Start Blogging Again?

Huff.... I wish I had time to add up some updates. Errr, maybe soon. I think I have to rearrange this blog first. Yeah, wish me luck.

Obama as a Hope: My Personal Perspective

I’d like to comment a lot, definitely. But, the words seem to suddenly spread about in my mind because of my excitement. So maybe I can’t clearly describe what I exactly feel.

Yes, this is me, one of those Indonesian people who do feel the happiness and pride as most of American voters do. Obama won! And that’s the climax of the long long journey after the historical speech of Martin Luther King, Jr.—inspiring person who led people to struggle for civil rights. And that’s also, just the beginning of all. Many more things remain to be fulfilled, realized, and done. We’ll wait and see; sure, we better actively contribute with our own way—as the world inhabitants.



Some people are still skeptical facing this moment. Some still wonder why the world people outside US celebrate the election result in other country, when there are more tragedies happen in their own lands.

To answer it, I just want to say:

I’m sure, even though there’s no significance (which I think it’ll relatively be); however, US will not be as pathetic as it was (under Bush government). US will not be the same anymore. People believe in change that Obama has said during the campaign, change US to have a better political attitude with true dignity, to change the world’s perspective of America. Hopefully, we all can really prove that together.

Not to ignore, I don’t really take care of some people’s skepticism about Obama. Whatever it’ll be, we already know one thing for sure, Obama is the source of inspiration. He is the hope and the spirit, more than American Dream, he’s a reflection and epitome of what we—inhabitants of the world—want to see.

I’m not being naïve here. I’m just one of those who are inspired. It’s just what I feel, simply like that.

Obama Won! Local newspapers:







P.S. Honestly, I'm still confused by my own irony because, this far, I have no idea about Indonesia Election 2009. I'm still thinking of the one who really is capable to deal with Indonesia's current and future challenges. I haven't found the figure yet. Of course, I'll vote because it'll be my very first time to participate in Indonesian democracy, nationally. Hopefully there will be the one who can fulfill what Indonesia needs, not only as a president, but also an inspiring character, for me and all Indonesian people.

The Death of Music Industries

Maybe it’s a laugh when you read the title of this post. I know, it sounds hyperbolic and exaggerating. But, hell yeah, no one can deny that’s possible to happen, so people start anticipating that weird possibility.

Don’t be too high, just look around. We’re in this era of downloading free-of-charge play lists of mp3. Though you may not do so, I bet everyone has ever copied songs from a friend’s iPod, mp3 player, CD, and any portable storage. Forget the Napster—that’s very old story, it’s everywhere today. Just googling, then you’ll easily find hundreds of sites offering you easy-and-free-downloads.


Dude, before the economy breaks down, music industries have already faced the recession few years before. CD-selling collapsed, everyone just goes digital! Honestly, this idea literally came when I was listening to my new play lists which, you know, were downloaded from some websites. That’s why I’ve been wondering, is there really a time we’re going to have the death of music industries? The time where there would be no one can make money from composing music for public consumption. Many people now are burdened to pay for new songs. So, the only option in the future would be just listening to the old nostalgic songs because no one is going to be ‘profitable’ musician? Or, the only way for a musician to get paid would be only by live-performing on stage? Well, I can’t figure out.

I start thinking, err, guessing actually.

What is the best way to solve it?

There should be technology that can stop free-downloading system on the internet. People still can share, but only for private property. But then, I think, even if someone could do so, I think it’s hardly a solution. Technology keeps improving to the higher and higher advancement, it’s inevitable, and it has no limit. Yeah, it should be like that, because, when technology can limit technology, so it is the technology itself which is going to an end. Complicated, huh? There would be a strange ‘competition’ for those who’re anti-free-downloading and those who are not. Again, will it be that complicated? That is exactly complex and seemingly endless chain of mechanism. Or, there would be software that can prevent free uploads and downloads?


Then, I wonder if in the future, with the advancement of technology, people can make their own songs. So, the song-composing is just a hobby or art to please oneself, no more for commercial. Is it weird thought?

Just to make it short, I get to my conclusion. Music industries would change and adapt, significantly, to their new mechanism. We just can analyze it, but we can give no guarantee for what it’s going to be, what it’s like in the future. Slowly but surely, music industries are preparing for the great revolution.

