Hitler and Jackie...

I have always loved history. Perhaps my fascination in historical research is with the idea that you might uncover something in your travels through the treasure troves of history that no one else has seen for years, decades or centuries. Sometimes those "discoveries" might be enlightening and other times they might end up being nothing more than a question on a Trivial Pursuit card.

One such piece of history relates to recently uncovered documents that highlight the Nazis fascination with a Finnish dog, Jackie (a Dalmation cross), owned by Tor Borg. It would seem that Jackie had an unusual talent of being able to mock the Fuehrer. Whenever Jackie heard the word Hitler his paw would raise in the fashion of a German doing the Heil Hitler salute.

What makes this truly bizarre is that the incident resulted in significant diplomatic traffic between Helsinki and Berlin as to how best to deal with the insult. The plan was to haul Borg in for questioning and destroy his pharmaceutical business. However, as the cables show, Borg denied the accusations, although he did admit that his wife called the dog, Hitler.

Luckily, for Borg, no witnesses could be found that were willing to testify that Borg had trained Jackie to perform the salute. So, the case faltered and never went to trial. Borg continued on his merry way and remained a successful business man with his Tamro Group until his death. Jackie led a full life and died of natural causes.

Apparently, to date, there is nothing in the documents to suggest that Hitler himself was aware of the saluting dog, but considering the documents were passed through his office it is likely that the Fuehrer may have known that he was being mocked by a dog. I would reckon the Nazis would have been besides themselves if the Downfall parody videos had been around during World War Two. To be honest, you would have thought that the Nazis would have had more important things to contemplate than a dog with a penchant for a salute considering they were fighting a war on two fronts.

A Review of "How to Catch Mr. Bule"

This is a simple "cut & paste" of a post made back in April 2008. I noticed that there has been renewed discussion of the merits of this book. The links have been updated, a picture added, and a postscript discussion.

As promised!

I scurried out this morning with the missus for an appointment with a doctor to confirm what a home pregnancy test had revealed on Friday! I know you are all wishing her well :)

Anyways, back to the book! After the appointment it was off for a wander in Metropolitan Mall and a swing by Gramedia. It did not take long to find the book and there were two great big piles of them. They were not flying off the shelf apparently but perhaps this is not a reflection of the quality of the book but rather that perhaps there are not as many Indonesian women in Bekasi looking to catch Mr. Bule. Long story short bought me a copy and then headed off to Hoka Hoka Bento for lunch.

As a side point, the missus did not believe such a book would ever be written. I said perhaps it might have been a good thing if it was written 12 or so years ago so she could have had the tools at her disposal to choose Mr. Right! Smiles all round...

So, how does the book hold up in comparison to other guide books like Lonely Planet's Indonesia on a Shoestring? Perhaps Lonely Planet is not such a good example now that it has been revealed that at least one of their authors did not even visit one of the countries he wrote a guide book on -- a total fraud! A travel guide might not be a fair comparison you say, but alas it is, and you will have to read the book to see why.

Nah, you won't! The book contains sections on living in foreign lands with Mr. Bule once you have caught him. So, it is a sort of Culture Shock (as advertised on Jakartass) meets Lonely Planet.

The book taps into all of the stereotypes that abound about inter-racial relationships between Indonesian women and bule men. But, it seems to be a genuine attempt at being informative about how to make the best of these relationships with a view to making them long-lasting. The 'empirical' evidence that the book is based on is word of mouth and personal experience. The author is married to a bule, Duncan Graham, and the author and Mr. Bule are currently residing in New Zealand (hence the culture shock meets lonely planet reference).

For all you out there who are offended by the word bule and the racist undertones that it has, will be pleased that the book offers up two other alternatives:

BULE = Beautiful Unlike Lots Elsewhere

or my personal favourite

BULE = Bald Ugly Lazy Easy (money)

For me, I could not help but have a little chuckle to myself when I read the advice that the author offers to Indonesian men who might be reading this little tome, which goes along the lines of if you, Indonesian men, want to get the attention of Indonesian women and stop them from preferring and finding bules then you, Indonesian men, need to treat Indonesian women better. This is a generalization and before you all jump on my head and beat the crap out of me in a figurative sense, these are the words of an Indonesian woman!

The chuckle however related to the idea that perhaps any Indonesian men reading this book were more interested in how they might be able to catch Mr. Bule as well rather than any interest in finding an Indonesian woman.

In the spirit of guide books there are chapters covering all the issues, at least as the author sees them, relating to the inter-racial relationships envisaged. These include chapters on communication, sex, gossip, extended family relationships.

