Author Archives for Yub Editor

The Wonders of Salads

October 27, 2020 10:59 pm Published by Leave your thoughts

Salad is smart right now, around the world. Salads are big because of the pandemic scare. People who were careless about their health have suddenly waken up to the reality of a very nasty virus going around. And that virus ...

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A Puzzling Conceit – BEER SNOBS

October 7, 2020 12:23 am Published by Leave your thoughts

Let’s take beer. No, seriously, have a beer. Have another. Don’t worry – the Bistro can order some more – we’ll get the breweries working overtime. Be proud. You are perpetuating a tradition of thousands of years. In Mesopotamia, the ...

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Why is writing no longer honored?

September 23, 2020 12:41 am Published by Leave your thoughts

There’s trouble in communications, in an age of acceleration, when a simple message error can mean the difference between life and death. Air traffic controller: GIA 152, turn right heading 046 report established localizer (report when you have intercepted the ...

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Prices Go Up, Life Goes On

September 2, 2020 12:21 am Published by Leave your thoughts

The Eternal Shadow of Inflation Sweeps Onward Best to impart the bad news first and then put it behind us, as we soldier on toward new vistas. Everything we need seems to be getting more expensive. Oh dear – you ...

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Named for What they Represent

July 28, 2020 9:21 pm Published by Leave your thoughts

As a kid I was vaguely interested in astronomy, but could never figure how the ancients, who apparently had too much time on their hands (while their slaves were scouring the fields, growing the grain and herding the animals) managed ...

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On-Line Disappointment

July 7, 2020 1:53 am Published by Leave your thoughts

The internet has been a wonder and a blessing for billions of people around the world – not least for us expatriates, separated by the seas from our homelands, friends and families. Being able to stay in touch with those ...

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The Poor Little Rich Kids

June 30, 2020 1:08 am Published by Leave your thoughts

Oh how sad, how stressful it must be to be filthy rich these days. What?? Why are you giggling hysterically, dear reader and eater? Has someone slipped some nitrous oxide into your luxurious, tasty Ya Udah Bistro pasta? No? If ...

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Gun Cultures Puzzle, Appall

June 23, 2020 11:40 pm Published by Leave your thoughts

The world can be an inexplicable, dangerous place. Thus travelers often prefer the familiar. Brits holidaying in Spain, soaking up the sunshine, are notorious ethnocentrists, demanding their fish’n’chips or kidney pie in a land of paella. Americans travel to China ...

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The Planet of Snitches

June 16, 2020 9:16 pm Published by Leave your thoughts

What a strange, uneasy time it is to live in … We re going to talk ab an unpleasant corollary of the “New Normal”: it is a field day for nosey neighbors, busybodies and snitches … …One ugly result is ...

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Could you be a DoomSurfer?

June 10, 2020 12:12 am Published by Leave your thoughts

How often do you hear somebody whining “I’m bored” these days? No? Not even some entitled kid, who has just stepped on his smartphone on the way to the bathroom in the early morning and cracked the screen, killing it? ...

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Leaky Secrets

May 13, 2020 1:11 am Published by Leave your thoughts

Conjectures of Conspiracy down through the Ages Information possesses pressure. The more urgent the demand for data, the higher the flow rate, the greater the pressure. The more confidential the information, the tighter the containment. Sooner or later, as history ...

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Who Needs More Bad Gnus?

April 25, 2020 3:24 am Published by Leave your thoughts

Pep us up, Pop. Give us some cheery stories, funny events, merry happenings. We’ve had heap plenty ugly stuff in the media. Show us how happy times will prevail. What again? You went down to Ya Udah Bistro on Jl. ...

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LUCKY OR UNLUCKY, ASSUMING A LOT

April 1, 2020 12:37 pm Published by Leave your thoughts

One of the most famous memes-of-movies, and one associated with the biggest gamble: a surprisingly youthful Clint Eastwood holding a pistol on an equally young-looking Andy Robinson. Both men among the great character actors of Hollywood “B” movies, facing off ...

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SO WHO IS GOOFING ON WHOM?

