Benchwarmer

Carpe diem. Seize the day, boys. Make your lives extraordinary

(John Keating, Dead Poets Society)

The above line is one quote I find myself, not thinking of perhaps, but rather, vouching for, whenever I go to bed at night during the holidays.

Tommorrow will be another day, a new day.

The sun will shine, clouds will make way, for it will definitely be my day.

A day to set things right, to turn on the green light, to make things happen, to take things by the scruff of the neck.

Giddy-giddy, Ole! Let's go people, time to roll!

Alas, by the time the 10 AM, or 11 AM, or -nah, 12 would be obvious- 3 PM o'clock pokes my insipid eyes the following day, all foolish notions are quickly vanquished. Here we go again. Twitter-set. Facebook-set. Formspring-sometimes set. Youtube-set. Pamper me, fellas.

Most times it's peeking and poking. A lot of times it's a case lalalalala... tube karaoke.

But sometimes, I go around and around and around and I find something worthy of my going around (aside from softcore porn).

That something for me today is the works of Japanese film director, Kosai Sekine.

I was originally googling for ad agencies, as I am currently possibly in need of an internship experience. By unorthodoxically stating 'possibly', I'm saying here that I'm still perplexed and not sure on if I really want such an endeavour or not, and on the reasons for both sides of the issue. Call it a long holiday pre-senior year undergrad complex.

"BUT THAT IS ANOTHER STORY"

(Epilogue text, Conan The Barbarian and Conan The Destroyer)

Anyway, from google I went to tube, a spin-off from the original pursuit. Now, was the time to see some cool ads, I thought (and tell about them to the world to make myself seem like a bloody eccentric, eclectic, hip, cool, quasi-aksara, know-it-all dudey-dude).

Keyword: Saatchi & Saatchi. Not that I want to end up there, but I've heard of the London-based multinational agency as one of the best in business of nabbing awards, and thus, I expected to have my need for some "oohs and aahs" fulfilled. Turns out they had this channel for this cool event at Cannes International Advertising Festival, dubbed the New Director's Showcase (NDS). On it (or is it, in it?) were these really cool shorts from young, up and coming directors from around the world. Needless to say, although they weren't exactly, ads, they were totally cool, and made me go ooh and aah.

One of the up and coming directors was the above mentioned Japanese director. I heart his following work for Adidas.

Original, insightful, and kind of funny. The grin I had from watching it drove me to browse the related video's sections and on and on, to indulge my curiosity further on. And boy I saw some cool stuff.

And lastly, my favorite, the award-winning short, Right Place

I really like how his works connect with the human, especially in Right Place with the OCD theme. The technicalities and the art, are top notch, and as commented by Richard Grey, Creative Director Global Culture S&S Worldwide on Break-Up Service,

"Excellent storytelling. Great editing -not a frame wasted. Love the casting too."

That comment kind of sums up all of my newfound admiration towards Master Sekine, I guess.

And, my something for today. Gosh, how can I someday be at least involved in stuff like those, I have no idea.

One thing's for sure, though. Carpe diem, needs to happen first. Although, for now....

I'm happy watching from the stands. Life is good :P

-R

PS: For more info about Kosai Sekine, visit his tube channel and his homepage

Present

Phew.

I'm in my third year in UI now.

I have a lot of assignments on my hands now. (And I can't f**k it up)

I have a fun part-time job now.

I have a monthly stream of income now. (If I don't f**k it up)

I'm both whining and bragging, for such superficial things now.

and self-depreciating, too.

Long time no see,

but nothing's changed, see?

-R

Artifact to Remember-3: Comm UI Cup Logos'

For those who have clicked the link I posted in the Comm UI Cup thread in facebook, please comment, criticize, bash, rave, praise, dump on, blow away, and most importantly, vote on the following pieces of crap:


Logo

1) "Master Card"


2) "The Figure"



3) "The Flame"


update: "The Flame 2.0"





Mock Posters









-R

Artifact to Remember-2: Visual Communication Final Assignment

Disclaimer: I am not an Art Student hahahaha...

Subject: Indonesia Kreatif 2009


Print Ad










































Logo

Mr. Mustache is My New Hero...

