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Erotika dalam karya fiksi

Fahmi Rizwansyah says:

Oleh Mulyo Sunyoto

Ketika masih duduk di bangku sekolah menengah pertama, eseis Goenawan Mohamad sudah membaca novel George Orwell yang berjudul "1984" dalam versi aslinya.
"Saya baca terutama di bagian-bagian yang memuat deskripsi erotik," katanya. Pengalaman Goenawan tentu tidaklah istimewa. Karena pembaca pada umumnya secara naluriah tak akan melewatkan bagian penggambaran perilaku erotik ketika menikmati karya fiksi.

Itu sebabnya para novelis menjadikan deskripsi perilaku erotik sebagai bagian tak terpisahkan dari totalitas cerita. Ada pengarang yang menjaga agar deskripsi mengenai perilaku erotik itu jangan sampai terjerumus ke dalam klasifikasi pornografis. Ada pengarang yang tak mempedulikan batas-batas klasifikasi itu.

Jika tujuan penggambaran atau deskripsi mengenai perilaku erotis itu adalah untuk merangsang naluri seksual pembaca, seperti dijelaskan Webster`s New Explorer Dictionary, penggambaran itu bisa dikategorikan sebagai pornografi.

Dalam novel terbaru Ayu Utami "Bilangan Fu", misalnya, deskripsi perilaku erotik jelas tidak dimaksudkan untuk merangsang seksual pembaca karena sang pengarang tak membuat deskripsi jasmaniah-harfiah. Sebaliknya, Ayu sengaja mengaburkan adegan erotik lewat bahasa metaforik, yang sebetulnya bisa saja dianggap lebih merangsang fantasi seksual pembaca.

Di halaman 38 novel setebal 531 pagina itu, Ayu membahasakan adegan seks dengan pilihan kata berikut:
"Di dalam kamar kubiarkan Marja memicu kudanya untuk berlari lebih cepat lagi. Kubiarkan ia menaji si kuda dengan sanggurdinya yang tak berbelas kasih. Ia mengucapkan segala sumpah serapah yang terdengar oleh seluruh dunia dan kata-kata kotor pada kuda yang mulai kehilangan kontrol."

Diksi metaforik dalam pasase itu seperti "kuda", "menaji", "sanggurdi," digunakan pengarangnya untuk menghindari lukisan-lukisan verbal-vulgar yang biasa digunakan kalangan pengarang novel picisan.


Tak vulgar

Sementara itu dalam "God of Small Things", bahasa harfiah dipakai oleh Arundhaty Roy untuk melukisan percintaan erotik antara Ammukuty, seorang janda, dengan jejaka yang digandrunginya, Velutha. Meskipun bisa dicap pornografis, deskripsi tentang percintaan erotis yang digubah Arundhaty jauh dari kesan porno yang vulgar.
Kenapa? Sebab Arundhati meletakkan adegan erotik itu dalam bingkai situasi yang tegang. Sang lelaki dalam ancaman disiksa warga setempat karena nekat bercinta dengan wanita dari kasta tinggi sementara dia sendiri dari golongan sudra.

Bahasa harfiah yang melukisan tubuh manusia yang sedang bercinta antara lain diwujudkan dalam kalimat berikut: "Ammu menjulurkan lidahnya dan mengecapkannya di ceruk kerongkongan lelaki itu. Di cuping telinganya. Ia menarik kepala lelaki itu ke arahnya, dan mencium mulutnya. Ciuman berkabut...."

Namun, untuk adegan hubungan intim, Arundhati tidak seharfiah saat ia melukiskan adegan ciuman, yang menurut banyak kalangan belum "porno banget", meskipun Lembaga Sensor Film (LSF) suka menggunting pita seluloid yang berisi adegan ciuman.
Inilah deskripsi Arundhaty untuk adegan "porno" yang disampaikan dalam diksi dan frasa metaforik:
"Sepasang mata yang berkabut menatap sepasang mata yang berkabut dalam tatapan mesra, dan seorang wanita yang berkilauan membuka dirinya pada seorang lelaki yang berkilauan. Wanita itu selebar dan sedalam sungai di saat banjir. Lelaki itu menyelam ke dalam airnya. Wanita itu dapat merasakan lelaki itu bergerak semakin dalam dan semakin dalam di dalam dirinya. Sibuk sekali. Hingar bingar..."

