exhibitionistic fulfillment

My favorite singer likes her too!

2006-11-21T17:22:00.000-05:00

Warning: This is going to be my geekiest, un-cool post ever.

In the past few weeks, I have been strangely intrigued by Agnes Monica's career as a singer. The first time I heard about her releasing a single, which was 'Indah', I was very skeptical. I think it was 1999, and when I finally managed to get a hold of the song. I was mildly surprised that although the song was the regular insta-pop, it did stuck in my head and I found myself transferring the file to my MD player.

For some reason, I hate "smart" kids, hahaha, or I guess you can call them talented. For example, Shirley Temple or in the Indonesian entertainment industry there's a plethora of them from the ones whose career is hinged on their cuteness (read: Joshua) to the ones that can actually sing like Sherina. But anyway, I never like them. Maybe it's jealousy that they are obviously more successful than I am, maybe I just hate kids, I don't know.
Agnes Monica started her career as a child star, which then graduated to become the host of children show called "Tralala, Trilili" in which she kept grinning and saying "tralala..... trilili...." in a high-pitched voice over and over and over again. So I wasn't very interested when I heard about her plan to enter the music industry.

Then my friend came back from Indonesia with her debut album (as an adult, because she had a few children records already). The title? '... and the story goes...' Huh? Why in the world the title had to be in English? While the photography in the album are very cute street : wire fences, punk hairdo, torn fabrics.... yet perfect makeup and flawless complexion. Basically I felt she was trying too hard to be cool. Then I listened to the album. I wasn't a fan. Her voice is not what I would have expect from looking at her and I suppose I was guilty of pre-judging her even before listening to her music. So the first album didn't do it for me, although... the star power behind the production did impress me. It has pretty much the who's who in the Indonesian music industry, from hitmakers such as Melly and Dewiq to popstar stalwarts like Titi DJ and Dhani (Yes! Dhani from Dewa... arguably the most obnoxious yet talented musician in Indonesia).

I might not be impressed with her, but my 200 million fellow countrymen and women sure did, judging from the album sales and her ever-presence in the media. Videos after videos were made for songs from the album. We don't have singles in Indonesia, so radios and TV stations are actually free to choose whatever song they deemed "single-material" but nowadays the rule of thumb is "new video = new single."

Second Album: "Agnes all muscular in a tank top with pink-tipped punk hairdo and dark skin looking down on you." The caption says, "Whaddup A'.....?!" OK, if the first album got me questioning the linguistic value of the title, this one just made me sick. I was in Indonesia when I first saw the album. I was like, what is she trying to do? I mean, she should just accept it that there's no way someone like her could get street cred... though I guess the same thing could be said of Justin Timberlake when he hadn't brought sexy back. Did I buy the CD? Are you kidding me? If i remember correctly, i think I summoned up a tirade against Indonesian celebrities and snobs who desperately peppered their speech with as much English vocabulary as possible.

Again, the album was a smash. They sold loads of them and videos after videos were made for the songs. During this time, YouTube came along and so I took out a few hours a week just to scour it for Indonesian music videos. What I found out was that AgMon fans has a very good internet presence, thus pretty much all her videos are online. This is when I started to get somewhat interested in her. One thing for sure though, all her videos are done by Indonesia's small but amazing pool of directors. From pioneer Rizal Mantovani to the up and coming Abimael Gandy. Sure enough, all her videos are great and they offer such a range of her style, music and looks.

I'm such a sucker for good music videos. I think the one that started this all was 'Tanpa Kekasihku' because the copy on YouTube had her commenting about the production of the video. Of course she spoke in Indonesian with English words all over the place and that just annoyed me like crazy. So in my negative drive to find more evidence about her anglicizing her speech, I watched all the other interviews she had... and some concerts too. I actually then found out that yes, she does use a lot of English... but I somehow notice she does that less. In the more recent interviews she spoke in Indonesian the whole time except for certain terms... which I suppose the Indonesian word would just be a loanword. Maybe she really has become more comfortable speaking in her mother tongue or I'm just a hypocrite - now that I like her, I tolerate her more. ^_^ Who knows!

But after watching her interviews, I actually became in awe of her. The drive she has to be successful and it seems that on every interview either she or the interviewer would say something about her plans to go international. Well, true that nowadays among Indonesian musicians it is such trend to "go international," but then nothing was ever heard about it anymore. Reza made a record with Masaki Ueda (a well-known Japanese artist but not current... it would be the equivalent of say... Lily Allen did a record with Garth Brooks, I don't think that would do much good for either of them). Nevertheless, she doesn't look like she "wants" to go international, it looks more like she "will" go international no matter how. Judging from her efforts to do so, I definitely applaud her. A small yet pivotal role in a Taiwanese drama, fluency in English, a total involvement in her album arts, videos... she has all the signs of an up-and-coming star.

And then, just yesterday, I was browsing around at Anggun's forum, reading articles about her on Indonesian newspapers and apparently, she approves of AgMon. Hahaha... I'm such a loser, now that she said AgMon is good, I got a sense of validation for becoming a fan. ^_^ Isn't it crazy how people does this? Hmm maybe not people, just people with no life, hahaha. Well but then I notice that all this time, my reservations about Agnes Monica has never been her voice... I think it's more of her packaging. Man, I'm so bad... I'm guilty of the same fault that plagued the American music industry.

Then this video show up. The video before this was 'Tak Ada Logika' which was rumored to be the most expensive video ever made in Indonesia. It was amazing, but this, 'Cinta di Ujung Jalan' is just 'Wow!' You can say all the Memoirs of a Geisha reference you want, but I think the similarities only goes as far as they both features the Japanese Entertainers because the storyline is different. I think this is the video that really made me think of her to be of 'Export Quality."

Cinta di Ujung Jalan
Love at the End of the Road

setiap tetes air mataku
every drop of my tears
telah kuberikan untuk kisahku
i've given for my story
mengerti tapi tak dimengerti
[i] understand but [i'm] not understood
cintaku tlah diujung jalan
my love is at the end of the road

setiap kata dari bibirku
every word from my lips
kadang tak sama dalam hatiku
doesn't always match that in my heart
tersenyum dalam hati menangis
[i'm] smiling [but] crying inside
cintaku tlah diujung jalan
my love is at the end of the road

aku sangat mengenalmu
i know you so well
aku juga cintaimu..
i also love you
tapi kau tak pernah ada pengertian
but you never understand [me]
ku senang, ku sedih
[whether] i'm happy [or] sad
kau tak mau tahu
you don't want to know

aku sangat mengenalmu
i knew you so well
dulu kau tak begitu
you weren't like that before
kau bintang di hatiku
you're the star in my heart
jadilah yang kumau
please be the one i wish for
ku senang, ku sedih
[when] i'm happy [or] sad
kau ada denganku
you're here with me

ku mengerti kau apa adanya
i understand you the way you are
begitupun yang kumau darimu
that is what i expect from you too
kau tahu rasanya diabaikan
you know how it feels to be ignored
cintaku telah diujung jalan
my love is at the end of the road

Check out the live performance of the song.

Enfin...

2006-11-13T17:27:00.000-05:00

Finally finished my new template made from scratch. Hehe, I guess it's not as easy as I thought it would be to incorporate Blogger's variables. Even now, there are certain tags in it that I'm not even sure what the function is. Maybe I'll rotate the header image later.. when I have more time. For now, it's time to do my Christmas shopping and list-making ^_^ \/

PS. I think the color I use for the link tags are a bit girlish too. Hmm.., let's hope Arnold doesn't read my blog, or he'll call me a 'girlie man.'

Birthday-Filled Weekend

2006-10-19T00:06:00.000-04:00

Last weekend saw two of my friends turned a year older: Eunice and Octa. Such a coincidence that the only Virginians among my close friends have birthdays within hours of each other. Eunice on the fourteenth and Sunday the fifteenth was Octa's day. Naturally, we tried to plan some kind of special celebration that would be special for both of them while including each of them while we're doing the other's.

So here's the plan: On Saturday the fourteenth, we went to Café Asia in Washington, DC to have dinner with her. Well, all twelve of us and her (^_^). Myra and I were planning to arrive much earlier so that we can ask the restaurant to keep the cake in their fridge. But it turned out we made it there just on time. Luckily, we beat Eunice & Octa by a few seconds. Yeah. I even tried to make them take the long way when they asked for directions taking the metro, but it turned out they're getting smarter, hahaha, so it was really pure luck that they didn't get to the restaurant before we did.

The food was good, the company was better, the cake was sublime :) We got her the Neil's Hat Trick from our official gourmandises supplier: cakelove. So we did the happy-birthday-singing, wish-making, candle-blowing, cake-cutting, and filling ourselves with sugar and cream. The night is young and so are we (or some of us still, hahaha).

On to the next destination: K Street Lounge. To Octa, we were there celebrating Eunice's birthday because according to Myra and Devmann she wanted to party at K Street. I like it there and it was such a nice group of people. We had fun, we even danced! and I think Eunice and I drank too much. Just a tad bit too much, hehehe. Let's see: Lemon Drop, Tequila, Tequila Sunrise, Washington Apple, French Martini. See? Not that many and most of them... okay, okay, all of them were girlie drinks anyway. I don't know, I think it was the humongous portion of the gway teo that did it.

It's Sunday! Happy Birthday Octa! Sorry for making you gulp that shotglass of Bailey's. I wanted to put milk in it, but the bartender didn't have any, so... at least I tried *grin* We then all left the club, supposedly going home. Oh, our number kinda swelled a bit with Andrew & Patrice joining us afterwards. Well, as we were walking home, we decided to hang at a cafe for a bit to wind down, or so we made Octa think. Hehehe, probably you suspected it already, didn't you Octa?

It was almost one a.m., DC is not known for its after-hours cafe scene and we kinda needed a spot that can accomodate all fifteen of us. Au Pied Bistro it was then. There, Myra, Nia, Devmann, and I came in last with Octa's wishes-adorned cupcakes. We brought in the candle-lit cupcakes and everybody sang Happy Birthday. The bistro was empty so it was nice, felt like it was our own place. Oh? Why was Devmann with us? 'Twas because I needed him to drive. The moment I got out of the car I was like, "Uh oh, I don't feel so well." And so the alcohol poisoning started to kick in.

While everybody was chitchatting at the cafe, I was semi-permanently passing out on my chair *oops* I can't believe it. I felt so bad, hehehe.. Luckily I didn't forget to pay, LOL. But no hangover when I woke, so it was all good.

Happy Birthday Octa and Eunice!

Yay! Yay! Yay! My orange is coming!

2006-09-26T10:59:00.000-04:00

Finally... my Sunlight Copper laptop is on its way home... all the way from China, hahaha. So on September 25th, the laptop departed Shanghai at 21:25... it made good speed, since it reached Louisville, Kentucky by 01:21 the next day. But those fried-chicken-munching, grits-devouring Kentucky people left my laptop and they didn't found out about until 06:04. I guess at six in the morning, right after they had grits for breakfast, somebody stumbled upon this rectangular box by the loading dock and upon closer inspection, hmm... maybe this should've gone out with the 3AM truck?
It's 11 now, and who knows what's going on with my Sunlight Copper M100?

Here's the exact wording on UPS Tracking Page:
« LOUISVILLE, KY, US 09/26/2006 6:04 A.M. THE PACKAGE WAS LEFT IN A UPS FACILITY CAUSING THIS DELAY »

Gigi Geligi

2006-09-21T14:37:00.002-04:00

With the amount of time I spend at the dentist's office, I should just write a biography, or a dentography of my experience. So the latest installment of my dento-journal: my first root canal. Sans anesthesia ! What an experience it was.
Well, I guess this morning was not a full root canal since it was partially done 3 weeks ago. But back then, I was already on the chair for more than an hour, so he decided to just pull out the material near the surface and put me on antibiotics to stop any infection. This morning I came back and he finished it. In and out of my tooth that little file go.

What's with the torture techniques? Well, normally people get numbed for a root canal procedure, but since my case is unique, I got special treatment. I really should donate my body for the advancement of science, who knows what else is weird about it.
A little back story: I had a diskectomy a couple years ago due to disk herniation. The symptoms I had would mean that the herniation occurred on two levels, but that turned out to not be the condition when he went in. It turned out that 2 of my nerve roots came out on one level (so the other vertebrae had nothing coming through of it).
And so it turned out yet again, my tooth was not exactly normal. First, the root itself was going sideways instead of straight up. To add to that, as the dentist was working on it, he found out that I had two canals going up that tooth that finally merged again up there. So he didn't numb my gum because he needed to know where he was in the canal and since I didn't want to be exposed to a continuous burst of potentially carcinogenic x-ray, the only way he could know that is from my reaction out of the shooting pain that comes everytime he plucked some nerve roots out of my tooth.

After the procedure, he told me that now it should be fine. Well, not really, in a couple of weeks I have to go back to get a gingivectomy because the decay has gone below the gum. But he said if that tooth ever become infected again, I had to get it removed and removing it would be another challenge do to the root that was pushed down by my sinus. Man.. see what I'm saying? I really should go into textbooks and get royalty out of it.

Golden Formula for a Hit Song

2006-09-20T10:26:00.000-04:00

Jay Zhou's latest single, 千里之外 [qian li zhi wai: beyond a thousand miles]. I think Jay should patent his slow songs, hahaha... 'cause if you listen carefully, you'll notice that all his slow-to-midtempo songs are pretty much the same. From 龙卷风 to 髮如雪, it's like he got a this golden formula. Tweak it a bit here and there, voilà a new hit single!

As much as I would complain on how similar each song is to the other, I still like all of them. A fact that makes me even surer of Jay Zhou's Golden Hit Formula.

千里之外
qian li zhi wai
beyond 1000 miles
jay 周杰倫 / vincent 方文山

屋簷如懸崖風鈴如滄海我等燕歸來
wu yan ru xuan ya . feng ling ru cang hai . wo deng yan gui lai
the roof is like a cliff . the wind chimes like the ocean . i'm waiting for the swallow to return

時間被安排演一場意外你悄然走開
shi jian bei an pai . yan yi chang yi wai . ni qiao ran zou kai
the time was scheduled . (to) act out the accident . (of) you leaving silently

故事在城外濃霧散不開看不清對白
gu shi zai cheng wai . nong wu shan bu kai . kan bu qing dui bai
the story occurred outside the city . (where) the thick fogs couldn't be cleared . (i) couldn’t see the dialogue clearly

你聽不出來風聲不存在是我在感慨
ni ting bu chu lai . feng sheng bu cun zai . shi wo zai gan kai
you couldn't hear . the sound of the wind didn't exist . it was me sighing over with emotion

夢醒來是誰在窗臺把結局打開
meng xing lai . shi shui zai chuang tai . ba jie ju da kai
awakened from the dream . who stood by the window . revealed the ending?

那薄如蟬翼的未來經不起誰來拆
na bo ru chan yi de wei lai . jing bu qi shui lai zhe
that as thin as cicada wing's future . can’t withstand being torn by someone

我送你離開千里之外你無聲黑白
wo song ni li kai . qian li zhi wai . ni wu sheng hei bai
i send you away . a thousand mile away . you were silent and black and white

沈默年代或許不該太遙遠的相愛
chen mo nian dai . huo xu bu gai . tai yao yuan de xiang ai
silent age . perhaps shouldn't . (had) a long distance love

我送你離開天涯之外你是否還在
wo song ni li kai . tian ya zhi wai . ni shi fou hai zai
i send you away . beyond the horizon. are you still there?

琴聲何來生死難猜用一生去等待
qing sheng he lai . sheng shi nan cai . yong yi sheng . qu deng dai
where is the sound of guqin coming from? it’s hard to predict life and death. use whole life to wait

聞淚聲入林尋梨花白只得一行青苔
wen lei sheng ru ling . xun li hua bai . zhi de yi hang . qing tai
listening to the sound of tears (i) enter the forest . searching for the white pear flower . (but) only get a group of moss

天在山之外雨落花台我兩鬢斑白
tian zai shan zhi wai . yu luo hua tai . wo liang xu ban bai
the sky is beyond the mountain . the rain falls on raised flower bed . my both beard and mustache has whiten

聞淚聲入林尋梨花白只得一行青苔
wen lei sheng ru ling . xun li hua bai . zhi de yi hang . qing tai
listening to the sound of tears (i) enter the forest . searching for the white pear flower . (but) only get a group of moss

天在山之外雨落花台我等你來
tian zai shan zhi wai . yu luo hua tai . wo deng ni lai
the sky is beyond the mountain . the rain falls on the raised flower bed . i await for you to come

一身琉璃白透明著塵埃你無瑕的愛
yi shen liu li bai . tou ming zhe chen ai . ni wu xia de ai
(you) wearing clear white . the transparency shows the dust . your flawless love

你從雨中來詩化了悲哀我淋濕現在
ni chong yu zhong lai . shi hua le bei ai . wo ling shi xian zai
you come from the rain . makes poetic of sorrow . i'm soaked now

芙蓉水面采船行影猶在你卻不回來
fu rong shui mian cai . chuan xing ying you zai . ni que bu hui lai
colourful cotton roses on the water . the boat sails as if (your) shadow was there . yet you won't return

被歲月覆蓋你說的花開過去成空白
bei sui yue fu gai . ni shuo de hua kai . guo qu cheng kong bai
covered by time . you said about the blossom of flowers . (but) the pass has become empty

Ocean City !

2006-09-12T13:53:00.000-04:00

Yeah so the much-planned, not-so-much-finalized trip to Ocean City finally took place this past Labor Day weekend. After endless Reply All's on our e-mailboxes, we finally decided to split up into two groups. One goes up north to Maine and another goes east to Ocean City. We've actually been planning to go to the beach since so long ago, I started to get skeptical if it was going to happen, actually. But finally the hotel got booked, the people got tallied, and Ocean City.. here we come.

Brrr! Stupid Ernesto! You just have to strike right when the 250million Americans are on a long weekend don't you? The Friday before our trip started, the hurricane hit the Mid-Atlantic region pummeling the Chesapeake Bay and our Atlantic Coast with wind and water. I guess at least we didn't have to drive in that condition, because it was really awful.

Even though we didn't have to drive through a storm, it wasn't exactly happy weather either. It was very gloomy, everyone was wearing their sweaters which kinda ironic considering our destination. When we got to the beach, the weather was still just as chilly. It was quite an interesting sight though, it felt like watching a black and white film because the sky was so gray, it was windy, and everyone was huddled up. It was almost romantic if the boardwalk was not covered in sand leftover from the previous night's storm. For those of you who knows Ocean City, the answer is yes, that Jesus sand sculpture and the Last Supper sand painting were still there. I'm not sure if they were rebuilt or some miraculous event had saved them. My money is on the former though.

Fortunately, the following days were so much better. Plenty of sunshine and warmth, just like a beach town supposed to be. We ate and ate and ate. Oh, we did exercise a bit, some dodgeball here, some volleyball there and plenty of Dance Dance Revolution, LOL.

Two Sutandios and a Soetandyo walking on the boardwalk. While we applaud Nonik's bravado in wearing that super thin cardigan and shorts by the beach with the mercury hovering under 60F (windchill not calculated yet), maybe it would be wiser to put something warmer for the time being. You know, just so nobody would lose a toe or two due to frostbite.

The Pacific Sunwear Ad on the Teen National Geographic Magazine.
On him: White hooded sweatshirt with green logo, brown cargo shorts, yellow & green flip-flops. All by American Eagle.
On her: Red sweatshirt by Levi's, jean shorts by Wet Seal, white sandals (models own).

Devmann did some research before we went to Ocean City and Fish Tails was one of the supposedly good places to eat at. And it was! OK, so it wasn't to die for but it was good seafood, everything was fresh. Their plus point though, was the atmosphere. Most of the restaurant was outside, by the bay, on sand while the bar and the kitchen were under the roof. Plus this awesome lizard swinging lounge right across from the bar.

On Sunday night, we decided to play at the Fun Fair on the Boardwalk. I can't remember the last time I went to a Fun Fair... maybe high school? Well, it was so much fun being kids again :) Eating caramel popcorn, getting on a roller coaster that such a rip-off and no Fun Fair trip would be complete without a Ferris Wheel ride.

Atlantic City

2006-09-09T15:51:00.000-04:00

It's Friday, August the 19th. What does that mean? Nothing actually, except for the thousands of hopeful premeds taking the dreaded MCAT. On this day, Thoai, Lisa, and Tu Anh all took it. And being the party people that we are, of course we couldn't miss this chance for a party. So the plan was set for a night out in Philly right after the exam followed by a chill-down period on Sunday.

Thoai and I got to Philly around 8 and we went directly for dinner at Pho Xe Lua in Chinatown with Minh, Lisa, and Tu Anh. We all then meet up with Minh & Thoai's friends at Old City. Actually it's more like a gathering than a meetup since there was so many groups of friends. At the most, each person only knows 3 other people and so we spent the first hour trying to get everyone introduced to everyone.

Old City was crazy that night. I don't know, maybe we weren't the only one with the Post MCAT Bash idea? Whatever the reason was, 2nd Street was so full with people that it was hard enough to walk let alone march in a group of 20. The 5-block radius from Old City was practically jammed, no one could get out nor in. We ended up walking from Independence Mall.

Maybe it was a happening night for some people, but apparently it was too happening for us. The first club we tried to get in refused to allow Tu Anh because her driver's license expired a week before. OK, so I get it, expired ID's are invalid ID's, but clubs check ID's not because minors are not allowed in bars but because they don't want the hassle of checking each person who's getting drink their ID. And the purpose was to check her age anyway... it's not like she got younger since her ID expired ?!?! So we moved on. The next club was OK with the expired ID but it was too small. Halfway through our group, the bouncer was like, "sorry, it's too full." And so again we moved on to the third club which turned out to have a strict dresscode regarding... sneakers! It was crazy... I could just imagine the soft mattress and the fluffy pillow at our hotel room ^_^
But fourth time's a charm I guess... cause we all got in to this bouncer-less club. At the end, it was fun... like always, it's the people you're with, not where you at that matters.

We woke up at 9 in the morning on Sunday because Minh decided that if she's awake then everyone has got to be awake too. After spending some time at the jacuzzi, we headed out to Atlantic City for a day at the beach. Even though it began with the Tragedy of the Missing Pencil Case, it was a nice day. The sun was sunny, the wind was breezy, and the sea was... hmmm... full of water? ^_^

It's always nice hanging out with you guys!

Grandpa Coach

2006-08-11T11:03:00.000-04:00

My sister-in-law just sent me some pictures of my niece with my dad playing micro-basketball. Hehehe, so cute :)

Opa: Little Ia... what are you doing there?

Ia: Uh... is grandpa blind or something? Obviously, I'm slam dunking!

Opa: No, no, Ia... that's not how you do it. Let's do it step by step. OK, first you stand at least 3 steps away. Then, you aim the ball...
Ia: Oh my...
FYI: My dad is big on doing things by the book. He even bought a book on how to google! Hehehe.

Ia: Hmphh... it's not like I need coaching. Look at me... I'm good already!

Colorburst

2006-08-08T16:38:00.000-04:00

I was on the elliptical this morning when this video came on. For the four minutes this video was on-screen, I could not peel my eyes of the LCD display. Totally love, love the the whole concept and Janet looked unbelievably out-of-this-world. The make-up, the hairdo, the get-up, the fabrics, the colors, I couldn't even pick what was my favorite part. Hehehe, even Nelly looked decent in this vid, they didn't shoot too much of his bling which would've overcrowded the whole scene.

I don't know what is wrong with MTV. Well it's either they blacklisted Janet or they're just mad that perhaps Janet's camp decided to premiere the vid on BET instead? But for a music television with MTV's caliber, it's really an embarassment that they still haven't got this vid on rotation. Read GIANT Magazine's conspiration theory.

PhiladelphiAsians

2006-07-17T14:47:00.000-04:00

La Fête

Hung out with new friends this weekend. I think I'm getting old for this kind of nonstop partying. The celebration was for Minh's medschool acceptance, Lisa's & Tu Anh's belated birthdays, Thoai's paper getting published, us meeting each other, and whatever else we could think of. It's amazing how much more reasons we could find to celebrate under the influence.... of Blood Orange Italian Soda! Isn't that right Tu Anh?

Around noon the girls arrived in Baltimore with what looked like enough food for a whole army. I guess they never thought that two guys would manage to hold a party for seven people!! Well, I think we did quite well, Thoai & me, if I may say so myself. Though the flowers were all him, hehee... don't ever leave me with living plants, they tend to go towards the white light sooner than their normal lifespan. It was a finger food party with nothing from the Coca-Cola nor the Pepsi Company, nor the Frito-Lay. Instead we had Italian Sodas and rosé wine. For food, we ordered a platter of sushi rolls, a shrimp cocktail, mini-quiches, spring rolls, bruschettas, and many more. We were planning to have chocolate-dipped strawberries, but couldn't find the right cocoa so we just bought this chocolate sauce and just have people dip their own strawberries fondue-style. To end the party we had the superfabulous Hazelnut Meringue Cake from Pasta Plus. Yum! With the official drink of Summer: Rosé Champagne.

