Featured: The Sorcerer’s Apprentice – Science and Magic Unites

Science combined with magic? Or… magic is just like science? Wait a minute. Is it really true that magic and science correspondents each other? Well… Let’s see this

Yes, magic and science is indeed united… in the movie titled The Sorcerer’s Apprentice

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice is a 2010 American fantasy adventure film produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, directed by Jon Turteltaub, and released by Walt Disney Pictures, the team behind the National Treasure franchise. The film stars Nicolas Cage, Jay Baruchel, Alfred Molina, Teresa Palmer, Monica Bellucci.

The basic idea for the movie was mostly Nicolas Cage’s, who wanted to explore a mystic world and play a character with magical powers, and following a suggestion by his producer friend Todd Garner, decided to make a feature-length movie based upon the Fantasia segment of the same name. On February 12, 2007, this film was announced by Disney.

Balthazar Blake (Nicolas Cage) is a master sorcerer in modern-day Manhattan trying to defend the city from his arch-nemesis, Maxim Horvath (Alfred Molina). Balthazar can’t do it alone, so he recruits Dave Stutler (Jay Baruchel), a seemingly average guy who demonstrates hidden potential, as his reluctant protege. The sorcerer gives his unwilling accomplice a crash course in the art and science of magic, and together, these unlikely partners work to stop the forces of darkness. It’ll take all the courage Dave can muster to survive his training, save the city and get the girl as he becomes The Sorcerer’s Apprentice – written by Walt Disney Pictures

The events that unfold prior to the main timeline in the movie are introduced in narration (uncredited Ian McShane), and takes us to 740 AD. The mighty magician Merlin (James A. Stephens) has three apprentices. One, Maxim Horvath (Alfred Molina), betrays his master by joining forces with the evil sorceress Morgana le Fay (Alice Krige). Morgana mortally wounds Merlin before another apprentice, Veronica Gorloisen (Monica Bellucci), absorbs Morgana’s body and soul into her own body. As Morgana tries to kill Veronica by possessing her from within, the third and final apprentice, Balthazar Blake (Nicolas Cage), stops her by imprisoning Morgana and Veronica in the “Grimhold”, a magic prison in the shape of a nesting doll. Before dying, Merlin gives Balthazar a dragon ring that will identify the Prime Merlinean, Merlin’s successor and the only one able to defeat Morgana. While he searches for his successor throughout history, Balthazar imprisons Morganians, sorcerers who try to release Morgana, including Horvath, into successive layers on the Grimhold.

In 2000, 10-year-old Dave Stutler (Jake Cherry), encounters Balthazar in a Manhattan antique store. When Balthazar gives Dave Merlin’s dragon ring, the ring comes to life, and wraps itself around the boy’s finger. When Balthazar goes to find the book of magic, Dave accidentally opens the Grimhold, releasing Horvath. While battling for possession of the Grimhold, Balthazar and Horvath are imprisoned in an ancient Chinese urn with a ten-year lock curse.

Ten years later in 2010, Dave (Jay Baruchel), now 20, is a physics student at New York University, and meets his childhood crush Becky (Teresa Palmer). The ten-year imprisonment curse of the urn ends, releasing Horvath and Balthazar. Horvath pursues Dave and the Grimhold. Balthazar rescues Dave, riding an animated steel eagle adapted from a Chrysler Building gargoyle. Dave initially refuses to help Balthazar, having been under psychiatric care since their first meeting, until the elder agrees to leave after finding the Grimhold. They track the Grimhold to Chinatown, where Horvath has released the next Morganian, Sun Lok (Gregory Woo). Dave defeats Sun Lok, and Balthazar retrieves the Grimhold. Dave changes his mind, deciding that he likes magic after all, and agrees to become Balthazar’s apprentice. He also becomes romantically involved with Becky against Balthazar’s wishes and advice. Horvath enlists celebrity magician Drake Stone (Toby Kebbell) to get back the Grimhold. They attempt to kill Dave, but Balthazar saves him. Cued by Horvath, Dave demands to know the truth about Balthazar’s quest. Balthazar reveals that Morgana is trapped in the Grimhold with Veronica. Morgana, if freed, would cast a spell called “The Rising”, which would revive sorcerers from the dead and enslave mankind. Dave, the Prime Merlinean, a descendant of Merlin, will become powerful enough to cast spells without his ring, and is the only one who can stop her. Dave tries to use magic to clean his lab, but loses control of his animated cleaning mops, and, disillusioned, decides to give up on magic, until Becky changes his mind.

