cultureshock

Lights up!

Now at times like these, I wish I live in freaking New York. In the Heights is a musical by the uber talented Lin-Manuel Miranda. What makes me really really want to see this 2008 Tony Award winning Best Musical award is because the scores (and probably the choreography too) features hip hop, soul and hot hot latin music. Check out the clip!

Safety is Golden!

According to the news, they have just recently installed a suicide safety net at the Golden Gate Bridge. 1300 people have leapt to death off the bridge since it opened in 1937, more than anywhere else in the world. Do people actually travel all the way there just to leapt? Can’t say more…very sensitive issue.

Laskar Pelangi

I went to the premier of Laskar Pelangi or ‘The Rainbow Troops’ and I came out happy, curious, entertained and touched!

The movie is based on the best selling book by Indonesian author, Andrea Hirata. I haven’t read the book yet, but everyone has been telling me that the movie does absolute justice to the book with some people even saying that the movie is better than the book. I don’t know, I guess it’s a matter of personal opinion.

Anyway, back to the movie. The movie tells the story of a touching friendship of a group of poor kids living in Belitong island in the 1970s, stuggling and fighting to study and learn. It also tells the struggle of two teachers trying to keep the kids’ school open in order to give poor kids a chance to study, a rare thing in a place where poor kids just dont get an education and work straightaway as coolies at mining companies.

What i love most about this movie is how amazing all the kids’ characters are! Each has its own uniqueness and even though there are 10 kids being illustrated in the movie, you’re still able to tell which one is which.

My favourite character is definitely this little boy called Lintang. He lives in the coast where his father is a fisherman. As a result, Lintang has to ride 80 km far on his bicycle everyday to go to school, while passing by a crocodile crossing every single day. He is the smartest boy in his class with exceptional mathematical and physics skills for a boy his age.

The movie also has heartwarming and honest dialogues, set on an amazing location — the island itself, which provides a beautiful landscape scenery throughout the whole movie.

I also love the soundtrack, especially since my sister, Sherina wrote, composed and sang one of the song :)

The film is a huge success. After 10 days of screening in Indonesia, up to 1,1 million people has seen the movie. An impressive number for an Indonesian movie!

i’m just turning 21… for the second time.

When I was little… i loved birthdays. Cakes, presents, food, friends, family and party.

Now, I’m away from my family, most of my friends aren’t here, I can’t have cake or eat food until the sun is down and most definitely there will be no party when I have an unfinished investigative story to do.

So what am I left with?

The feeling of getting older. Yes.. I’m 22 today which means I’m moving further away from realizing my Hollywood dreams (coz actresses start out when they’r 18-21, yeah?). No I’m joking.

Danny Choo’s great otaku invasion!

I have been reading manga and watching anime since I was little. It’s a common thing in Indonesia. I remember my mother jokingly said that Japan has never really stopped invading our country since kids my age grew up surrounded by vast amount of Japanese entertainment.

But when we reached a certain age, namely puberty, some of us stopped reading and watching them. Some of us became the slaves of MTV, courtesy of another kind of invasion… cable TV.

As for me, I didn’t stop completely. You can even say that it grew a little bit. I watch a couple animes and follow some mangas, albeit not to the point where one might label me as an ‘otaku’ (people with an alarming addiction and obsession to anime and manga). I also love learning about new cultures and due to my anime and manga’s little fixation, it is just natural for me to be fascinated by Japanese culture.

So when I was searching for a website to present for my Online Journalism class, I was quite excited to discover the ultimate and exceptionally comprehensive site within this genre. As the ‘Most Influential Anime Blog’ in the Anime Blog Awards, Danny Choo’s website is ‘the’ library, the shrine…no, ‘the’ Mecca for every living and breathing otaku in the planet.

According to his site, Danny Choo is a Chinese-Malaysian descent who was born and raised in London, England. He then moved to Japan where he eventually started this website. His website contains the latest, weirdest and funniest articles and news concerning anime, figurines, Japanese idol girls and life in Japan.

He gives the latest news, events and updates on gundam and figurines. He also gives reviews and articles on Japanese animation with almost all of the posts in his website receiving more than 100 comments!

So, you must be thinking, “If I’m not interested in any of those stuff, why should I bother visit this website?”

Here’s 5 reasons why:

1. Because you must LOVE to travel ( I mean, who doesn’t?)

And if you love to travel, Japan is unmissable! I went to Japan twice and I almost hated myself for not discovering this website sooner. Danny Choo often writes articles about places to go in Japan, topped with really nice pictures. Eventhough it’s not as straightforward or as detailed as the Lonely Planet or other travel sites, the writing makes it more personal and it gives the reader, a sense of inspiration. For example, this makes me really want to go and see that Great Buddha and those cute little guardian statues, while this makes me want to go to Japan, just to take a hot bath… NOW!

2. Because you must LOVE to eat!

For me, looking at different pictures of food is a satisfaction by itself. It makes me wonder about its taste and its smell. But this or this or this (cue the drooling) is just… another level of satisfaction. Or maybe I’m being biased as I am fasting while writing this post. So you be the judge!

