Virtual Beauty - Flash Application

This one is an old portofolio from the old company i work. It is done in Macromedia Flash 5.

Hey we can input flash ...

So sorry if this turn out to be a shameful self promotion bit.
I was just curious about flash in multiply. So don't mind all the gibberish text inside.
This one is my personal website from two years ago, and since i don't have time to manage my own domain and host,
it was totally abandoned.

Impromptu Hair Style

I just had me a haircut yesterday. My wife has repeatedly told me not to cut it, or cut it in some good barbershop not in some unknown Padang style hairdresser. Only this time I was being stubborn, also because the place is near so I went to this small and very grungy barber. I mean look at the ratio, if I go to some fancy one it would cost me more than Rp. 70.000,- ten times more expensive. And people said that women are more economical when it comes to money. So I told the elderly man, I want a hair looks like Marco van Basten, I�s feeling a bit wild and want to surprise the missus. To be fair to the pap is that he already warned me.

�Pak kalo ini dipendekin akan berdiri soalnya rambut bapak beda sama Van Basten, dia tebal dan rapat jaraknya,� he replied with his thick Padang accent.

In short he said that because my hair type is different that style would make my hair looks like it�s just been electrocuted. Once again I was being stubborn, I politely said to him, never mind that and please just cut my hair like the former Milan superstar. So he did it, but probably I heard some one was rolling on the floor laughing in his mind.

I liked the cut tho�, but my wife doesn�t. She strenuously protested like never before, and even suggest that it�s better if I go bald all the way. Of course I failed to comply, I mean, what an obtuse suggestion. Any how she always doesn�t like if I shave the beard and moustache, makes me look too young she said once. She likes the rather rugged and manly style perhaps. That�s why Viggo Mortensen is her favourite actor and not Keanu. So now whenever I go near her, she always give me that peculiar and patronizing look. Ah, granted I will be miserable for the next three weeks. Long enough until I got my hair back to the way she likes it.

With this hair tho� I feel more comfortable. It kinda remind me when I was in high school with three years of crew cut. None of that hair bugging my eyes and gone all awry if the wind blows a bit hard. It�s also cost effective with the shampoo. I know it's hardly like Mr. Reeves in Speed, but hey it's not too shabby either.

My Long Lost Blog

Geez louise, this is eerie... The recent fever attacking me for posting journals in friendster and multiply reminds me of this long lost and forgotten blogspot. Note the cheesy title and the broken english hehehe. Anywho, let me contemplate more about this journal thing. it's kinda embarrassing having this blank archive all over.

There's a lot been going on after the last post and the newest one. I have been married, i have lost the old job, find a new job, been to places i've just been able to dreamt on all those years, and many others. There's been a wtc collapse, there's been a war, infact two wars but not as big as the world war. Indonesia had change leadership twice after gus dur to mega and now perhaps sby. Manchester united has been the premier champions and lost it the following year to the arse. There's been several outstanding movies along the way like the Lord of The Rings trilogy. They decided to make the doomed sequels for The Matrix, and also the success of Harry Potter series. Hm i'll continue if i can think of any. For now i'll just leave you at that.

I've just heard about the passing of Sukma Ayu on Saturday 25 Sept 2004. After five month struggling in a comma. It was just this morning i saw a documentation about her being transported back to her home and that her condition is getting better. Quite moving really, this reminds me of my sister's passing two years ago. May she rest in peace, and may God forgive her for all the tresspasses she had done and give her the best place by His side.

Andrea and Marco's Amazing Adventures

I was able to convince two of the guys from Milan office to come and visit Jakarta this month. I've been saying how safe Jakarta is and how fun it would be to spend holidays in Bali and Lombok, and all that scary stories are just media trying to blow anything out of proportion to sell papers and rating. What do you know, the first day they were here, a bomb explode. Sigh, these people, I�m all out of words for whoever commit this atrocious act. I was going to hide this unfortunate event from them but alas, they got BBC and CNN in the hotel, tsk tsk tsk. Anyway, my friends, Andrea and Marco luckily are made of tougher material. They didn't turn tail and book the first flight back to Italy; instead we're sightseeing around Jakarta like nothing happened.

