three cheers for sweet love

For this whole day I've been juggling a many things, i was writing up 3 papers and 1 translation job, and that's enough multi-tasking to make you puke, i would think..

So now that i look at the time, it's 1 in the morning, surely time to stop, for health's sake.. Earlier today just to ensure myself that i wasn't intoxicating myself by working too much, i took a rest, after all my rule of thumb in working is that hard work never killed anyone, but why take a chance? :D

"i'd probably be the first one killed by my own friends if i were to ever ask them to kill people for me for a girl"

While resting, i sat myself in front of the TV. But let me tell you about this TV we have in the house; it's situated in the center hall of me and me mates' frat house, but it's like friggin' 14 inches of screen, so it's a berryberry small TV, and its funny when we all gather to watch a movie together, as we would be like kids in a rural 1960s Indonesia where only one guy had a TV per village and everyone would cramp a rooms to see black and white on small inch TVs and feel really technologically advanced after that. Plus our TV had shitty broadcast receiving as we have shitty antennas (and yes we have two antennas lodged to one TV --"), which now we rely a lot on the internal antenna because the outdoor one wasn't working as properly, and this is sad because me mate Sani climbed the roof like he was MvGyver, installed the antenna but couldnt climb back down like those cats on TV who finally had to be rescued by the firemen ^^

"hard work never killed anyone, but why take a chance?"

Now the movie feature of tonight were "Helen of Troy" (the one with Pitt and Bloom in it, I'm unsure if i got the titles right), an old movie but has good market longetivity (my way of justifying that we're not stuck watching a yesteryear movie :D). But this got me thinking of the thing we all call but never quite understand; "Love". The legend of Troy was that Greece waged a war on Troy simply because Paris of Troy "stole" the wife of Greece's crown prince (I think it goes something like that), which enraged Greece to wage a 10 year Trojan War, involving hundreds and thousands of men, tens of thousands of fleet armada, all because of one single woman, and the fight for love (cuit cuit i feel sick haha). I'm a guy currently very much in love, and i understand that sometimes we do what we gotta do, right? But wow, what happened on that war was sheer lunacy..

"this got me thinking of the thing we all call but never quite understand; "Love""

I then remembered watching an episode of FRIENDS where Ross wanted to make his marriage with Emily work, and that meant ahving to move appartments and no talk to Rachel (okay first of all i think its stupid that the guy mentioned the wrong name at the marriage ceremony). But when his pals thought he was giving up too much, he said; "Sometimes in marriage we have to do stuff, it may be something thats irrational, and sometimes we may not even like doing what we do, but that's sometimes the price we pay"... I agree completely. I'm not boasting, but I've done a lot of things for the woman i love right now (Yotsuba, you know who you are :D) that many friends thought was either stupid, illogical, irrational, acting the goat, and sheer dumb lunacy. But hey, at least i didnt wage a 10 year war right? (besides I'm neither a king nor a prince, so i'd probably be the first one killed by my own friends if i were to ever ask them to kill people for me for a girl ^^;)

"I'm a guy currently very much in love, and i understand that sometimes we do what we gotta do, right?"

I guess everyday we learn new things, eh? Especially about this curious thing called love. I think its continuous learning, this is. Sorry that i write this like a diary, i promise this is the only one, but i still think its worth writing because i believe you readers can all to a certain degree relate to what i say.. Am i right? Cheers for love, eh? :)

this summer's most awaited movie..

I'm a long time fan of the Transformers series, eversince its release and n00b looking original cartoon, top the beast wars series. When the movie went out, i was amazed at this movie, the depiction of the bots was amazing, the philophy content was inspiring.. If you're interested to read my review on this movie, go to this link.. Or hasve a look at the official site for more updates on this mega-movie..

When they announced there would be a sequel, i knew this was gonna be about Starscream, who managed to fell himself leaving Megatron to his death in the final battle in the first movie.. This movie's due to be released worldwide this coming summer, 24 June 2009.. I'm sure there's many heavy movies coming out this summer, but this is the one for me, as long as they don't change the lineups of the actors, voice-ins, and director, i'm sure this thing's gonna blast it's way to become a blockbuster box office hit!

So excited, kawaiiii! What's your summer movie ecitement this year?

one-size-fit-all in photography

it's usually vertically correct, but i thought i'd spice things up a little :D

see the picture above? besides the fact that the model is ethically wrong, and the fact that it might make you puke or faint or worse; kill yourself.

 Don't. This is a good example for what i have to say, read on..

In photography, there's many styles of capturing a moment. There's a whole culmination of lighting, apperture, focus, ISO, angle, etc. The model or subject of the piece is also relative upon its beauty, and what people would like to call "photogenic".