He returns to his underground subway lab, just as Drake and Horvath try to kill Balthazar and steal the Grimhold. Horvath, having no more use for Drake, casts a parasite spell and steals Drake’s magic and his ring. Horvath releases the witch Abigail Williams, uses her to kidnap Becky, then steals her magic and her pendant as well. He threatens to kill Becky, forcing Dave to surrender the Grimhold and his ring. Balthazar then goes after Horvath in Battery Park, sure that Dave, without his ring, will be killed. Horvath releases Morgana from inside Veronica. Morgana begins the Rising spell while Horvath animates the Charging Bull sculpture to and commands it to attack Balthazar. With Becky’s help, Dave reaches Horvath and Morgana. Balthazar’s eagle flies away with the Bull. Balthazar takes Morgana, body and soul, from Veronica into himself, but Morgana escapes from within Balthazar. Morgana tries to incinerate them, but Dave stops her, without his ring, proving that he is the Prime Merlinean. Morgana shoots energy bolts and kills Balthazar. Dave makes a Tesla coil out of the square’s lamp posts and power lines and then destroys her. Dave revives Balthazar by restarting his heart, and Balthazar and Veronica reunite. Dave and Becky kiss, and fly to France on Balthazar’s eagle. After the end credits, Horvath takes his hat from Balthazar’s shop.

Cast:

• Nicolas Cage as Balthazar Blake, a one-thousand-plus-year old sorcerer of the “777th degree”.
• Jay Baruchel as David “Dave” Stutler, a highly intelligent college student who becomes Balthazar’s reluctant apprentice.
• Jake Cherry as Young Dave
• Alfred Molina as Maxim Horvath, an evil sorcerer and Balthazar’s nemesis.
• Teresa Palmer as Rebecca “Becky” Barnes, the love interest of Dave Stutler.
• Peyton List as Young Becky
• Toby Kebbell as Drake Stone, a celebrity illusionist who joins forces with Horvath.
• Omar Benson Miller as Bennet Zurrow, Dave’s roommate.
• Monica Bellucci as Veronica Gorloisen, a sorceress and the love interest of Balthazar Blake.
• Nicole Ehinger as Abigail Williams
• Alice Krige as Morgana le Fay

Dave Stutler practices plasma bolt at the earlier time

Balthazar Character Poster

Dave and Becky meets again

Behind the scene

Alternate Poster

Alternate Poster

Dave’s (and Merlin’s) Dragon Ring

Balthazar and young Dave

Dave Character Poster

Balthazar produces fire

Horvath and Dave

Balthazar and Merlin Circle

Balthazar and steel eagle

Dave confronts Morgana

Dave confronts Morgana

Title card

Balthazar unleashes plasma bolt

Dave and Becky watches the tesla coil experiments

Dave unleashes plasma bolts against Morgana

Dave unleashes plasma bolt against Morgana

So… do you feel interested about this movie? Let’s see the trailer first

You can also see more videos here

By: Ayu Anisa Budiarti
Source: Wikipedia, IMDb, YouTube

Homemade Lava Lamp

Tools:

• Clear glass or plastic bottle
• Water
• Food coloring
• Vitamic C tablet
• Vegetable oil
• Flashlight

Steps:

1. Pour water into the bottle until it fills quarter part of the bottle
2. Pour vegetable oil into the bottle until full
3. Put five drops of food coloring into the bottle
4. Put vitamic C tablet into the bottle
5. Turn the flashlight on, and light the bottle
6. See the effect! Amazing, isn’t it?

How can it happen?
When we pour vegetable oil into the bottle that has been filled with water before, we can already see the separation between oil and water. This happens because of the density difference between water and oil, causing them can’t mix into one.

Then, when the vitamin C tablet is put into the bottle, it will react as it meets water, oil, and food coloring, resulting in it producing carbon dioxide bubbles that make the water below will come up, and when it reaches the top of the bottle, the carbon dioxide will be released into the air, making the water fall down to the bottom. This is the example of acid-alkali reaction.

By: Clevaria Ery Swandari

Interview with Fr. Willy Bombang Belli, CSSR.

I ever had an interview with Fr. Willy Bombang Belli, CSSR. Right now, he is doing his mission in Mexico. Here are some excerpts of the interview.

What is your opinion about creativity?
From my opinion, creativity is about create. Creative is whom someone has the skill to create or produce the new something. Creticity is process from creative. So, creative is different with creativity. The second statement talk about process.

There’s a slogan about “Push Your Self to the Limit”. What do you say about it?
For me, it means that our mind is more powerful than our body and we can control it to the limit. I know that perhaps some part of us has the problem about how low our self-confident is. But, based on this sentence, it’s related with self achievement. Creativity produces something that it comes from process to create something from limitation.

Do you know what is the meaning of self achievement?
Well… I think it’s about the product or effort or the activities that’s done by someone. The product of self achievement comes from creativity.

