Dirgahayu.

//August 17, 2010//

Berkata merah putih seperti berkata darah dan seluruh jiwa. Seperti mengalir dan membumi. Hari ini tertanggal 17 Agustus 2010. Tanggal hanyalah penanda zaman, hanyalah coretan kecil di sudut buku. Tidak sama seperti takdir, dan kita semua tahu apa perbedaannya.

Di salah satu kesempatan saya masuk ke ruang balairung utama Sabuga saat Wisuda, pernah seorang wisudawan menyuarakan kalimat-kalimat penutupnya. Ia berseru keras, ‘Bukan kebetulan bahwa kita ditakdirkan terlahir di tanah ini, Indonesia’, dan saya tahu benar arti kata-kata itu. Takdir buat saya bukan kepasrahan, sehingga saya akan memperjuangkannya hingga mati. Indonesia adalah salah satu dari saya. Dan bangga hanyalah salah satu kata untuk menggambarkannya.

Setiap tahun di bulan Agustus, saya akan berburu berbagai koran dan majalah. Karena saya tahu betul bahwa editorial bulan itu akan berkisar tentang Cinta Indonesia dan saya penggemar berat tema itu. Setiap tahun tidak pernah ada yang sama, selalu akan ada foto terumbu karang, matahari tenggelam, kabut gunung, ataupun senyum yang berbeda. Terselip di salah satu halaman majalah, ataupun di salah satu penjuru pulau. Dan saya tetap akan merasa bangga menyelip di salah satunya.

Beberapa pejuang dan garis keras akan berteriak-teriak di hari ini. Beberapa akan mempertanyakan apa saja yang telah kita capai, apa saja yang belum kita capai, apa lagi yang kurang, dan mengapa semuanya terjadi. Berbagai kata tanya akan mengalir dan saya akan berkata peduli setan. Karena saya punya definisi merah putih sendiri, dan saya akan berteriak-teriak dengan cara sendiri. Takdir menempatkan kita tidak hanya di tanah ini, tapi di suatu jenis tanah yang berbeda. Saya tahu betul bahwa cat di kantong saya akan berbeda dengan para saudara di bumi Timur, dan saya tak akan mempertanyakan apa jenis catnya. Saya hanya akan tanya warna cat apa yang kamu punya, dan warna baru apa yang bisa kita ciptakan.

Dirgahayu Indonesia. 65 tahun hanyalah hitungan. Tetaplah berbangga wahai penginjak bumi dan pencinta laut. Lihatlah darah dan jiwa kalian, masihkah merah putih itu semua? Kalo iya, mari berkenalan dan kita lukis negeri ini lebih indah lagi. Karena masih banyak warna yang tersisa, dan masih banyak kanvas kosong untuk menorehkannya.

Selamat pagi, Indonesia.

Yakinlah bahwa saya tetap akan menginjak tanahmu dan membuatnya menjadi tanah terbaik yang pernah terinjak. Dirgahayu Indonesia, dan bahkan saya tak pernah mencari arti kata dirgahayu di Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia. Oh, #indonesia65 berhasil jadi trending topic lagi malam kemarin.

 

Losing

//August 15, 2010//

A whistle, some other heavy voice, and we know we arrived on some little place. It is the same, with you and your usual gags. It’s just the place and the people who speak in some other dialect. Oh, we’re both losing mind to step on any other kind of soil. We’re both being a fool to think it’s usual for strangers like us. To lean on some shoulder and smile. We’re not riding on a hot air balloon and without some parachute. We’re just stepping the ground and watching painting. I’ve spent some films, some flash, and a bowl of soup. You’ve spent the smile, and it is enough. You’re being nostalgic again, showing roads with some memories and some other tease. I’m buying postcards and bargaining some gift. Then again, we’re both losing mind to think it’s somewhat romantic.

 

Foolish

//August 10, 2010//

Street lamps, flourescent colors. You and the rain. Talking non sense of somewhat past drama and high school legends. Hundred of car lights and thousand of raindrops. Maybe we just pretending, and take it too hard. Oh, it just rain, with people, and street lamps.

We’re just being a fool to think it somewhat romantic.

Zipp!