March 11, 2020 6:39 am Published by Leave your thoughts

Humans and Their Animals, Pets & Their People My dear niece, married to a veterinarian, writes to say “We don’t see the problems in the economy. People still bring in their animals, charge up big bills on their credit cards. ...

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Most Dangerous Job in the World?

March 4, 2020 12:42 pm Published by Leave your thoughts

Formula 1 driver. Marlboro smoker. Sir Jackie Stewart: “In the 1960s, the chances of a Formula 1 driver being killed were one in three.” That’s killed, ladies and gentlemen. Dead. Lethally, fatally so. Hard to believe when you watch the ...

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Grave Matters

February 19, 2020 5:28 am Published by Leave your thoughts

People do indeed have unusual hobbies, avocations that you might not imagine are, well, quite normal at first. OK, here we go. Believe it or leave it. “We all know there are people superb at imitating animal calls but, believe ...

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CYBER-ADDICTION & SOCIAL MUTATION

November 27, 2019 6:07 am Published by Leave your thoughts

That we live in an amazing time of change, ever-accelerating, is beyond doubt. Technology has swept through our lives, for better or for worse, influencing thinking, action, attitudes and such basic behavior as shopping patterns (consider the sensational reportage of ...

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The Weirdest Song of All Time

November 5, 2019 11:55 pm Published by Leave your thoughts

Everybody likes music. Most people have music they cannot forget. Some love music. Except Salvador Dalí. Could you ever imagine someone to make an outrageous statement like ‘I don’t like music’? That sort of stunning throwaway was indeed Dalí’s calling ...

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The Power of Listening

October 22, 2019 8:48 pm Published by Leave your thoughts

Do people listen anymore? And if they do not, is it any surprise? Does it matter? Alas, noise perpetually surrounds us, no matter how far we might try to remove ourselves in nature: there’s that A-330 flying at 33,000 feet, ...

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HOW FAT IS ANTI-SOCIAL

September 25, 2019 12:19 pm Published by Leave your thoughts

NOT JUST “FAT-SHAMING” – IT’S A BURDEN TO SOCIETY With the rise of big Big Government there has been a parallel increase in what is known as ‘social responsibility’ on the part of citizens, organizations and even local and regional ...

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Jakarta no mo the Capital, no?

September 11, 2019 2:19 am Published by Leave your thoughts

Unfortunately, the world’s cities have tended to grow wildly, inefficiently and even crazily, like weeds, or molds, or in the opinion of some disgruntled planners cancers. In many cases as a formerly slow and peaceful urban area fills up with ...

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WHY PAY LESS? Part 4

August 28, 2019 2:06 am Published by Leave your thoughts

A FOOD-LOVER’S TOUR OF JAKARTA’S ELITE MARKETS PART 4 – CONVENIENCE STORE LAYOUT: FRESTIVE HORNS IN, GRABS MARKET SHARE The locals have fun with the English language, BOO HOO. Remember “Golden Truly” the awful supermarket from the 1980s? That ain’t ...

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WHY PAY LESS? Part 3

August 21, 2019 1:22 am Published by Leave your thoughts

A FOOD-LOVER’S TOUR OF JAKARTA’S ELITE MARKETS PART 3 – AL FRES OR ALL FRESH? ALL RIGHT ANYWAY them Indonesia Fruit is for sale at roadside stands all around Jakarta. The observant reader will note that I did not write ...

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WHY PAY LESS? Part 2

August 14, 2019 12:00 am Published by Leave your thoughts

A FOOD-LOVER’S TOUR OF JAKARTA’S ELITE MARKETS PART 2 – STARTING DOWN-MARKET: TOTAL BUAH SEGAR A relative newcomer to the elite fresh-fruit retail business, Total first opened in 2003 in Kelapa Gading, serving an ethnic Chinese-Indonesian clientele which would appreciate ...