I guess once the bottle popped, some really fun time began. We watched that Overseas Vietnamese Variety Show a.k.a Paris By Night. No, this is an actual variety show not porn shot with night vision! Got into arguments on whether Vietnamese and Cantonese sound alike ... I know, we're such geeks. Hahaha, since I instigated the whole thing, I guess I'm the father geek.

Annapolis

We went to Annapolis afterwards. The original idea was to kayak and eat loads of crabs. But as we go round and round the harbor area, we couldn't find a single kayak rental place. The only promising lead turned out to be this desolate ship dock. After waiting out the rain that suddenly just fell in the middle of a hot, sunny day, we took the Miss Anne boat tour around the Severn River. Now Tu Anh, I'm still waiting for that cookout party we're supposed to have at your riverfront property!

Off the boat, we wanted some crabs! The ship's captain pointed us to this place called Cantler's. Thanks to Google SMS, we found the address & phone number. The supposedly famous restaurant was located on the other side of the harbor, and we kinda had to drive into these wooded area. I think the Philly peeps thought we were gonna dump them in the river, hehehe.

Cantler's!! We finally made it. That place was packed, seemed like everybody in Maryland was there for crabs. Even the governor was there. Hmpff! I bet he didn't have to wait for an hour and half like we did! Thankfully the wait wasn't too bad due to the creative ways Koreans can amuse themselves. So Lisa taught us about this bip-bidibidip game which was just plain whack! It was basically a game of self-control. There were three poses and as the main player sang bip-bidibidip, he/she'll take a pose and the one watching her had to make a different pose. Sound simple, but it's amazing how your reflex would just follow what's in front of you. I think it's the bip-bidibidip thing that kinda hypnotize you! I think we were too hot and embarassed to play that, except for Minh. And there they went at it to the amusement of us all and a few other groups around us :) Thanks for the entertainment guys!

"Minh! Table for Six!" They finally called. Yay!! So we went in, ordered, groaned while waiting for the food, and became real silent as we cracked and munched on the crabs. We got two dozens of them, which means each of us got four crabs. Crazy. I think I had enough crabs for a while now. I have definitely seen enough crab's insides for my lifetime!

fur nightclub

Time for bed? Of course not! Off we went to freshen up at our respective homes in Baltimore, Laurel, and College Park, then we all met up at my place to leave for the fur nightclub in DC. Woo hoo! I've been meaning to check out this place for some time now but something always happened and the plan never fell through.

I think it is safe to say, that was the best night club I've ever been to in DC. The crowd was a good mix, not too Asian, not too White, and not too Black either. Pretty much everyone was represented there and I didn't notice a single majority group so it was really nice. Everybody was just there to have a good time, no rude people or you know those obnoxious asses that seemed to go to clubs just to get wasted and somehown managed to get into a fight.

The music was good too! But I'm not a big fan of R&B so that might be why I thought it was good because they play different kind of music instead of the usual diet of 50 followed by Eminem followed by DMX and other acronyms & abbreviations where nobody actually sang or no music was actually played except for heavy bass and some guy talking. The reggae period was a bit much though, I give you that. But all in all, we had a really good time. I think Minh had a really, really good time especially towards the last hour when all her shots finally got in her head. Hahaha. I'm still contemplating whether we should put the pictures of us in discriminating poses here. Perhaps not, I still wanna be friends with these people. Hmm maybe just one.

So we partied until the club closed which was around four, I think. A mandatory stop at Plato's Diner for some post-dancing snack and we went home.

Live Life Like a Rock Star

My cell rang early in the morning, oh I meant early in the day since we got in at early in the morning already. It was Thoai.
"Good Morning!"
*Grumble*Grumble*"Hmmmh? Mornin'"
"I got into an accident last night."
"WHAT?"
"I hit a car and my car's at the lot now."
"WHAT?"
So apparently as they drove back, Thoai hit a parked car just a few blocks from home. No, no, it was not a DUI, more like sleepiness added to bizarre Baltimore traffic. So in Balto right, you must never take the leftmost lane or rightmost, because you never know if in the next block they would suddenly decide that lane is parking area when it is not in the block before. This would sound normal if they didn't do it like every 5 blocks. "A Rock Star Night" according to Thoai. You go out, you party, you slam your car. Where are the PEOPLE mag people?

It's cool down time in hot 100F DC now. After circling the Chinatown gate for like 20 times, we decided to park at a lot. I thought it was gonna be expensive, but turned out the weekend rate was only like 5 bucks a day or something. Hahaha, I should have listened to those out-of-towners. Sorry guys, but don't you just love my cafe mocha hot hot song? Which... was Japanese thank you, not Indonesian.

So we walked around the Metro Center - Chinatown area for awhile. Benetton, H&M, Urban, and all that. We had lunch at that little noodle shop on 6th & H Streets. The best place for Chinese noodle soups. They make their own noodle and you can even see them as they make it at the front of the store behind large windows.

What a great weekend. Now I'm deadbeat. Time for sleep. Shoo!

Miami, Day 3

2006-07-10T13:02:00.000-04:00

Key West

We're going back to Miami today to fly back the next day. We could have stayed for another night here and drive straight to the airport on Tuesday but we didn't want to cut it too close. We did the the city yesteday, so we're doing the beaches today.

The hotel concierge told us that the best beach in the area would be the Fort Zachary State Park in the southern part of the city. And yup, it was a nice one. We definitely had more fun here than at the Miami beach. The sand wasn't as smooth as in Miami but that only made the water clearer. We could even see small tropical fishes swimming by near the rock formations. We spent hours there. I definitely worked on a tan, and some carcinogenic sunburn.

I totally loved the atmosphere, it was so nice. People were so relaxed. There were a lot of families but thankfully no crying babies :p As I was just lying around in the sun, I saw this cute kid. He was looking for shells I suspect, but he was so intent in his search. So serious. Everytime the water recedes after the wave crashed, he'd be scrutinizing the sand for something.

There was one thing that kinda disturbed me though. Right next to us, there was this couple that could only be called, white trash. Add sunburn to the already leathery skin due to smoke, plus beer bellies, you get two very unattractive people. It was interesting to see how you can actually see the effects of all the bad habits that they are doing at that very moment. They must've been lying the sun for hours without any sun protection, hence the orange skin. The leathery skin proved to be cause by their chainsmoking while they keep gulping on cans of beer at this beach that supposed to be alcohol-free. The things that people do to themselves!

Fort Lauderdale

We decided to drive straight to Fort Lauderdale instead of staying overnight in Miami. We figured it would be easier the following day to go to the airport since FLL is only 15 minutes away from downtown Fort Lauderdale. So we walked around Las Olas again and had a small dinner before we went to the hotel.

« Beep » « Beep » Shower, and we dashed to the airport to catch Harry's flight at 11AM. *Sigh* I hate when vacation ends.

Miami, Day 2

2006-07-09T15:44:00.000-04:00

South Beach

According to most guidebooks, SoBe owes its comeback to a German photographer who found out just how nice the sunrise is there. Naturally, I planned to see it. So I asked the hotel manager the night before, "What time is sunrise tomorrow?" I wasn't sure he would know, so I expected him to look for the newspaper or at least a slight hesitation remembering the day's sunrise. But no, he immediately responded, "Seven AM." I was a bit unsure, but I did ask him, I didn't want to be those people who ask for things but doubt the people they asked.

« Beep » « Beep » My cell woke me up at 6:50 AM. I waited for a few minutes to see if my travelmates were joining me. [6:57] I guess not. So I went out and I had to blink a few times as my eyes tried to get adjusted to the LIGHT! What the hell? The sun had definitely risen for at least an hour! I knew 7AM couldn't be when the sun rises in the summer! Oh well, the day was cloudy anyway so it wasn't like I would've been able to see the sun rose in the horizon. But I decided to go to the beach still. It was nice and quiet. Ask anyone who knows me and they'll tell you that I love big bustling cities, but beaches? I like 'em quiet and idyllic. There were a few people jogging, one early swimmer, and this group of youngsters at the lifeguard post. Seemed like the spent the night there... very nostalgic. Hahaha.. I talk like I grew up in Santa Monica while Bandung is actually in the mountains. So I sat there and kinda soak up the atmosphere. I think that was the moment when I felt, "Aaahh... I'm on vacation!"

About a half-hour later I went back to the hotel for breakfast and after we checked-out, we headed for the beach. The day was definitely getting hot. It was obvious why Summer is Miami's low season. The air was so humid and clouds filled the sky. Not the most comfortable weather to be in. Luckily our hotel was only a block away from the beach so we only had to endure it for a bit before we can jump into the Atlantic waters. We swam & lied around in the sun for about an hour before we got hungry and went looking for food.

David's Cafe had good things said about the Cuban eatery, so we walked to 11th Street. Hmm... turns out they were renovating, but they have a branch a few blocks up north at Lincoln Road Mall. We didn't feel like trekking all the way up, so we stopped by Española Way to see this crêperie, but Harry was not in the mood for crêpes that day. Realizing there were no other decent, cheap restaurant in the area that was open at noon, we walked up to the other David's Cafe. Well, it was well worth it, I finally got my Cuban Sandwich and my cafecito.. yay! I don't know what is it with these Cuban restaurants in Miami, but they really need to invest on decoration. David's Cafe looked like a blue-walled room with tables and chairs. Period. It looked like a makeshift dining hall with autographed pictures of Latin celebrities on the blue wall. Well, as long as the food was good.

Key West

I know it's geeky, but as I drove along the Busway on Route 1, I can't help thinking that this is the same road that would take me home in Maryland. One day, I'm gonna do a Route 1 tour, from Key West up to Bangor, Maine. That should be fine... hmmm, maybe I can write a book, hahaha. Yeah... I do a lot of wishful thinkings.

After what seemed like days we finally got to the final stretch before the southernmost point of the States, the Seven-Mile Bridge. As we drove on the newly constructed bridge, the original was just a few hundred feet to our north. Made from steel instead of concrete like the new one, the abandoned bridge looked desolate yet seemed like it handled the natural elements quite well. Of course it was rusty, but considering how old it was, I'm amazed the structure still exists at all.

Benvenidos à Cayo Hueso! Also known as, Key West. There are plenty of theories regarding the name but there's one I like best: A false Anglo-Spanish cognate of the word Cayo Hueso which translates literally to Bone Island. Legend has it that human bones were found when the first explorers came to the island.

After checking-in, we went to the Old Town area, to Mallory Square. We LOVED Key West instantly. The square is an open area right by the sea where at sundown street performers show their stuff (think flame throwers instead of watercolor names in quasi-Chinese writing) and street art vendors dotted the plaza, plus lemonade & conch fritters stall galore. It was really fun watching the performances, while gulping on home-made lemonades and stuffing ourselves with conch fritters. Jane and I were eyeing this cheese plates made from flattened liquor bottles but at thirty bucks a pop, it was a bit overpriced, we think. So we devised a psychologically-sound strategy to get the lady lower the price for us. The plan was for us to hover around, act mildly interested while trying to look friendly and wait until the stand is quiet before making the offer. Well, we finally got the lady by herself but she was one tough seller, so we ended up skipping the artwork. I don't know about Jane but I'm not that dissapointed actually, I'm a total impulse shopper :)

Oh, another great activity at Mallory Square was watching the sun sets behind this leafy island while ships crosses the horizon. It was really nice, rayon-verte nice.

A few hours late we got hungry and after walking through the main nightlife area, Duval Street, we couldn't find any restaurants we would want to eat at so I checked the guidebook and we decided to go to Mangia, Mangia, an Italian restaurant a few blocks northeast of the Old Town. Well the walk was definitely worth it and it wasn't a bad walk either. The restaurant was located in the residential area so we passed all these summer homes. We had fun planning our retirement and which Bahamas-style two-storey vacation house we'd build.

We finally got to the restaurant about twenty minutes later, just a few minutes before they closed, but the place was packed! It was a really nice restaurant with really good food and really, really nice atmosphere. We got the window table overlooking the street. What a perfect way to end the day.

Miami, Day 1

2006-07-08T21:46:00.000-04:00

Fort Lauderdale

Instead of flying into MIA, we opted for the budget-friendlier FLL. I expected Fort Lauderdale to be a tiny city with nobody but old folks and perhaps a handful of sunbathers looking for a quieter scene. Well, I couldn't have been more wrong, it turns out that Fort Lauderdale would be able to stand on its own as a vacation spot. Yes, it doesn't have any of Miami's glitz and glam but what it has is a sense of familiarity. This city-by-the-sea is populated by vacationers instead of tourists, so the atmosphere is more laidback and people look like they're here to relax instead of to show off their freshly lipo-ed tummies.

But don't get me wrong, the city is not dead by all means after dark. The local shops and restaurants that line up Las Olas Boulevard is a welcome respite from the regular fares that USA, Inc. offers. Well, okay, granted, there was the Cheesecake Factory there but that's it.

The next morning, when our vacation officially started, we made a pit stop at Urban Brew, this little cafe at the newly-revitalized downtown area called Himmarshee. We were actually looking for a cafe called Two Street Garage, but apparently a change of management/owner lead the name change. I loved the coffee and the Aztec-industrial décor was a nice touch albeit it did kinda remind me a bit - just a little bit - of Chipotles.

South Beach

After noon, we drove down to Miami, passing multiple malls and strip malls. From the upscale ones like Bal Harbor to Linens-n-Things. I guess there's no escaping American Capitalism. At around four we got to Ocean Drive. Oh my, South Beach was such a change after the idyllic Fort Lauderdale. The street was literally packed with people and we got stuck in a bonafide traffic jam there. A vacation indeed. I don't know what the big deal was about. I didn't see much hot girls or guys around and the beaches are not better than Fort Lauderdale's, if not worse because it was so packed.

We decided to wait until tomorrow for the beach since we didn't feel like going out in the heat at that moment. So, we went to Miami City to see what's it about and boy, now that was a dissapointment. The big let down. The city was practically a ghost town. Then we went to Calle Ocho which supposedly was the heart of Little Havana. No argument about that, the place was definitely Cuban but I expected more alley than asphalt. If Calle Ocho was the heart of Little Havana then Cubans-in-Exile have very cold hearts indeed. The place was desolate and I didn't feel any warmth that I had expected something Cuban. I felt like I'm in Chino instead of Miami. But luckily, the fabled restaurant Versailles was as good as everyone said it would be. Though if they could change the décor from Chinese Resto chic to something Latin, that would be great!

I guess it's a combination of things, but nothing seemed to go right in Miami. Another dissapointment was our hotel, the Parisian. Well, I guess we got what we paid for? A hundred bucks for a bathroom with a hole in the wall, carpeting that looked like it has witnessed the last five presidents, pillows that was hardly were thick enough for a cihuahua to lay on, and the ultimate extra: blonde hair on the sheet.

Luckily Lincoln Street Mall saved the day from a total dissapointment. Later that night we decided to walk around. At first we planned to go to Ocean Drive but I don't know why but that place kinda put us off. So we ended up going to Lincoln Street, a 5-block open-space, pedestrian mall with Isamu Noguchi concrete & water artworks all over it. Me gusta mucho. And the crowd was nice too, what I expected from Miami. I guess this is where the real Miamians hang? I still need to verify that... hehehe, I need to amped up my Miami connections.

Berkeley Springs, West Virginia

2006-06-28T15:39:00.000-04:00

Agus - I think - first came up with the idea of going to Berkeley Springs for a spa day. LOL. Agus.... of all people, I never would've expected that.

So there we went to this little town known as the budget-friendly spa resort in the DC area. I was expecting onsen-style hot springs, where we all would sit in a pool of fresh hot water in the mountains. But turns out that it was more like a dip in the bath tub. They did channel the water fresh from the hot springs though and value wise that was a pretty good deal for a massage and hot soak. But will I come back? Hmm... we'll see.

Regardless of the actual spa experience though, it was a nice weekend with the guys (and girls too). We played ping pong until 2 in the morning when someone who doesn't eat much (but often) squeaked, "I'm hungry." *grin* Don't hit me Pat... I was talking about Nia... hehehe and if by any chance Nia is reading this blog too, just replace your name with Patrice's okay? So there were we, Benny, Nia, Patrice, and me in my car plus Andrew, Agus, Devmann, and Hadi in Henry's car. Where did we go? Where else but the dependable Golden Arch? Trans fat at the break of dawn under flourescent lights at the parking lot. Nothing could beat that surely?

DC by Night

2006-06-18T14:52:00.000-04:00

We were walking back from the Alexandria Waterfront to our car. As we made the third U turn in Old Town trying to get on the Interstate, we were debating on what to do next. I blurted out the idea of going to the Lincoln Memorial to take same pictures and get fascinated by the luminous alabaster monuments. Who knew the guys would be up for it? So there we went, the Lincoln Memorial at 11PM.

It was a really nice night, clear sky and the weather was not too hot. And I have always thought that these alabaster monuments look best at night when they're illuminated, rendering the "glowing" quality to them. The view of the shiny National Monument under the moon is very DC for me. When I move out of DC, that's gonna be one of the images that I will always associate the city with.

Now to close the post, I give you the Angels. This is what happened when you put in lack of sleep, exhaustion, and minor dehydration together with modelling aspirations.

Fireworks over Alexandria

2006-06-18T11:49:00.000-04:00

OK... it's about time that I start blogging again.

Here's one of the fireworks we saw in Alexandria on June 17, 2006. Wei-zhe's friends told us about it so we went there. And up to this day, we have no idea what exactly was the fireworks about, hahaha. I asked to one of the shopkeepers and she knew about it in the vaguest way... something to do with celebrating a ship's arrival. Anybody knows about this event?

A Concerned Bigot

2006-05-10T14:51:00.000-04:00

"I took my daughters to your concert in Charlotte, NC last night and was very dissappointed in the show. The ticket said "ALL AGES". F & L and your band was very foul mouthed and anti-morals. Who do you think finances the sale of CDs and Tickets, Hello - Parents... Charlotte is not the demoralized city that liberal San Fransico and other cities across the North and West are. I am going to contact the local and national news media, and the arenas that you are touring in the future and do my best to be a thorn in your side. I had looked forward to this concert with my girls for months. I didnt spend over $200.00 for tickets, gas, food, and unforturnately shirts that I purchased for them before the concerts, for you to give your own personal political testimony, cursing anyone who disagreed. This was a concert, not some liberal homosexual rally. I predict that you have lost a lot of financial support in the last 24 hours. I am not the only parent with morals that had children at this concert. That what is so upsetting - your band's biggest audience is CHILDREN 10 and up. Your responsibility was to sing your songs. The music wasnt that bad, but when you opened your mouth to talk, you blew it. Here's to your band being just another "Spice Girls" looking back and remembering the good times and 15 minutes of fame, because you underated who pays your bills. By the way, my children will not be a part of your sick idea of family."

That was a letter written by a concerned mother to the record label of the Fall-Out Boy. If you're curious as what the band's response is, check out the May third entry of their online journal.

What exactly did they do to provoke this response? Uhmm... nothing really. Well granted with the bad words, the Fall-Out Boy was totally at fault, but a liberal homosexual rally? anti-moral? So here is what the band's frontman, Pete Wentz said right after they performed in Charlotte, North Carolina:

"The only thing I said in Charlotte was, 'You can leave this show and say, "I think this guy is an arrogant jerk," or think "This band is better than this one," because these are your opinions. The only thing we consider unacceptable is for you to engage in sexist, racist or homophobic behaviour. If you do, we don't want you as a fan. Return our merch and leave.'"

Well, I don't think the FOB lost their financial backing within 24 hours after Mother Bigot sent her letter. If anything, the foursome's career couldn't be hotter than they are at the moment with two million copies of their latest album sold and another couple millions of the second single from the album. As for comparing them with the Spice Girls, I don't think it's an insult when you're a mainstream pop musician. Let's talk numbers: 55 million records sold, biggest-selling debut single ever, and highest entry on the Billboard chart by a British band, beating the previous record held by the Beatles.

By now you might think that I'm a Fall-Out Boy fan. I'm not though, I only like their last single, "Dance, dance," and even then I still think their live performance is horrible (Exhibit A: MTV 2005 VMA). But I still think it's a pretty interesting story. What's more interesting is that I got this off the BBC instead of an American news outlet.

Septocaine for the Sinuses

2006-05-10T09:34:00.000-04:00

Yea, just got back from the dentist again for yet another filling. This time though, I couldn't get enough of the anesthesia, LOL. It's going to be 72F today and that means pollen galore in the atmosphere. I woke up sneezing and sniffling, and that was exactly how I was when I sat on the chair at the dentist. Before she gave me those numbing shots, she warned me "you might feel that your upper lip and nose are bigger and your nose dry." I was like, "hmmm... that would be nice thank you." And it was! Within minutes after the clear liquid was administered — I have to say though that it felt like she jabbed that syringe up to my nose from my gum — my sinuses suddenly became clear and I could breath normally. Definitely need to find a way to procure Septocaine for emergencies, ^_^

Though now, I'm crashing down hard as the anesthetic effect subsides. The throbbing pain caused by trauma to my gum starts to manifest and I'm in dire need of some antihistamine.

de la Hoya vs. Mayorga

2006-05-07T01:25:00.000-04:00

It's one o'clock in the morning and I just got back from DC. Devmann, Hadi, and I went to Republic Gardens on U Street to watch the fight between Ricardo Mayorga and Oscar de la Hoya. This is the first time I went to see a boxing match at a bar. As a matter of fact, I think this is the first time I actually saw a full-length boxing match. Dev is so into boxing at the moment, naturally he nagged on everybody to go with him to see this game, i mean match, fight, whatever.

Round one... de la Hoya managed to throw in enough punch to knock Mayorga off his feet. Round two... seems like both were taking a break. Round three... Mayorga started to get anxious and pretty much threw random punches at all directions. Round four... it was getting more and more obvious that de la Hoya belong in a different league. Round five... de la Hoya cornered Mayorga and kept punching at him while Mayorga was just too out of it to block any of them. The referee separated them and recentered the fighters. De la Hoya immediately started to throw jabs and uppercuts at Mayorga while the titleholder tried to evade the punches to no avail. Mayorga was cornered once again, and this time he was virtually at the mercy of the Golden Boy who was relentless in throwing one straight jab after another. The referee stopped the fight and declared de la Hoya as the winner. The crowd at both MGM Grand and Republic Gardens cheered.

Yap, the whole thing ended in five rounds, which means nineteen minutes! That also means Dev and I spent way more time walking around the neighborhood waiting for the bar to open. LOL. Well, I wasn't dissapointed though, that was one good match. I'm actually surprised that I enjoyed it so much.

Caffeine Rumble

2006-05-05T07:50:00.000-04:00

Juan Valdez Café, a coffeeshop chain from Colombia entered the US market this year, opening outlets in Seattle, New York, and DC. How did the District managed to be considered as one of the US' java hotspots, no one would ever knew.

I went to the Chinatown outlet last week when my soon-to-be brother-in-law came to town. It's still too early to tell if they would be able to compete with Starbucks across and the Minneapolis-based Caribou Coffee that's gaining ground here in DC. It's a good thing that Juan Valdez offers something different, while Starbucks' design is more like library-meets-European cafe and Caribou's is winter-cabin-cosiness, Juan Valdez' is very modern and minimalist. It could very well be a cafe in a contemporary arts museum. Me? I adore minimalism, steel, bright colors and clean lines, so the interior is totally working for me. That Colombian farmer logo is quite chic as well, a bit kitschy but still in the realms of modernism.

Now let's talk about what matters: the beverages. I like Starbucks because they're espresso drinks are good, real good. If they were served in ceramic cups, they'd be just as good as any Parisian cafe's. But what they lack is variety. Yeah, they've been trying to come up with new flavors and endless list of frappuccinos but to be honest all their novelty drinks kinda suck. Almost always they'd be too sweet. That's why I opt for Caribou for non-espresso beverages such as Arctic Mochas and Turtle this and that. Sadly, Caribou's espresso drinks are a bit bland. They kinda taste like those made by the no-name coffee stalls at most American airports. They're passable but definitely not worth $3.75. I had a Cappuccino and Otto had a frozen drink made from coffee, milk, and fruits. Yap, fruits. I cringed when they explained what was in it. Otto settled on the mango one and he ended up not liking it. I tried it and I think that was the best new coffee drink I've ever tried. Definitely better than that overrated green tea frapp at Starbucks. My Cappuccino was good, not superb but way better than passable. It's still a tad less strong that Starbucks but I'll settle for JV because the location was just better :) Well, I sure hope Juan can eat up a bit of Starbucks' market share because we definitely have too much green mermaid signs here in downtown DC.

Jolt Your Day

2006-05-05T07:49:00.000-04:00

I read about this beverage a few weeks ago but I never seemed to see it at the stores so I kinda forgot about it. That is until yesterday when I saw it at the CVS near my office as I was looking for some antihistamine. The latter task ended up in a disaster because I finally chose Benadryl and it totally wiped me out. I was so close to just sprawl on the floor and take a nap. Naturally I did what every caffeine junkie in the world would, get some caff! I was already on my second cup of coffee and with my distorted sense of logic, I decided to get something equally stimulating yet not coffee. So what did I get? Yes, Coke blak of course. It has tons of sugar, carbonation to tickle my throat silly, caffeine, and coffee which means even more caffeine! It's like the ultimate anti-sedative!

