And as the stage
and the world turn, you’re expected
to keep on dancing
Past midnight I asked myseLf.. ShouLd I or shouLdn’t I..
..buy a KindLe?
That is the kind-of-first-worLdLy question that popped up in my head when I was tossing and turning in my bed at 2 am.
Why?
I’ve thought about having an e-reader in the past, reaLLy, aLthough a friend said she remember me making a statement that I wiLL never give e-books and e-readers a chance. A statement which I don’t remember making, but I AM against reading on tabLets Like the pads or the tabs because the gLare hurts my eyes Like heLL.
Back to the ‘Why’, the obvious number one reason is Lack of space in my sheLf, which currentLy Looks Like this
I am sharing a booksheLf with my mother, who aLso has a mammoth coLLection of psychoLogy and reLigious books (aLthough I’m pretty sure more than haLf of them are stiLL unread, yet). So the singLe sheLf I got is used for my noveLs. I do have another sheLf in my room, but it is excLusiveLy reserved for my most uLtimate absoLute favorite mangas.
Second reason is e-books are generaLLy cheaper (or even free!) than the price of imported books in Indonesia. And I wouLdn’t have to wait too Long to read some titLes which have piqued my interest.
Reason number three is, Lugging an e-reader in my bag couLd be Lighter than an actuaL 1000ish pages book (hi, 1Q48), which I think couLd greatLy improved the condition of my Left shouLder.
Next, is, e-books are kind of environment friendLy, no? No trees have to be sacrificed to produce a copy of e-book.
Last reason is probabLy because I’ve just watched You’ve Got Mail before I went to bed, so naturaLLy I wiLL have thoughts about books (and cyber romance), The TraditionaL versus The New.
But of course, there are the cons.
I’m stiLL concerned about the gLare, even though the aforementioned friend said reading on her kindLe is as comfortabLe as reading ink on papers. And the idea of having to sheLL out some money to buy a device just to read books feeLs a LittLe.. riddicuLous for me, not to mention the extra charging friLLs that comes aLong.
And the absoLute con is, I LOVE the feeLing of aqcuiring new books, speciaLLy if they’re not avaiLabLe anywhere in Indonesia and Book Depository’s shipping is puLLing some shit in the middLe of the way so I had to wait for two months. The feeLing of Laying my hands on them, opening them, and inhaLing their aroma for the first time is kind of orgasmic. And I have a siLLy dream of coLor coordinating my books in sheLves aLong a fuLL waLL. Like this:
So, Friends, e-readers, yay or nay? Thoughts?
Golden Fish Slumber Story
I have a new habit: constantLy checking RED channeL on cabLe TV to see if there’s a Japanese film pLaying. A habit that have introduced me to two gems — Fish Story and Golden Slumber, both directed by Yoshihiro Nakamura (which, I think, is a genius who had an exceLLent taste in music).
Fish Story is about an underseLLing punk band recording their Last aLbum in the 70s, and the band beLieved that one of their song wiLL save the worLd. Fast forward to the year of 2012, a comet was making it’s way to pLanet Earth. In between those years, a boy met a girL had a boy saved a girL saved the worLd. Everything is somehow conected – a La Touch, but with more humor and Less numbers.
GoLden SLumber is about an everyday man faLseLy accused of a bomb expLosion that kiLLed Japan’s prime minister, so he had to run from the authority and prove his innocence with the heLp from peopLe from the past and the ones he just met aLong the way. Once again, I think, everything is kinda connected – a La Touch but with more heart-warming moments and even Less numbers.
Both are wrongLy biLLed as ‘sci-fi’ (Fish Story) and ‘action thriller’ (GoLden SLumber). Why I said wrongLy, is because the thing that made them good are the humanistic drama. Both showed that -to put it simpLy- Life can be good if we are connected to peopLe and things around us. Both made me beLieve that the worLd is a better pLace than what it reaLLy is, in a way Japanese fiLms had mastered so weLL. Both made me think that even the smaLLest thing we had done couLd cause a big impact on someone eLse. And both are charming fiLms.
Life Lessons from a cheetah mama
Lesson one: BuffaLoes are very grumpy.
Lesson two: Never disturb the ostrich.
Lesson three: Even LittLe dogs bite back.
Lesson four: (Never give up the ground for) Hyenas — I took Liberty to modify this one, because it wasn’t that cLearLy stated
Lesson five, and the most important: Never mess with Lions.
from African Cats
Mum is the answer
Barusan gwe nonton berita tentang seorang guru SD yang ditangkep poLisi karena kerja sambiLan jadi pengedar narkoba.
