MetroBatavia

Listen to Anggun's Echo (You and I).

 

Finally released! It's not the official video - but it's Anggun's official song for France for the Eurovision Song Contest. You can also download the song on iTunes.

Anggun represents France during the Eurovision Song Contest.

Great news for France and for all fans of Anggun! Anggun is the artist who will represent France during the Eurovision Song Contest in Baku, Azerbaijan in May this year! She will compete against solo singer and groups from all over Europe. Her contest song is called "Echo (You and I)". On January, the 29th an exclusive preview of the song will be broadcastet on france3.fr. "Echo (You and I)" was written by Anggun and William Rousseau to music by Jean-Pierre Pilot.

Perhaps the Eurovision Song Contest will boost her international carreer. In 1994 Anggun left Indonesia to pursue an global way. Well, it's been quite a long time (1997) when her greatest hit "Snow in the Sahara" was played around the globe. We'll see how "Echo" will perform ... 

Agnes Monica for BlueBerry phones!?

Why is an Indonesian superstar like Agnes Monica a testimonial for the cheap BlueBerry brand? Before we answer this question we have to start with the Indonesians affinity for BlackBerry. 

Upvalue: Indonesian artist & actress Agnes Monica - with a LV scarf - for cheap mobile phone brand BlueBerry

Yes, Indonesia is the BlackBerry nation number one in the world. That's why other manufacturer want a piece of this blackberry-cake, too. Malyasian company CSL (Commitment, Service, Loyality) is one of those who offer mobile phones - made in China - for the Indonesian market which look very very similar to the high end phones of BlackBerry or Nokia. Not only the designs are imitated - even the brand names. CSL offers a range that is called BlueBerry with a figurative mark that comes also very close to the one of BlackBerry. In European countries or the USA manufactures like RIM (BlackBerry) could sue imitators which use very similar designs, word or figurative marks. The question is - why not in Indonesia? Maybe they don't fear those low level competitors which offer phones - for 1/10 of their prices. The BlueBerry i6200 for example can be bought in Jakarta's tech malls for only 300.000 Rp (about 30 USD). However, the display, the menu, and the quality are far away from the original phones. 

csl-mobile.com

That was one aspect. The other incomprehensible fact is why an Indonesian superstar like Agnes Monica is a testimonial for cheap brand CSL / BlueBerry? Well, apparently  it is just about the $$$. But can you imagine Beyoncé as a testimonial for a low quality mobile phone brand? It doesn't fit to her superior image! Agnes Monica was one of the hosts of the American Music Awards. That's why she or her management should work together with originial brands. BlueBerry is just a me-too-brand, an imitation. We can't imagine Agnes Monica wants to be seen as the me-to-version of someone else...

Rediscovered species in Kalimantan.

photo: Eric Fell

Actually, the researchers set up photo traps to capture leopards and orang-utans in the region Whae in the east of Kalimantan. But then they discovered on their images a group of monkeys that they never been seen before. So far, only drawings existed of the langurs. Therefore, in the beginning it was difficult to scientifically classifiy the monkeys. But the rediscovered monkeys are a supspecies of the surilis.

Katy Perry rocked the stage...

...and kissed a boy. Adri, 21, was the lucky guy who was allowed to climbed the stage at Sentul International Convention Center near Bogor after Katy promissed that “the first boy to take their shirt off to get up on stage.” The pop queen gave him a kiss on the cheek, and later Adri kissed her back while taking their picture with the camera on his mobile phone. After that, she sang her smash hit "I kissed a girl".

It was Katy Perry's first gig in Indonesia. “You guys have been waiting for so long, it feels like a lifetime,” she said. She assured fans that it was exciting to finally be in Indonesia, and added that she was “enjoying Jakarta but I’m sunburned.”

Endangered birds at Pramuka bird market.

Today we've been to Jakarta's most popular bird market at Jl. Pramuka. It's an interesting location to visit. However, it makes us upset to find even endangered species to be traded. One species is the critically endangered Bali starling - Bali's regional mascot.

The Bali starling (Leucopsar rothschildi) is one of the rarest birds in the world and relatively new to science being first described in 1912 by Walter Rothschild, from whom the bird gains its specific name. This medium-large starling is almost entirely white apart from black wing- and tail-tips and the striking, bare blue skin around the eye. 