3. Because you must LOVE to read about interesting albeit wacky stuff!

Whether it’s learning about ice cream flavoured ramen or cute little strawberry train or even discovering a whole new world of  school girl’s pantsu , japanese maids and… this!

Learning about new cultures is always interesting!

4. Because after you do all the above, you must have fallen in love with Japan and consider moving there!

Danny Choo gave really informative articles about living in Japan. Not only that it’s informative, readers will no doubt found it reliable since Danny himself had done all of those when he relocate to Japan from London. So why not take his word?

5. Because after a while you will become addicted to the site and wants to be a part of it!

What I think is also very very interesting about his website is that readers and viewers can register and log in into the site. As part of the ‘membership’, readers can participate in uploading the news, commenting on Danny’s or fellow readers’ articles, joining the poll and update their puchi blurbs (which is similar to twitter). This, I think, is what making his site very very popular. New guests and current members will keep checking his site for more news updates or if another member replies to their comments.

This website is a great example of a personal website which eventually turned into a succesfull online ‘forum’ with 20.1 million page views generated by 2.9 million visitors in May 2008. Its success has also been recognized by others, as proven by the numerous media publication on the website.

For me, his website gives me inspiration. I love writing about food, travel and culture and maybe one day people will be bookmarking and making a home page out of my Virania Munaf dot com!

Sweet and timeless

I read fellow classmate/blogger Allie Schratz’s post ‘Honey Friends’, and I must say that I can really relate to her writing in that post. Allie talks about her experience in relationships that has a ‘time-limit’.

I never realized how bitterly true that is until I read her post. I moved to Australia in July 2003 and for one year, I stayed in a dorm filled with other international students from all over the world. I have made really really good friends with people from the Phillipines, Hong Kong, Singapore, Kenya and others. Unfortunately none of their degree took as long as my law/journalism degree and so one by one, they return back to their home countries.

When i first met them , I never really thought of the possibility that they might leave me someday. I was just excited to meet so many different people from so many different places. The culture, the stories, the ‘let-me-teach-you-my-language’ part. It was great.

I guess back then I was much more optimistic than I am now. Right now, the only people left from the ‘old gang’ or whatever you may call it is me and my bestfriend/roomate Nora who thankfully is doing honours.

I may sound bitter because I am a little bit. I do miss my old bestfriends. But it doesn’t mean that I regret having to befriend them in the first place. We still talk on msn and will definitely visit each other one day.

The one thing that I believe in is that we met someone for a reason. It is cheesy, cliche and almost bumper sticker-ish.. but hey, it’s true. I became friends with this guy from Manila and he should have thank God that he met me because if it weren’t for me, he wouldn’t be know that he could delete emails from his inbox. Hell, he wouldn’t even know that Google exist. And as for me, well he taught me all I need to know about mm… basketball and.. Tupac. Haha.

I really do miss him though. And I miss my shopping buddy who is now working her way through the corporate ladder in Singapore and the Phils, my dancing friend and virgo buddy who took off to Kenya so suddenly, my bestfriends in Jakarta and Melbourne.

One day, when I’m filthy rich, I will host a grand reunion on an island (my island of course) and we can be 16 years old one more time.

I agree Allie, friends are like honey. Sweet and timeless!!!

lobster vending machine

I was browsing though the net and I saw something really weird. Instead of cuddly pink teddy bears, fluffy cartoon cushion pillows or life-size rabbit dolls, this vending machine dispenses something rather…different: LIVE LOBSTER.

What can you say… It’s Japan. Hahaha

The picture comes from this very funny Lobster blog.

Haha.. So? Care to spare few coins?

Vira

Faith doesn’t mean that we don’t have doubts

After coming out of my long hibernation from the world of American election, I decided to finally hop on the news train. I’m quite interested and curious about Barrack Obama, mainly because of his background.

He lived in Jakarta, Indonesia for a couple of years when his mother married an Indonesian man. He also went to a local school (which is interesting because usually expats goes to international schools).

For these reasons, I spent quite a while browsing and reading through his website. One of the most interesting, and I might add… noteworthy, was his view towards faith and religion.

In his ‘Call to Renewal’ Keynote Address, Obama speaks of unifying America without ignoring the existence of different discourses of religion. He also details his personal struggle and search of religion and how he finally became a Christian.

However, as I read through his speech, one line in it really caught my attention.

“Faith doesn’t mean that we don’t have doubts”

This, I think, is an interesting statement and opinion. One that I could really relate to. Say, If I strongly oppose polygamy, will that lessen my faith in Islam and make me a bad Muslim? Or If I choose to be pro-choice and not pro-life, will that means that I’m disrespecting my religion?

It is hard to draw the line when it comes to relating contemporary issues with religion. Especially in the Western countries.