That day and night after the ill-fated bombing, we tour Jakarta. It was mildly amusing seeing objects that are always there but viewing it with Andrea and Marco's eyes and perspective. It turned out they quite liked Plaza Senayan, Plaza EX, and even Carrefour Ratu Plaza where they could see all these exotic fruits and foods like durian, papaya, and sirsak. They also had a field day (albeit somewhat embarrassing to me) in the pirated area of Ratu Plaza, buying a dozen of games and a bunch of dvds. The problem in major cities in Italy is that there�s no such thing as mall and shopping center like we had in abundance here in Jakarta. So it's probably refreshing to them seeing a set of attractive girls drinking espresso with all their negligee in Toraja cafe. Or snickering to see aplenty of Italian brands parading their so overpriced items. The night we filled with some balinese cuisine in Ulam Balinese Restaurant in Kemang district. Although the food was rather too hot and spicy for their liking, they said they like it. Hm, maybe they just didn't want to disappoint me, I�ll have to look into that later. Surely I hope not. As always the case with Italian, these guys linger around dinner and we spent more than 3 hours in Ulam, just enjoying meal after meal, and that bali wine which tasted like vinegar to them much to my dismay.

Despite those small hickups we passed dinner beautifully, and later we asked directions to the cab driver (i admit i do not know many nightlife spots in Jakarta) and he brought us to the Faletehan Street where legend has it, full of 'ayam' - 'chicks' my friends were looking for. It was really disappointing, whether it's because of the day incident or whatever reasons the places is empty. Only a small band of overly happy but ugly looking tramps (forgive my French) standing in front of the many club. So we decided to take off and went to Hard Rock Cafe instead.

It was quite decent in HRC, I just found out that they moved the place to Plaza EX and we went there with little expectations knowing full well that after what happened today there should be little excitements among the crowds. But to my delight, the music and the place was very enjoyable through the night. Andrea and Marco was a bit surprised of how good the quality of the band and how much influence American brands have on us Indonesian.

Granted they ended up empty handed (they were looking for one romantic if not luscious encounter with Indonesian girls � we�ll venture about this subject in near future) but the whole night after the bombing finished up quite nice and satisfactory.

The Office

Rating:	★★★★★
Category:	Movies
Genre:	Comedy

Hail to The Office ! A truly hillarious series about the office from hell, with an assured cult following.

Brits comedy sure is different than its counterpart from America. It got more wit and dark comic timing, especially proved by this soon to be classic. I know we bandied across the word 'classic' and 'legend' too easily these days. But for this one i am sure it has achieved all the ingredients and accolade to grant any other superlative there ever was.

Talking about the series, there are only 2 seasons and 2 other episode for christmas specials. The creator, Ricky Gervais decided to quit while it was on a high where season two is as good as the predecessor, and the two christmas special wrapped it up real nicely. The whole concept was that a BBC crew following a day to day activity in an office where a group of losers, smartasses, and flirts that work at the world's most boring copypaper company in a mundane district area. The acting is amazing, and they are so believable it's ridiculous. If you've ever worked for a moron, hated a co-worker, had a crush on a receptionist, or had an office job that made you want to kill yourself, you must watch this show.

Cringe is the exact word to describe how i felt watching the whole debacle and irony plastered throughout the show.

Fawlty Towers

Rating:	★★★★★
Category:	Movies
Genre:	Comedy

I first saw Fawlty Towers on tv when I was a child, and remember only vaguely. Had me a chance to watched it again recently and it still cracked me up. The physical comedy as well as the interaction between all the characters is absolutely priceless. Although there were only 12 episodes produced, "Fawlty Towers" goes a long way to proving that quality and quantity are not always the same thing. Very few in life give me as much laughter as watching episodes of Fawlty Towers does and i'm not even English. I can inderstand why it reaches a cult status among tv viewers in the UK.