Because he ---the security officer of our so-called 'World Class' library--- helped me open the wretched library toilet door from the other side. Picture me locked in a small room for hours, even days, with my trademark koko shirt on, shouting and pleading out of sheer loneliness (no, forget the social reasons, that's so not me)






















What I got from googling 'Mustache Hero': Mark Spitz; 7 gold medals in Muenchen '72.
Dude looks kind of gay, though.
























Where it happened

-R

The Bypassing Gooner; Pay Attention to the Line Below

(just scroll down to see the corny reason why this post even exists)


The term 'Gooner' refers to a fan of Arsenal FC, a top English football club nicknamed "The Gunners" (go figure why).

I've been a self-proclaimed passionate Gooner for over ten years now, simply because of the attractive way they play. I always try to watch all of their games on TV, even if it means staying up in the early hours on a school day.

Exclusive Premiere League broadcasting rights have put a leash on this hobby of mine. A year and a half ago, I tried to catch each game by attending public match screenings -held by the official fan club, Arsenal Indonesia Supporters (AIS)- although I was not a registered member of it (well, it's public anyway hehe). The second half of that season was a bit more relaxed. My dad hooked up the god-awful Astro and so, I could watch the matches regularly at home again. But it wasn't good value, because Astro was crap in content and quality, aside from holding the rights to broadcast the Premiere League football matches.

A fracas in the upper-echelon of that damned corporation ensued, causing broadcasting rights to shift hands. Not wanting to burden my oldman, I said that he didn't have to subscribe to the next cable TV operator who'd purchased the rights. And so, I began streaming football games on the net, despite the mediocre connection speed in Indonesia. Think 90 minutes of stop and start, low-res tube vids: that's how I enjoyed my footy games...fuck.


As you might have read in the previous post, I have been mightily bored these few days.

Coincidentally, AIS was celebrating it's 6th birthday and was having another match screening at 'Gooners Corner' (formerly known as Langsat Corner).

So what did I do? I went there alone of course (like always).

Sticking like a remora on a shark, I pretended to be a simple bypasser who had decided to go in just to eat some food (like I did in the past, I'm not good in being acquainted ,see).

The game I watched (against Boro) was a bit bland. It was an easy win for the boys in red and white, Captain Cesc being a hero by bagging a sweet brace.

The real test looms ahead, when the boys visit Old Trafford to play the Mancunians. If they play like they did today, I daresay it might not end well.

-------if you've paid attention--------------------------

Off the pitch, there were regular Gooners,

Primus (yes, Panji Manusia Millenium) and David Tarigan (Aksara Records)!

Although I don't know a hairbreadth about what he actually does or has done, I've always perceived David Tarigan as this artistic indie dude whose biggest success has been hypnotizing the uptown youth of this bloody city to believe that they're hip, unique, and plain cool by just listening to the stuff he listens to!

(relax, I don't know anything I'm saying hahaha)

And if it is so, then he IS truly, truly, truly awesome hahahaha...

Cynicism aside, the cool bloke sat across me.

And this, is the corny reason why this post even exists.

-R





















Fucking Awesome

Walk The Walk, Oink The Oink

I was bored,

like always

I had nothing to do, or rather, no will, desire, and commitment to do the things I had to do,

like always

So what did I do?

I walked to Grand Indonesia from my house*.

not like always

No, this ain't bragging (well, that's up to you, I guess).
I walked the walk not to talk the talk, but to experience the walk,
to see the things I usually see at a glimpse
when sitting inside a vehicle that moves at 50 to 60 km/hours...

I ended up in arguably the most upper-class of malls in Jakarta all sweaty and dusty.

Okay, I'm here.

Now what? Window-shopping?

Yes, window-shopping, because I only brought 50.000 rupiahs.

Yes, I don't have an independent income flow that streams regularly.

What would I do with 50.000 rupiahs?

I definitely had to spare half for the cab home. (I already walked the walk, right?)

So what did I do?

I ate pork**.

