A mind needs books the way a sword needs a whetstone to keep its edge sharp.....
Hatred
how it clouded you my friend
blinded your heart and mind
corrupted your nature of goodness
expelled anything merry in you
Hatred
like venom of a cobra king
once it seeps through your vein
it spread rapidly
upstopable
i mourned for you
suffering a contagious desease
yet unaware of its existence
killed you softly
taken your soul away
traded for a place in satan palace
Sudah lama ingin baca novel ini terutama setelah diangkat dalam Kick Andy. Mungkin sudah terlalu basi buat dibahas soalnya buku ini telah terbit sejak tahun 2005 dan kesohoran buku ini telah merambah seantero negeri. Terakhir baca novel sastra yang cukup berkesan saat baca karya Ayu Utami, Saman. Selebihnya agak males beli buku2 cerita baru yang kebanyakan didominasi teenlit, chicklit, dan banyak karya lain yang selalu menyangkut sex. Sempat baca Jangan Main-Main dengan Kelaminmu karya Djenar Maesa Ayu...wow, the language was too harsh for me... yang bikin aku finally tetap pada prinsip bahwa karya yang bagus adalah karya yang bisa dimengerti pembacanya, having moral lessons yang dapat meningkatkan pekerti manusia...that's my version of idea...
Nah salah satu yang masuk kriteria aku di atas adalah Laskar Pelangi. Setelah berjuang selama 2 minggu buat merampungkan di sela-sela perjalanan naik KRL PP Bekasi-Tanah Abang, akhirnya kelar juga bacanya. Kata pertama yang muncul di benak ialah LUAR BIASA, FANTASTIC... benar-benar menyentuh ... aku bisa dibuatnya tertawa, menanggis sekaligus terkagum-kagum. Kagum dengan persahabatan kesepuluh anak Belitong; Lintang yang super cerdas, ehm...seandainya gak drop out mungkin dia bisa melebihi kejeniusan Einstein kali ya J, Mahar dan Flo yang eksentrik, Syahdan dan Harun yang lugu, Sahara dan Samson yang garang, Kucai, Trapani dan Ikal. Mereka menamakan diri sebagai laskar pelangi karena kegemaran menikmati keindahan pelangi sambil bertengger di dahan-dahan fillicium di halaman sekolah Muhammadiyah.
Sebuah novel memoar masa kecil Adre Hirata yang begitu menggugah semangat bahwa keterbatasan bukan halangan untuk melahirkan para generasi yang cerdas dan berbudi. Sekolah yang memiliki fasilitas seadanya mampu melahirkan anak-anak yang luar biasa, anak-anak yang meskipun bersekolah di sekolah kampung yang terpinggirkan namun memiliki semangat juang yang luar biasa. Sebuah memoar yang mengambarkan peran luar biasa dari pahlawan tanpa tanda jasa, Bu Muslimah dan Pak Harfan. Meskipun digaji minim, bahkan sering tak digaji, tapi tetap menjalankan amanah dan gigih menanamkan budi pekerti luhur sebagai landasan hidup kelak dalam meniti kehidupan. Walhasil, hampir kepuluh laskar pelangi mampu memegang teguh prinsip-prinsip budi pekerti luhur dan ajaran agama yang kokoh sehingga tidak mudah tergelincir dalam meniti hidup...lihatlah nasehat Pak Harfan di awal pertemuan mereka hiduplah untuk memberi sebanyak-banyaknya, bukan untuk menerima sebanyak-banyaknya...
Kehidupan para laskar pelangi pun ibarat galuran pelangi nan indah yang beraneka warna.
Diawali saat SD Muhammadiyah, sekolah kampung di Belitong dengan fasilitas yang sangat terbatas bahkan minus, membuka pendaftaran untuk murid baru kelas satu. Ada ultimatum bahwa apabila sekolah tidak mampu mengumpulkan minimal 10 murid baru, maka sekolah tersebut terancam tutup. Hingga saat-sat terakhir, hanya 9 anak yang mendaftar dan siap masuk kelas di hari pertama. Digambarkan bahwa di kalangan masyarakat Belitong yang kebanyakan kurang mampu, menyekolahkan anak berarti mengikatkan diri pada beban biaya yang harus ditanggung selama bertahun-tahun. Ini juga berarti tertutupnya kesempatan untuk mempekerjakan si anak secara penuh waktu demi membantu mengurangi beban hidup yang semakin berat...sebuah fenomena yang banyak kita jumpai di masyarakat kita saat ini yang semakin terpuruk akibat melambungnya harga-harga dan makin menggilanya biaya pendidikan.
Pada saat harapan sudah hampir pupus, Harun, seorang anak berusia 15 tahun dengan keterbelakangan mental, datang sebagai juru selamat karena ibunya enggan membiarkannya berkeliaran di rumah, dan SLB pun terlampau mahal dan tak ada di sana. Dalam peristiwa inilah, Ikal, narrator of the story yang merupakan Adrea, bertemu dengan Lintang, Mahar, Syahdan, A Kiong, Kucai, Borek alias Samson, Sahara, Trapani, dan Harun, Bu Muslimah dan Pak Harfa, guru penuh kasih namun penuh komitmen untuk mencerdaskan anak didiknya.
Berawal dari kelas bersepuluh inilah pertemanan mereka terbentuk dalam laskar pelangi. Berbagai kisah suka duka digambarkan dari kacamata Ikal dengan apik (meskipun kadang terlalu hiperbolik mengingat bertaburnya banyak bahasa Latin, istilah keilmuan dan puluhan nama tokoh-tokoh dunia yang kadang gak nyangkut di otak...ehm, ada Salvadore Dali, Rene Descartes, Bibal tower, Fillicium dsb)...petualangan di Pulau Lanum, pertemuan dengan Tuk Bayan Tula, hingga kisah romansa singkat Ikal dengan Aling yang meninggalkan buku Seandainya Mereka Bisa bicara yang berkisah tentang Herriot di Edensor...guess what, Edensor menjadi judul buku ketiga Andrea.
