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THIRTY-THREE SEASONS IN HELL : A PROLOGUE (III)

Eight years ago, I was interviewed for the magazine BaliSavvy “The Official American Express® Guide to the Island”. I found a copy of that old interview recently in an archive of the adversities I have endured since March 2010. I decided to post the 2010 interview here in several installments as a prologue … Continue reading

Author : Susi
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macan tidur and icon asian arts 2010

THIRTY-THREE SEASONS IN HELL: A PROLOGUE (II)

      Eight years ago, I was interviewed for the magazine BaliSavvy, “the official American Express® guide to the island”.   I found a copy of that 2010 interview recently in an archive of the adversities I have endured since March 2010.  I decided to post it here, in several installments, as … Continue reading

Author : Susi
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Bali invasion

Interesting little spontaneous essay by “Joan of Bali” popped up in the comments section of one of my posts. Since it was “public” I take the liberty of reposting it here. Thanks Joan. “When I came here I saw a very different economy than I came from but I didn’t … Continue reading

Filled under : Architecture , Bali , Concerns
Author : Susi
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Bali Not For Sale #notforsale

SITUASI SUSI JOHNSTON: Pelurusan Kesesatan dan Kesalahan Informasi

Tulisan ini berkaitan dengan masalah tanah dan rumah tinggal yang berada di Pererenan, Mengwi, Badung, yang sekarang menjadi objek sengketa antara Tety Carolina (mantan “nominee”) melawan Susi Johnston. Tety tanpa hak apapun Tety Carolina tidak memiliki hak apapun atas tanah tempat tinggal Susi. Dia hanya pernah “pinjamkan namanya” kepada Bruno … Continue reading

Filled under : Architecture , Bali , Concerns , Design , Uncategorized
Author : Susi
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Made Wijaya Puts Majapahit Style on the Map

The moment we’ve all been waiting for with bated breath has come at last. Made Wijaya’s Majapahit Style has been released (the party vid is here), and what a book it is. More than a book. Like Made’s earlier masterwork, The Architecture of Bali, it’s encyclopaedic and opens many doors … Continue reading

Filled under : Architecture , Bali , Design , Ethnographica , Ornament
Author : Susi
Comment Number : 2 Comments
Afterhours Books, The Walter Spies Collector's Suite, a special limited edition

Afterhours Books Releases Superlative Spies Suite

On the subject of Spies, history remained almost silent for quite some time following his untimely death in 1942. He was only 46 years old then, an artist at the height of his significant talent, when he was lost at sea during the war in a tragic case of “collateral … Continue reading

Filled under : Bali , Fine Art
Author : Susi
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Bali: How Much Is Too Much

OVERDEVELOPMENT IN BALI: WEB WATCHDOG WINS 100,000 SUPPORTERS

The Facebook-based web page Bali: How Much Is Too Much? passed a major milestone today, by reaching over 100,000 participants. A defiantly non-commercial page, it began at the end of 2013 to expose the sheer scale and quantity of tourism development engulfing the paradise island of Bali. Since then it … Continue reading

Filled under : Bali , Concerns
Author : Susi
Comment Number : 1 Comment
azazel facebook violence despair

PROFOUND THOUGHT FOUND ON FACEBOOK. STILL NO LIFE ON MARS. FILM AT ELEVEN.

I have a news monitoring app that’s customized to do what I want it to, and to be flexible so that I can change its behaviour as and when I like. It feeds me selected news, from selected sources, on selected topics (keywords, tags, metadata). I don’t watch television or … Continue reading

Filled under : Bali , Concerns , Uncategorized
Author : Susi
Comment Number : 1 Comment

10-Point Primer: “Reklamasi” for Regular Folks

The Benoa Bay reclamation debate (“Reklamasi Tanjung Benoa”) You are probably aware of debate and protests about making a megaproject in Benoa Bay here in Bali. Most of the discourse has focused on environmental concerns, which are valid, but not everyone feels motivated or convinced by environmental responsibility. Many are … Continue reading

Filled under : Bali , Concerns
Author : Susi
Comment Number : 7 Comments
Bali Not For Sale #notforsale

The Susi Johnston Situation: Death to Nominee Scams

Here’s an update on the very intriguing situation I have been thrown into, and have navigated faithfully for the past two years. A three-page summary of the news to date (and the background of this regrettable situation) can be downloaded by clicking here: Susi Johnston Situation (3.5MB – Be patient.)