Nasi Campur Babi Kenanga, to be precise.

not like always

No, again, this ain't bragging (well, that's up to you, I guess)
I oinked the oink not to talk the talk, but to taste the oink,
to eat the things I usually see on the plates of chinks and bataks' (no offense)

I believe that most of my associates who have conversed with me upon the taste of ham are divided; some hate it while some love it.

It's quite good, but not a world-beater.

Enough said

And then I used what was left of the original 50.000, and took a cab home.

And now I'm in front of my laptop again

And now, I'm bored again


like always

-R















Oink the Oink, Delicious

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*) I live in Patra Kuningan. Not Menteng, so it wasn't that close or that far.
**) I'm a Moslem

A Bad Week-Cont'-end

Yes, it's obviously a different week. But the following paragraph has something to do with the 'bad week' post.


Most of the midterm results have been handed out. The ones I predicted to be average turned out to be quite good (and feel good thanks to the art self-depreciation), and the ones I predicted to be rock-bottom were...rock-bottom.

100% unrelated, the icing on the cake was layered a few hours ago. My beloved Arsenal bowing out at the FA Cup Semifinals courtesy of Chelsea and co. Pisses me off, not only because of the result, but more because of the seemingly formulaic manner of our defeats against the Blues. Flowing football definitely doesn't work when you're up against world-class,tall and strong experienced players, who don't give you time and space to play your game. A disastrous showing from our makeshift defense didn't do us any good either, against The IVORIAN MONSTER who seems to have a knack of scoring when playing us. Crap.

I like to be (or seem) pessimistic, so I'll just say that our chances of filling up the cabinet after four trophy-less years are fading fast.

The Ivorian Monster enjoys making Condomhead into his bitch!

-R

A Bad Week

Bad midterm exams, actually. Here's the breakdown:

-Tuesday

Global Marketing Communication
not sure about some of the argumentation -60-80

IMC
likewise, but on a greater scale -50-70


-Wednesday

Creative Planning
a breath of fresh air, too bad everybody had a chance to cheat, so no novelty -70-90

Media Planning
MISS-COMMUNICATION WITH MICHAEL CORLEONE. Fuck -30-50


-Thursday

Hard Sell
a relief -70-90

Visual Communication
this is not, I repeat what everybody had in mind of when they chose the subject -40-60


-Friday

Social Research Methodology
a showcase of stupidity and lack of logic -40-60

WORSE MIDTERM EVER. Ranks up there with semester one.

-R

Artifact to Remember-1: 1st Shot at Advertising

An assignment for advertising creative planning class. About the misuse of hazard lights during rain. Cheesy indeed.

























-R

Rapid Status-Changing at the 81st Oscars

I don't usually follow the Oscars in great depth. I'll read information about them and make plagiarized guesses on who'll win, but I never put myself to watch the 4-hour routine. However, having seen some of the movies in contention beforehand, an unusual jolt of excitement made me want to watch this year's festivities live. It wasn't generated from a tight-locked battleground between nominees, for the pre-Oscar atmosphere was pretty-clear cut: Slumdog Millionaire would reign supreme. On the other hand, it was also this amazing story that became the sole catalyst in pumping me up for the Oscars. I liked the flick so much, from it's classic rags-to-riches theme, to it's little moments of shocking cruelty, to it's vibrant colors and sounds, and mostly, to it's feverish feel-good factor , all mixed into Danny Boyle's masterful masala of a movie. It had a certain brand of magic, the type of movie that appeals both to the critics and masses alike. It made me want to cheer for it to take all honors, although I haven't seen movies like Frost/Nixon, The Reader, and Milk. It made me believe that winning Best Picture was it's destiny, as I think almost everyone who watched the movie believed.

I was up a bit late, and then found out that there were not any live airings on the tivo, so I had to find a stream on the net. Luckily, I found one and it ran pretty smoothly. Some awards like best supporting actress and best animated picture were already handed out, so I had to do with Hugh Jackman, Zack Efron, and Beyonce performing cabaret in a tribute to the musical genre.

The other tab I opened was at the homepage of E!, where facebook status updates from people around the world watching the Oscars were flickering by the second. Every single moment brought a change to someones shoutout. And I thought: Hey, Why I shouldn't I do this?

Ranaditya is streaming the Oscars. 9:49am

And so I did.