So far so good... but let's talk about the taste. Hmm... the taste of both coffee and coke are there, but a marriage doesn't always work no matter how good both parties are. Especially if there's a third party called caramel. Coke blak pretty much tastes like regular coke, with more caramel and a hint of coffee acidity. It was OK (interesting, in fact) in the first few sips but by the time I got to 3/4 bottle point it started to make me sick. It's a good thing it comes in smaller bottles than regular coke because I sure won't be able to gulp 500ml of that thing.

The verdict? A good option if you need something to jolt you up but better prepare a glass of water to neutralize your palate, which you will want to do when you finish a bottle of coca noir.

Author Pramoedya Ananta Toer Dies

2006-05-02T11:31:00.000-04:00

The writer most famous internationally for his Buru Quartet, a tetralogy chronicling the rise of Indonesian nationalism against Dutch colonialism, died last night at the age of 81. The perennial Noble prize nominee had been hospitalized since Thursday for heart problems.

It is such an irony that someone that should be invaluable as a cultural asset to a young country never got the government recognition he deserves. Even to this day some of his works are still blacklisted in Indonesia while internationally he has received multiple awards such as the Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres from France and the PEN Freedom to Write award. The Buru Quartet has been translated into more than 40 languages in 40 countries. These foreign-earned royalties are his main income in that the past few years.

Probably the only reason he never got the Noble prize is because he hadn't released anything in the past decade plus the unfavorable opinion of the Noble Prize Committee towards the Indonesian government.

New Service at the Metro

2006-04-26T09:07:00.000-04:00

So people have always said about how inconsiderate other people are when they are taking phone calls in the metro, in the train that you can actually hear their conversation. I've never found it to be so. Nope, not because I do that (I have T-Mobile so my chances of getting phone calls while underground practically none) but because it's just not that annoying. I mean it's pretty much the same as sitting behind two people who are talking with each other.

But this morning, I finally understood what they're talking about. It was a quiet train. The seats were full but no one was standing. My seat faces the center area of the train and I'm sitting next to this lady in moss green power suit. Everybody was busy with their own thing, some stares at the door, others read express, and some others were sleeping. I picked up a sudden movement from my right out of the corner of my eye and within miliseconds a cell phone ring. It RANG, not one of those ringtones but it really RANG like a rotary phone on steroid. Everyone tensed up for a second, but nobody looked for the source. Then she flipped open her razor, and yelled "HELLO!" I must've either jumped in my seat or winced in pain from the high frequency soundwave attacking my ear, or both. It wasn't just me apparently, everybody within my sight jumped and looked at us for a few seconds. Then quiet. I thought she felt bad and quieted down so much that I even I couldn't hear what she was saying. As I was trying to get back into my reading, suddenly "NO, NO, THAT'S OKAY. I'M MEETING HIM LATER ANYWAY..." My God! Doesn't she know that those microphones on cell phones are sensitive enough that you can whisper and still be heard on the other side?

Later I was thinking, hmmm perhaps she has trouble hearing? or the reception was bad? But when she finished the call, she just flipped close the phone and that's it. No apology or anything to the people around her. I think at least she should say sorry to the guy sitting right in front of her, in her line of speech. As one of my friend said to another rude lady we met when we were at Ocean City. "Apparently wisdom doesn't come with age."

I (HEART) DC

2006-04-21T15:54:00.000-04:00

Could life get any better than this? Pardon me, that was the sugar high plus caffeine-infused adrenaline talking. But moments like this make me love the District so damn much!

Two days ago marked the first day of the annual DC International Film Festival and obviously on the day of the press release I spent a couple hours making a tight-fit schedule to catch as much international films as I can within the two-week period. By the end of the day my cinephile friends already got a copy of my schedule ^_^ The big theme this year is Brazilian New Cinema and the Hip-Hop Culture. I don't care much about the latter, but south American cinema has always fascinated me for its somber yet beautiful take on life.

I went to see the first movie on my list, Tapas . It was great, a good example of why I love European films. They're so good at depicting the beautiful life without romanticizing or glamorizing it like most Hollywood films would. The film was about five different but interlocking love stories in a Barcelone neighborhood.

And then today came an even bigger news. Well, actually it's not new had I been checking my mailing list subscriptions. My friend just told me that there's an Indonesian Film Series at the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery at the Smithsonian! The series is titled Growing Up: Three Indonesian Directors, it features arguably three of the most productive and prolific young Indonesian directors at the moment. No, no, of course Garin Nugroho is not on the list, he's on a league of his own now. The directors are Riri Riza, Rudy Soedjarwo, and Hanung Bramantyo. Well, among the three, Hanung is definitely the dark horse here, some thinks his films are just highschool productions put on tape but I think he got talent. Yes, his films are a bit crude, but in that roughness the essence of the story shines. Rudy Soedjarwo on the other hand, has often been quoted as the one who single-handedly revived the Indonesian film industry with his blockbuster, "Ada Apa Dengan Cinta?" Meanwhile, Riri is the arty director with amazing range having directed the first Indonesian kids blockbuster in decades "Petualangan Sherina" to festival darling around the global asian film festival circuit "Eliana, Eliana."

Times like this I truly cherish living in this small yet diverse metropolitan area. I sure hope many people would discover that there is more to Indonesia than the beaches and Muslim extremists.

Isn't Racism a Sin?

2006-04-18T22:44:00.000-04:00

I went to church last Sunday. It was Easter. I went to the National Shrine — the moorish basilica adjacent to CUA. Well, let's just say, I've definitely been to better masses.

First, the guy who lead the hymns (sorry, I have no clue what the English word for that), was completely unclear. It really didn't help that they kinda pick their own songs instead of using the one on our booklets. To add to that, the organist seem to be of the acid jazz school of music. The music seemed to go on a different path from the song. Sometime they did meet, but not often. It was an uneventful mass with pretty much all the attendance flipped their booklets furiously to look for the song.

Also, the mass featured this pastor from Seoul. I guess it's a we-are-the-world thing, we're all together and let peace reigns, etc. The final prayers were about the wars. It is indeed understandable that a Korean would have a Korean accent, but when you add that to the confusing music, that's just the recipe for one mindboggling mass. I think the crying babies were more interesting than the actual mass.

Oops, I lied. There was one thing at the mass that really made my eyes popped. When I came in, the seats in front of me were empty except for this lady at the right end. I just find it annoying that some people are so selfish that they want to sit the nearest to the exit thus forcing people to do gymanastics just to get to the center seats. Anyway, so this old, wait, I don't know how old she was so I should say, this old-looking lady was sitting at her end when this black family came. It was the mother and the teenage daughter and son. The father came later. The usher told them to sit at the row where that old-looking lady was sitting and so they did. First the mother went in, then the daughter, and as soon as the boy sat right next to the old-looking lady, she suddenly bolted.

I know, I know, her leaving might have nothing to do with them. Oh, she's white by the way. And, that's what I told myself, give her the benefit of the doubt. So I watched where she went... which is another seat at another row that were more anglo-saxon than afro-american. My jaw might have dropped if I wasn't too busy trying to keep up with the experimental detours the organ was taking the psalms. Hmmm... I guess the mass was interesting after all.

Bearded Comeback

2006-04-13T10:04:00.000-04:00

Four years after his last release Daylight, Duncan Sheik returns with his 2006 release White Limousine. Yeah, I'm also wondering how did he manage to find record labels to keep releasing his albums? This is his fifth already! Don't get me wrong, I'm a fan. I think he's a great musician. I totally adore his music. But it seems that I'm only one of a handful of people around the country that thinks that way because after the massive heartfelt hit that is Barely Breathing, he never made any headlines. But I suppose his sold-out tours paid for the bills. Well, in any case, I'm grateful talented people like him still exist in the American music scene.

Anyway, with this release, he did something interesting. The album comes with two discs. The second disc is a DVD-ROM with all the layers of sounds used to create every song in the album, thus enabling the buyers to create their own mix of the songs from White Limousine. And then, you DJ's can upload your mixes to limoremix.com, a website set up to feature all the fan-made remixes. I am totally hooked to this dance remix of the song Hey Casanova by Nathan Schoensigel.

Azúcar!

2006-04-12T13:37:00.000-04:00

I don't know what came over me, but when I got to the front of the line at my local Starbucks, I said "Grande Raspberry Green Tea Frappuccino." As anybody who knows me well could testify, I'm really not big on frapps. I think the only frappuccino-like beverage I drink is Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf's Original Ice Blended. As soon as the girl taking my order yelled "Grande Raspberry Green Tea Frappuccino," I heard my mind telling me that I am so gonna regret this. I even ordered Grande! I never ordered grande! That's it, I must've been hypnotized by the chalk drawing on the blackboard menu.

Finally I got the drink, and I took the first sip. Okay, if I wanted to have green sugar water topped with whipped cream and raspberry jam, I would've said, "Green sweetwater with whip and raspberry!" I could just feel my insulin level spike as I sipped 16 ounces of overpriced water with sugar with green coloring. Luckily, towards the end it got better. After I finished the green tea frapp part, I gulped some water and started snacking on the whipped cream with raspberry syrup. Now that was good. Still diabetes-inducing, but definitely tasted better.

The moral: coffee good, anything else bad.

9 RZNS 2 ♥ MSP

2006-04-10T14:19:00.000-04:00

Most people might think of Minneapolis - St. Paul as this little city up north where people talk like the characters on Fargo. Oh wait, actually most people probably don't even know about Minneapolis nor St. Paul, the twin cities straddling the Mississippi up north in southeast Minnesota. Which is amazing really, considering how much Minneapolis have contributed to the United States and the world to some extent.

This medium-size metropolitans (9 miles from each other, downtown-to-downtown) is where that piece of thin plastic with glue on one side is invented. Yes, Minneapolis is the home of 3M, it still is. Two major US retailers Target and Best Buy also hail from the state who elected a pro-wrestler as their governer long before the term governator existed. Caribou Coffee, General Mills, Northwest Airlines... they all part of the 16 Fortune 500 Companies that are headquartered here where pop means soft drink.

Economy issues aside, Minnesota Nice is more than just a saying. In both the negative and positive sides of it, Minnesota really is nice. Well, obviously I'm talking about everything but the weather. Just like every where else, some people are good, some are don't, but in Minnesota (and even in the big city like Minneapolis), they are all nice.

As for the supposedly provincial attitude... while it's not totally unfounded, Minneapolites are anything but hillbilly. Minnesota is actually a very liberal state and Minneapolis is just as metropolitan as Chicago, if not better in some ways. One only needs to hang at Edina or Uptown to see how diverse the city could be, from the lady-who-lunch set to the bohemian, pot-smoking, starving artists, and everyone in between, we got them all here. Well, granted we might be missing the fashion forward clique, but one can't have it all, can he? If anything that's actually a plus since you don't have to work too hard to be posh.

Well, I might be biased since there were so many firsts for me here. The first time I lived on my own, first actual grocery shopping, first bills, first house parties, etc. etc. But anyway, it is a blog, so I guess it is supposed to be subjective. So here the eight reasons why I love the twin cities.

8. Smart Traffic Lights
Some time ago I posted an article from Popular Science about their ranking of US cities. Even in their editorial, they noted their own disbelief to have their computers producing Minneapolis as the top tech city after all the data tallied. Every driver in the world is familiar with that frustration you got when you're waiting for the light to turn green at a deserted intersection where you are the only car. Well, I guess Minneapolis drivers are the exception because most of the traffic lights here are smarter than your average lightbox. They have sensors that compensate with the traffic. Therefore, if they see you approaching the red light while no cars are visible on the crossing road, the light will turn green and you just keep rolling.

7. Target
Who doesn't love Target? Yes, it's basically another discount retailer albeit swankier and slightly more expensive. But I think the added value does worth the cost. Target, on the contrary to the urban legend, is not French. It's one of Minneapolis' contributions to the world of upmarket discount retailing. Which other discount retailer could say that their designers do runway shows in Paris, Milan, and New York? From Michael Graves to Sonia Kashuk to the latest member, Luella Bartley, Target introduces style to the common American household.

6. Lake Calhoun
New York has Central Park, San Francisco has the Palisades, Minneapolis has Lake Calhoun. Rankings done by health magazines in recent years have consistently put Minneapolis in the top 10, even though winter lasts for a good 6 months here. When you go to Lake Calhoun at any given sunny day (I don't think temperature matters much, it's the sunray index that matters it seems), you'll see yuppies, couples, moms and dads with their child, pretty much the cross section of the city's healthy elite is here. Either kayaking, skating, jogging, power-walking, rollerblading, or biking along the 3.2-mile path encircling the lake. If your kind of chick or guy is one that hangs at Jamba Juice, do 5K's for fun, and can handle subzero climate then this is where you'll most likely to find your soulmate. Actually it feels like Santa Monica au naturel, sans steroid.

5. Rwa Mit
The first question I asked the waiter whenever I'm at a Thai restaurant is, "Do you have pha ram long song?" 9 out of 10, I'll get a no for an answer. And among that 10% that said yes usually shows up with a plate of weird looking spinach with watery peanut soup. It is only at Rwa Mit, the only place where the peanut sauce consistency is just right, with enough spiciness to tickle my taste buds and sweet enough to soothe it. The spinach is boiled and strained properly to avoid adding water to the sauce while the tofu are crunchy on the outside but silky soft on the inside. If that doesn't water your mouth, I don't know what will.

4. Uptown Minneapolis
The bohemian enclave. A playlist from a random passerby's ipod would yield the likes of The Jets, Jack Johnson, Arctic Monkeys, Relient K, and Death Cab for Cutie plus some world/lounge dj mixes. A haven for the vintage-meets-urban-outfitters crowd, uptown is definitely where I'd live if I ever move back to Minneapolis. The cafe-lined streets, great vintage shopping, a huge second-hand cd store, an art cinema, and most importantly the interesting mix of crowd walking up and down the road. On Hennepin & Lake, it's not surprising to see sterling pierced goths and punks standing beside a nuala-clad long-limbed yogi in front of the MAC store waiting to cross the street.

3. KCLD & KDWB
KCLD is actually St. Cloud's radio station — a city 70 miles northwest of the twin cities but if you're driving an SUV, you'll be able to get the signal. Don't ask me why, but I've tested this on a half-dozen SUV's and a dozen cars. KDWB is your regular "hit music station" radio of Minneapolis. I don't think anybody would ever expect Minnesota radios to be so current, but I don't think there's any other adjective that would best describe these radio stations. I'm not a big fan of American radios because their playlist tend to stay the same for the longest period of time. You can record a couple of hours worth of radio, replay it, and you'll pretty much get the same had you turned on the radio. But on KCLD, songs would be top requests way before Washington, New York, or LA has even heard about it. Everytime I come to Minnesota I always found a song playing constantly on KCLD only to find out the same song finally get airplay a full month later in DC. This time it's "Where'd You Go" by Fort Minor featuring Holly Brook and Jonah Matranga.

2. Café Latte
The best American cheesecake ever. Period. Oh and the fact that it opens late with plenty of seatings doesn't hurt either.

1. Kiana Tardia
The recently-turned-one member of the big family. Twenty-four pounds (it sure felt more) of pure cuteness sprinkled with a healthy dose of energetic prowess, my youngest (well, she's my only really) niece is probably the most alert baby I've ever seen. Yeah, especially when you're just as adverse to little kids as me, family ties really does matter. LOL. I don't think I'll make a fool out of myself for any other baby. But really though, some babies are cool, some are shy, but some are like Kiana... curious, always looking at things with super intensity. :) Love ya little devil ! 'Met ulang taon yah!! Baek-baek ama papah mamah.

Playboy Indonesia Launch

2006-04-07T14:42:00.000-04:00

This Friday (yesterday in local Indonesia time), Asia's second edition of Playboy was launched with Andhara Early, a covergirl-turned-presenter, on its cover. This is one of only two Asian editions of the adult men's magazine ever since the Turkish edition was closed down. What makes it interesting is that Indonesia is the country with the most Muslim population (the country itself is secular) and thus this is the only Playboy in the world that will not have any nudity content. The magazine featured Pramoedya Ananta Toer, the world-known Indonesian auteur, the progress of East Timor post-independence, and of course scantily-clad beautiful women. Well what do you expect, it is still a men's magazine and all of the other adult men's magazine in Indonesia do publish sexy pictures albeit non-nude. One interesting side-effect was that some readers already complained about the lack of nudity saying that they actually felt cheated since the magazine didn't really give them what they had expected.

Obviously, the news of Hugh Hefner's publication entering this archipelago was met with numerous demonstrations and protests by the Islamic hardliners and extremists, plus conservative politicians & celebrities. To be honest, I'm not so sure about the latter part, they seem to think that rejecting Playboy would elevate their moral status. But the real truth is, most Indonesians could hardly care about the whole thing. One thing that's very characteristic of Indonesians is the "live and let live" principle that everybody holds on to. It's true that lately extremists seem to be very vocal, but they are the fringes of society, most Indonesians are moderate in their actions. And an adult magazine is hardly newsworthy with FHM and Maxim already in publication plus the countless hardcore porn dvd and magazines in circulation.

In less than 24 hours of publication, the leader of the Anti Piracy and Pornography Society already filed a lawsuit against the editors and the two models (not nude, mind you) of the magazine citing indecent photographs that they considered pornographic in nature. Another radical Islamic group, the Islamic Defenders Front, seemed to be unfazed by the fact that Playboy Indonesia had been true to its words that they will publish a magazine with journalistic content and no nudity. In what can only be classified as aggresively whining, a spokeman of the group, Tubagus Muhamad Sidik said, "The first edition might be tame, but it will get more vulgar." He also added another mindboggling statement, "Even if it had no pictures of women in it, we would still protest it because of the name." (Feel free to re-read the last sentence a few times, but what you have just read was not mistyped and no negation was missed) One Muslim leader even went further by saying that the magazine posed more threat to Indonesia than terrorism from al-Qaeda-linked militants.

At first glance, all these news might make Indonesia looked like a country run by a bunch of prude, conservative, hardline Islamic militants. But that can't be farther from the truth. Amazed is too weak of a word to express what I'm feeling as I read the ongoing news about all this hullabaloo. Yes, there are some people making protests, slapping lawsuits, taking the streets, making threats, but there has been no violence, no illegal actions by the authorities, and the media has been quite balanced in reporting people's opinion from the Mujaheedins to our very own Playboy Spain model, Tiara Lestari. In fact, the way our nation (meaning both the people and the country) is reacting to this is very democratic indeed. Everybody can voice their opinion and at the end it is the law that holds the supreme power.

The Indonesian press is arguably one of the most free in the world. Especially since the end of Soeharto's New Order where the government frequently arrested journalists and closed down publications due to what they deemed to be subversive materials. The current reformed Indonesian government seem to value free speech as one of the country's valuable assets. The past few years have seen the proliferation of the mass media market, dozens of new magazines are published every year. It is thus a relief that the government nor the authority is not taking any actions against Playboy Indonesia because they don't violate any existing law. Just seven years ago, this wouldn't mean anything and the government could just closed down the magazine or put the editors in jail with whatever reason they could come up with.

Well, all this seem to bode well for my country in its path towards a better law-conscious, secular, modern democracy. But we're definitely not clear of the woods just yet. An anti pornography and pornoaction law is being drafted by the parliament (with much controversy since who will draw the line between decency and indecency) and the Islamic Defender Front have given Plaboy Indonesia seven days to withdraw the magazines from the shelves before they do it forcefully. We'll just have to wait & see and hope that better minds will prevail.

A shower a day keeps AIDS at bay

2006-04-05T10:59:00.000-04:00

It's amazing that South African Jacob Zuma, ex-Deputy President and possible presidential candidate, manages to retain his popularity amid the rape accusation and that unbelievably idiotic remark about protecting oneself against HIV.

As mentioned on BBC News, Mr. Zuma denied rape but admitted to consensual sex. At his cross-questioning, he also testified that he did not use a condom during the encounter despite the knowledge of the woman's HIV-positive status. He added that he left his bedroom after the sexual encounter to have a shower because this "would minimize the risk of contracting the virus [HIV]."

lethargic

2006-04-04T15:44:00.000-04:00

Main Entry: le·thar·gic
Function: adjective
1: of, relating to, or characterized by lethargy : SLUGGISH
2: INDIFFERENT, APATHETIC

LOL, it's sadly ironic actually. I've finally found a use for that fancy word previously used by me only in aptitude tests. Can't really find what's wrong with me but it's been some time now since I got back from Indonesia. Yeah, lethargic is definitely what I'm feeling, I can't seem to muster enough motivation to do anything. It's definitely not from the lack of things to do since I got projects lined up til the end of the year with the weddings, find a better job, eating healthier (since apparently I'm obese!), etc. etc. I can't even finish that 5-part blog entry about the vacation! Perhaps it's just a case of a quarter-life crisis that got postponed due to my vacation in January.

Well, at least there's one thing that I managed to keep up with. I've managed to go regularly to the gym and keep up with the yoga class. Hahaha, perhaps I can join in Benny and Devmann with their six-pack-by-summer bet (^_^)\/ and maybe instant self-gratification is just what the doctor prescribed!

Kau Jadi Milikku

2006-04-03T10:33:00.000-04:00

I'm so hooked to this song by Reza which actually is not very new. It's taken from her most recent album "Keyakinan," which was released two years ago before the whole reza-is-missing > adjie-is-under-investigation > reza-is-in-treatment > adjie-sues-for-custody > they-file-for-divorce scandal broke. It's too bad this song was never released as single to the radios, cause it is such a great song! This is the first Indonesian dance/club song that I really like. And it just shows that she definitely has one of the best voices in the Indonesian music scene.

Kau Jadi Milikku
(Meski 'Tuk Sementara)

sekian lama kubersama, menjalin asmara dengan dia
jenuh kini menghampiri, seolah ingin kuteriak
akhirnya kutemukan suasana yang berbeda
seketika kutergoda ingin memiliki pesona dirinya

dan kini kurasakan ketaran itu kian mendekati
hingga kuterlena, sejenak lupakan
kekasihku yang setia mengharap diriku

kau jadi milikku, di hari ini
meski hanya tuk sementara
esok harinya kita berpisah
dan melupakan segalanya

You Become Mine
(Even Though It's Temporary)

for so long i was with him
now boredom is here, it's as if i want to scream
i finally found something different
at once i'm tempted to surrender in his charm

and now i feel the beat is getting closer
so much so that for a moment i forgot
about my lover who is faithfully waiting for me

today you become mine
even though it's just temporary
tomorrow we'll go our own ways
and forget about everything

I should get a whole new set of teeth

2006-04-03T10:26:00.000-04:00

I think by the end of this year, I'm going to be addicted to the painkiller dentists used (septocaine if I'm not mistaken). For some reason my dentist always put on liberal amount of that numbing substance when she does my fillings. Like this morning, I had the fillings at 8 in the morning and it's 1030 now. My left cheek still feels like it's the size of my head while my the jaw area felt like somebody had just rammed a hammer into it. So it's numb where I don't need to be (the cheek, the outer skin of my left jaw), but utterly sore where I wish it be numb (the left jaw). I guess I'll just spend the day snapping at people to alleviate the pain.

The Next Taboo from Nia Dinata

2006-03-20T15:48:00.000-05:00

What would one of Indonesia's most promising directors do when there are no taboos left in our culture to exploit? This weekend will see the premiere of Nia Dinata's latest film, Berbagi Suami (Sharing a Husband). This time Nia tackles the issue of poligamy, commonly practiced but often ignored.

The story follows the life of three women from different backgrounds culturally, socially, and economically but shared a similar life, having to share their respective husbands. Salma (Jajang C. Noer) was an ob-gyn struggling to keep her marriage afloat as her husband married another woman, a younger woman. Meanwhile Siti (Shanty) came to Jakarta from a little Javanese village for a better life. She lived in a small house with a family acquaintance who already had two wives and turned out to be interested in making Siti his third. A young woman of Chinese descent, Ming, has a different story. Everybody acknowledges the beauty that waits tables at Koh Abun's roast duck place, including Koh Abun himself, the owner. Even though the restaurant owner was old enough to be Ming's father, she accepted his proposal for the "security" he offered. But later on when her boyfriend became a movie director and offered her a starring role, she began to realize her own potential and desire of freedom. Neither Salma, Siti, nor Ming known each other nor ever met each other but in Jakarta's crowded public space they never realized that they're sharing the same problem.

The French co-produced movie is arguably Indonesia's first film to put poligamy in the spotlight. But coming from Nia, it is hardly eye-popping. Actually, the Indonesian public expects something controversial if Nia's name is on the billboard. Her last two feature films were about a concubine (Ca Bau Kan) and homosexuality (arisan!). Both were met with acclaim critically and by the public which was phenomenal especially with arisan! considering homosexuality's place in modern Indonesian society.

To Pay the Mortgage

2006-03-20T15:44:00.000-05:00

If People Magazine has a poll on celebrity you most likely to love/hate, Aaron Eckhart would definitely win by a landslide. Well, him or at least his portrayal of Nick Naylor, the lobbyist for the big tobacco industry — the main pro-/antagonist from Jason Reitman's ensemble satire, the cheekily-titled Thank You for Smoking.

TYFS follows the story of Nick Naylor as he juggles co-parenthood of his son with his ex-wife while working as Big Tobacco's lobbyist. The movie was ninety minutes of 100% pure satire meaning nothing in it was not hilarious while taking a jab on society and a mean hook from time to time. Aaron Eckhart managed to carry off the persona of someone you'd easily love one second and want to kill the next, but even while you're plotting his murder you won't be able to help being amazed at how ingenious he is.