Pokoknya begitu mengugah dan keren habis :-)
Ever see Nanny 911? It's one of my most favourite TV shows lately...broadcasted in Mtero TV every Saturday and Sunday at 4 p.m. It taught many useful lessons about parenting and how to make your children to be discipline. Overall, this show taught the lesson of love towards children...children raised with love would surprisingly follow the pattern. Children raised with hatred would react the same way they were taught to. They imitated what they saw and heard. So it basically showed that children should be treated with love, care, discipline, respect and honor.
For example, last Sunday, parent with two children of four and two and a half were frustrated with their uncontrolled behaviors. They were still using sippy cups and pacifier (doddies). When their mother wanted to take those dodies away, they went crazzy with all the kicking and biting. The mother was far too lenient with the children. She almost was in total submission with her kids because she assumed that what a mother should do. In return, she failed to gain respect from her babies. When they did not get what they wanted, they would cry and scream loudly, kicked, and bite her. While the father, being a navy soldier, treated his children like little soldiers thus also failed to gain respect except fear.
The nanny was invited to help. Then, she showed them how to be a good parent and how to deal with the children. First rule was set up: no bitting and kicking. All must obey this rule. Mother should enact discipline in the house by introducing rewards and punishment. If they were misbehaved, they would get consequences for their act, and vice versa. Love could be expressed altogether with discipline. Father must leave his 'little soldiers' treatment and should spend some times with the kids...to talk and to show them that he loved them. The second rule was to get th esippy cups and pacifiers away as they were inapropriate to use them.
It was showed how hard the nights for both parents and kids with no sippy cups and doddies. The children were screaming and crying loudly begging to get them back. The mother almost gave up...for her to hear them scream and cry was unbearable. The Nanny was strict and stern. It was time for the kids to grow up...it would be harder to get rid of those things if they grew older...so the plan went on.
Surprisingly, it's working. The second night, the kids fell asleep without the pacifiers and doddies. They biting and kicking stopped. The mother and father succeded in showing their children that every action came with consequences. The mother got their respect as well as their love. All ended well.
Parenting is not taken for granted. It needs sufficient knowledge to achieve good parenting. To spoil the chil too much will give misleading messege. To punish them is even sending wrong message if it is not done correctly. But one thing for sure, parenting is the nature of every parent in this world. and it is looked forward dearly.
Palestinian children
heart so pure
thoughts so innocent
clear like Zam Zam spring
eyes so bright as dewdrops in the morning
christalized into magnificent gaity
like petals within the blooming flowers
ready to grow along with hope
then it was all gone
shattered into pieces
broken
alongside with their crumbled houses
swept away by tidal waves of hatred
destroyed by millions of fearful bombs and canons
their slightest joy was confiscated
their merry crushed within seconds
tears run out dry
empty as a dying shell
becoz sorrows was too great to endure
left nothing but misery
even a dream was rare for them
except nightmare that smelt like gas
choked them like a rat
"Where is justice?"
They asked many times
to many millions people
of various nations and races
Yet, no one anwered the call
silence like frozen statue
dare not to look them in the eye
Sometimes, a wise lesson just pop up in when you mostly need it. Itulah pelajaran yang dapat kulihat pagi ini. Sejak berangkat dari rumah telah mulai mengeluh soal cuaca yang rintik-rintik, soal ulah sebagian penumpang kereta yang menyebalkan, soal sepatu yang sudah mulai aus dan berlubang di sol-nya, soal baju yang kurang nyaman, bla..bla...bla...buanyak banget sampai hati jadi gak tenang. Apalagi saat penumpang sebelah bertingkah a little bit annoying... could not appreciate others. Yang satu sudah tahu gak dapat nomor duduk, tetap aja gak mau berdiri...akhirnya yang punya nomor duduk nyempil sebelah aku. Eh, sudah bela-belain geser dikit biar muat, dianya malah makin nyandar yang tentu saja makan space aku...Terpaksa sambil nyengir gak nyaman, memiringkan badan ke sebelah yang mengakibatkan postur duduk jadi aneh dan punggung sedikit sakit karena ketekuk. Bukannya nyadar, eh malah makin menjadi-jadi. Ugh, so annoying dan makin ngomel dalam hati. Pas naik metro, hampir jatuh karena tiba-tiba metro melaju jalan...wuih alhamdulillah masih selamat. It's like started a day with bad omen.
Then, waktu belok lampu merah terlihat loper koran yang maaf cacat (kaki kiri lebih kecil sehingga jalannya pincang) terpeleset di pemisah jalan yang kecil karena licin. Namun, dengan gigih dia bangun kembali sekuat tenaga dan melanjutkan menawarkan dagangannya. Subhanalloh, sungguh luar biasa... hati jadi sangat tersentuh dan terharu dengan semangat pantang menyerah dan kegigihan tersebut. Tidak sedikitpun keluar ucapan makian dari mulutnya. Dia tetap tersenyum. Dan yang lebih luar biasa adalah dia tidak mau menadahkan tangannya dengan meminta-minta meskipun akan banyak orang memberi melihat kekurangan fisiknya. Setiap hari dia terlihat berjualan koran di pertigaan lampu merah tersebut.