This article is true upon the statistics that i believe myself, and please understand this is not a mockery, but a mere result of observation. 80% of profiles in facebook, friendster, myspace, or whatever other "networking" sites available on the web has this; a picture taken like the example above. Pretty much you hold a camera, and you pan it towards yourself, usually a bit lofty in position, and you make a wide smile. This will result in a photo that has an angle that covers a large portion of the upper hemisphere of your head. My statistics also show that in more profiles than not, females have at least 1 picture using this style. And also more often than not, it is a "comparative edge" of their profile, meaning they put it on as their primary picture.

Why you ask? I have several theories;

1. There was one photo with this style decades ago, looked good, everyone suddenly had to have one

2. It actually is a style of photo, and i need to learn so much more about photography (maybe i'd call it "narcisism")

3. Through an impossible sheer of coincidence everyone has photos like this without knowing the fact that other people, actually millions of other people has the same style (unlikely, i know, this one's a bonus answer hahaha)

4. People generally feel this kind of photos focuses a lot on the upper hemisphere therefore can pardon the misfeits of someone's looks

There's many things to analyze this phenomena (i'm sorry i couldn't answer why people do this; human phenomenons are truly inpredictable o.O). But at least we know that photography definitely is a trend, it influences people, it has style, and if its good, like fashion, the next day people will be wearing it. We also know that photography does unite our taste, in a worl of globalization people are throwing themselves to be different, but in this case people actually look all alike (style-wise). I get more fascinated with photography by the day.

"Camera ready, ready, pose, click!!!"

Now, altho there's a universal agreement that photos using this style is "good" and "attractive" and "hot", doesnt always work folks.. have look at my picture, used it to show how it can have devastating implications given the wrong model/subject. Do puke now if you want hahahahaha

I was thinking, if you don't fit the style of this photo, you can try and experiment with the model of "silhouette". Like such :

This works regardless how you look, only that you gotta find the right lighting background. Take it at night, use night shoot (if you use slr, try; ISO 400, apperture 1/30, f 2.8) to get a dark pic of your object and exploit the light source behind it.. hahahaha i'm joking

"Its not who you are underneath, it's what you do that defines you - Batman/Bruce Wayne"

But still i think people do have rights to self-express and they're all fine by me. It just makes me wonder in awe, because this style is so common it enters into my attention span, and i'm a pretty ignorant person! Cheers, have a good weekend everyone :)

a bunch i'd like to call family

On the eve of 4th April 2009, JDF (Jogja Debating Forum celebrated it's now annual 3rd JDF Awards. A small background, JDF was established in the midst of 2003-2004, formed as a union to unite debaters in Jogja, Indonesia, together. At the time Jogja teams felt the need to be one in competitions. It usually has it's weekly gatherings on Saturdays, late evening (although lately it has been dying out a little in terms of its weekly thing). We travel to competitions together, we eat out together at times, and we produce t-shirts at times, to show our identity. It's been home since day 1 i joined them, and things haven't changed much from that day.

3 years ago, a co-founder that calls by the name of Iponk initiated that we need something more, the people in JDF has given the union a lot, and its time for JDF to return the favor. JDF Award is where members gather, inviting along as many nubies as they have to socialize them, then grant awards to debaters (rookie of the year, team of the year, debater of the year, etc), then finally elect the president.

It's a good thing that JDF can manage to cling on into this "tradition" for 3 years now, remembering that we have issues of people not being so active anymore in the JDF gatherings. This fact is sad, and the new president must address this, this is simply a problem of organizational culture.

Besides that the 3rd awards this year was fun; it was held in our frat house, we kinda turned the middle hall to an improvised dance floor (which peopla ended up sitting in --"), invited an exotic cart that contains food and drinks and stuff. As alcohol and the sort would cause too much problems with the neighbourhood we stuck to simple good ol' Indonesian delicacy like tofus, soybean cakes, rice, ginger tea, etc (like an "exotic" version of a free flowing bar laaah:D).

We also had live music that played around 20-25 songs in accoustic, which was pretty nice. For most the party ended at 10-11, for some others who went on, lasted till 2-3 in the morning hahaha.. it was good! :)

I was dripping with sweat at the time having to help monitor the event for Agung (ex-President), so when the guys hit it off for the late session i was close to faint and decided to call it a night, that it until at 3 one of the guys woke me up and dared me by taunting i didnt have the balls to play "Counter Strike" over the local network. So, in order to prevent my pride and modesty, I came online and played with them till 8 in the morning. It was quite a blast (a little geeky, i know, but we're very proud of it hahaha)

I just hope JDF can maintain this rythm, i hope it doesnt die down simply to the low animo of the members. Like the cosa nostra of Italy, we've grown quite close to each other, and when my actual family is quite far away, it's nice to have a home to come to even though we're not blood related.. JDF Rocks!

