Selamat Hari Pendidikan Nasional

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Hari ini seperti biasa saya menonton acara “Ranking 1” dengan anak-anak saya. Acara ini bisa dibilang adalah acara favorit saya dari sejak awal formatnya menggunakan ‘semesteran’ hingga sekarang menjadi ‘Tebak Gambar’, ‘Praktikum’, ‘Aku Ingin Tahu’ hingga ke babak akhir ‘Cepat Tepat’. Saya suka acara ini karena saya banyak belajar juga dan hitung-hitung sebagai ‘penyegaran’ otak dengan ilmu pengetahuan umum.

Di hari ini tentunya acara itu sangat spesial karena bertepatan dengan Hari Pendidikan Nasional. Pesertanya dari yang duduk di bangku SD hingga mahasiswa. Pertanyaannya menurut saya juga tidak terlalu susah, tetapi ada saja peserta yang menjawab salah atau bahkan menjawab asal.

Di satu sesi, ada pertanyaan tentang tanggal berapa Hardiknas dirayakan dan ada yang menjawab 2 April, bahkan 27 April!

Wow!

Ketika salah satu peserta yang menjawab 27 April (sepertinya, sih artis karena dia duduk paling depan)  ditanya lagi oleh Sarah dan Ruben seperti tanggal berapa Hari kartini, dia menjawab tidak tahu; tanggal berapa hari ibu, dia juga tidak tahu…

Di sesi lain ada satu peserta yang ditanya berasal darimana, dia jawab dari Medan, dan Ruben bertanya apa makanan khas dari Medan dan si peserta dengan polosnya menjawab “Nggak tau.”

Yang paling mengejutkan adalah menjelang sesi akhir. Sebelum masuk babak akhir, peserta diberi pertanyaan tentang boyband  SuJu dan hebatnya semua menjawab benar. Tapi begitu diberi pertanyaan tentang Mahatma Gandhi semuanya menjawab salah, bahkan ada yang menjawab asal dengan jawaban “Sharukh Khan” dan dia berasal dari SMA yang lumayan favorit di Jakarta.

Saya tidak bisa membayangkan bagaimana perasaan guru-guru di SMA itu.

Malu gak, bu?

Saya saja yang menonton malah punya pikiran…what are these kids learn at school????

Sebenarnya bukan hanya hari ini saja kejadian-kejadian lucu dan mencengangkan terjadi di acara ini, tapi episode hari ini memang lebih mencengangkan karena pesertanya adalah pelajar dan notabene generasi muda.

Saya tidak akan meyalahkan siapa-siapa di tulisan saya ini. Hanya memberikan gambaran kalau SuJu memang lebih terkenal dibanding Mahatma Gandhi di kalangan anak muda.

Mungkin kalau saya tanya handphone Nokia berasal dari negara mana, pasti sebagian yang baca menjawab “Jepang”. Hahahahaha…..sayangnya anda salah. Mau tahu jawabannya? Tanyalah Om Wiki dan Mbah Google.

Selamat Hari Pendidikan Nasional.

(credits to the maker of the pic.)

Indonesia negara antah berantah

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Setelah sekian lama saya menulis di blog dengan bahasa Inggris, kali ini saya akan menggunakan bahasa ibu alias Bahasa Indonesia. Untuk yang buka blog saya dan tidak mengerti bahasa Indonesia, bisa pakai Google translate, okeh :D

Beberapa hari ini dunia maya cukup heboh dengan pemberitaan yang menyebutkan bahwa Justin Bieber menjuluki Indonesia adalah negara antah berantah (random country). Banyak yang kaget, banyak yang kecewa, banyak yang tidak menyangka…entah bagaimana reaksi para fans JB di Indonesia…

Berita itu sumbernya dari tabloid Mirror, yang setahu saya itu juga tabloid gosip…jadi belum tentu juga Bieber menyebut kalau Indonesia adalah negara antah berantah. Tabloid gosip di luar sana terkenal suka melebih-lebihkan berita atau malah menyebarkan berita bohong. Tapi, nasi sudah menjadi bubur dan bola salju sudah menggelinding kemana-mana.