The show it self is a comedy with great humour about Basil Fawlty (John Cleese who play Q in the newest Bond movies), a retard, and his wife Sybil, a nag, to run a hotel with the help of their maid, Polly, a nice girl, and the help of their busboy Manuel, who can't speak a word of English. All of these 4 people create an environment in which it seems impossible to run a Hotel properly, for many people leave the place, never to return again. Everyday events at the hotel are continually confusing and maddening for both guests and hosts. The situations created, though sometimes exaggerated are very funny in a slapstick kind of way. I literally laugh my arse off on the floor.

Fawlty Towers would not be the success it is without more than flaws in character to work with. The writers of the series must be either ingenious plot manipulators, or be extremely depraved in every sense of the word, as every problem encountered uses the most of the setting and characters to stir the plot and twist it into something that resembles reality, yet at the same time hillariously and histerically funny. They don't produce this kind of gem anymore, and that's a pity.

A Javanese Wedding

A Review about Review System

Oya kalo ngomong soal best movie of all time, aku suka agak heran dengan pilihannya beberapa kritikus movie, soalnya bingung apa yang buat mereka naruh film tertentu untuk jadi the best? apakah orisinalitas pada masa-nya ? atau akting para cast nya ? jalan ceritanya ? sinematografinya yang superb ? dll. Contohnya di beberapa list 100 best movie of all time, pasti Citizen Kane masuk list bahkan termasuk top 3. Tapi pas udah aku tonton, eh i was like... what the fuss it's all about? Begitu juga Apocalypse Now dan North by Northwest. Hm... mungkin karena pas mereka muncul film-film itu begitu breakthrough nya kali ya ... tapi pas kita tonton sekarang agak berkurang 'punch' nya ... tapi bukankah The Greatest of Movies mustinya stand the test of time?

Dari list yang di American Film Institute itu ada beberapa yang menurutku layak masuk karena emang bagus banget, seperti Lawrence of Arabia dan umumnya karya-karya David Lean, Casablanca, 2001:A Space Odyssey (altho' to me this is somewhat overrated), The Graduate (oh ... i love Mrs. Robinson - all teenager lusty dreams), sama Blue Velvet-nya David Lynch. Tapi bahkan film-film bagus ini nggak akan masuk 15 besar film favoritku. Kembali lagi kayaknya ke conundrum seperti yang pilihan juri vs sms, untuk pemilihan-pemilihan bakat kayak AFI atau Idol. Buat para kritik seperti ada itungan dan parameter tertentu dibanding dengan mainstream folk seperti kita-kita.

Soal conundrum kritikus vs mass moviegoers, di Inggris ada majalah yang udah lama banget dan lumayan berpengaruh, Sight and Sound yang ngeluarin poll setiap dekade untuk nentuin The Greatest Movies of All Time, yang jadi pemilihnya rata-rata profesor, pengkritik profesional, dan para sutradara aktif. Contohnya dari poll tahun 2002, kritikus yang ikut Thomas Elsaesser, Yomoto Inuhiko, Richard Dyer, Kim Newman, Barry Norman, dan Charles Barr. Sutradaranya John Boorman, Roger Corman, Cameron Crowe, Milos Forman, Yiwen Chen, Michael Mann, Sydney Pollack, Quentin Tarantino, dan John Waters, rata-rata bukan sutradara kacangan kan ya. Hasilnya dibagi dua sisi:

Buat para kritikus ini list top 10-nya:
Citizen Kane (1941) Vertigo (1958) La Regle du jeu (1939) The Godfather 1 & 2 (72-74) Tokyo Story (1953) 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) Battleship Potemkin (1925) Sunrise (1927) 8 1/2 (1963) Singin' in the Rain (1951)

Untuk para sutradara top ten listnya:
Citizen Kane (1941) The Godfather 1 & 2 (1972-1974) 8 1/2 (1963) Lawrence of Arabia (1962) Dr Strangelove (1963) Bicycle Thieves (1948) Raging Bull (1980) Vertigo (1958) Rashomon (1950) La Regle du jeu (1939) Seven Samurai (1954)

Keliatan banget ya kalo listnya dipenuhi sama film-film yang klasik dan yang paling baru hanya Raging Bull-nya de Niro, dan itu-pun udah 24 taunan yang lalu. Polling-nya sendiri udah dilaksanakan setiap 10 tahun sejak tahun 1952, dan isinya ya itu-itu aja selalu. Jadi emang bisa disimpulkan kalo para akademisi dan praktikan sinema beranggapan pencapaian terbaik Film dalam sejarah ya judul-judul di atas. terutama Citizen Kane yang sejak poll tahun 1962 selalu jadi nomer 1. Makanya aku pengen banget ngedalamin apa sih yang bikin mereka itu menetapkan film-film tadi jadi all time best. Apakah 'impact' nya terhadap sejarah sinema dan para penggemar film karena udah jadi pembaharu pada jamannya ? or ... ?