A walk down botany lane

This time i want to talk a little about my walk in the Singaporean Botanical Gardens, end of 2008, with my family on our annual holiday trips. I'll be posting some pictures taken using a cheap-ass camera with macro mode on, and i'll be taking of my usual macho, gung-ho suit off (hahaha) as they are pictures of flowers..Okay, let me give you a little illustration on where this nice gardens are; I've been to Singapore a few times but it doesn't mean i know the streets well, but what i can tell you is this garden is a lot like New York's Central park when it comes to location. It's a few bus stops from Orchard Road, so you can imagine that when you arrive at the bus stop and see the gates of this garden, you can see all around it are city landscaping; shops, sky-scrapers, huge roads, etc. I've been to the botanical gardens we have in our country (Bogor, Western Java, Indonesia -red) and it has been ages since the last time i was there so forgive me if my memories of it is faded, but what i can remember is the gardens that we have is uninteresting, it lacks maintenance, and the infastructure like the buildings, facilities, or simply overall cleanliness is just appalling, there's no way one can really appreciate it. Because my theory is such; nature is all about purity, it's about going back to basic, without traces of human civillization; now how can you enjoy the show of nature in a garden that has garbage here and there?

Singapore is a small state, this i say in terms of land mass. But as a state, it's one of Asia's tigers. The one thing that always fascinates me about Singapore is that on 

a map its right next to my country, just a few clicks north-west of Jakarta. But on the day that you fly from Jakarta and then land in Singapore, it just feels like you're in a whole different continent, it feels like the 1.5 hour trip seems impossible and that you've gone far far away. I'll explain why; since i was a kid i've already started to question; what don't we have that developed states have? Now as complex as this question is as a 10 year-old i came with a simple answer : it's probably because of geography, that our place is warm all the time all people want it just to sit under a tree, enjoy the breeze and fall asleep. Don't get me wrong, at that time i was backed up by a saying; Indonesians sweat when they eat, not when they work (i don't agree totally to this, i don't really discriminate work, i just sweat all the time hahaha). Okay, so i was convinced because it is about location.

The more i aged the more my eyes opened, i had access to information

 i didnt have 10 years ago (okay so i'm a little old, when i was 10 internet access is not like it is today; there's an internet cafe every 10 steps). So when i put my foot on Singapore, i was amazed! Am i right that this country here is right next to ours? the difference is just ridiculous. Public facilities and the effectivity of it is usually my indicator to judge a state, and Singapore's public infastructure is simply stupendous.

Most amazing woman in the world; Mum!

Back to the botanical gardens. It's pretty huge, to circle it takes about 4-5 hours, and you get a whole mixture of nice green views; trees, well-cut grass, there's an orchid house, there's a green house, and right in the middle i think they have this huge lake with some food stalls around them. If you happen to get there, don't purchase the hot dog; it's way to huge and plain unless you put tonnes of sauce, ketchup, and mustard on it.

Another thing that bugs me is that when i see a lot of the plants and living organizms that they have in the garden, i realize that this is not something we don;t have in Indonesia, i'd say 80% if the stuff is available in Indonesia. Why can't we do this? We have lots of orchids, why didnt we think of making hybrid orchids and naming them after hot shot figures of the world? Isnt this a nice strategy to both attract people to see and to seal good diplomatic relations? I found one hybrid named after the later Ibu Tien (Indonesia's second First Lady, wife of the late President Soeharto), and it's just great that they preserved her name forever in the form of a hybrid orchid. The gesture is very splendid. Entering the greenhouse i'm more convinced; it feels like i'm back in Sumatra, this is exactly how it feels in the SUmatran jungles; the plants, the stream, the humidity, etc.

I'm appalled and nonplussed at the same time. I realized then that it doesn't really take a lot for a state to excell. It's really about paying attention to little things, because in a country people are little, so paying more to little things means great things to the people. And a state i think is only as good as it treats its society. It's not really about the potential of a state, it's about the perseverance of the state to prove itself. Singapore in Fukuyama's quadrant of state classification would be in area 2 (or 4 i forgot) where it has both strict legal ruling and a strong enforcement. Their people are hardworkers, creative, and possess a comparative edge despite their small geographical land mass.