Thus, the conclusion is that someone can create something and it must come from self-awareness that can bring things and feeling to the process. So, don’t let the limitation bind yourself!

By: Charlees Rachma Dewangga Pasopati

Look At Me

Take a look at me and
Tell me what you see
Do you see my smile?
The smile that hides so many secrets or
Do you see the tears in my eyes
The eyes that once took in too much evil

Do you see my heart
The heart that suffers and shame inside or
Do you see my skin
The skin that holds scars of pain

Do you hide my secrets
Do you see the evil
Do you feel my suffer, my shame or
Do you see my scars

So take a look and
Tell me what you see

By: Mohamad Anugerah Ramadhan

Holiday Destinations: Jogjakarta

Hi guys! Have your finished your final test? And… you’ll get your long holiday soon! I’m sure that you can’t wait for that. So if you don’t want to get a boring holiday, just laying down on your bed doing nothing, you can visit exciting places in Jogja. Going to natural tourism places or historic sights? It depends on you!! Don’t forget to invite your family, girlfriend or boyfriend, because happiness is required to share. So here, I have some interesting places to visit:

Kalibiru
This tourist attraction is located in Kulonprogo, a specific place in Manoreh Hills, Kulonprogo, Jogjakarta at the height of 450 m from sea’s surface. This place is suitable to be visited by teenagers, because there are so many exciting photo spots like treehouse without a roof. You can feel the cold weather while having outbond. You also can see a beautiful view there.

Nglambor Beach
This beautiful beach is located in Purwodadi Village, Tepus, Gunungkidul, Jogjakarta, about 70km from the center of Jogjakarta City. But don’t worry. Your long journey will be paid off with the beautiful scenery of this beach. If you like to go snorkling, this place can be your choice to visit. With only IDR 35.000 you can rent a set of snorkling’s equipment, including Go Pro Camera for take a picture underwater. Imagine how fun your holiday over there! Enjoy your underwater tourism with the beautiful scenery just in Nglambor Beach.

Taman Sari
It’s time to share one of historical places in Jogjakarta. This historical tourism is one of the popular destinations in Jogjakarta. Taman Sari is located in Taman Street, Kraton, Jogjakarta. This building was built in Sultan Hamengkubuwono I’s reign. This place gives some interesting spots like bathing pool, artificial lake, suspension bridge, park, underground passageway, and some buildings with European,Chinese, Javanese, Hinduism, Buddhist, and Islamic architectures. You will learn more about this historical sights. It’s not a mistake to learn while having holiday, right?

Candi Ijo (Ijo Temple)
This temple has a highest location in yogyakarta. Located in Dukuh Groyokan, Sambirejo Village, Prambanan, Sleman, Jogjakarta. This temple gives beautiful scenery because we can see rice fields everywhere, beautiful sea scenery, and Adisucipto Airport from the height. And for the sunset hunter, this temple is the best choice to visit. You only need to spend IDR 2000 for parking fees. The rest? Free!! Oh… And also, fill the list of ‘attendance’. Sometimes it’s not comparable with other beautiful views that you’ve ever visited, but that’s Candi Ijo.

Taman Pelangi (Rainbow Garden)
Taman Pelangi is the night tourism place located in Ring Road Utara Street, specifically in Jogja Kembali Monument. It’s very suitable for teenagers who like to take pictures or selfie, because there are so many colorful lanterns and interesting playground. Only take IDR 10000 – IDR 15000, you can enjoy sparkling lanterns that makes the atmosphere feels so romantic.

Always remember: Don’t ever forget to keep those places clean and don’t spoil. Not only there, but also everywhere. Show that you are the best young generation who can conserve natural destination and historical sights in Indonesia. Have a great holiday!

By: Windy Widiawan

Heroes of Olympus: The Lost Heroes

The story of gods and demigods continuing from the previous novel Percy Jackson with another prophecy, more enemies, and three new demigods, author Rick Riordan is back with a new series, The Heroes of Olympus, with The Lost Hero.

When Jason woke up, he knew something was wrong. If waking up in a bus filled with kids who seemed to know him wasn’t enough, he had no idea where he was or how he got there. The most shocking discovery is that he doesn’t know who he is. All he knows is that he supposedly has a beautiful girlfriend named Piper, a crazy best friend named Leo, and that he is in a juvenile program.

On the way to the Grand Canyon, a classmate turns into a storm spirit and tries to attack Jason, Leo, and Piper. The leader on the bus coach Hedge turns into a satyr a half god half goat and fought against the storm spirit, but got captured while protecting the kids.

