Discovering life's wonders, one entry at a time.

Boys and girls...

2012-01-17T15:29:00.004+07:00

I forgot that about 18 years ago I couldn't get on a car without a cassette of NKOTB's "Face The Music" playing on the tape. "Face The Music", in case you're either too old or too young to remember early 1994, was a coming-of-age album of New Kids On The Block which has been so criminally underrated. What happened was back in the day grunge ruled the music scene, so it wasn't the guys' fault when the Kids wanted to try their hands on a new image that was kind of a far cry from their lovey dovey pop ballads. Plus they literally weren't "kids" anymore, as the maknae of the group, Joey McIntyre, was 21 at the time.

"Face The Music" was released and it was so good that people began to dance to it until, wrote a famous music reviewer whose name I can't remember, they discovered the voices behind the music. Thus "Face The Music" became the last album before NKOTB bowed out of the music industry - only to reunite in 2008.

Anyway.

Check out "Girls", taken off "Face The Music", below....

So there's the line, "Girls, can't live with them, can't live without them." Does that sound familiar? And check out "Boys" by Britney Spears, taken off her 2001 self-titled album.

Boys. Can't live with them, can't live without them.

Post exams musing...

2012-01-14T06:09:00.003+07:00

Hi everyone!

Semester three is finally over. Last semester will be for focusing on the thesis. Not gonna tell you what it's about!

Ive been following The Kardashians lately, though not on their shows. I know, I know. This is so unusual of me, and it's not like I've had nothing to do these days. The past semester was so crazy, as were the last semesters of diploma and undergrad (ok technically the third one wasn't the last...but it was the last with classes!)

If you're a Kardashians fan, you know that Kourtney's eldest son is Mason, whom she has with boyfriend Scott Disick. The two-year-old's middle name is "Dash"....I wonder if "Dash" is actually short for "Kardashian"?

Not a celebrity entry....

2012-01-07T21:53:00.003+07:00

DAA and IAA, the things between us - inspired by KN:
Blackberry
BPK
Lessons for Life
Nurul Fikri Boarding School
Padepokan Madani
E-KTP
Starbucks
Bakmi Gajah Mada
Solaria
Noodles
Plaza Senayan
Plaza Semanggi
Inul Vizta
Senayan City
Gatot Soebroto
Pondok Indah
Rawamangun
Gorontalo
Batam
Bandung
Lembang
Singapore
Perth
Auckland
Oakley Crosshair
Guns
Facebook
Michael Buble
Osh Kosh B'Gosh
X-Trans
The Body Shop
Batik
Scuba-diving
Universitas Indonesia
Universitas Mercu Buana
Curtin University
The University of Auckland

First entry in 2012...

2012-01-05T08:53:00.002+07:00

Happy new year to everyone! Let's hope I can stick to my resolution of posting 45 entries!

This can be another celebrity post, but I shan't mention any name. I just have to post this entry.

There's a thriving online vintage store owned by two models. One is a French lady who grew up in Bali, the other is only a quarter Indonesian despite having an Indonesian last name (I think her father is half Indonesian and half American, her mother is Armenian.) The latter is currently dating a blues musician who's also a quarter Indonesian and three quarter something else. This musician is divorced, has two kids.

What's unique is that she's good friends with her boyfriend's former wife. She even makes her model for the vintage clothes the store sells. That's how you can tell if a marriage ended on good terms, when your girlfriend and your ex wife can get along really well.

Last entry in 2011...

2011-12-31T13:12:00.004+07:00

A very quick recap of 2011. Got a dream job (notice, job, not a career yet) in September, a part-time one which allows me to earn more money, more responsibility, more authority, more benefits plus travel opportunities. I was actually asked to go to Malaysia on an assignment for ten days on December 18, but I had to decline it due to the crazy load of uni work. Might go to Turkey and/or UK in February on another assignment. For that, I thank the ever-almighty Allah.

I've also just earned a 2012 Starbucks planner by collecting stickers, for the first time! Hahahaha. I got my 2008 Starbucks planner from a good friend of mine who was the manager of the Victoria Street, Auckland store in March 2008 and the 2009 one from another good friend who was a barrista at the Pasaraya Grande, Jakarta, store in February 2009. If you're as crazy about Starbucks as I am, you know that the deadline for sticker collecting is always December 31. I didn't get the 2010 and 2011 planners.

Meanwhile, something noteworthy also happened on the love front. Been sort of involved with a guy six years my senior since October. Hopefully this turns out alright.

May you have a blessed 2012!

Hanson and the pansy...

2011-12-30T23:50:00.002+07:00

I remember reading an unauthorized biography of Hanson about the iconic pansy in the group's first video, MmmBop. So according to the book, Isaac, Taylor and Zac Hanson wanted director Tamra Davis to make it look like they were playing inside a blossoming pansy.

Obviously, the band is playing in front of a screen showing a blossoming pansy. No "illusion" of the band ACTUALLY playing INSIDE said blossoming pansy. Then starting at 1:37 you can see the part where Hanson is playing in front of big make-believe pansy. I used to wonder what the heck the make-believe pansy was for, but later I remembered: it was made to create the "illusion" that Hanson was playing inside a blossoming pansy.

Epic fail.

Tragic Taureans...

2011-12-29T16:44:00.003+07:00

I've been fascinated by Ruan Lingyu since probably 2002, but didn't learn about her more until 2006. Ruan, dubbed "The Chinese Garbo", was the queen of the Chinese silent screen from the late 1920s to the middle of 1930s, until her tragic death by suicide in 1935. She was only 24 going on 25.

Ruan was a Taurean, born April 26 1910. She was also famous in Hong Kong and spoke Cantonese as a first language.

Decades later, HK cinema was introduced to Barbara Yung, who began her career as one of the top ten finalists of Miss HK 1982. She later gained fame through several TV series, one of which of "Legend of The Condor Heroes" which was once aired in Indonesia.

On May 14 1985, Yung was found dead in her HK apartment. The cause of the suicide was said to be relationship issues with her then boyfriend Kent Tong. At the time of her death, Yung had just turned 26. She was born on May 7 1959.

Two incredibly talented actresses. Both were Taureans. Both committed suicide in the middle of their twenties, exactly 50 years apart.

Well we Taureans are notorious for being so intense sometimes...

NOT the last entry in 2011...

2011-12-28T08:12:00.005+07:00

Hi guys!

I'll never hit the 35-entry mark this year as I was unbelievably busy with uni assignments until yesterday. The ordeal is yet to be over though, as I have more assignments due on the 2nd, 11th and 13th respectively. But at least until NYE I'm free, can breathe. LOL.

This crazy chain of assignments has stood in the way of communication with my parents. So much so that they've decided to stop talking to me almost completely and leave me in my own world of books, Microsoft Office, campus, Freedom Institute and Starbucks (I'm still collecting their 2012 planner stickers...I have seven more to go, maybe anybody would like to donate one?)

Hokay. I've been a Within Temptation fan since 2004. While I don't dig the band's Gothic fashion style, most of their videos have been perfectly executed to embody their Gothic spirit by invoking imagery of memory (as in "Memory" and "Frozen"), dark fantasy (as in "Stand My Ground") and binary opposition (utopia and dystopia in "The Howling.") I don't see that in the video of their recent single, "Shot in The Dark." Take a look.

The dark atmosphere is still there, albeit not elaborate. Oh, and I kind of like Sharon's style here. It's like she's finally grown out of her usual Gothic get-ups phase, which is a good thing.

Guilty pleasure...

2011-11-21T09:15:00.004+07:00

Ok, I admit I have a thing for over the top, ridiculous Korean girlbands! A few months ago I wrote about Orange Caramel, now I've just discovered f(x)! Check them out.

It's impressive how they managed to bring a tank and dye it black and pink...

My favorite is a tie between Krystal Jung, younger sister of Girls' Generation member Jessica and former child model (when she was six, Krystal appeared in Shinhwa's "Wedding March" video), and Amber Liu. Amber Liu is actually an ABC (that's American-born Chinese for those who have just returned from Uranus), and she stands out because, well, she's the boyish one. Amber reminds me of Ella Chen from Taiwanese girlband S.H.E for those who are old enough to remember the early 2000s, except maybe Ella wasn't that boyish if I remember correctly.

I guess it's a current trend in the Korean music industry to recruit Chinese members. Besides Amber Liu, f(x) has another Chinese member, Victoria Song. Another Korean girlband, Miss A, also has two Chinese members, Meng Jia and Wang Feifei.