The book is targeted at Indonesian women who are perhaps educated and professional but not so much to Indonesian women who might be looking to "escape" from the kampung. The book, at least for me, presupposes an equality between the prospective couple which you might not find with Indonesian women who have not had access to educational or work opportunities. However, some of the best advice relates to the idea that all bules are great. The author goes to some pains to point out that this is not the case and that bules are like everyone else; some good, some bad - avoid the bad!

Some of the other classic bits of advice relate to cultural issues like: don't be surprised if he (Mr. Bule) is not happy when you hit him up for cash to support your extended family like he is an ATM machine, don't be offended if on arrival home from a hard days work he greets his dog before he greets you (just the bule way apparently), don't worry that bule culture relies on alcohol but alcohol consumption is not always bad because sometimes in bule country it gets so cold that alcohol is drunk to warm up your body, and don't worry if your husband is watching a comedy show on TV and then all of a sudden breaks out in laughter and starts pissing himself laughing until he falls out of his chair and you just do not get the joke you should not feel alienated by this or become homesick, among many others.

Unfortunately, the book is only in Indonesian at the moment, but this is hardly surprising seeing that the target market is Indonesian women. So, if any of you bules out there want to know what it says precisely then you will have to read it yourself, or learn Indonesian, or get someone to read and translate it to you! Or you will just have to believe what I and others write about it!

For me it was in fact worth the 25,000 Rupes that I paid for it! I don't know that I learned anything but I did have fun reading through it! There were plenty of those WTF or are you kidding me moments. Yet, on reflection this was probably more so because of my personal experiences that are so different from those of the author than anything else, as well as the different ways that people view other cultures and their own...

Have a nice day!

Postscript to the original post...
I have discussed the racial connotations of the word bule in previous posts and how some "white" expatriates are offended by the term and others seem to want to co-opt it as a form of empowerment. In essence, there are some similarities between this debate and the debate that surrounds the word "nigger". However, seeing it is a debate happening in Indonesia and is far-removed from American pop culture, it simply is not a debate on the same scale. Although, as I recall from my travels through cyber-space, there have been many a heated discussion on the topic of bule. A good source for discussion, pros and cons, on the bule issue is Indonesia Matters.

However, as the title of the book suggests, the use of "bule" is common amongst Indonesians and most are unawares of the racial connotations. This is evidenced by the fact that Indonesian televisions programming includes shows like "Bule Gila" or "Crazy White People" among myriad of others.

Mouth-To-Mouth & CPR on a Dog...

How much do you love your dog?

Jessica Yeo loves her dog. Bella, an Australian Bulldog, had swallowed a bee. Bella had stopped breathing and her heart had also stopped. Yeo is an opera singer, a soprano, and undoubtedly has a pretty big set of lungs in her. She was going to need them when giving her dog the kiss of life.

According to Yeo, "Her gums turned white, her tongue turned blue, her eyes rolled back in her head and she stopped breathing and then her heart stopped". The first attempt was CPR performed by Yeo's partner. This did not work. Fortunately for Bella, Yeo was not going to be deterred. Bella was bailed into the car and the family headed to the nearest vet for assistance. All the way to the vet Yeo continued to give mouth-to-mouth to Bella.

Yeo's persistence paid off and Bella started to respond to the additional oxygen being blown into her system. On arrival at the vet, Bella was treated and after two hours was sent home.

All of the dogs we have ever owned have been like family, and we would have done anything and everything to save them if that was required.

I guess the question is "would you give your pet mouth-to-mouth in order to save it?"

Mollie...

Mollie (the Baiton family dog) and I have just returned from an early morning fur-dressing appointment!

We go to this place called "Barking Beauties". They always do an excellent job, and they give a seniors' discount.

So, here are the before and after model shots...

Rabies in Bali...

Rabies is a problem in Bali, and it has been for a while. The government has never really been pro-active in controlling and eradicating rabies. The government has tended to be more reactive, and now that foreign governments are starting to issue travel warnings or advice that suggests the rabies epidemic is serious enough that people need to take extra precautions or not travel to Bali has seen the government ratchet up efforts to get on top of the spread of rabies.

The past two years have seen an explosion in numbers of dog bites and human deaths from rabies infections. There have been some 34,000 reported dog bites this year. The past two years has seen 76 recorded deaths from rabies.

