Biertje

A man was passing by a Popeye cartoon figure lifting a glass and saying "biertje" - the Dutch word for beer - in front of a closed bar on Jalan Braga.

One of Bandung's icons for its historic past, Jalan Braga (Braga Steet) and its vicinities have a number of bars that mostly serve foreign visitors (tourists). Most of them only open at night.

Beer is called by different names in different places. It's biertje in Dutch, bir in Indonesian, Malay and Arabic, la biere in French, and birra in Italian. It's called serbesa in Filipino, serveza in Spanish, and serveja in Portuguese. What is it called in your language?

Barbie Party of The Street

Probably only in Bandung do Barbies have a street party of their own like this.

Well, may be this party's guest lists are not those real doll celebrities called by their legendary brand name: Barbie. But their likeness to the real thing is pretty obvious: their body shape, hair style, their choice of fashion, etc.

Barbie doll, by the way, was created by an American businesswoman Ruth Handler (1916 - 2002) and is produced by Mattel, Inc. She was born on March 9, 1959 (the date she was officially introduced to the market) in New York City (the venue of American International Toy Fair, where she was introduced). The name Barbie was picked by Ruth Handler after her daughter's name, Barbara.

Here are some interesting tids and bits about her:

- Although designed by an American, the insiration for Barbie came from a similar doll of German origin, Bild Lili, which Ruth discovered and purchased on her trip to Germany in 1956. Bild Lili was first made available to the market in 1955.

- Although produced by an American company, the first Barbie dolls were not manufactured in the United States, but in Japan, and their clothes were home-made and stitched by Japanese home workers.

- 350,000 Barbie dolls were sold in the first year of production.

- Barbie's given full name is Barbara Millicent Roberts. Her parents, George and Margaret Roberts, are said to be from a fictional town of Willows, Wisconsin.

- Barbie has six brothers and sisters: Skipper, Tutti, Todd, Stacie, Kelly, and Krissy.