An idiom and its literal interpretation...

2011-11-18T15:22:00.003+07:00

I love Brandon Lee. I've been mildly obsessed with him since 2003. I recently found an MTV interview with him shot in November 1992, just four months before he was killed on the set of The Crow. Take a look.

If you don't have all day, forward it to 1:43 where the son of Bruce Lee talks about punishing a man that broke into his Echo Park house. He says he dislocated the man's shoulder, broke his arm, nose and jaw. It's just interesting how he says it all like it's a walk in the park...while he and the interviewer are actually walking in a park! Good concept, Cult Corner!

First emotional entry in ages?

2011-11-09T21:55:00.002+07:00

Hey you.
Are you still reading this? I kind of believe you still drop by once in a while.
Listen.
We'll probably never be together.
But I still believe you're my one.
The only one that can read me like a book, despite the fact that we're supposedly astrological disasters.
I'm glad to have what we had.
I can imagine us sitting next to each other.
Me: what we have now is ours, we should keep it a secret.
You: silent, yet smiling knowingly.
Me: hahahah jokes, I've already twitted about it multiple times.

Old readers, don't you miss this kind of posts from my old blog?

Musings...

2011-10-28T16:54:00.003+07:00

Hi everyone!

The past couple of weeks were a mad one as I was finishing my final fortnight at Lessons for Life and getting on top of uni assignments. Yes now I've officially resigned from LFL (after 1,8 years which did feel like forever!) and am now a part-time English trainer for teachers at Nurul Fikri Boarding School. However, even though my new job is a part-time one, it pays nearly twice the payment of my last full-time gig plus benefits. And oh yeah so far I work only on Saturday (might extend to Sunday in the near future), so my weekend stretches from Monday to Friday!

I do recall in September (if my memory doesn't fail me) I wrote about hoping that the last third of 2011 would turn the year into an annus mirabilis. It did. Alhamdulillah.

Now, if you speak Indonesian, I guess you've realized by now that the words "pertanyaan" (question) and "pernyataan" (statement) are anagrams of each other, which also complement one another! The only English equivalence I can think of is "desserts" and "stressed"!

The first quiz in eons.

2011-10-09T22:08:00.004+07:00

Vampire Test from Quiz Rocket!

Aaah I haven't done any quizzes in a long time! Can't believe some people still make quizzes, although I think its popularity isn't as big as it used to be in the early 2000s. I was advised by a very talented blogger (actually she was more of a talented graphic/web designer than a talented writer) to whip out quizzes to boost the hits of my blog, back in 2002. At that time, I was already on Diaryland, which allowed me to create my own layout using manual HTML, but I was a total newbie in web and graphic designs. My designing skills did improve, but it never reached the level of the chick who suggested I make quizzes. She did make a few quizzes with really awesome result images which made her all the more popular in the world wide web, before retiring from blogging in 2004.

Dishing out tips...

2011-10-07T07:41:00.003+07:00

A little tip for wannabe celebrities out there...

Please appreciate your fans. No matter how annoying they might be, at least thank them for showing any interest at all in your work. You just sound and look like hypocrites when you put yourself and your work in the public eye, then act like you don't want the attention you get.

And take heed, you guys - you know who you are. Perhaps not being allowed to eat has taken its toll on you?

Brandon Lee....

2011-10-02T22:13:00.004+07:00

No you're not gonna find a Brandon Lee and Heath Ledger comparison here. That's been done too often.

On The Crow remake, set to release in 2013, I hear that Bradley Cooper (who was slated to play Eric Draven, Brandon's character in the original Crow) has dropped out and director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo has considered Mark Wahlberg to fill in Brandon's shoes. Mark Wahlberg is at least someone the late Brandon Lee would have been familiar with (he most likely knew him better as Marky Mark.) Honestly I don't care whether The Crow remake should see the light of day or not.

I wonder if this movie is made to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Brandon's passing? For those of you who don't know, Brandon Lee, son of Bruce, passed away on March 31 1993 due to an accident on the set of The Crow, which was to be his only hit movie (his previous ones are B-grade action movies.) He was only 28.

Now check out this video, released by his sister Shannon to celebrate his 45th birthday.

What a perfect song to suit the video's mood. The background music is Hallelujah by Jeff Buckley, a musician who left the world in 1997 at the age of 30. Another talented life taken way too soon.

A gem long buried, discovered

2011-09-30T22:16:00.004+07:00

And this is the said gem!

Mellyana Manuhutu sealed a record deal with Wave Records in Japan in 1990 to record "modernized" Indonesian folk songs, when she was only 15 years old. The self-titled album was distributed in Japan only (or largely in Japan), but over the next ten years Melly, as she was to be better known later, carved a successful career out of singing, modelling, acting and TV presenting on the home turf.

Several songs from the album "Mellyana" have been uploaded on YouTube, and so far Yamko Rambe Yamko is my favorite. This Papuan folk song sounds to me like a blueprint for Utada Hikaru hits to come many years later. The other songs, simply said, probably shouldn't have been recorded with '90s Japanese youngsters in mind. For one, Melly's "black" vocal doesn't fit Aceh folk song Bungong Jeumpa and Sundanese Tokecang. Despite that, however, one must admit "Mellyana" was far ahead of its time. In the early '90s, Indonesian youth weren't as proud as Batik and other local products as we are now. Teenagers would've been embarrassed if their friends had learned they listened to Sundari Soekotjo or Waljinah instead of Tommy Page and Debbie Gibson. Makoto Kubota took actions by making a few famous Indonesian folk songs world music and signed the talented Ambonese teenager to sing them.

LOL

2011-09-23T08:27:00.004+07:00

Happy late September everyone!

Not gonna talk about celebs this time.

This is probably my last entry in September, if I'm still lazy until the month is out.

Just learned something. Some people actually do things just for the hell of it. They execute it to perfection purely for personal satisfaction. They don't want attention of any kind. What little attention they get, they warn anyone who pays any attention to stay the heck away.

And you guys (you know who you are), I don't like how you do things. And get a bit more creative with aliases, will ya?

Reflecting...

2011-09-03T18:26:00.003+07:00

Happy September everyone! Can't believe we only have three months left in year 2011. It's been uneventful to me so far, but with the three months left maybe there's still an opportunity to turn this year around.

I'm not gonna blog about celebs this time.

If you've been a long-time follower, you know that one of my strongest suits is my memory. And indeed memory is very important to me. It helps me remember how far I've come and reminds me about my destiny, why I'm here in the first place. It also helps me make people feel special.

If asked how I'd like people to remember me, simply put I hope I'll leave only good memories which make them smile and laugh.

Reminiscence of a Taiwanese girlband...

2011-08-30T12:53:00.004+07:00

Remember 4 in Love? The foursome who were Taiwanese pop princesses in the first couple of years of the 21st century, until they disbanded and one of its members, Rainie Yang, has since tightened her grip on Taiwanese entertainment industry and beyond.

Aaah look at the early 2000s fashion. So simple and minimalistic, which meant there was a lot of skin on display sometimes. Is this 4 in Love's final video? I have a feeling it is...Look at the flashbacks of the making of their previous videos. Some famous bands, knowingly or unknowingly, use flashbacks of their previous videos as a tell-tale sign that their days are numbered. It's like their way of saying, "Thank you for the memories."

An NZ band enters Indonesia...will it be a stayer?

2011-08-29T13:18:00.010+07:00

Introducing Dear Frontier, a husband and wife duo from Wellington, New Zealand, who recently played a gig in Jakarta on August 13. This is probably the first New Zealand sound that entered Indonesian realm since probably Bic Runga, who didn't make a big impact. Dear Frontier got exposure to the Jakarta crowd mainly thanks to the fact that Hana Miller, one half of the band, is half Indonesian and used to be a frequent Jakarta Post contributor.

Whilst I personally find one of their singles, "Space Age Ending Now", catchy I'm not so sure about the band's future in Indonesia. The typical Indonesian music listener is not into, or not yet used to, "raw" sound that Dear Frontier plays, which is rather commonly found in the NZ music scene. Indonesians are into neat orchestrated sounds, and by "orchestrated" I don't strictly mean orchestra a la Erwin Gutawa and Addie MS.

I'm also not sure about Dear Frontier's "smart" sound. Their EP, which is released online, is called "Post Capitalist"....Indonesian market is not smart enough yet to figure out songs with subtle references to capitalism and Franz Kafka. Or they just don't want to. They are more into beautiful poetic lyrics about simple things in life. For references to neat orchestrated sounds and beautiful lyrics about simple things in life, YouTube KLA Project, Afghan or Maliq & D'Essentials, the famous band which helped Dear Frontier record the whole three songs in "Post Capitalist."

