I find myself a careless one, who cares about a lot of things . A heartless person, who cries at the cinema. Many instead of one. Lovers across galaxies. Above all, I am grateful for being alive. My thoughts for the future and many years ahead.
It is easy to count numbers or heads.
It is easy to say pity or condolences.
Cursing hates and acting strong.
But how can you measure sadness and loss? How do you count the suffering of loneliness?
For the innocence and the brave ones, you will surely be missed.
Tanggal 21 April kemarin, seperti biasanya, masyarakat Indonesia merayakan Hari Kartini. Waktu kecil dulu, saya terbiasa merayakan hari tersebut dengan memakai baju daerah, kemudian berubah menjadi kebaya atau rok semasa kuliah dan bekerja. Di tahun-tahun tersebut, saya merasa tidak memaknai Hari Kartini yang sesungguhnya karena saya pikir, hari tersebut hanya gimmick belaka. Sama seperti hari simbolis lainnya, hari tersebut dijadikan beberapa toko (termasuk toko saya) untuk meraup keuntungan lewat iming-iming diskon. Saya juga tidak pernah (dan belum tertarik) membaca buku Habis Gelap, Terbitlah Terang selama ini. Tapi, selalu ada yang menggelitik di setiap tahunnya. Hari Kartini tidak pernah luput dari perdebatan.
Kenapa Kartini?
Pertanyaan tersebut selalu ada setiap tahunnya. Selalu dibahas dengan cara yang berbeda, tapi intinya selalu sama: “Apa yang membuat Kartini mendapat hari tersendiri di kalender dengan segala privilege yang dimilikinya?“. Kartini tidak mengangkat senjata. Kartini lahir di keluarga berada. Kartini hanya menulis surat. Sementara itu, beberapa orang akan membela Kartini dan mengatakan bahwa di usianya yang sangat muda dan budaya Jawa yang sangat ketat, pemikiran Kartini sangat maju pada zamannya. Jika dilihat lebih dekat, tidak ada yang benar-benar salah.
I have other writings to finish and other priorities to-do, but I decided to sit down and write this.
My friends have sent me links since morning, about the Inter Korean Summit that is still happening today as I write this. The CNN reported that Kim Jong-Un has been the first leader of North Korea who crossed the demarcation line of North Korea and South Korean at the DMZ. As I watched the 5 minutes clips, I don’t know what triggered me, but I cried for a mere 10 minutes or so.
I have the privilege to visit the DMZ couple years ago. When I look back, I only remembered that I wanted to visit it, because it is interesting. But when I actually visited the place, it was more heart wrenching rather than exciting.
These past days, I’ve been writing two similar pieces titled After This Night and After Last Night. If you’ve been following Black Mirror series, you might notice I’ve been inspired by one of the episodes titled San Junipero. While I understand how well written it is and why the episode got an Emmy, it’s not one of my favorite episodes. I’ve finished the entire season of Black Mirror at the end of last year. So, I thought I will write something out of it. I’m not going to write any detailed review nor any spoiler. So feel safe to read it even if you haven’t seen it.
San Junipero (Season 3, 2016)
Black Mirror is a science-fiction anthology series created by Charlie Brooker, tackling the issues of technology within the modern society. Reflecting its name, Black Mirror often use satirical and dark tones, portraying the consequences of vast technology. Though its popularity skyrocketed after the series bought by Netflix, I still like the earlier seasons better. The first season of Black Mirror, I think, is the strongest season yet. Making no room for a useless episode, tapping the right issues to its core.
“If technology is a drug – and it does feel like a drug – then what, precisely, are the side effects? This area – between delight and discomfort – is where Black Mirror, my new drama series, is set. The ‘black mirror’ of the title is the one you’ll find on every wall, on every desk, in the palm of every hand: the cold, shiny screen of a TV, a monitor, a smartphone.”
(source: Charlie Brooker: the dark side of our gadget addiction)
Di sebuah pembicaraan grup WhatsApp seputar KPR, salah satu teman saya bertanya apakah ada di antara kita yang menganut paham ‘millennials‘, yang tidak lagi menganggap penting tempat tinggal yang tetap sebagai sebuah kebutuhan. Di sebuah kuis tentang Which Millennials Are You? (yang mana saya lupa apa link-nya), saya ingat pernah mendapat hasil Conservative Millennials, yang katanya tipe millennials yang masih menganut nilai-nilai agama dan budaya. Sehingga, saya sendiri masih menganggap keberadaan ‘rumah’ maupun ‘tempat tinggal’ yang tetap sebagai suatu kebutuhan yang utama. Terlepas dari semua itu, menurut saya ini sungguh menarik.