Indonesia is no worse actually. We do have what it takes to excell. But the question is do we have what it takes to take the right steps towards health, wealth, and wisdom? We will see. Maybe all hope is not lost after all...

a song that repeats itself in my mind all the time

AEROSMITH - I don't wanna miss a thing

I could stay awake just to hear you breathing
Watch you smile while you are sleeping
Far away and dreaming
I could spend my life in this sweet surrender
I could stay lost in this moment forever
Well, every moment spent with you
Is a moment I treasure

I don't wanna close my eyes
I don't wanna fall asleep
'Cause I'd miss you, babe
And I don't wanna miss a thing
'Cause even when I dream of you
The sweetest dream will never do
I'd still miss you, babe
And I don't wanna miss a thing

Lying close to you
Feeling your heart beating
And I'm wondering what you're dreaming
Wondering if it's me you're seeing
Then I kiss your eyes and thank God we're together
And I just wanna stay with you
In this moment forever, forever and ever

I don't wanna close my eyes
I don't wanna fall asleep
'Cause I'd miss you, babe
And I don't wanna miss a thing
'Cause even when I dream of you
The sweetest dream will never do
I'd still miss you, babe
And I don't wanna miss a thing

I don't wanna miss one smile
I don't wanna miss one kiss
Well, I just wanna be with you
Right here with you, just like this
I just wanna hold you close
Feel your heart so close to mine
And stay here in this moment
For all the rest of time

Don't wanna close my eyes
Don't wanna fall asleep
'Cause I'd miss you, babe
And I don't wanna miss a thing
'Cause even when I dream of you
The sweetest dream will never do
'Cause I'd still miss you, babe
And I don't wanna miss a thing

I don't wanna close my eyes
I don't wanna fall asleep
'Cause I'd miss you, babe
And I don't wanna miss a thing
'Cause even when I dream of you
The sweetest dream will never do
I'd still miss you, babe
And I don't wanna miss a thing

Don't wanna close my eyes
Don't wanna fall asleep, yeah
I don't wanna miss a thing

Japanization

For the past fwe years, well the years that i start paying attention to what happens in the environment around me, I've been paying attention to things that influences the nevironment around me.

I've been noticing lately on the cultural heritage of Japan. This country is a state that is very rich in both history and culture. from the historic events of the culture of samurai, to the Meiji Restoration, to the aftermath of World War 2, to the fact that they closed their state from global economy in the name of restructurization and managed to rebuild their economy in 30 years, there's rarely any other state that is rich in history like Japan.

Look, as good as Japan is they haven't been good samaritans all their lives. The Tokyo Tribunals is a testament of the atrocities that Japan did in the Far East Asia, that includes my country. A lot of the world's society have been talking about whether Tokyo should issue out a public 

formal apology as a repatriation to those individuals that became the casualties of Japanese violence.

But let's part with all the history lessons (i am now a little freaked out as i feel like turning into that history teacher i had in highschool which in my opinion should be listed as a National Historical artefact hahaha)..

In the country that I live in, Indonesia, the remains of Japanese has

 not gone 100%. From food, to comic books, to literature, to cartoons, to movies, to doujins and hentai and JAV hahahahaha Indonesians LOVE the JAPANESE.

I personally love to see Japanese Idols *blush blush* on Danny Choo's lovely website. But this is not about my puchi puchi perks.. ^^

I can't avoid my fascination towards Japanese culture. I'm astonished at the fact that nearly EVERY cultural products of Japan is appealing. From the most simple things of how they assemble their food, how they wear clothes both traditionally and moder, to their music, and works of art, is all compelling!

Indonesia now is even pursuing to apply Geothermal technology to power our electricity; something that Japan's big in! Samuel Huntington might say this is "clash of civilizations", Phillip LeGrain might say this is "the beauty of globalization", but Aditya Rakhman says this is "Japanization"!!!

Now I'm not implying that this is bad, per se, I'm just stating it from what my observation goes. I'm actually trying to question would we ever be like that? Can we promote ourselves as much as the Japanese to the world?

Is our culture "sell-able"?

Profounding. That's what I think of the question. Antagonists to globalization like Naomi Klein or Noam Chomsky might be in critics towards the concept, but i'd agree with LeGrain when he says it's inevitable, people say globalization is the wave of the future; its shiny and brand new. We say it's been here for years, and the existence of non-tariff agreements around regionals around the world proves this. This is also something that Friedman pretty much acknowledges in both "The World is Flat" and "The Lexus and the Olive Tree".

The challenges of today is not making the best product, but making a distinct product.My friend Sani and his theories of "comparative edge in sales" is not merely hocus pocus, it's pretty much true. Now states are pressured to find a thing they can sell that no other states produce. The Japanese has that, no other person in the world wears kimonos and eat sushis and drinks green tea othe than the Japanese.

Would we ever be able to say the same for our blangkons? Would people ever long for the Padang food. Again, I'm not denying that no one does right now. But when you're in a food market and there's a Japanese food stall right next to an Indonesian food stall, it's usually the Japanese one that's bought by lots of people.