A good example is issues relating to polygamy. While I personally strongly oppose polygamy, my religion does make room in its principles and laws where polygamy is allowed to happen. That is: when “you cannot act equitably towards orphans, marry such women as seem good to you, two and three and four; but if you fear that you will not do justice between them, then marry only one or what your right hands possess: this is more proper that you may not deviate from the right course” (Al Quran 4:3).

It is important to note that this passage (to my knowledge), was brought upon the time where the number of men has significantly decreased as the result of the aftermath of war. Therefore, many woman become widows and children became orphans. Many Arabs did not gave a share of inheritance towards their women and children and sometimes refuse to marry the woman they just impregnated. Moreover, at that time, women were being treated horribly with men having more than 5 wives.

Many argued that Islam and its polygamy principle came at this time to remedy it. It did not, however, attempt to drastically change the situation (I doubt that if they dramatically and strictly forbid polygamy it will have better results…)

And so, going back to Obama’s speech, he said that we need to translate our concern through a universal language and not religion-specific. Hence their ideas and concern are subject to arguments and reason.

Perhaps, that’s what I did by trying to break down the situation in polygamy. I still oppose polygamy unless…UNLESS, the person really follows the path of the prophet (that is marrying really really old women) or if the person is so noble, fair and wise that he will be able to treat all of his wives equally. I doubt that any men is like that, even I still complain that my boyfriend isn’t pay me enough attention. Let alone having more than one wife.

Well.. I think it’s really interesting how one American, who is running for president, no less…got me thinking about my own faith and belief.
I still have many questions, questions and questions concerning my own religion but I don’t think that makes me any less of a believer. It just proves that I’m only human.

Vira

i’ve been crows zero-ed

I saw Crows Zero at the Sydney Film Festival 2008. I was quite excited because I’ve been wanting to see that movie for months! Not because the director of the movie is the Takashi Miike, famous for his controversial movie Ichii the Killer (haven’t seen the movie yet.. heard its way gory) or because I’m a big fan of the manga/comic “Crows” by Hiroshi Takahashi (to which the movie is based).

The real reason why I wanted to see the movie was rather shallow: cute (i mean HOT!) boy actor Oguri Shun. Honestly, I didn’t particularly care if the movie would be crap or unexpectedly brilliant. I saw the trailer on youtube and had no idea what the movie would be, except that there will be an incredible amount of fight scenes. So I paid my SFF2008 ticket and was determined that I would be happy enough to see Oguri Shun fighting in the big screen.

And what did I get in return?

A really really cool movie with bad-ass characters, incredible fight scenes, just enough humor packaged in a simple storyline.

The movie tells the story of Genji Takaya (Oguri Shun), the son of a Yakuza boss with an ambitious dream. Takaya’s dream is to be the first student ever to conquer and unify the notorious Suzuran High School, a high school filled with punks, rebels and crazy students.

To achieve his dream, Takaya must build his own army by defeating the leader of each gangs and classes to ultimately bring down the current strongest person in the school, Tamao Serizawa (Yamada Takayuki) and his gang.

The movie then follows Takaya, with the aid of Suzuran graduate and ‘B-level’ yakuza member, Ken Katagiri (Kyosuke Yabe), as he conquer the school class by class through small fights, brutal fights and even matchmaking favours. As his army and loyal followers started to grow, so does his reputation. Ultimately leading to a grand and final showdown between his and Serizawa’s army.

What I like most about this movie is how it is able to present so many different characters, without letting the audience forget about which one is which. This, I think, is the very essence and character in every Japanese fiction, be it a manga, anime, movies and tv series.

The main characters gave really exceptional performances. Oguri Shun, who started his career starring in a string of high school themed tv series, stepped it up a notch as the ambitious Genji Takaya. One of my favourite scenes in the movie was a scene featuring a badly beaten-up Genji Takaya trying to stand up and continue fighting. It was as if I could feel the pain of every aching muscles and broken bones in his body!

Yamada Takayuki also gave a surprising and great performance. I first saw him as the shy and dorky otaku (a manga, anime and figurines addict… and I mean ADDICT!) in Densha Otoko (The Train Man). His performance in Crows Zero is such a contrast! In Crows Zero he was strong, violent and daring, albeit slightly lunatic.

The movie also has cool sound and special effects that creates a perception of super-human abilities of the characters. This was shown in various scenes with Serizawa, nicknamed bakemono (monster) for his strength, when he created a massive dent on the side of a car by deliberately crashing his head on it or when he played ‘human-bowling’.

The cinematography is also brilliant, especially during the final showdown where the black wearing high school student set up such a wonderful contrast against the blue-sky background.

I also loved the songs and the original scores used throughout the movie, especially the song “Into the Battlefield” which was used during the beginning of the final showdown.

Despite all the praises that I gave, there were still some elements of the movie that I thought were simply useless. Notably the female character/almost-love interest, whose name I didn’t even bother to remember. The movie would be better off without her.

Overall, I’d give the movie 9 out of 10! And if you enjoy movies such as Kill Bill and Fight Club, you will definitely enjoy this movie. Personally, I think it’s better than Fight Club. Haha..

Move over Brad Pitt! It’s Oguri Shun time.