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WHY PAY LESS? Part 1

August 7, 2019 1:09 am Published by Leave your thoughts

A FOOD-LOVER’S TOUR OF JAKARTA’S ELITE MARKETS PART 1 – INTRODUCTION During the 1970s living in Indonesia justified the ‘hardship post’ pay allotted to the dips’n’scribblers, excuse me, the <ahem> Diplomatic Corps and Foreign Correspondents, who were about the only ...

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POETRY ON TWO WHEELS

July 10, 2019 3:11 am Published by Leave your thoughts

The mad motorbikers of Indonesia [ Part I / II ] Dear Gourmet Reader & Lover of Fine Food & Drink: you will likely have little love for the aggressive two-wheelers muscling by you as you your way through Jakarta ...

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DISH UP THE SPUDS, BUD

July 3, 2019 1:44 am Published by Leave your thoughts

A TOAST TO THE ‘TATERS Delicious, Difficult, Exquisite Tubers [An Unlikely History] Can you even imagine a time without potatoes? Unimaginable. Impossible. The very thought shocks and outrages decent God-fearing folk. But in fact… Europe, for all its majesty and ...

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Traveler’s Tip

June 26, 2019 2:14 am Published by Leave your thoughts

STICK WITH SECOND-TIER CITIES There are more tourists touring the planet today than ever (and annoying the local yokels who, if they get rich enough, will in turn fly off to somewhere else – as tourists – and annoy the ...

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A Pæean to Aglio-Olio

May 22, 2019 4:03 am Published by Leave your thoughts

One of the most popular dishes at Ya Udah Bistro is the pasta – Mamma Mia! You have your choice of spaghetti or fettuccine and you better make up your mind quick Buster because the waitress is shifting from foot ...

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The Name’s the Game

May 15, 2019 1:44 am Published by Leave your thoughts

Weird & Wonderful Names In Indonesia & abroad Well the mass election season has just passed, though not without its share of conflict and controversy. Amid charges of mass ballot-box stuffing & burning, orders by police and other authorities to ...

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Agree or Disagree? Tax The Sugar Junkies?

December 12, 2018 12:06 am Published by Leave your thoughts

‘Governments are hypocrites’ growl the Libertarians. On one hand the Nanny State admonishes its citizens to stop smoking and live healthily. Meanwhile governments everywhere collect oodles of moneys from the same smokers, through horrendous taxation of tobacco products. TRILLIONS IN ...

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The Vee -Tail Doctor Killer

November 28, 2018 1:51 am Published by Leave your thoughts

WE CONTINUE THE TALE OF THE FIVE ADVENTURESOME EXPATS IN JAKARTA Once again, the dramatis personæ: Droll Paul, very tall and very droll, a crooked English entrepreneur on the run from the authorities in Perth. A very leisurely Australian run ...

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Eat Your Veggies !

May 23, 2018 7:48 am Published by Leave your thoughts

“Come on now, stop that, quit toying with your broccoli. Don’t look at me like that, like you want to get sick, just settle down and eat that spinach and wakame salad. Do it. Open your mouth. Take a full ...

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Happy Ramadhan

May 16, 2018 6:19 am Published by Leave your thoughts

As once again the Holy Islamic Month of Fasting, or Ramadhan, approaches, from one and all at Ya Udah Bistro, we send out greetings to our valued Muslim clientele, with sincere hopes that they will once again endure and benefit ...

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A Salute to the Flying Dutchman

March 28, 2018 12:27 am Published by Leave your thoughts

One tends to forget pleasant, comforting experiences until they occur once again, reminding us of the possibility of quality in life. The other evening this writer stepped onto a Boeing 777-300, an event occasioned by the need to get from ...

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An Extremely Serious Sausage

March 7, 2018 1:15 am Published by Leave your thoughts

…does not exist, dear Yaudah Bistro patron. For thousands of years now the innocent, roly-poly, tasty, obscene and very nutritious sausage has been  a FIGURE  of Really and truly, honestly, there is no more FUN FOOD than a sausage. Aw ...

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Dropping by for a BITE?