Jika dilihat secara sepintas mungkin aneh juga jika penyanyi muda itu menyebut negara kita adalah negara antah berantah. Bieber pernah mengadakan konser disini, sampai memboyong kekasihnya (walaupun saya bingung juga karena mereka masih terhitung di bawah umur tapi sudah boleh bepergian berdua), tapi kenapa bisa bilang seperti itu?

Sejujurnya memang tidak semua orang di dunia tahu Indonesia. Saya pernah lihat di acara liputan Bapak Putra Nababan pada saat dia akan mengadakan wawancara dengan Bapak Barack Obama di Washington D.C. Pak Nababan iseng bertanya pada orang-orang di jalanan tentang Indonesia. Mengejutkan memang karena hampir semua yang ditanya menjawab tidak tahu, hanya beberapa yang menjawab tahu dan beberapa hanya tahu Bali.

Jadi, kalau sudah begini kita harus bagaimana?

Menurut saya daripada heboh dan menyerang sang penyanyi muda di twitter, banyak pr yang harus kita kerjakan untuk membuat Indonesia terkenal di mata dunia. Andai saja para wakil rakyat itu tidak sibuk sendiri mengisi pundi-pundi pribadinya dengan uang hasil korupsi dan lebih mementingkan kemajuan negaranya sendiri.

Akan lebih baik jika kita talk less and do more…buktikan dengan prestasi…karena hanya dengan menuntut JB minta maaf ataupun menyerang yang bersangkutan di dunia maya tidak akan membuat Indonesia terkenal di mata dunia.

The Academy Awards 2012 Winners

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Here’s the complete list of the winners from The Academy Awards 2012: (Winners highlighted in bold below.)

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Guillaume Schiffman, The Artist
Jeff Cronenweth, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Robert Richardson, Hugo
Emmanuel Lubezki, The Tree of Life
Janusz Kaminski, War Horse

BEST ART DIRECTION
Laurence Bennett, Robert Gould, The Artist
Stuart Craig, Stephanie McMillan, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
Dante Ferretti, Francesca Lo Schiavo, Hugo
Rick Carter, Lee Sandales, War Horse

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Mark Bridges, The Artist
Michael O’Connor, Jane Eyre
Sandy Powell, Hugo
Lisy Christl, Anonymous
Arianne Phillips, W.E.

BEST MAKEUP
Albert Nobbs
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
The Iron Lady

BEST FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FEATURE
Bullhead, Belgium
Footnote, Israel
In Darkness, Poland
Monsieur Lazhar, Canada
A Separation, Iran

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Berenice Bejo, The Artist
Jessica Chastain, The Help
Melissa McCarthy, Bridesmaids
Janet McTeer, Albert Nobbs
Octavia Spencer, The Help

BEST FILM EDITING
Michel Hazanavicius and Anne-Sophie Bion, The Artist
Kevin Tent, The Descendants
Thelma Schoonmaker, Hugo
Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Christopher Tellefsen, Moneyball

BEST SOUND EDITING
Drive
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
War Horse

BEST SOUND MIXING
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
Moneyball
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
War Horse

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Hell and Back Again
If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front
Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory
Pina
Undefeated

BEST ANIMATED FILM FEATURE
A Cat in Paris
Chico and Rita
Kung Fu Panda 2
Puss in Boots
Rango

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
Hugo
Real Steel
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Transformers: Dark of the Moon

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Christopher Plummer, Beginners
Max Von Sydow, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
Jonah Hill, Moneyball
Kenneth Branagh, My Week with Marilyn
Nick Nolte, Warrior

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
John Williams, The Adventures of Tintin
Ludovic Bource, The Artist
Howard Shore, Hugo
Alberto Iglesias, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
John Williams, War Horse

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
“Man or Muppet,” The Muppets
“Real in Rio,” Rio