Mr. Eckhart might have a been a dead-on perfect casting decision, but he was not the only one. The cast harnesses the combined acting pool of TV series, past decades of movies, and theater. From Rob Lowe's kimono to Katie Holmes' tits (glorious tits, to quote one of the characters), it was as if the movie was half-done based on just the castings. And it was based on a novel, so it's not like the story's not done yet. The screenplay could've been a piece of junk and the movie would've still be passable. Luckily, that wasn't the case. Most satires have a bitter aftertaste, but I left the theater with a chuckle.

Remember, remember...

2006-03-20T15:36:00.000-05:00

...the fifth of November. Well, it would've been easier to remember had gradeschoolers around the world learned about Guy Fawkes, the Roman Catholic Brit who tried to blow up the Parliament but later caught and hanged before the plan was carried out. He was a well-known figure in the UK and most citizens of the British Commonwealth have heard of him, but the average American sure has not. That's why it is quite phenomenal for the comic-based flick to open at number one with a little bit over $26 million over the weekend. The timing is not the best one either (or it actually is?), but there's nothing like controversy to catch people's attention. The protagonist of the film, V, is in fact a terrorist albeit he's more in the camp of Robin Hood than Osama bin Laden.

V for Vendetta opens with Evey (Natalie Portman) at the hands of the fingermen — state-sanctioned watchers who caught her for being outside when curfew was already in effect. As Evey was helplessly struggling to break free, V came to the rescue, billowing cape and all. Thus begins the uneasy yet dependent relationship between the two.

There was no single frame in the film that wasn't amazingly cool: from the swashbuckling action to the near-futuristic london to Portman's bald head. Granted the story was a bit verbose for lack of better words. To its defense though, V for Vendetta was not an action flick nor is it scifi. Well, perhaps it has some scifi and action element to it, but first and foremost it's a drama, a philosophical drama about the "power" of the people against a totalitarian regime. Fans of Orwell's 1984 would be hard-pressed to resist swooning over it. Fans of the Fast and the Furious, on the other hand, would be hard-pressed to keep their eyes open through the opening sequence.

Blockbustski Russki

2006-03-20T15:30:00.000-05:00

Russia's first blockbuster, Night Watch — or Ночной Дозор [Nochnoy Dozor] in its native tongue, finally opened stateside in February. Timur Bekmambetov's first installment of the dark-vs-light trilogy lured Russians to the theaters propelling the film-noir-inspired saga to the top of Russian Box Office with 464 million Rubles (US$16 million).

The movie opens with a short introduction to the mythological universe where the stories would take place. We then follow Anton Gorodetsky as he discovered his true identity and his adventures with the Night Watch keeping their eyes on the Dark Others.

One could argue that the plot is a bit loose and that Bekmambetov's slogan has got to be fashion follows function instead of the other way around. One can't be more right! It seems that every turn of plot in the story was designed to enhance the cinematic visual pleasure that is Night Watch.

Now, does that mean it was a bad B-movie flick? Definitely not! So the storyline could've been tighter but stunning cinematography coupled with the visual effects and jawdropping fight sequences made way up for it.

The only real downside to it was the blatant product tie-ins. After seeing the movie, no one could be blamed to think that Moscow is a Nokia-sponsored city. Perhaps in the future the Russians could learn from Hollywood that subtle product tie-ins work better than putting billboards on every cityview frame.

Las Cadenas de Shakira

2006-03-10T13:54:00.000-05:00

I think a team of researchers should study Shakira's hips. I'm very curious if she has an extra set of bones separating her hips from her upper body thus allowing the hips to move independently from the rest of her torso. That said though, those belly dancing movements don't seem to fit in place with the carnival theme of the video. It really didn't help that she had Wyclef Jean guest starring in the song bringing in some hip-hop which clashed even more with the already confusing middle-eastern carnival.

Don't get me wrong, I think the song is superb. I totally dig it. Plus, I'm a big fan of Shakira and those hips gyrations alone made the video watchable. But it's just a bit of a let down that such the combination of a great song, great performers, a great director (Sophie Muller), and great art direction sums up in such a chaos.

This is what I think the story was: A belly dancer well known for her unique ability of break dancing got kidnapped by a circus troupe which then forced her to be part of their show at the carnival. There, a Jamaican hip hop rapper was so enraptured by this Spanish-speaking hipshaker. They then proceeded to pay tribute to bollywood by chasing each other among pink tulle sheets. And at the grand finale everybody was out for Mardi Gras!

Sappy Ex-Officer Conquers the World

2006-03-07T23:46:00.000-05:00

How to sell shetloads of records in three simple steps: (1) Go to war (Street cred is essential) (2) Write sappy songs about an ex-girlfriend that you've lost (For guidance, check any Westlife song) (3) Strip naked while crying your hearts out in the middle of the rain for your first video (This is where those military-trained pecs and abs will come to use)

I don't usually check the Billboard Hot 100 Singles anymore other than just to find out who's number one. And even that is not very interesting anymore since the chart seems to be as dynamic as the Japanese Tea Ceremony. But today, when I took a quick check while expecting Beyoncé's not-quite-as-catchy-as-Dangerously-in-Love single to hold on to the top spot, I couldn't believe what I was seeing. James Blunt is actually at the top spot with two millions singles sold. That intrigued me to check the rest of the top 10 and there were even more surprises. Jamaican Sean Paul is at the third spot with his new single "Temperature," fellow Brit Natasha Bedingfield is at numéro ocho as she sells a million pieces of "Unwritten," and the most unbelievable surprise of them all is Cascada's "Everytime We Touch" at the last spot. I think I'm not the only one caught by surprise since the Billboard website itself doesn't have the single cover to go with the entry. Well, well, if this is the way things are going, yay for the American music industry!

Of course the rest of the chart are filled with the usuals, Beyoncé, Chris Brown, and Mary J Blige plus some more R&B crooners. But still... 2 Brit popsters, a Jamaican dancehaller, and a German trance group in the top 10? What next? A non-English song? Well, Macarena did happen...

Silently Beautiful

2006-03-07T23:29:00.000-05:00

One thing about DC that most people don't know about is that it has a sizable deaf population. Especially those of secondary education age. DC happens to host the only university in the world for the hearing-impaired, Gallaudet U. Obviously they take hearing students as well, but they'll need to be able to sign and understand ASL to follow the classes. I suppose that might be one of the reasons why the deaf population is quite large around here compared to other major cities in the States (or even the world for that matter).

As a self-declared armchair-linguist, I can't help staring at them signing... just like I can't help eavesdropping at people speaking in languages that I have no idea about. LOL, I hope I haven't offended anyone in the trains as I stared in fascination of the sign language.

Anyway, the main idea of the post is... tonight, in Chinatown, as I was having dinner, there were two groups of deaf kids. They're either highschool seniors or college freshmen. I suddenly came to a realization that for some reason, most of the deaf people I saw in DC were goodlooking and quite stylish as well. At least the ones that I saw looked like they could have come out from an H&M or Urban Outfitters catalog. Hmm... was it just my post-yoga hungry stomach playing tricks on me or does anyone notice it as well?

「ＶＡＬＥＮＴＩＮＥ」　ＴＨＥ　ＤＥＬＡＹＳ

2006-03-03T07:19:00.000-05:00

« oh, oh, oh, tell me
when did the water surround me?
and tell me, is that love in your eyes? »

Love Cupcake

2006-02-23T13:21:00.000-05:00

Once upon a time in the District, there was a young lawyer who quit his job as an attorney to pursue his real passion: « Baking cakes from scratch » His name was Warren Brown. Nineteen months later he opened his first bakery with cupcakes as its main feature. The baked goods shop's name was cakelove. Three weeks into the grand opening, word-of-mouth promotion elevated the tiny pattiserie into cultdom with people lining up to get their sugar fix.

Almost four years later, it has indeed become a dc institution just like Madam's Organ in ~~georgetown~~ Adams-Morgan though this one has much much more frosting on it. There are now two cakelove shops (the original one at U Street and a recently-opened one in the getting-hipper-by-the-minute area of downtown Silver Spring) and a cafe called lovecafé serving all cakelove gourmandises, light entrées and beverages.

The sit-in version of cakelove also proved to be successful. Located just across from the original cakelove bakery at DC's up-and-coming bohemian neighborhoods, U Street, lovecafé is the perfect spot to meet up with your friends (not too many though, because it's tiny) and relax among the vintage furniture strewn all across the rectangular eatery.

Obviously all the stories about its success made me a bit skeptical on how good it actually was. Now and then I heard people saying that their cupcake is actually not good at all. Most often people complained that they're dry and the frosting was hard. So when we went there after our brunch at Tabaq Bistro, I didn't really expect much.

I guess sometimes things are as good as they seemed (^_^) I got this Strawberry on Chocolate cupcake. It's basically chocolate cupcake (double-dipped in chocolate ganache, they said) with strawberries & cream frosting. Granted it was not exactly heavenly but I'd be lying if that wasn't the best cupcake I've tried. (And believe me, if you've lived in the States long enough, you'll eat tons of cupcakes since it seems to be the one thing everybody knows how to make, those baked sugary simple carb confections always make an appearance at potlucks.) The chocolate base was actually chocolate-y, not just sweet & brown like they normally would and the texture was heavier than most over-raised home-made cupcakes. The frosting was sweet (well, it was cream & sugar, it'd be a bit hard to make it not sweet) but I don't think it was too sweet, plus you can taste the strawberry instead of just tasting butter and sugar.

But... I guess cakelove will have to settle for mixed reviews instead of raves. Even though Octa & I loved it, Weize and Myra weren't too impressed. They think it was simply too sweet. Hmm... Octa & I are the sweeter of the bunch though... LOL j/k.

Ultimate Psych-Out Technique

2006-02-15T13:47:00.000-05:00

WARNING: Improper use of this technique during a violent match might backfire resulting in your own knocked-out status as exhibited by Japanese MMA fighter, Yoshihiro Nakao here. Nevertheless, he did end up winning while Texan Heath Herring, his opponent, ended up being disqualified.

The match (that never took place).

INDOTRIP2006 Part II: Family

2006-02-14T16:10:00.000-05:00

It's been four years since the last time I went back and somehow that was a very productive four years. At least in terms of the expansion of my extended family. All of my Puri cousins have got married and I got four nieces and a nephew over there. I finally saw each and everyone of them. It's amazing how quickly they all grow up. In my mind it's always the baby picture from the e-mails they sent me at their births. The eldest among them is the 8-year-old Indri, and the youngest is not even a year yet, Kelly. Between them there's Ditto, Ashley, and Audi. So nice to see them all and see my Jakarta cousins whom I haven't seen for the longest time. My sibilings and I (the Dago kids) used to be very close to them (the Puri kids) when we were little. But I guess you grow older, you start to find friends outside of your family and plus with my siblings' and my being in the US, it's kinda hard to stay as close. Too bad I couldn't see Riksen and his wife that I've never met because they live in Palembang now.

Of course it's nice to see my Moms and Dads. Nope, I did not make a grammar mistake there. I do have two dads and two moms. But no, it has nothing to do with either of them getting divorced and remmaried, it's just that my aunt and uncle (and their daughter whom my brothers and I call sister) live in the same house as us. So all of us practically grew up with having these four parents to scold us or spoil us. Even though I haven't been back for some time, in recent years, they have been quite often come to the States though. Ever since all of us [the kids] lived in the US, they've been visiting us quite often. It felt really strange to have my Dad drove me around, I felt like I'm back in grade school, LOL. It's a bit frustating too though not to be able to do it yourself.

I guess living in Indonesia really change people, hahaha, which can be easily seen by looking at the transformation of my sister ^_^ From the sweats & jeans kind of girl, she became this jeans-in-the-boots kind of girl. Haha, she is so gonna kill me for this. But it's great to see her again, the one girl in the family ^_^

I also met Oma — my grandma. She was supposed to come to the US for Thanksgiving but her health didn't really allow her to do that, so I haven't seen her since my brother's wedding a couple years ago. She's turning 90 in 2006. Yes, ninety! Seriously, I don't think I'd be in such health that she is in when I turn 90. I mean look at me now, I'm only 25 and I got a herniated disk, a set of teeth requiring immediate root canals, high cholesterol, and the list just goes on and on. In the meantime my grandma is still very much in good health and she still lives by herself (she refused to stay with any of her children) in a house in Roxy - Central Jakarta. My mom and aunts offered her an apartment nearby that would be easier to take care of than a house but she just doesn't want to move anywhere. I really hope she can make it to my other brother's wedding later in July... Hmm.. that reminds me of the Es Mambo Sirsak — these frozen soursop juice sticks she used to make us when we were little. Everything's sweeter with a pinch of nostalgia.

One thing at the top of my list was to go see my brother's grave. He was placed next to my paternal grandparents plot in Cikadut, a hilly cemetery area in Bandung with a city view. This is the first time I saw it because I couldn't get back home when the burial took place. I really like what my parents did for him. Instead of marble for the tomb, they chose a natural piece of stone and have it engraved. Umang would've liked it much, much better than some square, shiny stone. This is more him. Another thing was they let the plot of land be grown by this low lying ivy-like plant with little yellow flowers, just like what we'd find in the mountains when we go camping.

One more person that I was so happy to see was my Nanny. Hmm... there isn't an exact translation for the word English, nanny is the closest I suppose. Basically, she had been helping my parents raised all five of us since the birth of my eldest brother. So to us, she's just like a third mother and she does have the authority to act as our parents. I think she's around 80 now, ever since all of us went to college, she moved to Semarang to live with one of her daughters, but every time any of us come home to Indonesia she always comes to Bandung. I was quite close to her, so much so that at one vacation — second grade, I think — I went with her to spend the vacation at her house in Magelang.

I finally met Matthew again after two years (I think?). Matthew's parents, Sonny & Vanda used to live in Maryland. Vanda is the sister of Arief who is my cousin Rica's husband. So... we're somewhat related ^_^ They're pretty much the closest thing I got to family here when I just got here, knowing nobody. Naturally I spent so much time hanging out with them, playing with Matthew who had only a handful of words at that time. It's so cute that he still remembered me although at the first ten minutes he seemed unsure, but in the next hours I pretty much hung out with him instead of with the parents, LOL.

I find it so amazing how easy it was to fall back to my old routine when I still lived there. The first few days it was as if I were to live the next day, every day I would talk a lot with everyone but after a week, it became so normal to see my mom making breakfast in the morning (not that I could get up early often enough to actually eat breakfast, LOL), or my dad telling me to wait for him so that we could just live together in one car, or everybody calling everybody for lunch and dinner, or my parents picking me up from somewhere and then taking me to a restaurant for dinner. I definitely miss all that the first few weeks I'm back here. It feels strange to start saying gua all the time again instead of saya. *Sigh* I love my family and everything that's somewhat annoying yet comfortable about them. Wouldn't trade it for anything.

Comic Reliefs, Linguistics Issue

2006-02-14T13:26:00.000-05:00

I was browsing the Thorn Tree language forum and there was a language mistakes thread. Needless to say my coworkers were looking at me strangely since every few seconds I would be trembling violently holding my laughter. So... thought I should share the joy.

portuguese / brazil
my last trip to brasil in 03-04 i made quite the mistake the last day. everyone in town got to know that i really wanted to buy a hammock (rede) but couldn't find them anywhere. then all of a sudden there was an influx of northern brazilians in the southern town i was in that came to sell their redes. the southern part of brazil is full of gauchos (cowboys). so after i bought my hammock (there were guys waiting for us at our apt when we returned home...that's how well known it was that we wanted one!!) i immediately went to the hardware store and asked for...

"um gaucho para pentear (os meus cabelos) no rede"
(a cowboy to comb my hair in the hammock)

instead of "um gancho para pendurar o rede: (a hook to hang the hammock)

they told me they were all out that day but to come back tomorrow!! and i swear when i was leaving town i saw a few cowboys (gauchos) look my way as i rolled out of there w/ my new hammock (rede)

french
In a car with three frenchmen, one of whom worked with me as a post doc here in the states, I finally heard something I understood, a discussion of the tobacco pipe resting in the console between the seats. So, I jumped, having had two semesters of french, "Ah, souvent la pipe?" small chuckle all around the car. I then, since I'd been understood and slightly amusing, I followed it up with, "Le tabac ou l'autre?" The car erupted in laughter! I'd intended to imfer that he might be smoking something more fun than tobacco, of course. Normally when I screwed up my french, Gwen would inquire, "Do you know what you just said?", but on this occaision he immediately exclaimed, "I did not teach him that!" Many of you will already know that "pipe" is french slang for "blow job".
souvent = often, le tabac = a small convenience store, l'autre = the other

spanish / mexico
i was in mexico after about half a semester of spanish in high school and i thought i was hot shit. we stayed in a hotel with a kitchenette, and we wanted to make breakfast the next day, so mi amiga y yo fuimos al supermercado.
"tiene huevos?" snicker snicker snicker "claro que sí. pero debes saber que..." and he proceeded to explain why i should ask "hay huevos?" instead. "oh. lo siento. ahora estoy embarazada" snicker snicker snicker
TWO classic spanish mistakes in one conversation man. they must've thought i was the dumbest gringa ever.
1) both 'tiene' and 'hay' means 'to have' but 'tiene' is used for things that is with you. so 'tiene huevos' means 'do you have "eggs"' instead of 'do you have eggs to sell'
2) lo siento = i'm sorry, ahora = now, estoy = i am
3) embarazada = to be pregnant, avergonzado = to be embarassed

arabic
Syrian Border guard: Where are you from?
Me : Aerlanda! (Ireland)
Taxi Driver and Border Guard: He is from Aerlanda Ha Ha Ha! (Aerlanda means dick-land, earlanda ,means Ireland)

spanish, portuguese / chile, brazil
In Brazil, there is a famous woman called Xuxa, who presents a TV Show for children. In this show, there are many young girls helping her, that are called paquitas.
In Chile, Xuxa (probably with a different spelling) is a slang for the vagina and paco is how the policemen are called by the population (like cop). Paquita would be a diminutive and female word for paco.

A friend of mine almost got into serious trouble when he asked an officer in Santiago if he had ever seen the Xuxa Show with the paquitas. It happened just at the end of the Pinochet time. Some years later, the Xuxa show was transmitted in Chile, making the children laugh and the parents cry.

spanish
I was in Cuba, first time trying my spanish outside of classroom. I met a friend who was injured after a basketball game. As I want to be helpfull, I asked if he had put "helado" (ice cream) on his anlke instead of "hielo" (ice)... He looked at me as if I were crazy and said "NO"!

chinese
4.00 am, China, Xiamen
A tired foreigner to his noisy neighbors: 'I want to sleep! '

Neighbors: 'Huh? Sorry we, don't have any dumplings!'

Turns out, the numbers stand for tones: shui3 jiao3 = dumplings shui4 jiao4 = sleep

german
A postcard I wrote to my German girlfriend's mother, whilst lying on a beach in Africa:
"Ich bin Heiss, Du Bist Kalt, Ich Bin Rot, Du bist Blau" which rather than meaning I'm hot, you're cold, I'm red, you're blue" translates colloquially as "I'm horny, You're frigid, I'm a Communist, You're a drunk."

english
When I was slingy drinks in a bar in Canada, we had a lady who was from Poland, who used to make some funny mistakes. Two large cocks please! (cokes, that is)

INDOTRIP2006 Part I: Weddings

2006-02-09T14:53:00.000-05:00

Not one, but two of my close friends here in Maryland tied the knot. Oh, I should say four of them tied the knot to each other: Acis & Lia, Lim & Agnes. Hey! Look at that, I just realize that they share initials as well! Didn't notice that before. Also, for both couples, the events in Indonesia were just receptions and parties. The actual wedding was already done. Acis and Lia got married in Melbourne, Australia while Lim and Agnes made it official here in Maryland. Similar fact number three: They both had 2-day events. Acis/Lia separated their Vow Renewal Ceremony and the Wedding Reception while Lim/Agnes had two receptions: one in Purwokerto (Agnes' hometown) and the other one in Surabaya (Lim's hometown).

Lia & Acis' — Jakarta

Thanks Lia, Cis for having me as... hmm... what exactly was my role again? LOL I'm never quite sure actually. It's the Best Man / Ringbearer I think. Anyway, it was an honor to take part in your happy day. Yea, even though it was not exactly the wedding day, but since we're Asians... it's not official until we have a big party (^_^)\/
The Cathedral was very nice, enough flowers for understated decoration complements very well the ornate gothic church. The pastor was actually OK, especially after the rumors on how strict he is LOL. It was a nice ceremony even though we can hardly see anything happening at the altar since the 6 photographers were all over the place, hahaha. But I suppose we got nice pictures as a result. After the ceremony ended, we walked out and took some pictures at the entrance before proceeding to the function room for lunch with what seems like a hundreds of people. It was unexpected because in Indonesia, there usually are not that many guests at the church. I guess you two are just special ^_^
The Cathedral was nice but the Reception Hall at the Ritz-Carlton was fantastic!!! It was both grand and cozy. (Yeah, I totally agree Li, Nefi absolutely outdid himself. I'm so recommending him for my sister's wedding.) So the theme was « Secret Garden » and true enough, you'd be hard pressed to feel like you're in a ballroom anymore. At the entrance the walls were literally covered with greeneries and the entrance gate has glow globes made of flowers hanging off them setting off the romantic atmosphere of a garden under the moonlight. In order to get to the ballroom from the entrance, you have to go through this passage of flowers and greeneries and trees (yes, actual living trees). The ballroom had circular tables instead of rectangular ones, so the organic feel of the whole decoration was maintained. The seating area for family was a gazebo structure with candlelit tables and low hanging flowers. In short, it was very beautiful!

Agnes & Lim's — Surabaya

I've just found out about this in the past couple of years. All through my life I thought Indonesian weddings are always a standing party due to the number of guests. But it turns out, not too far from where I live, just over the next province, not even the next island, it's the norm to have a sit-down dinner for wedding receptions! Especially in smaller towns apparently.
Obviously Surabaya is not a small town, but Agnes & Lim's wedding reception was a sit-down dinner. A 10+-course meal plus entertainment that includes singing, dancing, parades, karaoke, and even a cabaret show! Hey, wipe that thought out of your head, it's still a wedding! and plus it's Indonesia not France! That was the first time I went to a wedding so full of events. Plus, the MC-cum-lead singer went pretty much all across the room to see if anyone would like to sing a song for the couple. Red was basically the theme of the whole event as in the Chinese traditions.
It was a fun event, very relaxed. I came in a suit and I think I was totally overdressed because only the wedding party wore suits while the guests were much more casual in shirts. Who knows? It was only about 900km away from Jakarta but so different.

Selamat ya guys! Semoga langgeng-langgeng aja, rukun-rukun aja, dan tetep serame dan secerewet (ini berlaku buat cewek-ceweknya doang ^_^) waktu pacaran.

Torino Stylissimo

2006-02-08T12:33:00.000-05:00

The Winter Olympics has never achieved the truly global event status its Summer cousin has (well global excluding the US where the Superbowl is still the most-watched event), but I think that's actually what makes it more athletic, less showy. Watching the Winter Games feels more like watching a sports event, while the Summer Games sometimes feel more like a week-long ad of Benetton Sports. Although, thanks to the whole judging controversy at Salt Lake 2002, more people know about the event.

This year, it's going to be held in Italy. Torino 2006 starts this Saturday, 11 February. Since December all the major media have been mocking the city's preparation on the games since even last week, only 30% of the tickets have been sold. This lower-than-expected public response plus also lower-than-expected government grants has led the city to find other sources of funding including a lottery. Apparently, if it doesn't involve 22 grown men, 2 goals, and a ball coverd with a 2-color-block of pentagrams, Italians aren't really into it.

Well, those are the minus points which they [TOROC: Torino Olympic Committee] totally balanced off with the plus points from design! Hey, they're Italians, this is what they're born to do! From citywide modernization that includes a major revamping of an old train station to constructions of sleek new easy-on-the-eyes facilities to the über cool graphic designs to the ultra cute mascots, this could be the best-looking Olympic Games ever!

The pictograms for the sports events are the first ever to not be based on 2-dimensional images. They are instead art-deco-inspired, multi-layered silhouettes of an athlete with block colors background, very much reminiscent of those vintage travel posters. The ones that are going to be framed in my room are definitely the rouge dynamic Figure Skating girl and cool blue Biathlon guy. Not to forget the Torino 2006 logo, a slanted, slightly right-twisted modern imagery of Turin's landmark, la « Mole Antonelliana ».

What can I say about the Portuguese-by-design mascots Neve, which means snow, and Gliz, meaning ice? They are totally adorable without being sickeningly cute. The slim, clean lines are very stylish while the color use and emotion that they use is just so sweet (but remember, not saccharine). There's also a third mascot, Aster, which is the mascot for the Paralympic Winter Games. Just as cute as the iceboy (Gliz) & snowgirl (Neve) and just as cool. Do not miss the short presentation video of Neve & Gliz (Broadband - 56k) on the official website.

