Sunday, October 27, 2013

Sons of Reasons


Sometimes I feel we, humans, are too "imaginative". When asked by a person, probably a friend or our mother or father, to do this or to do that, we often say, "I'm sorry I can't because bla bla bla." 1,000 reasons come out of our mouth. The problem is those reasons are often exaggerated and, sometimes, implausible.

Let's see this example.

One morning
Mother: Claire, could you buy me tissues in Carrefour?
Claire: I am sorry, mom. I'm busy doing my homework. (the homework is to be submitted one month later)
Mother: It's okay. You can do it later in the afternoon.
Claire: Oh, I'll be tired, mom. This homework is hard. (write two paragraphs about something that the student likes. Is it exhausting?)
Mother: Oh, okay. How about the evening?
Claire: Mom, you know I have an appointment with Dr. Phil Currie at 5 p.m.  It will last probably for about three hours. (three hours? To have an interview consisting of five questions with him? Note: He is a professor. Don't you think he is super busy?)
Mother: You can do it after that, right, darling?
Claire: Mom, please. I have to rest earlier. I'm going to Vietnam tomorrow morning. I won't be fit if I don't get enough sleep. (she always slept late and woke up early to go to school and she never complained about this but now?)
Mother: Okay, I'll buy it myself.

It's just a simple case but can make one of the most important persons in our life feel burden (She has to walk. She has to make effort she doesn't need to make.) and—if she knows—cry.

Stop making up ridiculous reasons. Pulverize all unworthy words. Don't put your head in the clouds. We are not "sons of reasons". We are sons of God, who is directed to live our life to the fullest, to make the most of our life for his glory.

Anything wrong? Yes. it seems as if I were an anti-feminist but I think, having looked at the example given, you already realize that this article is for women too! Daughters of God are not "daughters of twitters", are they? :)
Continue reading..

Sunday, October 13, 2013

Opus Jay 2013 World Tour Jakarta

Yesterday was definitely an unforgettable day for all Jay Chou's fans in Indonesia. The heavenly king held his first concert in Indonesia for his amazing Opus Jay 2013 World Tour at Mata Elang International Stadium (MEIS), Ancol, Jakarta, Indonesia, on October 12, 2013.

Opus Jay 2013 World Tour Jakarta poster
(image source: http://www.jpopasia.com/feed/13557/jay-chou-to-hold-concert-in-indonesia-this-october)

This event was promoted and organized by PT. Nusantara Utama TechnologyW Productions, and Synergism Entertainment. It was sponsored by Kaspersky and Tech Titan (of course, Jay is one of the brand ambassadors of Kaspersky). In addition, this concert was supported by PT. Minna Padi Investama. Ticket.com, KiOSTiX and FFoJC were in charge of the tickets.

Opus Jay 2013 World Tour Jakarta seating plans
(image source: http://hiburan.dreamers.id/article/21584/modul/article/load.php)

I bought the ticket back several months ago on Ticket.com. At first, I was going to buy a Bronze ticket, but, because I got a fortune, I decided to buy a Silver ticket. :)

D-Day

Yeah! This is it! I prepared everything for the show. The concert was to start at 7 p.m., and, because the food sold there must be expensive, I thought it'd be better to cook my dinner and bring it from home. A pack of Healtimie became my choice. In addition, I put on my cool Jay Chou tee shirt, which I bought several years ago when I was still at university. I set out from home at about 3.10 p.m. with my father. He brought me to the venue, driving his bike. Many thanks to him! ^_^

I arrived at about 4.45 p.m. Wow! I could feel the atmosphere! I walked toward the ticket booths to get my ticket. After taking it, I met up with my friends. Here's a pic of the ticket booths:


Then we went to a beach around Ancol Beach City, the mall where MEIS is located. It was really comfortable! There was a banner of the concert and one my friends took some photos of me.

At first, she couldn't take it well. He snapped me when I was approaching her to explain how to do it. And here's the result:


Then, the second photo was taken.


