Rendjana

Sparks fly!

2008-08-14T00:26:00.002+07:00

you ignite me! :">

Hear Ye! Hear Ye!

2006-11-07T19:07:00.000+07:00

Let it be known to the whole universe that today, I am one of those content employees who is just blossom coming out from a boss's office having just received a meaningful compliment!!!
Je suis tres content!! :)
I am SO crossing my fingers for an increase this year-end!!! *LOL*

amoureux moi..

2006-10-09T11:35:00.000+07:00

5 years ago... I would've given up everything for this..
It's really funny how life works itself on people..
Thank you for everything..
Most of all, thank you for turning back toward me, and walk with me in the same path..

It is really nice to have warmth while treading life's cold road.. Thank you again.. for you.. :)

and this is what we got :)

2006-09-25T10:41:00.000+07:00

This is us.. :)

2006-09-25T10:35:00.000+07:00

the extreme way

2006-08-23T09:50:00.000+07:00

I read somewhere, if you want to make some change to you, your environment, or your life which is dear to you, you have to do it the extreme way, just in case you always failed to make the change.
It also could apply to your loved ones. In my case, several times ago, for some reason, I knew that the significant other of mine had no equal reciprocation, feeling-wise. I actually kinda knew that this was not working out, cuz it's not good for me, to have feelings more than I received. Not good for my easily-scarred heart.. haha!. And the relationship did end a year ago. I had to step back for a reason. I had to deal with the pain and the sudden loss of self-esteem which quite naturally you have to endure after every break-up. It took me lots of months to recover fully.. But I had to admit, I actually never succeeded in erasing the person totally (we did have great times). For this, let me quote from a movie I like: " You can erase someone from your mind. Getting them out of your heart is another story" (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind). So the person was not totally erased.. still lingered in the bottom of my sub-conscious, I guess.. But it was okay.. I could go on with my life, with a little something here and there that reminds me of the person. Not damaging. Just okay.
But then few months ago, fate led us to meet each other again. And from that night, all "hell" broke loose. The feelings that were firmly contained, the memories that was supposedly lingering dormantly in my mind suddenly ran amok. Because there it was! The person! The personification of my love, my ideal depiction of someone special right in front of me! No matter how hurt I was before, the sight of the person really washed it all.. And I was needed.. Well, maybe just for company, or just for an ear to lend.. it's okay. I was willing to face the consequences. I risked another break to my old heart, but I grasped myself and said, "I'd face anything to have the person again in my life". Just the presence. Nothing more.
Although suddenly I was reminded of how dreaded love could be. How you could feel hopelessly in love with someone who hurt you, left you and truly showed that you are just not special, without being able to leave them and erase them completely from your mind. I realized that I risked being trapped in the same web; the evil and sinister web of love! haha!!
Just after I thought of it, something happened that really made me quite angry to the person at that time, I had to disconnect the phone to avoid myself saying rude things to that person I cared so much. The moment and the emotion was unavoidable, and the reaction I got was just an sms. I guess I irritated the person at the other end of the line :p Well, it irritated me as much! Just an sms?! After all we had?! (oh well, perhaps what we had was special only for me and not the other way around)
Nevertheless, there was a pang of remorse in me.. But hey.. Perhaps this is what it takes for me to move on..
I really do hope this way could make me over the hurt and the inadequateness I feel.. but definitely not the memories.. :)
So thank you.. for hurting me again and for making me took the extreme way..

.....

2006-08-16T10:33:00.000+07:00

why?..

The BEST love song ever..

2006-07-26T08:55:00.000+07:00

I'll paint my mood in shades of blue
Paint my soul to be with you
I'll sketch your lips in shaded tones
draw your mouth to my own

I'll draw your arms around my waist
then all doubt I shall erase
I'll paint the rain that softly lands
on your wind blown hair

I'll trace a hand to wipe your tears
a look to calm your fears
a silhouette of dark and light
while we hold each other oh so tight

I'll paint a sun to warm your heart
Swearing that we'll never part

that's the Color of my Love

I'll paint the truth, show how I feel
try to make you completely real

I'll use a brush so light and fine
to draw you close and make you mine

I'll paint a sun to warm your heart
Swearing that we'll never part

that's the Colour of my Love

I'll draw the years all passing by
So much to learn, so much to try

And with this ring our lives will start
swearing that we'll never part

I offer what you cannot buy
devoted love until we die...