Filled under : Bali , Concerns , Uncategorized
Author : Susi
Comment Number : 1 Comment

A modest studio in Bali with a big following

Yes!! Bali Creative Economy. Gaya ceramics studio is brilliant, and has been seminal in transferring skills, techniques, and launching the ceramic arts careers of local young people. The Wall Street Journal is writing about it.

Filled under : Bali , Design , Interiors , Ornament
Author : Susi
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Kuta, Bali by Adrian Vickers

Wow. What a find. Material for a Master’s Thesis, for sure. A book by an Indonesian writer that exposes Indonesian perceptions of foreigners as they are known. It reflects direct observation, extrapolation from popular media, and a spectrum of preconceptions arising from indigenous ways of being in and seeing the … Continue reading

Filled under : Bali , Uncategorized
Author : Susi
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Dance Vibration – photography exhibition

Tomorrow! 29 March. An evening that will be remembered as “one of those moments” – – a “you should’ve been there” one. Talented photographer Doddy Obenk + important figures in traditional dance and performance. At Three Monkeys Sanur, 7pm. Note: Bring cash, credit card and checkbook. Acquire authentic fine art … Continue reading

Filled under : Architecture , Bali , Design , Fine Art , Interiors
Author : Susi
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A History of Modern Indonesia by Adrian Vickers

Get on down to the nearest bookshop or online bookseller. Get yours quick. The new edition of Adrian Vickers’ superb and readable history of modern Indonesia is out! Adrian seems to be a force of nature, he never stops. And thank goodness for that! “Since the Bali bombings of 2002 … Continue reading

Filled under : Bali , Uncategorized
Author : Susi
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APEC CEO Summit

Looking forward to a very important forum, and hopefully an interesting one. There are so many opportunities for the Asia Pacific region to work together for a better future. I do hope that voices of sustainability and humanity will be heard during the forum. Synergy around the Pacific is not … Continue reading

Filled under : Bali , Concerns
Author : Susi
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My drugs story in Bali

This is a fairly accurate news story about my recent experience here in Bali. One important element does not appear in this story: I was treated with respect, dignity, and pure neutrality by all of the personnel of the narcotics unit of Polresta Denpasar once I had been delivered to … Continue reading

Filled under : Bali , Bali Police , Concerns
Author : Susi
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Nicholas Hughes: Impressions of an Ageing Mountaineer

To sit atop a mountain is an extraordinary, even spiritual, experience when amongst relics of the Hindu and Buddhist periods or on a mountain that locals treat with great reverence. An Australian national, he has lived in Indonesia on and off since 1972. Nick will explain the science behind the … Continue reading

Filled under : Bali , Uncategorized
Author : Susi
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Bird Flu in Four Regencies in Bali

Since I’m inadvertently serving as ad hoc translator and bridge between mutually-misread populations cohabiting in Bali . . . This news hasn’t filtered through to non-Indonesian-language media yet. For the past several weeks there have been outbreaks of a new strain of bird flu among commercially-raised and traded birds (chickens, … Continue reading

Filled under : Bali , Concerns , Uncategorized
Author : Susi
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What’s Donovan got to do with Bali? He’s a Hindu Buddhist Ubudist!