What a lesson... Rasanya jadi malu banget. Fisik yang tidak sempurna saja mampu memperlihatkan sebuah keiklasan dan rasa syukur dalam menjalani hari-harinya, apalagi aku???Tetapi nyatanya, keluh kesah dan rasa tidak puas selalu menyelip. Sungguh suatu pelajaran berharga di pagi ini...
I have never before interested much in the USA Presidential Election until now. The tight rally Obama vs Hillary from Democratic Party changed my whole attitude towards the election. Every now and then, i am eager to find out the result of the preliminary election as well as its final. Often, the preliminary polling and prediction do not hit the reality. In states where Obama is predicted would suffer a loss, he gained victory. He won in the last ten election in ten states including Hawaii. It's indeed a fenomenal sucess although the final result of the comptetion is still far to go. I beleive many non Americans as well as Americans pay close attention to this as it is first in US history to have the first black candidate, the first female candidate, and the first oldest candidate.
The victory of Obama in this preliminary election somehow surprises many. America has long been a racial country when it imposed slavery in its early establishment. It has left deep scar that maybe until now has not yet been healed. The civil war that had shattered the new nation at that time is not easily to forget. Many hope if Obama ever elected, it would create a monumental history in the nation. Further, the last two consequtive leadership of President Bush, Jr was considered at a lose end. War against terrorist that was practised unwisely had evoked many protests...war in Afghanistan and Iraq had cost many lives and finance...and now, America is in the verge of undergoing great resession as the impact of the subprime mortgage crisis and this rooted deeply in the loosely financial and monetary policies. Consequently, many have great hope for a change. A change that many find in the character of Obama. A man with mixed racial blood who is still young, optimist, shrewd, and capable politician.However, many still doubt him of capable leading a great nation as his experience is politics and stateman is considered prematured compared to his two rivals.
But, as history always shows that when people are thirsty with a wind of change, they will react impulsively to achieve the goal. The war is still far but the victory of Obama may be reflect the Amaricans' hunge for a change.
The Amulet of Samarkand was the first book of the Bartimaeus Trilogy; the other two novels were The Golem’s Eyes and Ptolemy’s Gate. Typically magical novel that was full magical terms such as Orb, nimbus, incantation, amulet, talisman, magicians etc. It’s one of the many novels revealed the existence of witches, magician, sorcerer that intertwined within our world among others Harry Potter, LOTR, The Golden Compass, Stardust, etc. But unlike others, this novel unfolded the stories of ancient Jinni namely Bartimaeus. He, so the novel kept referring Bartimaeus as it, told his adventurous stories with his master from his point of view as if we were asking to go deep down with his thoughts, for instance he described the pain and sensation when his essence was summoned. That’s make him some kind of the hero in the novel. While other similar novels usually narrated the stories from the heroes’ point of view. The heroes took control on how the stories should be told, but this one was the opposite. Further, there were many humors embedded in some scene because Bartimaeus was a kind of gothic yet humorous and a little bit noble type of character. The scene where he bullied a messenger imp and the departing scene with his master was hilarious that made the readers laughed among many other humorous scenes.
While magician, sorcerer, witch in other novels relied heavily on their magic wand and incantation, the magicians in this book on their marid, afrit, djinni, and imp. Imp was the weakest in power while the most powerful was Marid. That’s how the classification was made. There’s also a folliot, mite, and other lesser beings that were summoned to serve a magician bidding. And the incantation played a great part in summoning those beings. A precise and correct spell would deliver the right being, while a slip of the tongue would be fatal. They also needed the correct pentacle to lock their slaves ( magicians always considered them as slaves). The world of the magicians was mingled with the commoners (the non magicians) and was divided in seventh planes. Planes…well it’s hard to put it into its exact meaning, may be it was a kind of perimeter such as in the first plane realm you could see Jinni as a child of whatever it imitated, but on the next plane you would gradually see their true form…some kind like that. Only in the second book, the meaning of plane was explained. The seven planes were layered one after another and each plane revealed different reality. The first plane was contained any material forms such as humans, water, stone, building than could be seen by anyone. The other six planes presented spirits in various forms that mingled in the human world. The magician could see the two up to three planes with their glasses. The only thing that were absent of those novels was the absence of God. As far as I recalled there’s no other greater power above their realm except their magic as if God did not exist at all…interesting to discuss but it’s not in this chapter.
The plotting was a bit confusing if you didn’t pay attention as sometimes it jumped to the past then it reversed to the present. Sometimes the story was narrated by third person point of view (when it unfolded the stories of Nathaniel) and in the next chapter it was by first person point of view, Bartimaeus, one after another. The conflict was smartly developed and crafted. It’s a kind of roller coaster …it got tense and more and more but then it slowed down, then it tensed again until it reached up the climax. The whole story was candidly thrilling and exciting. It was enjoyable and entertaining.
Starting with Bartimeaus (a 5,000 Djinni of middle rank) in his Other World, hoping to be summoned by a beginner in the business (young magician who had just his first chance for summoning) for fun and he would scare and bully him. Out of his expectation, a scrawny twelve years old boy summoned him to steal the Amulet of Samarkand from the young Simon Lovelace, an influential magician in the city. It was a surprise considering that this amulet had many great reputation and it was not easy to get it. It was forged by a Shaman in central Asia that shield its wearer from any magical attacks. Reluctant to go, Bartimaues could not reject the task as once being summoned in, he was bound to obey his summoner until the summoner released him from the spell of confinement. Bewildered by his new master as he would not give his name, Bartimeaus set for the job. He fretted a lot about the way magicians always treated a jinnee like him… slaving him. He described how it was like to live hundreds of years to serve his various masters from the time of Solomon, Pharaoh and to modern time like this where cars were invented. Magicians were always tricky and had less conscience. Their pride and greediness was all the same.
