Balinese temple dress

Everyone who enters a temple in Bali must be attired correctly, even foreigners. Here we have a handsome group all dressed up for the three day Odalon temple anniversary ceremony. The purpose of the ceremonial dress, (or adat dress), is to focus the chakras, or energies of the body toward a higher purpose. Both men and women wear a cloth called a kamben, (as opposed to a sarong, a more casual option). Women wrap it tightly around their hips and tied on the left, men fold it into drapes and tie it in the center.

Various layers of different textiles are also worn according to the ceremony and are often symbolic in nature. For instance different parts of the male headdress, the udeng, symbolize the Ulu Candra (a Balinese letter), the gods Siwa and Brahma, the male lingga AND the female yoni. Phew.

Ask The Googly

The Googly knows all

Dear The Googly,
For the second year in a row, we are not sending out Holiday cards. Instead we have started a blog. Is this a good replacement?
~Salomé Bambang

Dear Salomé,
Anyone who spends at least 20 minutes a day, tinkering with html, gadgets, widgets, midgets (and whatever the heck these blog programmers invent next), will forever be held in the highest regard by friends, family and the public at large. Broadcasting the minutia of your daily lives is a calling answered by only the most self obsessed of net pioneers, and you should be commended for your contributions to the digital gestalt, the memory banks of a vast array of web servers, and the coffers of Amazon.com. (By the way, where is your Amazon link?)
Yours truly, The Googly
Send YOUR burning questions to The Googly, click the contact button

The Man Behind the Legend

Saint Nikolaus, the original Santa Claus

A variety of stories and legends exist regarding Saint Nicholas, (or Nikolaus, spellings vary). He is the patron saint of sailors, having saved a fellow sailor from drowning.

In another story, he takes pity on a man with three daughters who was too poor to afford proper dowries, (almost certainly condemning them to a life of prostitution). When each girl came of age, he secretly left a small pouch of money, (being too modest to help the man publicly). The third daughter's dowry was dropped down the chimney, in order to remain anonymous, (word got out that the father was laying in wait to discover his benefactor). Legend has it that the daughter had washed her stockings and had hung them by the fire to dry, and that's where the money landed.

The feast of Saint Nicholas is held on December 6th a day medieval nuns used to anonymously deposit baskets of food and clothing on the doors of poor families. In many countries Saint Nicholas' Eve remains the primary occasion for gift giving, remaining separate from the typical American Christmas celebration. (click on the image above and drag it to your desktop to use it as an ipod wallpaper).

Last minute gifts

Nothing says Merry Christmas like an insulated lunch bag made of Indonesian litter.

80,000 tons of flexible plastic packaging are manufactured each year in Indonesia and proper recycling is practically nonexistent. The XSProject is working with Trash pickers and craftspeople in Jakarta, paying them a fair price and producing very well made, funky, (and CLEAN) items.

Paisley buys his in Bali, but you can visit the excellent XSProject website and online store to see the entire line of bags, wallets and other carry-alls. According to the site, all orders are processed within 24hours, (Paisley suspects US orders are shipped from the US), so there's still time enough to make it under the tree. (Paisley accepts no advertising, favors, candy, etc. for any endorsements)

Bali News Flash: Visiting Fashionista Hurls Herself off Four Inch Platform

Tragedy on Hanoman Street

On her first day in Bali, Salomé Bambang enjoyed a delicious lunch of tofu crusted tofu patties (with a side of tofu salad) at Kafe on Jalan Hanoman. Having pulled out her little notebook to compose her "things to do in Bali 2008" list and just written, "take yoga classes", she wandered to the back of the restaurant to pick up a class schedule. In a move that was describe by local witness Wayan Suparman as "kurang indah sedikit" (slightly less than elegant) she flung herself off the step to land at the feet of several startled wait-people.

"This confirms my suspicions," stated concerned husband Paisley Foulard, "...that yoga is a vicious contact sport and should be avoided at all costs". "Salomé should stick to more sedate hobbies, like Nascar racing and Buzkashi."

What's for lunch?

Fresh catch in the Ubud Market, Bali

For centuries Bali's rice fields have provided nourishment in a variety of forms. Children have long caught dragonflies with bamboo poles with sticky tips and roasted them for snacks. Frogs and eels have also provided much needed protein. Paisley can vouch that a sambal made with eels is a very tasty treat indeed. In fact, Paisley believes that a meal in Bali without sambal, is like a meal in Austin without salsa.

Mad for Mod

Mod Green Pod world headquarters, Austin TX

Paisley has a crush on the lovely Ms. Mims. Her upholstery weight 100% certified organic fabrics are printed here in the US, use non-toxic pigments and comply with stringent Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) for NO off-gassing into Paisley's pristine home. In keeping with her green philosophy, her wallpapers use water-based inks on cellulose paper.

But most importantly, her Mod Green Pod designs defy the earthy-crunchy, yoga-mat-toting, tofu-munching aesthetic. (not that there's anything wrong with that). Visit the Mod Green Pod online store to see for yourself.

Nasi, Balinese rice

View of a rice field, or Padi, near Ubud, Bali

Rice cultivation can be traced back 2000 years in Bali. It is so important that there are at least five different words for it in the Balinese language and the length of the traditional Balinese rice growing season, 220 days, is also the length of the Balinese year. This traditional rice has been largely replaced by a high yield variety capable of 2 to 3 harvests per (western calendar) year. This "miracle rice" has led to a rice monoculture, making the supply more vulnerable to pests and disease, (therefore more dependent on pesticides).

All the rage

DeltaMart, Ubud, Bali

Paisley is pleased to report this year's fashionable commodes are sporting color. Just don't do as the package suggests, Paisley suspects the color gets to the bowl in a more direct fashion.

Little gifts of no intrinsic value Vol.3

The Countess


The Eavesdropper


Masuko


The Continental

Here are a few images from Paisley's archives. For those fortunate enough to own a Mac or an iphone, you may assign them to friends' entries in your address book or use them as wallpaper. For those using other devices, Paisley has faith you will find some other creative use for them. (Paisley hopes you will contact him with helpful hints so that he may serve you better)

To download the full resolution file, click on the image. When the new window opens, drag the image onto your desktop.

Paisley arrives in Bali

Villa Kupu Kupu, Ubud, Bali

With minimal fanfare, Paisley Foulard arrived in Bali on December 2nd, 2008, despite the seizure of most of Thailand's airports by anti-government demonstrators.

Now safe and sound in his Ubud compound, Paisley is making plans for new adventures. Armed with a battery of new recipes and cooking techniques gleaned from the Chiang Mai Thai Cookery School, Paisley plans to win new friends. (stay tuned for a tasty khanom recipe, Bali style).

Stranded in paradise

Wat Rong Khun, Chiang Rai Thailand

Because of the Suvarnabhumi airport takeover by anti-government protesters, Paisley has found himself on an extended Thai vacation. While visiting the Wat Rong Khun near Chiang Rai, he spotted this rather exuberant No-Smoking sign. Forget what they taught you in art school; More is More.