Whether or not Dear Frontier wants to seriously tap into the Indonesian market, Lord knows. My own personal verdict is that they most likely want to keep their "uniquely NZ" sound, despite help from Maliq & D'Essentials and other famous Indonesian musicians whose help they'll probbably enlist for their next projects. If you listen to Dear Frontier's "Problem", you'll agree that there's an undeniable Maliq & D'Essentials involvement there, but as a whole the sound is the duo's own. This way, maybe it doesn't matter that Dear Frontier and the Indonesian market will never fully embrace each other.

Meet Dear Frontier...

Oh, and here's hoping Dear Frontier will stick to its name. Too many NZ bands or solo artists changed their names after some time. Cases in point: Charlie Ash became CASH, Bionic Pixie became Zowie, Phony Bone became Graham & The Zoo...

On the return of the boyband/girlband phenomenon...

2011-08-09T04:28:00.002+07:00

For those who've been away from the country for a while, Indonesia is currently experiencing the return of girlband/boyband trend, but while ten years ago Indo boybands/girlband acts were inspired their Western counterparts, now they try to emulate their Korean ones to an extent. Amongst the many Korean-inspired local boybands/girlbands such as Sm*sh and G-String (yep that's really their name...but don't worry their image isn't as sexy as the name might suggest), Hitz is one that steps up the game by actually hiring a Korean member! Therefore this boyband sings in Korean, Indonesian and English. Check out their first single, Yes Yes Yes.

One of the members, Irwan Chandra (the one with magnificent cheek bones, in case you miss the super fast "intro to the members" scenes and can't be bothered to play back), is no stranger to the show business. He started his career as a model about ten years ago and, as easily guessed, then branched out to acting. He vanished into oblivion for a while...only to return as a boybander at the age of 34. Isn't it a bit too old? The avarage age range for beginner boybands is 17-24.

Hot Swedish celebs...separated at birth?

2011-08-05T12:59:00.007+07:00

Alisha from Oriflame Dare to Be really reminds me of Anais Lamache from Swedish girlband Play. Both have exotic Mediteranian-ish (?) looks and both are Swedish...Anais is actually half French and was born in the French Alps whereas Alisha's info is mostly unavailable on the internet. Maybe she's half French too.

Alisha from Dare to Be.

Anais Lameche

On the beehived one's demise...

2011-07-24T11:34:00.004+07:00

I'm not blaming you if you haven't heard that Amy Winehouse was found dead yesterday, July 23, in her London house. The police and doctors are still hard at work to find out the real cause of her death

For those uninitiated, Amy was born on September 14 1983, which means when she died yesterday she was still 27 years old. This secured her membership of Club 27, which consists of entertainment legends who passed away at age 27, namely Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Kurt Cobain and Jim Morrison.

As one guided by signs, even when Winehouse debuted as a fresh-faced 20-year-old in 2003, I could sort of tell what kind of life awaited following her new-found fame. Her surname was "Winehouse", itself a tell-tale sign, and her mother's name is Janis. Janis Seaton, 56, couldn't have been named after Janis Joplin but the fact that she shares a first name with the legendary musician is, to me, a signal that her daughter would meet the same fate as Ms. Joplin.

Rest in peace, Amy. May heaven be your real rehab.

Bali, Celebrity Paradise Hide-Out (part 1?)

2011-07-23T13:05:00.004+07:00

The media once speculated whether or not the wedding of Delta Goodrem and Bryan Mcfadden would take place. The Aussie songbird and the Irish former boybander announced their engagement in late 2007. I was still in New Zealand at the time, and I remember it was one of the most talked-about unions in the Kiwi and Aussie media. Fast forward two years, I was already back in Indonesia for good but still kept an eye on the Kiwi entertainment (Delta has never really been big in Indonesia and Bryan, he kind of fell off the Asian radar after he left Westlife.) There was no news on the Goodrem-McFadden wedding, although the two insisted it was still on. We knew what was going on, however: the longer the engagement, the more unlikely the wedding will take place.

And indeed the wedding was off. And guess who has been seen with Miss Goodrem of late! The lucky guy (I should call him "kid") is none other Nick Jonas, the youngest of The Jonas Brothers! This is such a funny coupling. Delta is turning 27 in November and Nick is turning 19 in September. With Delta always been looking years more mature than her actual age ever since she broke out into the scene at age 18 and Nick with his baby face intact, it's easy to imagine Nick and Delta looking like auntie and nephew. Oh, and did I notice that Nick no longer wears his purity ring?

Recently, the couple have just got back from a holiday in Bali. How interesting. Bryan proposed to Delta on their vacation in Bali. I remember seeing pictures of the former couple frolicking at the beach with a typical Balinese villa in the background. And now that Delta seemed to have reprised her Bali memories with her new beau, it's easy to see whose idea the Bali trip was. Maybe our Ministry of Culture and Tourism can ask Delta to endorse Bali in our visit Indonesia campaigns?

Britney Spears, ballads and autotunes...

2011-07-03T00:22:00.005+07:00

I just recently discovered this song.

Released while pregnant with her firstborn Sean Preston in 2005, everyone would agree that this song really captures the emotion Britney must have felt as a would-be first time mother, which all mothers could relate. And everyone would agree, as well, that she's just effortlessly absolutely gorgeous and serene, an image hardly associated with Ms. Spears throughout her career.

This song did poorly on charts, and to this moment I still don't understand why it's her dance beats that have done very well. In songs such as Baby One More Time and her latest, "I Wanna Go", she uses a lot of autotunes and lipsyncs when she performs the songs live, for which she receives criticisms. I don't get it. Britney needs to promote more of her ballads, which she really shines in.

Speaking of memorable Britney ballads, I can only name one: Everytime, released in 2004.

Also, a little off-topic, I think you've all heard that Britney's ex husband Kevin Federline (henceforth referred here as Fed-Ex) is expecting a baby with current girlfriend Victoria Prince, a retired volleyball athlete. This is to be Fed-Ex's fifth, after Kori and Kaleb (with ex fiancee Shar Jackson), plus Sean Preston and Jayden James (with Britney.) What the world may not know is that before dating Victoria, Fed-Ex dated porn star Kacey Jordan and the relationship resulted in a pregnancy - which Kacey terminated. Kacey is the youngest of Fed-Ex's baby mamas at only 23 years old (Shar is 35, Britney is 29 and Victoria is 28), but she's the most sensible. Girl knew better than to have a baby with a douchebag like Fed-Ex!

Ooh that's a familiar face!

2011-06-20T08:27:00.002+07:00

A relatively new (released late last year) by Anika Moa, a New Zealand singer of whom I'm a fan. Ok, the skinny blonde chick with thick kohl around her eyes used to be (maybe still is?) a tutor at The University of Auckland. She didn't get to teach me, which was good since she's only a few months older than me (yeah I know how it feels to have a lecturer/tutor or boss who's younger than you!)

She seems to have a thing for musicians. The tutor/musician I wrote about in my June 4 2011 entry is her ex, and right now she's dating another famous musician, another friend of mine. Just like her ex and present boyfriend, she'll remain anonymous because all three are my friends...And yes they do google their names!

Again on Dare To Be!

2011-06-19T10:51:00.006+07:00

This is the second episode of Dare to Be posted on the Oriflame Russia Youtube, which is also posted on the Youtube of Oriflame Poland (hence the subtitles.) As you'll soon find out, it's about the girls giving Dasha a ticket to a MakSim concert for her birthday. For those uninitiated, MakSim is a Russian pop singer.

They obviously aren't in a MakSim concert. Their dance isn't synchronized to the tune. The images of the concert and the girls dancing in the audience are juxtaposed. Again, film makers, stick to realness. If your budget doesn't accomodate, maybe it's time to change the scenario!

And surprise! Claudia the Latina speaks Russian!

On mature-looking teens...

2011-06-18T10:42:00.006+07:00

Actually I'm gonna talk about just one teen. And it's 18-year-old Victoria Justice, star of Nickolodeon's Victorious.

Have a look at the video below.

This one was shot last year when she was 17, but Vic (or Tori?) already looked so mature. Sounded and acted kind mature too. One could easily forget she's still a teen and actually younger than the Disney kids such as Gomez and Cyrus.

But yeah she's indeed still a teenager.