Profounding? Yes.

Impossible? No.

Indonesianization. That's the new wave. The only wave we need to make actually.

Zimmerit - Simplicty in great functionality

One of the challenges of being a tank, whatever war you're in, is the fact that your sights are limited. This even applies for Tanks as huge and as sophisticated as the German Koenigstiger in the World War 2. The axis have always faced difficulties agains soldiers from the allied companies when it comes sticky bombs, or attachable mines.

The Krupp war factory in Essen, Germany, tried to tackle this problem. One of the ways is to invent the Zimmerit coating for their tanks. What is Zimmerit?

As the picture above, you can see how there are parallel horizontal lines/grooves in the body of the tanks. This coating aims to create an area surface that is not smooth, so that sticky bombs or magnetic mines simply fall of due to their weight and rattles of the tank. This coating was applied in many of German's battletanks from August 1943 - September 1944 (around the times of the Ardennes expansion).

This invention is one of those things that i like to call ingenious. Its simple, yet its application is very very useful. It creates that ideal distance between the bombs or mines to the hull. Imagine King Tiger II's thick armor added with this coating. Scary!

Awesome might hidden within perplexing beauty

Unlike Agung (whose blog you can see posted on the right side of this page), i don't collect that many figurines. This is due to some reasons; i don't know why but the figurines that i crave for is always VERY VERY EXPENSIVE (simple really, maybe because they indeed are that good), second thing is unlike Agung the otaku, i dont follow that much anime/manga (just doujins ^^ kawwaaiiiiii hihihi), so my reference for characters who are good if "figurized" is not that many either..

But one day i stumbled upon this lady over here.. Now i don't know if i can spell her name correctly, but it goes something like; Ryogi Shiki Gurannodou..

I don't really believe in love at first sigh, romant

ically speaking. But i do believe in the concept when it comes to product purchasing. This figurine i fell in love with instantly. As a normal member of the male sub-race of humans, it's only natural right that even for figurines I'd go for the opposite sex characters. But this time it's not only because that she's a woman. Truth be said i haven't the slightest clue in whic

h cartoon this person is in. But what i do know is that she is a culmination of a depiction of women that i very like to idolize..

It's not that i'm being a gung-ho guy being selective of women. It's just that i can't avoid the fact that i love the illustration of Ryogi. She in that beautifully made kimono, holding a samurai, and by the looks of it she's not holding that sword just for the sake of fashion, but she actually seems good at the art of the blade hahahaha..

And no don't start assuming that i fantasize stupid things about her, however i just like it when people illustrate that wonderful combination of feminism with power. I like it when women display their strength but they do it gracefully. I'm not profiling, but i just believe that men and women both have archetypal nature they cannot avoid. Men are scruffy breadwinners, while womendo things gracefully in every step they make in every breath they take.

I come from a background that builds understanding towards women, and their status in the society. And i thinks its just cool that this illustration of a woman who is powerful, yet is able to maintain the beauty and sense of mystery upon herself.

Absolutely magnificent. For now i don't have this figure, I'd like to very much in the very near future. It's around USD 75.. So obviously for me its no small matter.. But don't worry Ryogi, someday you'll defend my room from the evil scum of the galaxy.. hahahahahaha

Madurodam - the smallest city in Netherlands

My childhood in most parts of it was fulfilled with memories that i very like to cherish for eternity. You should know that the character developments of me myself was bricked by many layers of various cultures. This time i will tell you a slice of Netherlands, a nice quaint, little country which i used to live in for 4 years, in my preschool days ^^

As you know i love the world of scale modelling. All this time i've been wondering why does it seem that although i'm a newbie in the world of serious modellers, the eagerness of scale modelling seems to root deep within the veins and blood of me. As it turned out, as i trace the history of my world travels, i remember of a lovely place called Madurodam --a leisure theme park that reprises a miniature city-- i can't remember where exactly that is, but in the Netherlands i only lived in the Hague and Amsterdam so it must've been in among those two cities.

Aside from the lovely coin food installments in the Netherlands, Madurodam have always carved within me wonderful insights. This city is pretty much like the Disneyland of the Netherlands. The thing about common theme park nowadays is that it's pretty much a use of a one-size-fit-all concept, meaning that you go to one of these place, then you've gone to all of them. They have standard rides, similar layout, pretty much the same colour themes. It also is much better than video game based them parks, i've been to Sega World in Sydney, and i can tell you that bloody hell it has nothing to do with Sega!!! I personally think its odious..

