Lain emerges from independent music scene Joko Anwar, Contributor, Jakarta The huge hall in Jakarta Convention Center was only one-third full when Lain played their first song at an acoustic event organized by high school students of SMU 8 Jakarta last week. Most of the kids were hanging around outside, waiting for the "main" attractions like pop band Padi and female singer Audy to perform on stage.

Medals of honors awarded to 13 respected figures The Jakarta Post Jakarta As part of the annual Independence Day celebrations, President Megawati Soekarnoputri conferred on Saturday medals of honor to 13 people who had made significant contributions to the country.

Coffee culture in Bengkulu The pungent aroma of coffee filled the afternoon air in Curup, a cool hill town some 85 kilometers northeast of Bengkulu, the capital of the province of the same name. "Bengkulu coffee is 100 percent pure, not mixed with corn flour or anything. It tastes even better than Lampung coffee," boasted Sudiyono, my driver and guide.

RI loses veteran banker, top comedian The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Noted comedian Darto Helm passed away at the age of 61 on Saturday, at around 6:30 p.m., after suffering a series of strokes over the past eight years. He is survived by his wife Sutiah and their two daughters, Dian Rudianti and Triana. Darto had been admitted to Pelni Hospital on Jl. KS Tubun, West Jakarta, on Aug. 2, where he was supported by a ventilator due to his poor condition. His body was laid to rest at his house on Jl.

Golkar eyes long-term benefits with PDI-P M. Taufiqurrahman, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta The Golkar Party is set to form a coalition with the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) to support Megawati Soekarnoputri's bid for presidency, as it would serve the party's long-term interests, a Golkar official said.

Mega honors leading nationals The Jakarta Post, Jakarta As part of the annual Independence Day celebrations, President Megawati Soekarnoputri conferred on Saturday medals of honor to 13 people who had made significant contributions to the country.

* Houses for the 21th century, edited by Geoffrey London, texts by Anoma Pieris, Geoffrey London, Amanda Achmadi, Philip Goad, Paul Walker & Justine Clark, Pirak Anurakwachon. Photography by Patrick Bingham-Hall. Published in 2004 by Periplus Editions (HK) Ltd. by arrangement with Pesaro Publishing, Sydney, Australia. Book signing at TC Squares Jl. Kemang Raya 24a, Kemang, South Jakarta, at 7 p.m. on Aug. 16 and exhibition runs until Aug. 23.

Readership survey The Jakarta Post's readership survey is on pages 9-10 in today's issue. We hope that you will take the time to give us your input. The survey is also available online at www.thejakartapost.com. -- Editor

A splendid dining journey through Bali Rita A. Widiadana, The Jakarta Post/Denpasar Dining in a romantic, serene garden surrounded by water lily and lotus ponds or in a beachfront open-air pavilion overlooking the great rolling waves of the Indian Ocean could be a perfect escape from your hectic days.

New Italian eatery serves fine, and fun, cuisine Tantri Yuliandini, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Although home to a vast array of delicious cuisine, Central Jakarta's Kota area was not a place where the hip and happening would be caught dead on a Saturday night (unless, of course, they did get caught in one of the seedy bars or gambling dens).

Getting out and about in Manado and beyond Tantri Yuliandini, The Jakarta, Manado, North Sulawesi The once pretty face of Manado has never been the same since reclamation projects altered the shoreline along Manado Bay to make way for big shopping complexes. Along the city's famous boulevard -- where once upon a time visitors could enjoy an unobstructed view of the sun setting over the sea -- now stand ugly structures, housing department stores, supermarkets and fast food eateries.

Cak Nur, Goenawan win freedom awards Sari P. Setiogi, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta Noted Muslim scholar Nurcholish Madjid and poet Goenawan Mohamad were granted the Achmad Bakrie awards from the Freedom Institute (Fins) on Saturday, for their devotion to socio-religious work and literature respectively. Both Nurcholish, better known as Cak Nur, and Goenawan received a trophy plus Rp 100 million (US$10,250) in prize money.

Customer-made: A home design to suit all tastes Maria Endah Hulupi, Contributor, Jakarta The customer is always right, right? True, but translating a home owner's wishes without breaking a set of design principles can be a tough task. Architect Ahmad Djuhara succeeded nevertheless in creating a clean-cut, modern three-story house in a housing complex in North Jakarta.

Up-and-coming puppet master Nanang Hape Hera Diani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta In the Mahabharata epic, ascetic Kanika gives two hints to King Duryudana, the eldest of the Kurawa knights, on how to stay in power. First, never let an intelligent person remain in a suitable position for a long period of time; otherwise, the person will grow powerful and may cause harm.

Inscrutable you: Graham makes sense of Indonesia Dewi Anggraeni, Contributor, Melbourne, Australia The People Next Door: Understanding Indonesia Duncan Graham University of Western Australia Press, Western Australia, 2004 Paperback, 189 pp For decades, sociologists and political scientists in the Western world have published books on Indonesia.

Indonesia keeps its own time in ever-hectic world Maggie Tiojakin, Contributor, Boston In some parts of the world, where a 15-minute service delay could turn into a million-dollar lawsuit, punctuality is every bit as important as the relationships it sustains. Over the years, global enterprises have striven not only to meet their deadlines, but to create time management which is faster, more reliable and more efficient than their competitors.

Asylum seekers hospitalized INDONESIA: Nearly a dozen Afghan asylum seekers have been hospitalized following a hunger strike in which some stitched their mouths shut to protest the United Nations' refusal to grant them refugee status, officials said on Saturday. A total of 39 migrants launched the hunger strike on Tuesday, after living in legal limbo for more than two years in a hostel in Bogor on the southern outskirts of Jakarta.

'Wayang Kancil' amuse children and adults Leony Aurora , The Jakarta Post/Jakarta Most children who visited the Puppet Museum in Kota, West Jakarta, on Saturday were already familiar with the clever mouse- deer, or kancil as it is locally known. Sitting on the floor and munching snacks, students of two elementary schools in Jembatan Lima, West Jakarta, watched the cunning mouse-deer come to life in the hands of shadow puppeteer Sri Sulansih Warsito.