Francois Mitterand: the tragic case of disbelief

Journalist Franz-Olivier Giesbert spent untold hours with the late French President Francois Mitterand, and many of these hours were devoted to discussions about death. After serving two seven-year terms as the French President, Mitterand revealed that he had been fighting prostate cancer throughout his years in the Elysee Palace.

Born into a Roman Catholic family, Mitterand became an ardent agnostic. In Dying without God: Francois Mitterand’s Meditations on Living and Dying, Giesbert sheds considerable light on Mitterand’s understanding of what it meant to die without any belief in God.


Giesbert describes Mitterand as “a Nietzschean until his dying day.” He described himself as a mystic with the mind of a rationalist. He did not deny that form of transcendence might exist, but he described the idea that his spirit might survive his death as “embarrassing.” He was fond of paraphrasing Celine: “Eternity must be very long, especially toward the end.”

Mitterand lived by a moral code that matched his worldview. Giesbert described Mitterand’s hands as made to strangle men and to seduce women. At his funeral, his mistress and their daughter sat close to Mitterand’s wife and their children. As a Nietzchean, he was committed above all to the acquisition and retention of power.

In the end, he died, as he had lived, without God.

Mitterand’s secular view of life and death represented an entire generation of European intellectuals and political figures. Deeply committed to atheism, agnosticism, existentialism, or Marxism, these intellectuals simply left no place for God in their worldview. They died without fear of God and without faith in God.

Death forces the most significant questions of life. To consider death — particularly one’s own death — is to face the question of God, of the meaning of life, the question of life after death.

(http://4bya.wordpress.com/2009/03/11/he-died-without-fear-of-god-and-without-faith-in-god/)
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The Arena of Life

It is not the critic who counts,

nor the one who points out how the strong person stumbled,

or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.


The credit belongs to those who are actually in the arena;

whose faces are marred by dust and sweat and blood;

who strive valiantly; who err and come up short again and again;

who know the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, and spend themselves in a worthy cause,

who at the best know in the end the triumph of high achievement; and who are at the worst, if failing, at least fail while daring greatly;

so that their place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.


-Theodore Roosevelt (Paris Sorbonne, 1910)

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Joyeux Anniversaire Pour Moi! (Happy Birthday to Me!)

A note @ midnight, entering the age of 30:

"When I work, let others see You as my master.
When I serve in the ministry, let others see You as my leader.
When I lead, let others see that You're my father & I'm your daughter.
When I'm socializing, let others see You as my true friend.
When I give, let others see that You provide abundantly for me.
When I love, let others see that You have loved me beyond all reasons.
When I'm hurt, let others see that You have generously forgiven me.

Today when I turn thirty, I wanna be the best I can be
for YOU."

Jude 1:24-25
Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen
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Aturan Pake Sumpit Secara Sopan (taken from kompas.com)

Hmm.. Berbagi aja nih, ternyata pake sumpit itu ada aturan-aturannya loh.. Mungkin sebagian aturan sudah kita ketahui, tapi gak ada salahnya list di bawah ini kita inget-inget, supaya gak salah gaya.. Hehehe...

1. Anda tak diperkenankan menggoyang-goyangkan sumpit yang Anda pegang di atas piring-piring berisi makanan yang disajikan untuk bersama. Sumpit Anda bisa saja digelayuti sisa nasi atau makanan lain yang sudah masuk ke mulut Anda.

2. Anda tidak boleh menusuk makanan dengan sumpit, dan bukannya menjepit lalu membawanya ke piring Anda. Misalnya, Anda kesulitan mengambil bakso, lalu menusuknya dengan satu bilah sumpit supaya bakso tidak melarikan diri.

3. Mengambil piring atau mangkuk dengan tangan yang juga sedang memegang sumpit. Kesannya ingin multitasking, namun jika Anda kurang hati-hati malah membuat piring atau sumpit berjatuhan di atas makanan.

4. Saking tidak mau rugi, Anda menjilati atau menggerogoti nasi yang menempel di sumpit Anda. Ini pun dianggap sangat tidak sopan.

5. Anda sudah mengeluarkan sumpit dari bungkusnya, tetapi karena harus melakukan sesuatu lalu menancapkan sumpit di atas nasi seperti menaruh egrang di atas tanah. Ini tidak dibenarkan, seperti pada aturan nomor 2.

6. Sebaiknya Anda tidak mengambilkan makanan untuk teman Anda dengan memindahkan makanan dari sumpit Anda ke sumpit teman Anda.

7. Di meja disajikan beberapa piring dan mangkuk berisi sup atau sayuran untuk dinikmati bersama-sama, namun tidak disediakan sendok besar atau sumpit khusus untuk mengambil makanan. Anda bisa membalikkan sumpit Anda, dan mengambil makanan dari mangkuk tersebut dengan sisi atas sumpit Anda yang masih bersih. Setelah memindahkan makanan ke piring Anda sendiri, kembalikan posisi sumpit seperti semula, dan nikmati hidangan dengan sisi yang sudah Anda gunakan pertama kali (yang lebih runcing).

8. Meskipun Anda kurang bisa memakai sumpit, Anda tidak boleh menggunakan sumpit dengan dua tangan, masing-masing satu di tangan yang berbeda.

9. Saat ingin mengambil makanan di mangkuk makanan lain menggunakan sendok atau sumpit penyaji, sandarkan sumpit Anda ke tempat sumpit, bukan di piring Anda.