Also on the film section, make sure you check out all the tv ads of the Games. They are absolutely works of art. My favorite is the one titled Celebrate Humanity: Opponent (Broadband - 56k).

All images are registered trademarks of the 2006 Torino Olympic Committee.

INDOTRIP 2006

2006-02-07T14:39:00.000-05:00

Well, I am officially being paid for nothing. It's so quiet here at my office that nothing actually needs to be done. So here I am, totally bored. After careful considerations, I decided to post my whole trip back home last month. It's going to be a 5-part entry: Weddings, Family, Food, Friends, and Health. The five reasons why I went back.

Oh and I've uploaded the pictures to my flickr account (which is also accessible by clicking the flickr box on the top left, right below the blog title) or check out my Yahoo!Photos page.

Don't Be Good, Be Lucky!

2006-02-07T12:59:00.000-05:00

The premise is that luck's role in someone's life does play a quite important role, more than what people are willing to admit. The title could actually be anything else though. Match Point does sound quite catchy but in relation to the story, it's somewhat vague. It's not exactly unrelated but you can hardly call it the representative two words of the script either.

Chris (Rhys-Meyers/Velvet Goldmine, Vanity Fair) is a poor Irish boy who became a pro tennis player. He had some success but he didn't want to do it for the rest of his life. He ended up quitting the tour and started working as a tennis coach at a posh tennis club in London where he met Tom (Goode/Chasing Liberty) whose family owns the Hewett Corp, a multibillion multinational. The two immediately hit it off and Chris becomes the Hewett family's friend. Tom's sister, Chloe (Mortimer/Young Adam) was instantly attracted to Chris who was immediately taken by Nola (Johanssen/Lost in Translation, In Good Company) who turned out to be Tom's fiancée.

In terms of originality, I think Woody Allen did good once again. Sure, we all know about the premise but the way he weaved it into a story is just top notch. Not all stories have to have an unpredictable outcome and if that's your criteria for a good movie then by all means, do skip this movie. The entertainment in Match Point lies within its storylines, the web of delicate yet passionate connections between the characters and the decisions they make. You might be able to guess how everything will ultimately end but every turn of event is an absolute surprise.

Genius screenwriting and superb directing can only do so much if the cast weren't as spectacular, which was not the case with Match Point. It wouldn't be an overstatement to say that all of the cast were at the top of their game. This is why I love an ensemble movie, every character can be explored thouroughly giving the actors and actresses to get into the roles. All in all, this is one piece of cinema that no moviegoer should miss.

Kembali

2006-01-23T11:23:00.000-05:00

I suppose it's about time I start posting again :) I just got back from a much-needed three-week vacation in Indonesia. Three weeks sound so much longer than it actually is, especially if you have to divide it between Jakarta, Surabaya, Bandung, and Puncak! But it was sure nice to be home and catch up with my highschool friends. I don't know what people are saying about how much people change in college, cause my friends and I, we're pretty much the same noisy, playful group of people. And boy, am I glad to find that! I think the only thing that has changed a bit are weight and haircut, hahaha, I can live with that.

Well, my apartment is officially a mess with my suitcase and extra large backpack remain unpacked for the past five days. Instead of properly unpacking them, I have been so lazy that I only got out the stuff that I need and that resulted in having everything all over the place. I got a pile of mails that need to be opened, not to mention the dirty laundry. Phew... I definitely need to start getting them sorted out.

I hope I'll finish all these chores and errands so that I can finally post the pictures online :)

In the meantime, I'll share one of Astrid's song from her debut album, titled « Kosong ». I could just spend the three weeks scouring record shops all around the country for new artists.... the number of new artists in the Indonesian music industry is just mind-boggling. To add to that, the number of genres they are all in is just equally impressive! I guess the record companies start to see the potential in our artists instead of just packaging the tried-and-true instant pop stars.

Rat Race !

2005-10-24T00:08:00.000-04:00

Sore legs, wet hair, stiff shoulders, and overall fatigue. That's basically what we got after the 2nd Annual DC Rat Race. Well, actually that was not all, there was also the satisfaction and the countless funny stories we got from performing all the tasks that we got. From 1pm to 7 we were all over the district doing all kinds of things from finding a ginkgo leaf to getting a picture of the Seychelles' flag to putting bunny ears on a policeman. It was fun, but I got to be honest, when we realized that we should head to the finish (right in the middle of downpour) was very much a relief. Would I do it again next year? Of course!

Since we only finished 12th, I'm gonna give out our own awards. Here the are...

Most uncanny premonition
Myra for owning a member card for the Library of Congress, which turned out to be one of the task.

Most hilarious (mis)interpretation of a clue
Devmann & I for thinking that we were supposed to find a license plate of a state that begins with a letter 'T' instead of ending with it. We didn't even realize our mistake until when we talked about the tasks at the finish line with Allie. She said, "we got, like, five Connecticuts!" Devmann and I were like, "huh?" and in the back of my mind I was thinking, "So? What is she talking about?" I finally muttered, "Connecticut?" She replied, "Yeah, we have to find one that ends with 'T', right?" Now I know how it feels to be the stupidest person in the room.

Most tricky clue
The flag of Seychelles. The country doesn't even have an office in DC! Smart-ass organizers!

Most easy task yet not that easy to accomplish
A moldy bread. Everybody seems to have one or have just thrown away one... at their respective homes. But what respectable food vendor would keep moldy bread?

The nicest accomplices
The Chinatown Hooters girls! Thumbs up for them! oh and for the manager too! The task was to take a picture of the team with a Hooters waitress/waiter. We went in to the Chinatown branch and basically asked one of the girls point blank, "Would you mind taking a picture with us? No, no, a picture of of us, with you." Then the manager came and tell two more girls in the vincinity to take a picture with us. It was a very nice picture. But as we left the restaurant, we realized that the clue was, "... with a Hooter girl." Singular. We got two too many. There was three of them there. So we got back and told them about it, so they took another one with just one of them. So nice... thanks girls!

The most bizarre un-helper
This female cashier at McDonald's Chinatown. I think she's a cyborg. Truly! I mean I didn't even think that she was rude, I think what I was asking was just not in her software. Imagine this. She was at the cashier looking straight ahead. I came to the cashier, saying, "Hi." She answered in a flat tone "Can I take your order?" All while keep staring at the door no matter which position I tried to put myself in. Believe me, I tried looking straight at her and also blocking her line of sight to the door. Then I said, "Hi, I'm actually in this game, the DC Rat Race, we're supposed to do a list of tasks and one of them was to get an Egg McMuffin wrapper, Could I possibly get a wrapper? Just the wrapper." A full twenty seconds later, she said, "It's past eleven. You can't get Egg McMuffin." "No, no, I just need the wrapper. The paper," I replied. Another twenty seconds went passed by before she pointed me to the side, "Wait a minute." Mind you, she was still looking straight ahead at the door, then she said "May I take your order?" Apparently there was a guy behind me. So he ordered. I was like, "hmm... is my order getting processed? or did it just went to the recycle bin since it was considered as junk-mail?"
Luckily another cashier passed by and I just asked her, then she went to the kitchen and got it for me in less than twenty seconds. All this time, and I'm not exaggerating this — just ask Shierly, that first robot cashier was looking at the door. Man, McDonald's is so high-tech now!

The most embarrassing request for help
It's a tie between finding out which flag at the World Bank is Seychelles' and asking this guy if I could take a picture laying down on his truck's hood.
So Myra & Shierly went into the World Bank only to find this wall of flags and we were dumbfounded. "Which one is it?" After some logical deduction based on alphabetical older, we found it but not before we ticked off the guard for not knowing what we want after they let us into the building.
The other task was to take a picture of a team member laying completely on the hood of a pickup truck. We found a pickup truck on Wisconsin Ave in Georgetown — right in front of the Gap at that crowded throughfare. Luck has it that the driver of the truck came by to put his and his girlfriend's shopping bags. So I asked him if could use his truck. The girlfriend just got this big smile when I asked him, and after explaining what I had to do, they just laughed and said, "sure, sure... just don't screw it or something." Hahaha, on top of that... I'm pretty sure everyone passing the street was looking at this Asian guy in an anorak laying down on the hood of a white pickup truck posing for the camera.

Best photo manipulation
Shierly for managing to take a picture of two green shoes as one green and one yellow. The task was to put on a green and a yellow high-heeled shoes at the same time. Apparently when Shierly & Devmann went into the store, they thought it was just green. So they took this picture. When they got out, I took a look at the picture only to see one green and one yellow. So I didn't say anything. A few hours later, Shierly read the clue again only to realize that she didn't follow the clue correctly. So after discussing it, we ended up taking another picture with a green shoe and an actual yellow one. But seriously, don't you think the left one looks yellowish? Granted it's just the front part.

Most reluctant accomplice(s)
The DC Policemen. Well, actually they had such integrity that we didn't finish the task of taking a picture of a policeman with bunny ears. Devmann was quite adamant on asking each policeman to take a picture with him, but alas, none of them is in the photogenic mood. Allie actually told us that they asked this policeman who was reading magazines at Borders. She said that he was OK with taking a picture but refused to do so after knowing that they were gonna do bunny ears behind him. Such class those policemen have.

Most perseverance
Myra for getting the ticket stub of a basketball game at MCI Center. She kept on waiting in line to speak with a manager even after we told her that it was probably a waste of time to do so since why would they keep the stubs if the game was last night? But, apparently they do or... that manager just went through the garbage. So Myra, good thing you don't listen to your skeptic team-mates!

Most crucial help
The Google guys at their respective workstations. Thank you Henry, Sugih, and John. Without you guys we wouldn't have gone this far.

Are you Adam?

2005-10-21T23:11:00.000-04:00

I've heard from people, I've seen the movies. We all know how the bar scene is pretty much how people meet around here. But I guess I have never fully grasped the concept until the other day, at Bus Boy and Poets.

My friend told me about this place (I don't even know what to call it since in it's description it says: bookstore, café, restaurant, bar, and internet) on U Street. We were thinking of going there this weekend actually, but when I got out of the gym I just felt like I deserve some carbs, so I decided to go give this new player in town a try. Plus, it's on my way home anyway.

When I got there, the place was packed, it was literally packed! Then the hostess told me that it would probably take at least 20 minutes to get a table, so I thought I should just get a pizza to go. To the bar I went and ordered. While waiting for my order, I couldn't think of anything better to do than to stare at the art work behind the bar. It was five panels of matisse-picasso hybrid paintings, the kind where instead of drawing an actual person, there's only the outline with an eye or a heart on it.

So there I was, resting my chin on my palms, staring at the background when suddenly this guy in his 40's (i think.. i'm so bad with age) tapped on my shoulder and asked in a I-gotta-be-right kind of way, "Are you Adam?" Of course at first I was completely stunned, "Huh?" He said, "You're Adam, right?" Still slightly confused, "Uhmm, no, I'm not. Sorry." Then, I turned back to face the bar since I thought, well that was it, he should be looking for Adam. But then he said, "Yeah, I'm looking for Adam. We're supposed to meet here." I was like, "Oh.. ok," I smiled and he went away. I suppose I could have been friendlier, but I kinda felt like he thought that I was lying or something. So, it's safe to say that I was definitely not interested in talking to him. The fact that my order seem to never arrived didn't help either.

Finally I got tired of staring at the liquor bottles and watching the bartenders pouring out drinks. I got up and browsed the bookstore, the very left-leaning bookstore with a quite good selection of fiction. Then I went back to the bar to ask about the status of my order. The bartender that I ordered the food from went back to the kitchen to ask, so there I was, again, pondering at the meaning of the paintings when, again, this guy suddenly appeared beside me, "So... you live around here?" At that moment I was so annoyed already with the fact that my order seemed to have gotten lost somewhere in the kitchen, and now here's a complete stranger asking me where I live.

I guess Adam never showed up. That, or he ran away upon seeing the guy he was supposed to meet. Half-empty or half-full... your pick. After he left (I didn't look, so I'm not sure if he actually left or just walk around the restaurant), I kinda glanced around the bar... when I noticed that I was the only person who was by himself. And I suppose that meant that I was looking? I mean I had no drinks with me... so I had to be waiting for a to-go, or I was just unbelievably cheap that I won't even order until I meet someone. God, how desperate can you be? If you're going to chat someone up at a bar, at least pick the one that are obviously putting on the sign « Please chat me up » in the form of the universal code for being single and available: playing with your drink while looking bored at the bar.

Edit: I feel like I need to make some clarifications, since my readers seem to think that I was in some way play a part in the whole incident. Yes... apparently there are people who read my blog, but they rather comment about it directly to me than on the blog itself LOL. Anyway, mind you, when I went to Bus Boy & Poets, I just got out from the gym, on the way home so I was pretty much un-stylish in any sense... hetero or homo. So, I definitely did not give off any vibes to anyone other than the jeans-and-t-shirt-with-un-gelled-hair vibe.

IDN +/−

2005-10-18T12:35:00.000-04:00

Over the weekend, my sister-in-law sent me an e-mail about an article on bloomberg by William Pesek, Jr. comparing Google to Indonesia in terms of their market value at the stock exchange. Well the bottom line of his article was basically on how undervalued the Jakarta Stock Exchange (BEJ) and how ridiculous it is that Google's market cap actually surpasses the value of the entire stock market of the world's fourth most populous nation. It's definitely nice to see a somewhat positive view on my country from a business perspective because it's not the same when politicians make positive statements. There's just too much patriotism and political correctness when statements are made by governmental spokepeople while the business community is more blunt and practical, thus rendering it more real.

But earlier today, I received the latest Corruptions Perceptions Index by Transparency International, the Germany-based watchdog. Well, surprise, surprise, Indonesia is rounding up the bottom fifth sharing the 137th spot with Azerbaijan, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Iraq, Liberia, and Uzbekistan. I can't believe we're worse off than countries like Sierra Leone (126), the Philippines (13), or even war-torn countries like Serbia & Montenegro (97) and Bosnia & Herzegovina (88).

Well I suppose, when you're at the bottom, there's no other way but up, is there?

Is it just me, or...

2005-10-18T12:12:00.000-04:00

is U2's latest single just plain annoying? I just finished listening to Radio 1's Official UK Top 40 Countdown, Bono & Co. went in at number four. I was baffled... I mean don't get me wrong, I like U2. They really are a great band and all but that doesn't mean any composition of tones they make should be a hit! Go head and give yourself a listen to "All Because of You." I suppose now I know how Bono managed to score all that support for his charity works... he must've whined and whined in that tone of voice he uses on the single. Anyone within a block radius would instantly grant his wish as long as he would stop!

Ooh, I just got a premonition: I see U2 fans thrashing my blog...

Still on the UK top 40, the Sugababes managed to withstand Robbie's "Tripping" as Keisha, Heidi, and Mutya hold on at the top for the third consecutive weeks. Pas mal... pas mal du tout!

At number fourteen though... the girl formerly known as "the girl from STEPS, no... not the blonde one, the other one" came in with "Electric." Lisa Scott-Lee finally released her single after the much-publicized MTV show where she famously stated her retirement from the music biz if this single didn't enter the top ten. Well, well... I suppose this is goodbye then. There's nothing to be missed though because there's a line between kitsch-campy cool and just plain campy. "Electric" managed to be the latter fabulously, by the time you got to the chorus you'd be wondering if you were listening to the top 40 in CampyMusickistan, right off the border from UsedToBeInAFamousPopGroupLand.

What is Failure?

2005-10-12T17:40:00.000-04:00

This what I found while I was blog-hopping today:

Go to Google and type in Failure. Then click on the I'm Feeling Lucky button.

★LOL★

Unloading

2005-10-10T02:10:00.000-04:00

Phew... that felt good. I finally put up the reviews of those movies and the Coldplay concert (which was fantastic!). It's 2 am now, I guess I'd better go to bed. Tomorrow is a federal holiday woo-HOO! Hmm.. actually, that's kinda sad. Look at me, I should be out partying tonight instead of blogging away T_T

Whedonism is the way to go

2005-10-10T01:14:00.000-04:00

Joss Whedon introduced America to a new genre: a drama filled with sarcastic banters between the supernatural-or-futuristic characters. The trademarks of this Whedonesque universe would be: brooding heroes. After Buffy and Angel say hello to Mal (Malcolm is his real name, but Mal sounds more futuristic). Following the reverse turn of events of « Buffy, the Vampire Slayer », « Serenity » begins with a failed TV series.

When Whedon was the man as both Buffy and Angel drew raves from the critics and a legion of loyal fans, Fox ordered an 14-episode season of his latest series, « Firefly », that follows a rag-tag team consisting of outlaws and renegades traveling across the galaxy on a ship (equally ragtag) called Serenity. He called it a space western and it was indeed, complete with the bluegrass-tinged theme song. Both fans and critics loved the series, but it seemed that nobody was watching. Fox cancelled the series after airing just 11 of its 14 episodes. Then the DVD came out and it sold like candy which opens up the door for a movie version: Serenity.

Even though the captain was Mal (Nathan Fillion / Two Guys and a Girl), River (Summer Glau) was the center of it all. It all began as Simon (Sean Maher) saved her sister, River, from the Alliance's government facility with the help of the Serenity crew. Haunted by whatever they did to her at the research facility, River, a psychic, has frightening visions now and then about death and terror in a certain place. Dysfunctional as they may be, the crew, tries to get to the bottom of what it is that River sees while being pursued relentlessly by the Alliance's special agent (Chiwetel Ejiofor / Love Actually).

Well, being a scifi fan, I might be biased here, but Serenity is indeed a fine piece of entertainment. The special effects were just stunning, they truly captured the Firefly universe where everything was either chinatown meets the wild wild west (the outer rims) or star trek sterile (the alliance worlds). And then there's the spaceship crash landing and battle scenes which were such an overload to the visual sensories. Meanwhile, Joss Whedon managed to keep the witty humor in the conversations and the unexpected turn of events right when you're taking a deep breath.

Is she crazy or is there something going on?

2005-10-10T00:54:00.000-04:00

« Flightplan » hinges the whole movie on Jodie Foster's character, Kyle who lost her daughter on a New York-bound flight from Berlin. Her daughter and her left Berlin after her husband's death. The problem is, nobody seemed to have seen her daughter, Julia. Was she hallucinating? or was there something going on?

It was a well-made thriller: plenty of scares, Jodie's right hook now and then, plus the dramatic plight of a mother who just lost her daughter and the sinister remarks made by the flight attendants behind the curtains. Nevertheless, the plot was just not strong enought to carry the movie.

It's a thriller, so surprises are what make it interesting, thus I won't divulge too much information here. But, generally speaking, most of what's happening was just a string of once-in-a-blue-moon coincidences. She must be the unluckiest person on Earth for all these to happen to her.
It's hard not to compare it to a similarly-themed movie a few weeks back, Red Eye which seemed to be packed with much more content, punch, and fun than this one.

In Her Shoes

2005-10-10T00:19:00.000-04:00

Rose (Toni Collette) is a career-driven, black suit-donning, little-time-to-socialize lawyer who somehow manages to have a shoe collection that rivals Karen Walker, while Maggie (Cameron Diaz) is the free-spirited, gorgeous sister that somehow manages to get fired from her job and got drunk on every other day. They get into a huge fight and Rose kicks Maggie out. In desperation Maggie finds out that the grandmother they were told was dead is actually alive. So Maggie goes to Florida, and stayed at the old folk's home. And in the following three-quarter of the movie everyone learns about the other one and about their own mistakes.

Somehow Curtis Hanson and the cast managed to turn this simple plot (albeit a NY Times best-seller book) into such a meaningful and heartfelt flick. This is definitely Cameron Diaz' best role yet, she totally nailed the beautiful-girl-with-a-golden-heart persona that is Maggie. The rest of the cast are just as great too. Toni Collette and Shirley Maclaine are as fabulous as they were in any other movie, even Mark Feuerstein (of the cancelled NBC series Good Morning Miami) was very cute and lovable here.

« In Her Shoes » plays with your emotion and does a damn good job with it. One second you'll be cursing at Maggie, another you'd find that all you want is to hug her and say that everything's gonna be OK. You'll find the movie to be very engaging to the last minute and as the credit title rolls up you'll feel all warm and fuzzy inside as if Maggie was your best friend and you were there when all of this happened.

Twisted Logic Ends in Bristow

2005-10-09T23:37:00.000-04:00

Event : Coldplay's Twisted Logic Tour
Location : Nissan Pavilion, Bristow, VA
Time : 30 September 2005

Hats off to the group of Britons called Coldplay. I went to the last US leg of their Twisted Logic tour and it was definitely the best concert I've ever been to so far.

OK, let's start with what matters most with a concert: the music. And these guys, boy, they're just born to make melancholic, wallowing music you can hold your lighter to. The quality of their performance was top-notch. I was a bit worried actually after hearing the Chris Martin got some sore throat a few weeks before and a date was cancelled. But my worries were without cause, they played excellently.

Chris Martin is a natural-born entertainer. All through the concert he communicated very well with the audience. I suppose the funniest thing was how he said that if there was one city where they wouldn't be able to sell tickets, that would be DC. The reason was because when they just started, they actually played at the HFStival and let's just say they were far from being the most popular band at the festival. He put much of this story and his hello-washington-happy-to-be-here speech in the verses of « Speed of Sound ».

The final touch of the concert was the superb lighting and giant plasma screen background displaying abstract CGI images such as coloured smokes, water bubbles, shifting colors and countdown timer. Plus, for « Yellow », baloons in the aforementioned color were dropped to the audiences and they start bouncing them off. It was quite an interesting sight.

All in all, it was perhaps not a shocking rock concert with a pigeon-chowing scene nor was it a spectacular pop concert with hundreds of dancers and fireworks. Instead it was a somekind of a deep, touching, feel-good concert where everybody was just enjoying the good music, good ambience, and some good shit judging from the wafting air now and then ^_^.

Giving up caff

2005-09-30T10:34:00.000-04:00

Hmm... never thought I'd say this in this lifetime, but I might have to give up coffee.
So~ about a week ago I decided to go off coffee (Why? Guess I just wanted to prove to myself that I could, haha, I know... My name's Luwito and I'm obsessive-compulsive.) Well, well, who knew that it ended up being such a success that I actually didn't consume any caffeine in any form for a full week. The first day I had coffee, mind you it was only iced cofee with tons of half&half, it actually made me jittery. That was the strangest feeling ever. Not even when I was in grade school has coffee ever had such an effect on me. That was about 10 days ago and I've drank probably 4 or 5 cups of coffee since. So I'm drinking a black regular french roast that I got from au bon pain now, and it still has quite an effect on me. It definitely pumped up my adrenaline, made my heart pound and giving me some sort of anxiety. Hahaha not the Mariah Carey level though.... but just enough for me to pour out personal issues on this blog, LOL. Look at this 2 entries in an hour span?
T_T I can't believe this... I might have to pick up another vice then, hahaha... alcohol sounds good at the moment... relaxing... some red wine in the early fall chill... sounds like a plan for the weekend to me !

Feels like someone's looking at your profile? Now you can look back at theirs

2005-09-30T09:58:00.000-04:00

Hahaha... or not if they turn on their anonymous browsing feature on. But, since it's new, many people might not realize it yet, LOL, and you might see your secret admirer or arch-enemy. My friend from across the pond, Howke, just told me that friendster recently added a new feature. Now you can see the list of people who have seen your profile in the past period (I think they reset the counter every month). ^_^ Isn't it interesting to see strangers looking at your profile? Well, I know I'm talking about friendster here, so it's kinda duh! to say that considering it is a *quotation mark* social networking site. Hahaha, but still... it tickles the exhibitionistic side of me (yeah, by side I mean, just plain me). Oh wait, is it exhibitionism... or narcissism... or just plain egocentric? Hahaha.. oh well, just thought I'd share the joy, conceited thoughts, whatever...

So many events, so many pathogens

2005-09-28T10:39:00.000-04:00

Argh... I've been sick with this cold (or is it a flu?) for more than a week now. 'Think I've been through all the symptoms by now: Sore throat? It was over and it just came back, Runny nose? Over, Congestion? Done, Aches? Over thanks to caffeine, Dizzyness? Hmm.. what dizziness? Still on that caffeine high LOL. I think I should be in a textbook for having this weird allergy to the equinoxes. I seem to always go down with something when the season changes. Last Thursday was the Autumnal Equinox and sure enough I've been quite addicted to NyQuil and DayQuil. *LOL* Bless Vicks Corporation for coming up with a cold medicine with such potent relaxants! Oh and I'd really like to thank whoever discovered Pseudoephedrine, Anti-histamines, and Acetaminophen ^_^

I suppose it's kinda my fault as well that I can't seem to get better. Instead of spending most of my time in bed, eating high-protein food, and drinking gallons of water, I've been pretty much out and about til the wee hours.

Hahaha... the first day I got a sore throat, I went to my friend's wedding which probably had the best food & wine ensemble I've ever tasted. Sure enough I couldn't get enough of the latter part. Then came the weekdays where I ate out every night because I'm just too weak to cook (but apparently strong enough to chat with my friends over coffee and desserts, hahaha). As the weekend approached, I felt a bit better, so naturally we went out. And Sunday was Agnes' birthday, so we threw a cake party at the Cheesecake Factory in Rockville. Got home around one-ish. Then today is Henry's 25th birthday, so it was ice-cream cake time at Seven Springs at midnight last night ^_^. A bit woozy now... though I can't quite tell whether it's due to lack of sleep or caffeine.

