An ironman from Kyrgyzstan, Nurlan Alisherov, showed off his “very particular set of skills” in Bishkek, Monday.

The strongman has become famous for his shockproof forehead and strong jaw, regularly wowing crowds by hammering nails through wood with his skull and pulling trucks with his teeth.

Nurlan claimed he could lift weights of up to 250kg (551.1lbs) using only his mouth. According to Nurlan, American doctors didn’t believe his skills were natural and even took an X-ray of his head to make sure he didn’t have any performance enhancing metal implants.

He also claims to have pulled a three-tonne bus through a three-kilometre long tunnel on the Too Ashuu mountain pass, which sits at an altitude of 3,300m (10,826ft).

In the ballet world, Li Cunxin is an acclaimed dancer who oozes grace in every movement he makes.

Born in poverty-stricken communist China, his life is a testament to his love for ballet, overcoming adversity by harnessing his talent to the maximum. His life story had been portrayed in the 2003 autobiography entitled Mao’s Last Dancer that was made into a feature length film in 2009 of the same name.

The world has been awaiting Li’s return to the stage ever since he formally announced his retirement from dancing in 1999. On Dec. 10, he is coming out of retirement to take the stage for the first time in 18 years to perform one of his most favourite pieces, The Nutcracker Suite, in Brisbane, Australia, where he currently resides.

After so many years away from the world of dance, Li admitted that his strength and movements were obviously not as smooth or strong as it had been when he was younger.

Part of his reason he retired from dancing was due to his other job as a successful stockbroker in Australia that he described as “too exhausting” to juggle with the demands of ballet dancing, especially as he ages.

“But mostly it’s basically just being burnt out after doing this for about three decades straight,” he said during a recent visit to Jakarta.

Through his natural talent, Li was considered one of the lucky ones to have made it out of his poverty-stricken home village, Qingdao.

As the sixth of seven children, his passion drove him to achieve greatness as a ballet dancer, eventually securing a career outside China.

“There was a time when I got sick of ballet and dancing and I wanted to quit during my early years,” Li said.

“But when I confided my feelings to my second eldest brother, he scolded me. He said: ‘Li, you don’t know how lucky you are to get out of this village, to have a career, to not end up like the rest of us.'”

That scolding gave him more faith to hone his craft and his talent. Soon, he was dancing for the Houston Ballet Company in the United States: a decision that, at the time, was at odds with the Chinese government.

Having exposed himself to life in the US, which turned out to be different from the anti-capitalist propaganda espoused by the Chinese Communist Party back home, he began to question his country’s stance and his own faith in the country, but played down his doubts whenever he was back in China.

Soon Li realised that life outside China would be ultimately more beneficial to his creativity and to his family.

After making the decision to marry an American woman in 1981, which ended in divorce, China revoked his citizenship. He spent the next few years continuing his career with the Houston Ballet Company.

His final notable performance was a role that Li dubbed as his favourite of all time: Romeo in Romeo and Juliet that he performed with the ballet company in Beijing in 1995.

There he danced an acclaimed and graceful performance in front of his family, his former teacher and classmates and a televised audience of 500 million viewers in China.

That performance made China realise what a treasure he had been to the country and its arts, but in 1999 he announced his retirement and moved to Brisbane with his ballerina wife Mary McKendry and three children.

Keeping his passion alive, Li eventually became the artistic director for Queensland Ballet in 2012.

Li also had a small, but meaningful, connection with Indonesia in the past. He had been to Indonesia before when he performed Swan Lake with the Houston Ballet Company in Jakarta in 1986.

After a visit earlier this year, when he gave master class as part of the Indonesian Ballet Gala event, he described it as having been a more motivational intention for Indonesian ballet dancers. It opened his eyes to the passion and unrecognized talent that many Indonesian dancers possess, be they young or old.

Based on his observations on not just Indonesia, but ballet in general, he found it important that proper training be given to dancers between the ages of 11 and 18, because that period is considered the most formative years of development.

“There’s a lot of talent here, that’s for sure, and what I’ve seen was that the enthusiasm for ballet had grown. Maybe what was needed here was more systemic and methodical training, and a more professional environment to really foster that growth,” he said.

In order for his craft to not simply waste away, Li credited his appreciation for the arts as a way to maintain his interest in dance and in creativity.

As a dancer, he had dabbled in contemporary dance and modern ballet and said learning different dance forms and appreciating all forms of art in general had made him a better dancer.

