Guess What? Jeffrey A. Winters American academic Jeffrey A. Winters must have forgotten to say "knock on wood" to cancel out potential bad luck when claiming that Indonesia was a much safer country for him now that president Soeharto has resigned.

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Jin Hi Kim composes to bridge cultural devidesBy Rita A. Widiadana JAKARTA (JP): Every culture or ethnic group has different ways of expressing itself, but a universal expression throughout all societies is music, or so believes Korean-American composer Jin Hi Kim.

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Sports museum: Coming in a dusty last at TMIIBy Primastuti Handayani JAKARTA (JP): Have you ever been to the capital's sports museum?The most likely answer will be: "Never heard of it" or "Do we have one?" The fact is yes, we do.

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Golkar admits past mistakes JAKARTA (JP): Admitting past political mistakes which led to a centralization of power in one man, the dominant Golkar political grouping's leaders pledged their commitment to reform on Saturday at a meeting to plan new strategies for next year's general election.

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Precious lessons from Marcos' downfall Revolusi Damai: Belajar dari Filipina (Peaceful Revolution: Learning from the Philippines); Greg Soetomo; Kanisius, 1998, Yogyakarta, 192 pp.

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Better treatment of Anwar opens Habibie's way to APEC JAKARTA (JP): The transfer of sacked Malaysian deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim from the Bukit Aman federal police headquarters in Kuala Lumpur to the modern Sungai Buloh prison has removed the most important hurdle for President B.J.

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TV todayTVRI 6:00 a.m. News: Sari Berita Sepekan 6:30 Morning Focus 6:45 Healthy and Fresh 7:00 Religious Teachings: Hikmah Pagi 7:30 Children's Program: Arena 123 8:00 Children's Program: Kumbang and Family 8:30 Children's Program: Nuansa Anak 9:00 Music 9:30 Creative Program: ...

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Art Summit Indonesia's final week enjoys huge crowdsBy Stevie Emilia and Yudha Kartohadiprodjo JAKARTA (JP): The show must go on. That must be one of the philosophies behind the success of the second Indonesian art summit, which faced the risk of small audience turnouts due to the economic crisis.

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Chinese culture embraces BaliBy Putu Wirata DENPASAR (JP): The famed tourist island of Bali has become a safe haven for Chinese-Indonesians following the riots in Jakarta and Surakarta in mid-May in which ethnic Chinese were a main target.

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Many turn to used cars to evade rising crime waveBy Stevie Emilia JAKARTA (JP): There has been a trend toward purchasing second- hand cars since belts first began to be tightened in response to the rupiah's dramatic plunge in value against the U.S. dollar in the middle of last year.

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Indonesia may see baby boomBy Stevie Emilia JAKARTA (JP): The crippling economic crisis is threatening the state's successful family planing program as prices of contraceptives have soared nearly five-fold, observers warn.

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Honk if you love bumper stickersBy Antariksawan Jusuf JAKARTA (JP): Nowadays it is impossible to travel around Jakarta without spotting striking messages on the backs of vehicles.

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ASEAN holds women's story-reading eveningBy Tam Notosusanto JAKARTA (JP): Inen Maskerning and Ma Paw may not seem to have anything in common. After all, one is from Aceh, the other from Myanmar, and they both lead quite different lives.

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Guruh presents tourism show JAKARTA (JP): A 74-year-old woman entered and stood on stage, a bit ruffled by the plain batik belted around her frail body that kept getting caught up in her tiny feet.

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Expo reveals more about 'Art de Paris'By Izabel Deuff JAKARTA (JP): A few commonly known facts about 19th century French art include sculpture by Rodin and painters, be they realistic (Ingres), impressionist (Manet, Degas, Courbet) or Postimpressionist (Gauguin, Cezanne).

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False religions By profession I am a spiritual guide, the title pastor, (being a Latin word) signifying shepherd.

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Discourse attempts to address problems of multiculturalism JAKARTA (JP): Rarely in the world is there a city that has as diverse a cultural history as Jakarta.

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Woeful art appreciation rooted in education systemBy Stevie Emilia JAKARTA (JP): Most performances in the Art Summit Indonesia have been packed but it may not necessarily indicate that the capital is crammed with performing art lovers.

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W. Java puppetmaker cashes in despite crumbling economyText and photos by Suhardiansyah BOGOR, West Java (JP): Dase busied himself arranging Sundanese traditional wooden puppets (wayang golek) at his home in Lebak Kantin village.

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Sound of metal the heartbeat of silver kampong MayanganBy Widyarto PASURUAN, East Java (JP): Mayangan looks no different from any other kampong in Java. What makes it unique is that the town has been a metalwork town since last century.

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'The Mask of Zorro': A film that doesn't insult the intelligenceBy Rayya Makarim JAKARTA (JP): Martin Campbell's The Mask of Zorro is a throwback to the time when stunts and effects in movies were integrated into the story instead of vice versa.

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Guess What? Rima Melati Most legendary actresses would most probably take offense at having their identities mistaken for someone else's, much less another legendary actress. But not Rima Melati, a 1973 Festival Film Indonesia award winner.

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Injectable contraceptives still sought out despite costBy Yogita Tahil Ramani JAKARTA (JP): Skyrocketing contraceptives prices aside, a baby boom fear is not something obstetrician Lestari suffers from.

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Babakan Madang monastery offers peace and tranquilityText by Yudha Kartohadiprodjo, photos Mulkan Salmona JAKARTA (JP): Two hundred years ago, Chinese migrants moved to the area seeking refuge when they were targeted in a killing spree by Dutch colonialists in Batavia (now Jakarta).

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Guess What? Jaya Suprana Medicinal-herb baron Jaya Suprana raised his hands and inserted both of his thumbs between his index and middle fingers. He said the sign had a double meaning."What do you think? I don't mean to show anything nasty. But it depends on what you think.

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Where Are You? I took you for grantedAnd suddenly you went away,Swept by the windIn one cold afternoonLike a leaf in the fallWithout saying good-bye.Just disappearedThrough the tunnel of faith.

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Sumbanese ikat weaving may be going westBy Izabel Deuff JAKARTA (JP): The famed ikat weaving of Sumba may well be going west. More than 100 expatriates attended a lecture on Sumba Ikat, its methods and mythology at Erasmus Huis on Sept. 22, attesting the interest of Western buyers.

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Club Med's fun for children of all ages Club Med and its marketing consultant in Bali, PT Bali Holiday Village, recently invited journalists to view the renovation of its holiday facilities and to promote its services in Nusa Dua, Bali. The following is The Jakarta Post's Ivy Susanti's report.

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Ode to the reform family JAKARTA (JP): If the whole country reverberated with the seriousness with which the current trend of reformasi (reform) has taken root in our house, then the economic tree would be laden with the fruit of success and we would be approaching the end of the krismon ...

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