Lovelace residence was highly defended with magical spheres and two strong jinnies namely Faquarl and Jabor. The two was hundreds of years in age just like Bartimaeus …they were once comrades but then became enemies because their master was turned against each other. Similar in power yet Bartimaeus was smarter. With hard labors, he could steal the Amulet of Samarkand.
Then the story flipped to the past into Nathaniel’s. It was customary that a magician was chosen by the Parliament of the magicians. As soon as the child reached his age, he must be separated from his birth parents and taken into the custody of his mentor. The child must abandon the name given by his parents and by the age of twelve, he would be given a new magician name. If the beings he was summoned in knew about their birth name, then the result was damaging. It would be used to turned against him. Magicians must not have their own children. Thus, they were entrusted by apprentices to pass their learnings. A birth name must be hidden forever less it would be a fatal for the magician. At age of six, Nathaniel’s parents gave him away in the care of the Parliament. It was then decided that Mr. Underwood would supervise his training in becoming a magician. His new mentor never taken him seriously, regarded him as a kind of backward child that was capable of nothing. His ignorance and harsh treatment had hurt his pride greatly. The only consolation he got was coming from Mrs Underwood whom showered him with genuine affection and care. She decided to call him with his birth name until the time of his naming came. While, in his solace of study, he found serenity with Ms. Lutyen, a commoner who taught him drawings. Drawing was important for a magician because if he was to draw a pentacle for summoning, it must be in exact shape and form. He was a fast learner. Being underestimated and ignored by his teacher, he learnt himself from the books as his main source of knowledge and skill.
On occasion when he was introduced to Mr Underwood’s magician colleagues, Nathaniel received a fatal humiliation that changed his fate forever. Being looked down all the time enraged him badly especially when Lovelace would not admit that his continuous correct answers proved somewhat that he deserved so much better. Lovelace considered him as ‘capable of nothing’. Furious, he attacked Lovelace and his comrades with mites to show him that he could use magical spell. The result was fatal. Lovelace humiliated him deeply by casting a spell on him and beaten him badly. His teacher stood in a shame and left him alone in the torturing scene. He was grounded and Ms. Lutyen who was trying to help him was fired. His pride was badly hurt and he vowed he would seek revenge. His teacher was already dead to him from the moment he let him alone without his protection in the scene. To reach his goal, he studied harder and pretended to an obedient and submissive student. While, the truth was he had a plan of his own. On his first summoning, he could trapped a watcher imp in a round disc he made himself. This imp could spy for him. Its first task was Lovelace. With its help, Nathaniel, found out about the Amulet of Samarkand. Lovelace had ordered his man to murder its keeper. He would seek revenge by stealing the Amulet. He would reveal his crime and shaterred his reputation. Thus, he needed to summon greater being, and Bartimaeus was his choosing.
The story then shifted again on Bartimaeus point of view. His troubles in getting the Amulet made him despised the young magician more. He found him irritating and was eager to be realized. Now that he had performed his work well, he wished he should be released off duty soon. To his surprise, there’s another work yet to come. The boy ordered him to hide the Amulet in his teacher’s study room and found out what Lovelace up to with the Amulet. To Bartimaeus, it was a kind of set up for the boy’s teacher. If the police or Lovelace ever found the amulet in Underwood’s, it was a burial for the old man. Accidentally, when he was sneaking around in the house, Bartimaeus overheard Mrs Underwood calling the boy with his birth name. Yeah, now he knew his birthname, he could act against his will. However, it was not as easy as he imagined. The boy was persistent and clever… in fact he must admitted that he’s the cleverest magician boy he had ever met. Nathaniel managed to set another scheme to force him serving him.
Spying on Lovelace proved much more difficult, now that he and his comrades had formed a massive search for the Amulet. The boy was right, there was murder involved with the Amulet. It was formerly kept under the care of the government. Its keeper was sliced in the throat and no one yet to be a suspect. Lovelace would use it in a conference held somewhere in the city …to what purpose, he still had no idea as he soon got caught up and was imprisoned in the Tower with the most highest magical protection. The powerful Mrs Whitwell caged him in her Orb. Lovelace, upon hearing this capture, acted soon by sending Jabor and Faquarl to break Bartimaeus out of prison. He would not risk Bartimaeus told the government investigators that he formerly had the amulet in his possession. Lovelace’s two Jinnies forced Bartimaeus to hand over the amulet as a return favor after they broke him out of prison. He escaped them but unaware led his enemies to Underwood. Lovelace sent an attack to the house and seized the amulet. Mr Underwood died in fire with his poor wife while Nathaniel (that was already given a new name, John Mandrake) was saved by Bartimaeus. Nathaniel vowed he would avenge Mrs Underwood’s death. Now, the only person who really ever cared for him died because of his deed, he should go after Lovelace. He promised if Bartimaeus helped him, he would release him as soon as Lovelace paid the price.
Lovelace gathered some help from his master, Maurice Schyler, Rufus Lime, and a mysterious magician that had not been revealed in the book. The plan was to terminate all magicians serving the government that came to his trap. He would seize power once there’s absence of power in the government. He needed the Amulet to protect him from the Great Ramuthra…a giant being from the Other World that would be summoned in. He would create a giant pentacle that would trapped everyone inside by the time Ramuthra arrived. Nathaniel and Bartimaeus was the only hope to stop the misdeed. Would Bartimaeus and his master succeed?