On another note, I got a 3.60 GPA this semester! Yay! This is a bit below my expectation but at least better than last semester's 3.46.

I hate title columns

2011-06-16T08:31:00.005+07:00

This is not gonna be a celebrity post, sorry.

I really have to post more often if I'm going to stick to my new year's resolution of whipping out 35 entries this year.

I've been thinking a lot about a friend back in NZ. He worked at the library when we were both studying at The University of Auckland. I remember he told me he was dating a 22-year-old girl somewhere at uni, and I didn't bother to inquire more. Sometime later, I stumbled upon his Myspace, and found a picture of him on a what seemed like a double date. It was him, two mutual friends and a chick that I knew but never really talked to. The latter sat next to my library friend. I immediately suspected they were an item (I knew she was 22 years old at the time.)

I was (and still am) jealous of the chick. By 22 years old, she was already a tutor in a second stage English paper and now she's at Oxford doing a Ph.D on a scholarship. I was 23 and struggling with Shakespeare and co.

And yes, I did have a crush on the guy (let's call him Mark.) And I guess the crush has't really died down. They say it's a Taurean trademark to take long to get over someone.

Just wondering...

2011-06-04T23:49:00.004+07:00

One of my tutors back at uni in NZ was a famous musician, I'm not gonna mention his name here because I'm gonna talk about him in a rather negative light. About five years ago he blogged on Myspace that he lost his job. I think I didn't have to guess which job - must have been the teaching one at uni. I still wonder why he got fired. Probably for selling his CDs to students? I felt sorry for him for a while, though I knew I didn't have to.

Just stopping by

2011-05-25T00:40:00.003+07:00

I was listening to Diana Yukawa's Snow Globe when something crossed my mind. For those uninitiated, Diana Yukawa is an Anglo-Japanese violinist whose mother is Susanne Bayly, a ballerina and artist, and Aki Yukawa, a Japanese banker who died in a plane crash about three weeks before Diana was born, in 1985. Diana has an older sister, Cassie, who's a pianist and one half of the famous Yukawa-Chan duo.

Now I'm sure everyone's heard of Amy Chua, Yale law professor and author of the uproar-causing book Battle Hymm of The Tiger Mother. Her two daughters, just like Yukawa sisters, are also talented musicians. Chua's eldest, Sophia, plays piano and her youngest, Louisa, plays violin.

So what do Amy Chua and Susanne Bayly have in common? They have two half Asian girls, the eldest girls play piano and the younger ones play violin, plus the two sets of sisters are respectively four years apart in age.

Ok, singing off. Gotta get back to assignments.

Tackiest K-pop act ever?

2011-05-07T00:26:00.003+07:00

I've looked at music videos of many Korean girlbands in the past ten years, from Fin KL to Girls' Generation, but have never come across anything so tacky.

At check out the end of the music video. What a rip-off of the Miss Dior Cherie commercial!

Negative notes aside, I'd like to wish Orange Caramel's Oh Hye Rin (better known as Reina, the bob-haired one) a happy 22nd birthday as it's already May 7 in Indonesia. Seriously chick, don't you feel you're too old to sing silly songs in even sillier costumes?

Dare to Be craze part deux

2011-04-24T17:43:00.006+07:00

Yay Dare to Be just uploaded its latest webisode five days ago, check it out.

So it looks like they upload a webisode every three weeks (the first being uploaded in July 2010) plus roughly a "diary" video. Indonesia Oriflame is so freaking late, they just started catching up on it last month, and until now its admin has just uploaded the first webisode and diary video.

And I've just found out Claudia is supposed to be Mexican. There's nothing Mexican about her physique or anything else attached to her. At least Alisha, who's supposed to be Indian, looks like she could be half Indian and half Swedish. So filmmakers worldwide, please do your homework: stick to realness.

Jordan Knight and Morgan Oey, the boyband "it guys"...

2011-04-16T23:27:00.002+07:00

Morgan Oey (the guy singing the first verse) there with his big bangs and tights reminds me of Jordan Knight in "The Right Stuff" video, out around 23 years ago. Video is accessible here.

If you don't know which one Jordan is, seek for the guy with the most resemblence to Morgan. If that still leaves you clueless, get your aunt to point him out.

What I'm into right now...

2011-04-13T08:05:00.012+07:00

I love watching Oriflame's Dare to Be webisodes right now. They were released as a marketing strategy for Oriflame's The Babes and Very Me ranges. Even though Dare to Be is your typical teenager thing (though not teenyboppers, since I think they aim it at late teens in early university years) with the typical themes of boys, fashion, school and friendship and I'm obviously not in their demographic, I like the webisodes all the same. The story revolves around Dasha, Emma, Alisha and Claudia, four university students who live in the same apartment belonging to a retired fashion designer. One slightly annoying thing is that Alisha is supposed to be Indian, yet the actress who plays Alisha looks more Iranian. My favourite webisode is this one, number ten.

Oh yeah, and watch out for Peter, the apartment's supercute handyman who's also the nephew of the fashion designer.

Hmm...

2011-03-30T02:01:00.002+07:00

Ok. Connection, please don't fail me.

Looks like everyone forgets this blog is still standing. Does it mean it's safe to bitch now? To mention someone's full name?

Nah.

I'm really scared at the moment. It's amazing that I've been able to pull off a brave front - at least for now. Whatever will happen, I hope it will lead to the best. And I've always wanted to attend Singapore's S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies instead of being back at UI.

This is the second entry in 2011. In 2009, I posted 15 entries. Then 25 entries the following year. This year I plan to whip out 35 entries.

First hi in 2011 - the twin edition...

2011-01-31T01:08:00.003+07:00

Happy new year everyone! I learned last week, as The South Jakarta Community Choir (of which I'm a member) entered a new season, that it was ok to exchange happy new year wishes at the end of January.

I started the year 2011 being stalked by a psycho. Long story. Thank God he's out of my life now.

It's just dawned on me that all my life, I've been surrounded by identical twins. I have triplet cousins on my dad's side of the family and identical twin cousins on my mum's side. My paternal granduncles were also identical twins. My two good friends, photographer and occasional Jakarta Post columnist Will Wiriawan and Kiwi filmmaker Leo Woodhead, have identical twins. In Leo's case, I'm also friends with his twin, Max. Even my former suitor back in Auckland days, whom I won't name, had an identical twin who died in infancy.

What's God trying to tell through all this?

The typical year-end post: recap...and more on omens

2010-12-31T11:28:00.004+07:00

Hi. This the last entry in the year 2010. The 25th, to round up. The year 2010 was ok - I lost some passions this year, broke up with a boyfriend (I was the dumper, not the dumpee, so everything was fine), unexpectedly have stayed in the same job (if by February 2011 I'm still at Lessons I'll have worked there a year - a record for a full-time job thus far!) - but overall it was better than 2009. 2009 was crap. A year I don't want to remember. I'm hoping 2011 will be more than just ok. Hope it will be rocking!

And omens. Yes. A chick I went to secondary, high school and diploma with, Tika, has just passed away (those who speak Indonesian: the obituary, which is not really an obituary, but well...). The moment I heard about her passing, I remember I haven't added her back on Facebook (I have soo many friend requests, I can get up to more than ten a day), so I added her right away to check if the news was true. I didn't even have to look at the many condolences on her wall. Right after I added her, first on the list of "people you might know" (friends in common with the newly added friend) was Sanny Sanura, a high school friend who passed away ten years ago of drowning in a river (of course Sanny's Facebook account was made by someone else as a memorial). Anyway, coming across Sanny's account right after adding Tika was like a sign that Tika really had joined him up there.

Omens...

2010-12-12T12:20:00.005+07:00

I believe in omens. Six years ago, as I was finishing my English language vocational degree at UI, I was planning to get my bachelor's degree overseas but I had no idea exactly where I was going. Around March 2004, I came across a forum about The Whale Rider. The Whale Rider is a critically-acclaimed New Zealand movie whose leading actress, then 14-year-old Keisha Castle-Hughes, was nominated for Best Actress in Academy Awards. The forum mentioned that Keisha was half Maori and half Pakeha. I had no friend from New Zealand, I often forgot the country existed, but right then and there I knew what "Pakeha" was. It's Maori for "caucasian". I wasn't so sure it was an omen that I'd move to New Zealand, but I did feel that somehow the country was waiting for me.

One year and four months later, I packed my bags and moved to Auckland, the biggest city in The Land of The Long White Cloud. The Whale Rider, by the way, never screened in Indonesian cinemas.

