Travel to Bali, Visit Kerambitan

When you travel to bali, don't forget to visit one of the beautiful place located in Tabanan residence. It is Kerambitan Vilage.

Kerambitan is located six km. southwest of Tabanan, and is a small agricultural district full of green rice fields. The most important village here is also called Kerambitan, known for its old beautiful buildings, as well as traditional dance and music, wood- and stone carvings. The name Kerambitan is probably derived from the Sanskrit word "karawitan", which means "art, music and dance".

Even Kerambitan is a “virgin” where there is no villas, hotels, or cafe's like the other places, it has many exotic view such as beautiful green race fields and terraces, nature live, beach (it has 2 beaches), palaces, and traditional dance and music. On a clear day you can see the mighty Batukau mountain.

Kerambitan also has its own unique dance and music. Best known is maybe "Tektekan", a Tektekan orchestra from here is believed to have magical powers.

Tektekan is more like a procession than a dance, a group of men carrying bamboo split drums and giant cowbells around their necks play to scare away evil spirits whenever a drought, epidemic or pestilence hits the village. Finally the entire orchestra falls into trance, and armed with keris knives they attack the evil witch Rangda. Best time to see a tektekan is during exorcism, the day before Nyepi (the Balinese new year), other special occasions or at the arrival of a large group of tourists. At the start and end of a tektekan the blood of a chicken or duck has to be sacrificed.

Kerambitan is a former seat of a branch of Tabanan's royal family; Arya Kenceng. Several old residences do still exist, as well as two nicely restored palaces from the 17th century; Puri Anyar and Puri Agung Kerambitan. The royal descendants still inhabit the buildings. Identical twin grandsons, Anak Agung Ngurah Oka Silagunadha or "Pak Oka", and Anak Agung Rai Giri Gunadhi or "Pak Rai" of the late king preside over the palaces. The buildings are now used for dance, music and wedding ceremonies. It is possible to spend the night in the palaces, but you should book in advance.

In Puri Agung, the largest palace, you can enjoy peaceful gardens and several charming buildings covered by Chinese and Dutch porcelain. There is a temple here with family graves, one for every generation, also covered by porcelain.

Puri Anyar Kerambitan as one of Balinese Palace is a centre of preservation and development of Balinese culture. This Palace lies not so far from the beach and surrounded by Balinese village (kampong). The Palace regularly performs Balinese Dances and entertainment for its guests. Besides Balinese Dances, you can also witness the special atmosphere of daily activities of Balinese people around the village.

In the south and southeast, you will find Pasut beach and Klating beach. You could see the beautifull sunset in these place.

Kerambitan it self not as famous as other tourist's destination in Bali such as Kuta, Sanur, Ubud or many other places. However, several international celebrities have visited the palace and have their picture, like King Hussein, Kurt Waldheim, David Bowie and even the Rolling Stones front man, Mick Jagger, have visited this village with his wife Jerry Hall when they got just married in Bali at 1990.

Read more...

Medical Insurance

Medical insurance is more than just safeguard of your health - it also prevents you from extra expenses. Bills from medical institutions even for situations not threatening your life can lead to the fail of your finances. Health insurance also aids to maintain healthy people. American College of Physicians states that uninsured people who are likely to have deadly or serious diseases like pancreatic or breast cancer can be diagnosed by regular inspections. Thus, uninsured persons have fewer chances to get disease-prevention service than insured ones, their risk of death raises to 50 percent.

Health insurance can significantly reduce your expenses as most part of medical compensations is divided between an insured person and a medical care provider. So-called "network discounts" are set by medical organizations and insurance companies, nevertheless the price for insured persons is always lower than prices paid by uninsured persons.

Who Risks to Be Uninsured

Do you think you can risk and live with no health insurance? Learn the statistics in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on Women's Health and the report of MSNBC.com: the number of uninsured Americans has increased to over 44 million people - the majority of them being from working families.Youth aged from 19 to 29 are the largest group with no medical insurance. Insurers call them "young invincibles" as they think their youth can protect them someway. Nonetheless, life is rather sever and doesn't protect from illnesses or incidents, and without having affordable health insurance young people can suddenly appear with large medical expenses.