Well… you have to read the book yourself. I don’t want to spoil the story. It was so thrilling reading the action of Bartimaeus and Nathaniel in fighting the Lovelace and his comrades…the way the rift sucked everything in and the way Ramuthra sent any magician to fire or gas was so tensing. Almost forgot, there’s a character in the novel that appeared twice in the scenes namely Kitty, a commoner girl that would play a great role in the second book. She was supposedly part of the Rebellion movement by commoners that tried to overthrow the magicians' ruling over the country.
All and all, I guarantee you will not regret reading the novel. It’s terrific …a great fantasy novel. There’s always an element of surprise in each chapter…and mysterious….
V-day? Ehm...let's see...red roses, heart shaped chocolates, cards with notes of love and passion, gifts...for people who celebrate the day.
Me...nope, not that kind of a person who join the current. It's just like Halloween Day, April Mop... celebration that i sused for commercial purposes only. Ehm, just think how much cash flow on that 'special' event. Not to mention the many hotels, restaurants that specially make performance related to the event. For me, it's just another invasion of western pop culture.
And i'm picky in choosing one. Lucky me :-)...trying to take only the one that brings positive effects...though not always succed in doing so.
High heels? Wow...yang terlintas di benak langsung rasa pegal di betis dan kepala pusing hingga akhirnya bilang I really do hate high heels 
Tapi sebenarnya suka lihat cewek yang pakai high heels, keliatan seksi dan feminim asal proporsional saja ma bentuk kaki. Masalahnya, sejak dulu i am not meant to be with high heels. Seperti kutukan kalau pakai sepatu yang pakai hak tinggian dikit, betis langsung pegel dan kepala pusing. Bukannya seksi dan keren malah pringisan menahan rasa pegal di kaki. Walhasil sekarang lebih demen pakai sepatu teplek atau sandal sekalian. Biarin dikatain cuek bebek or ndeso, yang penting kakiku merasa nyaman dan aman 
Or maybe i haven't found the right shoes yet? Maybe if i wore the right high heel shoes, i would not feel miserable? Lol...in my dreams! Dah terlanjur merasa apati ma high heels jadi gak lagi-lagi dah mau pakai kecuali terpaksa...ehm, tapi sapa yang berani maksa 
Pernah nih pakai sepatu berhak yang gak tinggi-tinggi amat waktu naik KRL Tnh Abang-Bekasi, eh ketiban sial. Dari Tanah Abang sampai Bekasi, gak dapat tempat duduk, maklum banyak penumpang dari Sta Kota yang ikutan nimbrung karena sinyal di sana lagi mati jadi gak bisa jalan. Benar-benar padat kereta...muka dah meringis-ringis karena gak tahan banget ma sepatu...gak bisa diajak kerja sama. Daripada pingsan, akhirnya kaki dikeluarkan saja deh dari sepatu...wow, it's like drinking water in the middle of the driest desert... lega banget...no more high heels deh!
Another story that shocked the world especially the Middle East. A story that resembles like ancient Scheherazade stories in which she narrated unfinished stories every single night for one thousand and one nights. Similarly, this modern Scheherazade, a girl in her early twenties narrated the story of her four female friends every weekend after the Friday Pray. Both have similar motivation that is to reveal the tyranny of life and the society against women in their region. The King in Scheherazade’s world chosen his bride to be killed in the wedding night simply because her former queen had cheated on him. For this, all women in the whole kingdom should bear the penalty…the death sentence. While in girls of Riyadh, the narrator unfolded the cruelty of the strongly patriarch society that sometimes and often misused religious beliefs to justify their action towards women regardless of their social status. Each chapter in the book begins with a piece of poetry, a verse from the Quran, or lyrics from a famous song that captured the idea of the chapter.
The narrator revealed the stories of her four female friends namely Qamrah, Sadeem, Lumais and Mashael (whom was often called Michelle because her mother was American) who were studying in the University of Riyadh. They often hanged out and sought for advice in Um Nouri’s house. A woman of her late 30s that was left by her husband after years of marriage with her only son. Three had suffered much from the strongly patriarch values; thus failed them in love and career. The only one succeeded in both career and love was Lumais because he learnt from events that befell her three friends. She determined she would not fall in the same pit; their mistakes became a great valuable lesson for her.
Qamrah had to quit her study because she had an arranged marriage with Rashid. They never had any exchange of ideas, thought and dating. As customary in the region, the two families allowed the prospective husband to see the girl only once to decide whether he liked her or not and then if he did, he would marry her. Rashid expressed his fondness for her and vice versa so they soon got married. The newlywed went to Chicago because Rashid must finish his postgraduate studies in electronic commerce. It was total disaster for Qamrah as she gradually found out her husband true nature of character. He despised her for her hijab and thought her ugly with it. When she decided to let it go, her husband thought she was uglier without none. Although, financially Rashid gave every sum she needed, but his ignorance was unbearable as she was in a strange country with very different culture and custom. Worse, her English was poor. Later she found out the source of his ignorance with she accidently knew he had an affair with a Japanese American. Rashid told her that she loved this woman and she indebted greatly to her family for when he sought permission from his parents to marry her, they turned him down. This woman’s family was the one who supported his life and study when his parents sent him no more cash. Broken hearted, Qamrah sought revenge in not taking the birth control pills. She tought if she were pregnant, her husband might act differently. She was completely wrong. Rashid sent her back to her family with divorce letter thus left her all alone with the infant. She was trapped as society regarded a divorced woman as source of problem. The only consolation she got was her friends company and Um Nouri.