The government plan calls for all dogs to be vaccinated by the end of the year. This is presumably dogs that are seemingly owned by someone. The reality is that strays are likely to be destroyed. The authorities in Bali estimate that there are still hundreds of thousands of dogs to be vaccinated. That is a lot of dogs and a lot of potential rabies cases, especially when one considers that since 2008 somewhere in the vicinity of 300,000 dogs have been vaccinated, and tens of thousands destroyed.

There is an article in The Jakarta Globe about the issue. The following little extract caught my eye enough that I have cut and pasted it into this post:


"Unlike the rest of mainly Muslim Indonesia, where people do not generally keep dogs, Bali is a predominantly Hindu island and dogs are common either as pets or strays."

I am guessing that this is a statement of fact based on the idea that dogs are less acceptable under Islam than they are in Hindu beliefs. I only note it because I saw more dogs in other places outside of Bali than I did in Bali, so on in an anecdotal sense this did not ring true to me, personally. Besides, I am not sure that the reference to religious beliefs adds anything to the gravitas of the story itself.

But, dogs are not the only animals that carry rabies, are they?

Oh well

Missing Pets...

For your viewing pleasure (sourced from here)

Child Pornography -- The Cat Did It!

This certainly puts a new twist on the old claim that the dog ate my homework.

A Florida man accused of downloading child pornography is blaming his cat. If one was talking about a single image, or perhaps even two or three, then you might be tempted to think that it is possible, unlikely, but possible.

However, the man, Kevin Griffin, is accused of downloading more than 1000 images onto his home computer. The idea that the cat sat around for most of the night downloading kiddie porn just does not seem possible.

Griffin's excuse is that he was downloading music at the time. He left the room, and when he came back the cat had managed to download all these strange images onto his computer. It sounds sort of like, "Officer, I am not as think you drunk I am!" Worth a shot, but just not convincing.

Sounds like Mr. Griffin could be in a spot of bother.

(Image courtesy of Greg Newington)

A Dog's Life -- Five Legs

This is a great story with a reasonably happy ending. I have never been a big fan of freak shows or side show alley at the local fair or circus. There was always something that bothered me about paying money to view someone or something who was a little different from me; a special attribute that I did not possess.

About six weeks ago this cute as a puppy, puppy was born. It was born with a real interesting distinguishing feature, a fifth leg. The owner of the dog was contacted by John Strong, a Coney Island, New York, Side Show owner. Strong's claim to fame is a side show that features disfigured animals. The owner of the dog is supposed to have agreed to sell the puppy for USD 3000 to Strong, and Strong claims that he paid a USD 1000 deposit to secure the dog. Fortunately, that deposit has been repaid and the puppy has been sold to someone else for USD 4000.

The plan is to get the extra leg, on the chihuahua-terrier cross puppy, removed. The surgery is listed for the coming week and is expected to cost a further USD 2000. However, once the extra leg is removed vets are expecting that the little one, now named Lilly, will make a full recovery and lead a normal dog's life. Lilly is expected to live out her days somewhere in North Carolina.

I went to university in North Carolina, UNC-Chapel Hill. So, this is a story from my third home.

All's well that ends well.

A Happy Cat Story...

This story is the reason that I walk back to our old house every night of the week.

This is a story about Dixie. Dixie is a cat who went missing in 1999. Her devoted owners, the Delaney family (I am guessing that the photo is of Dixie and Mrs. Delaney) thought that their beloved pet had been killed, most probably run over.

However, to there great surprise Dixie has returned some nine years later. She is no longer the sprightly 6-year-old that she was when she disappeared. But, by all accounts apart from being a little skinny and disheveled Dixie is doing OK.

Dixie had a microchip inserted so it was as simple as scanning the chip to recover all the necessary information need to track down the owners. The wife and I were planning to get both of our dogs, Chockie and Unyil, microchipped unfortunately they were poisoned before we got the chance to do that. And little Smudges would have had to be microchipped in order to get into Australia.

Strangely enough, Dixie was found only a couple of kilometers from where she disappeared.

If only cats could talk in a language that we can understand. The story would most likely be a best seller.

Amazing

It is amazing what you can train a dog to do! (Picture from here)

Beijing, The Olympics, and Dogs

I am writing this post because my mother SMS-ed me earlier today saying that she entered a competition where she had to write in 25 words or less, "Why she wanted to go to Beijing to watch the Olympics?", bugger me if the old bird didn't win!

So, now her and the old fella are off to Beijing to watch the Olympics. Lucky buggers!