At home, we have a set of antique Italian-made picture frames. The set consists of one big frame, filled with a picture of Mum and Dad taken circa 1985, and two smaller ones filled with pictures of my brother and me respectively, taken circa 1987. The pictures have hung on the wall of my dad's study since 2001 (after ten years of being hidden somewhere, since we moved from our old house.) Just recently I took the frames off the wall and saw the backsides. On the back of the big frame there's an engraved writing that reads, "A souvenir from Poerwani, Ningsih, Mini and Wasti. Jakarta, 12/1/1983." On the back of my brother's frame is a painting of some 18th century European royalty I can't recognize, and guess what's on the back of my frame...A famous painting of Marie Antoinette! Even if you're not a long-time follower of my blog, you can tell right away I'm a Marie Antoinette fan from the Marie Antoinette and Marie Antoinette the movie badges in my fanlisting columns. This is also an omen. That Marie Antoinette painting has sat behind my picture for about 23 years. I first heard about the ill-fated Austrian princess-turned-French queen when I was 12, in 1995.

In remembrance of happier times...

2010-12-04T10:05:00.004+07:00

A friend that used to follow my old blog asked me why I didn't blog as often I did.

Ok, here's why. Again.

I keep to myself a lot lately. I have so many thoughts that I simply don't feel like sharing with the world. For one, my aspirations are changing and I haven't even come to terms with it. I guess the world has had enough of my coming-of-age stories, they need to know no more.

Those were the happy days, yeah. Now that I'm back to school and have (sort of, for now) decided to stick to my teaching gig because at least I don't have to think a lot while postgrad has given me so much to think already and the money is good, I should be able to whip out entries about how unique my students are, how Terrorism Studies postgrad is driving me crazy, how blessed I am to have my friends at Terrorism. And there's this guy...no, two...But I just don't have the vigour anymore. I'm still wondering why a lot of things have changed, yet I feel nothing has changed. Explanation is impossible.

Oh, and I've given up my dream of becoming a writer. So stop expecting a best seller from yours truly.

But there's no way I'll really stop blogging. That being said, expect your name, or at least your initial, to surface again. Hahaha. Consider that a warning.

To a (supposedly) former arch enemy and one I can't name...

2010-11-28T09:10:00.006+07:00

Someone who was almost my arch enemy back in high school is turning 27 today. To wish her a happy birthday or not? I'm dying to bury the hatchet. I have a feeling so is she. It's been ten years, we're not teenagers anymore and the whereabouts of the guy we fought over are unknown - I don't think we still care about him. But experience has proven that, arch enemey or not, annoying traits do stay.

So yeah, happy 27th birthday CKR. May your life be joyful in the year to come.

Please don't hesitate to drop me a line if you follow my blog (like I tried to follow your LJ but I couldn't because it was private, followed your MSN blog for a while and now your Twitter - all in secret, of course.) I want to see us exchaning friendly hello's for the first time in nine years.

And to ... (I'm afraid to even type your initial), I'm sorry our long-standing friendship, which we brought to a new level in 2008, had to end. I meant well. You've always had a soft spot in my heart, no matter what you've done. But I have a feeling that this is temporary. You, my love, are taken by my real personality and before long you'll change your mind and we can be friends again!

Oh, to try to hang on to your real self in La La Land...

2010-11-04T07:37:00.005+07:00

Whoa, what do we have here? Another troubled Disney star.

Hey guys. Been forever. Uni and work have been driving me loca these days. I breathe students, Realism, Liberalism, Salafi, Napoleon...

Bet all of you have heard what happened to one of Disney's remaining squeaky clean stars. Demi Lovato has just admitted herself to rehab on the issues of eating disorder and self mutilation attempts. While we give kudos to Demi for taking personal responsibility to seek help, one cannot help but recall her song about staying real in Hollywood that she released two years ago.

Staying yourself in the La La Land machine certainly has taken its toll...

A beauty pageant junkie?

2010-09-22T12:01:00.010+07:00

A blend of Chinese, Samoan, German, English and French, it's not a wonder that singer/songwriter Zeisha Fremaux has ventured also into modelling and beauty pageants. Now it's interesting to take a look at her pageant stints. Let's see...Zeisha was in Miss Auckland 2006 and Miss Howick 2006 (she was second runner up and won Miss Friendship title in the latter.) Yes that's two pageants in a year. Next, she was in Miss Universe New Zealand 2007 in which she won Miss Friendship again, and Miss Universe New Zealand 2010 where she won Best Evening Wear Award. Whoa. That's the same pageant three years apart. What's next, maybe another stint at Miss Universe New Zealand next year or will she switch to Miss World New Zealand? Either way, if she decides to try for a better luck in a beauty pageant we're sure she'll capture the main title.

Oh, and she was with glamour model Vicky Lee Cox in Miss Howick 2006.

Here's Miss Fremaux performing "Every Little Thing", which she wrote about an ex boyfriend, on Balcony TV.

In the description of the video it says that it was shot in July. Man that's the peak of winter! How come Zeisha is only wearing a dress? Oh, I forgot she was raised in Takanini, I've never been there and if it's true that Auckland is the warmest place in New Zealand then should be no wonder. My boss, who was raised in Murchinson, once bragged that winter in Auckland was like summer in South Island.

My celebrity crush...

2010-09-19T12:49:00.002+07:00

Ruby Siu is sooo cute! The media once described Cecilia Cheung as "candy floss cute" and I would put Ruby Xiu under the same description. I fell in love with Ruby soon after she launched her singing career in 2003 with the single "Beautiful Angel", video of which is below.

Oh yeah, during the early stage of her career, she went under the name Xiao Xiao.

Now how old do you think she was in this video? Many would have been fooled to think she was a teenager. With that candy floss cute face and baby voice, no one could go wrong. Ruby went on to release another single, "Daddy's Little Girl", and I remember reading an article on her in Asian Glitz magazine (RIP) about how her mother groomed her to be a model from a young age (she did start out as a model), how she missed her mother when she went on tour and how she always sought her mother's approval on boyfriend matters. Seriously, what 25-year-old would release singles with such titles as "Beautiful Angel" and "Daddy's Little Girl" and sing them in such a cutesy voice, and also talk about her mother's big impact on life which gave one an impression of a mama's girl?

Yep, Ruby Xiu was 25 at the start of her singing career. For a while her birtyear remained a mystery, and kudos to her management for creating such an image that no doubt appealed to a young audience (and older men with particular inclinations...)

Now nearing 32, Ruby Xiu is still a fresh-faced candy floss cutie. Just look up her official Facebook.

A Really Good Gift

2010-09-14T09:55:00.002+07:00

On his 30th birthday nearly a couple of weeks ago, a friend of mine got himself a haircut that was expensive and took an hour to be done but made him look so much younger. He tweeted that the haircut "makes me look like I'm in my teens." It was definitely worth the money and I think he made a good decision. What's a better birthday gift for yourself than one that seems to shave more than a decade off your actual chronological age?

When you have no interview call...

2010-09-09T23:19:00.001+07:00

Don't despair. It's probably not because of a glicth in your CV. Amongst the many possibilities, one is the company you apply to had a couple of employees who attended your university, these guys didn't perform to expectations and that caused said company to distrust your almamater. Well, that happens.

Oh how fun it is to stalk each other...

2010-08-21T08:01:00.002+07:00

So. I used to think I tweeted for no particular audience, except my followers and non followers whose attention I grab once in a while with my tweets. Wrong. Someone's been following me closely in more or less the same fashion as that stalker from Auckland days. But I don't mind, just a little annoyed. Keep stalking me, love. You have no idea what you're in for.

My boyfriend a potential pedophile?

2010-08-11T04:13:00.002+07:00

My ex boyfriend liked to stare at a photo of me taken in 1991 when I was eight years old when he came over. He said my ponytailed, bangs-sporting self was exactly the picture of his ideal girl when he was a teenager. He was 15 when that picture was taken. To be honest, that kind of gave me shivers down my spine. If we'd met in 1991 when I was eight and he was 15, would he have pursued me too? And imagine a 32-year-old staring at a picture of yourself taken when you were a wee kid with some kind of sexual attraction to it...doesn't it give you a feeling that you're around a potential child molester?

Your third (and final) MTV installment.