First Time

2006-07-14T11:18:00.000+07:00

There’s always a first time for everything, so it was said. And my first time of having to stay in a hospital came one week ago. I had an ulcer in my lower colon which gone bad enough to make me suffer from quite profuse hemorrhaging (the details stop here ☺ ), hence I need to be hospitalized.
It’s funny how I used to wonder how’d it felt to be treated in a hospital everytime I visit friends who’s hospitalized. I’ve never been to the situation! Remember a saying “be careful what you wished for, it might just came true”? There you go, my wish just came true that last Friday.
I had to stay for 3 nights only but it was enough for me to learn a lot of things. I learned that money really can buy you good services (thank God for my generous company :p ), I learned that being alone in an hospital room can really open your eyes, in terms of identifying the people who really cares about you.. thus separating those who really give a damn from those who’s just trying to be nice.. LOL
Anyhoo.. All in all, it’s a nice experience. And it all ended up good. I’m okay now thanks to the miracle workers there a.k.a dr Gan Hoa Hiong (really worth your “jaw-dropping” fee! Haha!) and the good-hearted nurses.. Which on the last day were shocked knowing my age (they thought I was 6 years younger!).. Seeing their expression was really fun!! LOL
I must say this particular first time experience was quite amusing..
And who says hospital food is not good?! They’re yummy!!!

indulgence

2006-07-03T11:45:00.000+07:00

So yeah, it was my birthday last thursday.
And like any other people, I want to give something special to myself :)
Yes, I splurged.
But hey, there's nothing wrong with treating yourself nicely once every year, right? :)

This year, my self-indulgence takes the form of this divine material.

I've been secretly longing for this particular item since one of my brothers bought one for himself. Then, it cost a fortune! But now, it's not even half the original price!! And it's BLACK!!
Ah, je suis tres content!

:)

So, happy birthday to me! haha!

How much change..?

2006-06-14T15:54:00.000+07:00

I believe in love
I believe it every time I see you
walking by my side
It's something I can't hide

I believe in love
I believe it everytime I hear
your laughter flow with mine

Oh I can see it shine
Like a supernova star
Like a glow worm in a jar
The light is just the same
and love is not a game

So believe in me my friend
And this joy will never end
In a hundred years or two
I'll still be loving you

I believe in ghosts
I believe in Frankenstein the most
and even Halloween
The moon is cheesy green...

Just like thousands or even million other zit-faced kids in the 80s, I fell in love whilst listening to this song (and other songs from the same album as "First Love") by Nikka Costa.
This song was sent to me by Hary today. As I listened to it, I unashamedly admit that it made me cried a little bit. How vast things changed. How I changed. How being a kid, I believed that unconditional love really exists (I guess I owed it to reading too many books for a kid *LOL*). And how now, as an adult, having been bearing too many heartache to endure, too many rejections, too many compromising, has led me to believe that such thing as Unconditional Love and the likes of it is inexistent.
I don't know why I cried.. Is it because the song brings up too many loving childhood memories?
Or is it because how changed I am, from this gleamy eyed kid full of love in his heart, to this resentful, bitter and easily-irritated person when it comes to romance? :)

should I?

2006-06-12T07:37:00.000+07:00

Now the questions are:

1. Should I succumb to the feelings?

2. Should I be ignorant and move on as if nothing's happened?

or

3. Is it too soon to tell? Should I wait for any other clue (if there're gonna be any.. *LOL*)?

Hmmm.... this is tough.

*sigh*

Number of the Beast

2006-06-06T16:56:00.000+07:00

"Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, so that no one can buy or sell who does not have the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of his name. This calls for wisdom: let anyone with the understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a person. Its number is six hundred and sixty-six"
-New Testament, Revelation 13: 16-18-

D'you guys know what date today is? June 6 right? Year 2006, right? You can write it this way : 06.06.06 --> 6.6.6.
And that is The mark of the Beast.. The Devil, Satan.. Le Diable! Cool!! :p
And.. and.. today is the world premiere of The Omen!
(aduh Vin.. penting gak sih?.. hwahahahahahahahaha!!)