Madurodam i think is unique as it blends the kind of 

ambience you look for in a leisure park, and that it appeals to all generations. Kids may come for the image of a "toy wonderland", teens might be going for that mixture of toys and the lookout for the opposite gender, adults maybe go for the fascination for the architectural archetype reflected in the buildings, and elder people maybe just wants some quiet and peace.

It also attracts people who used to hold position in the Public Office to excersise their sense of post-power syndrome by being larger than the people in the city (let's not spoil it to them that the little people

ain't actually people, they're just models.. so shoosh! hahahah)

The only thing i regret about Madurodam is that my memories of it is fainted. Its blurred. Maybe it'd be nice that one day i get the opportunity to revisit the Netherlands and maybe enter Madurodam again.. 

Imposition of Campus prerequisities

As some of the 2008 class in my Faculty is taking this course as one of the many prerequisities of Graduation in my campus, i thought i'd write about them before i go to sleep today.. haha

Look, i know that there are some values and/or habbits that a Campus would like to impose for their students to imprint. I agree that in many ways these values are important. However what i don't agree is the idea of imposing it as a prerequisite of graduation,

In mine, there's numerous of these hullabaloos. One of them's a "Basic Course on Islamic Leaderhsip" --this tcourse takes like 10 days!!!!-- one word comes to my mind as i write this; gullible. I didnt attend the one they had in my year, so about a month ago i followed a session of this course, just so that in the incident that one day i wanna graduate, this silly little thing doesnt become a thorn hurting my graduation.

The copurse is simply days full of classes where the Campus tries to imprint (my version of the word is "to indoctrinate") students in the values of leadership, and cross refference it with Islamic values. I'm what most people like to call a "liberal Moslem" so forgive me if what i think hurts you and your views on your faith (i just think faith is a vertical relation with God, and what you do must not be because of your horizontal affiliations with other HUMANS). But i think this course is just weird, it's just classes, most of them delivered in a boring yawny way, and at the end of the day i don't think even 20% of the students who took the course understood why they had to sit and listen and try not to fall asleep (hahaha) since 7 in the moprning till 10 at night. What monstrosity is this?

One of the facilitators filling in proudly declared that this course is not only the one of its kind in Indonesia; but also the world!!!! It took me hours after trying to figure out why the nice gentlemen was so proud; this i cannot comprehend till this very day. I just think it creates unnecessary suffering i cant believe any Human Rights commission doesn't tackle the campus for doing so for years!

Students (most of them) sees this course not as an value added thing, but just another obstacle that they need to pass, just a milestone. WHile i think what the campus is trying to deliver is important, yet they packaged it wrongly. Education ultimately fails when people who takes education is for granted; that when you ask them why they took this, its either "i had to" or "i dont know"

I'm not against the concept or thought altogether, i just don't agree with the execution per se. Students in tertiery education should already have an idea of what they're gonna do with their lives, so why the need to indoctrinate? a jerk who goes to this course will stay as a jerk. period. So if they feel the need, they're gonna come to the course without obligatory approaches. (okay, to be honest i dont believe anyone would come by free will if they still do it they way they do it currently -so fix the system!)

Thats where most education in Indonesia fails. It's goals are full of grandeur, but when it comes to implementation; there's little to be proud of, they forgot to put a relativity line with whats most important; the characteristics of their pupils. Education only works if people comprehend, and people comprehend if they have willingness, and willingness you get if they know why they need to learn it, and not simply because of threats.

Education is not gonna work by force, it needs understanding. Period.

Counter Strike and the concept of gaming longetivity

Eversince me and few mates decided to become house mates (a sorta frat house wannabe hahahaha), we realized that since we used a router to shoot wireless fidelity (wi-fi) signals to our coumputer, that there was now an open opportunity for multiplayer gaming.

Just so you guys know i'm big on multiplayer games (not meaning that i'm good at it per se, i just say that i love the idea of multiplayer gaming). When i worked in the Federation (another story for another day) since i had the resources nearly everyday i go to this gamehouse in my town, and in those days i play an average of 3 hour sessions (up to 8 on weekend nights) of Gears of War (abbreviated GoW).. it's bloody fun i tell you, the idea that you play not only a "bot" or "AI" and actually conduct social interactions with your nemesis (be it in form of psy war, or complementing, whateva) is brilliant! I love it I love it I love it..

Anyhoo, back to the Pitik Frat House boyZ haha.. Just to keep the games within range of our rigs and connection, we decided to drop modern day games like Crysis, or Gears of War (back then when i played everyday, it was on the 360 you see).. Sani (whose blog you can access in a menu on the right) pitched the idea of Counter Strike, a simple game that i know has existed from when i was like elementary.. It's sort of when i talked about blogs, it's like skiing to me (read post on blogs! :D) 

All right, i gotta admit that at first i kind went pffft pffft iuw iuw why can you still see humongous pixels on the screen as if like seeing massive pimples on Nanda's tomato like face (another one of my housemates).. but hey, there's gotta be a first for everything, even for things as simple as farting, so i did (not fart, but played!)..