After this startling encounter, a girl named Annabeth brings them to a camp called “Camp Half Blood” where they all are told that they are half-human, half-god. Piper is the daughter of Aphrodite, Leo is the son of Hephaestus, and Jason is the son of the most powerful god, Zeus. As they get used to the camp customs, they are sent on a mission to help the gods protect the western territories.

Will they succeed on their quest? Or would they be destroyed by unknown forces, or will they get hung up by the excitement and confusion of their past?

This serial book is a page-turner and very hard to put down. Fans of Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson series will enjoy this novel. I recommend this book to anyone who has a sweet spot for myth, adventure and legends.

Lost of the Love Ones

She stands there alone
At the edge of the silent place
And she is shocked
New wars brew and these forgotten men

Will play no part in them
A dead silence, no ears but hers
In the field, in moments of great decision
What they fought for is forsaken
And by days end, new gravestones

Appear on the blood red ground
She finds what she seeks
His life brutally ended
And she stands by his grave

But he can give no answers
And she weeps for him
For the empty hole he left behind
And for the new emptiness

By: Mohamad Anugerah Ramadhan

Learning From Beethoven

Beethoven is one of the most musicians in the world. He has many symphonies and songs that make our heart feel calm, peace, and amazed about it. Do you know that he’s actually deaf? How the musician makes a symphony if he’s deaf? Well, nothing’s impossible.

He was deaf when he went to reach his adulthood. He felt so depressed about it. So, he decided to go to a village to calm him down. But one day, there was a man who knocked his door. Beethoven was surprised, and he suddenly got an inspiration to write a symphony. Based on the sound of that man knocking the door, he composed a music that later would be known as The Fifth Symphony. That symphony made him so famous.

Nothing’s impossible in this world. God has given us talent to make us feel better in the world, and make us being known by people around us. So, don’t regret your life. It’s a beautiful life that must you finish elegantly.

By: Yosef Endika Widiyanto

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer

The mysterious chained murder. Women, virgin or not, died horribly. Their clothes were scattered, their hair and head skin were lost. Their body was completely pale and weak, but no one knew what really happened to them. The essence of their life disappeared like it was unknowingly consumed by the nature. Every murder exist was a complete confusion. It was wrapped so tidily without any single speck of traces. Days by days, people kept disappearing and every investigation held would end up by discovering the corpses of those disappeared people. The very inhumane and heart-shredding, but very tidy murders.

Jean Baptist Grenouille was born on the 18^th century in France. Not like other famous paradoxes like Sade, Saint-Just, Fouche, or Bonaparte, Grenouille’s name is already forgotten. This happened because his talent and ambition were kept very strictly that history couldn’t even smell the sense of them. The times where cities in France were filled with aroma unfamiliar with modern people: streets with the smell of fertilizer, building yards with the smell of urine, stairs with the smell of fungus or rat droppings, kitchens full with trashes, dirty and bad-smelled pillows, and much more. Commoners have no different smell with the pastors. Students share their aroma with their teachers’ wives, and the noble families as well, even the King, their smell is like a lion while the Queen is like a very old, dirty woman, whatever the weather is. No one is able to stop the business of the rotting bacteria in the 18^th century. No wonder why every human constructive or even destructive activity is always followed by disgusting smells.

Paris becomes one of the most suffering cities in the world caused by the putrefaction covering the country, and added with the terrifying rumor in there, located between Fers street and Ferronneire street, specifically in a graveyard named Cimetiere des Innocents. For eight hundred years, corpses were brought to this place from Dieu Hotel and local church. Day and night, dozens of corpses were carried into a long tunnel; the bones were arranged in and out of the grave building. When the French Revolution was about to come, after some of the buildings were collapsed, and the smell of the corpses were getting worse, that place was closed and abandoned. Millions of bones and skulls were swept away into the Moontmartre’s grave. And then a culinary market was build near that place

Once upon a time, in the most rotten place in the entire kingdom, Jean Baptist Grenouille was born on July 17^th 1738. His birth was welcomed by the most scorching summer that year. It was very hot that the graves were burned and spread bad smell like the mixture of rotten honeydew and the burned animal’s droppings. So wide until the smell spread into the small streets around. While suffering in the pain of pregnancy, Grenouille’s mother was in the fish store in Fers street with the very pale face as her belly was just being split in half. The fish in that place were just harvested that morning from Siene River, with the bad smell defeating the smell of dead bodies. But like normal people in that era, her sense of smell was somewhat died that she couldn’t distinguish between fish’ smell and corpses’ smell, added with the excruciating pain in her belly that killed her senses. She only wanted to make the pain to stop, and it was the fifth times she was about to give birth to her child. Every medication she had done was always took place in that fish store, in the condition that the child was dead or half complete since the flesh and blood was in no difference with the fish spread all over the place. Even though the birth was a success, the baby wouldn’t stay alive in a long time. Grenouille’s mother never took it complicatedly because usually that mess would have been cleaned by the dawn and swept away to the graveyard or river. Even in that day

