[Collected from my own tweets dated 19 April 2013]
Today I bought original VCD. You see, it’s all about the price. If it’s reasonable, I don’t mind spending money for it.
Back in the day when CD wasn’t even popular. I’d frequently buy original cassettes. Most probably it’s because piracy wasn’t issue then. But, think of it. Nobody wanted to go into piracy business because it’s not worth it. The cost of production, etc. Not worth it.
Now, back to the present. If you buy original DVD, what do you buy? Physical DVD? The right to watch the content? What?
Now, let’s make hypothetical case, you buy original movie DVD. The physical DVD is broken, so u can’t watch the content. What would you do? Of course, you’d ask for replacement. But, say, 10 years from now, u want to watch, the DVD is broken, to whom you can claim the broken DVD?
Now, if you actually buy the right to watch. By rights, you can actually make digital copy of it for you to watch on your, say, tablet. But, you may not share the digital copy to others, even your loved one. It would violate the law. Is this even right?
As for songs shopping malls actually aren’t allowed to play copyrighted songs. That’s why they have to pay some artist organisation for that.
You know what I think? There’s something broken with intellectual property right. We can recognise one’s work but they may not charge it. If they charge their work, then they should replace my long lost cassettes. But, would they do it?
So, if you take pride in buying original DVD, ask yourself, what do you actually buy?
It’s a guilty pleasure. I hate to say this, but I wish Android has user experience like that of Windows Phone 7. With the power of Android and with user experience of Windows Phone 7, I think a breed of smartphone will beat the rest. As a long time Android user, I miss these things in Windows Phone 7:
Vibrate/ Silent Shortcut. In a hurry to silent/ set to vibrate your phone? In Android, on locked screen you can easily do this with just one slide. In WP7, you need to push volume button then tap vibrate.
Power control. With native widget, you can easily turn off data/ wifi connection. In WP7, you need to go to setting, then go to appropriate menu to do this. Too many steps. Although there is an app to go to this shortcut, it is still not practical.
Task manager. It might be there. If you press and hold back button, you can go back to a few apps you have opened earlier. It’s not really task manager, because you can’t kill apps. As I just notice, every WP7 app doesn’t have exit/ close menu. I suspect that when you go to home screen, apps are destroyed including the ones that have background tasks. I assume that those tasks are registered in the system, but the apps are destroyed. I know this because if I receive notification from an app, I click the app and the app loads for quite some time. I guess this is how WP7 manage battery consumption.
These are what I can gather as of now. WP7, for some aspects, is still great. I just wish some of the Android power can be incorporated into WP7.
That’s right. You read it correct. That’s my Nexian Messenger PIN. Now, you’re gonna ask, “But why on earth would I want to add you in my Nexian Messenger? Wait. I don’t have Nexian phone”.
Now, imagine if I’m someone popular. A very famous person. A loveable dude, caring and that blah blah blah, you get the idea. All the good personality traits I’m not. You want to connect to me. You will acquire one of those Nexian Android phone. That’s what happened with Blackberry.
It all started with a famous person. The President of USA. He was crazy about Blackberry. Even when he became the President, he wouldn’t let go this device. So, the protocol made his Blackberry in such a way that it was secure. I mean, you know, he IS the President.
Long story short, everybody started owning Blackberry. They found out that they can send messages with BB Messenger. Then communities start developing. Those who didn’t use would be left out.
That’s the secret of how Blackberry survives amidst its declining of market share. In our country, Blackberry is still popular. It could be that people don’t update themselves with the latest technology trend, or that they intentionally close their eyes because the people they care about still use Blackberry.
They argue it’s good for running business. I must say… huh? I mean, all developed countries have already moved on. They don’t use Blackberry anymore. You mean to say that they fail in business because they don’t use Blackberry? Go to Singapore. Go to Munich. They don’t use Blackberry anymore. iPhone -not my favorite device, mind you- is popular.
The feeling of fear of being left out. That’s the key. If you don’t use Blackberry, you’ll be left out. I’ve been in situation where people giggle over some status on BBM of their friend. I have no idea what they are talking about. Thanks to my social toughness, I don’t feel left out by this. If I really must know what they are really talking about, I will eventually find out. If it’s big news, I would’ve read it online or somewhere else.
Some socially awkward people have even gone to far by abusing Blackberry. They see accidents on the road, they take picture of it and broadcast it. Earthquake? No need to take cover. Update your status first.