And, just to get you questioning, can you imagine living in the world with no new songs released? Just get it, take it seriously, or just have fun with it. I don’t say for what or whom I stand in this case.

Humble

It really is an effort when I’m trying to just sit down in front of my PC and starting to type the characters on keyboard. You know, when I was seemingly on hiatus it means that so many things happened during the last two-short-months, so then I can’t have a good time to release what’s there on my mind. Many of them are important to tell, I think. But, of course, that’ll be kinda outta date. So I’ve decided to share what’s currently important, and here, I will preferably use my sense than my science, my feeling than my critical point of view.

And if I’m not mistaken, it’ll be the second time for me to talk about….the annual Ramadan—Moslems’ fasting month.

I now realize more and more that as the age’s getting more modern, year after year, the spirit of religiosity decreases in general. Fasting, for most people today, is just a formality. I can’t see even an effort from my surrounding to create a more religious way in their daily activities during this year’s Ramadan. Sorry for being a little skeptical, but honestly I desperately wish that what I thought wasn’t true. I think I’m now just being a little more subjective because I do not feel the spirit of Ramadan though. You know—I’ve been adapting in new college life.

Anyway, I’ve just learnt the old brand new thing on this year’s Ramadan, humbleness. It’s a simple thing. I don’t want to judge others, so I better say that it may be my only problem that sometimes it’s really hard to keep or just be humble.

What do I mean by being humble here? Yeah, it may be just that ‘humble’—state of being modest. More than that, staying humble is more than smiling to others or being lovely and sociable for the others, it takes your entire energy because we may not realize at the time we lose our humbleness. Humble means we have to always step on the ground, realizing our essence as an ordinary human being. For some people, it can be very easy—yes, that easy.

But, when you have been already trapped in the world of achievement pride, competition, or social prestige in this so-called-the-era-of-commodity, you are sometimes ignoring who you are when you think it shouldn’t be you. Not to neglect our own power or ability, we—or I, specifically—must always stay ‘sane’ not to be the victim of our own ambition, obsession, goals, and self-pride. It all becomes clear when we correlate it to our natural existence as a God’s creature, which means that above all we stand for our own destiny and everything has been basically orchestrated for us. We therefore don’t know what the future holds for us and our friends. As a conclusion, I’ll always try to always realize my very nature as a human being when I start ‘flying’—forget to hit the ground.

Then, to recap, I’ll shortly explain what happened lately.

August. I was welcomed in university, passing through that chain of junior-treated-by-senior activities and ceremonies (I’m not talking about bullying). There’s contradiction indeed on my mind, but this time, I decided not to criticize this ‘colonial imitation’ because I’m sure that it’ll decline naturally as the time goes by, and it’s proved bit by bit. Hmm, this August I celebrated 63rd anniversary of Indonesia. It simply reminds of my last year post about independence in which Miss Julia from Venezuela left a comment there. Sorry for not responding back then, Julia. Now, the more I observe political atmosphere in Venezuela (esp. from her blog), the more I identify what’s been happening in Venezuela nowadays is nearly similar to what’s happening in Indonesia during 32-long-year-regime of repressive Soeharto that had created irony between national economic growth and the awakening of agriculture and the success of limiting the population growth and a smiling charismatic leader’s face and collusion-corruption-nepotism-networks and fake prosperity and structural poverty and the absence of free speech. My assumption may be wrong, but that’s my so-far-analysis.

September. Welcome to the totally new classes! I was beginning to study the complete package of introduction of economics. My first impression was…the theories I studied was somehow capitalist and liberal. Very American. It’s Ok, as long as it still makes sense and could be analyzed in a scientific point of view. Moreover, I’m not basically an ideological-minded—you know what I mean; I do have my own principles. Besides, that liberal system is still the best system this far which brought USA to the highest standard of living, just compare to communism that made Russia collapse.

October. Yeah, yeah. Ied al-Fitr. One thing differs greatly from the preceding years is that now I’m one of—the part of those who do mudik—the people who hold the Indonesian tradition of going back to the hometown as it’s getting closer to the D-Day of Ied al-Fitr.

My family decided to create handmade ketupat, not bought it...yeah I did enjoy working on it, though I wasn't really able to do, LOL

This is the first ketupat I could make, yeah, the first and the only one,hehe. It's not that easy to do, esp. for a beginner like me


And, this is (almost) the second, not successful.

Last but not least, let’s go humble. Keep ourselves humble.