About Coffee

Watchmen

***spoiler warning***

Firstly, this is not a review of "it's a great movie!  go see it NOW!"  No.  This is what I think of the movie.  I've read the story before.  It was great and made with a great deal of thought.  From first up until the last scene is related if you pay attention.

This movie may not appeal to a big audience.  Some will find it boring, some think it is too long.  This movie's running time is approximately 2.5 hours.  And, it's certainly not Harry Potter.  It is rate for adults, prepare for some blood and gore, strong language, and sex, and philosophy.  Get your mind ready.

My advice if you really want to see this movie is this:  sit back, relax, this is going to be a long winding road, not for just the ending, but how to come into the ending.  Enjoy the world and the various nuances of the characters.  The background.  Feel the ambience.  It's in a brink of a World War III.  Luckily, it has not happened up until this blog post is made. (25 April 2009 by Earth's time)  And this movie, for me, is a very good way to spend my time.

This movie is about good and bad, right or wrong, and principles.  Some characters went by their principles far to tightly, while the others adapted to the situation.  Another character care less about humanity, another care too much.  The good guy may not seem to be so good.  The villain is motivated by noble intention.  It is twisted and very... humane.  What is it deep inside that matters most.  Even in death, sometimes it is not that bad to die a good death.

What do I mean by that?  Note: beyond this is most of the plot.  Stop reading if you haven't watched it and want to enjoy it yourself.

The movie follows Rorschach (and his journal) in his investigation of the death of The Comedian, a part of a superhero team called Watchmen.  But the movie also gives many angles and timeframe, sometimes without any notice of a flashback.  The reason of his life and death is the ultimate subject of the movie.  Rorschach is also a very interesting character with strong principles.

Jon, a Godly character, does not give a shit about human.  Jon does not care, or just too busy.  Nice character Jon is.  He is the ultimate villain in disguise in this movie.  He only cares if it intrigue his intelligence.  Hmm...  feels like someone is very similar to Someone. 

Adrian cares too much and went the extremes with actually only slight chance of success...  I wouldn't call his solution "brilliant", because his solution may cause chaos, not peace like in the movie.  But anyway, his intention is noble, and out of no other way to do it, it is acceptable to some extend...  "Sacrifice the lives of millions to save billions."

Nite Owl and Laurie is like most of us.  I think I can identify with Nite Owl...

So, it is a bad solution, but it is a solution.  A more elegant approach will need Jon, but He doesn't care (or He just doesn't exist in real life?).  It is a question of human's nature versus... miracle.

cuma saat ini

lahir... sudah terjadi. mati... pasti akan terjadi. hidup ini terasa terbatas waktunya. sempit... inikah penderitaan??? di antara lahir dan mati... ada hidup. di dalam hidup, ada momen ini. dapatkah aku mengerti? dapatkah aku bebas? sekarang, aku sudah lahir... tak ada lagi guna menyesalinya. nanti, aku akan mati... tak ada guna memikirkannya sekarang. tapi sekarang, aku masih hidup! sekarang, aku masih hidup! aku tidak ingin hidup seribu tahun lagi. tapi aku ingin hidup di saat ini. cuma saat ini.

Perbedaan Ubud dan Jakarta

Panas banget di Jakarta hari ini.  Mungkin suhunya ada 40 derajat Celcius!  Setelah melakukan riset menyeluruh dan membandingkan antara Ubud dan Jakarta, ini adalah hasil risetnya:

Hal // Ubud // Jakarta

1.  Suhu // Sejuk. // Panas.

2.  Pemandangan //  Sawah, art.  // Beton, asap knalpot.

3.  Polusi // Minimal. // Maksimal.

4.  Orang2 // Ramah. // Galak.

5.  Pemikiran // Mendalam. // Dangkal.

6.  Pekerjaan // Man master his work. // Man slave to his work.

7.  Harapan hidup // 80-90 tahun. // 40-60 tahun.

8.  Penyakit // Berasa sembuh.  //  Berasa sakit.

9.  Jalan2   // Asik. // Panas bo!

10.  Malam // Suara alam (jangkrik).  // Suara TV.

11.  Hiburan // Tari Legong dan Barong.  // Tukul.

12.  Suasana hati // Rileks n happy. // Stress dan tertekan.

Tercatat ada lebih dari 40.000 orang asing sudah memilih untuk tinggal di Ubud karena pilihan yang logis, beberapa di antaranya adalah seniman.  Alasan mereka di antaranya sudah saya ungkapkan di atas.  Harga tanah di sana juga masih masuk akal (Rp.20-35 juta/are).  Fasilitas sekarang sudah ada internet, bank dan ATM, saluran TV, restoran, pasar, sekolah, Primagama, dll...  Mungkinkah ada dari kita yang mau menyusul?