Mutants Galore!

2006-05-31T15:19:00.000+07:00

X-Men rocks! Although the ending (and almost every part of the storyline) is way different form the comic-version, director Brett Ratner has succeeded in satisfying my "demand". :)

Here are my particular objections for you, Brett! (minor only :) ) :

1. Why oh why do you have to do that to Mystique, Brett??!!! She kicks ass! And I want to see more of her!!

2. Callisto is WAY more dangerous than that!! She's the leader of the Morlocks!! And she doesn't have the "mutant-scanning" ability!!

3. Marrow, the bone-throwing mutant is a FEMALE! and she's (also) more powerful than what you depict in the movie

Oh, I still want to watch it again though.. :D

Le concert

2006-05-28T08:19:00.000+07:00

Last Thursday, went to Anggun Concert @ JHCC and I was blown away! TOTALLY worth 3 hours of waiting (for the scalpers to sell the tix cheaper than their original offer) :))
The concert was indeed in international standard. It began precisely on time (21.00), and it was opened by an MC announcing the fire exit procedure! Never before done in local musicians concerts! (that's a nice BITCHSLAP for local artists and organizers)

Anggun that night was superb! She delivers!! I had moments when I had me myself on the verge of tears watching her.. She's come so far.. From the little rocker-girl in tight leggings and red barretta, to a seductive siren alluring her audience with her sensual looks and rich voice. She speaks French now.. but that night on stage, she still jokes with her java-accented bahasa. She told us the audience (in bahasa, of course),"I have been away from my homeland quite long now, singing here and there, east and west.. But it is here, in my own country, in front of you all.. that gives me the shiver, and I am so very very nervous right now".. ain't it sweet? :) But her performance was light-years away from nervous.. And she blew all of us away..
My favourite section of her show was when she sang her old songs.. her pieces that made her claim to fame in Indonesia when she was a little girl.. She did it accoustically with strings and piano accompaniment. When she sang emosi, I sang along teary-eyed.. I was quite emotional.. hwahahahaha!!
Ah, what a blast i had.. :)
Thank you for giving such wonderful show.. and most of all, thank you for not forgetting your roots, for coming back and show your appreciation to us.. For that, I (we) salute you..
Maju Terus, cherie! :)

"THAT" time of the year

2006-05-14T13:56:00.000+07:00

Current Mood: Hateful
Here it comes! That one particular time of the year I dread so much.
Where I'm just being me, enjoying all the ups (and downs) of my life, happily striding everywhere I please, enjoying my solitary.. When suddenly "BAM!" it hits me like a door slammed unexpectedly right in front of your face breaking your nose!!! SH*T!
I hate the fact that when I knew I was supposed to be content and all about being just by myself, this goddarn-crap-good-for-nothing feeling of longing suddenly STUPIDLY emerges and RUINS THE WHOLE THING!!! Ruins the emotional stability, the firm believe I am so proudly hold that I don't need any single other soul to make me feel good!
God, I RUE the day I knew what romance is all about!!!! >_<

Doc, I've got a Pheeeever!!!

2006-04-16T12:40:00.000+07:00

Sing it, Girl!!!!!! you have my full-throttle support!!!
:)

the importance of being a borderline hypersensitive

2006-03-17T10:58:00.000+07:00

Okay, so I am a big time loser for this hypersensitive mood I have since I don't know when. I got easily offended by the things people say (especially the ones close to me), or easily touched by the smallest act of tenderness I see around (especially by the ones close to me).. I could easily get slumped to the lowest low, but also au contraire, could leap to the highest heights by small little itty bitty things :)
Just like this past several days, one of my colleagues at the office lent me her newly bought CD.. It was not by a special singer whose voice is technically perfect and mightily powerful tone, but merely medium beat with boring kinda tunes.. but I found it sweet.. and soothing.. and omigawd, got me swooning over it.. or.. the singer.. :)) Well, thank God for the music, I need anything within my reach to keep me from plunging to the depth of desperation again.. :)
Crooning over a singer? Oh dear.. I hope this is not the initial symptom of mental illness.. *LOL*

inspirationless

2006-03-14T19:58:00.000+07:00

Could this be "the writer's block"? The feeling of wanting to write, but helplessly have no idea what to write? darn..
*sigh*

Bulan Merah Jambu

2006-02-14T17:54:00.000+07:00

Tahukah kau?
Aku tidak butuh bulan bundar benderang
Diatas langit beledu hitam bersemat bintang

Aku tidak butuh petikan gitar dan desahan merdu membelai telinga
Ditepi danau perak di sore sepoi merona

Aku tidak butuh memejam mata untuk menghidupkan mimpi terindah

Hanya kau semata,
dan aku pun sempurna...