//August 08, 2010//

 

Kalau boleh membuat pengakuan, selama hampir 4 tahun berada di unit termakmur, Liga Film Mahasiswa, saya belum pernah belajar foto. Tapi baru-baru ini, Mangasi punya ide untuk main-main pake kamera lama dan saya menemukan kamera pocket jaman dulu (dibaca tustel di jaman itu) di lemari. Ibu saya memang suka barang murah, dan kamera FujiFilm Zipp! mungkin salah satunya di jaman itu. Bungkusnya masih rapi, dan sepertinya belum pernah dipakai. Jadilah saya dan Mangasi bermain dengan kamera pocket ini sewaktu LKO LFM kemarin. Dan woaaa, super. Ini beberapa favorit saya.


My two amazing best friends, Praba & Angga :) People surely called them not by names, but phrases like “kyaaa kyaaa~”


Kiri-kanan: Ijul, Tangkas, Ian. Sargeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club is opening recruitment :P


Humor tengah malam, menunggu surprise Puty.


The birthday girl Puti Karina Puar, dengan tambahan Aftah dan Ian :D


Amphi Arsi di pagi hari. Kalian sungguh menyenangkan.


Bocah-bocah sayaaaa…


My favorite! Pii, salah satu manusia terlucu yang menginjak tanah air.

Taken with: FujiFilm Zipp! and FujiFilm ASA 400 expired.

The Oh-So-Popular Topic and I Just Want to Be Cynical Once More

//August 08, 2010//

Being a journalist is a job everyone should be adored of, at least for me. I adore the job, and the passion remains from writing alone. Those noble people are working behind the desk or behind the war, and they deliver the news in a way we never thought before. The term ‘news’ alone then expand to bigger meaning. For some people, continent and country become some terrible place to live on. So people need some fun and joy, to brighten up the day, to cheer up the life. Some heroes come to do the job, the oh-so-popular word is to entertain. Music and cinema, actor and soap opera. Then, we found term to establish the news. It is infotainment. Creating news related to the world of the performer, the entertainer, and the people behind the curtains.

Infotainment
/in-fo-tain-ment/
A television program that presents information (as news) in a manner intended to be entertaining.

—Merriam-Webster Dictionary



They informed, and they become entertainment. Becoming the heroes, saving the world, spreading the latest laugh and the biggest mocking.

 

Indonesia is well known for having the 4th largest population on the entire universe, donating more than 200 million people to step on the earth, and consuming the air, painfully. We become some beautiful archipelago in the south east, having well known also for the island of God, Bali. Well known also to produce trending topic in the entire night, in some little social networking. I’ve been cynical to the website since some other time, but I just can’t resist consuming the web like the rest of the universe. It’s like sleeping pill for the nocturnal, it’s addictive. A 160 character report, drawing world so clearly yet so blurry. The attributes become everyday phrase. People get clicked when hearing words like timeline, followers, and re-tweet. Micro-blog has gone nuts and oh-so-popular. You got judge by not having the account and suddenly, the CNN has reported Indonesia on some little column. Not only for having corruption, not only by the travel warning, but by making #arielpeterporn and #keongracun top the topic of the entire world. Beating Nolan’s Inception or Jobs’ I-phone. Can we be proud of? Oh, I’m not taking the side. I’m taking a stand. I’m not. Being well known for some little craziness is not making me proud, at all.

Infotainment gone berserk, they want to be the latest and the juiciest. So we live the day, by minute-oh-so-minute report on the crazy oh-so-called-news. The chitchat doesn’t end here, people are taking it harder than I am. They called it shame, and disgrace. And some is rumored by holding conference to make it Haram. The chairman of Indonesia infotainment gone live. They make opinions and some powerful arguments. Saying we are journalist, saying we are heroes by live up the air, saying you should be thankful because we entertained people while others just making it miserable. But the word Haram is a strong word, and as long as I can remember Islam thought me once you said it, it is final. Infotainment can’t be classified by the word. But, the conference doesn’t talk about the infotainment, they talking about some dirtier traits people nowadays have a lot. Spreading other’s kitchen business, digging other people’s mistake, and made it a blast on everyday’s life. Gossiping is the exact term. It is a long time sworn old enemy and we both already know the danger.

As for me, it is a bigger model of some little community. This model represents the country, and some neighborhood beneath it. Because it works also on my community. Yes I know some people who are playing ‘the infotainment’ on my community, they spread the news about people, their habits, their love-life and some weren’t actually true. Perception and speculation, oh we both already know the danger.

The fasting month will come in seconds, Ramadhan will says hello in 3 days. Let’s take some stand, becoming a better person we all dreamed of. I want to be cynical once more, to the world of infotainment or some stalker on other people’s profile. I just want to be cynical and let’s hope it is for forever more.