The other reason is that this story brings back memories of home. I used to be the Manager of a Domino's Pizza joint. It helped pay my way through law school. Every day that I went to work I had to drive past this Chinese restaurant, not particularly interesting in and of itself. However, this particular Chinese restaurant was in the same building as the local vet! Hence the connection to this story.

The Beijing Tourism Board officials have apparently been doing the rounds of local restaurants that are officially designated dining spots during the games and instructing them that dog meat is to come off the menu. Any one thinking of going to Beijing, then the word to learn is "xiangrou" or "fragrant meat". Aside from the designated eating places, tourism officials are also asking non-designated fine dining establishments to also take xiangrou of the menu.

Xiangrou supposedly provides health benefits. Most people I have talked to said that it increased their body temperature and made them sweat. The classic question must be what does dog meat taste like. I must add that I have no desire to find out either. I have eaten snake and crocodile meat and a range of other game meats of which I won't bore you with. The "what does it taste like" question is always interesting. Stock answer, chicken!

For me the issue has always been getting over the idea of eating a pet. I have always owned dogs. Never owned a rabbit so have no problems dining on rabbit stew.

However, if you want to see the darker side of the dog meat trade in China, I provide this link (viewer discretion advised -- it is a very ugly and cruel trade). I have looked at the link, it is disturbing. I now can see why there are many people passionate about animal rights!

I am not posting any pictures to this post.

Decision Time

Dogs truly are a person's best friend no matter what the circumstances. I wonder who received the bigger share of the donations?

My Next Dog?

Don't mess with a German Shepherd!

The Dangers of Drugs

An addiction is an addiction no matter what it is to!

Missing My Dogs & Sleep

I have been having trouble sleeping of late and I do not think it has anything to do with increased stress at work (although this probably should be a problem)!

I think that my "problem" is that I am so used to having two dogs sleeping on the bed and for the last six months or so one dog that both the better half and I miss the company! I am also missing going for the nightly walks and the barking when some one comes to the gate or the running round like a headless chicken when the local kids are letting off the fire crackers as they regularly do!

The beauty of pets, and particularly dogs, is that they are great listeners and you can talk to them without fear of being judged or getting an earful of this is what you should or shouldn't do! I am sure that my dogs of past and future will continue to be repositories of my greatest secrets and sounding boards for my stupidity.

If we were not seriously considering going back to Australia at the end of the year we would probably have already bought another dog.

I have never been a big believer in God or all things religious but I would like to think that my dogs, Chockie and Unyil, are together again and enjoying each other's company and looking after each other like they always did.

Unyil -- My Dog!

It has been a while between dog posts, so it is probably time for another dog post!

Unyil is a bitzer! That is a bit of everything for those of you not familiar with the term! She is a dog with an unknow heritage. She is probably not an orphan but more likely forcibly removed at birth from a loving mother and sold into the dog trafficking trade! However, she lucked out in a sense because she ended up with us as doting parents and a life a little more luxurious than might have otherwise been!

Yet, speaking of luxury and consistent with the plan to return to Australia at the end of the year, Unyil is about to become a very expensive dog! The money paid to the vet to keep her well pales into insignificance compared to the costs of quarantine. I am sure that the Australian government has perfectly legitimate reasons for demanding quarantine time however because Unyil would be entering into Australian from Indonesia there are some specific rules to be followed.

Dogs cannot be directly imported into Australia from Indonesia. This is good for Singapore because the entrepneurial spirit is alive and well. A dog coming to Australia from Indonesia must do six months quarantine in an approved third country (Singapore is an approved third country) and then a further 1 month in Australia. If the word rort comes to mind you might not be alone in this way of thinking. Hey, it is not Singapore's fault but they might be able to make some good cash out of this! The six months in Singapore will set us back about SGD 4,500 and the final month in Australia about AUD 1000. There are doggie airfares to be added on top of this too! All in all it is going to be an expensive more home!

So, unless the meeting with my bosses goes particularly well this afternoon then I better start saving!

Older...

Birthdays have a habit of creeping up on ya and then slapping ya about the head! "Time flies" does not really encompass how quickly the years can pass you by.

I remember the biggies! Hanging out to turn 18 so that I could legally walk into the pub and order a beer. The key word being legally! One of the hassles of being the hairiest bastard under 18 meant that I was the go to bloke when it came to walking into the bottle shop to buy the slab. Back in the day there was none of this drinking wine or spirits stuff, it was beer, beer, and more beer.

Turning 21 seems to be a biggie too but I am not quite sure why in the Australian sense I am not sure that I could do anything more than I could when I was 20!

Then there is turning 30...that generally is a WTF moment when you reflect on WTF have I done since turning 18?