Fiksi yang menguraikan perilaku erotis dengan bahasa yang denotatif, menurut kritikus Milan Kundera, tidak akan sedahsyat yang menggunakan kiasan atau metafora. Terkait dengan metafora, pengarang Putu Wijaya mengamini Kundera. Putu selalu menghadirkan tamsil, ibarat, kiasan dan metafora dalam fiksi-fiksi gubahannya. Semua medium ekspresi itu diramu dan disampaikan untuk menghadirkan pekabaran yang memukau.

Para pengarang tak henti-hentinya mengeksplorasi dan mencita bahasa metaforik, termasuk ketika mereka mendeskripsikan perilaku erotis dalam karya-karya fiksi mereka.

Cheers, frizzy2008.

ARS: Alternatif Remittance System Rawan Digunakan Teroris


Fahmi Rizwansyah says:

Pengiriman uang alternatif (alternatif remittance system/ARS) dan pengiriman uang secara elektronik (wired transfer) diindikasikan masih menjadi sarana para pelaku kejahatan semisal aksi pencucian uang (money laundering) dan penggalian pendanaan untuk aksi terorisme.

Hal itu terungkap dalam konferemsi pers APEC Seminar on Securing Remittance and Cross Borders Payment from Terorist Use, yang diadakan oleh Pusat Pelaporan dan Analisis Transaksi Keuangan (PPATK) bekerja sama dengan Asia Pasific Economic Cooperation (APEC) di Jakarta, Rabu (22/10).

Menurut Public Relation PPATK M Natsir Kongah MS dalam perkembangannya, jasa alternatif pengiriman uang dapat disalahgunakan karena ARS tidak terdeteksi dalam sistem keuangan.

Dari data yang dikeluarkan oleh APEC, Indonesia menduduki peringkat keempat dari lima besar pengiriman atau penerimaan uang ke dalam negeri, dibawah China, Meksiko dan Filipina. "Pada tahun 2006 jumlah pengiriman yang masuk ke Indonesia setara dengan 1,6 persen GDP," kata Natsir.

Sedangkan, dari mulai 2002 jumlah penerimaan uang yang masuk terus meningkat dimana pada 2002, jumlah uang yang masuk ke Indonesia sebanyak 1,259 juta dollar AS. Untuk 2003 mencapai 1,489 juta dollar AS. 2004 sebanyak 1,865 juta dollar AS, 2005 sejumlah 5,419 juta dollar AS. Dan 2006 berrtambahn menjadi 5,722 juta dollar AS. Sedangkan pada tahun lalu jumlahnya meningkat lagi menjadi 6 juta dollar AS.

Nantinya, diharapkan hasil dari seminar tersebut dapat membuahkan pemahaman yang lebih komprehensif bagi instansi terkait yang ada di Indonesia. Seperti kepolisian, kejaksaan, bea cukai maupun imigrasi. "Selain itu juga seminar ini untuk mendukung tugas dan fungsi PPATK sebagai financial intelegence unit," terang Natsir.

Seminar 2 hari ini diikuti oleh 100 peserta baik yang berasal dari instansi terkait di Indonesia maupun perwakilan dari negara anggota APEC.

by kompas.com

Cheers, frizzy2008.

Ten Smart Travel Packing Tips

Fahmi Rizwansyah says:

1. Plan ahead. Know what weather to expect and what your activities might be, then pack the right clothes for the climate and your events. Ignore the urge to add in “but what if…” items.

2. Pack less. Pack only 3 pair of quick-drying underwear that can be washed out and dried overnight: one to wear, one to wash, and a spare. Expect to wear each outer clothing item more than once. Choose versatile pieces that can be worn in different combinations.

3. Pack a “go-anywhere” wardrobe. Take clothes that blend in with the local population and provide safety from those who target tourists. For instance: modest necklines for women, long pants or skirts, and shirts with a collar and sleeves.

4. Pack easy-care clothes that you love. To ensure that you will look and feel great on your trip, choose clothes from your closet that still appear fresh at the end of a long day. If things wrinkle at home, they will surely wrinkle while traveling.

5. Take comfortable shoes. You will not have a good time if your feet hurt. Three pairs of shoes are the maximum for most trips: one to wear and two to pack.

6. Choose the right bag for the trip. Structured bags with wheels protect the contents and offer independence in airports, while unstructured bags without wheels are generally easier to squish into small places, as in the trunk of a car.