After that, we met up with the friends we were looking for. So there were five of us. And here's another photo of me:


There, we chatted a lot and I met up with other friends of mine. I also saw Olga Lidya, an Indonesian artist. I don't know whether she was there to watch Jay or not. I took some pictures of the whereabouts. Here they are:

Jay Chou's fans around the banner

Thank you, Kaspersky!

the beach

Ancol Beach City

At about 5.55 p.m. I ate my dinner. Afterwards, I entered the mall to start queuing for the concert.

Jay Chou's songs were played throughout my waiting. I wrote the list of the songs and here they are:

1. 白色風車 (Bai Se Feng Che) → White Windmill
2. 紅塵客棧 (Hong Chen Ke Zhan ) → Worldly Tavern
3. 安静 (An Jing) → Silence
4. 說了再見 (Shuo Le Zai Jian) → Said Goodbye
5. 不能说的秘密 (Bu Neng Shuo De Mi Mi) → Secret That Cannot Be Told
6. 說好的幸福呢 (Shuo Hao De Xing Fu Ne) → Where's The Promised Happiness (mixed with an unknown song)
7. 黑色幽默 (Hei Se You Mo) → Black Humour
8. 一路向北 (Yi Lu Xiang Bei) → All The Way North
9. 回到过去 (Hui Dao Guo Qu) → Go Back To The Past
10. 心雨 (Xin Yu) → Heart Rain
11. 不能说的秘密 (Bu Neng Shuo De Mi Mi) → Secret That Cannot Be Told (again)
12. 浪漫手機 (Lang Man Shou Ji) → Romantic Handphone
13. 給我一首歌的時間 (Gei Wo Yi Shou Ge De Shi Jian) → Give Me The Time For One Song
14. 千里之外 (Qian Li Zhi Wai) → Beyond A Thousand Miles (Faraway)
15. 髮如雪 (Fa Ru Xue) → Hair Like Snow
16. 明明就 (Ming Ming Jiu) → Obviously
17. 花海 (Hua Hai) → Sea Of Flowers
18. 黑色毛衣 (Hei Se Mao Yi) → Black Sweater
19. 傻笑 (Sha Xiao) → Giggle
20. 退後 (Tui Hou) → Step Back
21. 開不了口 (Kai Bu Liao Kou) → Cannot Speak
22. 楓 (Feng) → Maple
23. 心雨 (Xin Yu) → Heart Rain (again)
24. 蘭亭序 (Lan Ting Xu) → Lan Ting Preface

I was inside the mall. The queue was quite long but the mobility was good. Here are some pix:

Fans thirsting for Jay Chou

Don't bring anything dangerous, dude! Jay Chou must be safe!

Yeah, I passed the checking and got into MEIS! The stadium was cool and cozy! After going to the restroom, I searched for my seat, E-32. Finding it, I took the seat right away. There had already been a light stick provided. Nice!

Waiting for the concert I took some photos of the stadium.




As I waited, more and more people entered the stadium.

Another pic just before the concert started.


Then the concert started at about 7.40 p.m.! (It was late. I think it is because the promoter wanted to make sure that all the audience had entered MEIS before it started.) The enthusiasm of the fans was really felt! And Jay Chou appeared!!!

Here's the list of the songs:

1. 驚嘆號 (Jing Tan Hao) → Exclamation Mark
2. 龍拳 (Long Quan) → Dragon Fist
3. 最後的戰役 (Zui Hou De Zhan Yi) → The Last Battle
4. 一路向北 (Yi Lu Xiang Bei) → All The Way North
5. 不能说的秘密 (Bu Neng Shuo De Mi Mi) → Secret That Cannot Be Told
6. 稻香 (Dao Xiang) → Fragrance of Rice
7. 雙截棍 (Shuang Jie Gun) → Nun-chucks
8. 明明就 (Ming Ming Jiu) → Obviously
9. 世界末日 (Shi Jie Mo Ri) → End of the World
10. 龍捲風 (Long Juan Feng) → Tornado
11. 安静 (An Jing) → Silence
12. 簡單愛 (Jian Dan Ai) → Simple Love
13. 公公偏头痛 (Gong Gong Pian Tou Tong) → Eunuchs Tend To Have Headaches
14. 千里之外 (Qiang Li Zhi Wai) → Beyond A Thousand Miles (Faraway) (feat. Liu Chen, a singer from Beijing)
15. 青花瓷 (Qing Hua Ci) → Chinese Flower Pot
16. 鬥牛 (Dou Niu) → Bullfight (a cappella, without vocals), 水手怕水 (Shui Shou Pa Shui) → Sailors Afraid of Water (a cappella, without vocals), 大本钟 (Ta Ben Zhong) →  Big Ben (partly a cappella)
17. 彩虹 (Cai Hong) → Rainbow, 軌跡 (Gui Ji) → Orbit, 牛仔很忙 (Niu Zai Hen Mang) → Cowboy Is Very Busy, 星情 (Xing Qing) → Clear Stars, 回到过去 (Hui Dao Guo Qu) → Go Back To The Past

Note: This list might need correcting. I actually a little forget the order of the songs, but I think all the songs presented are already here. Please tell me if there's something wrong with the list while I try to get the precise information. :)

At the concert, there were pantomimes as well as guitar, beat box, drum, and keyboard performances from other persons. There were 本草綱目 (Ben Chao Gang Mu) → Compendium of Materia Medica tones in the beatbox performance and 以父之名 (Yi Fu Zhi Ming) → In The Name Of The Father tones in the keyboard performance. I also noticed 聽媽媽的話 (Ting Ma Ma De hua) → Listen To Mother's Words tones at the beginning of a song that was actually not 聽媽媽的話. :)

The concert ended at about 9.40 p.m. It was really amazing!!! I was overwhelmed and sang throughout the concert with full spirit!!! So touching!!! Oh my God!!! After about ten years being his fan, finally he came to Indonesia!!! (I started knowing his music from his The One Concert Live.) Opus Jay 2013 World Tour Jakarta was absolutely 100 out of 100!!! XD

During the concert, Jay said that he had ever been to Indonesia once 27 years ago, with his mom, for traveling. So, this concert was the second time he's visited Indonesia. :)

After the concert ended, I took some photos of the stadium. Here they are:




And here I am after the concert!


And here's a pic of me and my friends! Love you, friends! ^_^


I feel that I am more confident and expressive when singing after going to his concert! I was usually nervous when it came to singing with being noticed. :)  Jay somehow filled "some kind of soul" to me. :))

Jay hoped that he can hold a concert in Indonesia once every two years. Surely if Jay comes here again, I'll watch his concert!!! XD

That's all! Thank you for reading this! Thanks to all those who took part in making this event successful. Thank you, Jay Chou. We love you. :)

Note: Opus Jay World Tour, which is an album boasting his majestic concert in Taipei in the same year, is available on DVD and Blu-ray. To buy, click here. You can also enjoy the concert on YouTube: it is divided into two parts: part 1 and part 2.


Source: http://www.wproductions.biz
Continue reading..

Monday, October 7, 2013

Jurassic Park & The Lost World – Book Review


Jurassic Park
by Michael Crichton
&
The Lost World
by Michael Crichton

If you are a fan of dinosaurs, Jurassic Park and The Lost World are definitely books that you must have. The science in this book is perfectly interwoven with the thrilling experience of people who encounter the "terrible reptiles". Michael Crichton tells the stories in an incomparable way, making you feel as if you were in them. The novels, as well as the movies, will create an indelible impression in you. In addition, my favorite character is the mathematician Ian Malcolm. 5 out of 5 stars for Jurassic Park and The Lost World! Continue reading..