The same fate befell Sadeem. Her fiancé left her just months before the wedding party. Although, they were officially wed already, but customary tradition in the society forbad women to make husband and wife relationship before the wedding party took place. Sadeem, in uttering her love and affection, was willing to risk this by giving herself up to Walid before the party in hope that Walid would feel mutual love and affection towards her. She thought that her love was not complete before submitting all herself to him. She was wrong. With no clear reason, Walid deserted her after the night. Later on, his family canceled the wedding and sent her a divorced letter. Sadeem was broken hearted and regretted her foolish decision. She knew the reason of the cancelation because Walid thought she already had sexual engagement experience (in her region sex before wedding party was considered inappropriate although they were already officially wed). Her second love with Faraz ended up the same. Faraz’s elite social status plus the fact he had never married before prevented him to marry a divorced woman like Sadeem. Eventually, he married another woman without love. Being unhappy, he asked Sadeem to continue their lost relationship. In vengeance, instead of yielding to this request, Sadeem chose Tarik, her cousin that long had adored her.
Michelle story was not less tragic than the two. She was torn by two different culture and custom considering that she was half Arabian and half American. Unlike other Arabian girls, she was forthcoming, simple and straight forward in character. She adored the ways her mother had lived in and hated hypocrisy and lies. She lived in a much liberal way than her other three friends. Still she failed in her love affair. She met Faisal in one of the shopping mall when he asked her and her female friends to take him along as a brother (In Saudi, single young men are not allowed to enter certain famous shopping malls to avoid the harassment and flirting they initiate towards women). After this meeting, their relationship grew stronger but lasted only a year. Faisal backed off when she asked him to marry her simply because his family refused to allow him marrying a girl not of the family choosing and on top of that born to an American mother. She was denied simple because of her origin.
The three girls often sought advice in Lumais and Umu Nouri. Lumais often helped her friends to solve their problems and supported them in times of need. Learnt from their stories, Lumais eventually could seize her happiness. She married the man she’s in love with and succeeded in her career. The couple moved to Canada to continue their medical study.
There’re much critics in the patriarch society in the book especially how bad the men treated the women. Even, there’s a dialogue that indicated how harsh life for a women in such society. Women are considered like cattle that can be treated freely as the owner wishes to. Religion teachings are often twisted to support such treatment. While the true teaching is to glorify and protect women and not whatsoever lay a hand on them unless she behaves wrongly. Similar critic also could be noticed easily in the Princess’ Trilogy. This first book in this trilogy describes the life of Princess Sultana, a princess in the royal house of Saudi Arabia where she lives in a "gilded cage" with no freedom and no control over her own life. It will be no surprise that other similar books written by women in the region flourish rapidly. It’s a kind of women movement and empowering that channeled through words and some say ‘word is mightier than the sword’.
Another story that shocked the world especially the Middle East. A story that resembles like ancient Scheherazade stories in which she narrated unfinished stories every single night for one thousand and one nights. Similarly, this modern Scheherazade, a girl in her early twenties narrated the story of her four female friends every weekend after the Friday Pray. Both have similar motivation that is to reveal the tyranny of life and the society against women in their region. The King in Scheherazade’s world chosen his bride to be killed in the wedding night simply because her former queen had cheated on him. For this, all women in the whole kingdom should bear the penalty…the death sentence. While in girls of Riyadh, the narrator unfolded the cruelty of the strongly patriarch society that sometimes and often misused religious beliefs to justify their action towards women regardless of their social status. Each chapter in the book begins with a piece of poetry, a verse from the Quran, or lyrics from a famous song that captured the idea of the chapter.
The narrator revealed the stories of her four female friends namely Qamrah, Sadeem, Lumais and Mashael (whom was often called Michelle because her mother was American) who were studying in the University of Riyadh. They often hanged out and sought for advice in Um Nouri’s house. A woman of her late 30s that was left by her husband after years of marriage with her only son. Three had suffered much from the strongly patriarch values; thus failed them in love and career. The only one succeeded in both career and love was Lumais because he learnt from events that befell her three friends. She determined she would not fall in the same pit; their mistakes became a great valuable lesson for her.
Qamrah had to quit her study because she had an arranged marriage with Rashid. They never had any exchange of ideas, thought and dating. As customary in the region, the two families allowed the prospective husband to see the girl only once to decide whether he liked her or not and then if he did, he would marry her. Rashid expressed his fondness for her and vice versa so they soon got married. The newlywed went to Chicago because Rashid must finish his postgraduate studies in electronic commerce. It was total disaster for Qamrah as she gradually found out her husband true nature of character. He despised her for her hijab and thought her ugly with it. When she decided to let it go, her husband thought she was uglier without none. Although, financially Rashid gave every sum she needed, but his ignorance was unbearable as she was in a strange country with very different culture and custom. Worse, her English was poor. Later she found out the source of his ignorance with she accidently knew he had an affair with a Japanese American. Rashid told her that she loved this woman and she indebted greatly to her family for when he sought permission from his parents to marry her, they turned him down. This woman’s family was the one who supported his life and study when his parents sent him no more cash. Broken hearted, Qamrah sought revenge in not taking the birth control pills. She tought if she were pregnant, her husband might act differently. She was completely wrong. Rashid sent her back to her family with divorce letter thus left her all alone with the infant. She was trapped as society regarded a divorced woman as source of problem. The only consolation she got was her friends company and Um Nouri.
