since.

However, I rarely hear the news about gender issues in Indonesia.

It's probably because in our culture, a woman has her own obligation that is different to a man's. For instance, when an Indonesian woman gets married, she's obligated to take care the family, or in other words, to be a mother and a wife.

That should be her main priority in life. To work in the office and pursue a career is nonsense if the husband disapproved.

The husband also has his obligation, to support the financial and other tasks, or in other words to be a husband and a father. This system seemed to work in our country as we believe that a man is made to be a leader in a family.

However, a wife's role is the key to the happiness in the family.

The cooperation on both sides is crucial and both roles need to be placed on the right side. Otherwise, you can't have a balance in life. Knowing our self's capability is pretty important.

Do not underestimate the woman as women were made for men. Also, don't underestimate men as they were made to protect.

Santi


Part 2 is tomorrow, if I get permission to print it and it goes a whole lot further than this. I've read the translation and it's probably worth checking out.

[lizard queen] sincerity is my second name

Hillary and Bill Clinton are again teaming up on Barack Obama - this time saying the first-term US lawmaker, whom they have derided as inexperienced, would be a strong running mate on a Democratic presidential ticket headed by the former first lady.

In hailing Senator Obama as a possible vice-president, the Clintons are reaching out to him and, perhaps more importantly, to his backers, whose support she would need to defeat Republican presidential candidate John McCain in the November election.