Technology was supposed to make your life easy. Push email is great. I don’t activate it, though. I don’t need to know in a hurry if something must be done beyond my office hours. When you have Blackberry, or the company gives you, you are BOUND to do it in a flash at any given hour. Unless, of course, you are running a business that doesn’t require office hours. Other than that, it’s all about looking good. Although, nowadays, you don’t look cool using Blackberry. It never was.
I’m relieved to learn that some of colleagues at the office have started to acquire Android phone. They still hold on to their Blackberry, though. But they have Android phone as additional gadget. Some of them have even acquire iPhone. This is a good thing. Not sure if I have give them influence, though. One thing for sure, Android has been around for years. I’ve only joined the company less than one year and already some of them acquire Android. But, hey, it’s a small company after all ;P
So, will you add me in your Nexian Android phone with Nexian Messenger? I guess not. Because, then, you have to buy a Nexian Android phone first. Flash back. Why did you buy your Blackberry device? Because your friends had it? Because you didn’t want to be left out?
They say BBM is free. This is misleading. You PAY the subscription. Using BBM is free, just like using WhatsApp is free. But, hey, you PAY the operational cost. It’s never really free. It’s cheaper then SMS. Of course, that’s debatable. If you use text messaging service heavily, it is free. With BBM you can even send multimedia files. But, if you’re not that heavy users, all you do is only wait for funny statuses, or someone pings you then you stare at the phone smiling alone… in the crowd. And that’s how phone starers begin their journey.
Welp. I guess as long as Nexian is here to stay, I’m keeping my Nexian Messenger PIN. You can contact me through this PIN. Though, if I don’t recognise you, I won’t bother reply. Yes. I’m not cheap ;P
I’ve always been a fan of value for the money. It means that I like buying stuff for what it’s worth. It’s not always cheap. If I spend big money, I expect many things from it. If I spend little money, I’m settled with what its worth.
Two years ago, I bought Samsung Galaxy S for about USD 600. A few weeks ago, I bought Nexian Energy A850 for about USD60. That’s about one tenth of it! Of course, I don’t expect Super AMOLED screen, high capability processor, big storage, or many supported apps. However, for what it’s worth, I think I get more than I bargain for!
I’m writing this review since it’s hard to find one. Probably because it’s new product and don’t get much limelight. I mean, it’s very low-end product. Who would buy it? I would ;P Why would I want to buy it? Well, first the background. I previously owned another low-end Android phone. It’s not Nexian. The touchscreen was terrible. Probably it was resistive touchscreen. The phone performance was terrible. It feels like taking forever to load an app. Typing on such screen? Please, you don’t want me raging about it. But, it was okay. I chose to buy it. It’s a low-end phone. What do you expect?
As it turns out, you can expect MORE! Nexian, in my point view, has set a new benchmark, for low-end Android phone with its Energy A850.
The Screen
Let’s start with the most obvious: the one thing that you first look at when having the device in your hand. The screen is just plain LCD. But its capacitive touch screen is not like that you’d expect from low-end Android phone. It’s quite smooth. Of course, I wouldn’t compare the smoothness with that of Galaxy S. Considering it’s cheapness, the capacitive screen works smoothly. You can scroll the screen virtually flawlessly.
The screen size is not that big. That is tolerable. Typing can be quite frustrating. You just need to install the right keyboard. I have yet tried installing Swype on it. But, TouchPal keyboard seems doing pretty well. It would solve typing problem.
The Battery
My previous low-end Android phone was quite terrible. On continuous use it would last about 10 hours. Nexian Energy A850 could last for 15 hours! This could virtually mean you could go outside, share stuff from your mobile, browse the net the whole day, and still got some juice on it.
The OS
Out of the box, it is still running Froyo. I haven’t had plan to upgrade, nor do I have plan to install custom ROM. I mean, I don’t know how to enter recovery mode. So, you probably won’t have many choices of app for this kind of OS.
Another thing, I installed Cartoon Camera from Play Store, and the phone started to go crazy. Then it stopped working. I pulled out the battery, the phone just kept looping in the boot screen. Yes, it was my first time having sh*tty moment with the phone. I took it to the service center, and everything works fine now. Oh, the repair guy didn’t mention about having it hard-resetted. So, I lost all my apps. Thankfully, I haven’t installed many. Just a reminder that you should backup frequently. Other than that, I have no issue with the OS.
Connectivity
For mobile data, this low-end Android phone can go up to HSDPA! Can your low-end phone go there? Of course, there is support for WiFi. And get this, it’s also support hotspot tethering! Which means, Nexian Energy A850 can be mobile hotspot! Whoa! My previous low-end Android phone couldn’t do this.