Women without medical insurance represent another huge group of Americans - more than 16 million. They suffer from diseases and damages more often as they use to spend much time trying to use their own methods of treatment. Majority of health insurance institutions use prophylactic measures like gynecological and breast inspection that could prevent many serious female diseases.

The absence of affordable health insurance can even lead to death as persons without medical insurance usually die earlier than those with insurance, often because they don't pass preventive medical care.

Medical debts can quickly cause financial crisis. In compliance with the latest research of Harvard University, nearly 50 percent of all bankruptcies were partly caused by medical debts. Other research showed that over 25 percent of those who took part in the survey had different financial problems because of extra medical expenses.

Consider the cost of not having health insurance. If you are involved in an accident on your way to work, or contract a serious illness, you have to pay the hospital bills from your own pocket. This also means that you have to pay a deposit before admittance to private hospitals. If your spouse or children get seriously ill or hurt, the medical costs can lead to a total depletion of your savings. It may even cause bankruptcy. Another reason is that your family will have to settle for public health care facilities, and wait in line with hundreds of other patients. Apart from that, you still have to pay for expensive operations that are not covered under public health care.

Reasons why you cannot afford not to have medical insurance:

• Late diagnosis of serious diseases, and as a consequence, higher risk of mortality.
• Workers and their families that are not insured don't go for regular medical check-ups.
• Many persons, who lack health insurance, don't go to doctors, or make use of prescriptions. This means that people settle for over the counter medicine, even in cases where more advanced medication are needed.
• A large proportion of uninsured people use the emergency care as their only medical facility. This indicates that injuries or illnesses are only medically treated when the conditions become critical.
• Higher mortality rate in cases of diabetes.
• Large medical bills that cannot be paid. This in turn may lead to unwanted lifestyle changes.
• Hospitalization for conditions that could have been avoided, if proper and timely medical care was given.
  
  

Read more...

Segitiga Senen

Prapatan atau Segitiga Senen yang diabadikan tahun 1956 atau 51 tahun lalu memperlihatkan betapa semrawutnya lalu lintas di kala itu, yang hingga kini belum dapat dibenahi secara baik. Sungguh kasihan polisi yang berdiri di bawah tugu harus mengatur lalu lintas hanya dengan tangannya. Lampu lalu-lintas belum dikenal kala itu, dan baru dimulai akhir 1960-an. Sementara istilah ‘damai’ antara polisi dan pengendara yang kini bukan lagi rahasia umum juga masih sangat jarang.

Nama Senen diambil dari nama pasar, yang pada awal berdirinya pada 30 Agustus 1735 atau 272 tahun lalu, hari pasar jatuh pada tiap hari Senin. Seperti terlihat pada rumah-rumah Cina dengan atap gentengnya yang runcing mendominasi Pasar Senen, meniru gaya dari negeri leluhurnya. Karena daerah sekitar Pasar Senen sebagian besar penduduknya keturunan Cina. Dan memang merekalah penghuni pertama Pasar Senen. Karena itu sebelum tahun 1960-an ada sejumlah jalan yang berbau Cina. Seperti Gang Tjapgokeng (tjago = 15) (keng = kamar). Dinamakan demikian karena dahulunya terdapat rumah dengan 15 pintu yang para penghuninya adalah Cina perantauan. Di sini juga terdapat Gang Wangseng dari nama seorang letnan Cina Tan Wang Seng.

Pada masa pemerintahan Bung Karno itu, becak ikut mendominasi jalan raya dan operasionalnya tidak dibatasi termasuk di Merdeka Utara dekat Istana Merdeka. Mobil-mobil yang ketika itu buatan Amerika dan Eropa , sopirnya sangat jengkel terhadap pengemudi si roda tiga karena keberaniannya menyilap tanpa memperhitungkan keselamatan penumpang. Sementara di antara kendaraan bermotor terlihat oplet ’si Doel’ yang oleh orang Jakarta disebut ostin. Karena kendaraan yang kini digantikan oleh mikrolet itu berasal dari mobil merek Austin yang didesain sebagai angkutan penumpang. Mobil-mobil yang berseliweran juga besar-besar dibandingkan buatan Jepang. Tentu saja boros BBM. Tapi untungnya harga BBM ketika itu masih terjangkau pengusaha kecil.