Ranaditya isn't sure what to say about the tribute to the musical... 9:58am

Yup, I didn't really know what to make of it. It wasn't bad, but probably I wasn't just in the right set of mind to hear a medley that included Lady Marmalade and Summer Nights. But one thing was sure. Hugh Jackman is one hell of a stage performer. He totally fit the bill to host.

Ranaditya likes the way the nominees are announced this year. 10:07am

This was a really, really neat twist. By having five previous winners of an acting category each read a praise toward one nominee, it made the whole thing really feel like a peer to peer recognition of merit. You could feel as if a bond was created by the legends on stage presenting with the select nominees waiting for the call of triumph.

Ranaditya is seeing Heath Ledger's final tribute. 10:09am













The Joker's last laugh was a shoe in, but it was touching nevertheless to see Heath's family accept the award.

Ranaditya thinks that Benjamin won by a country mile for visual effects... 10:29am

With a playing field including the well-done Iron Man and the realistic Dark Knight, it was there all along for Benjamin Button to win best VFX with it's seamless use of CGI to portray it's aging (and more importantly, backward-aging) characters.

Ranaditya : Slumdog is on a roll! Not bad, Chai-Wallah!!! 10:37am

Not bad indeed. By this moment, Slumdog had already collected 4, adding the little gold men for sound-mixing and editing.

Ranaditya : nice medley! Define Dancing + Latika's theme! 10:54am

Wondrous. Both songs have already been on this blog's music player for quite a while hehe...

Ranaditya : A.R. Rahman's work is genius! 10:55am

From http://ranadityaalief.blogspot.com/2009/02/late-night-karaoke-song-002-jai-ho.html

"A.R. Rahman's work on the soundtrack is diamond. Every note of music (including the use of contemporary songs) blends in and enchances the emotions throughout every second of the film. Magical".

Ranaditya : A.R. Rahman's is performing AND winning at the same time. 11:02am



He just won best soundtrack and performed with John Legend on a medley of "Down To Earth" (OST Wall-E), O..Saya (feat vocals from M.I.A.), and Jai Ho. Was it Deja Vu when he immediately won best song for Jai Ho?

Ranaditya hmm... I must watch this 'Departures' from Japan. Funny speech! 11:09am

Winning best foreign language film, the cast & crew receiving the award courageously spoke in broken English on stage. Did he take cues from the governator on the end?



Ranaditya : it was Danny Boyle's destiny. 11:21am

From start to end. And so for his magnum opus (though some may argue). Only he could bring the energy needed to lift Slumdog to its heights.

Ranaditya thinks that best actress Kate is hot, but Marion from last year is even hotter. 11:35am


















For this night only, I thought she looked way hotter. Congratulations to Kate for finally winning it after 6 tries.

Ranaditya :A gay politician may have cost me a month's worth of free tickets at Blitz. 11:45am

On a Blitz Megaplex Oscar sweepstakes quiz on the net, I shamelessly followed comingsoon.net's final picks for the winner in each category except best lead actor. The Oscar Warrior went with the tailor-made (biopic, gay), while I defected and went with the sentimental Golden Globe winner. My only original choice turned out to be costly, as it was the only one wrong choice I made. Sean Penn edged Mickey Rourke in the battle between the reborn 80's badboys. And I should stop pretending to be know-it when it comes to movies hehe...

Ranaditya : The Best Picture nomination montage is haunting. 11:51am

The more I think about it, the more this year's Oscars seems to look like hall of fame acceptance show. You really get a sense that each winner is etching their name in history.



Ranaditya : Slumdog is finally crowned a millionaire. Best Picture. 11:54am

Finally, the obvious moment I had waited so long to see. Destiny fulfilled.

One last goodie:



All in all, an improvement from last year!
Good Night, and Good Oscars!

-R

Waking up at 10.00 PM

As I'm typing these words, the clock on the screen says 3:00 AM.