Even better, I got a Coldplay concert that I can't wait for this Friday! Hahaha.. I hope Chris Martin won't get sore throat (again) after the show. Then my friend from Ohio just e-mailed me telling me that she's coming over this Saturday with her friends to attend Glow at fur. DJ Armin is perfoming. Clubbing! You bet I'm very much tempted to go with them! Better load up on antioxidants then... Broccolis, Oranges, Blueberrys...

Well, we'll see if I'll make it through this week and weekend alive or with bronchitis on Monday.

Bollywood Beckons

2005-09-23T17:00:00.000-04:00

So we've all heard that the Indian film industry is the world's biggest, but I've always thought it was very "local". Just imagine, in India alone there's already more than 600 million people, so they got volume. I guess I've underestimated the Indian diaspora which has never been as affluent as the Chinese one, or so it seemed. But last night I went to see Salaam Namaste, the reigning champ at India's National Box Office. I think I saw that film not because it was a huge movie in India, but because it actually premiered around the world just like a Hollywood movie. I was amazed that here in the suburb city of Laurel, Maryland they actually play a Bollywood movie. And to my even bigger surprise, they're playing the movie in pretty much every major city in the US and the world, from New York to Sydney to Abu Dhabi.

I can't help comparing India with Hong Kong or South Korea, the up-and-coming player in the world film industry. Obviously there is a market for Korean or HK-made Chinese films in the US. If there's enough Indian emigrés to support showings of Indian films, I'm quite sure in cities like LA, DC, or NY there is just as many Chinese immigrants or descendants. Ditto with Koreans (North and South). But how come there's virtually no Korean or Chinese presence in US theaters? Yes, there are Wong Kar-Wai's films from time to time and South Korean art films. But where are the blockbusters?

This Asian population has really been neglected by the showbiz distributors in the US: music and movies. I know so many Asians (Central to East, South to North) that still follows their country's pop culture. These guys (and gals, of course) would definitely pay to see the latest Andy Lau film or buy the soundtrack to Shakrukh Khan's latest flick. But so far I don't think we have the option. Perhaps those of us who live in NY or LA, but still, we have to scour the Chinatowns instead of browsing in the air-conditioned aisles of Virgin Megastores.

But perhaps things are changing. MTV recently launched their Indian subchannel, MTV Desi. This, supposedly, will be followed by the Korean and Chinese counterparts, MTV K and MTV Chi. Let's hope the advertisers see the potential in this huge, untapped market. How big? In its first week, Salaam Namaste managed to drew $934,200 in the UK, $1.08 million in US & Canada, $241k in Australia and $350k in the UAE.

While driving ~

2005-09-21T14:31:00.000-04:00

« Be careful of what you wish for » Hmm... I guess there is some truth in that saying after all. Just last weekend (Saturday) I was driving a lot. I went to Tarara Winery in Northern Virginia with Octa for her company picnic. Well, their wines were ok, the white was ok but their merlot was awful. Too acidic for my taste. And they have this dessert wine made from blueberry, which was ok for the first few sips but ended up tasting like fermented bluberry syrup.

Anyway, back to my main point. While I was driving, I was thinking about making another blog, one that's really about thoughts. Deep ones, hahaha, unlke this blog which mostly filled with showbiz reviews ^_^. And I'm going to call the blog "While driving ~" since I think I do a lot of thinking about life and stuff when I drive. You see, when you take the metro you get to read something which occupies your mind and when someone else is driving, you ended up having a conversation with the driver. When you are the one who's driving, with no one in tow, there must be something in that piece of asphalt that stimulates your brain to start pondering.

So we went back from the winery, on our way to DC for our tango class. Quite a long drive, an hour or so on the highway... While driving, I was thinking, "hmm... what should my first entry be in that new blog?" And just like that, I got the answer. Hahaha because I was (apparently) going 77mph as I pass this police car waiting at the road divider. Octa was semi-shouting, "Watch out, there's police." I'm never one to notice the police cars, I don't know why but I had never managed to look out for them. But wait, that police car stood still. So we thought we were fine until 5 seconds later we passed another one (I was already going under the speed limit at this time), which started to follow me and pulled me over.

Welcome to Virginia... where driving 20mph over the speed limit is considered reckless driving and is a class 1 misdemeanor act. Which means, if convicted, I would have done a crime. Definitely blog-quality material, don't you think? Well, after extensive researching on the net and filtering all the biased advices by the lawyers trying to get your money, I think I'm quite OK. I have yet to read anyone actually went to jail for going just a bit over 20mph from the speed limit, but hey... I was thinking, perhaps because they went to jail, they wouldn't be able to access the internet. Is there Wi-Fi in prison? Anybody knows?

Well.. wish me luck. Wait, not now... wish me luck on Nov. 9, my court date.

tango electronico

2005-09-18T11:28:00.000-04:00

I think one of the jobs that I'd be happy to do for the rest of my life would be being a scout on the lookout for new music from around the world. There I was, at my first Beginner Tango lesson, and what really intrigued me was not the history of the dance or what other steps we'd be learning next week. Instead, it was this piece of music by Carlos Libedinsky from his 2003 album narcotango. The song is called vi luz y subí which roughly translates as i saw the light and i entered. It's like when you're in a house and you saw this light coming from a room and you decided to enter that room.

As always, that discovery of great new music always led me to a mad dash of DC's CD stores... and as always, none of the stores had the cd! What is wrong with these retails with supposedly extensive collections. Hmm... perhaps the question should be about me, "how come I always ended up liking these obscure, esoteric, artists?" But from what I've found out, this new movement in tango music is not exactly unheard-of.

According to Horacio Ferrer, a well-known tango historian, "Tango undergoes evolutionary cycles." Which is probably true, first was the arrival of big orchestral tango, followed by the introduction of lyrics to the music. Then come the nuevo tango with its jazz influence and it's only a matter of time indeed before another genre of music decided to have its take on the argentinean dance. As quoted from Pablo Farba, a well-noted festival producer, "in the new millennium, yet another revolution has taken place in Buenos Aires." Tango electronico is here. Perhaps the most significant acknowledgment of this movement would be when the DJs spinned their electronica-infused tango at the city government-sponsored 6th International Tango Festival of Buenos Aires in 2004.

Just Like Heaven

2005-09-17T01:33:00.000-04:00

Autumn will be here in less than a week, that could only mean one thing: "romantic comedy season playing in a theater near you." Well, if Mark Water's latest offering Just Like Heaven is any indication of the quality we should be expecting, then we're in for a honey sweet (not saccharine) autumn rom-coms this year. Water, fresh off the blockbuster pair Freaky Friday and Mean Girls, teamed up with Reese Witherspoon and Mark Ruffalo in this girl-is-a-ghost-guy-is heartbroken-guy-and-girl-fall-in-love-against-all-odds-miracle-happens flick.

Hey, it might not be original (see Ghost, City of Angels), it might not be unpredictable (let's just say it involves destiny), nor might it be logically-sound (try to overlook this and you'll enjoy this confection more), but who cares as long as they did a great job in concocting a tried-and-true formula? Sometimes all you want is just a good juicy hamburger, not some kind of smörgåsbord with caspian roe and dom perignon.

Witherspoon & Ruffalo definitely got plenty of chemistry to make the story works, you'd be hard pressed not to root for them and wish that for once the stars will all align and the lovers can finally be together. The characters themselves are well-written, instead of giving us these unbelievably goodlooking singles who in a bizarre alternate reality can't seem to get a date, we got these two (still amazingly attractive) people who are alone because of actual, valid reasons (elizabeth's job & david's tragedy).

Logical issues aside (Elizabeth must be a millionaire to have that apartment), Just Like Heaven felt like fresh air. It's light, sweet, and, I have to mention this even though the oxygen analogy doesn't go this far, damn funny! It's one of those films that you'd go to because you just want to escape for 90 minutes and relax, instead of the movie you have to see because of this and that. Well, someone could hire an actual artist (from the current time period preferably, not the early 90's) to fix the poster, but on the other hand the vanilla poster might actually help the movie's understated image which wouldn't scare away people who are tired of the bombastically-promoted blockbusters.

Plans Death Cab for Cutie

2005-09-13T14:12:00.000-04:00

An example of what could go right with a major label. « Plans, » the Atlantic debut (fifth with Barsuk) of the Bellingham, Washington-based quartet Death Cab for Cutie landed at number four on Billboard's Top 200 albums on its release week by shifting 90,000 copies. In comparison, their previous set, the critic-adored, fans-loved Transatlanticism sold 13,000 on its first week, hitting #97 on billboard before exiting the chart on the following week. While Atlantic flexed its marketing muscle (storefront promotions and high mtv rotation & appearances), DCFC did what they do best, make moody, hum-along-friendly music with impossibly romantic lyrics. Add to that: a popular lead single (the anthemic "Soul Meets Body"), countless favorable reviews by critics (from the New York Times to Rolling Stone) and legions of die-hard fans (which is considerably larger ever since their appearance on The OC), it actually would be quite difficult to mess this up.

When listening, most people would probably think about the summer's sleeper hit Such Great Heights by The Postal Service, a side project of Ben Gibbard with Jimmy Tamborello. Not so surprising because if DCFC is a cake then Gibbard (songwriter, vocals) mixes the dough while producer-cum-bandmate Chris Walla bakes it.

Plans starts off with the simmering, sampling rich Marching Bands of Manhattan, followed immediately by the anthemic, sing-along Soul Meets Body, then it mellows down to the lazy end-of-summer by-the-pool music Summer Skin and Different Names for the Same Thing. They went folk on I Will Follow You into the Dark, then the jamming sessions series Your Heart Is an Empty Room, Someday You Will Be Loved, and Crooked Teeth. Granted, the second half of the album isn't as captivating as the first one, but thankfully here comes the gem of the album, the piano-led What Sarah Said. Definitely the best song of the album, immensely lyrical, beautifully melancholic but in the same time touching in its simplicity. The LP ended with calming, slow-paced Brothers on a Hotel Bed and the so-so Stable Song.

To me, the whole album felt like Summer, you make plans, getting all excited about going here and there, then later on after you exhausted yourself all you want to do is just lounging around by the pool. By the end you're sad that it's over but satisfied in the same time cause Autumn is coming with some badly needed change from this hazy summer days.

FT: Lifestyle by Vogue

2005-09-12T23:06:00.000-04:00

One of the most anticipated magazine launches in recent history, Men's Vogue, the counterpart to the women's style bible, is finally available at newsstands across the country.

According to Condé Nast, the publisher, the magazine targeted mature men with income of 100k and above. "It is not an aspiring magazine, it's for those who have already achieved it," they said. Well, my take on this is that Condé Nast didn't want Men's Vogue to bite into GQ's market, Condé Nast's men's lifestyle magazine with heavy inclination towards fashion.

Well, after perusing the magazine cover to cover, I could only find two articles that are actually interesting: one about the Andaman Islands, and another about three models talking about what kind of clothing they like on a man. The rest can be best summed up by one word: old.

I suppose they tried to look mature, classic, and elegant but you can be classy without being conservative, elegant without being unoriginal. Try wallpaper* for inspiration. The articles were well-written and the subjects are somewhat interesting. This would be fine, had it not been a Vogue which was supposedly a style magazine. None of the style in the magazine couldn't be obtained from your local Lord & Taylor's, OK Neiman-Marcus to be honest. But where's the "style" style of the season's latest looks, or a runway report from the fashion weeks?

An utter dissapointment. They got 6 months before the next issue is out, I sure hope they realize that it was supposed to be style magazine not the lifestyle complement of Financial Times. And what kind of a magazine nowadays that doesn't have a website?

The Misfortune

2005-09-01T11:11:00.000-04:00

I am sooo in a ranting mode now. If only someone would just say something stupid so that I could snap on them, that would be very nice. ^_^ Nothing is more theurapeutic for bad mood than lashing at an innocent someone. LOL. Luckily, this country has a leader who listens to the people and serves them well !

I think there is a リング — like curse on Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events movie. Although, admittedly my series is not as bad as that of the Baudelaire Orphans, still... it's as if the cosmos is working against me.

So I saw the movie on Tuesday night. I liked it by the way, it really was a feast for the visual sensory. From the opening sequence animation to the gloomy-colorful quality of the photography to the magnificent elaborate sets, I just simply couldn't take my eyes off the screen. Granted, the script could use some tweaking in the excitement department, but it was still entertaining enough for me. And I definitely loved the ending, the surprisingly un-Hollywood ending I should say.

Unfortunate Event #1: the haircut. Well, supposedly there's this Indonesian hairdresser on 17th and R that's good. Hahaha, well, I suppose I got what I deserve for getting hair advice from a massage therapist. The salon was about 15-20-minute walk from the metro and although he was nice, his hairdressing skill was .... just ok. I think I'll stick to my guy in Wheaton who definitely has more ideas on what to do with a pair of shears.

Unfortunate Event #2: I walked back to the metro, passing this bus stop. As I passed it I heard some mumbling behind me... I ignored it at first, then it got closer... I looked to the right and this guy was apparently talking to me. I got no idea what he was talking about at first... then I kinda get that he was talking about a phone, so I said.. "sorry, got no phone with me," to which he replied with a string of words that was really unintelligible. So the conversation was basically: he mumbles, I said "huh?" When I finally managed to get him to put the question in English, he asked for money to make a call. Too bad for him, I don't carry change..
Reading the story, it might sound like I'm the one being unreasonable when asked for help, but this guy was not exactly asking, it was more like mugging. And if he really did need help, he could've asked the person sitting next to him at the bus stop instead of me who happen to pass behind him and who he happen to see. If you were there, it was obvious that he wasn't looking for help until he saw me and thought he could get some money. Hmphh! That was definitely the first time I actually felt unsafe in DC after all this time.

Unfortunate Event #3: I got home, the back parking lot was full so I drove around to park on the front driveway. That drive way could easily fit 2 cars, but the smart ass who drove a green Jetta parked his (or her) car right in the middle of it so my car won't fit on the driveway. So I parked on the grass to his right... this will lead to #5.

Unfortunate Event #4: I went to bed somewhat early, hoping to get up earlier the next morning. I've been sleeping late in the past few days so I thought I'd catch up a bit with my cell regeneration. True enough, I woke up completely refreshed. You know, the kind of waking up that doesn't include grogginess, the kind that's not induced by the blaring beep of the alarm clock.... Wait a minute! But I did set the alarm clock. Where is it? What time is it? The side table? Not there. The window sill? Not there either. Underneath the pillows? There it is... OK, let's see what time is it? It was a bit bright for 7 AM and the LED of my alarm clock displayed 08:06. Great!

Unfortunate Event #5: Finally finished getting ready. Ran downstairs to the back parking lot. Realized that I did not park there. Ran around the building to the front. Beeped the car locks. Threw my bag on the passenger seat. Hopped into the driver's seat. What's that under my wiper blade? Let me introduce you to the bizarre regulation that is the City Ordinance. Apparently it is illegal to park on the grass even if it is your own grass. And so I ended up being a contributor the coffers of the City of College Park. Damn it, that 35 bucks could've gone into getting the new Death Cab for Cutie CD! Plus the repackaged The Killers debut album which I meant to get today.

Comic Relief #1: Well I sure hope this won't be the last one today. On the train I was reading about New Orleans on Express with much contempt. How on earth did that happen with them knowing it was coming more than 24 hours in advance? Anyway.. that was not the comic relief I was talking about. On this little box there was a quote of what Bush said as he looked through the window of Air Force One, "It's devastating. It has got to be doubly devastating down there." Hmm... very articulate, isn't he? Well, at least the grammar was OK.

Well, I'm planning to go on a The O.C. Season 2 marathon tonight, that show has never failed to brighten me up.

WANT ME, WANT ME

2005-08-29T13:23:00.000-04:00

Ever since I heard Namie Amuro's « Alarm », I've been hooked to the Japanese version of hip-hop. Or hip-pop as Namie uses it as her latest album's namesake. Instead of the hook-girl, guy-rapper combo that is American hip-pop, the J take on the genre is more of a dance/r&b fusion with killer beats. And as she self-declared on her most recent release, Namie is indeed the queen.

After performing a feat that was unheard of in the ultra-fickle Jpop industry, Namie defied critics and skeptics alike when she returned to the charts after a long hiatus due to a list of scandals and hardships: from her extramarital pregnancy to the murder of her mother. People thought that her star basically went supernova and vanished, replaced by the reigning Jpop queen, Ayumi Hamasaki. But lo and behold, instead of trying to recapture her J-idol status (which obviously she had succeeded a few years back with her legion of diehard fans who carbon-copied every single style item she wore), she chose to shift genres to the Japanese R&B scene.

First, she participated in the Suite Chic project, collaborating with Japan's foremost R&B artists like m-flo & verbal. That musical path change seemed to work, the album sold well and Namie's back on the map. She then released the multigenre « STYLE », her first hip-hop flavored album to a somewhat mediocre success compared to her previous multiplatinum, straight-to-number-one releases. Nevertheless, she's definitely back in the game. 2005 saw the release of her full-length Hip-hop album « Queen of Hip-Pop » that entered the Oricon Chart at number 2, cementing her comeback.

The single currently on play is taken from that album, a dance-infused track with raunchy lyrics about — what else? — sex. She tapped MICHICO to write the song, japanese peppered with somewhat nonsensical English words here and there which has come to be the trademark of JPop (except for Utada Hikaru). If there are some English lines which you have no idea what it means... your guess is just as good as mine.

« WANT ME, WANT ME »

Want me, want me はじけ飛ぶ, 胸のボタン　焦りすぎて
Want me, want me hajike tobu, Mune no BOTAN aseri sugite
Want me, want me we're so impatient that my shirt buttons pop off and fly
Wait a minute ちょっと待った, 落ち着いて手取り足取り
Wait a minute chotto matta, Ochitsuite tedori ashidori
Wait a minute wait a minute, Calm down, we have trouble
手こずる二人はlike a virgin, でも忘れないでねTrojan
Tekozuru futari wa like a virgin, Demo wasurenai de ne Trojan
controlling our arms and legs, we're like a virgin, But don't forget the Trojan
I am oochie, la la poppin’ coochie, 押さえ切れずに　Want me, baby
I am oochie, la la poppin’ coochie, Osae kirezu ni want me, baby
I am oochie, la la poppin’ coochie, Uncontrollably want me, baby

Oh boy,you are so hot, こんな気分は久しぶり
Oh boy, you are so hot, Konna kibun wa hisashiburi
It's been a long time since I've had a feeling like this
もう何度も繰り返してるのに, Ah, hey, give me one mo' stroke
Mou nandomo kurikaeshiteru noni, Ah, hey, give me one mo' stroke
Already, they're repeating over and over

Ah, ah, I can do you, Yeah, yeah, you can do me

Anything you want me to do, I can do you, I can do you
スミカラスミマデウラカラ, オモテマデドコモカシコモ
SUMIKARASUMIMADE URA KARA, OMOTE MADE DOKOMOKASHIKOMO
From A to Z from front, To back, even everywhere and there
Baby, let me taste it, taste it, 言葉の無い会話
Baby, let me taste it, Kotoba no nai kaiwa
A conversation without words
Up & down, in & out, こうやって　bounce wit me
Up & down, in & out, Kouyatte bounce wit me
Like this bounce wit me

Oh,boy 少し飛ばしすぎ, Why don't we tryna go nice & slow
Oh boy, sukoshi tobashisugi, Why don't we tryna go nice & slow
Oh boy, I'm flying a little too much
1 2 3 4 take a breath, look at my eyes, 刺激に慣れてくるまで slow down
1 2 3 4 take a breath, look at my eyes, Shigeki ni narete kuru made slow down
Until we become accustomed to the stimulation slow down

スミカラスミマデウラカラ, オモテマデドコモカシコモ
SUMIKARASUMIMADE URA KARA, OMOTE MADE DOKOMOKASHIKOMO
From A to Z from front, To back, even everywhere and there
Baby, let me taste it, taste it, あきれるほどに
Baby, let me taste it, Akireru hodo ni
Until it amazes me

Ha, ha, ha, ha, touch it, touch it, touch it
No body can do you, do you like me
No body can do me, do me like you
Ha, ha, ha, ha, touch it, touch it, touch it

T - Slo-bile

2005-08-22T11:49:00.000-04:00

On this monday morning, I received a notification on my cellphone saying that I had voice messages. So I press '1', the key that has the little tape symbol, to call my voice mailbox. The computerized voice said, "You have five new messages." I was like whoa... something must be up! 5 missed calls happen from time to time, but 5 messages in a 30-minute period?

So I checked the first message and it was from Benny asking me if I wanted to have dinner tonight, so I asked him online before I checked the other messages and he said, "that was yesterday."

I then checked the rest of the messages and true enough, all of them was made last weekend with the earliest one made by Devmann on Friday! I can't believe this! It's the third time already I got these delayed messages as if they had to route the message through Pentagon and then passing them through a decoder just in case "do you wanna have dinner tonight?" might actually means "do you wanna rig some building tonight?"

Red Eye

2005-08-19T02:00:00.000-04:00

It's 2 am and I just got back from catching the midnight sneak preview of Dreamwork's new film Red Eye, all the way in Bethesda. Newcomers Rachel McAdams (Wedding Crashers, The Notebook) and Cillian Murphy (Batman Begins, 28 Days Later) star in this in-flight suspense directed by Wes Craven (Scream trilogy, Music of the Heart).

Lisa Reisert(McAdams) found herself sitting next to Jackson Rippner (Murphy) on a Fresh Air (I'm not kidding, that is what the airline called... Tongue-in-cheek or just plain cheesy? You decide) flight to Miami. Lisa works as a manager of a luxury hotel in Miami while Jackson, well, you're not supposed to know what he does until you find out what he does. It's one of those movies that would be better if you know completely nothing about it, so even though I'm dying now to point out what's great about the film, I'm gonna hold myself. Don't get me wrong, let your imagination plot the unlimited number of possible outcomes on each scenes... this is still, a suspense, and guessing is part of the game. Yeah, since I'm one of those people who always ended up dissapointed by overly-praised films, I'll try to keep my reviews basic and factual, instead of bombastic and emotional.

What's great about the movie is definitely the casting and the script. Both Murphy and Adams delivered top-notch performances, combined with perfect supporting actors doing good job with their roles, the whole ensemble performed admirably. That plus the genius script (smart but real, suspenseful but fast-paced) created one hell of a motion picture. One word to describe what I'm feeling as the end credits rolling up: satisfied.

Red Eye
Directed by Wes Craven
Starring Rachel McAdams, Cillian Murphy, Brian Cox, Jayma Mays, and Jack Scalia
©2005 Dreamworks Pictures

The A/C Survey of Manhattan

2005-08-18T12:24:00.000-04:00

Well, this post should've been written on Monday, but I got so much pending blog entries that this got pushed to now.

Devmann's friend from California, Olivia, came to town and we took her to New York for the weekend. We got in at noon, Saturday, and went back on Sunday night. Manhattan was an urban furnace. Never in my life had I felt such miserable existence than when I had to wait for the train in one of those underground saunas disguised as subway stations. It was plain horrible. 90F something heat plus high humidity -- 80% at least! I never thought that I would say this, but it was worse than Jakarta, or Surabaya, or even Singapore!

So when we got on Broadway to frequent the stores in Soho... we ended up making this survey of the temperature at the stores in Manhattan. We couldn't walk on for more than a couple blocks before having to take refuge at an air-conditioned retail. So what started as a shopping trip, ended up being a census of A/C's in Manhattan retail stores.

Coming on top with an A plus unlimited pluses is Cole Haan at Fifth Ave. When we opened the door, there was this nice, chilly arctic wind blowing out from the store. It was actually so cold that we were freezing our asses off within minutes. It was such an interesting sensation when we got out because we actually welcomed the tropical Manhattan air after that Cold Haan episode.

At the other end of the list, enters Soho GUESS. While other stores were at least somewhat cool, this Soho location of the question mark retailer was above the pretense. I really don't think they put on any A/C, perhaps some exhaust fans were running but no cooling agents could've been at work there. To complete the ambience, they paneled the wall with wood, giving the store an authentic sauna look. Fabulous! Well at least the models on the wall seem to have dressed appropriately, but hey it's GUESS, they always seem to dress for the Bornean jungles.

Close calls with heat stroke aside, I finally managed to have dessert at Chikalicious. After three failed attempts in the past year and a half, I finally came to New York when they are open. I was really surprised to see the sidewalk filled with people waiting for a table, because the last time I went there it we got seats immediately. Well, they do deserve this popularity though, so... good for them!

The Lure of Free Stuff

2005-08-18T11:40:00.000-04:00

So just this morning at around 10, I made a resolution to go do cardio at the gym in the morning three times a week. I just realized yesterday that my gym actually opens at 6! Yea, 'been feelin' a bit resolution-y in the past few days since I've been so lazy to pack up lunch and ended up muching on junk food plus the 200-calorie frappuccinos with extra extra espresso shots. On top of that, I'd better start worrying about my love handles before they become permanent...the horror!!