Gedung yang berada di tengah-tengah kini sudah tidak terdapat lagi dan menjadi Atrium Senen sebagai pertokoan yang megah. Demikian juga gedung dan toko diseberangnya sudah menjadi mal dan pertokoan modern. Sebagian jalan raya Senen juga sudah menghilang dengan dibangunnya fly over.

Pada awal 1950-an dan 60-an Pasar Senen merupakan tempat berkumpulnya para seniman Senen pada malam hari mulai pukul 20.00 sampai menjelang subuh. Pasar Senen sejak saat itu berdenyut terus selama 24 jam. Mulai menjelang malam di sini terdapat ‘bursa kueh’ yang pembelinya bukan hanya dari Jabodetabek, tapi juga dari Cianjur dan Sukabumi. Kalau kita membeli kue di kantin-kantin yang cukup mewah, banyak yang berasal dari pasar Senen.
Pada 1950-an dan 60-an keamanan di Pasar Senen terjamin karena dikuasai oleh Cobra suatu organisasi di bawah pimpinan tokoh Betawi, Kapten Sjafi’ie dari Komando Militer Kota Besar Djakarta Raja (KMKBDR). Anggota Cobra adalah bekas militer yang setelah penyerahan kedaulatan banyak yang tidak mendapat tempat di TNI. Mereka kemudian dihimpun dalam Cobra dan menjaga keamanan Ibu Kota. Kala itu para preman di Jakarta tidak ada yang berani terhadap Cobra.

Read more...

Pitung

Betawi Oktober 1893. Rakyat Betawi di kampung-kampung tengah berkabung. Dari mulut ke mulut mereka mendengar si Pitung atau Bang Pitung meninggal dunia, setelah tertembak dalam pertarungan tidak seimbang dengan kompeni. Bagi warga Betawi, kematian si Pitung merupakan duka mendalam. Karena ia membela rakyat kecil yang mengalami penindasan pada masa penjajahan Belanda. Sebaliknya, bagi kompeni sebutan untuk pemerintah kolonial Belanda pada masa itu, dia dilukiskan sebagai penjahat, pengacau, perampok, dan entah apa lagi.
Jagoan kelahiran Rawa Belong, Jakarta Barat, ini telah membuat repot pemerintah kolonial di Batavia, termasuk gubernur jenderal. Karena Bang Pitung merupakan potensi ancaman keamanan dan ketertiban hingga berbagai macam strategi dilakukan pemerintah Hindia Belanda untuk menangkapnya hidup atau mati. Pokoknya Pitung ditetapkan sebagai orang yang kudu dicari dengan status penjahat kelas wahid di Betawi.

Bagaimana Belanda tidak gelisah, dalam melakukan aksinya membela rakyat kecil Bang Pitung berdiri di barisan depan. Kala itu Belanda memberlakukan kerja paksa terhadap pribumi termasuk ‘turun tikus’. Dalam gerakan ini rakyat dikerahkan membasmi tikus di sawah-sawah disamping belasan kerja paksa lainnya. Belum lagi blasting (pajak) yang sangat memberatkan petani oleh para tuan tanah.

Si Pitung, yang sudah bertahun-tahun menjadi incaran Belanda, berdasarkan cerita rakyat, mati setelah ditembak dengan peluru emas oleh schout van Hinne dalam suatu penggerebekan karena ada yang mengkhianati dengan memberi tahu tempat persembunyiannya. Ia ditembak dengan peluru emas oleh schout (setara Kapolres) van Hinne karena dikabarkan kebal dengan peluru biasa. Begitu takutnya penjajah terhadap Bang Pitung, sampai tempat ia dimakamkan dirahasiakan. Takut jago silat yang menjadi idola rakyat kecil ini akan menjadi pujaan.
Si Pitung, berdasarkan cerita rakyat (folklore) yang masih hidup di masyarakat Betawi, sejak kecil belajar mengaji di langgar (mushala) di kampung Rawa Belong. Dia, menurut istilah Betawi, ‘orang yang denger kate’. Dia juga ‘terang hati’, cakep menangkap pelajaran agama yang diberikan ustadznya, sampai mampu membaca (tilawat) Alquran. Selain belajar agama, dengan H Naipin, Pitung –seperti warga Betawi lainnya–, juga belajar ilmu silat. H Naipin, juga guru tarekat dan ahli maen pukulan.