Expectiation
Franky, Nexian Energy A850 exceeds my expectation from a low-end phone. Good battery and quite okay performance with quite reasonable price. If you’re like me, looking for cheap low-end Android phone with such good performance, Nexian Energy A850 could be nominated in the list.
It’s such a shame that such low-end Android phone didn’t get much public attention. I am thankful that it got my attention and I acquire one! :)
Oh, by the way, Nexian didn’t pay me to advertise its product. I’m just sharing my experience in using the product. Because it’s hard to find review on Nexian Energy A850. Hope you like it. I do.
Who wouldn’t adore female body? Tell me what kind of guys who wouldn’t adore female body. Wait. There is. But, I’m not going to discuss about that kind. I am fascinated at how God create the creature called female.
People who were born female should consider themselves lucky. It doesn’t mean that I want to be female either. That would defeat what God has destined for me. No. God would want me, as a guy, to adore female. To embrace one. To love one.
What if I told you that the purpose of God put human on earth is to reproduce. That’s crazy, you said. People have sex every day. See, that’s where the problem lies. Let me elaborate more on this.
To reproduce, people of different sex need to have sexual intercourse. Imagine if sexual intercourse doesn’t give you pleasure. Imagine if it feels nothing. Imagine if it’s like sitting and do nothing. You’ll get bored, right? So, to accomplish the task (reproduction), God has given human incentive. That incentive is sexual pleasure. You read that correct. Sexual pleasure is God’s incentive for human to keep reproducing.
WTH, you said. People have sex everyday. I know, you said that earlier. See, that’s the problem of the world this day. People keep jumping into incentive but neglecting the real purpose of their task. People have sex to reproduce!
Nowadays, people just have sex. They keep giving themselves pleasure. They keep enjoying this incentive God has provided. But, the one thing that they neglect to accomplish: the task to reproduce.
Is it the first Indonesian movie ever went to Box Office? I couldn’t tell. If it is, it’s mixed of proud and awkward. Proud to be Indonesian and can tell the world, hey our fellow Indonesians made movie and it hit Box Office. Awkward, because it’s the first time (if it is) we hit Box Office and it’s a violent movie. This movie should’ve been rated R for violence and foul language. But, anyway, if it’s not dubbed, the movie is spoken in Indonesia, anyway :P
Before I go on, let me tell you this. I tend to criticize most part of the movie. It’s not that I don’t like the movie. Rather, as I said before, I’m proud that our Indonesian fellow can make movie and be known worldwide. So proud that, next time they make another movies, I want them to consider what I want to criticize here and make better plot/ details. Most of my Indonesian friends’ blindly praise this movie.
The Plot
The plot is quite straightforward. Just search in IMDB, you shall find it. I don’t need to retell it in my own words. Find it? Or have you watched the movie? Okay, let’s talk about it. It’s a movie about a SWAT team… wait wait wait. Indonesia does NOT HAVE SWAT team. To catch a drug lord, we don’t have SWAT team. They send special tactical force to catch terrorist, not for this simple drug lord.
What’s worse is that the so-called SWAT truck is not bullet-proof! There was a scene where a group of gangstas shot machine gun to the truck and killed 2 SWAT members.
Character Building
The movie started out quite nicely with the character building. The main hero was described as a ‘shaleh’ muslim. As it was early in the morning, I assumed he was doing his ‘Subuh’ prayer. The movie seemed to want to connect the audience’s emotion and build empathy by showing his pregnant wife(?). His wife appearance was solely for emotion building. Nowhere in the movie thereafter did she reappear.
The drug lord’s character building was quite a bit funny. What’s your imagination when the words ‘drug dealer’ come in your mind? Okay, he kills people mercilessly. But the scene where he eats noodle, I found it a bit funny. C’mon, the guy can afford more than just instant noodle. What is he? Dorm kid? Hehehe..
I found that the language used is sometimes a bit too formal. I imagine in real world, people will use ‘lu’ for ‘you’ second person pronoun and ‘gue’ for ‘I’ first person pronoun. But, it’s okay. This thing can be tolerable.
Police characters can be elaborated more in detail. I would like to know what kind of life a member of tactical force. By investigating more into detail of how real tactical force member’s life and implement it in the movie, I bet it can build more emotional building with the main character.
