Lesson Learnt from a Movie: Carnage

Sabtu kemarin, aku ke Blitzmegaplex bersama pasanganku dan temannya.

Tanpa tujuan film yang spesifik, kami menghabiskan waktu sekian menit untuk memilih film.

TDKR? Amazing Spiderman? Ice Age 4? Total Recall? Paranormal Experience? Three Stooges? Carnage.

Kelima film yang pertama disebutkan sudah kami tonton, jadi akhirnya pilihannya dipersempit antara Three Stooges dan Carnage.

Bersenjatakan rating dari IMDb, akhirnya kami memilih Carnage.

Sebenarnya, harapanku ketika memasuki studio tidaklah terlalu tinggi.

Walaupun review nya okay, tapi melihat genre filmnya yang drama, dan membaca sinopsinya, tampaknya kurang menarik walaupun aktrisnya mencakup Jodie Foster dan Kate Winslet.

Hal pertama yang mencuri perhatianku ketika opening title adalah disebutkan bahwa Carnage ini merupakan karya adaptasi dari Yasmine Reza.

Hmm, nama timur tengah. Mungkin suatu saat nanti

Yang kedua adalah nama sutradaranya, yaitu Roman Polanski.

Seperti yang diketahui khalayak umum, Roman Polanski saat ini berstatus pelarian dari Amerika, dengan karya yang terkenalnya seperti The Pianist ( also my favorite movie).

Film ini menceritakan tentang usaha antara kedua pasang orang tua untuk berdialog soal pertengkaran yang terjadi antara kedua mereka.
Terlihat bahwa dalam menghadapi suatu kasus, keempat orang tersebut mempunyai pandangan dan sikap yang berbeda.
Ada orang yang santai dan berusaha menganggap ringan, ada orang yang menganggap sangat serius, ada orang yang tidak mau tahu, ada juga orang yang berusaha tetap tenang walaupun sebenarnya memendam suatu perasaan.

Ketika orang dengan karakter yang berbeda, suatu masalah yang sebenarnya mudah dapat bergulir ke arah yang tak terduga. Ketidakpedulian, ketidakingintahuan, ketidakpekaan, ketidakjujuran, itu semua dapat menjadi bom waktu.
Selain itu, tentunya segala hal yang berlebihan (alias lebay), itu memang tidaklah baik.

Tapi apa yang paling berkesan menurutku adalah ini...

Suatu masalah yang timbul antara kedua pihak, sebenarnya haruslah diselesaikan oleh kedua pihak itu sendiri. Karena mereka sendirilah yang tahu sendiri mengenai konflik tersebut, dan apa sebenarnya penyelesaian yang terbaik untuk mereka.
Solusi suatu masalah tidak terdapat di pihak ketiga, atau pun pihak keempat atau pun pihak kesekian.
Dan sangat tidak tepat bagi orang lain untuk sok-sok ikut campur dan memperbesar masalah.
Ya memang, kadangkala dibutuhkan bantuan orang lain untuk melakukan suatu mediasi, namun ingat, siapa yang bertikai, itulah yang harus menyelesaikan.

Review of this movie: 8/10

Pause A Moment before You Tweet...

Yesterday, I read a chirpstory about bullying at a high school in Jakarta Selatan.

It is a sad story.

What makes it sad is the fact that, someone re-told this story in his/her soc-med, without camouflaging the identity of the victim and the location.

Yes, he/she doesn't upload the picture.

Still, naming the victim and the location is something that I considered as not a wise move.

Does she/he know that mass media exposure to this case could cause to a child?

Bullying wouldn't happen if this child could stand up for him/herself in the front of his/her senior or school mate or whoever the bully is.

It happened, didn't it?

So how could you hope that he/she could handle the pressure of the mass media news coverage?

I know you are upset.

I know that you want people to sympathize with the victim and sharing this story to prevent this happen to the others child.

But, please don't share the victim identity.

Why do Whatsapp doesn't sell ads?

I'm a Whatsapp user for Android.

I've already paid for my second year in the Q2 of 2011.