Hey, i am now ashamed to say that i'm ADDICTED!!!! (imagining x-zibit running out pinching the shoulder part of my tees saying you've been pimped!) this game is an FPS (one my least favored types --First Person SHooter for those blind to the jargon--) but yet it's intriguing, especially since Sani (who have played since he was in junior high) is quite a few levels in terms of gameplay for me.. so it has the "fun", and "challenge" appeal for me, 2 things that tend to wear off from game nowadays..

This is why CS is pure genious, its basically start, buy guns, run, look for enemies, shoot, depending how shitty you are you either die or live to die 5 seconds later hahahaha.. anyway, i read an article on product longetivity and that law of economics on diminishing return (blah blah blah how there's a maximum point of goods usage before people's interest wear off and it becomes shitty in sales blah blah blah) that Nintendo uses; so they developed the Wii not to target just gamers, but even non-gamers to become gamers, by creating an HUI --Human User Interface-- that appeals for everyone. I thought hey that's kinda true, the true value of video gaming entertainment is not only about realistic graphics (where when you shoot opponents using 1200 x 1900 pixel setting you can actually see people's pimples falling off their face if you shoot them.. yech!) but its about gameplay.. If you're not a gamer before, there's no reason for you to pick up a SIXAXIS control, or a 360 control, as most of the games were sequels, using buttons similar to previous games and they're complex.. Wii and CS countered that.. simple concept, simple controls, yet everlasting appeal..

Simplicity in complexity.. that's absolute genious!

Santorini Island

Maybe it'd be a good addition to write about my header's picture..

That, my friends, is a picture taken at night time of a place, a wonderful place called Santorini. It's an island in Greece, and it's beautiful as beautiful can be..

This island have been featured in some of the movies that i like, actually; Sisterhood of Travelling Pants 1 & 2, and Mamma Mia! (i'm pretty sure its Santorini, it has similar landscape). This mediterrainian beauty lies in the southern coasts of Greece, and is located in the amazing Aegean Sea.

Not only is Santorini a feast for the eyes, it also is a treasure vault rich in history and myth. It is said that the Islands surrounding the area was where Troy once existed, a kingdom popular in modern culture especially movies for the Trojan Horse, which happened in the 10-year Trojan War, which involved tens of thousands of men, battling a fleet of 25000 armada cruises. People also said that

 comparing with Plato's description, it is possible that Santorini and its surrounding was once where Atlanta lies, the legendary island of

 wisdomous and an ideal society.

This Island to me is very special. I love the views, i love the secret

s it posses. It has become the dream of this dreamer to one day have a holiday (or honeymoon ^^) in this island. My life wouldn't be complete if this lifetime i don't get to see Santorini directly.

 This place happens to be a dream for one other too, one that perhaps i'd like for that one to come along with me, shall the time come, someday, in the future. I don't need to mention names, you know who you are.. :)

Dora -a small name for the biggest gun ever made-

I've always been fascinated with what the Germans made during the World War 2 to equip their arsenal to battle against the Allies's army..

One of the craziest military project to date, i think is the Schwerer Gustav 80 cm railway gun --it has a cute nickname; Dora ^^;-- 

Dora, as most mortar based guns that the Germans made, was built intended to blast through heavy barricades, usually in the form of forts, campsites, etc. This gun was specifically made to blast through the Maginot Line forts for the campaign in the West. However at the time of the expansion, this gun is still in development in the Krupp factory. Even in the expansion to the Soviet (Operation Barbarossa), 1941, this gun was still in development.

To give you an illustration of the sheer mammoth size of this gun, i posted an artist's rendering of the massive thing. You can see from the picture that this thing compared to actual humans is like a five or six storrey high building! very massive, yet very inefficient. Why? because it takes 6 full weeks to assemble --a very long time considering wars change rapidly in terms of location, and remember this gun is railway based, so it needs tracks!--

To operate this massive gun, it takes 1,420 soldiers under the command of 1 Colonel! Jeez, that's like a whole bloody squadron right there. The shell of a single Dora is 80cm, it's about 4 meters high! (largest shell on earth), and Dora can fire it within a maximum range of around 25000 meters.. Germans are ambitious yet loony bunch of people when it comes to waging wars LoL..