Suatu ketika di usia remaja –sekitar 16-17 tahun, oleh ayahnya Pitung disuruh menjual kambing ke Pasar Tanah Abang, Jakarta Pusat. Dari kediamannya di Rawa Belong dia membawa lima ekor kambing naik gerobak. Ketika dagangannya habis dan hendak pulang, Pitung dibegal oleh beberapa penjahat pasar. Mulai saat itu, dia tidak berani pulang ke rumah. Dia tidur di langgar dan kadang-kadang di kediaman gurunya H Naipan. Ini sesuai dengan tekadnya tidak akan pulang sebelum berhasil menemukan hasil jualan kambing. Dia merasa bersalah kepada orangtuanya. Dengan tekadnya itu, dia makin memperdalam ilmu maen pukulan dan ilmu tarekat. Ilmu pukulannya bernama aliran syahbandar. Kemudian Pitung melakukan meditasi alias tapa dengan tahapan berpuasa 40 hari. Kemudian melakukan ngumbara atau perjalanan guna menguji ilmunya. Ngumbara dilakukan ke tempat-tempat yang ‘menyeramkan’ yang pasti akan berhadapan dengan begal.

Salah satu ilmu kesaktian yang dipelajari Bang Pitung disebut Rawa Rontek. Gabungan antara tarekat Islam dan jampe-jampe Betawi. Dengan menguasai ilmu ini Bang Pitung dapat menyerap energi lawan-lawannya. Seolah-olah lawan-lawannya itu tidak melihat keberadaan Bang Pitung. Karena itu dia digambarkan seolah-olah dapat menghilang. Menurut cerita rakyat, dengan ilmu kesaktian rawa rontek-nya itu, Bang Pitung tidak boleh menikah. Karena sampai hayatnya ketika ia tewas dalam menjelang usia 40 tahun Pitung masih tetap bujangan.

Sejauh ini, tokoh legendaris si Pitung dilukiskan sebagai pahlawan yang gagah. Pemuda bertubuh kuat dan keren, sehingga menimbulkan rasa sungkan setiap orang yang berhadapan dengannya. Dalam film Si Pitung yang diperankan oleh Dicky Zulkarnaen, ia juga dilukiskan sebagai pemuda yang gagah dan bertubuh kekar. Tapi, menurut Tanu Trh dalam ‘Intisari’ melukiskan berdasarkan penuturan ibunya dari cerita kakeknya, Pitung tidak sebesar dan segagah itu. ”Perawakannya kecil. Tampang si Pitung sama sekali tidak menarik perhatian khalayak. Sikapnya pun tidak seperti jagoan. Kulit wajahnya kehitam-hitaman, dengan ciri yang khas sepasang cambang panjang tipis, dengan ujung melingkar ke depan.”

Menurut Tanu Trh, ketika berkunjung ke rumah kakeknya berdasarkan penuturan ibunya, Pitung pernah digerebek oleh schout van Hinne. Setelah seluruh isi rumah diperiksa ternyata petinggi polisi Belanda ini tidak menemukan si Pitung. Setelah van Hinne pergi, barulah si Pitung secara tiba-tiba muncul setelah bersembunyi di dapur. Karena belasan kali berhasil meloloskan diri dari incaran Belanda, tidak heran kalau si Pitung diyakini banyak orang memiliki ilmu menghilang. ”Yang pasti,” kata ibu, seperti dituturkan Tanu Trh, ”dengan tubuhnya yang kecil Pitung sangat pandai menyembunyikan diri dan bisa menyelinap di sudut-sudut yang terlalu sempit bagi orang-orang lain.” Sedang kalau ia dapat membuat dirinya tidak tampak di mata orang, ada yang meyakini karena ia memiliki kesaksian ‘ilmu rontek’.

Sumber: http://alwishahab.wordpress.com

Read more...