The same fate befell Sadeem. Her fiancé left her just months before the wedding party. Although, they were officially wed already, but customary tradition in the society forbad women to make husband and wife relationship before the wedding party took place. Sadeem, in uttering her love and affection, was willing to risk this by giving herself up to Walid before the party in hope that Walid would feel mutual love and affection towards her. She thought that her love was not complete before submitting all herself to him. She was wrong. With no clear reason, Walid deserted her after the night. Later on, his family canceled the wedding and sent her a divorced letter. Sadeem was broken hearted and regretted her foolish decision. She knew the reason of the cancelation because Walid thought she already had sexual engagement experience (in her region sex before wedding party was considered inappropriate although they were already officially wed). Her second love with Faraz ended up the same. Faraz’s elite social status plus the fact he had never married before prevented him to marry a divorced woman like Sadeem. Eventually, he married another woman without love. Being unhappy, he asked Sadeem to continue their lost relationship. In vengeance, instead of yielding to this request, Sadeem chose Tarik, her cousin that long had adored her.
Michelle story was not less tragic than the two. She was torn by two different culture and custom considering that she was half Arabian and half American. Unlike other Arabian girls, she was forthcoming, simple and straight forward in character. She adored the ways her mother had lived in and hated hypocrisy and lies. She lived in a much liberal way than her other three friends. Still she failed in her love affair. She met Faisal in one of the shopping mall when he asked her and her female friends to take him along as a brother (In Saudi, single young men are not allowed to enter certain famous shopping malls to avoid the harassment and flirting they initiate towards women). After this meeting, their relationship grew stronger but lasted only a year. Faisal backed off when she asked him to marry her simply because his family refused to allow him marrying a girl not of the family choosing and on top of that born to an American mother. She was denied simple because of her origin.
The three girls often sought advice in Lumais and Umu Nouri. Lumais often helped her friends to solve their problems and supported them in times of need. Learnt from their stories, Lumais eventually could seize her happiness. She married the man she’s in love with and succeeded in her career. The couple moved to Canada to continue their medical study.
There’re much critics in the patriarch society in the book especially how bad the men treated the women. Even, there’s a dialogue that indicated how harsh life for a women in such society. Women are considered like cattle that can be treated freely as the owner wishes to. Religion teachings are often twisted to support such treatment. While the true teaching is to glorify and protect women and not whatsoever lay a hand on them unless she behaves wrongly. Similar critic also could be noticed easily in the Princess’ Trilogy. This first book in this trilogy describes the life of Princess Sultana, a princess in the royal house of Saudi Arabia where she lives in a "gilded cage" with no freedom and no control over her own life. It will be no surprise that other similar books written by women in the region flourish rapidly. It’s a kind of women movement and empowering that channeled through words and some say ‘word is mightier than the sword’.
It's great to watch the news on TV last Sunday that the house of representative in Egypt is planning to uplift the laws that ban women to wear 'jilbab' at Universities. If this plan can be enacted, it could bring a fresh air in the country after the secular government being built by Kemal Attaturk. I always think it ridiculous to ban moeslem women to wear jilbab as it is an obligatory conduct. The more ridiculous thing is the reason behind the law. It is said that if such dress code is allowed, it would lead Egypt away from secular principle that had been long adhered. There would be no separation between religius life and the government. Wow...it's really unbelievable.
For me, it is women's right to wear jilbab. It is a symbol of our identity that could play as a guardian and protection. Wearing jilbab will not reduce one's productivity or activities. In fact it could raise our dignity and safety. I just dont understand why such act is banned in some countries, even in the islamic nations. It's basic human right just like the right of other religion followers in wearing a certain dress code.
It's sometimes amazing to think that everyday we search a hero as our role model. Someone whose deeds reflect the righteousness and moral ideal. There's so many heroes described in movies from Tarzan up to Superman. All had the characteristic of a great hero with nobel heart, unselfish and put others' rights above his/her. Often we look upon such ideal heroes in our life and think that those characters are too good to be true.
Only now i realize that my true hero has been long standing besides me. Her heart if full of affection and compassion. To my eyes she's the perfect role model of my life. Her patience is far beyond my comprehension. Her simple life is full of amazement. She's my true hero... She is my MOTHER.
She showed one og great characters during my recent visit. How she cared much for her sister in law that got stroke. While her children did not want to take care of her, SHE voluntereed herself to care for her. The stroke had sonsumed all her strenght that she could not do any activities, even the simpliest one such as take a bath, eat, drink etc, without help. My mother patiently had to help her in those activities. She never expected anything in return. She once told me that "I dont want any credit from human, let Alloh The Great, rewards me later on."
On other occassion, she had to care for an old lady that was casted away from her family. No one wanted to receive her at their home. Touched by this situation, my father and mother decided to take her into our home. Again, my mother as well as my father showed me what a meaningful life looked like.
I wonder whether her love and affection had no limit at all. She's really amazing...And it's a fool of me that i never could said the word "I love you" in front of her. Strenght and courage in life inspired me much. The norms and values taught too me in my childhood played a great role in my savior in this harsh life.
A simple mother with a simple home who has great heart...and yes, she is my true hero. I have no more to look for other heroes other than her. And i hope oneday i could tell her how much i love her and respect her...No words could represent her amazing modesty and love...
Dulu pengin banget nonton nih film coz lihat trailernya di TV kayaknya lucu dan keren. Tapi gak pernah kesampaian sampai dah lewat masa putarnya di bioskop. Kebetulan suami aku tahu kesukaan aku nonton film jadi dibeliin deh kemarin DVD-nya.
Ehm...tak seperti bayanganku kalau film ini penuh adegan lucu dan menggelikan...ternyata setelah nonton, film ini banyak mengupas sisi kemanusian kita dan persahabatan yang indah... a mixture between serious and humor combined... Mengingatkan bahwa setiap orang mampu berprestasi dan meraih impian tak peduli latar belakang status sosial, kelas dan derajatnya. Even a rat that assosiated with dirtiness, pest, unhealthiness, disgust could achieve a truly masterpiece. Ini mengubah cara pandang kita dalam melihat seseorang. 'Kere' atau gembel sekalipun atau pun pesakitan sekalipun bisa melahirkan mahakarya atau prestasi...Anyone can cook.