The funny thins about this weapon is twofold; the name Dora was taken from the engineer that planned this monster --a man named Gustav-- he named the weapon after his wife; Dora! the second funny thing is that this weapon was only made twice, the first managed to fire around 48 shells as tests.. the actual one never fired one, because as it was deployed, German troops lost the battle in the area, and Dora was confiscated by the Red Army hahahahahaha

so all that money and effort for nothing eh? but still very impressive, i can't imagine what would go through my mind if i saw that long barrel pointing upwards (firing position) and i was a Soviet soldier in Fort Maginon.. run!!!!!!!

Yotsuba&!

I've loved comics in the past. My childhood was filled with the wonderful drawings and silly stories of comics. I live in Indonesia, and most comics available here are Japanese-made comics, so that's pretty much the category of comics  that i read.

I'm not really into superhero comics, or action comics, or legendary kung-fu comics. No offence but my definition of entertainment is those in which the stories narrated is not more complicated than my actual life. This only applies to comics though. I'm a hard core fan of complex novels and non-fiction books on world issues. I also like action movies to maximise my speakers hahaha..

Anyway, it saddens me (yes, sad) that i haven't really been in touch with this world. Ever since coming back from Australia back in '99 i haven't really found a comic that i really like (well, like in sense of want-to-buy like) .. that, my friends, has ended..

I found this comic reffered by Agung ( a fellow debater and scale modelling enthusiast). At first the comic just seem stupid, yet it becomes more intriguing per episode.. it's called Youtsuba&!

So far the've printed 7 comics of Yotsuba, very few remembering the person who made it started the thing back in 2000..  Yotsuba doesnt have a main arc of a story, it just tells episodes of the daily lives of Yotsuba (a little, but very curious girl), her adoptive father, and her neighbours (three sisters).. It's packed with full of pure stupidity, fun, yet inspiring.. It even have issues like global warming and stuff.. Every story tells what Yotsuba learns by the day, and how she sees things from her innocent, young mind.. That's why the series is called Yotsuba&!, because every episode is titled Yotsuba @ .... ! (... is a short nutshell on the episode --i.e. Yotsuba&Global Warming!)

I also like this comic because Yotsuba reflects an actual person in my life. A girl, whom the curiosity, sense of fun, and rich soul of Yotsuba i find in this adorable, cute, girl that i like. I even use Yotsuba as the name on the ID of her phone number in my mobile ^^v

I think what appeals me to collect this series is the fact that its a comic that combines intelligence, pure comedy, and wisdom. The illustrations are attractive, the stories are simple, yet it's not just another story for the sake of it. Each episode builds Yotsuba, and we can actually see how she implements her newlyfound knowledge of the world.. Simply fascinating, so fascinating that i actually acquired the figurines from the series.. You can see from the pic that i have all 7 published series, and 3 figurines (yotsuba, danboard, and miura --one of her friends).. I also have an e-version of the doujin (wont tell you what that means, but for those who gets it, shoosh!) called "Pretty Neighbour"

Highly recommended serial.. a story about the complex world of reality as seen by the eyes of a simple girl.. a 8.5/10 i would give (the minus 1.5 is the fact that i have to spend money in order to collect it LoL).. For those who have access to my place is welcomed to borrow them for enjoyful reading..

The idea of bloggin in my perspective

Blogs to me has always been like skiing..

i know it exists, i know it's fun for most people, i know (as other activities or hobbies) it can be addictive, and i know it can actually increase your appeal to others, depending how you use it.. yet i've never actually managed to get myself to seriously blog.. and interestingly, my experiences in blogging is very much like my experiences in skiing, i've done it only once but then i fell shamelessly in front of the instructor, and never got myself into trying again.. but my last blog didnt experience any fall, it's just that i forgot my password hahahaha.. but maybe if this one lasts, i'll have another go at skiing.. boom de ya da!

The phenomena of blogging i think have existed even from the early innovations of the internet. It's partly a product of human nature, i happen to believe. To socialize, to create networks, to express oneself.. interestingly with blogs is that we all get a corner of our own, which sometimes in real life we don't (which is nice, yet cliche). The appeal is, i think, universal (in the sense of someone to start blogging). The range could start from any age, any gender, any profession, whether you're a shy or a narcisist, every one can blog! i just think that deep within ourselves we're all painters, longing to draw a picture that reflects the very happenings of our lives, who we are, what we do, and stuff. Blogs are merely a canvas, that like i've said, not everyone can buy in real life..

People say blogs are for those who cannot express themselves in reality which is why they've gone online instead. I think that's just virtual insanity. Maybe there are people who express themselves better through written words (like me :">) but maybe even "people's people" (referring to people who are socialites) use blogs to update people on them, or whatever.

I guess that's what i can think of. Wanted to write about blogs as the premier article because it's relevant.. hahaha