2010-08-06T10:08:00.003+07:00

Holly Grabarek, the winner of MTV VJ Hunt 2010, is gorgeous and it partially reminds me of Ketty Janur Sari, winner of the first MTV VJ Hunt in 1997 from Indonesia. Ketty was (still is, google her and check out her Facebook) utterly gorgeous and other than being crowned the new VJ Ketty also won "The Best Smile" title from the competition's sponsor, Close Up. Ketty's VJ-ing stint was very short-lived. The stunner, then 22, was given a three-month probation contract that was never extended. Many admitted that Ketty wasn't destined to be a VJ. I can recall very clearly watching her hosting MTV Land with Jamie Aditya, and with her the show obviously seemed to lose its usual crazy vibe, and I changed the channel within five minutes. Here's hoping that the same fate doesn't befall Holly...

Stuck on MTV

2010-08-03T09:38:00.006+07:00

So what's wrong with being 27 but still cares about MTV? My friend is nearly 30 and yet he tweeted about how he missed the old MTV.

Let's not forget that VJ Utt is 36 and, well, is still VJ-ing. I've no idea exactly how long he's been an MTV Asia VJ, all I remember was that I first noticed him in 1999, alongside old MTV Asia faces such as Sonia Couling, Sarah Sechan, Nadya Hutagalung and Jamie Aditya.

It goes without saying that all those afore-mentioned old MTV faces left the music channel long ago to pursue other careers.

Not so long ago at a party, some friends and I talked about yet another friend who couldn't attend the party due to a family matter (let's call her Stephanie.) A friend, let's call her Floriane, brought up that Steph had been a secretary for nearly seven years. Flo said Steph once wanted to try the music industry, but knew that Steph wasn't strong enough for that. Another friend, let's call him Oscar, said that stuck people were those who couldn't get out of their comfort zone, either because they really didn't want to or wanted to but lacked strong will. We all agreed that stuck people would hardly get anywhere in life. That reminded me of VJ Utt, the only remaining old face from the 1990s MTV. VJ's come and go, but not Utt. He stays put.

Utt's bio on the MTV Asia VJ Hunt website starts with, "Over the years, Utt has established himself as the face of MTV Asia..." Now that line sounds flattering. How can it not sound flattering. Thirty-somethings and their teenage nephews and nieces and three-year-old children can identify Utt with MTV Asia. But my typical Arts student mind sees a grim side underneath that statement. When three generations recognize you and link you to only one thing, be it a product or a company, you know something in dire need of change is going on.

Indonesians rule!

2010-08-02T08:42:00.005+07:00

Singapore's Holly Grabarek has just been crowned the latest MTV Asia VJ. Well, rumor has it that her mother's actually Indonesian. If this is true, that would make three Indonesians in the 2010 MTV Asia VJ Hut finalist line-up. There are two finalists representing Indonesia, Alice Yu (who's originally from HK but was born and raised in Jakarta. Confused?) and Ali Agus Ardie (who's obviously Indonesian...kind of...except his mother is American and unless you don't know his name you'd think he's your avarage white guy.) Holly represented Singapore because she currently studies there (maybe grew up there as well.) Anyway, apart from the rumor, Indonesia has the most reps in this year's VJ Hunt line up, which consisted of five finalists, including Dawn Balagot from The Philippines and Kylie Chapman from Malaysia.

So, quoting Ali from his 'thank you for getting me into the top five' video, "Hiduplah Indonesia!" If Holly really does have an Indonesian mother, you might wanna shout, "Hiduplah Indonesia!" to her as well.

Hmmm. Wonder why I still care about this thing at all. I thought I was waaayyy past my MTV phase, just like any normal 27-year-old.

God is the most creative teacher ever.

2010-08-01T08:58:00.005+07:00

Hey! This is for Merdeka Adrai and Will Wiriawan who demanded more entries last night at Sari's party! Hahaha :)

Anyway, what to write...

Ah, how about this experience.

When I was working on this layout (by "working on", I mean modifying the ready-to-use layout to make it more personal), I wanted to put my Blogger followers under "followers." I designed the "followers" image on Photoshop on a PNG transparent background, as were with other images such as the ones for fanlistings and the search box. When I uploaded it, the transparent background of "followers" didn't blend with the background colour of the right hand bar, instead it appeared white. It was the first time this thing happened, as I always used PNG transparent backgrounds for right hand bar images. I uploaded other images and the transparent blended successfully. The "followers" was the only image whose background always appeared white against the bar background colour, no matter how many times I tried. Then I changed it to "friends", still on a PNG transparent background, and yes - you guessed it - it worked.

Since I can't be bothered to be witty or sarcastic about the whole experience, I can only be a cliche and say that God was teaching me to be down to earth. To be a likable personality when I eventually become famous. Not to treat those who might look up to me as a justification to feel like a goddess. That your "followers" are actually friends who help you get on top and keep your feet on the ground.

Aduh. My writing style now resembles Triwik Kurniasari's before I told her to browse other writers' works to learn from because her writing style was so stiff. Karma is indeed a bitch.

Hmmm...

2010-07-29T09:55:00.003+07:00

Been revamping my old Diaryland blog for the sake of giving the people checking my archive there a bit of an eye candy. Nearly ready, check it out here. Next, the front page of my Diaryland archive, then the "goodbye" page of my Pitas archive. Lots of work.

For those who haven't noticed the change in the "about Isyana" section, I've been accepted into The University of Indonesia's postgraduate studies in International Relations, where I'll focus on Terrorism. Sweet! I never really intend to go back to UI, I never really prayed for it (except when the entrance exam was about to begin.) Instead I kept on praying (still do, actually) to get that coveted job as an Administration and Research Officer at The Embassy of New Zealand, for which I've been interviewed twice, to qualify for a Master's degree at S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Singapore (one of their entry requirements is at least a year of experience in a field related to International Relations.) I guess this God's plan, and I'm a firm believer that God knows best.

Besides, Terrorism sounds pretty fun. S. Rajaratnam doesn't have this specialization. My NZ almamater, The University of Auckland, doesn't have it either. I think not many schools in the world have a Terrorism specialization and standing out from the crowd is still one of my strongest suits.

Commemorating...

2010-07-23T09:41:00.003+07:00

Love! It's been two years since your Europe trip. Hasn't been overseas again ever since, huh? Yeah same here. I told you we'll end up together.

See. Almost normal. The near future sees this blog contain random mutterings like its Pitas predecessor.

Pop songs...

2010-07-12T10:25:00.005+07:00

I can see myself blogging properly again. Just like in the good old days of Auckland and its predecessors.

Speaking of pop music, Ellie Goulding is still unheard of in Indonesia, but I can totally see this song of hers become a hit in New Zealand. This just the kind of music that fits the taste of the Kiwi market.

On work

2010-07-11T13:01:00.005+07:00

Hey guys!

Finally got rid of that title box for my fanlisting section. I was just experimenting and voila, it's gone!

For those who are wondering about my employment status, well, I still teach...Adults (ranging from university students to senators) and teenagers now - not kids anymore thank God - somewhere in Thamrin, next to Hotel Nikko and the famous Wisma Nusantara. And while this gig might be the second best gig I've had so far after Student Aide at The University of Auckland, I'm still itching to leave. My students are cool, some of them actually dote on me (buying me lunch and stuff...), and the money is better, but I long for something more exciting.

I'm so jealous of those who don't have to go through a process of finding an employment that they can truly be content with. My best friend, for example, just had to sit there and a number of jobs (all of which are ones the avarage Janes and Joes would kill to get their hands on) are offered to her on a sterling silver tray.

First entry in months...And it's bitchy.

2010-06-26T08:09:00.004+07:00

Sippin hot ocha at sushi tei senci after I bought a pair of ultimate skinny jeans and a nice white top at topshop♥independent woman mode: on

LOL. Yes the old bitch is back. That's taken from someone's Twitter. Someone I know, a rich spoiled brat who's just started university. Independent woman? Gimme a break. That's your olds' money you spent on Sushi Tei, the jeans and the top from Topshop. Feel entitled to independence if it's your hard-earned money that you spend on stuff. If you think I'm jealous, please remember that I lived the rich spoiled brat life before I fully entered the work force after I came back from New Zealand. I just never felt independent for spending my olds' dosh on fancy restaurants pre-New Zealand and three Starbucks a day in New Zealand.

Ah well. I'm PMS-ing (yes that's an excuse that will never wear out for women, just like bad traffic jams are a time-tested excuse for Jakartans.)