Grenouille’s mother was very young that time, about 25 years old below. She had a fair appearance, complete teeth with messy, less-cared hair, and didn’t suffer serious disease, perhaps gout, syphilis, and tuberculosis. She wanted to stay alive longer, perhaps five or ten more years, even married if lucky enough. That’s what she hoped. When she experienced the last contraction, she squatted under the table and, then gave birth without anyone’s help, like her previous four chances. Then she cut the baby’s navel with a dagger. But suddenly she fell unconscious caused by the killing hot season and the bad smell around her. She fell from under the table to the middle of the street while still holding the dagger. The crowd came in sudden. People gathered and watched, and some called the police. The woman was still lying down on the street, and then woke up slowly. She then went up, threw the dagger aside, and then walked slowly to clean herself up. Suddenly the baby left under the table screamed. People got confused, and from the stock of fish, flies and dirt, they found a newborn baby. But according to the law applied there, they found a woman to milk the baby while Grenouille’s mother was sentenced to prison

In several weeks, the baby had turned to the third mother to milk him. No one wanted to take care of him more than few days. They told that the baby had a huge appetite, that his milk portion was as equal as milk for two babies, spending the milk and life of those who milked him. Because of that, Grenouille was rejected in most places. The police officer responsible for this case was a man named La Fosse. He kept getting difficulties and wanted to send the baby to the orphanage located at the furthest edge of Saint-Antonie Street, where babies and children came to and from the public orphanage in Rouen. But it only happened if the baby had been baptized. The problem was that Grenouille was not baptized yet, so he couldn’t afford that, while it would be bad if the police had a baby hidden in an orphanage. After thinking some considerations, La Fosse threw the baby away to Saint-Merri Monastery located on Saint-Martin Street. There, he was baptized with the name Jean Baptist. And since the condition was not good and the charity box wasn’t dry, they didn’t send him to Rouen and instead took care of him under the monastery’s responsibility. At this point, he was handed over to a woman named Jeanne Bussie who lived in Saint-Dennis Street and got paid three franc in a week until further information

Few weeks later, Jeanne Bussie was standing at the gate of Saint-Merri Monastery while carrying a basket with Jean-Baptiste Grenouille in it. Grenouille was returned because he had one same problem: too high appetite. Father Terrier accepted it politely. He felt upset because Jeanne returned the baby, then he stretched himself up, exhaled. Jeanne kept refusing the baby although she was offered five francs, because she thought that the baby was possessed by a devil since he had no smell from his own body. That was it, the life of Jean-Baptiste Grenouille that was full of suffering where he was always refused by many people in many places, until one day he was accepted by a famous perfume expert. He inherited the art of processing and filtering oils from plants, since it was known that he had a very special ability to sense a smell from a very far radius, even kilos or even miles away. But Grenouille’s genius overpowered it all. After ‘catching’ the sense of a beautiful virgin, he was obsessed to create the best virgin-scented perfume, and that became the best perfume ever exist in the 18^th century

This Perfume novel becomes one of the best-selling novels because this novel can reveal the story of one of the forgotten figure; the story of a figure that has a very hard life but amazing blessing and gift; the novel that can give so many lessons of the curiosity to know more about this Grenouille the Genius, a very attracting story with murder cases and biased murder methods and geniuses caused by the overwhelming ambition. This novel is very exotic and sensational, raising the scary curiosity about what happened when talent, passion, and someone’s tendency of sense and aroma changed him into a genius inventor yet a deadly murderer, killing for the sake of creating the best perfume ever exist, creating the perfume with the smell of a woman, especially a virgin

By: Marcellino Julius Putra

Taro Getuk: How To Make

Ingredients:

• 500 gram taro, chopped
• 45 gram shaved coconut, (bake in 15 minutes)
• ½ teaspoon salt

For the sauce:

• 150 gram water
• 150 gram brown sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 2 pieces pandan leaves
• 5 pieces jack fruit (chopped into dice)

Steps:

1. Mash taro using a fork until smooth
2. Add shaved coconut and salt, stir well
3. Prepare an aluminum (square pan 20 x 20 x 20 cm that has been covered with butter)
4. Put the batter onto the square pan, flatten it
5. Cut the batter into diamond-shaped pieces
6. Boil water, brown sugar, salt, and pandan leaves until all dissolved
7. Add jack fruit pieces into the sauce
8. Enjoy the food!