Wolverine's Story

Born the second son of wealthy landowners John and Elizabeth Howlett in Alberta, Canada during the late 19th Century, James Howlett was a frail boy of poor health. James was largely neglected by his mother, who was institutionalized for a time following the death of her first son, John Jr., in 1897. He spent most of his early years on the estate grounds and had two playmates that lived on the Howlett estate with him: Rose, a red-headed girl who was brought in from town to be a companion to young James, and a boy nicknamed "Dog" who was the son of the groundskeeper, Thomas Logan. Thomas Logan was an alcoholic and was extremely abusive to his son. The children were close friends but as they reached young adulthood, the abuse inflicted upon Dog warped his mind. His actions would lead to a tragic chain of events. that started as the three neared their adolescent years when Dog made unwanted advances toward Rose and James reported it to his father. In retaliation Dog killed James's pet dog. This in turn resulted in the expulsion of Thomas Logan and Dog Logan from the estate.

Thomas Logan, in a drunken stupor, invaded the Howlett estate with his son and attempted to take Elizabeth Howlett (implied to be his former lover) with him. John attempted to stop him and Thomas Logan shot him down in cold blood. James Howlett had just entered the room when this occurred and for the first time his mutation manifested; his claws extended from the backs of his hands and he attacked the intruders with uncharacteristic ferocity, killing Thomas Logan, and scarring Dog's face with three claw marks. Elizabeth Howlett, who was already an emotionally disturbed woman, took her life immediately afterward with a blast from Thomas's gun. Fearing for their safety, Rose fled the estate with James, who appeared to have been deeply traumatized and had somehow repressed or forgotten most of the memories of life back at the estate. Dog falsely reported to the police and James's grandfather that Rose had murdered John Howlett II and Thomas Logan. The eldest Howlett, shunned James and with no family left, took Dog in as his ward. However, Dog was already a burgeoning psychopath and it was too late for his character to evolve down any other path. In the years that followed, James and Rose took refuge in a British Colombia mining colony under the guise of being cousins. James also assumed the name of "Logan" in order to hide his identity. As the hard work of mining toughened his body, and his mutant powers developed, he grew to be unusually strong and ferocious. He was immune to the elements and even ran with the wolves in the forest, learning to hunt as an animal hunts. "Logan" became a valuable and admirable figure amongst the small community of miners due to his hard work and strong ethics, earning him the respect of his peers, including the foreman Smitty, who became a surrogate father figure to James. During this period, James developed strong feelings for Rose, but could not act on them for the sake of their guise as cousins. Smitty, who had been mentoring James all these years, had also grown close to Rose, and the two eventually fell in love and became engaged, much to the scorn and surprise of James, who later accepted the situation for the sake of Rose's happiness. Meanwhile, the elder John Howlett was in failing health and asked Dog to find Rose and his grandson so he could make peace with them before he died. Dog agreed. However, Dog (who has become a physically formidable man himself) decides to track them down so he can kill James.

Dog hunted James and Rose down so easily that it seemed he had a preternatural skill for tracking. On then night that Smitty was due to leave the mining town with Rose, Dog (who bears an uncanny resemblance to Logan's future nemesis, Sabretooth) finally found and confronted James. Dog reminded James of his past, and that faithful night back on the estate that had changed all their lives so. The two fiercely fought in the middle of the street and despite being the physically stronger of the two Dog was eventually overpowered by the enraged James. As Dog laid unconscious, James unsheathed his claws for the first time in public, to the shock of everyone watching, and was about to deal the deathblow until Rose leapt in to stop him but was accidentally was impaled by his claws. Horrified, "Logan" held her in his arms as she died. He then fled into the woods where he lived in self-imposed exile with a pack of wolves, presumably for many years. Logan possesses memories of being a Samurai in Japan, a mercenary operative for the Central Intelligence Agency, and a "wild man" in the Canadian wilderness. Due to extensive memory implants given to Logan through the Weapon X program, any or all of these memories are suspect. Logan has at least one memory of meeting Captain America (Steve Rogers) in World War II while he was in the Canadian Army which has been verified as true. Sometime after World War II, Logan was taken by a group of scientists led by Dr. Cornelius as part of the Weapon X program. Cornelius was hired to perfect and use a technique that would bond the indestructible element adamantium to human bone cells. Logan's skeleton was bonded to the adamantium, and he was indoctrinated into the Weapon X assassin program.