Blogger doesn't allow their HTML boxes to go untitled now, which sucks. I can't put all my fanlistings together because if I put them under "Stuff" that wouldn't be pretty. So I decided to categorize the fanlistings (like the one for movies that you can see already on the right hand bar), but there's the annoying line that separates each HTML box (one HTML box for each fanlisting category - can't go any other way.) I tried to remove it on the HTML spread sheet, but still can't figure out how.

That's what happens when your webdesign skills never develop...

The unconventional bride...

2010-03-21T15:07:00.005+07:00

Out of all the looks I've created on Looklet, this one is my favourite, although no one has listed it as a fave. As already described, this look was inspired by a Cosmopolitan Indonesia bonus on budget weddings that was out sometime in early 2004. One of their tips on throwing an affordable yet memorable wedding was for the bride to source dresses and hair pieces from non bridal labels that still could pass for bridal outfits. They had amazing shots of models dressed as brides in dresses and hair pieces which obviously weren't released by bridal labels. If only I still had that magazine.

Now my own budget bride, as you can see, follows the rules of "something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue and a silver sixpence in her shoe." The "something old" is the dress although, being released by Vintage (yes that's a brand), it's actually new. The "something new" is the white wedges. Very modern looking huh. I hope there's a silver sixpence in one of them wedges. "Something blue" is the blue cupcake necklace from Aloha Mi Lajki, which symbolizes the sweet married life newlyweds always hope for. The head band is supposedly borrowed...

Well the idea of being a budget bride is new, especially in Indonesia. Imagine what those ladies would say when they see the bride walk down the altar in something that's not a proper wedding dress! But as long as the dress looks classy, why not? And believe me, I've seen worse budget brides in New Zealand. My friend got married in a simple dress that seemed to belong to her grandma, the white color had yellowed a little and the only hair piece she wore was a bead band that looked like something from Supre or Glassons. The only jewellery she wore was her wedding ring. Another friend said "I do" in a Bo Peep-inspired dress and the first wedding I attended in Auckland, the bride wore a shapeless bustier...

Da new shiznitz...

2010-03-10T09:08:00.003+07:00

Hey gang! Check out my new toys!

My Twitter and my Looklet!

I've been on Twitter since July. I thought I had to keep my Tweets secret (but no purpose of bitching I swear! I know my long time readers are lurking out there...), but now I want more followers! Wouldn't help if I keep it in the dark so it's finally out in the open! Follow me! Or else!

Looklet is sooo damn addictive I can whip out up to three looks per day! You know your inner celebrity stylist is dying to burst out and grab all those designer stuff (albeit just in the virtual world), so do her a favor and sign up on Looklet. Don't forget to follow me when you're done!

Clooney movie's got the kooks...

2010-03-02T21:49:00.006+07:00

I just saw Up in the Air on Sunday, and if I were to rate on a scale from 1 to 10 I'd go for 8. Really. Those below the age of, say, 20 might not appreciate the unique storyline and satirizations.

Anyway, one thing kind of bugs me in a way. You know Ryan Bingham, George Clooney's character, has to bring a cardboard cut picture of his baby sister Julie (NZ actress Melanie Lynskey) and her hubby-to-be Jim Miller on his company downsizing trips. Their older sister Cara asks him to help Julie by taking photos of the cardboard picture with tourism spots of the places he visits in the background, giving the impression that the couple are really there.

There's a scene in which Anna Kendrick's character, ambitious new recruit Natalie Keener, takes a picture of the cardboard couple held by Ryan and asks, "Why does your sister want fake photos?" to which Ryan replies, "You know she's kinda kooky." To me, the kookyness comes in the form of the cardboard cut picture. I mean, whatever happens to the wonders of Photoshop?

Spot the goof!

2010-02-05T09:20:00.006+07:00

Hi! *waves hand in front of the camera, Natalie Tran-style* Long time no see.

I'm totally in love with Gee, a single by a Korean mega girl group (by "mega" I mean there are nine girls in the group!) called Girls' Generation. Not sure I like their other singles like Oh! and Chocolate Love, but of all the videos on my YouTube favorite list, this one receives the most plays...Yeah, I'm pampering my inner 13-year-old. Hahahah. These girls are so pretty in the "I want to have a daughter so beautiful just like that!" kind of way. Who cares if the girls really did have plastic surgeries, like most Korean stars are rumored to have.

Enough with the gushing. Now can you spot something wrong in the video? I'll tell you a clue. It's in the beginning.

Found it? Given up already? Ok...have a look at one mannequin that's not lined up yet, that of a girl (I've learned their names but still can't tell which is which!), at 0:03. Then pay attention when the guy is carrying the mannequin. When the girl is not carried yet, you get a close-up shot of her so you can observe that there are curls in her hair. When she's carried, you get a medium range shot where you can clearly see the girl's hair is totally straight. That's where the goof is! The "mannequin" in the close-up shot in the very beginning is a real girl. The "girl" the guy is carrying is a mannequin! Why couldn't the director of this video find a wig that was like the girl's hair and put it on the mannequin? If I were a movie or music vido director I'd pay painstaking attention to realness.

First hi in 2010

2010-01-17T12:13:00.002+07:00

Hey guys!
I have to delete the last post because it was too long and didn't look good on this blog. The last post was a sample article, I've decided sample articles (to be sent to such big name publications as The Jakarta Post) should belong to Facebook notes. The sample article on band reunions that I put here and then deleted was edited and put in its rightful place - the Facebook notes. Many of my other sample articles are there as well, for your enjoyment.
Simply comment and ask to be added if you want to be my "friend" on Facebook!
I've sent two different sample articles to Free! and Kompas thus far. Yes I'm serious about pursuing journalism as much as I'm serious about making Vintage Reading big!

Christmas is here!

2009-12-25T13:55:00.001+07:00

Have a merry Christmas! Wishing you all the magic and happiness Christmas can offer!

Year in, year out.

2009-12-20T16:53:00.004+07:00

Sometimes I need to be reminded that my proper blog still exists. This past year, I've sort of taken up treating the Facebook status like a mini blog. Like Twitter. Speaking of which, I'm on Twitter as well.

2009 in review...Not a good year, for the most part. But it was definitely different. For one, most years of my life I was in school, and 2009 was my first out-of-school year since probably 1985. Secondly, this is the first year since 2005 that's seen me coupled...twice. Hahahaha. This year also sees the brave new start of my used books store, Vintage Reading. By the way, Multiply's moving their server to New Jersey from Miami, so some pictures aren't showing. New updates and promos (December is Girl Talk Festival) are stored on its Facebook fanpage for the time being!

I know I set up rather unrealistic goals last year for 2009 (after several years of no resolutions at all), but now I have simple wishes for 2010. Nailing a career (by "career" I mean a job I truly love. I smell journalism...) and for Vintage Reading to do better.

The Taylors...

2009-11-23T17:31:00.003+07:00

On a recent Ellen DeGeneres show country songstress Taylor Swift talked about how the first name she shared with co-star Taylor Lautner (of The New Moon fame, of course) caused a lot of confusion on the set of their movie Valentine's Day. T. Swift said she came up with the solution of allowing everyone on the set to call her "Swiftly" and Lautner "Taylor".

And that's not the first time Taylor Lautner worked with a female Taylor. In 2005, Lautner co-starred alongside Taylor Dooley in The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl 3D. Bet it caused just as much confusion on the set!

Would be interesting to see Lautner work with yet another female Taylor in his next project. Yep, I'm thinking Taylor Momsen.

After the bookstore, now comes...

2009-11-08T13:23:00.005+07:00

A new boyfriend. Yes fellas, I'm proud to announce that as of November 2 2009 I'm no longer on the market. The lucky guy is this good-looking halfcast (Dutch father, Manadonese mother), holder of an engineering degree and is currently learning Islam! Yes we're that seriois! His name is Willem Keemink.
In the meantime, don't forget to check out my store Vintage Reading! A lot of good deals await, and I'm currently adding more to the existing collections.

Soft Launching of My Bookstore

2009-11-03T08:13:00.005+07:00

Yes folks it's here! We're ready for business! Don't forget to order something!

Blast from the past, courtesy of the world's sexiest woman

2009-10-28T08:26:00.004+07:00

Hahaha I love this Megan Fox quote...

Starscream is the sexiest Transformer. 'Cause he just is. Why is Simba sexy? He just was. Maybe it was because Jonathan Taylor Thomas was the voice. I can't tell you. It's something I just feel."

First of all, good thing she remembers Jonathan Taylor Thomas. Secondly, JTT must be having an orgasm these days because (a)the prettiest woman in the world (though according to the likes of FHM) mentioned him in public and suggested he made Simba from The Lion King sexy, and (b)maybe it will give him a chance to revive his career?