At 2011, the price for this app was "FREE for the first year, then 1.99 USD/ year after."

(the same price was valid for the other operating systems, except for iOS, the price is 0.99 USD/ year since the beginning)

I forgot at which times exactly, but I saw a picture that the price has changed into "Free for the first year, then 0.99 USD/year"

My first thought is:

Free = Ads
Paid apps = no Ads

But strangely, I've seen that in my boyfriend blackberry, he still can use Whatsapp normally, even tough the one year period had passed, without any single ads. (FYI, he hasn't paid).

So, how it is possibly for Whatsapp to survive?
Actually, I don't know.
Maybe their contract with Nokia or the payment from the early user of Whatsapp is more than enough to support all of us.
Or maybe there are still people that are willing to pay if they are satisfied (Me?).

I like Whatsapp, and I want to support them.
If you are using Whatsapp, try to read "Why we don't sell ads" - Whatsapp
If you are agree with their idea, maybe you could support them by sharing a little bit of your money. :)

Sailing Trip to Komodo (part 2)

I woke up in the morning, preparing for the next journey.

While we are eating our breakfast (crepes with banana and chocolate sauce, very yummy), we could see a ship approaching the hotel.

Our ship name is Fadaelo.

The welcome drink is papaya juice with milk.

Surprisingly, it is very delicious.

Me and my friend enjoying papaya juice

From Labuan Bajo, our first destination is Pulau Rinca. The port name in Rinca is Loh Buaya.

I'm not a biologist or an ecologist, so I'll say what I see.

Once inside the gate, what I can see is savanna, rock and sand. The weather is hot and dry, with only a small of plantation. 

From the top left, clockwise: Rinca habitat, a Ranger explained Loh Buaya map, me with the Komodo stick, ranger standing near a Komodo nest

We are accompanied by two rangers because our team consists of 9 person. Normally a ranger accompany 5 person.

The ranger brought a stick with two branch in the edge. Why? Since it is known that komodo are afraid with something similar with their branched tongue.

Komodo has an excellent smelling capability.

Women during period is prohibited to enter the Komodo National Park for their safety, because Komodo could smell the blood and locate you even from far away.

According to the ranger, komodo could run at 18 km per hour speed. I think that's fast, because I could only run with max 9 km per hour on the treadmill. :D (and the maker of this song "Macet lagi macet lagi, gara gara si Komo lewat" must have never known anything about Komodo!)

So you better hope that you don't have any open wound or during your period when you go there. A chase between you and a komodo surely would not be a pleasant part of the trip.

For myself, I'm thrilled when we meet a komodo in our trekking trail. I'm speechless, because I feel so frail.

Notes: if you want to see komodo, but you are afraid of doing some trekking, I suggest you to come there before noon. Many komodo will gather around the ranger's housing area, since they smell the cooking!

It is quite strange to see a group of Komodo laying below the house.

Laying under the ranger's hut, "waiting" for the lunch time

After Rinca, our next sailing target is Pulau Kambing. ( Kambing = goat)

If you love to snorkling or diving, you have to go there.

It is one the most beautiful underwater scene that I've ever seen.

I've ever been to several snorkeling points across Indonesia, and this is definitely one of the best.

Unfortunately, I forgot to bring my underwater camera while I snorkeling there. :(

I don't know why it is named Pulau Kambing, because I didn't see even one goat there. 

The next destination is Kalong Island. (Kalong = bat)

This is the last destination for in the first sailing trip, because this is the place where we'll watch sunset and spend the night.

The view is spectacular. 

Beautiful red orange sky with thousands of bats flying across the sky.

Unfortunately, I have a pocket camera only, and it couldn't capture the red beautiful sky. :(

After breakfast we continued the journey into Pulau Komodo.

This is the biggest island in the Komodo archipelago area.

The difference with Rinca is the komodo living in Pulau Komodo are older and bigger.

Rinca's komodo are younger and more savage caused by their agility.

The habitat itself is quite different.

It is more like a tropical forest. This is also a good place to do some bird watching.