By: Clevaria Ery Swandari

Wonderful Church and Beautiful Beach: A Trip

On November 13^th 2015, I went to Ganjuran Church with Riri, Irene, Kezia, Cevy, Nadya, Thea, Ruth, Ayu (Annie), and Galih. At the beginning we planned to go there the day after that because there was too much homework, but it seemed better to do something that wasn’t planned before because we thought that it wasn’t wrong to refresh our minds from those tasks. Then we left together from our campus. My friends felt that going there was like a far travel, different from what I felt, because I’ve been used to go to college from Bantul to Mrican. After riding with motorcycle for about an hour, we finally arrived at Ganjuran Church. Then, we got in and went to faucet where many people believed that the water that came out of the faucet can cure various diseases. We washed our face, drank the holy water, and then we took a mat and took rest. Ruth looked very tired that she fell asleep. My friends and I went to the adoration place to pray, except Annie because she’s Muslim. There, I felt so comfortable. I could feel the presence of God that made me feel free to express my life story. Although my house is close to that church, I rarely go there because I usually go to St. Yakobusklodran Bantul Church. That’s why I really missed Ganjuran Church so much. After we finished praying, we went around the area around the church while taking pictures. One of the spots that took our attention is the temple located in the middle of the church. It became the main attention for the visitors because we can go up to enter the temple and pray there.

We felt very tored and hungry. Since my house is close to the church, we decided to came by my house. Once we arrived, we directly laid our body down, exhausted. But even though we felt so tired, we still could throw jokes and even sang together, and the happiness we felt that time made us forget our tiredness. We then had lunch together, but somehow our spirit to go out occurred again. We discussed after lunch, and decided to go to Goa Cemara Beach. My friends wanted to enjoy the tour in Bantul and also wanted to enjoy the togetherness.

At 4 pm, we went to the beach. We couldn’t wait for the beautiful sunset. After another long trip, passing rice fields and so on, we arrived at the beach, parked our motorcycles, and went toward the beach. We stopped by the pine trees to take some pictures. We even climber a tree to take pictures. We really couldn’t hide our craziness about the joy we felt. Galih, who had been photographed earlier, came and asked us to become the ‘object’ of the photographs. We were very excited about showing our ‘alay’ pose. As the sunset began to appear, we wanted to take silhouette pictures. We formed our bodies into the word Love, but we failed. We then took jumping pose to express our feeling.

The day with my friends is a very unforgettable moment. Someday I want to repeat this beautiful moment again.

By: Windy Widiawan

The Australian Volleyball School Cup

Have you ever dream about winning something big? In this case you will find this one quite a story. In Australia early December there is a volleyball competition and it’s called The Australian Volleyball School Cup or simply known as the AVSC. Ever year teams around Australia and even Asia comes to Australia to compete in the big event. The competition is prestigious in fact it’s one the biggest competition in the southern hemisphere.

December 3rd 2012 in Melbourne Sport Aquatic Center or MSAC the opening ceremony for the AVSC begins. The opening ceremony introduce teams that are competing for this year tournament including giving awards for schools that have been competing in the tournament over 20-30 years. There were 432 teams mentioned in the opening ceremony that year. My school Maribyrnong Secondary College competed in the grandest stage; it was the fourth national competition for the school and also my fourth as well including my last national competition I will ever compete in. My team is ambitious to win gold and the school is searching to be in the spot of top 10 teams in the AVSC ranks. After the opening ceremony of AVSC the school volleyball team had a meeting giving us an insight of what division we’re playing and what are the expectation for this year national. On Monday the fourth December 2012 the first tournament started my teams are playing in the open boys division one, our first match starts at 9 in the morning up at MSAC against Melbourne High, we’ve played them in the Vic state before and we are pump up to win this one. We started slow, but in the middle of the game we played well and win points. In the end we took the first set (25-23), in the second set we started slow again but this time more rallies are played. In the end we finished the game with 2 sets to none with the score of (25-23) and (27-25).

I was satisfied with the first win and then we went on to play the second match in the same court after the first match. We faced against Brighton College it was easy and my team were quite surprised for the win, Brighton has been one the best team in the national of all time and to beat them was like winning the national. We ended the day and the second match with the score of 2 sets to none (25-18) and (25-15). The next day we faced Santa Maria College again we won the game of the score of (25-17) and (25-16), next we played against Kilo High college the match ended with us taking the game of the score of (25-21) and (25-22). The next day we moved venue to State Volleyball Center in Dandenong where our fifth match we played against St. Bernard’s College. St Bernard’s has been our rival ever since we started volleyball and we are so pump to beat the hell out of them. This match started with long rallies and took quite a long time; unfortunately we lost the first set with the score (29- 31). The second set was like the first and we lost with a different score (25-27). We were quite disappointed but we got through to the quarterfinals with us coming second in the group stage so we were happy at least.