Wolverine was conscripted by Department H, and for his first mission was sent against the incredible Hulk. Wolverine was subsequently approached by Professor Charles Xavier, who was looking for mutants to help his students, the X-Men, escape from the island-being known as Krakoa, which had captured them. Wolverine left Alpha Flight to accompany Xavier and rescue the captured X-Men. After Krakoa was defeated, Wolverine decided to stay with the X-Men, for reasons which included that he had fallen for Marvel Girl (Jean Grey). Logan remained with the X-Men for quite some time, at one time being their field commander, and encountered adversaries such as Proteus (Kevin MacTaggart), Magneto (Magnus), the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, the Brood, the Reavers, demons from the dimension of Limbo, the Marauders, the Morlocks, and even Dracula on one occasion. After his encounter with the mutant assassin Omega Red, Logan began to question the memories he possessed, but his searches to find his true identity and memories proved fruitless. During an encounter with the mutant Magneto on his space station called Avalon, Wolverine slashed Magneto with his claws. Magneto retaliated, using his powers of the magnetic field to tear the adamantium out of Wolverine's skeleton, causing extensive injuries. These injuries shorted out Wolverine's healing factor for a time, and Logan also discovered that the claws that he believed a result of the Weapon X project were in fact part of his actual bone structure due to his mutation. These bone claws became Wolverine's main weapons until his skeleton later became grafted to adamantium again.

As a result of his injuries, Logan left the X-Men for a time. He visited Muir Island at the request of Kitty Pryde, and was also attacked by Cyber. During the Phalanx invasion, Logan and Cable were asked by Charles Xavier to find and rescue the captured X-Men. They joined with Cyclops (Scott Summers) and Jean Grey returning from their honeymoon (and secretly the future) and freed their teammates in Tibet. Later, Logan was kidnapped by Tyler Dayspring, calling himself Genesis, who wanted to make Wolverine one of his new Horsemen. Genesis had acquired adamantium by destroying the body of the mercenary known as Cyber, and had planned to recreate the bonding process used on Logan years ago. This time, however, Logan's body rejected the adamantium, and he regressed for a time to a feral-like state.

Logan regained his lucidity and rejoined the X-Men. Logan was subsequently kidnapped by the would-be conqueror Apocalypse (En Sabah Nur) and forced to fight the savage assassin Sabretooth for the mantle of the Horseman Death. Knowing that he might be able to resist Apocalypse's programming and that Sabretooth would be a very dangerous villain with the support of Apocalypse, Logan fought and defeated his nemesis. As a result, his skeleton again was laced with Adamantium. Under the control of Apocalypse, Wolverine fought the X-Men ferociously in his Death persona. But with the help of his teammates, he eventually broke free from Apocalypse's control.

While on the Weapon Plus satellite, Logan was able to access detailed files on his past. However, it was a trap, and only Jean's manifestation of the Phoenix was able to save them. Wolverine greatly mourns Jean's loss, was not pleased with Cyclops and Emma Frost's relationship, but has remained a valued member of the X-Men, serving on as many missions as he can while also doing solo operations.

Wolverine was ambushed by the Hand and Hydra. Transformed into a killing machine and outfitted with several devices, he battled various other heroes and killed both Hornet and Northstar. S.H.I.E.L.D. was eventually able to deprogram Logan, and he was sent to oppose Northstar, who also had been resurrected by Hydra. While on a mission in the Savage Land, he met the recently reformed Avengers and eventually accepted membership. Recently, Wolverine unnerved many high level officials, including those of S.H.I.E.L.D., by his sporadic movements in and out of the grid, with the tensions mounting in what seemed to be Wolverine's attempted assassination of the prime minister of Japan. Eventually it was revealed that Wolverine's true target was not the prime minister, but his bodyguard, the Silver Samurai. During an interrogation that began during their battle, and ended shortly after Logan severed the samurai's arm, Wolverine received some more information that led him back to Department H. Despite what he had originally thought, it was not the carelessness of his captors that allowed him to escape; rather, the Winter Soldier seemingly interfered with the operation in such a way that allowed Logan's escape. Wolverine tracked down the Winter Soldier in Serbia for information, but was rendered unconscious after a struggle after which the Winter Soldier revealed that he had earlier murdered Logan's pregnant wife.

Originally Posted by: www.marvel.com

Read more...