“Going to a play or seeing a beautiful painting, for example, you fall in love with them because they are beautiful, and they inspire you. I wouldn’t have been a great dancer if I did not appreciate these things,” he said.

Mountain climber Muhammad “Ogun” Gunawan wants to make sure that before he passes away, his dream of conquering Mount Everest comes true.

As a member of Wanadri (Association of Mountain and Jungle Explorers), Ogun has always adhered to the community’s motto: “There are no high mountains, dense jungles, steep valleys, deep seas and skies that Wanadri cannot explore.”

Even after being diagnosed with nasopharyngeal cancer, Ogun has remained enthusiastic and kept on fighting the disease that has entered its fourth stage by continuing his mountaineering activities and pursuing his dream to scale the peak of Mount Everest.

“The cancer plaguing my body will be cured by maintaining a strong determination and high spirits instead of lamenting in sorrow,” Ogun said.

Ogun, who was born in Jakarta in 1958, had his first taste of mountain climbing back in 1973 as a junior high school student.

His love of mountains and the environment grew even more after he joined Wanadri in 1981.

As a climber, his dream has always been to conquer Mount Everest, which he has climbed twice but not yet succeeded in reaching the summit.

Ogun was a member of the 1997 Indonesian Mount Everest Expedition along with the Special Force Command (Kopassus). Earlier in 1994, Ogun had also climbed the world’s highest mountain with the International Mountaineering Corporate Team.

“In the 1994 Everest ascent, I only reached a height of 7,900 meters due to storms. None of us made it,” Ogun said.

“With Kopassus, I managed to reach 8,600 m, with only 200 m to go, but the dream failed again,” he added with disappointment.

The idea of finally realizing the Everest dream came back to Ogun in January 2017, when he felt he could survive his nasopharyngeal cancer. For Ogun, reaching the peak of Everest would give his life meaning.

As a senior mountaineer already popular among nature lovers, Ogun has conducted expeditions in various parts of the world such as Mount Reinier in the United States, India’s Vasuki Parbat, Kilimanjaro in Africa and four mountains in Nepal: Kangchenjunga, Paldor, Pumori and Island Peak.

Ogun has also climbed Indonesian mountains including Papua’s Puncak Jaya of Mount Jayawijaya, better known as Carstenz Pyramid, the highest summit in Indonesia.

Carstenz Pyramid is also one of the seven highest peaks on the continental plates along with Mount Everest (Asia), Kilimanjaro (Africa), Elbrus (Europe), Aconcagua (South America), McKinley (North America) and Vinson Massif (Antarctica).

However, in November 2015, Ogun had to temporarily halt his climbing when he began to suffer from double vision due to the trouble that occurred in his throat. Later on, his hearing began to deteriorate.

Iqbal, his close friend and a physician, suggested that Ogun consult a specialist for biopsy.

Alas, the diagnosis said that Ogun suffered from nasopharyngeal cancer.

The dangerous ailment affecting the nose and throat was already in its fourth and final stage as it began to spread to Ogun’s upper chest.

Cecilia Enny Yashita Aprijanti, or Vita, Ogun’s wife and also a mountaineer, tried to console her spouse and convince him to face the reality with optimism.

After 38 radiotherapy sessions and 11 chemotherapy sessions, his cancerous tissues were weakened although not yet totally destroyed, and his body weight had decreased by 20 kilograms.

“It was a very long treatment process with a very high cost. Fortunately I’ve got a healthcare and social security [BPJS] card, otherwise I don’t know how my fate would turn out,” Ogun said.

In July 2016, Ogun had his last round of radiotherapy, which dispelled any doubts he had about getting back to nature at the end of his medical care.

Thus, Ogun returned to climbing by taking on several mountains, from the Bukit Hitam Kepahiang in Bengkulu, Sumatera to the settlements of the Badui Dalam tribes located in the rough hilly terrains of Banten in West Java.

“My activity is for therapy and recovery, for my pursuit and religious devotion. I feel it is more of a spiritual journey,” Ogun said.

Ogun simply refuses to give up and strives to fight his cancer, as shown in a book called “Ogun, Cancer Survivor to Scale World’s Peak,” which is written by Zhibril, his junior in Wanadri.

Ogun has also drawn up his programme to conquer Everest.