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Stan Chervin, Aaron Sorkin and Steven Zaillian, Moneyball
George Clooney, Grant Heslov and Beau Willimon, The Ides of March
John Logan, Hugo
Bridget O’Connor and Peter Straughan, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash, The Descendants

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris
J.C. Chandor, Margin Call
Asghar Farhadi, A Separation
Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
Annie Mumolo and Kristen Wiig, Bridesmaids

BEST LIVE-ACTION SHORT
Pentecost
Raju
The Shore
Time Freak
Tuba Atlantic

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT
The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement
God is the Bigger Elvis
Incident in New Baghdad
Saving Face
The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom

BEST ANIMATED SHORT
Dimanche/Sunday
The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore
La Luna
A Morning Stroll
Wild Life

BEST DIRECTOR
Woody Allen Midnight in Paris
Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
Terrence Malick, The Tree of Life
Alexander Payne, The Descendants
Martin Scorsese, Hugo

BEST ACTOR
Demián Bechir, A Better Life
George Clooney, The Descendants
Jean Dujardin, The Artist
Gary Oldman, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Brad Pitt, Moneyball

BEST ACTRESS
Glenn Close, Albert Nobbs
Viola Davis, The Help
Rooney Mara, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady
Michelle Williams, My Week With Marilyn

BEST PICTURE
The Artist
The Descendants
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
The Help
Hugo
Midnight in Paris
The Tree Of Life
Moneyball
War Horse

Congratulations to all the winners!!

Source: Movieline

Happy Valentine’s Day

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So, it’s February 14…

People around the world consider the date as Valentine’s Day….the Love Day…when we express our love to the people we care and close to our hearts.

But, what is exactly Valentine’s Day? Where did it come from?

According to wikipedia, Saint Valentine’s Day, commonly shortened to Valentine’s Day,is a holiday observed on February 14 honoring one or more early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine. It was first established by Pope Gelasius I in 496 AD, and was later deleted from the General Roman Calendar of saints in 1969 by Pope Paul VI.

The day first became associated with romantic love in the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in the High Middle Ages, when the tradition of courtly love flourished. By the 15th century, it had evolved into an occasion in which lovers expressed their love for each other by presenting flowers, offering confectionery, and sending greeting cards (known as “valentines“).

Modern Valentine’s Day symbols include the heart-shaped outline, doves, and the figure of the winged Cupid. Since the 19th century, handwritten valentines have given way to mass-produced greeting cards.

In some countries, the celebration of Valentine’s Day are forbidden, mostly in Moslem countries, such as my country. They consider Valentine is Christian’s holiday therefore we, moslems, are forbidden to celebrate it.

I am a moslem too, but in my opinion despite of the relation between Saint Valentine and the celebration of Valentine’s Day, February 14 is the day we show our care and our love to the people we car and love with special ways. We can show our care and attention everyday, but it will be valued more on February 14.

I won’t discuss it is allowed or not celebrating Valentine’s Day because in my eyes, every religion teach us to care and love for others. As long as you celebrate it in the way that your religion teaches you.

Respect other people, doing volunteer service in the foster shelter or so on…celebrate Valentine’s Day to show your love to others.

That’s the important thing!

So, Happy Valentine’s Day ^^

 

Source: wikipedia

84th Academy Award Nominees – Oscar 2012

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BEST PICTURE

“The Artist”
“The Descendants”
“The Help”
“Hugo”
“Midnight in Paris”
“Moneyball”
“The Tree of Life”
“War Horse”
“Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close”

BEST ACTOR

Demian Bichir, “A Better Life”
George Clooney, “The Descendants”
Jean Dujardin, “The Artist”
Brad Pitt, “Moneyball”
Gary Oldman, “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy”

BEST ACTRESS

Glenn Close, “Albert Nobbs”
Viola Davis, “The Help”
Rooney Mara, “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo”
Meryl Streep, “The Iron Lady”
Michelle Williams, “My Week With Marilyn”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Kenneth Branagh, “My Week With Marilyn”
Jonah Hill, “Moneyball”
Nick Nolte, “Warrior”
Christopher Plummer, “Beginners”
Max von Sydow, “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Berenice Bejo, “The Artist”
Jessica Chastain, “The Help”
Melissa McCarthy, “Bridesmaids”
Octavia Spencer, “The Help”
Janet McTeer, “Albert Nobbs”

