The Umpteenth Journal Attempt (Version III)

…to my brother Hanief and his wife Evit, who just had their second child - and second son - earlier today at 13:30, Singapore time. The newborn - still to be named as I write this, or they just haven’t told me yet - weighs in at 3.1 kilograms and his length is 49 cm. You might be amused to learn that the baby now shares the same birthday with his mother and Rizqi, his brother who’s three years old today. Hanief has always been a bit of a perfectionist, but this is a bit on the ridiculous side.

Anyway, congratulations to the happy family, and hopefully the latest arrival will be adequately protected from the evils of delinquency circa 2016. And of course this means the pressure has just intensified for me to get my act together and follow suit…

Click here to see the teaser trailer for Jalanan, the upcoming documentary by debut film-maker Daniel Ziv, whom you might remember from books such as Jakarta Inside Out and Bangkok Inside Out. Daniel and I go back a few years; in fact, you can blame him for giving me my first writing gig with djakarta! way back in 2001 and deluding myself into thinking that people would want to read stuff I come with. (Though the fact that you’re reading this right now means the joke’s on you, pal. Hee hee.)

Anyway, Daniel describes Jalanan as a "musical documentary." Here’s the synopsis:

JALANAN explores modern-day Jakarta at street level through the lives and distinctive subculture of the city’s gifted bus musicians. The film is an intimate portrayal of the buskers and their individual struggles and aspirations, and also a raw, humorous, often shocking portrait of Indonesia’s bustling capital city.

Personally, I’ve always admired Daniel’s passion for observing urban life. I daresay he knows more about what goes on in Jakarta than people who’ve spent their entire lives in the city. It’s probably his outsider’s perspective that finds fascination in all sorts of things that we take for granted. And if his books are any indication, this documentary won’t be a patronising snooze-fest, but an entertaining, thought-provoking and heartfelt work of art.

He’s still putting the finishing touches on it, and if everything goes to plan, it should be out by the end of the year or early 2007. The website is www.jalanan.org, which isn’t online yet, but should be soon.

… http://www.myspace.com/hasief and http://quasievil.multiply.com .