As I approach the next big milestone of 40 (still a few years away yet though) I still get the sense that it is going to be another of those WTF moments.

Hence, the point of this post. I just had a birthday a couple of days or so ago and some things crystallized in my mind! I have been employed in the same place for the last five years and my salary no up up (well not at the same speed of my work being up up) and I am still position-wise treading water.

What does this mean? It means that I am thinking of pulling the Indonesian plug and heading back to my own country and taking the path less traveled.

A career change that will need some re-skilling and a little bit more education. I have said many times in posts on this blog and on other peoples' blogs that I am one of those expats that could be earning a lot more working back in my own land than on these here shores! I chose to be here and have enjoyed being here most of the time :) (not always miserable -- treespotter wherever you are)...

The reflection for me revolves around a number of points...I am comfortable in Indonesia and enjoy living here but not so much so that I am prepared to just tread water for the next 40 or 50 years! A change is as good as a holiday and I need a holiday!

The other thing that happened (probably worthy of an individual post) is that some low life coward poisoned my dog. I had two dogs, one which was poisoned in December and died, so it is probably the same low life numb nuts that poisoned my dog this time. This time I was a little luckier, as I was home and was able to call the vet a little bit sooner. My dog is a house and yard dog that only gets outside of the fence on a leash and usually late at night when there are less people around...Don't get me wrong on this point people bait dogs in Australia too but not generally in front yards!

I guess this means I will be having the big 4 - 0 WTF moment back in Australia somewhere rather than in this neck of the woods.

The beauty of the Internet means that I will still be blogging here at this blog location but will be somewhere else in the world doing it!

So, Happy Birthday to me!

Why was he born so beautiful, why was he born at all?

The doG - God Connection

Have you ever wondered why dog is God spelled in reverse, the mirror image. Is God a dog? or is a dog in fact God? Not that I really ever thought about it until just recently. In one of those deja vu moments, where you are thinking about something and then something comes to your attention and crystallizes the moment for you, happened to me just now. Most of my friends have blogs and I was reading the blog of one of these dear friends, a post about dogs and them taking on the characteristics of their namesakes (http://athomeinthequeencity.blogspot.com/) or that for which they were named.

This got me to surfing the Internet to answer the question, why? The Internet is the veritable fountain of information from the accurate through to the truly bizarre, but always a good starting point in any search for information and knowledge. My travels threw up this gem, http://www.geocities.com/~olelo/shelties/god-dog.html, which states that a recently discovered Dead Sea Scroll holds the answer to the age-old question of why dog is God spelled backwards.

This will need further research to confirm but it nevertheless answered the question for me and I am smiling about it even now as I write this post in my blog. But the most likely scenario for me is that most religions believe that their gods are forgiving entities that love unconditionally and my dogs have always loved unconditionally and it is this that is the ultimate connection for me.

Tragedy and Loss...

Today is not a good day! One of my dogs, Chockie, died suddenly this morning...Some of you might be inclined to think, "Snap out of it! It was just a dog!", how little do you understand the concept of a dog being a person's best friend! Those of you who have owned a pet and loved it like you love a family member will understand my loss and grief. The loss is raw and it is tragic because it was so sudden but it is also so new. This is probably the best time for me to write.

It is easy to say that she had a good life and the like but when it is all said and done she was but eight years old...that equates to 56 dog years but as far as I am concerned it was still way too early! The Zen Buddhism, fatalistic view of 'shit happens' does not quite fit the bill. I am probably more fatalistic about the life and death of people than I am of my own dog.

Chock had been a part of our family for eight years...it is strange how you recall the first couple of days after we 'found' her as a puppy. There was an intent that she would be an 'outside' dog but persistent crying and barking got her inside and she had been spoiled ever since.

Dogs truly are a person's best friend. They are loyal and they listen no matter what your complaint and they take it all in their stride. They snuggle up when your down and they make you laugh when you are sad. To lose that kind of companionship and friendship is the hardest part, it is the toughest.

Our dogs have been a part of our family and they are our children. If you can imagine the loss of a child then you can imagine the loss that we feel right at this moment.

I am sure over time I will remember the good times and they will overwhelm the grief and sadness that I feel today. The tears that I shed today will one day, I hope, be replaced with smiles as I recall the fun and games that we played, but that day is not today.

Perhaps life goes on but today I just want to be sad and to grieve the loss of a trusted and true friend and family member.

I miss you already Chock...safe journey to that big old puppy dog heaven in the sky!