Di IMDB sendiri yang listnya agak unik karena terdiri dari vote para membernya yang jutaan banyaknya, Citizen Kane 'hanya' nomer 11. Top 5 nya kebanyakan film-film populer buat mass moviegoers kayak trilogy Lord of The Rings, Godfather, dan Shawshank Redemption (which i am very much agree upon hehehe). Ada banyak film-film 'baru' yang menurutku punya 'bakat' buat jadi 'klasik' di masa datang. Tapi nggak hanya karena aku punya pendapat begitu trus pasti film-film itu bakal jadi 'klasik' bener-bener. Bisa aja nanti pendapatku tentang film bagus itu berubah. Soalnya banyak juga film yang pas aku kecil nontonnya sampe tergila-gila tapi pas ke belakang ini setelah pendapat dan wawasan tentang film agak nambah dikit, persepsi tentang film-film tadi berubah dan akhirnya 'turun' dari list all time fave ku.

Memento

Rating:	★★★★
Category:	Movies
Genre:	Mystery & Suspense

This is easy, Memento is quite simply one of the best thriller out there. The brilliance of it stands in the originality of the storytelling. The way the movie unfolds is quite superb and make me wanted Memento to keep going for as long as possible, to keep revealing pieces of its intricate maze.

Please give the story a little bit of a chance before you dismiss it out of the first quite ordinary opening. The genre suited this movie probably film noir, with style and panache only seen before in Pulp Fiction. Perhaps short term memory loss has been done before by other film maker, but none of them made it as intriguing as Christopher Nolan. Also Guy Pearce and carrie-Anne Moss have a certain charisma and mystery about them totally supporting the whole plot line.

The technique of starting the movie near the end, then flashing back, then back again also used time and time again namely Fight Club, but Memento takes it to a whole new level. Although the film does remind me of Fincher's violent satire at times, including for the use of a visual twist, it is clearly no clone. Where Fight Club is psycho-political bite, Memento is full paranoia through an extremely complicated yet gripping storyline that requires strenuous attention to the details.

Nasi Goreng Indonesiana

Description:
Nasi means 'Rice' or 'Riso' in Italy and Goreng means 'Fried', so Nasi Goreng simply means 'Fried Rice'. You can find almost similar taste in 'Riso ala Cantonese' or even 'Paella'. Nasi Goreng is a common rice dish from Indonesia. Note that different area may prepare Nasi Goreng differently, varying in sauce and ingredients. You can combine the recipe with sea food such as shrimp and squids, meat like beef and lamb cut into small dice size. It will be easier too cook with cold rice from the fridge or even the day before. Top it up with chilli and will be even yummier if it were to be served hot on plate.

Ingredients:
The main element :
- 300 gram of cooked white rice (preferably not hot)
- 1-2 spoons of sweet soya (you know the black soya made by beans)
- 1 spoon of tomato sauce
- 3 spoons of coconut or cornflower oil to fry the ingredients later
- a small bowl of shrimp or a mixed of shrimp and squid

The mashed spice (usually we smashed them using some sort of pan, but you can use blender for this):
- 3 red onion (small ones as big as a thumb)
- 1 garlic (small ones as big as a thumb)
- 2-3 red hot chilli (this one is up to your preferences)
- half a spoon of that fermented shrimp/fish paste known as terasi

the decorative but edible element:
- thin slices of cucumber
- thin slices of one red onion, fried until it appear brown and golden
- 2-3 eggs you make crepe and cut them into ribbons