I woke up from an 'extended' nap around 10.00 PM yesterday, so I guess I'm not totally insomniac, either. I'm also positive that humans aren't nocturnal beings, more so to those who don't work or go out at night on a daily basis. Having said that, these kinds of 'irregular sleeping patterns' usually infect me on holidays. Before bed, I'd go online and surf through all kinds of stuff, from the important to the trivial to the completely irrelevant (not necessarily in that order), and end up shutting down before dawn. In other words, an excuse I'd register as a reason for my behavior would be that I'm addicted to the internet.

But I'm not typing at... 3.10 AM to talk about why I've shamelessly embraced this habit, but rather to get to know about it a bit better. I don't smoke or take any kind of shit, so I'm not sick or anything, but I'm just a bit curious about sleeping through the day and waking up through the night.

It's now 3.23 AM, I've just googled up 'irregular sleeping' and visited:

http://www.umm.edu/ency/article/000800.htm

and focused on this part of the article:

PROBLEMS STICKING TO A REGULAR SLEEP SCHEDULE

Problems may also occur when you do not maintain a consistent sleep and wake schedule. This occurs when traveling between times zones and with shift workers on rotating schedules, particularly nighttime workers.

Sleep disruption disorders include:

• Irregular sleep-wake syndrome
• Jet lag syndrome
• Natural short sleeper (the person sleeps less hours than normal but has no ill effects)
• Paradoxical insomnia (the person actually sleeps a different amount than they think they do)
• Shift work sleep disorder

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

by 3.33 AM I've assumed that I'm suffering from the disorder in bold, even though I don't exactly 'work' at night. So I searched it on the net and was led to this site:

http://my.clevelandclinic.org/disorders/Sleep_Disorders/hic_Shift_Work_Sleep_Disorder.aspx

here's an excerpt:

What is shift work sleep disorder (SWSD)?

SWSD is a sleep disorder that affects people who frequently rotate shifts or work at night. Schedules of these people go against the body’s natural Circadian rhythm, and individuals have difficulty adjusting to the different sleep and wake schedule. SWSD consists of a constant or recurrent pattern of sleep interruption that results in insomnia or excessive sleepiness. This disorder is common in people who work non-traditional hours, usually between 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m.

What are the symptoms of SWSD?

• Difficulty concentrating
• Headaches
• Lack of energy

Not every shift worker suffers from SWSD. However, if you are a shift worker and experience any of these symptoms, you should talk to your doctor.

What are the consequences of SWSD?

• Increased accidents
• Increased work-related errors
• Increased sick leave
• Increased irritability, mood problems, etc.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Hmpf, no wonder I really, really have a bad mood whenever I have to attend class after a long night's 'shift' or more evidently, when I pick up a call from my friend in the morning (ask Eja).

Well, It's already 4.54 AM, and I've had some detours, so I guess it's time for me to test my luck in tucking in.

See you when I wake up (if I can sleep)!

-R

2 Shirts

Aloha!

Just got back from watching 'Valkyrie' (3.5/5) at Blitz, GI. Haven't bought any clothing for a while, so when I popped by 'Alun-Alun Indonesia' on the 3rd floor, my eyes were instantly fixated at a certain display entitled "Indonesia Hari Ini".













There were some celebrity-designed environmental bags, installment art, and some local designer fashion wear. I guess it was quite nice, although my judgment was probably clouded by the fact that I'm not much of an art curator and that the store was halfway closing down (some of the works were in the middle of being shelved for tomorrow).

However, the thing that really brought me there was a stack of tees with some pretty sweet prints. In my opinion, the designs were definitely on par with those you usually see in upper-end retail stores. But what struck me the most was the content: everything was centered around something Indonesian; potraits of Soekarno, wayang siluets, Sumatran tigers.


And then, what hit me like lightning was:



















Hoorah! The tees were around 140.000 -150.000 IDR. Put the discount in and I got two for the price of one. Fucking sweet. Love this bitch of a country.

So I got these:

Gerindra in dark chocolate

















and...

Aceh's very own Xena

















Not to shabby, don't you think? Call me lacking of class or unfashionable, but at least I firmly believe that these are better value than those in topman or graniph (the latter isn't bad, if you go for 4/5, that is).

I mean, who needs a body fit when your body isn't fit?

Oops.

-R

http://www.alunalunindonesia.com/
http://magichappensclothing.blogspot.com/