Now, I don’t want to taLk about the moraL rights or wrongs of that teacher (gwe mau nyaLahin dia pun ga tega, karena gaji guru sekoLah negeri emang memprihatinkan), tapi ada satu haL yang SANGAT mengganggu gwe dari petikan wawancara media sama sang guru.
*Oke, sekarang bayangkan adegan sang guru dengan ekspresi wajah memeLas dikerubutin banyak wartawan yang nodongin mic/aLat perekam ke muka dia yang berusaha ditutupin pake kaos*
Wartawan (W) : Udah berapa lama jadi guru, Pak?
Guru (G) : 12 tahun.
W : Udah berapa lama ngedarin ganja?
G : Satu bulan.
W : Kenapa jadi pengedar narkoba?
G : Karena gaji saya kecil.
W : Emang gaji Bapak sebulan berapa?
G : *diam*
W : *nada meninggi* Gaji PNS Bapak berapa sebulan??
G : *diam*
W : *teriak* Jawab dong!
G : *diam*
*End of scene* (Karena yang diLiatin di TV emang cuma segitu juga.)
Um, Wartawan-dude, why shouLd he answer you? Lo bukan poLisi yang emang bertugas buat interogasi sang guru. Dan sang guru juga ga disumpah buat ngejawab semua pertanyaan Lo dengan jujur dan sebenar-benarnya kaya’ di pengadiLan. And taLking to the media wouLd not heLp him save his Life. (Oh wait, on some cases, taLking to media couLd possibLy save Lives, but in this case, I think media exposure wouLd onLy attract jeers from the peopLe who wouLd onLy say “He shouLdn’t have done that” or “What the heLL was he thinking, he’s a teacher!”) So, the teacher rightLy had the right to stay siLent.
As much as every man and woman on this pLanet have the right to speak up, I think we aLso have the right to stay siLent. Terutama kaLo ngadepin orang-orang yang kemungkinan besar cuma bakaL nge-twist apa pun yang Lo biLang.
What I want (wiLL may be what I get)
Pertanyaan paLing standar yang akan keLuar dari muLut sodara2 ketika ketemu di nikahan adaLah: “Kapan nyusuL?”. Yang biasanya akan gwe jawab dengan jawaban yang kira-kira senada dengan “Tiga tahun Lagi deh, kaLo cepet2 partner yang ada cuma guLing sih.”
Mendengar jawaban yang kita-kira seperti itu, biasanya pertanyaan yang menyusuL adaLah: “Udah ada caLonnya beLum?”. Yang biasanya akan gwe jawab “Lha kan tadi udah gwe biLang, sekarang partner gwe cuma guLing” daLam hati.
Kemudian percakapan akan disusuL dengan kaLimat: “Ya udah sini Tante/Om/Pakde/Bude/Mbak/Mas/Teteh/Aki/Nini cariin, kamu mau yang kaya’ apa?”. Yang pasti akan Langsung gwe jawab dengan “yang Lebih tinggi dari gwe” (daLam hampir segaLa haL, ga cuma tinggi badan aja, tapi gaji dan tabungan juga :p )
Mendengar jawaban seperti itu, para Tante/Om/Pakde/Bude/Mbak/Mas/Teteh/Aki/Nini itu akan ketawa, terus biLang “Jangan ngomong gitu, nanti kamu ga bakaLan dapet yang kamu mau.”
Dan mendengar jawaban itu, gwe akan berusaha sekuat tenaga buat tahan diri supaya ga teriak “Lha tadi Lo tanya gwe maunya apa, nah gwe maunya yang gitu, Lo maLah biLang gwe ga bakaL dapet” LaLu ketawa-ketiwi paLsu LaLu kabur buat ambiL makanan Lagi.
But the truth is, being toLd that I’m not going to get what I want kinda terrifies me. Because most of the time, untiL now, what I want is what I get. SeLfish, I know, but if we’re taLking about our future, of course we want the goods and the bests for us, right? Lagian, banyak yang biLang kaLo ucapan adaLah doa, jadi kaLo gwe ga sebutin apa yang gwe mau dan maLah jawab “Yang biasa aja, ga usah yang tinggi, botak, pake gigi paLsu, ga punya mobiL, deposito, tabungan rumah dan rencana masa depan juga ga apa-apa”, nanti gwe maLah beneran dapet yang kaya’ gitu *knock on wood*
By the way, gwe nge-post begini bukan karena gwe kebeLet nikah ya (on the contrary, I kinda dread it). Cuma penasaran aja kenapa orang-orang suka banget nanya keinginan orang Lain cuma buat komentar mereka ga bakaL dapet keinginan itu. Banyak bahan obroLan yang Lebih bermanfaat dari itu, kaLi.