-Rendjana-

Saturday night treat

2006-02-12T09:48:00.000+07:00

Watched this movie last night.. Well, all I gotta say about it is: good looks, good costumes. But that's it. The rest was just "whatthe..."

AndI just have to comment on Sophie Okonedo:
oh God, Sophie.. Having four hands for feet? That's just GROSS!! It really was a DOWNGRADE from your acting in "Hotel Rwanda".. C'mon girl.. you can do better than that!

You know, I don't GET these actors (and actresses). They performed so well in a movie (for Charlize and Halle, even got an Oscar for that), but then, afterwards, it's as if they intentionally downgrade themselves by playing mediocre roles like superheroes (or action-heroes)! And it's not even entertaining!! Rremember Catwoman? Aaaaarrgh!!! diamonds for nails in the kitty-paws? and the icky costume? what the hell were they thinking??!!!
Not EVERY super/action-heroes movies are crap, though.. X-Men sequels are (so far) okay.. I couldn't wait for Ultraviolet.. C'mon Milla!! Don't let me down, girl!! :)

I'm crossing my fingers for you! :)

The Nominees

2006-02-01T14:46:00.000+07:00

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
78th Annual Academy Awards Nominations

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Philip Seymour Hoffman - CAPOTE
Terrence Howard - HUSTLE & FLOW
Heath Ledger - BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
Joaquin Phoenix - WALK THE LINE
David Strathairn - GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK.

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
George Clooney - SYRIANA
Matt Dillon - CRASH
Paul Giamatti - CINDERELLA MAN
Jake Gyllenhaal - BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
William Hurt - A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Judi Dench - MRS. HENDERSON PRESENTS
Felicity Huffman - TRANSAMERICA
Keira Knightley - PRIDE & PREJUDICE
Charlize Theron - NORTH COUNTRY
Reese Witherspoon - WALK THE LINE

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Amy Adams - JUNEBUG
Catherine Keener - CAPOTE
Frances McDormand - NORTH COUNTRY
Rachel Weisz - THE CONSTANT GARDENER
Michelle Williams - BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM OF THE YEAR
HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE
TIM BURTON'S CORPSE BRIDE
WALLACE & GROMIT IN THE CURSE OF THE WERE-RABBIT

ACHIEVEMENT IN ART DIRECTION
GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK.
HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE
KING KONG
MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA
PRIDE & PREJUDICE

ACHIEVEMENT IN CINEMATOGRAPHY
BATMAN BEGINS
BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK.
MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA
THE NEW WORLD

ACHIEVEMENT IN COSTUME DESIGN
CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY
MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA
MRS. HENDERSON PRESENTSPRIDE & PREJUDICE
WALK THE LINE

ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTING
BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
CAPOTE
CRASH
GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK.
MUNICH

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
DARWIN'S NIGHTMARE
ENRON: THE SMARTEST GUYS IN THE ROOM
MARCH OF THE PENGUINS
MURDERBALL
STREET FIGHT

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT
THE DEATH OF KEVIN CARTER: CASUALTY OF THE BANG BANG CLUB
GOD SLEEPS IN RWANDA
THE MUSHROOM CLUB
A NOTE OF TRIUMPH: THE GOLDEN AGE OF NORMAN CORWIN

ACHIEVEMENT IN FILM EDITING
CINDERELLA MAN
THE CONSTANT GARDENER
CRASH
MUNICH
WALK THE LINE

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM OF THE YEAR
DON'T TELL
JOYEUX NOèL
PARADISE NOW
SOPHIE SCHOLL - THE FINAL DAYS
TSOTSI

ACHIEVEMENT IN MAKEUP
THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE
CINDERELLA MAN
STAR WARS: EPISODE III REVENGE OF THE SITH

ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC WRITTEN FOR MOTION PICTURES
(ORIGINAL SCORE)
BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
THE CONSTANT GARDENER
MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA
MUNICH
PRIDE & PREJUDICE

ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC WRITTEN FOR MOTION PICTURES
(ORIGINAL SONG)
"In the Deep" - CRASH
"It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp" - HUSTLE & FLOW
"Travelin' Thru" - TRANSAMERICA

BEST MOTION PICTURE OF THE YEAR
BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
CAPOTE
CRASH
GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK.
MUNICH

BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM
BADGERED
THE MOON AND THE SON: AN IMAGINED CONVERSATION
THE MYSTERIOUS GEOGRAPHIC EXPLORATIONS OF JASPER MORELLO
9
ONE MAN BAND

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM
AUSREISSER (THE RUNAWAY)
CASHBACK
THE LAST FARM
OUR TIME IS UP
SIX SHOOTER

ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND EDITING
KING KONG
MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA
WAR OF THE WORLDS

ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND MIXING
THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE
KING KONG
MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA
WALK THE LINE
WAR OF THE WORLDS

ACHIEVEMENT IN VISUAL EFFECTS
THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE
KING KONG
WAR OF THE WORLDS

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
CAPOTE
THE CONSTANT GARDENER
A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE
MUNICH

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
CRASH
GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK.
MATCH POINT
THE SQUID AND THE WHALE
SYRIANA

feelgood

2006-01-25T15:04:00.000+07:00

Well, actually I wasn't intending on going shopping. I was just strolling around Plaza Senayan last night just to chase the blues away :p when I came across this store where i saw this cool jacket. It was dark smokey-grey with inside pockets! It even has its own little pocket for cellphone! And what's even better, the 50% discount!!!! *LOL* Ah goodie! So there it went.. I got in the mall gloomily and went out happily :)

And today, PAYDAY! what bliss this has been.. *big grin*

dies irae!

2006-01-24T14:08:00.000+07:00

I am ever so annoyed with some people these days who claim that they're wise beyond their age, while what they REALLY have is OLD look beyond their age, with wisdom of an INFANT!!!
AND WHAT IS MORE ANNOYING, THEY ARE SUCH DRAMA QUEENS!!! Who whine about trivial things.. about the so-called unfairness they had to endure, while (if ONLY they had enough INTELLIGENCE to look harder), IT IS THEIR OWN F*CKING STUPIDITY that caused the troubles in the first place!!!
These obnoxious people go around parading, saying outloud to the whole world about how good and high-quality they are, while what they really have in their heads are FART GAS!! And I guess due to their UTTER STUPIDITY, their lack of manners is understandable (though annoying like hell).. Their pea brain cannot seem to convey message to their filthy mouth to speak politely to others..
GOD I'M SO PISSED!!!

The Kindly Ones

2006-01-20T17:48:00.000+07:00

Any of you have heard the name Neil Gaiman? No? Neither have I. Until this one friend of mine e-mailed me this excerpts from one of his work, "The Sandman". It's dark, bitter, yet has a pang of truth in it. It struck me in a way that I thought I must share this work with all the people I know. I googled him, and found his website, www.neilgaiman.com Turn out that he's not only a writer of novels, but also of comic books. Okay, you can find out about him yourself, and here's his writings I told you about:

ROSE: Have you ever been in love?

DESIRE: You might say that.

ROSE: Horrible, isn't it?

DESIRE: In what way?

ROSE:
It makes you so vulnerable. It opens your chest and it opens your heart and it means someone can get inside you and mess you up. You build up all these defenses. You build up this whole armor, for years, so nothing can hurt you, then one stupid person, no different from any other stupid person, wanders into your stupid life... You give them a piece of you. They don't ask for it. They do something dumb one day like kiss you, or smile at you, and then your life isn't your own anymore.

Ruth: Love takes hostages. It gets inside you. It eats you out and leaves you crying in the darkness, so a simple phrase like "Maybe we should just be friends" or "How very perceptive" turns into a glass splinter working its way to your heart.

DESIRE: How picturesque.

ROSE:
It hurts. Not just in the imagination. Not just in the mind. It's a soul-hurt, a body-hurt, a real gets-inside-you-and-rips-you-apart pain. Nothing should be able to do that. Especially not love.

