OT: Sens Lounge LXXXII | Rise of Omni / Caeldan, the YES man

[MakeOttawaGreatAgain]

Isn't everything gmo? Including your pet dog and even yourself ?

 

[Do Make Say Think]

Organic food is the ultimate hipster trend.

I'm all in favour of more choice

If people want to pay more for organic than better to have the option than not having it (still undecided as to having official CFIA/HC regulations on labelling products as organic though, could be good and could be terrible)

The issue I have is with people looking down on others who don't value organic food as much as they do

Though, thankfully, a lot of those people are also people who don't accept that vaccines work so natural selection will ideally wipe them out

 

[Ice-Tray]

So Kuala Lumpur is pretty chill.


It's like Jakarta, except clean and has infrastructure.

I liked it, and I remember being in awe of the airport, I was there when it was brand new...

I also remember our short visit to Surabaya. The cab driver picked us up from the bus station to take us to our hotel, and he asked us how long we were planning to stay. We said a few days, and he said "no, you leave tomorrow, it's not safe here for you."

Turns out he may have been right. That night we went out for dinner, and we were the only foreigners we saw, and literally everything stopped as we walked down the street and people glared at us. Not the curious gawking I'm well used to from living in smaller towns in China, but malice filled looks.

This was during the East Temor issues, but it was definitely an uncomfortable night. The next day we headed to Jogjakarta (sp) which was the complete opposite.

Any similar experiences in Indo Bonky?

 

[BonkTastic]

I liked it, and I remember being in awe of the airport, I was there when it was brand new...

I also remember our short visit to Surabaya. The cab driver picked us up from the bus station to take us to our hotel, and he asked us how long we were planning to stay. We said a few days, and he said "no, you leave tomorrow, it's not safe here for you."

Turns out he may have been right. That night we went out for dinner, and we were the only foreigners we saw, and literally everything stopped as we walked down the street and people glared at us. Not the curious gawking I'm well used to from living in smaller towns in China, but malice filled looks.

This was during the East Temor issues, but it was definitely an uncomfortable night. The next day we headed to Jogjakarta (sp) which was the complete opposite.

Any similar experiences in Indo Bonky?

Not as far as safety is concerned.

Surabaya is a funny place... it's normal, but it's also known for being where a LOT of the Indonesian terrorists (as few of them as there are) are from... so maybe you were there during a particularly high wave of "ideological activity"? Maybe there was something specific happening that day, like a trial was being heard concerning some East Javan issue, that also somehow involved bules (bule = "white person", but with a bit of a derogatory slant). It's usually pretty safe... you're more likely to get hit by a car than anything else, to be honest.

That being said, I can still go places and, like you experienced, be the only white person for a hundred miles in any direction. There's definitely a fascination with white people in some pasts of the country. I was at Borobudur (in Jogya, hopefully you went when you were there!) and I swear local people took more pictures of me than the temple itself!
"Oh yeah, we went to this epic temple, but then we saw a WHITE 6'3" HALF GORILLA-HALF MAN WEARING A GREEN BAY PACKERS CAP! We needed to take as many pictures of that as possible!"

We've been pretty safe here, in fact, my experiences with the "darker" side of Indonesia have been pretty different - I get offered illegal stuff ALL THE TIME. And not drugs, or what you would normally expect... I'm talking about illegal wood, birds... like, stuff that rich businessmen would be into (which I am clearly not, but maybe I look the part? I am sweaty and white, haha). When we were last in Borneo, I had multiple people come up to me in secret and tell me that they could get me the "best price for ironwood, ya?", or "wholesale teak, new. You let me know, I ship to your country, no questions". Like, crazy illegal timber trade from protected wildlife reserves. When we were a few hours outside of Bali, I was asked if I wanted to buy a panther. A ****ING PANTHER. Weird stuff like that.

That being said, I also know better than to go to places like Aceh, or the parts of Borneo that are super hot right now, so I guess that being here makes you more aware of the places to avoid.

 

[Ice-Tray]

Not as far as safety is concerned.

Surabaya is a funny place... it's normal, but it's also known for being where a LOT of the Indonesian terrorists (as few of them as there are) are from... so maybe you were there during a particularly high wave of "ideological activity"? Maybe there was something specific happening that day, like a trial was being heard concerning some East Javan issue, that also somehow involved bules (bule = "white person", but with a bit of a derogatory slant). It's usually pretty safe... you're more likely to get hit by a car than anything else, to be honest.

That being said, I can still go places and, like you experienced, be the only white person for a hundred miles in any direction. There's definitely a fascination with white people in some pasts of the country. I was at Borobudur (in Jogya, hopefully you went when you were there!) and I swear local people took more pictures of me than the temple itself!
"Oh yeah, we went to this epic temple, but then we saw a WHITE 6'3" HALF GORILLA-HALF MAN WEARING A GREEN BAY PACKERS CAP! We needed to take as many pictures of that as possible!"