It is you aLL aLong
Who is there, then, for us to love? Who is there we can trust? Is there one person who’ll never turn against us, who’ll be always obliging and considerate in all they do and say, who’ll refuse to spread slanders about us, who’ll attentively cosset us, who’ll not be put off by our faults, and who’ll never get on our nerves? You’ll search in vain. Don’t waste your efforts on a will-o’-the-wisp-love yourself: that’s my advice. You’re a worthy chap, and you’ll make a worthy object of your affections – truly, there’s nothing more lovable than you!
-ALexander Pushkin, Eugine Onegin
FLy me to CLoud AtLas
A few random thoughts about CLoud AtLas (the movie):
- I want to run my fingers through Frobisher’s hair. And yank them. And smooth them again. SeriousLy, who couLd resist those shiny, thick, siLky-Looking wavy Locks?
- The beauty of Jim Sturgess is race-bending.
- Tom Hanks Looked kinda hot in The Far Future arc.
- The music was EPIC.
- And so was the china smashing scene.
- And so was the
- Don’t underestimate the power of make up.
- Hugo Weaving as Oakes.. Oh my god
- I think the Rufus Sixsmith in 1973 IS the oLd Rufus Sixsmith in 1936. Hey, the man was in Cambridge, maybe he studied physics or something nucLear-reLated in Cambridge, and then came to US.. Besides, the time gap was not very wide. Everything is possibLe, Like everything is connected.
- I’m stiLL not sure if I want to read the book or not, but..
- I adore this fiLm.
Just checking..
..because a friend said he couLdn’t post anything since 2 days ago, and I’m kind of paranoid.
My faith in J-rock music has just been restored
The probLem with pain
The most horribLe 5 words are:
“Maybe it will go away.”
The pain wiLL, but the probLems won’t.
FLashback
Now I see why some peopLe get hystericaL when their idoLs/favorite artists retweeted their tweets. It’s quite.. exhiLirating
Even though Matsue Tetsuaki was a.. nobody in my book.. He just happened to direct an awesome documentary fiLm caLLed Flashback Memories. Which I had a chance to see – for free – in 3D. Which was quite an amazing experience.
SeriousLy, if you have a chance, GO SEE IT! It was quite a feast for the eyes, ears, and souL. I’d Love to write an in-depth post about how exactLy it shook my souL, but.. right now I’m just too Lazy.
Lunchtime
Just found out WordPress’ WeekLy Photo ChaLLenge for this week is Lunchtime. So I thought I’d share the meaL I’ve been obsessing over for the Last teo weeks
The Loco Moco Rice BowL from ALoha Terrace.
Loads of rice topped with beef hamburg, rich sunny side up and crowned by the tastiest pineappLe I have ever had. Ever. I never thought I wouLd ever Love a pineappLe.
It’s just some LittLe thing
A few weeks ago, a friend from Uni who aLso happened to be working at the same office with me said: “For aLL the years I’ve known you, I’ve never heard anything about you having a crush on anyone. There were never any gossips about you-Like-whoever you Like.. How did you do that?”
To be honest, I don’t reaLLy know either. Maybe I’m turning asexuaL, but I stiLL get attracted to hot men, reaL or fictionaL.
Then Last Friday, when I was bored and had nothing to do and was incidentaLLy staring at a (married) maLe coLLeague, I suddenLy reaLized that I Like him.
Second: 2013 Oscars Red Carpet
First of aLL, I don’t reaLLy remember what’s behind the word First in the GoLden GLobe red carpet post. But just to keep things tidy, this post wiLL have to bear the word Second in the titLe.
So, is it just me or the dresses paraded on 2013 Oscar red carpet were a bit.. unexciting? Sure, I Like a few, Like:
Kerry Washington’s Miu Miu
Bricked not
“But remember, the brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are there not to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. Because the brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want it badly enough. They’re there to stop the other people.”
Randy Pausch’s Last Lecture: Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams
Carnegie Mellon University, September 18, 2007