I hate love.

-- Neil Gaiman, The Kindly Ones--

Bintang..

2006-01-18T15:24:00.000+07:00

“Lalu bapakmu akan berkata, bintang tak pernah secantik tampakannya, tak sedekat yang kita duga.
Ia cuma penghias panas malam para pemimpi.
Tapi aku mau terbang. Aku mau menyentuh bintang.
Jika ujung jariku melepuh, akan kubelah lima.
Dan pulang dengan sepasang tangan berjari lima puluh"

dari: "Cala Ibi"
oleh Nukila Amal

Gina's BACK!!!

2006-01-16T06:59:00.000+07:00

This is another superheroine I grew up with. "Gina" is a comic serial (circa 1980-1989) which I love so much. It's local. Written and illustrated by Gerdi WK, a Bandung-based artist. Maybe the reason why I think the comic is SO well-expressed is because the writer is also the one who makes the illustration. And to me, that particular reason sets this comic apart from other local comics. Actually there're also other comic artists who writes and illustrates their comics altogether. But I like Gina better. It's the humane problems she face, despite the super powers she possesses (she can fly, hurl thunderbolts and gush of powerful blast of wind from the palm of her hands), she falls in love, deal with heartbreaks, in a more "Indonesia" way :)

To my disappointment, I lost my collection of Gina comics somewhere when i moved out from home. I looked everywhere, to no avail. I guess, Gina comics were considered as extinct :p
And just last Sunday, I read this article about a group of people (GOD BLESS YOU guys..), who happen to LOVE comics so much (especially local comics), and willing to make Indonesian comics raise again from the dumps.. So they sponsored Gerdi WK (among others) to produce again, and hopefully reclaim their glory in olden days :p hence GINA 2005 is born. When I read the paper (oh, you can also visit www.komikindonesia.com), I hyperventilated!!! :))
So today, during lunchbreak, i went to ITC Kuningan to get Gina. They said that they will try to re-print Gina's other (old) episodes.. Can't wait.
So as soon as I paid for the comic, I ran to the foodcourt, order some food, sat down, tore the plastic cover, and as i turned few pages, Gina was there.. floating, gracefully, taunting this one hoodlum who tried to rob an old man in the desert.. I literally felt little hairs on the back of my neck started to raise, and i almost literally burst into tears!! (so what?! go screw yourself!).. Every single thing about the comic remains the same.. the faces, the body gestures of the characters, the words, the way the writer tells the story.. everything! I felt like a 11-year-old again suddenly.. :)
Thank you, people at Komik Indonesia..you just made my day... no make that my WHOLE week! :)

RESISTANCE IS FUTILE!

2005-12-30T12:23:00.000+07:00

This is about one race in the Star Trek Universe. The one race that is all about order and collectiveness. My kinda race. :p

Borg
Origin: Delta Quadrant. A cybernetic life-form thousands of years old which is part organic, part artificial life. They have advanced well beyond Federation science, unknown prior to a confrontation with the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-D arranged by the entity known as "Q" circa stardate 42761 ( 2365) some 7,000 light-years past explored Federation space in the Delta Quadrant.
The Borg have a singular goal, namely the consumption of technology, rather than wealth or political expansion as most species seek. According to their spokesman, in the form of an assimilated Captain Jean-Luc Picard, the Borg only want to "raise the quality of life" of the species they "assimilate." Androids, for example, they view as primitive and obsolete. Born humanoid, they are almost immediately implanted with bio-chips that link their brains to a collective consciousness via a unique subspace frequency emitted by each drone. This collective consciousness is experienced by the Borg as "thousands" of voices — they are collectively aware, but not aware of themselves as separate individuals. Consequently, they never speak in singular pronouns, referring to themselves when required as merely "Third of Five," for instance.
The Borg ingest only energy to drive their technological system via an energy conduit port. Their bio-chips synthesize any organic nutrients needed. Among the many advantages their collective consciousness affords them, the Borg hive-mind allows for instantaneous adaptations to shield and phaser frequency modulations in combat; they are also able to regenerate and repair their massive cube ship with the power of their collective thoughts alone. The hive-mind drones do not register as individual life-signs when scanned, only as a mass reading and then at a bare minimum. The sick and injured are not healed but "reabsorbed" by the removal of the receiver piece, which leads to self-destructive dissolve. When shipboard during dormancy in their regenerative mode, power is minimal and the vessel's EM field cuts off. They have a knock-out drug or procedure for humans, using a drill-tap placed behind the left ear, that works immediately but wears off in less than a minute.