Anyway, so at 10 I said to myself, starting Friday I'm gonna do cardio before work, and really really cut back on sugar during the week. Well, if you know my friends... it would be virtually impossible to follow any kind of diet but the eat-freely-live-happily diet. Then just 20 minutes after, I gave my eyes a break from the radiation bombardment by the LCD screen and gazed at my building's courtyard. And there they were! Those yellow and blue stripes, the harbinger of carbs and sugar binging, the Good Humor (a.k.a Wall's, Ola, and a handful of other aliases around the world) men are here! It's the semi-annual free ice cream day here at the DOT Building in L'Enfant Plaza!

Cut to us, my colleagues and me, 5 minutes later gobbling on 250gr-calorie frozen concoctions with 80 of them from fat plus the additional 130 miligrams of sodium. Life is beautiful, no?

soap: before men lost their mind

2005-08-16T23:10:00.000-04:00

So my friend told me about this magazine called soap that's published in Indonesia. He spoke so highly of it, of how smart the articles were and how stylish the layout were. Well Howke dear, you're half correct — ok a bit more than half, I'll give 70%.

At first look, the men's mag was indeed very stylish. I could see it on the newsstand shelves next to Vanity Fair, ARENA, Details, or Men's Non-no. Then I started reading the articles cover to cover. Whoa... bad move! For just like every other pop culture publications in Indonesia nowadays... we certainly don't lack the creativity needed to pull it off, but we are most lacking in the department of journalism. I can't help wondering what exactly does the job description of a magazine editor at soap entail? Because all the discrepancies and mistakes that I found should have been caught earlier by the editor before he passes it to print. What's most annoying about it were spelling mistakes: please... just turn on your microsoft word's spellchecker, you got the resources already!.

Well I might sound ranty and grumbly at the moment like a sore guy getting rejected from applying to work for soap, but let me give you a few scans of the magazine:

Jason a.k.a Jonathan

Take a look at the 2 underlined names: Jason and Jonathan, they were referring to the same guy. The writer was talking about Jason Schwartzmann, the drummer-turned-actor seen last in I heart Huckabees. How bad is this? The mistake actually changes the content... well unless it was intended to be a brain teaser, find which names don't match!

Apparently Accents Are Optional in Spanish

... and apparently the letter 'c' is used interchangeably with 't' as well! Actually I have to commend them for trying to put the original title instead of just putting in the international one (which what American publications always do). Nevertheless, please take a moment and grab a dictionary, or at the very least, copy it from the source letter by letter including every funny squiggles on, above, or below each letter. This superb film — if I might add — is called La Mala Educación in Spanish, the language it is shot in.

Newsflash: Perfume Pumps Found to Cause Depletion in Ozone Layer
Let me translate this article:

"Spray or Splash? For lazy men who want what's practical, spray perfume is the shortcut they could take. For those that are more concerned about the environment — in this case the Ozone layer etc., splashing your cologne would be the ideal option. But remember, if you pick the latter, you can't be un-hygienic. The cleanliness of your hands is very important in this case."

Hmm.... I guess I must have been living in the most remote part of the world, because the last time i saw a bottle of spray perfume/cologne, it uses a manual pump instead of the aerosol used in deodorants and hairsprays. So how on earth, would that in anyway harmful to the ozone layer?

VJ Catherine takes in refugees

I can't believe this. I would be mad if I were Catherine... this quote was taken from her fashion editorial. Obviously she must have said "Beach and shopping is my refuge from all my hectic world." Well corni-ness aside, she couldn't have said refugee which means totally different from refuge. This is English 101.. I sure hope the editor took it before nailing his job.

A little bit of logic goes a long way
Correct me if I'm wrong, but in that lyric of Janet Jackson's song, "That's the Way Love Goes," doesn't she refer herself as the moth and love as the flame? The snippet was clipped from a profile about a beautiful lady named Marsha Timothy whose favorite song is the aforementioned hit. She likes it because that song is the soundtrack of her life.
Now I see the writer tried to be smart by adding that ad-lib, "Now guys, anyone wants to be the moth?" Hmm.. let's check the facts again, moth = janet/marsha, flame = love. 'The moth is attracted to the flame' roughly means the girl can't help to fall in love. OK, so now... why oh why, would anyone wanted to be the moth? What would her be then? The flame? But the flame = love? I guess she's out of the picture now, oh... tough luck.

Beyoncé's knowledge

OK... so Beyoncé never get a PhD in Nuclear Science, but saying that she knows nothing is a bit harsh, isn't it?

Grammar, spelling, and logic aside, I have to agree with Howke: soap is indeed the most stylish Indonesian mag I've ever come across, especially men's ones. Artistically, it was great... The fashion editorials rock, the reviews are very up to date, and I have to commend the ideas they're trying to push. If only they could hire someone who reads English to proofread the mag before it goes into circulation, that would be very nice.

Perdoname

2005-07-20T09:56:00.000-04:00

Wow... My last entry was more than 2 weeks ago? I guess there's just too many things going on that laziness got the best of me. There must've been at least 5 different topics I meant to put in as an entry, but before I got around to doing it, something else interesting took place. While I'm contemplating which one should I wrote about in my blog, little by little I lost the will to actually put it into writing. So here I am... trying to come up with excuses for having neglected my blog.

OK... here's the topics recap, hopefully I'll get around to actually post some of them online as a full entry. There's this dissapointing Indonesian magazine that had all the looks but none of the content, followed by the infectious chuckle-inducing journalism that is the BBC's Top of the Pops. Then, there's the dinner party at my place when my parents were visiting... actually the interesting part was the vino part, where afterwards we kinda just took whole bunch of pictures. I guess it's true that alcohol boosts your artistics side, hahaha. And then there's Anggun's latest news with her new single, new couturier, new clip and all.

Anyway.. soon, I'll put all these ideas into writing, when I'm out of this lazy mode. This temperature + humidity is killing me! upper 90s (Fahrenheit) with 90% (of humidity)? I'm not a physician but I'm pretty sure that can't be good for your santé. So stay indoors and drink (water, that is... not the creative elixir) enough.

The Dissapointment That Is Viacom

2005-07-03T02:08:00.000-04:00

So Live 8 was supposed to be broadcasted live on MTV. All of the concerts, not just the Philly one. Well that was supposed to be the case, three of Viacom's music channels (MTV, mtvU, and VH1) are to cover the Philly Live 8 while giving us bits of the other concerts. If MTV/VH1's coverage is to be believe, then the concert should've been Anglo Live 8 for they only covered the London and Philly ones and snippets of performances in English in other country. Surely nobody would believe that the concert was held in 10 different cities in 4 continents. Apparently everyone speaks English in Tokyo, Paris, Berlin, and Rome. Also, whatever happened to Moscow? I was so ticked off that instead of showing the local artists such as Calogero in France, Dreams Come True in Japan, or Jovanotti in Rome, the only foreign artists that they showed was the Brits plus one or two that performed their songs in English (such as Shakira).

I guess I expected too much, I though with all the technology and connected-ness that we have now, this time would be different from 20 years ago when internet was a geek lingo. But apparently Viacom thinks that the American people would be so narrow-minded that they won't even care to see other artists that have won acclaims in their own country (and beyond most of times).

OK, so maybe non UK/US artist is a bit pushing it, what ever happened to those that performed abroad such as Good Charlotte, Bjork, Pet Shop Boys, The Killers, and many more? Where are the clips???

Shame on you MTV for helping is not feel the global-ness of this potentially once-in-a-lifetime event! And to think with a commercial break and reality shows ads on every other song you should have enough fund to do pretty much anything!

Trevor Reznik

2005-07-01T16:18:00.000-04:00

I finally saw « The Machinist » starring Christian Bale (Batman Begins, American Psycho), Jennifer Jason Leigh (Road to Perdition, and Aitana Sánchez-Gijón (A Walk in the Clouds). This is one of those rare coincidences when I actually agree with the critics: Christian Bale was superb in this film. Well, to be fair, the whole ensemble was really great. I think any one of the cast member was just as crucial as the other in making the film such an engaging piece of work.

For those of you who are interested in seeing the movie because of its similarity with Memento (Christopher Nolan), it might be a bit of a let down. I think the only reason why people are linking it to the 2000 release is because they just couldn't relate it to any other film. Although there are certain parts of The Machinist that's very similar to Memento (Post-it notes), it's a totally different movie. To me Christopher Nolan's work is essentially a suspense, while this movie is a drama. Memento kept you guessing up 'til the end, but don't expect that from The Machinist; at some point you'd have enough clues to guess what's really happening. Weak script? I don't think so, because if you watch the film with your head clear of Memento redux hopes, the drama behind Trevor's condition is the actual story. Bale's insanity in losing 63lbs has really paid off, because there is no way anyone could help him/herself from cringing looking at that living skeleton. In a way this is a less intense movie than Memento, but more personal.

Hmm... for someone who thinks that this movie is nothing like Memento, I sure mentioned Memento (second time in a single sentence!) a lot! OK, so here's the synopsis of what "The Machinist" is about: "Trevor Reznik is an heavy-machinery operator who hasn't slept for the past year. As he continues on suffering from insomnia, the sleep depravity began to affect him. Hallucinations began to merge with his reality. What's really happening? Is there a conspiracy against him? Or is he really losing his mind? Witness Trevor drudge through his hazy existence as he uncovers the truth."

Now forget all that I've said about the movie, and go see the movie with a head clear of expectations. Just rest assured that the 2 hours you'll spend is worth it. Also, I dare you to resist watching the making-of up to the end!

The Prophecy

2005-06-30T15:29:00.000-04:00

Yap... I guess I've fulfilled my own prophecy. Just look at my last few entries! They're all about this movie and that song. This blog has become one highly subjective list of pop culture reviews! Guess I better start posting more personal stuff then. C'est parti!

It seems I'm gonna be out of job soon. But most likely I'll get the job back pretty soon as well ^_^, don't ask me.. this is how the administration work. Basically the place where I work at is run with the fund that has to be approved by the president. For the past 6 months, we have been going on a month-by-month basis since the Congress still hasn't approved the actual proposal. So at the end of each month, we would get an e-mail teling as the situation (it goes something like this: we run on this budget, the pres. has to approve it, if it doesn't get approved we might have to shut down agencies depended on it), and another one saying that the President has approved the extension for another month. What's different now is, it's already the end of the month, and we've already got the no budget e-mail, but it's 1.5 hours away from the close of business and no e-mails in sight. So, the institution I work for might not exist anymore tomorrow which also means I don't have to come in. But, apparently, this wouldn't be the first time it has happened, so the extension might get approved on Friday, then life as we know it would resume on Tuesday.

*Wait!* My co-worker just told me there's an broadcast e-mail. Everyone opened it in anticipation..... and it turned out to be just another announcement about the new building they're building at the Waterfront.

Atlantic Crossover

2005-06-27T16:55:00.000-04:00

Well, well, apparently the pop/classical crossover phenomenon has indeed crossed the Atlantic. In the UK (always the first to catch American bugs), there were smash hit debut albums by Il Divo and G4 plus Charlote Church just released a pop-rock top 40 single. Now, the trend just crossed la manche for France. Florent Pagny, one of the the country's biggest male singers, just released a pop-classical album, entitled « Baryton ». Both the album and the first single « Io le canto per te (Italian for I sing it for you) » went to number one on the SNEP charts (singles, albums).

He's actually one of the senior artists in France, and he sings chanson française, the typical musical style of French singers in the 80's and early 90's. He could be called a veteran singer if he's not still so productive. I was completely taken aback when I sample his latest album (was released back in 2004 - i definitely need to get back up to date with the music industry!) because it was so different from her old musical style yet sounded so natural to him.

And of course, this discovery intitiated a string of calls to all record stores in the DC metro. And as expected, I hanged up the last call empty-handed. Neither the national chains (Tower Records, Barnes & Noble) nor the local specializing-in-imports stores have it. I guess my only option would be to order it online from Canada or France.

io le canto per te
nel paradiso degli dei / immaginarti io potrei / come colomba bianca tu / e ti amo
in the paradise of the gods / i can picture you / like a white dove / and i love you
sei sortilegio sei magia / la mia piu dolce melodia / e che ti adoro bimba mia / non é strano
you're a spell, magic / my softest melody / and how i adore you, child / it's not strange
troppo lungo questo tempo / cosi forte il sentimento / quando sei lontana / mi tormento, io
time is too long / feelings are so strong / when you are far / it torments me
le canzoni mie piu belle / sono ancora e sempre quelle / che raccontano / l'amore mio per te
my most beautiful songs / are still and always be those / that tell about my love for you
nel paradiso degli dei / cosi dipingerti vorrei / come regina sei per me / delicata
in the paradise of the gods / oh how i would like to paint you / as you are the queen for me / delicate
e la passione che ho per te / quando ti guardo e penso che / la mia bambina resti tu / la mia fata
is the passion that i have for you / when i look at you and i think / stay, child / my fairy
e oggi le canto per te...
and today, i sing this for you

Day 10 of « Fijación Oral » Fixation

2005-06-21T16:40:00.000-04:00

I guess, it's about time I consider about going to an SA nearby. Shakiholic Anonymous that is, since it's been more than a week that I've been listening religiously to her latest album. The more I listen to, the more addicted I become. I did finally manage to open Coldplay's X&Y which I bought at the same time, even though it was a good album, but I still can't help grabbing Shakira's album on the way out instead of the Brit lads'. I still sing along to La Tortura, feel melancholic when listening the acoustic version of La Pared, and envy Antonio everytime I listen to Dia de Enero.

I know I said that Obtener un Sí was the disc's gem but lately I've found myself loving Dia de Enero more. I still think the bossanova song was a breakthrough for Shakira, but while her bebel gilberto chanelling was perfect, it didn't have the smile-inducing effect the Antonio-dedicated song has. If I were him, I would've had to hold back my tears when listening to this verse:
"Y aunque hayas sido un extranjero hasta en tu propio país / Si yo te digo ¿como dices tu? / Tu aún dices ¿que decís? / Y lloras de emoción oyendo un bandoneón"
"even if you're a stranger in your own country / when i said 'how do you say?' / you still say 'what did you say?' (argentinean accent) / and you cried when listening to the bandoneon"

Short linguistics note to explain the how do you say/what did you say thing. Like French, Spanish has two words that means you: tú and vosotros (vos) with each its own conjugation form. While all through Latin America people use tú when speaking with someone close and vosotros otherwise, Argentines use vos (a shortened form of vosotros with identical conjugation) all the time. So this is what the lyrics meant: Shakira said it using tú conjugation and Antonio would reply using vos. It might just be the linguist in me, but I think she's a genius!

dia de enero january day

Te conocí un día de enero / con la luna en mi nariz
i met you on a january day, with the moon on my nose
Y como ví que eras sincero / En tus ojos me perdí
and as i saw you were sincere, i was lost in your eyes

Que torpe distracción / y que dulce sensación
what a clumsy distraction and what a sweet sensation

Y ahora que andamos por el mundo / como Eneas y Benitin
and now that we're walking around the world like Eneas & Benitin
Ya te encontre varios rasguños / que te hicieron por ahí
i've already noticed many cuts they've inflicted on you along the way

Pero mi loco amor / es tu mejor doctor
but my crazy love is the best doctor for you

Voy a curarte el alma en duelo / voy a dejarte como nuevo
i'll cure your mourning soul, i'll leave you like new
Y todo va a pasar / pronto verás el sol brillar
and everything will pass, soon you will see the sun shines

Tú más que nadie merecer ser feliz
you, more than anyone, deserve to be happy

Ya vas a ver como van sanando / poco a poco tus heridas
soon you will see how your wound are healing bit by bit
Ya vas a ver como va / la misma vida a decantar la sal que sobra del mar
soon you will se how this very life will pour out the excess salt from the sea

Y aunque hayas sido un extranjero / hasta en tu propio país
and even though you've been a foreigner in your own country
Si yo te digo ¿como dices tu? / Tu aún dices ¿que decís?
when i say "how do you say?" you still say "what did you say?"
Y lloras de emoción oyendo un bandoneón
and you cry with emotion when listening to a bandoneon

Y aunque parezcas despistado con ese caminar pausado
and though you seem to be absent-minded with that lazy walk
Conozco la razón que hace doler tu corazón
i know what hurts your heart
Por eso quise hacerte esta canción
that's why i wanted to write this song

Fixated on « Fijación Oral »

2005-06-12T02:13:00.000-04:00

obtener un sí to obtain a 'yes'

ay, ay, como muero por ti
oh, how i die for you
como poder olvidarte
how can i forget you
basta que me enamores
you only need to win my heart
o que me mandes flores
or to send me flowers
para obtener un sí
to obtain a 'yes'

ya tengo ojeras de tanto mirarte
i've already got dark circles from staring you too much
y lo peor es que aún me queden tantas ganas de...
and the worst part is that i still long to ...
esperarte
wait for you
hasta que entiendas que
until you understand that
te quiero porque eres claro, claro
i love you because you are as real as
como la planta de mis pies
the soles of my feet
como el amor después de hecho
love after making it
como tu voz y tu piel
your voice and your skin

I've finally got my hands on a copy of Shakira's latest album — the first part of her « Fijación Oral / Oral Fixation » double album. In a move that arguably the first in the music industry, she is planning to release a truly bilingual double-album. The first part (a.k.a. the Spanish part), « Fijación Oral Volumen 1» was released last week and it's a truly latin release with all the credits and prints of the album in Spanish. November will see the release of the other half — the English part — of the album, aptly titled: « Oral Fixation Volume II ».

I'm so glad that not only has she returned to her musical style before « Laundry Service » happened, she has obviously grown as a musician: proven by
the unbelievably rich collection of genres in the album. The album showcases Shakira's versatility from eighties latinpop à la Sentidos Opuestos (Las De La Intuición) to the devil-may-care style of Julieta Venegas (En Tus Pupilas) to Bebel Gilberto's bossanova (Obtener Un Sí) to classic rock ñ in a duet with Alejandro Sanz (La Tortura) to pure classic Shakira (Escondite Inglés). Fijación Oral will definitely keep you fixated on your cd player for as long as the cd is playing. If you had some interest in learning Spanish before, you'll definitely take that SPAN101 post-haste as soon as you manage to part yourself with your discman.

« Obtener un sí » is definitely the albums best cut. Although it doesn't have the in-your-face quality of « La tortura » or the catchy hook of « Las de la intuición », the airy-ness of this almost brazilian bossanova song will grow on you. Plus with the mercury hovering around 30C/80F, I can't think of better music to lounge around in the sun with.

Food & Manhattan

2005-06-08T14:11:00.000-04:00

How does 36 hours of nonstop eating in Manhattan sound? Yap, it was just as rewarding as it sounds. Devmann, Myra, Patrice, and I drove to Manhattan on Friday night and spent the following 2 days eating. Literally. Here is a recount of the gastronomically hedonistic weekend, ordered by food vendors:

Washingtonians at Columbia: Me, Myra, Patrice, Devmann

« Caffe Swish »

We stayed at Jane's apartment at Morningside Heights, just a few blocks south from Harlem. She goes to Columbia hence the location. For lunch on Saturday morning, we (the 5 of us + Adrian, another Columbian) were planning to have shabu-shabu at Caffe Swish, but alas, they don't serve it until 4pm. But it's OK because they got Lady M Mille Crêpes: layers of extra thin crêpes stacked one on top of another with crème fraîche in between. It was was heaven.

« Minamoto Kitchoan »

After convincing Jane that there would always be tomorrow to study, we took the metro, i meant the subway, to Fifth Ave where this extra fancy Japanese pastry shop is located at. I don't know how did they do it but every single thing there looks too good to eat. After blowing my cd allowance on wagashi, we moved on to the next stop.

<< Patrice still wanting some more wagashi even though she got a bag full of it already

Myra, Jane, and Patrice on Fifth

« Le Pain Quotidien »

Devmann & Patrice at a corner in the Village >>

We arrived at Washington Square and the weather was scorching hot. The fountain was full of people wading and the park was so crowded and there were street performers (most notably the one singing "We are the champions" on a monocycle). And the weather forecast predicted showers for the whole weekend! Well, tant mieux, I guess. It was so warm so before going for the Belgian Fries, we decided to take a break at the Belgian Bakery, Le Pain Quotidien. And of course, being who we are, we ended up stuffing ourselves with more carbs. Well, it was a bakery, so it's rather impossible to avoid it and plus, they got g-r-r-eat bread and the jams were of Bonne Maman quality. Yum! Oh, not all was good. Do not order the Mint Lemonade, right Patrice? ^_^ It tasted more like Mint water with a dash of lemon.

« Vol de Nuit »

A.K.A. Le Frite Knot. Belgian Fries was on top of my list this time, so I did some research on the Belgian Fries website which mentioned this one authentic place in Greenwich. It turned out they've become a beer bar now, but they still serve frites with 10 kinds of dipping sauce to choose. We ordered two medium fries and 4 kinds of sauce: Bourbon, Garlic Aïoli, Dijon Fine, and Andalouse.

Two medium frites with Andalouse, Garlic Aioli, Bourbon, and Dijon Fine

My favorite was definitely the Garlic Aïoli while Dijon Fine was rather to wasabi-ish. Who knows Beer & Fries go so well together? Hahaha.. no wonder I got love handles, huh?

^^ They also got patio seating
Clockwise from back right: Myra, Patrice, Jane, Adrian, Devmann ^^

« Joe's Ginger »

Post-frites, Jane decided to went back uptown with Adrian. So the four of us decided to walk around Greenwich and SoHo before having xiao long baos for dinner. Xiao long bao (a.k.a. soup dumpling) are your ordinary dumplings filled with crab, pork, or both, steamed with broth inside so you can't just bite into it. To eat it, you have to put the dumpling on a spoon, then take a small bite at the edge and sip the broth before chowing down the rest of the dumpling. Joe's Ginger is one of the sister restaurants of Joe's Shanghai the supposedly pioneer of xiao long baos in Manhattan. I've tried both and I think they tasted the same.

« Palačinka »

We finally managed to force Devmann into going to this café after he lost to Myra on an elephant-man-ant game (it's the Indonesian version of rock-paper-scissors, we use the thumb, the index, and pinky fingers instead. elephant kills man, man kills ant, ant scares elephant). ^_^;; After walking 10 blocks from Mott to Sixth Ave, we finally got there. If I have to pick one favorite café in Manhattan, I would definitely pick this. Good food, good selection of drinks, and great ambience. So perfect to jumpstart your mornings or for relaxing at the end of the day. Dimmed lighting, vintage european interior, and bossanova music.

<< Dev with his Mojito and Myr with her Capirinha

« Men Kui Tei »

It's Sunday and the weather forecast couldn't be more wrong. Yay! They said it would rain the whole weekend but, that day was as sunny as it is possible before the asphalt starts to melt. We started the day at this homey, japanese restaurant that promises to serve authentic Kyoto peasant food. Their speciality is ramen, the curly noodle more widely available in its instant variety that I think people outside of Japan considered ramen = instant noodle.

Back: Domo, Jane, Myra, Devmann. Front: Lia, Liza, Monika, Patrice, Me

We also met with my friends from LA, one of which happen to be Jane & Myra's friend from highschool. Yea.. this small world thing starts to get old, perhaps I should go to Iceland or Zaire or Mongolia.

On the subway with Jane

« Vosges »

While the Los Angelenos continue their shopping at Fifth Ave, the East Coasters continue their caloriefest at SoHo. This chocolaterie's subtitle was haut-chocolat and judging from the price, it was high enough! Five bucks for a hot cocoa was luxury indeed. Nevertheless, I think it was well worth the price, although I guess not everyone would concur with me ^_^. My favorite was the Bianca, it's white chocolate with Australian lemon myrtle, Provençale lavenders, and Madagascar vanilla. Ooh la la! The other interesting concoction was the Aztec Elixir. It was chocolate the way the Aztecs drank it: crushed cacao beans infused with ancho and chipotle chilies plus mexican vanilla beans, cinammon and thickened with cornmeal. Sounds adventurous enough?

« Balthazar »

Balthazar's authentic french brasserie decor

We met up with Sylvia, Adrian's friend at Vosges, and surprise! she was a highschool friend of Devmann's brother. Since we already finished our drinks by the time she got there, we decide to go somewhere to sit down and talk.... over coffee and dessert perhaps? We were so close already to Balthazar so we decided to just go there. I love Balthazar for its authentic French Brasserie look: from the vintage mirror-lined wall to the hexagonal black-and-white tiles to the to-die-for crème brulées.

Patrice lagi, Patrice lagi, sering amat elo difoto ya Pat?

« Acceptance »

Well this one is neither a food vendor nor it is edible. Even so, I just have to include them on this list 'cause at the moment I'm all about Acceptance. Also, we played their cd all the way to New York, so in a way it is still part of the NY trip. ^_^
I really think they're gonna be big, if not in the US then in the UK for sure. They sound like a more mature Simple Plan or a less noisy Hoobastank, depending on which song you're listening to. Go to purevolume/acceptance to sample some of their song. Definitely listen to So Contagious and Different, both from their latest album, Phantoms.

Spring Cleaning

2005-05-30T00:18:00.000-04:00

'Tis Memorial Day weekend and I got nowhere to go. Most of the guys have their parents over so they're - like - all over the country now. Otherwise, we would've had a barbecue or something. But, I'm not complaining. Actually, I'm so glad I got time to relax and recharge. It felt like this is my first true vacation although it's only a 3-day weekend, but it's been really relaxing.