The Action
Oh yeah, who can deny the beauty of the action in the movie? I love the martial arts used in the movie. Some lethal moves were forced to use, some others are just made to block/ break the attackers’ bones. Yup. This is where the violent scenes come in. And I bet, this is the most selling point of the movie.
I wish the movie maker could introduce Indonesian martial arts. I mean, who has never heard of Kung Fu from China? Capoeira from Brazil? Taekwondo from Korea? Let’s mention one from Southeast Asia: Muay Thai. Each of these styles have their signature moves. We could’ve used the momentum in the movie and introduce Pencak Silat. I have no idea how lethal Pencak Silat can be. But, at least, we could introduce it in the movie and send the message to the world.
The after effect in the movie was used quite frequent. Gore scenes can be found almost throughout the movie. It was so good that I could almost feel like it was real. I gotta hand it to the crew behind the movie. The actors themselves were not bad. Did I just say actor? That’s right. Only one female cast in the movie, which was the wife of the main character, and she appeared only in the prologue. This movie is so manly! :D
Another thing, it was quite surprising to see the movie could hit the Box Office. This movie broke one rule of thumb of Hollywood movie: no kids have to be killed. At least, not explicitly. In this movie, one kid was shot with a sharp bullet in the neck. I guess when it hit the Box Office, this scene would be edited.
Overall
I would recommend this movie, but only with the condition that you don’t mind violent movie and gore scenes and people’s neck got broken… well, you get the idea. Just remember, if you see this movie in your town, this movie was made by our Indonesian fellow.
I wish to see sequence of this. Okay, no need to give more gore scenes. Strengthen the plot. Make it more realistic with real cops, we don’t have SWAT here. Martial arts used have been terrific; keep it up! After effects: no doubt it looks realistic.
I guess the movie gained quite popularity that they made comic out of this movie. Normally, it’s the other way around: comic first then movie. I guess the next move is to make PS3 game of it. Or, XBOX. Or, better yet, specially made game for game parlor! :D
Well, there you have it, Merantau Films, I give you my big applause and standing ovation. You have just set a new standard of how Indonesian movie should be: no whiny love story, no ghost or ‘pocong’ or any non-sense mythical stuff. Keep up the good work and wish to see you with better and badder movie!
If you’ve watched part 1 and part 2, you’ll be slightly disappointed with the part 3. The gruesomeness you’re hoping to see, probably ain’t as much as the previous two. Yes, there were killings, a group of ellite people with strange fetish of torturing live human being and enjoying seeing them scream in agony in red blood. It’s the basic concept of Hostel series.
In part 2, I remember the narrator mentioning, “Americans, they have no imagination”. So, in part 3 the plot is in Las Vegas. At the prologue scene, I thought the set was still in East Europe since, the first two cast were said to be from Ukraine. But then, there was this fellow who appeared to be American. I thought, oh this Eukrainian couple will set a trap on this American. I was wrong. It was the American who gave drug to the Ukrainian couple and they were then to be locked up. Well, at least until the end of the movie, none of this couple were told to be tortured. The movie didn’t say whether Anka, the female Ukrainian was tortured. But for sure, she was taken away from the locked up. No body stays alive when they are taken away. The male Ukrainian survived until the end of the movie only to be shot at a riffle after putting up a fight as he tried to escape. There’s no telling of why was he left alive until the end of movie. Probably some deal with the American film producer and the original franchise of Hostel movie that no East Europe people dies in the movie.
Compare to previous 2 Hostel movies, this American version lacks of gruesomeness. The fact that the plot of 2 previous movies were in East Europe was probably adding the gloomy and scary feeling. I mean, what do you expect when a movie’s plot is set in Las Vegas? Party, girls, nudity, those kinds of thing. So, from scary movie this part 3 of Hostel has become nude torture movie. Which is fine, actually. Who wouldn’t love to see almost nude female bodies?
However, plot-wise, it’s kind of disappointing. Let’s not mention about the story. I mean, it’s pretty straightforward since part I. No actual intrigue. It’s just plain thriller movie. If you enjoy the first 2 part of Hostel movies, you may still want to see this part 3. But, be prepared to be a alittle disappointed. If this is your first time, well, consider this is your entry point to enjoy gruesome movies.
What do you see above? Just some 2 celebs you don’t give a f*ck? Don’t get me wrong. I don’t fancy them, either. In fact, they’re certainly not the most beautiful girl in the world. Oh no. But in a certain funny way, I admire these girls. People keep on despising them but they keep on going with the things they do to make people go crazy.