Directions:
- Using a rather large pan, pour the oil and make it hot in a medium heat of fire
- fry the mashed spice until the delicious smells come out
- put the shrimp/squid and wait until they're golden
- put the rice a small amount at a time and keep mixing it and the spice so that it mixed well together
- put the tomato sauce and the soya and mixed them again

12 Angry Men

Rating:	★★★★
Category:	Movies
Genre:	Mystery & Suspense

It is probably hard to imagine how a movie that takes place in one room can be so entertaining. The script, and the excellent acting make this a must see. These twelve men, all from different backgrounds gather to decide the guilt or innocence of a young boy accused of murdering his father. "On the surface he appears to be guilty" is quoted by one of the jurrors. Henry Fonda isn't so sure.. the eleven others seem to be sure of his guilt.

I admit i was late in recognizing this absolute classic. Just watch it when i've reached 27 and the movie is already 5 decades old. But it proves how this masterpiece is timeless. I am not big fan on watching old movies, for many reasons. Black and white does not bother me, but the poor film quality and the cheesy special effects are very distracting. However, my biggest problems, and really the only ones that prevents me from watching a lot of them, are the overacting and the hokey dialogue. This movie is one of the few of its day that does not suffer from these problems. Instead, it is a great character study. The dialogue is believable. This movie could easily have been made in 2004 instead of 1957.

Throughout the 90 minutes these 'Twelve Angry Men' battle the case out. They discuss, argue, fight, and even threaten one another until a verdict is finally reached. This movie is truly a masterpiece. A must see for all movie enthusiasts. I find it peculiar that Agatha Christie thought the plot is lame and that it is not as complicated as mysteries she had produce, but for me, ultimately the film is a marvel to watch and to appreciate on every level of film making.

The Usual Suspects

Rating:	★★★★
Category:	Movies
Genre:	Mystery & Suspense

I know that this one is pretty standard thriller drama out there nowadays but The Usual Supects also has one of the greatest acting performances you'll ever see, the thing though is, it is 'that' good and i kinda miss it first time. Spacey's masterful deliverance can only really be appreciated with multiple viewings. And he is just the stand out thespian from an Oscar winning ensemble, including Benicio Del Toro (gee, i've wrote 2 reviews with him inside), Gabriel Byrne, Chaz Palminteri, all at their peak.

The on-screen chemistry is highlighted in 'The Line-up' Scene, where a piece of editing makes the scene a trend setter in the genre. McQuarrie's script deserved the Oscar it earned and Singer's direction should of gotten him one too. He manages to keep the complex film understandable to most casual viewers and he moves the all-star cast around well considering this is his debut film. At least this movie brings him popularity as one of the young prodigy director and end up making the two X Men.

The film is so well written that in every scene i find myself waiting anxiously how the whole puzzle is going to be wrapped up. The main plot is the myth surrounding 'who is Keyser Soze?' a mythical (perhaps) crime-lord around which the whole exposition is set. But i find myself forgetting this while i was taken on a thrill ride of car-jacking, jewel robbery and murder, only for it to re-emerge at the end and pull up one of the better ending twist in the cinema.

If you like to guess the endings of films and feel cheated and outsmarted, then you should still watch this classic at least twice like i did.

Fashionable Milan

La Serenissima Venice

Florence Renaissance

Florence in Tuscany region of Italy, is the birthplace of Renaissance. Who could forget the 'battle' between Michaelangelo and Leonardo that spawned all the masterpieces in the city collections. The famous cashew coloured cupola and Brunelleschi's Duomo where Hannibal the movie take place. Florence has a very different feel to it compared to Rome and Venice.

The funny thing taking pictures in the Duomo is that the piazza is so narrow yet the facade of the cathedral is so high, making the pictures a bit fish eyed in perspective. However i must admit this Duomo is an architectural marvel, it really gives a focal point to the whole city scape. It's worth all the effort of dragging our luggage to the higher ground just to be dumbstrucked by the view.

Too bad me and the missus only spent a day touring so we couldn't really explore the many magical place fill this wonderful city. Still rue the fact that we did not have the time to enter the Uffizi Gallery where all the more important works showcased.

The Classic Rome