I've read couple books about wars. Mostly about World War II. Aside the fact that they're all fiction, those books show a glimpse of heartaches of the people involved. What was the purpose of war itself, I guess I could never understand. More like a sick game for terribily sick minds. I don't know how could men ever find this twisted idea of massacre as a way to gaining/maintaining world peace.
The Street of A Thosand Blossoms was a beautiful story about how Japanese cope during and after World War II. How was it like having your life turned upside down in one night? Having not the slightest to really understand the situation you're in.
The story is about Claire Paddleton, an English woman, who lived in HongKong because her husband was transferred there. Long story short, she soon began to develop an affair with a chauffeur of the rich family she's working on. This affair then led to the unrevealing of tragedies during the invation of Japan to HongKong.
I can see a little bit clearer of why HongKong loaths Japan. It's only friction of the whole war thing, and it's already unforgivably cruel. And to think that HongKong was invaded only because it was a British colony... I wonder if the Queen could sleep soundly at night during this period. So many people had to suffer and struggle, all because of one man say: "Let's bring this on!"
Who is the moron who said 'don't ask your country what it can do for you, but ask yourself what you can do for your country' anyway? Geez, some of us just want to live in peace and enjoy life as it is.
Anyway, back to the book. The writing style is too much American-like, in my opinion. A tiny-weeny intriguing as it's supposed to be a story about the affair of England and China. I don't do well with movies. My definition of good movie goes around 'The Devil Wears Prada' and 'Sex and The City'. But I'm really into books. And this one is a highly recommended.
I just watched The Invention of Lying and couldn't help myself but thinking that it was actually a man's disbelief in the existance of God and happy end. I guess it went deeper than just a comedy.
This movie basically about a man who had ability to lie when everyone else did not. Hell, they didn't even have the word 'lie' in their dictionary. It was a place when what came out from one's mouth was more believable than computer's data.
There's no 'I love you' when you don't really mean it. No 'it's not you, it's me'. In fact, Jen Garner in this movie said blatantly that she wanted to be married only with handsomely rich guys so she could breed to genetically-excellent offsprings.
This was this scene, where Mark's mom was dying and she looked very distress on the prospect of living in non-existance for eternity. Then Mark said, thanks to his lying ability, that she wouldn't. She would go to a place where there is no sadness, no pain. A place when you finally would meet again with those ones you loved. A peaceful place where everybody would get a mansion of their own.
A place we know as heaven. But of course, in this alternate world the concept 'heaven' and 'hell' did not exist. Because no one was able to tell lies.
The 10 amendments did not exist. God, or 'man in the sky' as he called it, did not exist. They were created by Mark, the only guy who could lie.
I don't think this movie was about opposing the existance of God, though. Simply to state that people somehow need lies. To give them hope that there would, eventually, be a happy end. To protect them from the harsh of reality. To tell that fat boy with snub nose that there was indeed something good in him. Then, who knows, maybe lies do come true.
.JPG)
…Devy watched too much Asian Food Channel in Sunday morning. She apparently did not take it for granted when her parents left home for a big family gathering, leaving behind their curious yet not-so-much-a-cooking-material daughter.
I looked upon some Rachael Ray’s and AFC’s recipes. I settled on chicken and began to read. But then we didn’t have some of those ingredients at home, like tequila and never-heard-about-it herbs. So I decided to improvise.
I honestly didn’t know what I was going to cook. I took chicken breast and prawn out of the refrigerator. And I remembered I read something about lemon juice on Rachael Ray’s recipe. But since we didn’t have it at home, I went outside and pick a fresh lemon from the house yard. Yeah. That kind of made me feels like I was living in a country side. Oh, and the bright side of me-picking-lemon-all-by-myself-for-the-first-time was that I finally realized that lemon plant does have thorns all over the twigs! How cool… I thought only roses have thorns.
Back to the cooking thing. I then put the prawns and chickens in a bowl, squeezed the lemon and -for some strange prophecy- poured cinnamon powder over the meals. Mean while, I thought that I would need some vegetables and found organic carrots and frozen vegetables in the refrigerator.
I like the feeling when I just put whatever things on the frying pan. And I’m not quite sure of what I was cooking but… at least it was edible. *grin*
Note: My sister also ate it and she said it was fine. So no, it wasn’t poisonous.
I was wondering alone in front of my laptop. The night is getting old and it's silence surrounding me whole. Caught between what I thought and what I felt.
There are things you need to experience first before you can understand. Of how life goes and what it means. Of where fate leads and what it brings. And in some point of that journey, you can finally say: it's okay. This world is not meant to be perfect. You are not meant to get everything you want.
I drifted away... I have blamed them, her, him. I have blamed me. But still I couldn't find peace in the black sheep. So for almost too long time, I finally embrace reality and take life as it is.
There got to be reasons for everything. There got to be greater good in the further of your going.
Make believe. Someday I will understand.
Habis nonton I Hate Valentine's Day. Kalo meminjam istilahnya Aji sih itu namanya 1,5 jam yang menghibur.
Gue pengen nonton sesuatu yang lebih nggak predictable dan obvious deh. The Break-Up, lumayan. Devil Wears Prada dan It's Complicated, bagus. Gue kayaknya jatuh cinta sama Meryl Streep. Tapi memang genre film gue itu yang simple dan predictable deh. Buktinya Paris, Je T'aime masih nongkrong di atas meja. Gue nggak berani nonton.
