To Do List

DISCOVER the beauty of Indonesia’s cultural treasures in Indonesian Arts and Crafts from BAB publishing. Produced by a crack team of experts and with the formidable backing of former tourism minister Joop Ave, the founder of the publishing house, the work examines the role of “creative industry” to improve the lives of handicraftsmen and women all across the nation. This gorgeously illustrated tome, in English and available at Periplus, looks destined to grace many a coffee table.  

BOOK early for a table at Loewy, the newest in spot located at Oakwood in Mega Kuningan. From the team that brought Jakarta last year the very successful Cork & Screw, this new but already packed bar and restaurant (interesting creations from the esteemed Koi) is the place to see and be seen among the capital’s beautiful people. And while you wait for that table to finally free up, there are lots of other attractions to be found in the buzzing Oakwood complex.

EXPLORE your literary side at the Ubud Writers and Readers Festival in Bali. The annual writers’ pow-wow from 14-19 October is full of activities –writing and cultural workshops and book launches bound to stir your creative juices and inspire you whether you’re a voracious reader, fledging writer or established bard. Among the luminaries at this fifth year of the festival are best-selling authors Vikram Seth (A Suitable Boy) and John Berendt (Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil).  For a full program listing and prices for four-day, daily or workshop passes, visit www.ubudwritersfestival.com.

CATCH the psychological thriller Blindness, about a plague that hits a city and forces a group of people to band together to survive. If that doesn’t pigue your interest, the movie also assembles a stellar cast that includes Julianne Moore, Gael García Bernal, Mark Ruffalo, Sandra Oh and Danny Glover and is directed by Academy Award®-nominee Fernando Meirelles ("City of God").

GET behind your favorite teams in the new season of The Amazing Race Asia on AXN. This third season, which airs every Thursday at 8 p.m., has been dubbed the “toughest race” ever, with good reason. According to AXN, unexpected challenges, shorter resting time, and more arduous journeys will just be some of the things this season’s intrepid contestants will be up against. And when the going gets tough, the tough get … beautiful.  Three beauty queens, including former Miss Universe Natalie Glebova , wife of renowned Thai tennis player Paradorn Srichaphan, make up the show’s eye candy.

BE a more gracious diner. And who better to offer you some pointers than a blogging New York waiter whose very popular blog www.waiterrant.net nabbed the "Best Writing in a Weblog" Bloggie Award in 2006. In it, the anonymous server unveils some tasty morsels about customer cruelty and misbehavior as well as secrets to getting great service and the do’s and don’ts of tipping. Love his servings of scathing humor and wit? The Waiter is now a published author too with his debut book Waiter Rant: Thanks for the Tip-Confessions of a Cynical Waiter. 

+Chan Hse May

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