Good news for jaded couch potatoes

Long ago, when I lived on the frozen shores of Lake Malaren in Stockholm, I turned into a couch potato. Well, eight months of winter will do that to the most hardy of "exotic summer flowers", as Bergensk Tidende once called me.

When arctic storms howl around your centrally heated, double- door, triple-glazed apartment, you can survive by staying snugly on your couch, avidly watching everything: from the 6 o'clock news and kiddie cartoons to wildlife documentaries, from Star Trek to Sienkiewicz's The Peasants.

The news was often rather vexing, not to say unpalatable. This was the time of Biafra and Vietnam, and people were not as hardened by televised atrocities as they are now. I remember one of my Swedish friends remarked, "Why can't they make an effort to give us some nice news, some Good News for Sundays and holidays?"

As the years went by, I didn't really see any improvement in the news, and as cable networks mushroomed, they seemed to get progressively worse. But last weekend, I was really happy. We finally got some Good News that didn't ruin your appetite or give you insomnia.

After so many sickening reports of schools caving in, children dying of malnutrition, train crashes, people camping at gas stations for a precious four liters, gifted students unable to go to university because of astronomical fees... Have I forgotten anything? Oh, those tedious evictions and kiosk confiscations. A woman in Makassar screaming and clinging to her pushcart, while law enforcers gleefully clubbed her and others. It was better than Gangs of New York.

Life in Indonesia does provide such interesting material.

Back to the Good News: the three-day fairytale wedding of First Lt. Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono, the son of our beloved and benign President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, and Annisa Larasati Pohan, the daughter of Bank Indonesia eminence grise Aulia Pohan.

This was really news to feast your eyes on. The colourful ceremonies! The beautiful costumes! The President and his wife wore different outfits every day -- said to be presents from the designer himself. Such graceful lines! Such superb colours! It really showed that our President is a person of stature and many talents. Should he not be reelected, I am sure that many fashion houses will gladly sign him on.

First, there was a ceremony of pomp and splendour at Cikeas, the President's private residence, and it was wonderful to learn so much about Javanese culture, particularly the rites of passage of highborn Javanese.

I must admit, I was a little confused because I always thought that Pohan hailed from Hinalang, North Sumatra, but even so, we must applaud the spirit of a unified Indonesia, mustn't we?

Unity and harmony prevailed throughout, and at the wedding ceremony at the bride's house on Jl. Senopati -- which was closed from the day before -- guests had easy access because the hundreds of food vendors, scavengers and others who normally crowd the area had voluntarily left two days earlier.

What's missing a few days income? These people are used to living on the borderline of starvation, and the warm glow that must have filled them as they realised that they, in some small way, made this event possible, must have been more than adequate reward.

The third day was the best. The beautiful Bogor Palace built by Baron von Imhoff nearly three centuries ago really looked like a jewel sparkling in the lush green of the Botanical Garden, built by Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles. So we have our link with history there, too.

Bogor Palace is not considered the best place for festivities, or so say those with psychic or occult powers. But of course, our First Family is beyond such silly superstitions. And on TV, the setting looked fabulous: A sea of red and white roses, tables laden with the choicest foods from major catererers, entertainment by top artists.

The road in front of the Palace was mostly closed, although it is one of Bogor`s main arteries. I am sure that, like their friends in Senopati, people were glad to make the sacrifices that made these glorious events possible.

So, jaded couch potato that I am, I was simply delirious with joy at the Good News this past weekend. It was a bit jarring that some networks chose to show some of the irritating Bad News.

Like that 20,000 housing units are still needed for refugees in Aceh. Or that Bunga, a little girl whose legs had to be amputated after a train crash, had died and was buried without any token of sympathy or even attendance from the powers that be, such as the railway company. (Oh, all right, they might have been at the wedding.)

Our President has assured us that this was a private event, and he paid for everything out of his own pocket. I am sure that this includes the 500 police and sundry other security forces, and the preparation, cleaning and maintenance for Bogor Palace.

What about the enormous electrical bill for one evening's blaze? Surely he has taken care of that also. Mindful of the need to conserve energy the next day, he immediately issued an order that all government offices should cut down on power use.

One last thought -- has anyone recorded the population of the Palace's deer? I don't know whether venison was on the menu, but I do remember that one of the previous incumbents had 37 slaughtered and eaten every week. Fortunately, he didn't last long enough for the deer to become extinct.

-- Marianne Katoppo