The 1st price without bargaining was IDR 18 Mio. / USD 2,000 for both birds... Sounds alot - but birds like the Bali starling should be kept in cages waiting for a buyer.

Hacker attacks local Indonesian sites.

Various local Indonesian websites have been hacked lately. This time Indonesian owner are effected such as wedding photographer Freddy Wijaya, the Indonesian tech-related site wheeqo.web.id or tenda-jaya.com. 

What is the hacker's goal? We don't know who "w0LF Gh4m3d" / Abu Ryan is, but maybe he/she/they want(s) money for un-hacking the websites. 

The last time international companies like Sony became a target for hacker attacks.

One minute of batik.

In this video you will see in only one minute the different stages of the batik production. From drawing the outlines, to stemping the wax on the fabric till washing the fabric in benzin. It is all hand-made.

Maybe after watching "one minute of batik" you can imagine why real Indonesian batik is that expensive. And it is more more reason why batik received the status of an UNESCO world heritage.

Btw, the video has been recorded in Yogyakarta, Middle-Java, at Batik Plentong. It is worth a visit - even if you don't buy.

Selamat Tahun Baru!

photo by EPA Photo.

This is the New Year's picture of Jakarta which goes around the globe. Fireworks behind the Ikada statue - mostly merah putih (red & white). 

And this is our picture. We wish everybody an awesome New Year 2012! Be a tiger, not a cat ;-) It's going to be a great year for Indonesia, hopefully.

Paris Hilton rocking Bali.

Paris Hilton with Indonesian VIP-chef Farah Quinn / photo by Farah Quinn

Top VIP Paris Hilton is staying on Bali at the moment. Unbelievable - but it's her very first visit. In her blog Paris posted that "Bali has been pure paradise! I can't beleive I didn't come here sooner! I have seen so many beautiful places around the world, but I definitely believe that Bali is one of the most incredible places I have ever been."

Paris is having fun with her friends. But beside visting the beachs, Uluwatu and the Ubud area she supports street children with her popularity. Here's one of today's pictures posted on Paris' Twitter profile.

Paris Hilton in the middle of orphans / photo by @ParisHilton

Komodo - 1 of the New 7 Wonders!

In a provisional announcement Komodo National Park is one of the new 7 wonders! Indonesia’s Komodo National Park includes the three larger islands Komodo, Rinca and Padar, as well as numerous smaller ones, for a total area of 1,817 square kilometers (603 square kilometers of it land). The national park was founded in 1980 to protect the Komodo dragon. Later, it was also dedicated to protecting other species, including marine animals. The islands of the national park are of volcanic origin.

The other six new wonders are in alphabetical order the Amazon rainforest (South American region), the Ha Long Bay (Vietnam), Iguazu Falls (Argentina, Brazil), Jeju Island (South Korea), Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park (Philippines), and Table Mountain (South Africa).

Anggun live in Jakarta.

This is your chance to see superstar Anggun live in Indonesia. Anggun who moved to Paris a couple of years ago will perform at the Plenary Hall Jakarta Convention Center on November, the 27th. This is her only concert in Indonesia this year.

We'll see what songs she's going to sing. Perhaps she performes the songs of her new album "Echoes" which has been released in April this year along with the alltime favourites "Snow in the Sahara" and "Still reminds me".

Work at midnight!

"At 00.00 you can travel 15km in 16mins from south to central Jakarta an ave-speed of 56.2km/h, at 01.00 you can travel 19km in 16mins from central to south, that's an ave-speed of 71.2km/h, if you do that at 9am it will take you 80mins or ave of 11km/h. So why don't we work on midnights? And chill during the day?"

Famous product designer Alvin Tjitrowirjo postet his suggestion for the business people and commuter of Jakarta on his FB profile. It's true - if half of the people would work at night and the other half would work during daytime the traffic would just be half as bad... Well, that can't be the only solution to fight Jakarta's traffic problem. 

Politicians have to do something! Jakarta is choking in traffic. Especially during rush hour on the main axes of the Indonesian capital there's catastrophic traffic jam. A 2008 study published by the Japan External Trade Organization (Jetro) revealed that the average speed during evening rush hour in 2007 was below 20km/h. Graphs show for some sections of the major north-south and east-west connections red markings: the average speed is less than 10km/h. The situation is getting worse from year to year. Some studies predict a complete collapse in 2014! Then, all main roads and most side streets will be almost always blocked. Well, that's not a great perspective.