The Knowing

*spoiler warning*

Just watched the movie.  I like the visuals: the plane crash, the train wreck, the spaceship (or spacecrystal), and the end of the world.  But the philosophy?  Still shallow.  Watch it for a popcorn movie, but not for the message, if there is any.  The movie talked about "determinism" and "randomness" early.  The same question asked by many people, "Is there a god?"  "Are we meant to do what we do?"  "Is there fate?"  "What is our purpose in this life?  Is there any?"

In the whole movie, Cage is just following the prophecy, proving to us (audience) that the whole world is determined by someone or something.  In the end, it proves to be the "angels" (by the looks of them, shiny with "wings").  I also avoid the word "alien" on purpose.  So, these angels knows when, where, and how many will die.  They tell the girl on the start to write the coordinates down as if to warn Caleb and Abby (if that's their purpose on the whole prophecy thing).  And they told Caleb in the end to write something again (unclear for what purpose, maybe only to remind Cage on the door, I don't know).  But it keeps the movie going anyway.

IN THE END, after the whole determinism thing: "You can't change a thing."  "Your fate is predetermined.", Caleb is given a FREE choice!  WTF!  To choose to go with the angels (plus Abby), or to stay with Dad and face armageddon.  And Caleb choosed Abby rather than dad.  What a son...  (I don't know if his choice is predetermined also...)

And if you want to kill everyone else on earth in the first place, why bother?  So humans are only pets for angels.  Look at the nice and shiny Caleb and Abby, just like my shiny guppies and rainbowfish in my aquarium.  Is that your "purpose" as if suggested by the movie?  For beinga good pet and breed until your master said that you are too polluted and wiped you and your world out?  (crash my aquarium wall)

So, philosophically, this movie is f*cked-up.  But the entertainment value is good, as long as you keep your head straight, like as if you watched "The Master" on RCTI (bull-shitted for three hours), or listen to the doomsday propechy either by Mama Lauren or someone else (and hopefully it hasn't doomed you life in a way).  Plus, Diana is acting superbly.  It's only entertainment, for those who are curious.  If I know the story will go like that, I won't see the movie in the first place!  But after watching it, I have no regrets either.  A good thing to pound into in my blog...  Hahaha...

A Question about “Self”

Something disastrous triggered this thought to me today.  It’s not that it’s a big disaster, only a “usual” circumstances in domestic life, a quarrel with my girlfriend.  It is actually quite sometimes, I mean, we did this thing once in a while, and everytime, all end well.

But this time… it triggered something more…deep inside.

Usually, we, men can play nice like they said in the magazines and movies, to listen to the ramblings of our girlfriend.  But most of the time, they are actually not making more sense than a two-year-old baby learning to talk.  So, how can you understand such creature is out of question.  But if you insist, the answer:  you just can’t.  Woman is incompherensible.

I’ve gone through some phases in my life that I actually almost “found” myself.  I’ve gone to meditation retreat, regular meditation session, even in a part of my life, nightly meditation before sleep.  I practiced a martial art, aikido.  I enjoy reading a lot of books.  I met people, from the owner of a very big company in Indonesia, a very creative foreign entrepreneur, up until preman and trashman.  I fought with a drunkard once.  I lost.  I know a thing or two about myself… and I don’t like it to be disturbed too much.

I don’t intend to write in this direction actually.  If you read more, it will be more like a ramblings.  But, I hope (really hope), you and I can get something out of this.

Actually tonight I wonder… what if I lose everything?  This “self” is made of many components.  I am a worker.  What if I lose my job?  I’m a part of a family unit.  What if I lose them?  Will “I” still be the same?  I have a girlfriend (future wife).  What if I lose her?  Do I lose a part of mayself?  I have some assets, money, things, fish, etc…  What if I lose all my possessions?  Am I still the same me?

I should be.

Because tonight, I felt like I can lose all things dear to me, but I won’t lose the real “me”.  Somehow I just felt it.  Somehow I learned to let go of everything.  It became harder to fight with me this way because a man that is prepared to lose everything can’t be threatened by anything, anything at all.  All that is left is one:  Love.  It started by a sense of self-love.  A feeling that I care about my own well-being.  Then followed by a sense that this is a choice I made to also care about something/someone.  I won’t lose someone in my responsibility area, not because I need/want her, but because I want to see her in a better light.  I want to see her grow, to flourish, to strive, to be happy, to be content with herself.  I will do everything in my strength not to make sure I achieve those goals, but just to push a positive aspect, one at a time, eventhough it looks messy right now.  Someday, it will pay off.