10. Untuk menikmati semangkuk nasi atau semangkuk sup, pegang mangkuk dengan tangan kiri lalu makanlah isi sup dengan sumpit. Anda boleh meminum kuah sup langsung dari mangkuknya, tanpa menggunakan sendok. Anda juga boleh mengeluarkan suara saat menikmati semangkuk mi.

11. Saat mengambil makanan yang mudah diambil di mangkuk saji seperti potongan daging, Anda bisa menggunakan sumpit Anda sendiri lalu langsung menyantapnya. Sebab, sumpit Anda tak bersentuhan dengan makanan lain seperti sayuran atau kuah. Tak perlu mengangkat atau mendekatkan piring Anda ke piring saji.

12. Setelah selesai makan masukkan kembali sumpit ke dalam bungkusnya, namun hanya sampai setengahnya. Lipat setengah bagian bungkus yang lain untuk menunjukkan bahwa sumpit sudah dipakai.
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FEELING LIKE A SUROBOYOAN?

Ayo ayo rek... Perlancar kosakata bahasa daerahmu..! Buat yg merasa arek Suroboyo, buktikan dgn menjawab arti kata2 di bawah ini.. Pilih jawaban yg menurut kamu benar.. =)

1. Cap-capan: stempel / perangko / stiker ?

2. Montor: mobil / motor / bajaj ?

3. Nggateli: menggelikan / menyebalkan / menyenangkan ?

4. Cerontol: menggugah selera makan / melewati garis batas / jajanan pasar ?

5. Nglamak: bertingkah belagu / menyampul buku / makan berlebihan ?

6. Duduk: salah satu posisi tubuh / bukan / sendok nasi ?

7. Duduh: buku tulis / buah mengkudu / kuah makanan ?

8. Dingklik: bangku pendek tanpa sandaran / cobek tanah liat / celana pendek ?

9. Moh: susu / tidak mau / muntah ?

10. Kon: kamu / mertua / pembantu rumah tangga ?

11. Mekithik: anak bebek / kecil-kecil tapi bertingkah / merasa kegelian ?

12. Njukuk: pulang / buang / ambil ?

13. Neker: manik-manik / bola bekel / kelereng ?

14. Njlungup: terjerembab / tutup panci / mematikan lampu ?

15. Kukul: kecambah / salah satu peralatan dapur / jerawat ?

16. Gupil: Ikan kecil / cacat atau tidak utuh di bagian tertentu / bengkel khusus becak ?

17. Angop: menguap karena mengantuk / mendidih / menutup saat masakan masih panas ?

18. Dhengaren: minuman kelapa muda / tumben / air selokan ?

19. Nglilir: tidak sengaja terbangun dari tidur / mengipasi makanan bakar / angin sepoi-sepoi ?

20. Ipok-ipok: anak batita / minuman panas / bersifat pura-pura ?

21. Umop: upah kerja / kesalahan atau dosa / mendidih ?

22. Golekan: mencari-cari / boneka / jatuh dari kursi atau tempat tidur ?

23. Ipe: uang receh / selendang untuk menggendong bayi / saudara ipar ?

24. Bondho: modal / keberanian / kekuatan ?

25. Mut-mutan: suasana hati tidak tetap / permen / bundaran untuk kendaraan memutar di jalan ?

Kunci jawaban:

1. Stiker 10. Kamu 18. Tumben

2. Mobil 11. Kecil-kecil tapi bertingkah 19. Tdk sengaja terbangun

3. Menyebalkan 12. Ambil 20. Bersifat pura-pura

4. Melewati garis batas 13. Kelereng 21. Mendidih

5. Bertingkah belagu 14. Terjerembab 22. Boneka

6. Bukan 15. Jerawat 23. Saudara ipar

7. Kuah makanan 16. Cacat / tdk utuh 24. Modal

8. Bangku tanpa sandaran 17. Menguap krn mengantuk 25. Permen

9. Tdk mau

Hitung jawaban kamu yg benar, lalu hasilnya kalikan dengan 4. Jika hasil akhir kamu:
0 – 25 : Pancen duduk arek Suroboyo, wis ta la, ngaku ae...
26 – 50 : Suroboyone wis “murtad”, mesti mulih kampung trus belajar maneh.
51 – 75 : Lumayan, cuma yo mesti golek konco arek Suroboyo cek gelek latihan.
76 – 99 : Wis gak diragukan, kon iku arek Suroboyo tenan.
100 : Arek Suroboyo sejati, boso Suroboyone ciamik puoll!! Continue...

Setelah Lama Tidak Mampir ke Blog Sendiri karena Belajar Main Facebook

First of all, thanks to those who have tried (hard) to introduce me to Facebook, the most growing networking site today. Friends, please read my sincere gratitude at the above picture: THANKS FOR THE INFO!

Anyway, it's been a while since my last visit to my own blog... Busy busy busy... Tired tired tired... :) Many things happened, many wounds healed, much joy revealed, and at the end, it's always the same: God created good out of every chaos..

On work: busy busy busy...
On ministry: this is what eyes have not seen..
On friendship: growing stronger & wiser than ever before..
On learning French: pfff.... do i make any progress?
On love: worth the efforts..
On future: yes, i still want & am going for it!
On life: keep moving forward, Tia.. Yours is still a long journey to go through..

Alor, c'est la vie! Continue...

Saat Jari-jari Menggoreskan Bait

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