February 16, 2018 8:51 am Published by Leave your thoughts

Woof! it’s Chinese New Year at Ya Udah Bistro, once again We’re in luck, folks. Well, sort of. It’s the YEAR OF THE DOG coming up on February 16th, and Yaudah Bistro is ready to do its doggone best to ...

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Valentine’s Day

February 12, 2018 10:18 pm Published by Leave your thoughts

Valentine’s Day coming up (at least in Japan and Western countries). February 14th, like clockwork. And are all the cheering, excited masses, awaiting the festivities, romantic in intent but named for a [probably mythological] saint who was martyred? Roses, chocolates, ...

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What is the Meaning of Beer?

February 7, 2018 12:09 am Published by Leave your thoughts

(Heckyll): ‘What a stupid question.’ (Jeckyll): ‘No it’s not. It’s… it’s a rhetorical question. <HIC> A philosophical question.’ (Heckyll): ‘No, it’s a stupid question. Beer is beer. >BURP<And yes I’ll have another Weissbier. Waitress!’ (The dreamy Ya Udah Bistro waitresses ...

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So where’s the Flavor Florence?

January 31, 2018 2:32 pm Published by Leave your thoughts

Travellers, Be Prepared The two nice wealthy Indonesian ladies were enjoying a romp around Europe without hubby and the whining kids. They had done London and Berlin, snapped photos before the Eiffel Tower and leaned with the Leaning Tower of ...

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It’s the food, Dude

January 3, 2018 9:49 am Published by Leave your thoughts

There are all sorts of places to go and enjoy yourself and all sorts of ‘suggestions’ as to how Yaudah Bistro should emulate them. EXAMPLE 1: ‘Why don’t you have live music? And have a dance floor?’ Answer: ‘Will that ...

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OVER AND OUT – BUT WAIT!

December 20, 2017 4:58 pm Published by Leave your thoughts

AS WE COMPLETE ANOTHER ORB, we pause to reflect. Now doesn’t it seem to be the zenith of idiocy to ignore the spectacular spectacle of our planet and its mates spiraling up the Void around our blazing star, and instead ...

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A Failure of Reasoning?

November 22, 2017 8:15 am Published by Leave your thoughts

Ask anybody anywhere if they are cannibals? POW! You just got a black eye. ‘Hey! Don’t insult my people!’ Except for a few merry Brazilian Indians or the stalwart, warlike Melanesians inhabiting the highlands of Papua New Guinea, you’ll have ...

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Jakarta’s Hidden Jewel

November 15, 2017 12:53 pm Published by Leave your thoughts

You work in Jakarta, and not by choice: that’s where you are assigned. Then you have a couple of guests coming to visit you – from France perhaps, or Japan, or Canada. Now immediately the problem of what to do ...

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My Friend Jim

October 18, 2017 2:45 pm Published by Leave your thoughts

Sometimes you can’t win. My American friend Jim is an example. Jim loves Indonesia; his late wife was from Manado. They lived together here happily for many years. But Jim had one rather serious problem: he could not tolerate spicy ...

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We Love Complainers

September 25, 2017 12:19 pm Published by Leave your thoughts

Indonesians – God bless them – put up with a lot. Terrible traffic, uncertain & expensive medical care, car mechanics who haven’t told the truth since they were born – and they do it without complaining. Compare that forbearance to, ...

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Merdeka!!!!

August 16, 2017 5:39 pm Published by Leave your thoughts

Not simply the ‘call to independence’ – this is actually how Indonesian freedom fighters greeted one another when they met. Not ‘Hello’ but ‘Freedom’! ‘MERDEKA!’ was the keyword, and all rejoiced when the Dutch got the message and went home ...

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Opening Soon The Ya Udah Yogyakarta

July 29, 2017 7:35 pm Published by Leave your thoughts

The ‘cultural heart’ of Java, the Special Region of Jogjakarta is famed for its royal monuments, performances, fine handicrafts and traditional regional foods. Enriching culinary choices, we now come with quality European and Indonesian dishes, featuring large portions at reasonable prices, as we ...

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Hello world!

February 26, 2016 5:42 pm Published by 1 Comment

Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start writing!