BEST DIRECTOR

Michel Hazanavicius, “The Artist”
Alexander Payne, “The Descendants”
Martin Scorsese, “Hugo”
Woody Allen, “Midnight in Paris”
Terrence Malick, “The Tree of Life”

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

The Artist
Bridesmaids
Margin Call
Midnight in Paris
A Separation

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

The Descendants
Hugo
The Ides of March
Moneyball
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

ANIMATED FEATURE

“A Cat in Paris”
“Chico & Rita”
“Rango”
“Kung Fu Panda 2″
“Puss in Boots”

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

“Footnote”
“Bullhead”
“In Darkness”
“Monsieur Lazhar”
“A Separation”

Source: NextMovie.com

Check the full list here

The event will be aired on Feb 26, 2012.

Bow and Arrow…in movies

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According to wikipedia, the bow and arrow is a projectile weapon system (a bow with arrows) that predates recorded history and is common to most cultures. Archery is the art, practice, or skill of applying it. Someone who makes bows is known as a bowyer, and one who makes arrows is a fletcher—or in the case of the manufacture of metal arrow heads, an arrowsmith.

Bow is a flexible arc that shoots aerodynamic projectiles (arrows or quarrels, sometimes stones) by means of elastic energy. Essentially, the bow is a form of spring powered by a string or cord. As this string is drawn, energy is stored in the flexible limbs of the bow; the energy is transferred to the arrow when the string is released, projecting it much farther than a weapon could be thrown. Today, bows and arrows are used primarily for hunting and for sport (see archery). Though they are still occasionally used as weapons of war, the development of gunpowder and muskets, and the growing size of armies, led to their replacement in warfare several centuries ago in much of the world.

Having the skill in archery makes a person may looks defenseless, but also powerful. He/she probably also capable in hand in hand combat. Archery is a amazing skill and I’ve always adored someone who is good in archery even though it’s only in the movie. Some of the characters which using bow and arrow as long as I could remember are:

Robin Hood (1991)

Robin Hood (2010)

Legolas (LOTR trilogy)

Guinevere (King Arthur- 2004)

 

Abigail Whistler (Blade Trinity - 2004)

Susan Pevensie (Narnia Chronicles)

 

Katniss Everdeen (The Hunger Games)

Maybe someday I’ll learn to shoot with bow and arrow :D

Source: Wikipedia and several resources

Snow White and The Huntsman Teaser Trailer!

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In the epic action-adventure Snow White and the Huntsman, Kristen Stewart (Twilight) plays the only person in the land fairer than the evil queen (Oscar® winner Charlize Theron) out to destroy her. But what the wicked ruler never imagined is that the young woman threatening her reign has been training in the art of war with a huntsman (Chris Hemsworth, Thor) dispatched to kill her. Sam Claflin (Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides) joins the cast as the prince long enchanted by Snow White’s beauty and power.

The breathtaking new vision of the legendary tale is from Joe Roth, the producer of Alice in Wonderland, producer Sam Mercer (The Sixth Sense) and acclaimed commercial director and state-of-the-art visualist Rupert Sanders.
Release date: June 1, 2012

Once Upon A Time…

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If we heard about fairy tales or anything related to fairy tales, the most familiar words are “Once Upon A Time”. The source of those fairy tales were unknown and became popular stories because it tells from time to time, passing over from generation to generation. Those tales were set when there are lots of kingdoms, with prince and princess, king and queen and evil step mother.

A research about one fairy tale which is Red Riding Hood apparently had one of its moment to shock all of us about the revelation. The fairy tale that we know about the girl who wears “red cloak” to visit her grandma is apparently darker in the original version. If on the tales we tell to our children the girl is finally released from the wolf’s tummy, in reality the wolf really eats her.