In 2017, Ogun began practicing for his big quest by conquering mountain peaks that are challenging but also lower than that of Everest, including Mounts Yala (5,520 m) and Nayakanga (5,844 m), both in Nepal, and Mount Elbrus (5,642 m) in Russia.

From Sept. 27 to Oct. 19, Ogun, his wife and climbing peers will again go to Nepal to climb Mera Peak (6,476 m).

“It is in kang (brother) Ogun’s agenda to scale the Everest summit in 2018, a year which will mark his 60th birthday. The Everest expedition is scheduled between April and May 2018,” Handoko Latuconsina, a Wanadri junior who accompanied Ogun during his recent climb of Tebing Citatah 125 in Pandeglang, said.

Climbing Everest is very risky for Ogun due to his condition. The nasopharyngeal cancer affects his respiration capacity while the air at Everest’s summit is thin and cold. The main challenge for Ogun, therefore, is protecting himself from hypothermia and frostbite.

Ogun said that he was well aware of the risks but he was also ready to face them.

“What we’ll conquer is ourselves, whether we’re afraid or not, whether we go on or not. That’s the challenge,” Ogun said.

In person, Imam Sucahyo does not exude the restlessness and vigour often associated with a visual artist. A lean man with unkempt hair, he is a man of few words, the kind of a person who could walk across a crowded room unnoticed.

“My friends think I am a humorous guy, I don’t know why,” the 39-year-old man said with a faint smile.

His humorous streak, however, is apparent in the words he scribbles on his works. In several paintings falling under the “Salon Period”, referring to works created while he was working as a hairstylist at a beauty parlour, he writes hilarious slang words often used by transwomen, many of whom worked at the beauty parlour.

More than 100 paintings, drawings and sketches created by Imam are now on display at his inaugural solo exhibition “Jagat Mawut” (Chaotic World) at Cata Odata, a progressive gallery in Penestanan, Ubud. The exhibit also offers Scene to Scene, a guided tour with the artist and the curator, a documentary film screening and an art discussion.

Imam showed an artistic inclination early in his childhood. He started making dolls and drawing when he was in elementary school in Tuban, East Java. Yet, becoming a painter was never his aspiration.

“It was just because I like to do that. Drawing gives me joy,” he recalled.

A senior painter, Sareh Karsadi was living next door and the young Imam spent hours and hours watching the artist at work, observing his brush strokes and immersing himself in the brilliant colors that gradually took over the canvas.

“He never taught me how to paint, I believe he wanted me to be free from any influence and I learned how to paint all by myself,” he recalled.

A book on fine art that Little Imam chanced upon in the school library introduced him to the works of two of Indonesia’s greatest painters, Raden Saleh and Affandi. The book further reinforced his love of painting.

“Affandi really influenced me at that time. I drew [in his style] and pinned the drawing on the wall of my room.”

Soon painting became his primary passion and first priority while his daily, “regular” job took a backseat.

“If a job started to disrupt my painting, then I would leave it,” he says.

Imam’s works are perceived by many as fine examples of Art Brut (raw art) or Outsider Art, which refer to art created by self-taught or naïve artists, who are on the outside of the established art scene. The terms can have a disparaging or encouraging meaning, depending on the perspective.

Perceiving Imam’s works simply as fine examples of Art Brut or Outsider Art, however, would rob any art lovers of the opportunity to be awed not only by their esthetic quality but, more importantly, by their deep symbolism.

“These [works] are the results of my keluyuran [wandering aimlessly]. Usually, upon returning home from keluyuran, I sit and start painting,” he said.

Keluyuran provides Imam with a chance to explore new places and meet new people. It is a cathartic experience as he found out that humans, despite their differences, actually share the same suffering and fight the same struggles. This experience has led him to a deeper understanding of his fellow human beings and, therefore, of himself.

His work entitled Urip Nandur Apik Mati Mesem (Sowing Good Deeds in Life Leads to a Peaceful Death) is a testament to this understanding.

A juxtaposition of anthropomorphic figures with transparent torsos revealing internal organs, beasts and plants, as well as wise words in Javanese, the work beautifully captures Imam’s realisation about the interconnectivity of beings: Being kind to each other and to all creatures is the only way to achieve inner peace.

It is also one of the finest examples of Imam’s visual signature; the ability to weave colors and minuscule details into gorgeous, albeit chaotic shapes and patterns, which at a glimpse give his works a Batik-esque appearance.