Big news. Donovan is being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and (Marketing) Museum on April 14th. This pixie troubador out of deepest Glasgow enchanted the world in the sixties with his psychedelic naif persona and almost childlike sing-along songs. He was seminal (if I dare use … Continue reading

Filled under : Bali , Uncategorized
Author : Susi
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The Beautiful Life of Bruno Piazza (19 January 1941 – 28 October 2011)

BRUNO PIAZZA: MASTERPIECE My beloved husband Bruno Piazza died at home in Bali, at dawn on Friday the 28th of October, 2011 after a long and courageous battle with cancer. Bruno lived an extraordinary and beautiful life, and (not surprisingly) he died a remarkably beautiful death. He was not an … Continue reading

Author : Susi
Comment Number : 15 Comments

Bali 19 August: Something Whacko This Way Comes

Here’s the weirdest, wildest and probably the best event of the Bali summer season: Empire of the Sun at Potato Head Bali Beach Club in Petitenget, 19 August. Feeling a bit bored? Jaded? Nothing new to do? Under-awed by the faux-fabulousness of (yeah yeah) normal nightlife? Then pay attention.

Filled under : Bali , Uncategorized
Author : Susi
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Bali, Paradox Island: What’s wrong with this picture?

Travel guides and glossy magazines call Bali paradise and wax poetic about the island’s glories, and how peaceful and spiritual a place it is. Of course, there is some truth amid all the hyperbole, but reading the local newspapers written in Indonesian gives a somewhat different impression. There is evidently … Continue reading

Filled under : Bali , Uncategorized
Author : Susi
Comment Number : 13 Comments

Funkin’ the Foreshore: Potato Head Comes to the Beach in Bali

In case you were wondering what that big wall of old shutters is doing near the beach in Seminyak, it’s a multi-faceted development called Potato Head Beach Club brought to you by the makers of Potato Head Jakarta (above), a description-defying place that opened back in January 2009. The brainchild … Continue reading

Filled under : Architecture , Bali , Design , Interiors
Author : Susi
Comment Number : 10 Comments

Multi-Storey Mayhem: Is Bali Building Itself into Oblivion?

I’ve just had another massive overdose of masterplans. I have feeds and searches set up to keep tabs on new developments in Bali. It just doesn’t stop. Here are just a handful of the scores of new projects that have drifted across my desktop lately. Read on, to get a … Continue reading

Filled under : Bali
Author : Susi
Comment Number : 8 Comments

San Francisco Asian to Hold Major Exhibition About Bali in 2011

A large-scale exhibition entitled Bali: Art, Ritual, Performance will open in February 2011 at the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, one of the world’s most respected institutions for Asian art. This is big news. Exciting news. The show includes works on loan from numerous international collections, many which have never … Continue reading

Filled under : Ethnographica , Textiles , Tribal Art
Author : Susi
Comment Number : 2 Comments

There Goes the Neighbourhood: “The Seminyak” To Open Soon

In case you were wondering about the massive construction project in between The Legian and KuDeTa on Seminyak beach, here’s the scoop. It’s called The Seminyak. How imaginative. Especially since it’s right next door to The Legian. How much did they pay their marketing think tank to come up with … Continue reading

Filled under : Bali
Author : Susi
Comment Number : 2 Comments

August Overload Causes Blog Backlog in Bali

August and September (and now even October) are the high season in Bali and it is always hectic. Parties. Gatherings. Visitors. Vernissages. Launches. Lunches. Dinners. And all manner of special events and festivals. The huge number of visitors, both those we know and those we don’t know, makes it impossible … Continue reading

Filled under : Bali
Author : Susi
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Beachwalk: Massive New Development on Kuta Beach

Well gosh, with traffic already gridlocked and  infrastructure overloaded, it’s hard to feel warm and fuzzy about this new 5.2 hectare mega-development in Kuta spread along 250 meters of  beach. That said, the long-disused site where Kuta Beachwalk will be built has been like the missing front tooth of Kuta’s … Continue reading

Filled under : Bali
Author : Susi
Comment Number : 21 Comments
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