When "assimilating" their target species, The Borg usually air this message:

"We are the Borg. Lower your shileds and surrender your vessel. Existence as you know it, is over. we will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own. Your culture will adapt to service ours. RESISTANCE IS FUTILE!"

Children of The Night

2005-12-25T17:04:00.000+07:00

I watched Blade Trinity last night, despite the protests blurted by most of my friends about how bad the movie is. But I didn't care. No matter how bad the movie REALLY is, I know I'd still enjoy every minute of it. Why, you ask? Well because it is of VAMPIRES, my all time fascination which I've been always drawn into. Like a moth to a flame..

I don't quite remember when was the first time the fascination began. And I don't know why. I remembered as a small child, watching Nosferatu, I was terrified beyond belief I remembered having sleeping disorders few nights after watching it. I swore that time that I would never watch vampire movies anymore. But to reasons I could never explain, I ended up watching more and more vampire movies.. Dracula 1982, Fright Night (which was VERY scary!!), The Lost Boys. And then in the 90s, came the jawdropping Bram Stoker's Dracula by Francis Ford Coppola. It was after this particular movie, my fascination ran irrepressibly amok. Gary Oldman was brilliant! And then came Innocent Blood, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Stephen King's Sleepwalker, I devoured it all, as if feeling their very thirst, I tried my best to get all vampire movies within my reach. Then I heard of Anne Rice. This lady writer writes chronicles about vampires, they say. So I began the hunt for the first book, Interview with the Vampire. Not very easy at that time, for imported books were rarely found and cost dearly. But I managed to find the book and read it like crazy. Eyes weary and red, but I kept on turning the pages.. More and more fascinated by the turn of each page.
Anne Rice's vampires were not gory, repulsive nor frightening in appearance. Au contraire, they're always depicted as irresistibly beautiful, luminescent, yet dangerous (of course) and deceitful. The portrait was so compelling I even thought how nice it would've been if I could also become one, crossed over to the dark side and never to see the sunrise again.. How nice would it feel, eh? :p
What I was (and still am) so fond of Rice's vampires (especially Louis de Pointe du Lac and Claudia) is because instead of being horrific, they're sorrowful, lonely and in their own way, look somewhat humane, despite the immortality and superiority they have over mere mortals.. Ah.. Beautiful.

I read one article about Anne Rice that I realized summed up (and explain more clearly) in good words what my fascination really is:

Anne Rice, whose vampire trilogy heated up the current craze, began her fascination with vampires very young. "My first encounter with vampires was seeing the movie Dracula's Daughter," she says. "I loved the tragic figure of the daughter as a regretful creature who didn't want to kill but was driven to it.
"When I was a child we had a story from the library called 'The White Silk Dress.' A child vampire told the story in the first person, and I thought it was quite wonderful. I was 8 or 9 years old and I never forgot it. I wanted to get into that vampire. That was the interesting point of view to me - the people right in the center of it all."
Unlike nearly all earlier writers, Rice has never seen vampires as fully monstrous creatures. "Vampires are tragic; they are not pure evil. They have a conscience, they suffer loneliness.
"The vampire is a cerebral image that transcends gender. I always saw them as romantic and abstract. In Bram Stoker's Dracula, they're presented as close to animals, but I always saw them as angels going in another direction….finely tuned imitations of human beings imbued with this evil spirit.
"The challenge of writing a vampire novel in the 20th century," Rice reflects, "is to write one that's fun about creatures of the night, yet still bring them into some sort of philosophical context that satisfies me.
"I didn't think about creating a credible vampire mind, I just did it. It was a challenge to take people who were supposed to be thousands of years old and imbue them with wisdom, and try to imagine what their shortcomings would be."
Could she see herself as a vampire? "If I were a vampire I would like to be Lestat," Rice says. "What fascinates me is that he knows right from wrong and he still does what he has to do. He's determined to be good at being bad."

beautiful, isn't it?...