From top left, clockwise: Sulphurea Hill Top, Sulphurea Hill Top, Komodo, Sea Dock 

Oh yes, and I'm lucky that I've got there before the permanent dock is finished. I think a wood dock is much nicer than a permanent dock.
I understand that Komodo will be a big part of tourism in Nusa Tenggara Timur.
But I really hope that the government won't forget that the main reason of making Komodo archipelago as a National Park area is for the animal reservation, not for tourism.

The next destination is Pink Beach.
Why it is named Pink Beach? Because the sand is pink.

Pink Sand

But that's not the only think that you can see at Pink Beach. It is also a beautiful place snorkeling. If you are not a water activity fans, you could do some trekking to the hilltop, the view is quite fascinating.

The last destination for our sailing trip is Bidadari Island.
It is a small island near Labuan Bajo.
This island also has pink sand, but it is more polluted than Pink Beach.
Pink Beach is a no man island and the location is quite far from the local people village.
Bidadari is close to Labuan Bajo, so the rubbish from Labuan Bajo are washed into this shore.
It's a shame, because the beach is pretty.

After two days of sailing trip, we returned to Wae Cicu Eden Hotel.
So long Komodo.... :)
Hope that I'll see you again someday..

notes: all the pictures aren't edited. I'm not a professional photographer, and I'm only using my pocket camera (Sony Cybershot W-570)

Labuan Bajo, a Step before Reaching Komodo (part 1)

First of all,

this journey happened on May 2011.

So I would say I'm sorry if it is not really accurate.

What is Komodo?

From Wikipedia : Komodo is a large species of lizard found in the Indonesian islands of Komodo, Rinca, Flores, Gili Motang and Padar.

Komodo is listed in UNESCO World Heritage since 1991 and Natural Seven Wonder List since 2011.

So I'm actually lucky that I got an opportunity to visit Komodo before it is declared as one of the Natural Seven Wonder.

How to get there?
You have to reach Labuan Bajo first.


By air:

• DPS- LBJ: Trans Nusa (7x / week)
• DPS- LBJ: Wings Air (3x/week, TUE, THU, SAT) 

Points of interest:

- Labuan Bajo sea port : It smells fishy, but the view is beautiful. Blue sky tinted with white cloud in the sky. Traditional ships.

- The Lounge : a nice restaurant at Labuan Bajo, don't forget to try Komodo's Smile drink.

It contains Flores mint a.k.a Kemangi for Indonesian people.

(left to right) Chocolate Milk Shake, Watermelon Juice, Komodo's Smile

- Batu Cermin: (a.k.a Mirror Rock) : a limestone cave, with beautiful reflection of the ray light onto the wall.

- Paradise Bar: a bar, best known for watching sunset

- Wae Cicu Eden Hotel : owned by a Swiss and Indonesian couple. Located in the hilly side across Labuan Bajo.  

Fresh water and electricity is available. 

No air-con, only fan, but they provided mosquito net. The bathroom is clean enough for my standard. 

The cuisine is made with French style. I realized that once they served me grilled fish with thyme for dinner.

And for the breakfast, they served crepes (of course ala Francais , not dry like Indonesian crepe)

What I love the most about this hotel is the fact that they don't have a port.

Their commitment is to stay as natural as it can be. So the only way to reach this hotel from the sea is by using a small raft since the bigger boat couldn't landed on the beach.

As you can see on the picture below, there is no port in the front of the hotel.

Enjoy your stay in Labuan Bajo, because the trip to Komodo is still awaiting you.

continued to Sailing to Komodo...

Mengakrabi Ketakutan

Dua hari yang lalu, aku menonton Abraham Lincoln : Vampire Hunter.

Tapi kali ini bukanlah bahasan mengenai film tersebut.

Hanya saja ada sebuah quote yang menarik dari film tersebut ketika seorang tokoh bernama Henry Sturges mengatakan hal seperti ini : 

Real power comes not from hate but from truth

Entah mengapa, kata-kata itu mengingatkanku pada sebuah dialog yang terjadi di meja makan keluargaku sekian tahun yang lalu. Kalau aku tidak salah ingat, sepertinya waktu itu aku masih duduk di bangku SMU.