Meet Vanilla, if you haven't already...

2009-10-26T08:44:00.006+07:00

If you remember this girlband Vanilla chances are you lived in UK or Ireland during the heyday of Spice Girls. However, if you did live there during that time but didn't remember them anyway, it's not your fault because Vanilla really wasn't put together to give Spice Girls, All Saints or even Solid Harmonie a run for their money. The band was set up after record company execs made a bet about writing the worst pop song imaginable and sending it to the top of charts. The song was No Way No Way.

And, sure enough, No Way No Way won 'Worst Song' accolades. It's true that the whole thing was a joke, but we're not sure whether the worst song charts were the kind of the charts those record execs had in mind...

What a classic!

2009-08-09T01:09:00.011+07:00

I can hardly believe it's been ten years since the release of this video, the one that catapulted Jennifer Lopez to stardom. Hahaha look at the browser...But the layout and 'contents' of J.Lo's website are timeless (at least to date). Oh, and that' Internet TV' thing would be YouTube in the present day.
And the part that perturbs me? It's where the little girl watches J.Lo and copies her moves. I know, I know. I'm a typical feminist studies scholar.
Always loves the voyeurism theme!

Kids are more than meets the eye...

2009-07-30T01:18:00.003+07:00

Hey guys!
My foster family from NZ, The Napiantos, is currently here. They're actually Indonesian. At first it was just the husband and wife who migrated to Auckland as newlyweds in 1999 or 2000. The couple went to have two kids born there (Haikal and Hafsyah), have permanent residence, and move to Australia in early 2008.
Yesterday we spent the entire day with them. Aunt Dina and Hafsyah and my mum, who'd been hanging out since 1 PM, picked me up from I Can Read at 6 PM, then we went to Emporium to have dinner. Meanwhile, Uncle Hendar, Haikal, my dad and my bro were jamming at our practice studio. The family Napianto didn't leave the Arslan pad until around 11 PM, and they might come again this Sunday, just four days before they fly back to Koalaland.
While my dad, Uncle Hendar, and my bro were jamming (they played mostly Beatles songs), the Napianto kids and I had a chitchat in the small soundproof room in front of the studio (which is also soundproof.) Hafsyah, who had been quiet unlike the little girl I knew back in Auckland, for the first time really talked to me. She asked, "Kakak Nana, why aren't you in New Zealand?" I was surprised when the question escaped her cute little mouth. I thought she completely forgot me since she refused to look at me when I saw her for the first time in 1,5 years. I explained that I had finished university, and had a hard time finding a full-time job thanks to the recession. That NZ, being a small country, was one of the worst-hit countries. I didn't even bother to explain the word 'recession' to the kids (aged 5 and 7 respectively)...and to my surprise they understood what I was talking about. Haikal and Hafsyah asked, "What about your fellow foreign friends from university? They left as well?" I told them a story about a Vietnamese friend who worked for L'Oreal NZ for seven (or nine?) months after graduating from my university, but had to leave due to the cost cutting policy of the company. I didn't even use the words 'get fired' but again the kids knew what I was implying. Little Hafsyah asked, "And what did your friend do after he got fired?" while Haikal asked, "Did L'Oreal keep the big, old bosses?"
These kids have such big brains!

Oh no they didn't...

2009-07-05T16:05:00.005+07:00

I used to read Cleo magazines while chilling at the Gloria Jean's opposite Imax back in Auckland. Among the Cleo's was the issue whose sealed section contained pictures of naked couples telling about their, um, sexual activities. Lynne and Antonios (their surname undisclosed in the section) interested me the most because they had the biggest age gap (when that issue came out (in April 2008 if I remember correctly), Lynne was 24 and Antonios 45.)
Fast forward a year, several days ago while having nothing to do, I punched in 'Antonios and Lynne' on Google, hoping to find out the Cleo May-December couple's last name. And gosh did they cause ripples. And did I find out more than just their surname. The parents of one of Lynne Tziolas' students at Narraweena School, where she taught grades 1 and 2, reported The Tziolas' raunchy pose to the school's executive board. That resulted in Lynne getting discharged from Narraweena, and she fought back, taking legal actions to be reinstated.
I myself have mixed opinions about this case. First of all yes teachers do have sex life, private life, and it's up to them what to do about it. In Lynne's case, she must have thought posing naked for Cleo wouldn't be a problem, since she taught 7-year-olds and 7-year-olds don't read Cleo, right? Plus, the pose was in a sealed sex special section. You have to buy the magazine first to be able to tear the section open. Mrs. Tziolas even stated that she wouldn't have done it had she been a high school teacher. On the other hand, when I try to put myself in the shoes of the concerned parents, I can see what this might cause in the long run. Who knows, ten years down the road that magazine still exists in thrift stores and Lynne's students - now ex students and about 17 years old - might find it and think posing naked with your spouse on a magazine is cool. It's absolutely not. You don't make money by selling your private parts to the public eye. You make money by using your brain to make the world a better place.
Anyway, the Tziolas brouhaha also made news here in Indonesia, just not in the headlines.

Fashion mishap?

2009-06-30T09:10:00.006+07:00

The Zima sisters at the 2007 Hollywood Style Awards. I don't know what movies Vanessa and Yvonne are in, but you might remember eldest sister Madeline, right, as Gracie Sheffield from The Nanny. Anyway, what kind of dress is Yvonne (middle) wearing? Take a look at the top of the dress. Doesn't it look like a bra to you? It does so to me. The whole ensemble looks like a tube dress lowered down to below the breasts and topped with a bra. Not a good look. And with that hairdo, she seems to scream 1992. But anyhoo, it's a good vintage outcome, especially if she sported that look unwittingly.

That mandatory MJ entry

2009-06-28T11:43:00.006+07:00

1958 - 2009

Michael Jackson has died. I think now is the time, more than ever, to blame it on the boogie.

One simply must respect the enormity of Michael Jackson's death. Shame on those people who were suing him for cancelling his shows, kinda obvious he had a valid reason.

In the long run how much does it affect you...Didn't you all forget about him because of his trials and the last album?

Rest in peace, genious.

Good riddance

2009-06-20T08:19:00.002+07:00

If you're wondering, the boyfriend and I are no more. He dumped me like he never went to school.
I'd say good riddance. I didn't have feelings for him in the first place. True I loved him, but the love came well into the relationship. And I'll get a new guy in no time - not that I'm desperate for it. He was in competition with another guy from the old office when he approached me, and even back in my fat and pimply days in New Zealand the best-looking guys around hit on me.

Remember when pre-teens were actually mini grown-ups?

2009-06-19T00:36:00.003+07:00

I came across the first episode of Girl Talk on Youtube the other day. If you grew up between the late '80s to the early '90s (or mid '90s to those in Indonesia), you must remember a series of books chronicling the everyday life of four 13-year-olds from the fictional city of Acorn Falls, Girl Talk. Well this show Girl Talk wasn't an adaptation of the series into the small screen. Instead the show, which aired in 1989, was a talk show where three host, the then very young Soleil Moon Frye, Sarah Michelle Gellar, and Russell Koplin, discussed girly matters like sleepovers, clothes, boys, school, music, and boys.

Anyway, here's the only surviving episode (on YouTube) of Girl Talk. It's comprised of three parts, but we need only the first and last bits...

Take a look at their school clothes and the going out clothes that they wear to see the Knight brothers. Don't you think Soleil's yellow shirt looks two sizes too big? Russel's school clothes too heavy? How about their party clothes - TUXEDO!? On a girl? The black blazer and mini dress on Soleil scream a 13-year-old trying to pretend she's 25. Which sets me thinking. There must have been no pre-teen fashion back in the day. The likes of Urban Angel and Jay Jays must have been non-existent. You were either a kid or an adult, and adulthood started at 16.

Heya!

2009-06-17T08:29:00.000+07:00

Hey hey Blogger :) Finally I jumped on the tagcloud bandwagon! What a refreshing feeling! Ok, first thing first. I'd like to wish someone a belated 33rd birthday, and look what I've found for you, you huge Burger King fan!

That's four-year-old Sarah Michelle Gellar, in a 1981 Burger King commercial. It's said to be one of the first commercials that blatantly named their competitors, and obviously McDonald's sued Burger King, the advertising agency that released the commercial, and the then four-year-old Sarah! The charges were dropped a year later, but I wonder if she was (or still is) ever banned from McDonald's...