We've been pretty safe here, in fact, my experiences with the "darker" side of Indonesia have been pretty different - I get offered illegal stuff ALL THE TIME. And not drugs, or what you would normally expect... I'm talking about illegal wood, birds... like, stuff that rich businessmen would be into (which I am clearly not, but maybe I look the part? I am sweaty and white, haha). When we were last in Borneo, I had multiple people come up to me in secret and tell me that they could get me the "best price for ironwood, ya?", or "wholesale teak, new. You let me know, I ship to your country, no questions". Like, crazy illegal timber trade from protected wildlife reserves. When we were a few hours outside of Bali, I was asked if I wanted to buy a panther. A ****ING PANTHER. Weird stuff like that.

That being said, I also know better than to go to places like Aceh, or the parts of Borneo that are super hot right now, so I guess that being here makes you more aware of the places to avoid.

Yeah that makes sense. I was there in 2001, and there was definitely action going on in East Timor.

There was also a US travel advisory not to go to Indo at all.

Australia was also involved in the Timor struggles, and it would make sense that a handful of "white folk" could easily be mistaken for Aussies, or just be representative of some frustrations towards white participation in a violent struggle (genocide).

I've done a bunch of travelling though Asia and South East Asia and I have never felt the menace I did there, either before or after, and that includes all of the other areas of Indonesia where we stayed.

It felt Like Surabaya was a whole different beast.

 

[BonkTastic]

... I was there in 2001...

Oh, well, yeah.

Jeez. That's like... the worst time to have come here, haha.

Jakarta stock exchange bombing would have just happened, and then all of the Christmas eve bombings in 2000, the Bali bombings were just around the corner... that was probably the most chaotic the country has been in a long time.

Yeah, 2001. No wonder you weren't safe in Surabaya - That's where most of the terrorist activity was originating from.

 

[OmniSens]

Sad to announce I have two cousins who passed away in a fire at their Gatineau home. They were 12 years old.

Here's an earlier article.
http://www.ottawasun.com/2015/02/22/2-teens-critical-after-gatineau-fire

 

[Ice-Tray]

sad to announce i have two cousins who passed away in a fire at their gatineau home. They were 12 years old.

Here's an earlier article.
http://www.ottawasun.com/2015/02/22/2-teens-critical-after-gatineau-fire

r.i.p.

 

[DrunkUncleDenis]

Sad to announce I have two cousins who passed away in a fire at their Gatineau home. They were 12 years old.

Here's an earlier article.
http://www.ottawasun.com/2015/02/22/2-teens-critical-after-gatineau-fire

Ah, damn it. Sorry Omni.

 

[L'Aveuglette]

Sad to announce I have two cousins who passed away in a fire at their Gatineau home. They were 12 years old.

Here's an earlier article.
http://www.ottawasun.com/2015/02/22/2-teens-critical-after-gatineau-fire

Wow, how incredibly sad. I am really sorry for your loss.

 

[GK]

I'm really sorry to hear that, Omni.

 

[BonkTastic]

Shoot Omni, best wishes to you & the family, man.

Just awful.

 

[Ice-Tray]

The CBC article says that both children are alive but in critical condition. Has this changed then?

I really hope not

 

[OmniSens]

The CBC article says that both children are alive but in critical condition. Has this changed then?

I really hope not

They got unplugged. I can confirm that they've passed away pending a miracle. Better know as brain dead.

Mom is gonna give me more news later on.

 

[ChocolateLeclaire]

They got unplugged. I can confirm that they've passed away pending a miracle. Better know as brain dead.

Mom is gonna give me more news later on.

Terrible to hear Omni...Condolences on your loss.

 

[DrEasy]

Really sorry, Omni.

 

[Do Make Say Think]

Condolences indeed

Very sad.....

 

[Nac Mac Feegle]

That's awful, Omni. Way too young.

((hugs))

 

[saskriders]

Sorry to hear Omni

 

[OmniSens]

Thanks guys.

Here's the newest article. It's on the main page of Ottawasun.

http://www.ottawasun.com/2015/02/22/2-teens-critical-after-gatineau-fire

 

[Loosie]

I saw you mention it on the wrestling board last night and saw the article on CBC news today. So sorry for your loss OmniSens, that is tragic. Way too young.

 

[Harbinger]

 

[GK]

Abstract scianze

 

[Nac Mac Feegle]

....dinosaur deniers? With thousands of fossils and other evidence unearthed? Yet most of these same people believe a silly book that has been debunked?

 

[Caeldan]

....dinosaur deniers? With thousands of fossils and other evidence unearthed? Yet most of these same people believe a silly book that has been debunked?

Young Earth Creationists are an interesting breed...