Dialog yang terjadi seperti ini.
Ibuku bertanya, sebenarnya ada apa sih yang salah di Indonesia, katanya orangnya pintar-pintar, beragama, tapi kalau urusan korupsi juga jalan terus.
Jawabanku simpel.

Di sini, diajarkan untuk melakukan sesuatu di bawah ketakutan.
Manusia sebaiknya melakukan sesuatu karena manusia sadar bahwa hal itu baik, bukan hal yang merugikan.
Sama seperti manusia harus sadar bahwa suatu hal yang tidaklah baik, maka apalah gunanya dilakukan.
Jika semua orang sadar dengan segala perbuatannya detik per detik, maka tidak ada itu istilahnya khilaf, karena semua perbuatan dilakukan dengan sadar.

Orang yang melakukan sesuatu hanya karena takut, maka jikalau hal yang ditakutinya itu hilang, bukannya akan kehilangan makna dari pengerjaan hal tersebut?
Ada perbedaan kedalaman antara doing something only because you are afraid and because you know the real benefit of doing this thing.

Contoh sederhana..
Seberapa sering kamu telah mendengar kata-kata ini sepanjang hidupmu:

"Udah.. ga pa pa lagi begitu. Ga ada yang tahu juga kan?"

-> jadi kamu tidak melakukan itu hanya karena kamu takut ada yang tahu, terus kalau tidak ada yang tahu jadinya tidak apa-apa?

Aku tidak akan mengatakan bahwa tidak ada gunanya ketakutan.
Ada beberapa hal yang aku takuti, dan menurutku itu ada gunanya sebagai alarm buat diriku sendiri untuk tetap mawas diri.
Tapi aku mencoba mengakrabi ketakutan itu.
Apa penyebab ketakutan tersebut, dan apakah yang bisa kulakukan untuk membuatku bisa mengurangi rasa takut itu?

Mungkin akan ada yang bertanya, terus apa hubungannya antara ketakutan, kesadaran dengan quote-nya Henry Sturges itu.
Menurutku ketakutan lebih dekat dengan kebencian, ketimbang kesadaran dengan kekuatan.

Siapa yang suka berada dalam ketakutan?
Kita tidak suka rasa tidak berdaya ketika kita ketakutan.
Tapi jikalau manusia sudah sadar apa penyebab ketakutannya, maka itulah yang akan menjadi kekuatannya.

Fifty Shades Trilogy

Actually, I'm reluctant to review this Fifty Shades of Grey's trilogy.

Since it's like opening up your dirty secret.

Why...?

You don't want anybody know that you read erotica fiction, do you?

Based on Merriam-Webster dictionary:

Definition of EROTICA:

1. literary or artistic works having an erotic theme or quality
2. depictions of things erotic

Enough of definition.

Why do I want to read this trilogy?
Maybe you've already read my previous blog entry regarding Kobo.
I mentioned that I saw this trilogy in some bestseller list.
Of course I do some research before deciding to buy this bundle.
Most shown up terms are : erotic, fan-fiction, BDSM

Fifty Shades of Grey is originally a fan-fiction of Twilight.
Just add the erotic and (sometimes) hyperbolic touch.
Don't expect a deep story.

The main characters are Anastasia Steele (later Grey) and Christian T Grey.
Anastasia is a recently graduated young woman.
Christian Grey is a very rich businessman with a darker side (in his own term "fifty shades fucker").
Both are madly attracted into each other.
At the beginning, it is mostly the sexual attraction, but the more they know about each other, it will get into a deeper relationship.

My point for this trilogy is 6.5 out of 10.
If you don't know anything about BDSM, this book will give you some insight about this world.
Good for your knowledge maybe (?) :P
The story itself is addicting, but the story lack of depth.

Notes:
This book is not available in Indonesia. I guess the theme is too risky.
If you are a regular visitor at Kinokuniya, you must be familiar that they always put the NY times bestseller list on their bookshelf.
This time, they don't.
I guess this is because that the top number 1,2 and 3 is taken by this Fifty of Shades Trilogy.