Dreams Do Come True: My Number 1 Band is COMING :)

This is a sticky post, will stay until May 2nd, 2012. Newer post is below

I was crying out of joy
I was laughing like a maniac
I am trembling out of control
I was moving around my house aimlessly
I was ecstatic!!!

For the first time in my life, I can say that DREAMS DO COME TRUE!!!

The Naked Traveler 3

Finally…after all the craziness over Sherlock that took all the time I have for that amazing miniseries from BBC…I finally have time to write other things

Let’s start with a book review

I read so little Indonesian Book last year…well less than little, it was only one thin book. As an Indonesian, I should be ashamed of myself. Therefore, I started this year with an Indonesian Book.

This is the third book by Trinity, a female backpacker form Indonesia. She had been travelling around the world most of her life and this is her third book. She shared all her experience in her blog and then her posts are turned into book. I never read her book because I prefer reading it in a form of book.

In this third book, we could see more about Indonesia and other Asian countries. This book revealed, mostly, about the difficulty of being a traveler who is getting older, the uncomfortable journey in a group tour with other Indonesian people and the bad side of countries she had visited.

The Reichenbach Fall – The final episode of SHERLOCK’s 2nd Series

John: I am here because …
Psychiatrist: What happened John?
John: Sherlock, my friend…
Psychiatrist: You need to get it out
John: Sherlock, my best friend, Sherlock Holmes is dead.

NO I DIDN’T JUST GIVE YOU SPOILER!!! That was the opening of The Reichenbach Fall. (use your mouse to read the above quote)

Clearly, if you have read Sherlock Holmes, no matter how ages ago it was…you would remember what happened in this story. The Reichenbach Fall was the climax of Sherlock-Moriarty rivalry.

Well…let’s just begin with a bit of the story….Don’t worry, no spoiler will be given in the first page…however, if you have watched this final episode, please take a look at PAGE 2. I want you to share your opinion on it. That part is perfect for a discussion

Sherlock – The Hounds of Baskerville

This second episode is not as strong as the first one (A Scandal in Belgravia), kinda similar with the first series where The Blind Banker was not as good as A Study in Pink…but The Hounds of Baskerville is still better than The Blind Banker.

The story might not as great as A Scandal in Belgravia but it still has great dialogue. One of the things that I love so much about this series is the dialogue. I have never seen a series with so many interesting dialogues to quote. It’s great how the writers could keep writing such amazing dialogue since the first episode of first series.

I am going to share some interesting dialogues here …but of course it won’t spoil the story

The story began with the memory of Henry Knight who witnessed her father’s death. He remembered that his father was attacked by a beast. Sherlock who was bored with no case to solve and no cigarette to smoke accepted the case just because Henry said something that clicked to his head. Henry claimed that there was a gigantic hound and that hound killed his father 20 years ago.

Sherlock: I’ll take the case.
John: Sorry, what?
Sherlock: Thank you for bringing this to my attention. It’s very promising.
John: No no no. Sorry, what? A minute ago footprints were boring, and now they’re promising?
Sherlock: It has nothing to do with the footprints. As ever, John, you weren’t listening.

Indonesia Banget 17: Graveyards in West Sumatra

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Last month, December 2011, I missed my Indonesia Banget post. I had it in mind what to write but a very unfortunate incident happened, my mom passed away. I guess from now on, 17 of each month is no longer special for sharing about my country. This date has more meaning for me.

I was planning to share about Indonesian people’s habit but I changed my mind as today is a month anniversary of my mom’s death. I am going to share about graveyards in West Sumatra. Why is it special? Because graveyard in West Sumatra is different compared to other parts in Indonesia.  In Jakarta, where I live in, graveyard is open to anyone who can rent the land. I don’t know exactly how much because different area has different rent fee. In West Sumatra, most graveyards are free because they belong to suku (in English it could be called as tribe).

Let me introduce you to suku before talking about graveyards.

West Sumatra is a matriarch land where bloodline runs through mother’s side. In most part of the world, be it in Europe, America or Asia…family names are always based on the father’s side, children don’t normally used their mother’s family name. In West Sumatra, although people don’t use family name, but their suku is always following their mother. My mother came from suku Melayu, therefore my brothers and I are also Melayu. My brothers married women from Java, their children no longer have suku because father can’t pass down their suku to their children. When I have children, my children will be Melayu just like me. If my brothers married women from west Sumatra, their children will follow their mother’s suku, they would not be considered as Melayu.

I hope you understand what suku is by now.

Sherlock – A Scandal in Belgravia

I don’t know how to write this review without spoiling the fun…I honestly don’t know!!

But I can say that Steven Moffat didn’t let us, fans of Sherlock Holmes, feels disappointed on how he portrayed the relationship between Sherlock and The Woman, Irene Adler.