The Quarter finals started the next day in the same venue at 1 in the afternoon, we were up against Adelaide High it was a tight match and we won the game with the score of 2 sets to none (25-23) and (28-26). So my team was through to the semifinals, before we go home my coach called the team for a meeting, we had a talked of the team performance and many more. As we all knew that this talked would come and we also knew that this was also the time for good comments and compliment. My coach Mr. Dolan review us on the previous game and point out the mistakes and the improvement of each individual, but he was quite pleased with the teams performance in this year nationals because this was far the best performance we have ever played and also was the furthers we have ever been. As the talked finished we all waited for the fixture where we would play and whom are we facing tomorrow. Around 4 late in the afternoon we found out our fixture, we are playing against Brisbane high. We were excited and we are hoping to win this game but we were also nervous.

As we all got home I went to my back yard and got my weight on and start building myself up, I wanted to be strong and pump up during the semi. Although my coach would want me to rest for tomorrow but I was excited so I trained for the rest of the day. At night I was tired from training but I couldn’t sleep I was thinking about the semis too much but I got my sleep. The next day the semi started, it was 3 in the late afternoon as usual the same tactics is use and the same team members in the starting line up and that included me. The game started with us having the first serve for the game, the first set was quite a long one and the match was intense. So far I’ve been playing well as a passer hitter and I’ve not been bench yet. During the middle of the game my team was struggling with the defense, a lot of error was made but still long way to go. Somehow I had to switch position from passer hitter to become a setter, this time things when well we started to get back in the game unfortunately the backcourt defense was terrible, they’re struggling from the hitters of the opposition team. So my coach told me to keep switching position, alternating from passer hitter to setter, in the end we took the set with the score of (35-33). The next set we didn’t make any changes but it was the mistake my team struggled a lot during the second set due to our poor defense and a lot of errors on the pass. We lost the second set with the score of (16-25). The third final set we changed tactics and position I was asked to play as a libero (Backcourt specialize defensive player). This time things went better for the team with the change of tactics and position we controlled the third set, moment were created and lots of good saves being performed. It was great; I was on fire during the third set I dived for low hard drive from the opposition hitters, the defense are solid nothing pass through and the game ended with my team winning the game with the score of (35-33), (16-25) and (15-0).

The next day the grand final, we were surprised to meet with St. Bernard’s college. Obviously we were sick of them but we started the match anyway but using the last tactics, again I had to play as a libero. This time things went better even though the match was tight and intense surprisingly we took the set with the score of (33-31). Second set was not so good; a lot of mistakes were made in the frontcourt. Our hitters keep hitting out and the opposition blocked a lot of our spikes, so the second set ended with us losing the score of (27-29). Third final set of the match it was all nervousness in the air we knew if we lost we would loose. Third set starts same tactics this time long rallies are played both teams did not give up but spikes coming in from both teams are not finding the floor. So the game went on and on, each point was meaningful but my team got through but match was still on and tight. The backcourt was doing well but not enough I had to control my teammates and tell them what to do. The third set gone for hours, both teams we’re fatigued. Coming up towards the last point of the game I suddenly got a cramped in my leg so I had to be replaced, I thought this was a fatal point and it will affect the course throughout the last to points of the game. Luckily my team held on and won the last to points, as our hitter hit the ball to the opposition side of the court, we won. We won the match the whole team was happy, they all celebrated including the junior and other senior team. I didn’t celebrate though because I had to be in the first aid room getting treatment for my cramped.

After my treatment I joined my team in the closing ceremony waiting for the announcement for the winner of the open boys division one. As my team was called and we all went up the stage to receive our medals, I was happy we won the open boys division one of the grandest stage of the biggest competition in the southern hemisphere. As I receive the medal I saw the crowd around 432 team watching me up on stage, then the official announce the MVP winner of the open boys division one. My named was mentioned I was surprised and happy. I was shocked as my teammates pat me in the back I limped my way to get my MVP trophy, then the official asked me question and I also had to make a speech. I was nervous but I made my speech a round of a applause from the crowd and I was the happiest person ever. It all ended well for me my last national, my first gold for national, my first MVP for national, and my last volleyball game. Things couldn’t be better for me. As I got home I was tired but it was good day and a great competition. It was a shame that it was my last national, but at least I get to have an opportunity to played and won gold.

By: Mohamad Anugerah Ramadhan

You Can Make Your Happiness Come into Your Life

Can you make your life full of happy? Its seems impossible to do. But, it’s a simple thing actually. Do you believe it?