Cinta Laura with her ‘bule’ accent when speaking. Heck, if you know me better I’d despise her. But, no. She’s just keep on going with her accent. She knows it makes her unique. I even wrote about her in my other blog. She’s different, in my opinion. Besides that cheesy accent, she has vision. She knows what to do with her life. She knows showbiz is not going to last forever, so she continues her study. Abroad.
Syahrini. What’s so great about her. She has the same quality as Cinta Laura. Everybody despise about her attitude. But words can’t tear her down. In fact, she’s going to far by trying to drive people crazy with her ‘jambul khatulistiwa’. And when she met David Beckham, did you know what she did? She made him signed on her breast. Oh yeah. And she took pride of it. She didn’t give a f*ck of what people said. She did the things she love to do.
So, these things in common in these 2 girls are the reason why I speak positively about them. It’s not about how Cinta Laura’s funny accent. I don’t even adore Syahrini’s ‘Jambul Khatulistiwa’. No. It’s their attitude. When you love doing something, you have to keep on going. If what you do draws a lot of attention, be it negative of positive, just keep on doing it as long as it doesn’t hurt butt anyone. Everybody can f*ck off, and you can still have fun. In fact, if you enjoy the crowd getting mad at you, it doubles the fun! Go Cinta Laura! Chase your dream and when you return with your Bachelor Degree(?) from the United States, show them who’s having the last laugh. Go Syahrini! Wear that stupid ‘jambul khatulistiwa’! If you think you look gorgeous with that, keep on doing that.
“You are beautiful no matter what they say. Words can’t bring you down” (Christina Aguilera)
There are 7 billions of people worldwide; approximately 7 millions of people in Jakarta during daylight; I’m so lucky to be selected to work for a maker of sexy consumer cars known worldwide. It’s not the best job in the world, but it’s the best job in the world that I can afford to have with my background, knowledge and expertise.
I could not ask for more than what I have now. Working at the capital city. Heck, it’s even at the heart of the capital city. Just nearby the building, you can see the statue of welcome. Working in a building that shares location with where the lifestyle is may not be everyone’s dream. But when you’re there, you really know what I’m talking about. Don’t get me wrong. I’ll try as much as I can to remind myself of where I have been and where I come from. I won’t go lunch at those fancy restaurants.. Well, okay, perhaps, once in a while I will. But, I’ll promise to myself to not to be a hipster.
Before where I am now, I’ve always set my objective to get a job that oversees and manages information technology/ system of a company. And now, here I am, doing the abovementioned tasks and in an automotive company that applies information technology heavily to its cars. Technology has been my passion. I can’t tell you enough of how much excitement I can be when this technology is applied to automobile. Now that I’m part of it, I’ll get the chance to learn and go deep about this.
Of course, the stake is high here. I cannot bear the risk of screwing things up. Delicacy in doing tasks must be applied. But, I am sure that with skills and knowledge that I have, I can build up my confidence. And with that confidence, I will go through this probation period and eventually, will impress the employer.
At the end of the probation, which will come next year, I’ll then worry about the other offer in my hand. No one knows about the future. Maybe I’ll grow bigger passion over this job? Maybe I’ll be doing too well for the job and the company will rely heavily on me? Well, I’ll start thinking about weighing the dilemma next year. As of now, I’ll just enjoy both the work and the pressure that will surely come. This surely marks a milestone in my life history.
Had I known ‘Warkop DKI’ today, I would say their movies were crappy and suck to the bone. As a matter of fact, this is true. Their movies have been and are crappy. Make no mistakes, I have enjoyed watching their movies and still love watching their movies. You can say this is my guilty pleasure: watching crappy movies for my entertainment :P
I grew up with their movies. I laughed at that time and still laugh if I watch their movies now. There was nothing serious about the plot. Did I see the movies for the girls? Nope. I’m being honest. Sure, thighs are everywhere. In the 90’s those were something. But this is 21 century and girls have taken up the ultimate level to make themselves look sexy.
No. It wasn’t the girls. Probably it’s because there is no seriousness in the movies. You know, like Naked Gun. It’s all about crappy jokes and slapstick. But, I love them. I thank them for entertaining me throughout my childhood. It’s sad to see 2 of the members gone to heaven. They are, in my opinion, the legend of Indonesian’s comedy.
I guess there can be no match for their being legend. Any other attempt would make the poor guy like an idiot. So, thank you Warkop DKI for entertaining the humanity. You’ve done great favor to Indonesia :)