Gue nggak suka nonton film yang membangkitkan emosi berlebih. Kayak The Revolutionary Road. Atau 500 Days of Summer. Atau Love at The Times of Cholera. Pokoknya kalau yang dari covernya aja udah keliatan seperti drama dengan banyak air mata, gue males.
I settle with The Princess and The Frog and Alice in Wonderland, thank you very much.
Menurut gue, nonton itu untuk menghibur gue. Nonton Spongebob Squarepants menghibur. Nonton SAW jelas tidak. Apalagi film-film yang bikin nangis. Nonton itu untuk dihibur, bukan dibikin nangis.
No offense untuk orang-orang yang suka dibikin nangis sama film, though.
Ada orang-orang yang bisa ngambil makna dari film. Like what the movie maker want to say through a motion picture. Gue hampir nggak pernah bisa.
Kalau film-film Disney gue lumayan bisa. Beauty and The Beast was about don't judge a book by its cover. Pocahontas redefined the meaning of 'stranger'. Lion King showed bravery.
Pada suatu hari gue nonton Pintu Terlarang dan yang terlintas di pikiran gue adalah: jangan punya anak.
Gue prefer baca buku sih daripada nonton. Kayaknya kalo buku yang dibaca dengan kecepatan sesuka gue, bisa gue cerna dengan lebih baik. Dan menurut gue, buku bukan cuma untuk menghibur gue.
Buku yang menghibur itu contohnya Paman Gober. Buku buat gue lebih untuk sarana berpikir, menemukan suspens, tambahan pengetahuan... Mungkin film-film yang tidak untuk menghibur juga dimaksudkan untuk pengetahuan kali ya.
Pengetahuan yang hampir selalu gagal gue tangkep.
Maybe people need to make more Disney.
Gue dari dulu udah nggak suka, tapi gue diemin aja. Abis gue pikir, gue ngomong begini dan begitu, apalagi kalau nggak secara langsung, yang ada cuma debat kusir doang. Tapi gue sebel. Jadi akhirnya kalau ada temen gue yang komentar begitu gue cuma bilang: 'SIAPA SIH LO BISA BILANG ORANG LAIN ALAY? LO NGERASA KEREN?!'
Sering banget deh gue denger orang ngomong alay ini, alay itu. Oke, gue juga nggak ngerti kalo ada orang yang nulis dengan kombinasi huruf dan angka kayak gitu. Ada juga yang disingkat-singkat sampai gue nggak nangkep, ini orang mau ngomong apa ya?? Tapi yaudah sih. Dia sukanya begitu. Dan terbukti dengan bahasa seperti itu dia masih bisa komunikasi sama orang lain. Terus kenapa orang ngehina-hina sih? Nggak suka orang lain pake bahasa yang beda? Then they must hate American, French, Spanish, Italian...
Tampang begini-begitu juga dibilang alay. Ha! Rambut cat dikit dibilang: 'ih, lo kayak alay...' Berasa keren banget.
Tadinya gue pikir, istilah 'alay' itu cuma istilah keren yang digunakan orang-orang borjuis untuk bilang orang lain di luar komunitasnya 'kampungan'. Tapi beberapa hari yang lalu gue baru tau itu singkatan dari 'anak layangan'. Jahat banget!
Siapa sih yang bisa milih mau lahir dengan keluarga dengan kondisi ekonomi kayak gimana? Tampang kayak gimana? Terus kenapa kalau suka band-band macem ST12, Kangen Band, dan lain-lain? Selera orang beda-beda, kreativitas juga diturunkan beda-beda, terus kenapa harus ribut sih? Lagian si ST12 toh jauh lebih sukses daripada anak-anak yang masih merengek sama ibu-bapak buat dibeliin iPad.
Dan kenapa pula kalau suka main layang-layang? Gue merasa aneh banget hobi dan interest orang yang berbeda dengan 'orang-bukan-alay' diasosiasikan dengan layang-layang. Rata-rata temen gue waktu kecil suka main layang-layang. Sekarang aja tiba-tiba merasa terlalu keren untuk main.
Apalagi kalau yang ngomong mahasiswa. Malu kali bilang orang lain 'anak layangan'! Memang siapa lo?? *emosi jiwa*
For you who's searching for 'you'. Things are rough when you're twenty-something, baby!
After years of expensive education
A car full of books and anticipation
I'm an expert on Shakespeare and that's a hell of a lot
But the world don't need scholars as much as I thought
Maybe I'll go traveling for a year
Finding myself, or start a career
I could work for the poor, though I'm hungry for fame
We all seem so different but we're just the same
Maybe I'll go to the gym, so I don't get fat
Aren't things more easy, with a tight six pack
Who knows the answers, who do you trust
I can't even separate love from lust
Maybe I'll move back home and pay off my loans
Working nine to five, answering phones
But don't make me live for my Friday nights
Drinking eight pints and getting in fights
Don't wanna get up, just have a lie in
Leave me alone, I'm a twentysomething
Maybe I'll just fall in love
That could solve it all
Philosophers say that that's enough
There surely must be more
Love ain't the answer, nor is work
The truth eludes me so much it hurts
But I'm still having fun and I guess that's the key
I'm a twentysomething and I'll keep being me
All: scat
[Sung freely]
I'm a twentysomething, let me lie in
Leave me alone, I'm a twentysomething
Leave a Comment