On the last episode, The Great Game, we were left with a tight condition between Sherlock, John and Jim Moriarty. The matter was solved. I don’t want to say how, I will try hard not to give any major spoiler here.

I think anyone who had read A Scandal in Bohemia knew how the story goes. Sherlock met his match and it was a woman named Irene Adler. The only woman he referred to as ‘the woman’. The first half of the story was quite the same with the book but the other half was different. Moffat was trying to fit the situation with our modern life. Irene was more seductive than the Irene in the 19^th century. Lara Pulver is not a very beautiful woman but she manages to deliver a smart and seductive woman very well.

World Cinema Series

A good friend of mine, Caroline, came up with this fantastic idea:

The idea of this series is to take a trip around the world in movies.

The goal is to watch and review at least one movie per country. It will take how long it takes but two movies per month would be great. More than one movie per country is of course OK as well.

I realized that in 2011, I watched less Hollywood movies than I ever be.Hollywood has lost their charm on me due to SOOOO MANY remakes, superheroes, and sequels.

This situation with Hollywood’s lack of creativity makes me want to watch more movies from other countries. It will difficult to find movies from not so famous countries but I would like to try as best I can

Here are the movies I have for this fun event:

Sweden: Let The Right One In

England: Burke and Hare; Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels

Japan: 13 Assassins

Ireland: Sunburn

US: Dead Poet Society (I won’t include all US movies I am going to watch in2012 here)

Indonesia: Laskar Pelangi, Rantau

And I know I can easily find movies from Korea, Thailand and Taiwan (or China)

Those are all I got so far, will see what I can find later

Come and Join Us!!!
Here is the original page by Caroline> World Cinema Series
Another Participants : TBM,

Top-5 Books of 2011

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You have seen my top-5 movies of 2011 few days ago….now, it’s time for my top-5 books I read in 2011

My reading record in 2011 was not as good as 2010, I read less books in 2011, but I promise to have a better reading year in 2012. You can see the entire book I have read in 2011 in HERE.

Without further introduction, here are my top-5 books of 2011: (I am excluding Manga)

#5 1984 by George Orwell

A book I read because of Muse. I have heard so much about this book but Muse’s song United State of Eurasia was the one that made me finally decided to read the book. The idea of this book is insane!! It’s amazing how Orwell managed to create such world into something we really believe it could happen.

Summary: 1984 is a dystopia book where people no longer had the privilege to feel. The government controlled everything. The government slogan was WAR IS PEACE, FREEDOM IS SLAVERY, IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH

Battle Royale – A Book I Will Read Again and Again

The first time I read this book was in 2009, which is about 2 years ago…and now I have just finished reading it for the second time. Quite fast to be reread, don’t you think? The truth is I have missed this book since last year. I wanted to read it again since last year but I have searched it everywhere in the book stores near my house and I was out of luck….all I could find is that book with similar theme, Hunger Game…a book that I vouch not to read unless everyone who had read that book also read Battle Royale. Why bother spending my time reading a book with similar theme to one of the best book I have ever read in my life!

Luck finally came last November when Nat of In Spring It Is Dawn told me that I won a $15 prize to buy any book I want. I was ecstatic when I heard that news…there’s no other book I wanted but Battle Royale…I really really really want to read it again. I felt like a lover who was told that I can finally meet my loved one. The book came on December. I was shaking out of happiness, I was literally hugging the book. I thought I can read it after I finished the book I was currently reading at that time….but the temptation was TOO high. I abandoned the book and picked Battle Royale once again. Thank you so much Nat, you’re an angel

Battle Royale is not a book with great writing style. Koushun Takami wrote in a very ordinary way, he delivered his story in a word we used daily. But the amazingness of Battle Royale does not lie on the writing style but in the powerful story that takes me to another world full of violent and distrust, but a strong friendship proves to be stronger than anything.

Best 5 Movies I watched in 2011

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Last year I made top-5 movie of 2010 that I watched in cinema, but I can’t do that anymore this year because of the misfortune event of Indonesian cinema. I am glad I can’t do that anymore because it’s time to have a better version of top-5 movies, it is no longer movies that were released in 2011 but ALL movies I watched in 2011 regardless which year it was first released. I copied this idea from Anomalous Material (unfortunately I couldn’t find the post anymore.)

I watched a lot of movies in 2011, including some re-watched movies, here are the ones I remember: 

• Watashi Wa Kai Ni Naritai – 私は貝になりたい
• 28 Weeks later
• Kaze o Mita Shounen – 風を見た少年
• Buried
• Black Swan
• The Golden Compass
• The Invasion
• The Storm Riders
• Scott Pilgrim vs The World
• Beowulf
• The King’s Speech
• Okuribito – おくりびと
• The Incredible Hulk