Yet, after more than 15 years of painting, Imam is still too timid to claim that his works are a message to his fellow human beings. The works, he stressed, are his visual soliloquy.

“My works are the results of my dialogue with myself. Their messages are for me and those messages are not about how to achieve happiness in this life, but about how to learn to abate life’s disappointment.”

Global warming is likely to jeopardise not only our seafood; it’s also linked to stronger hurricanes and floods.

This issue was discussed when several hurricanes hit the United States recently. It’s also a relevant issue for Malaysia.

As sea surfaces warm up, the frequency of hurricanes is not going to change much, but the intensity of hurricanes is going to go up, explained Prof Datuk Dr Azizan Abu Samah, director of the National Centre for Antarctic Research (NCAR).

He was speaking at a recent seminar organised by the Institute of Ocean and Earth Sciences (IOES) at Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur.

Prof Azizan, who is also deputy director of IOES, showed a graph revealing how the intensity of hurricanes has spiked globally in the last 20 years.

In addition, we are also experiencing stronger winds and more intense rain these days.

“With higher sea surface temperatures, the atmosphere can take in more water vapour. And the fuel for hurricanes and thunderstorms is the vapour,” he said, adding that the Philippines has among the most hurricanes in the world.

Heavy rain followed by flooding happens annually along the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia during the North-East monsoon (November to February). In mid-December 2014, two episodes of extreme rainfall began, causing widespread flooding in Kelantan, Trengganu and Pahang.

What’s unusual was that these long-lasting “extreme rainfalls” were concentrated over the catchment areas in the (mountainous) upper reaches of the Kelantan and Pahang River basins, instead of near the lower reaches.

Available records show that these extreme meteorological events were the first to occur in Peninsular Malaysia.

‘Halo’ Hits Ozone

Global warming can also hit us in other unexpected ways.

It’s all connected; higher temperatures affect the amount of halocarbons released by algae which then contributes to ozone layer depletion.

“Loss of the protective ozone layer increases cases of cataracts and skin cancer in humans and animals, and also affects plant growth,” said Prof Dr Phang Siew Moi, director of IOES.

Halocarbons are chemical compounds capable of altering the chemical composition of gasses in the atmosphere. They affect local climate and also contribute to global warming.

Marine algae (seaweeds and phytoplankton) produce halocarbons through the activities of certain enzymes. Seaweed, which thrive in the coastal region, produce around 70 per cent of global bromoform (a type of halocarbon) while phytoplanktons are important sources of halocarbon in the open ocean.

Algae are now intensely exploited due to their pharmaceutical and nutraceutical properties, and as a food source.

“The Malaysian government has been interested in seaweed farming for potential agricultural development,” said Prof Phang.

However, these marine organisms produce halocarbons as a form of defence against predators and under stressful environmental conditions.

Most long-lived halocarbons (with an atmospheric lifetime of six months to hundreds of years) are man-made, while the marine environment is an important source of short-lived halocarbons.

Research at IOES focuses on understanding the interactions between halocarbon emissions from marine algae and climate change, and investigating the effects of environmental changes like temperature, irradiance (light levels) and ocean acidification on these emissions.

“The data generated will help us understand future climate scenarios in the region,” she said.

Globally-Recognised Science Institute

In 2014, IOES was awarded the Higher Institution Centre of Excellence (HICoE) status, under the National Priority Area of Environment and Climate Change by the Higher Education Ministry.

“The most important thing with our HICoE status is that we have received recognition from the global community. The first programme (that our institute works on) is on air pollution,” said Prof Phang.

“The second programme is on floods because everything is connected – the air, ocean and land. When we keep polluting the land, (which will then flow down to the ocean), we will get harmful algal blooms and fish death. So everything is affected, our health, food and environment.

“Our niche is looking at all these interactions and how they affect one another, which is a very new approach,” she said.

The Atmospheric Science Centre at the IOES Bachok Marine Research Station (BMRS) in Kelantan was recognised as a Global Atmospheric Watch (GAW) centre last June by the World Meteorological Organisation. Its data is available to global researchers working on climate change.

Prof Phang explained that Bachok is in a very special location because that part of the east coast is where the warm air comes in. That area is also where pollutants from the north (mainly China) and the south (from the burning of land) can be detected.

“The tropics are very hot and high temperature forces every-thing, including pollutants, up to the upper atmosphere and then it gets distributed all over the world,” she explained.