Went to dinner with Raeleen on Friday night (we were suppose to go with Devmann to this vegetarian restaurant but he had to work overtime... man, i think i will never manage to work in the private sector) to Ruan Thai. Good dinner: Panang Chicken (yes dev, it's chicken's better, beef sucks) and Raeleen finally managed to order the good Catfish dish.

Saturday... went swimming! The first time since the surgery and before that I don't think I had swam since I started working so it has been well over a year. So glad I could still swim OK, although after forcing myself to do two sets of 10 laps, my back kinda ached. So I got out of the pool and went to the sauna while I wait for Raeleen to finish her swim. Then we, lounged for a bit in the sun, ha ha ha two Southeast Asians trying to get even more tan.
15 minutes later, Devmann called to ask if we were still on for dinner at Great Sage, the vegetarian resto. And so we went. It was really good! Honestly, it surpassed my expectation. and the Tempe with this creamy pink sauce made from veggies was excellente. Yum, my mouth waters just thinking about it. The dessert was really good as well, I could taste the freshness.

And today, I meant yesterday on Sunday, I finally got around to wash my car and vacuum the filthy floor mats. Then Dev & I went to see the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. It was just as i expected it to be: funny, witty, fantastic, nutty, very brit-y. I loved it, I wish Hollywood would make more of these blockbuster with depth and wit more.
When I got home I somehow got the urge to do some cleaning. I guess looking and my shiny car with clean interior really opened my eyes that my house is filthy! LOL So I did my laundry, cleaned the kitchen, and scrubbed the bathroom. I think I did my exercise for today by scrubbing the bathtub 'cause my arms are all sore now. So both my house and car are clean now ^_^

Alright, crashing into my bed now, I can hardly open my eyes anymore, let alone typing in English! So before I start inventing my own language, お休み!

Setahun

2005-05-24T23:26:00.000-04:00

Today marks the first anniversary of my working at the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Do job anniversaries exist? Or does that just mean I'm too lazy to find another job? But it's not the one year itself that matters most, it's the fact that I got to change my photo ID!!! Hahaha, 'been waiting a long time to finally get rid of that ugly picture. This time I was more ready, but it didn't turn out that well either, I guess I'm just not ID-genic T_T

I really felt that life truly is nothing but a set of cycles and this job anniversary marks the end of a long and very eventful cycle. Actually, the past weekend was when I really felt that a year has finally passed. Driving to the highway from Muvico with Devmann, we somehow took the exact same route where I got the news about my brothers' accident and where I finally found out that Umang has left us. I'm pretty sure that that was not the first time I drove through that street after my brother's passing, but I guess with all the graduations I was going to attend the following day; My mind was on déjà vu mode.

Seeing my friends' family, taking pictures in front of the hall: The commencement atmosphere really took me back to last May when I was flying in and out of Minnesota, California, and Maryland attending graduations in 4 different cities: Ii's in Mankato, Umang's in Mpls, Luki's in LA, and Yuli's in SF. It was about two months after the accident at Mt. Shasta, California and during that time, I had the strangest feelings inside. Yes it was celebratory with all the graduations but in the same time I can't help thinking we're missing one person. I was shifting back and forth between being happy and sad, but most of the time I was feeling melancholic, smiling while almost shedding a tear, laughing with an emptiness inside followed with a pang of guilt for being able to laugh so soon. In a way, this period set in more clearly in my memory than the wake and all the crying that entails it. I guess I was more conscious when I attended those graduations than when we took care of wake and funeral. I think we all operated on a limited consciousness during that time, didn't really have the energy to remember anything but being sad.

So with all the things going on with the graduation weekend, all these came back to me. I guess that was why I felt what I felt when we drove through that street. I was sad but then I realized that I was not feeling but I was instead remembering. I was feeling a past emotion and that was when it hit me "it has finally been a year since life returned to normal." Well, it's true what they say, when you're at the bottom, you can only go up. Last year I got no job, lost my brother, got stitches at the emergency room, and herniated my disk. But now, I got a decent job, got a new niece, went through a successful surgery, and got closer to friends that might very well be family. I suppose I still have a lot of things to cherish. I should look up more.

−.− .− −. −−. . −. / −. .. .... / −. −.. ..− − / .−.−.−.− / − .. .− .−−. / .−.. .. .− − / ... ..− −... .− .−. ..− / − . − .− −. −−. −−. .− / ... . .−.. .− .−.. ..− / .. −. −−. . − / . .−.. −−−

edit: hahaha sorry Von, i forgot the happening metropolis that is Ithaca! it should've been FOUR different cities

Mpls: Most High-Tech City?

2005-05-18T16:38:00.000-04:00

While waiting at the dentist's office this morning, I read on Popular Science that they ranked Minneapolis (yes, Minnesota) as the most high-tech city in the United States. I was –like– perplexed for a full sixty-second. Minneapolis? That so-called metropolis in the north where people with a Canadian accent and soda is called pop? The city that I call home even though I've only stayed there for a little bit more than a year?

MIN-NE-A-PO-LIS. Tell me if I'm right, these gotta be the words that come to your mind after reading that: cold, snow, fargo, cold again, blizzards, jesse ventura, more snow, ... Never would I have thought that the city could actually be in a ranking called technopolis found. And there it is, at numéro uno.

I needed a few minutes to let it sink in before it dawned on me that the news isn't really that surprising. I guess I've really taken it for granted all the privileges I enjoyed while living in the Cities. After reading the article, I pretty much agree with all the points he mentioned except for one thing: public transportation.

Well, one point in the article that I can soooo relate: in Minneapolis, you can swipe your plastics anywhere, taxis, chinatown restaurants, posh boutiques, you name it, they'll swipe your card (yes, even Discover). This, of course, really can't be said about other metropolises such as New York or even DC where they seem to miss the cashless society train.

As uplifting as the article was, it seemed to have failed to talk about [the lack of] public transportation in Minneapolis. Yes, yes, they've just opened the sleek yellow light rail that will wisk riders from the airport to downtown in minutes, but that really is not enough. The minimum cost of riding a bus is $2.00 the last time I checked and they run very infrequently (for a city with that size). Plus, if you live in the suburbs, then just forget all about helping the environment and congestion by taking the bus because it doesn't exist! Or most often, you drive 15-40 minutes to the commuter terminal and take the bus that could run as infrequent as twice a day!

I still think that the Twin Cities is a great place to live (especially the uptown area) but I guess I just can't tolerate people glossing over certain facts.

Mundane Thursday

2005-05-12T13:30:00.000-04:00

Do any of you bloggers ever felt like writing an entry and then ended up postponing it because you're tired, the pictures aren't downloaded yet, etc.? And when you're finally going to post it, you realize that it's already so passé. Well, that's exactly what I'm feeling at the moment. I guess blog is better served fresh, huh?

The song by the way is « Taste of Harmony » by an Indonesian group called Homogenic. If it sounds familiar to you Björk fans out there, that's where they got the name from. These three young (very young, they're born in 1983!! younger than me and they got a record deal already T_T) people from Bandung might not get the same recognition as their record label mate, Mocca, with their sleeper hit album « My Diary ». Nevertheless, I think they really do have enormous potential: slick programming, great arrangements, and smart songwriting (although a bit of intensive english lessons really wouldn't hurt). Oh, and if you manage to get a hold of the actual album, the design (both photography and graphic) is just plain stunning. Yes, they sing in both Indonesian and English. So contact your Indonesian stockists and inquire about it.

« Taste of Harmony »
if i could show to you someday / i'll have all my dreams in my hands
don't ever close your eyes again / it's all in front of you
make it real, you will see / 'cause you will always be around me
you will see the sunshine in my eyes / your face will hear the melody from my song

Now let me sum up the past week. Went to the Emergency Room 'cause Benny's right face was swelling and hurting. We got there at 7:30 and finally at 15:00 Dyah and I left the hospital. It's perfectly fine if in the 7-and-a-half hour they were doing all sorts of tests and analysis on Benny's condition, but it was just plain inefficency. In that 7.5-hour period, Benny probably was seen by a half dozen physicians and nurse in 60-minute intervals and 5-minute sessions each. So you can imagine us, sleep-deprived, caffeine-intoxicated, loitering about the emergency room. And even when they finally made the decision to admit him because they wanted to get the antibiotics intravenously in order to prevent the infection to spread to the brain, it took them more than an hour before somebody finally put an IV on him! My past experiences at the emergency room here in the US are pretty much identical, so I think the best advice to anyone who's going to the emergency room is to moan and scream in agony incessantly while if possible drop some blood. Perhaps that would make them work faster like they should be. I mean, it's called emergency for God's sake!

Another thing is Leo's going away. Yeah, after two months here in DC, he finally departed for Columbus this morning (supposedly). I guess no more eating out during weekdays now since he was the culprit of that heinous and fattening activity for the past two months straight! ^_^ Now it'll probably be a long while before we would go to Bob's Noodle, China Chef, Ruan Thai, and Oriental East again. Oh... I almost forget the most important one: Bubblemix !!

ミラさん〜誕生日おめでとう!

2005-05-06T14:46:00.000-04:00

met ultah ya myr.... the best housemate ever! moga-moga semua rencana-rencana elo (yang buanyak dan rumit itu) pada jadi kenyataan ya~

Yesterday was Myra's birthday, unlike what we have done in the past years, we decided to quit doing the big complicated deceitful surprises. After doing it again and again on everyone's birthday for more than a year, it became so predictable. So this year we just did a simple party,

with a special guest appearance by....
the Hazelnut Meringue from Pasta Plus. One of our latest findings in the District's patisserie industry. Thanks to Raeleen for raving about it to me!!

Well, I know I said we didn't want to do the whole "surprise!"-and-now-let's-start-throwing-food-at-myra thing, but it was still supposed to be a surprise with a cake nonetheless. Alas, Myra & John actually came home sooner than Devmann got to our place. Well I guess it was still a surprise in the "what are these people doing here? kind of way. Then Devmann came with the torte, and we did the light-the-cake-blow-the-candles-sing-happy-birthday-cut-the-cake ritual. And we pretty much just chill and savor the torte complemented with Shanghai Rose tea while Postal Service was playing in the background.

Don't get me wrong, John & Myra are my dear friends, but seriously... I think I should just get Myra a photography class voucher for her birthday, ^_^. Let's analyze these two pictures, for some reason everytime I deliberately tried to take a picture of them, they're never smiling, although when they don't see the lens, well, let's just say that being subtle is not exactly their best quality.

ps. mouseover the images for comments

D.C. stands for DiverseCity

2005-05-04T11:27:00.000-04:00

iya li... iya, nih gua update lagi, diganti pula lagunya. aduh, mustinya lo tuh ninggalin komentar bukan bikin-bikin permintaan! untung gua baek, jadi diturutin deh.
I've been meaning to post about my outings last weekend to the film festivals and the cafés, but technological issues hindered me from doing so. I got some pictures from this café that we went to (Café Bonaparte) on my cellphone but I haven't managed to transfer them to my PC. I guess Nokia make good cellphones by sacrificing their tech support funds. So let me just give you the summary.

I've got an idea if the District's tourism promotion board ever on the lookout for a new campaign. I admit it won't be that original but it is representative of what DC is. The problem is, when most people think about DC, what comes to their mind is the White House, the Capitol, and the Monuments and Memorials all over the city. It's not that they're wortheless or anything, they're beautiful in fact (Lincoln Memorial at night glowing with the reflecting pool underneath it is definitely one of DC's best views). But, it's such a shame that because of they're forgetting that the District is also a city full of contradictions, a liberal capital of a conservative country, a gay district right by the city's affluent old-moneyed area, yuppies shopping at the same spot as senators, film festivals vying for audience with the demonstrators at World Bank headquarters, the list is endless but you got the main point: if you order a sampler platter of the world's population, then DC's populace is what you will get.

I could almost hear you say, "What about New York or Paris or London?" True, those cities have really diverse population but it doesn't stop there. A New Yorker is a New Yorker first and foremost, same with a Parisian or a Londoner. One thing that's interesting about DC is that it is yet to grow it's own personality, so there is no such thing as the DC dialect or DC style or DC food. What we have here are choices of the plethora of authentic arts and food from whatever part of the world. Those two things are the top two reasons why I love DC. First, the choice of restaurants from fine dining to diner food to ethnic cuisine to fusion of everything. Second is the international festivals that seem to run year-long here in DC, there's DC FilmFest, DC Independent Film Festival, the Festivals at the Smithsonian, the Screenings at the AFI, the Art Museums, the Screen on the Green, and most recently the US-ASEAN Film Festival. The choices are endless.

I've put on a new song by the way, it's called « Une île », a duet performed by Serge Lama and Anggun. Cukup pelan gak buat elo li? It's quite old actually, but I've just finally managed to get my hands on the mp3. I don't think it's available anywhere but in France and some stores in Montreal perhaps.

« Une île / An Island »

une île, entre le ciel et l'eau
an island, between the sky and the water
une île sans hommes ni bateaux
an island without man nor boat
inculte, un peu comme une insulte
uneducated, a bit like an insult
sauvage, sans espoir de voyage
savage, without hope of voyage
une île, une île
an island, an island
entre le ciel et l'eau
between the sky and the water

ce serait là, face à la mer immense
it would be there, facing the immense sea
là, sans espoir d'espèrance
there, without hope of hoping
tout seul, face à ma destinée
all by myself, facing what's destined for me
plus seul qu'au coeur d'une forêt
more alone than the heart of a forest
ce serait là, dans ma propre défaite
it would be there, in my own defeat
tout seul, sans espoir de conquête
alone, without hope of conquering
que je saurais enfin pourquoi
that i would finally realize why
je t'ai quitée, moi qui n'aime que toi
i left you, me who loves no one but you

une île, comme une cible d'or
an island, like a golden target
tranquille, comme un enfant qui dort
tranquil, like a sleeping child
fidèle, à en mourir pour elle,
faithful, to those who die for her
cruelle, à force d'être belle
cruel, to the force of being beautiful
une île, une île
an island, an island
comme un enfant qui dort
like a sleeping child

ce serait là, face à la mer immense
it would be there, facing the immense sea
là, pour venger mes vengeances
there, to avenge my vengeances
tout seul avec mes souvenirs
all alone with my memories
plus seul qu'au moment de mourir
more alone than at the moment of death
ce serait-là, au coeur de Sainte-Hélène
it would be there, at the heart of St. Helen
sans joie, sans amour, sans haine
without joy, without love, without hate
que je saurais enfin pourquoi
oh how i would finally know why
je t'ai quittée, moi qui n'aime que toi
i left you, me who loves no one but you

une île, cette île, mon île
an island, that island, my island
c'est toi
it's you

Munich by the Editors

2005-04-28T10:22:00.000-04:00

Released on the 18^th of April in the UK on Kitchenware Records, this is the follow-up to the Birmingham-based Editors successful debut single, Bullets. As in the grand tradition of the british sound with its love, loss, and redemption theme, Munich epitomizes what britrock is all about: Simplistic lyrics that makes you cringe with über catchy hooks as chorus.
The single have just entered the British Singles Chart at #22, one below the Gorillaz' Feel Good Inc.

Munich

i'm so glad i've found this/i'm so glad i did
i'm so glad i've found this/i'm so glad i did

people are fragile things/you should know by know
be careful what you put them through/people are fragile things
you should know by know/you'll speak when you're spoken to

it breaks if you don't force it/it breaks if you don't try
it breaks if you don't force it/it breaks if you don't try

people are fragile things...

with one hand you calm me/with one hand i'm still
with one hand you calm me/with one hand i'm still

people are fragile things...

you'll speak when you're spoken to

Calories, calories

2005-04-27T12:27:00.000-04:00

Nothing like devouring processed carbs, trans fat, and sugar could give you the push to exercise. Minneapolis was heaven for my palate.
hmm... i can see the other half of the cheesecake in the chaska fridge
In the 56-hour period I spent in Minnesota, I must've consumed enough calories that should last me at least a week.

On the first day, I went for all-you-can-eat kwetiauw and curry chicken at K-Wok, followed by dessert at the tea garden which had excellent Royal Tea with perfect tapioca. Plus, they've got great selection of fruit mousse cakes. I had the blueberry/raspberry which was perfect to cleanse my coconut milk saturated palate. The day - I meant - the food didn't end there, about 3 hours later we went for dinner at Ruam Mit, the best thai restaurant in the us to get pha rham long song a.k.a. fried tofu on a bed of spinach with spicy peanut sauce. I've looked for this dish all over DC and either they don't have it (Ruan Thai) or it's awful (Thaiphoon). It was 21:30 and we were kinda tired already (it's true, eating is exhausting!) but there's still one more stop for the day: Cafe Latté for its Classic Vanilla Cheesecake. I decided to get the party size so that I could eat another one on the next day and another one on sunday ^_^. So greedy!

Saturday the 23rd. Now this is what I called breakfast of champions: a huge chunk of cheesecake. After getting Kiana (my 3-week old niece, the reason I came to Mpls by the way) ready to go, we went to Dong Yang, arguably the best korean food in the twin cities. I had the dolsot bibimbap and it was delicious, compared to Mpls standard it was superb. Plus the portion was more than generous, it was charity. After going for another round of bubble tea we decided to spend the rest of the day relaxing at home since it would be chaotic on Sunday. Of course, I ended up with another slice of cheesecake right after dinner. What do you expect?

Baptism Day. Luki, Ii, Mamah Ni and Lily arrived just after midnight at the airport, Luki & Lily from LA via Chicago and Mamah Ni & Ii from New Orleans. At 10, the mass began and Kiana began to cry ^_^, but as soon as the father sprinkled some holy water on her head for the baptism, she quieted down. Guess it was too warm at the church with all the people. I'm getting a watersprayer bottle for them now, the temperature seemed to be the one factor that always bother her. Perhaps all we need to do was to squirt a bit of cool water on her ^_^. I'll try it next time.
After the baptism there was a party at the house in Chaska, but we - the out-of-state minnesotans - decided to get some food that we have been craving ever since our last time in Mn. So Luki, Ii, Lily, and I went to Peking Garden for their Smelt Fish to go. But, before I leave the twincities, I just had to get another fix of bubble tea, so we went there and eat the smelt fish ^_^ The guy at the teahouse was like, "Do you live here?" Come to think of it, I should've gotten a discount! Such loyal customer. Then Chaska called asking where were we, hahaa, the godparents are still enjoying themselves eating while the baptism party had already begun at home. But Seafood Palace was just a few blocks away from where we were so we swing by there to get some Honey Walnut Shrimp and Beef Short Ribs. And with that I crossed the last item on my list. Such satisfaction was unutterable in words.

So on Monday, I just had to go to the gym and found enough determination to burn around 500 cals, only to be offset by 4 tacos from chipotle, a bottle of nantucket nectars (160cals), and bubblemix (100 easy). I guess there wasn't really any point in exercising, huh?

burning the midnight oil

2005-04-22T03:44:00.000-04:00

Great! Another addiction to be added to my already long list of compulsory consumptions. First coffee, then cd's with desserts trailing not far behind, and now –apparently– blogging!

It's been less than 12 hours since my last entry and here I am typing away with a bowl of steaming café by the screen. Yap, I'm not sleeping tonight. I've decided to just wait until I got to the airplane before I let my subconscious take control of my brain. I tried sleeping for a bit the last time I took an early flight and it didn't quite go as planned. I got at Baltimore-Washington 25 minutes before the ETD, so the desk agent didn't let me through. Hence, I changed my strategy this time and just postpone sleeping.

Nothing like going away could make me tidy up my room. I just hate leaving my room in a state of chaos, so I am most efficient at cleaning my room when I'm leaving on a jetplane. I finally managed to get rid of the little boxes of junk and redistribute the still-needed junk somewhere else where I can't see them. I also manage to call aike in Beijing. Well, she's in Szechuan actually, on a school trip. So nice to talk to her after all this time. The last time we talk directly was more than a year ago when she came to the states with howke (her brother, who has a blog as well, i might add). Talking to her made me remihisce about our franco-trip across France. Those were the days~

Got a bad case of wanderlust now.

So I told her about the blog and guess what: blogger.com is blocked by the Chinese government. Isn't that just ridiculous! Well, I guess I did read something about it a while back, but still, I guess they're trying real hard to make sure the people think the way the party wants them to think.

It's 3:44 now, I'd better get ready.

Destination: Minnéapolis

2005-04-21T16:31:00.000-04:00

Leaving for Minneapolis in 12 hours! Can't wait to get there and go to K-Wok for the Kwetiauw Goreng. I still think they got the best one in the US and with a lunch buffet just under $6, who could resist? *salivating* And then, continued on with the cheesecake and moo drinks at Cafe Latté, the best american cheesecake! Yum... I'm so hungry now.

I was so stressed out yesterday. Can't believe the traffic in the Maryland suburbs of DC. They really need to figure things out or we'll never get anywhere! And this morning I read on express that MD actually got a D- for traffic light support while the national average was a D. What sucks even more was that VA got an A and even the District proper got a B!
Before going to Minneapolis, I needed to get two things done: a haircut and aji-ichiban for Ii. So I planned to get the haircut yesterday and get the munchies today. I got back from work at 6 and I called the haircut place to see if they would be able to take me if I arrived there in 30 minutes. They say, they could. After the ordeal of honking, instant braking, idiotic traffic lights, and suicidal pedestrians on 193, I managed to get there in 35 minutes. Apparently the guy was still working on this girl, so I sat down. 15 minutes later he was done and then he asked me, "Could you wait a while?" So I sat back down after briefly getting up. Then this other guy who was sitting by me got up and walked to the hairdresser. Then another one was getting up and the hairdresser told him, "Sorry, but he has been waiting for a long time." It was 6:45 already. I was like, "What? I'm supposed to wait for these two guys before I can actually get a haircut?" So I asked him, "When do you usually leave?" He said "Seven." I was beyond angry, more like baffled actually. I mean, why tell me that he could take me if obviously he couldn't! I could've gone to aji-ichiban instead and make my time worth.
So I left and head straight to Rockville, hoping to be able to make it in 15 minutes via Veirs Mill. And so began MD Traffic Inferno: Part II. If agressive driving was punishable by death, I wouldn't be writing this entry today ^_^. It's 6:55 and I haven't even reached Shilla Bakery. So finally I called the place and pleaded her to close 10 minutes later. To the contrary of what I thought she would say, judging from the tone of her voice, she said, "Sure, do you know what you want already?" So I gave her the list: 1lbs of Rose Petals, 1/2lbs of Dried Pork, and 3rolls of Dried Squid. And that came to the total of fifty friggin bucks! ^_^ Ii better get me something nice from Dallas or I'll take the Dried Squid hostage!

*Phew!* It felt so good to rant, huh? Hahaha, I guess that's what a blog is all about. Merci... et à la prochaine fois.

Pindahan...

2005-04-18T21:26:00.000-04:00

I re-welcome you to my blog. Well, my better-designed blog anyway. It turned out that friendster's blog BLOWS! I can't even do anything other than what they pre-designed for me. And it's not like their templates are that great either. I was trying to do a TypeList for the list of songs I'm currently listening and the margins just went awry. On top of that, I can't put media on... I can't have an internet presence without my music, that just wouldn't be me. So... here I am at blogger where they still provide the tools that would help me maintain the blog but not hinder me from tweaking it.

Yeah, I spent a good two hours at work trying to figure out how the code works, and finally managed to get the Play/Stop buttons work. So go and listen to the song I am currently listening to... incessantly I might add. Ask Myra and she'll testify.

The song's called « Nothing Better » by Postal Service a band whose other song « Such Great Heights » is currently on the airwaves here in the US and Western Europe. Nevertheless, «Nothing Better» is the one that I really can't get out of my head after I listened to the album (Give Up on Sub Pop Records).

I've actually written a paragraph on the song on the blog's former-ego at friendster but I think it's better to experience the song first-hand, untarnished with biased reviews.

Nothing Better

will someone please call a surgeon
who can crack my ribs and repair this broken heart
that you're deserting for better company?
i can't accept that it's over: i will block the door
like a goalie tending the net in the third quarter
of a tied-game rivalry

so just say how to make it right
and i swear i'll do my best to comply

tell me am i right to think that there could be nothing better
than making you my bride and slowly growing old together

i feel i must interject here.
you're getting carried away feeling sorry for yourself
with these revisions and gaps in history.
so let me help you remember.
i've made charts and graphs that should finally make it clear.
i've prepared a lecture on why i have to leave

so please back away and let me go
i can't my darling i love you so…

tell me am i right to think that there could be nothing better
than making you my bride and slowly growing old together

don't you feed me lies about some idealistic future
your heart won't heal right if you keep tearing out the sutures

i admit that i have made mistakes and i swear
i'll never wrong you again
you've got a lure, i can't deny, but you've had
your chance so say goodbye

Numero Uno

2005-04-18T11:20:00.000-04:00

So I finally caved in and start my own blog, although I'm still skeptical on who will actually read other people's blog? We'll just see then how long can I keep this up before i got sick of talking about myself ^_^. Hmm... three sentence in and I've remembered why I haven't done this earlier: I'm not much of a sharer, more of a listener-slash-commentator. Well, let's just see how long can I keep up with this pouring out your heart thing before the blog becomes a list of my recently viewed films or heard songs.