Those tales or old stories after I learned about the reality from Red Riding Hood makes me curious. Could it be Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty is darker than its appears?

And somehow my questions were answered when some movies about those fairy tales released in the past few years, but in different tone.

Alice in Wonderland (2010)

Alice in Wonderland really caught my eyes. Directed by Tim Burton with Johnny Depp on it really gave this tales a very different style. Darker and definitely not for children. It was very different with Alice who wears blue dress with all cute forest animal. This Alice must use her brain to escape from the rabbit hole.

Also, another movie which is darker than the original version is Robin Hood.


Robin Hood (2010)

Forget the man who’s wearing the silly hat with those green pants. This Robin Hood really fights for what’s right. Even his Lady, Marion, is not a spoiled princess.

How about Red Riding Hood? Oh, we almost there…

Red Riding Hood (2011)

The girl with the red cloak is not the sweet girl who’s afraid of the wolves. She must find a way to escape from them and also to choose between two men. Interesting, huh?

And for the next year, there are two movies who is also have different style than the original. They are The Three Musketeers and Snow White.

The Three Musketeers in 2012 is not some lost warriors, but they have to work to stop a female double agent from causing Europe to war. And when I said female is really female. She knows how to handle sword and doing those stunts with heavy clothes. What? You don’t believe me? See this trailer for proof.

And the last move is Snow White. There are two versions for this Snow White. The first is the fairy tale Snow White with those songs with cute dwarfs and momma boy prince, but the other Snow White is the kind of princess who fights for her kingdom from the Evil Queen.

Snow White with her armor

Sexy Snow White

So, what’s wrong with these movies? Are they playing around with the fairy tales? Maybe or maybe not. Fairy tales are more like stories told from generation to generation without knowing who created it first. When it was told for children, the tales were twisted and came out with the sweeter version, putting aside the dark ones.

Perhaps those movies are embodied the true nature of those fairy tales and it really makes me realize one thing.

There’s no such thing as fairy tales.

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1 final trailer

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Ha! Finally!

I watched the first movie when I just had my first son and until now I have two sons, I still love this movie. It’s very hard to find unconditional love and that’s why I love The Saga so much. We could dream to have our own Edward ^^

The trailer is amazing. Really can’t wait for November 18 :D

9/11….ten years ago…

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Oh, wow…I haven’t updated my blog in months :P Sorry about that…I was distracted and now I kinda miss to write for my RL  blog hehe :D

I don’t know why but suddenly the inspiration came to me. In my country it’s already September 11th…the day that change the whole world…it’s the day when The World Trade Center in NYC attacked by two planes which sabotaged by the terrorist and collapsed to the ground.

It was happened 10 years ago, in 2001…I still remember that day…it was night time, I was at Yogyakarta, having my job training in a tourism consultant company and I was attending an event with my co-workers in Prambanan temple. In the middle of the event, one of the attenders from Singapore whispered to his friend that World Trade Centre in New York attacked by terrorists.

When I got home with my friends and looked over the news, we both  realized it was not a bomb…but, the buildings were attacked by two planes.

The next morning, not even a single person in my office were willing to work…we all wanted to know the full story…

The impact from the attack is not only wounded Americans, but also to us here in Indonesia. The moment when they released the investigation report and they found out it was from a terrorist link named Al-Qaeda, they performed several attacks to the country’s origin, Afghanistan. Not only that, they also accused Islam as a terrorist.

As a country which has the biggest moslems in the world, we feel so sad. Because honestly, Islam never taught violence to solve a problem. I am a Moslem myself and I’m wearing hijab, the thing that Americans were despised at that time (and maybe still do until now). But, what those terrorists did in that day…either they are true Moslems or using the Moslem’s name are still wrong.

I know what I wrote now is nothing compares to what Americans get through for ten years. But, in sake of humanity, I felt it too…I know how it feels to lose someone that you love and I couldn’t even forget it until now.

Today is a decade away from the painful day and believe me, I still remember that day…

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