IOES also collaborates with established universities like Cambridge and East Anglia in various projects. They are also working with China’s First and Third Institutes of Oceanography for atmospheric and ocean work respectively.

Singaporean composer Clement Chow was joined on piano by Indonesian jazz singer Nita Aartsen at Paviliun 28 in South Jakarta on Saturday in a concert that had the intimacy of a living room.

They belted out six songs, including “Timor” that highlighted the beauty of Indonesia. Nita sang “Bunga Melati di Tanah Jawa” (Jasmine in Java), “Burung Cendrawasih di Tanah Papua” (Bird of Paradise in Papua), “Nusantara”(Archipelago), “Negeriku” (My Country) and “Tercinta” (Beloved).

“Timor” is the first track of an album, entitled Songs from the Heart of Kupang that the two musicians launched that day.

The album, which comprises 10 tracks written and composed by Nita and Chow, featured the voices of children of the Roslin Orphanage in Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT). The children did not attend the concert.

“It is not school holidays yet,” said Nita, who is a renowned Latin-jazz virtuoso pianist with over 20 years experience.

Meanwhile, Chow has become one of the most recognizable producers in Singapore since winning the national talent show in 1982 with his group, the Dissonant Affair.

All proceeds from the sale of Songs from the Heart of Kupang would go to Roslin to support its education and livelihood programs, said David Chong, the governor of the Singapore International Foundation (SIF), which participated in the production through The Kupang Project programme.

Founded last year, the project allows Singaporean and Indonesian communities to collaborate and empower the residents and caregivers of Roslin through art-based activities and skills – such as drawing, singing and dancing – to boost their confidence.

“If you listen to the songs, you will agree that the kids exhibit confidence and positivity,” Chong said, adding that the album would also mark 50 years of bilateral ties between the two countries.

The Roslin orphanage, which is about 10 minutes from Eltari Airport, currently takes care of 120 children, who are mostly under 10 years old.

It was founded by married couple Budi and Peggy Soehardi in 1999. Budi is a retired pilot with over 39 years experience of flying for major airlines, such as Garuda Indonesia, Korean Airlines, Singapore Airlines and Scoot Airlines. His wife, Peggy, was a stewardess with Garuda Indonesia. 

As their foster father, Budi, 60, knew his children could sing, but he never imagined that they would get a chance to showcase their skills in a recording studio, especially when he looked back at the history of where they came from.

Back in 1999, while having dinner at home in Singapore, he watched a news programme about the plight of refugees fleeing from East to West Timor. He lost his appetite when he thought about them living without proper sanitation and wearing rags.

These awful conditions were caused by a wave of violence that emerged in East Timor after its residents voted for independence from Indonesia in an UN-organised referendum in August 1999. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees reported that 250,000 people fled after an anti-independence militia went on a rampage, destroying property and intimidating the population.

Budi then cancelled his plan to go overseas for a month-long family vacation. He then began to search for assistance. Helped by his friends and volunteers, he managed to deliver 40 tons of food, medicines and toiletries to refugee camps.

Learning that that number of child victims had soared, he had the idea to open an orphanage that opened its doors in December 1999. The size of the orphanage is 11,150 m2 with eight buildings.

Today, his adopted children also include those who are abandoned by their parents.

Budi uses his salary to maintain the orphanage and to provide free education for the children.

“This year, five of our children graduated from various schools – medicine, computer science, agriculture and engineering,” he said, adding that five others would also graduate next year.

In 2009, Budi was named as one of CNN’s Top Ten Heroes for his humanitarian work.

For him, Songs from the Heart of Kupang is special. “This music production has given our children a chance to be heard and express themselves,” he said.

The making of the album – which involved 28 musicians from Indonesia, Singapore and Europe – was a year in the making during which Nita also taught at least 60 children to sing. However, the voices of only 20 children were recorded.

The album’s production took place at nine studios, including Studio 78 in Jakarta, Virus Indigo Studios in Singapore, Tian Studios in France and Studio Dave in the Netherlands.

“The way they sang was very joyful. They were so musical,” she said.

She said despite their ability to sing, the children could not speak English, a challenge she faced during training sessions because eight of the 10 songs on the album are in English. Therefore, she invited English teachers from Singapore to help out.

Another challenge she faced was to make the children sing in harmony because they were used to sing individually.

The album would help to develop Kupang as well as the children’s character, Nita said. “He really wants his children to be independent.”