Dalam kamus wikipedia ratatouille berasal dari touiller yang artinya adalah "melempar makanan". Ratatouille berasal dari daerah Nice dan sekitarnya. Makanan ini aslinya adalah makanan para petani miskin yang dimasak pada musim panas dengan sayuran musim panas. Dan makanan ini merupakan mahakarya dari Remy, Si Tikus yang bersahabat dengan
Film ini mengisahkan tentang seekor Tikus bernama Remy yang lain daripada yan lain.Keluarganya pun menanggap Remy tikus yang aneh...lho wong tikus kok gak mau makan makanan sampah, nyolong, atau berkotor-kotor ria. Doi mengutamakan cita rasa dalam setiap makanan yang dia makan serta mengutamakan cleanliness. Doi memiliki indera super tajam alias sensitive soal aroma dan rasa. Kebayang kan reaksi keluarganya melihat tingkahnya. Nah, nih anak saking kagumnya atas budaya cita rasa manusia dalam memasak akhirnya sering menyelinap ke rumah seorang nenek tua di mana dia sering menonton film tentang tata cara memasak oleh chef terkenal di seantero Paris, Auguste Gusteau. Di sinilah Remy belajar memasak dan mengembangkan cita rasa memasaknya... Kebayang gak lihat seekor tikus memasak dan membaca buku???
Petualangan Remy di rumah sang nenek berakhir saat nenek tua itu mengetahui keberadaan kawanan tikus di rumahnya. Walhasil, para tikus lara pontang panting menyelamtkan diri dari terjangan timah panas sang nenek...kayak film-film cowboy aja :-). Remy terpisah dari rombongan dan berakhir di restoran idolanya, Gusteau restoran. Dia terselamatkan secara tak sengaja oleh buku memasak Chef Gustau waktu hanyut terbawa arus. Sementara itu, Gustau mati gara-gara depresi setelah seorang kritikus makanan kenamaaan Paris, Anton Ego, memberikan ulasan yang sangat buruk tentang restaurannya.Nah, di restauran inilah Remy bersahabat dengan Linguini, garbage boy, yang gak sangat payah memasaknya. Mulailah petualangan memasak Remy dimulai dengan berkolaborasi dengan Linguini. Linguini tidak akan membuang Remy asalkan dia mau bersamanya memasak di restauran tersebut. Caranya, Remy, berdiam di dalam topi chef yang Linguini kenakan sambil mengendalikan setiap gerakan linguini dalam memasak. Seru banget...apalagi saat Linguini dan Remy berualng kali harus berjuang dalam persaingan memasak dengan juru masak lainnya dan bos kejam, Skinner, yang berusaha menyingkirkan Linguini.
Nah, singkat cerita ternyata ketahuan bahwa Linguini merupakan anak Chef Gustau sehingga berdasarkan surat wasiat dia berhak mengambil alih restauran tersebut. Si Bos kejam terdepak. Pada saat kritis, waktu Anton Ego kembali menyatroni restauran tersebut untuk memberikan ulasan, Linguini dengan berani mengaku bahwa sebenarnya Remy-lah otak di balik kesuksesan memasaknya. Tentu saja chef yang lain pada heboh dan satu persatu quit. Di sinilah terlihat persahabatan indah yang terjalin antara Linguini dan Remy serta seluruh keluarganya...bagaimana akhirnya mereka bersama-sama berjuang memasak dengan Remy sebagai the captain...lucu banget waktu lihat ratusan tikus bahu membahu memasak...padahal kan biasanya mereka bahu membahu mencuri makanan... Dan terciptalah masterpiece Remy dengan memasak Ratatouille...
Cita rasa dalam makanan ini menghancurkan keegoisan Anton Ego yang terpesona dengan rasanya. Anyone can cook...only now i understad what it really meant. Not anyone can become a great artist, but a great artist can come from anywhere... Begitulah komentar Anton Ego saat mengetahui bahwa the best chef in Paris is a rat.
Seperti kebanyakan Film animasi Walt Disney lainnya, film ini terbilang bagus karena gambar tiga dimensinya yang begitu hidup. Apalagi detil warna dalam setiap masakan yang tersaji (karena memang settingnya kebanyakan di restauran) begitu cermat tergambar sehingga bisa membangkitkan selera makan...jadi lapar nontonnya...
Pesan moral yang terselip dalam film ini juga bagus mengajarkan agar setiap orang tak peduli latar belakang sosial dan statusnya mengapai impiannya, positive thinking dan what a friendship trully meant...
Again and again this repeated misunderstanding happened. No matter how hard i kept myself in control, the anger was always able to slip through me. I had no patience of waiting especially from one whom you thought should be understood all the moves you took. While on the other hand, the one you love had a trait of ignorance and unable of 'mindreading' either becoz his lack of affection or comprehension. Sometimes, it pushed me into my limit. It became worse when my impatience added to this situation.
Often in such occassion, i lost my temper and uttered words that were beyond my character. They were horrible to say. Yet, when you got angry this way, anything seemed wrong and those words were justified. I should have known this would happen. We both already knew this weakness, but both were too ignorant to change.
As i regained myself, composed myself to regular being, i was struck by the rash and hars words that i've written. They were beyond my wildest imagination...the same words that slipped through my tongue when i got pushed to the limit. Time would always heal...sometimes i got tired and wanted much to change... how to deal with such matter in a better disposition and wisdom.