7. Know the current airline luggage rules. To avoid additional fees and confusion at the airport, understand how many pieces of luggage may be checked, plus the maximum dimensions and allowable weight for each bag. Call your airline or check www.smartpacking.com for the latest information.

8. Pack smart. Use smart packing tricks to fit items into your luggage in the most space-efficient way, and to provide easy visibility during security checks. For example, group small items in see-through containers or in self-sealing plastic bags. Pack less to speed the security check process—an over packed bag takes longer to manually inspect and is more difficult to repack.

9. Travel light. Wheels are helpful on smooth terrain, but you must still be able to carry your bag on rough streets and up and down stairs. Two smaller bags are easier to manage than one larger bag, although changing airline checked baggage rules might make this cost more. Lighten up cosmetics and toiletries; these often make up half of the bag weight. Travel and sample-sized items are a good trick, as is transferring the amount needed into a small container. Dual duty products such as moisturizer plus sunscreen eliminate one entire bottle.

10. Use or pack a lock. Today’s airport security requires luggage to be unlocked, but pack a lock so you can secure your bag at your destination. Or purchase a new TSA-approved lock—a combination lock that is set by the owner with TSA holding the master key—and lock while traveling.

The moral to the story is if you follow these simple guidelines, you will have the freedom to go everywhere — independently and comfortably — and travel will indeed be the relaxing break you anticipate.

©2008 Susan Foster, Smart Travel Press, P.O. Box 25514, Portland, OR 97298-0514, Susan@smartpacking.com

Cheers, frizzy2008.

True story of Stanford University

Fahmi Rizwansyah says:

Untrue story:

The Stanfords visited several great universities of the East to gather ideas. An urban legend, widely circulated on the Internet but untrue, describes the couple as poorly-dressed country bumpkins who decided to found their own university only after being rebuffed in their offer to endow a building at Harvard. They did visit Harvard's president but were well-received and given advice on starting a new university in California. From the outset they made some untraditional choices: the university would be coeducational, in a time when most were all-male; non-denominational, when most were associated with a religious organization; and avowedly practical, producing "cultured and useful citizens" when most were concerned only with the former.



True story:
taken from http://www.stanford.edu/about/history

The Birth of the University

In 1876, former California Governor Leland Stanford purchased 650 acres of Rancho San Francisquito for a country home and began the development of his famous Palo Alto Stock Farm. He later bought adjoining properties totaling more than 8,000 acres. The little town that was beginning to emerge near the land took the name Palo Alto (tall tree) after a giant California redwood on the bank of San Francisquito Creek. The tree itself is still there and would later become the university's symbol and centerpiece of its official seal.

The Stanford Family

Leland Stanford, who grew up and studied law in New York, moved West after the gold rush and, like many of his wealthy contemporaries, made his fortune in the railroads. He was a leader of the Republican Party, governor of California and later a U.S. senator. He and Jane had one son, who died of typhoid fever in 1884 when the family was traveling in Italy. Leland Jr. was just 15. Legend has it that the grieving couple said to one another after their son's death, "the children of California shall be our children," and they quickly set about to find a lasting way to memorialize their beloved son.

The Stanfords visited several great universities of the East to gather ideas. An urban legend, widely circulated on the Internet but untrue, describes the couple as poorly-dressed country bumpkins who decided to found their own university only after being rebuffed in their offer to endow a building at Harvard. They did visit Harvard's president but were well-received and given advice on starting a new university in California. From the outset they made some untraditional choices: the university would be coeducational, in a time when most were all-male; non-denominational, when most were associated with a religious organization; and avowedly practical, producing "cultured and useful citizens" when most were concerned only with the former.

The prediction of a New York newspaper that Stanford professors would "lecture in marble halls to empty benches" was quickly disproved. The first student body consisted of 559 men and women, and the original faculty of 15 was expanded to 49 for the second year. The university’s first president was David Starr Jordan, a graduate of Cornell, who left his post as president of Indiana University to join the adventure out West.

The Stanfords engaged Frederick Law Olmsted, the famed landscape architect who created New York’s Central Park, to design the physical plan for the university. The collaboration was contentious, but finally resulted in an organziation of quadrangles on an east-west axis. Today, as Stanford continues to expand, the university’s architects attempt to respect those original university plans.

Cheers, frizzy2008.