Happiness is always in our heart. It follows our life and leads us into ideal life. Gobind tries to tell us about simple thing to make happiness to come to our life. How to make it come? See on beauty, to see our sadness and sorrow as a beautiful part. Generally, some people have seen all sadness and sorrow as a difficulty. So, they always complain to God “Why always me?”

Gobind Vashdev gives us some solutions about our happiness problem. He has given us simple ways, but we must be consistent to do it in our life. See on beauty; it’s a key of our happiness. Because we have known that our life is a beautiful life.

Wake up!!! We have a beautiful life. Don’t make your life full of sorrow. See on beauty, to see our life full of love, happy and smile. Your life is a beautiful, if you know it.

By: Yosef Endika Widiyanto

Birthday On the Peak of Ungaran Mountain

Climbing a mountain is the one of my many hobbies. I knew about climbing a mountain when I was in seminary, and I joined with Semertapala. One of my favorite experiences about climbing a mountain was in my 19th birthday, because I celebrated my birthday on the top of Ungaran Mountain on 7 July 2015. Yes, before I decided to go to Jogjakarta and studying in Sanata Dharma University, I told my friend Dimas Arya, the best climber I was close to, that I wanted to celebrate my birthday on the top of the mountain. Dimas agreed to accompany me climbing the mountain. And we chose Ungaran Mountain to be climbed.

On the first plan, Dimas and I got confused, because we had to get a resting place in Semarang after we climbed that mountain. After I thought hardly, I had an idea to contact Mario, the most handsome man in our force, who lives in Semarang. And he agreed to join us to climb the mountain together. Dimas also invited Pandhu, our juniors in Seminary to join us. Ya, and we gathered together on 6 July 2015 in Alfamart of Sukun region. We started our trip at 8 p.m. to Ungaran. We arrived at the base camp of Ungaran City on around 9 p.m., and we directly started our trip to reach the Peak of Ungaran Mountain.

Maybe it was a long trip, because all of us enjoyed the view of Semarang City and the view of the sky. There were a lot of stars when we looked at the sky, and there were a lot of city lights, and it was so beautiful. Why did I choose to celebrate on the peak of the mountain? Because getting sunrise as my birthday’s gift was very amazing. Maybe it was an imagination that I couldn’t reach. But, I could, and it was so amazing for me. We arrived near the peak at 11 p.m. and we decided to rest, cooked noodles, and boiled the water. But there were some problems when we tried to set up our hood. Dimas forgot to bring the poles for the hood. So we decided to rest without a perfect hood, just use that hood to be our blanket. I couldn’t sleep tight because the air was very cold. We woke up at 4 a.m. and continued our trip to reach the Peak of Ungaran Mountain. We reached the peak on around 5.30 a.m., and we were waiting for the sunrise until 6 a.m. Wow! That was so amazing for me, and that was the best gift given to me from Him. I felt so grateful to God for His goodness given to me.

By: Marcellino Julius Putra

Performance of Canista (Canisii Seminarium Orchestra)

When I was in Senior High School, my school held a music event. Te event started from 5 pm until 8 pm. The theme of this event was “Viva La Musica”. Why? Because based on our opinion, we can express about ourselves with music. So, music can help us to become better people, especially to practice about our feeling, our heart, and our behavior. Canista (Canisii Seminarium Orchestra) had the performance. My friends joined it and showed their performance with their amazing skills. They weren’t showing it based on their amazing talents, but they only wanted to serve. It’ about music, where each people can play it even though they can’t.

Canista played about 15 instrumental. Most of the songs they played were instrumental musics from Rennaisance Era until Romantic Era. Another instrumental were from Modern Era. They played “March from Carmen”, “March of Scipio”, “Farandole”, and more. Then, they also played modern songs and traditionals song from Indonesia. The title was “Medley Nusantara”, “Mahadewi”, and “Jogjakarta”.

After the event were finished, we were so happy because we could perform with elegance, and we could do it maximally. Although there were some mistakes, but it was a vert great experience for us to become better in the future.

By: Charlees Rachma Dewangga Pasopati

Griffin, A Mythical Creature

Overview
The Griffin, also spelled Griffon or Gryphon, is a legendary creature portrayed with the rear body of a lion, the head of an eagle with erect ears and a feathered breast with the forelegs of an eagle, including talons. This combination indicates intelligence and strength. As the lion was traditionally considered the king of the beasts and the eagle the king of the birds, the griffin was thought to be an especially powerful and majestic creature. In heraldry, the griffin’s amalgamation of lion and eagle gains in courage and boldness and it is always drawn to fierce monsters. It used to denote strength, military courage and leadership. Griffins were thought to be protectors of gold sources, particularly in India.

Griffin was a favourite decorative motif in the ancient Middle Eastern and Mediterranean lands. Probably originating in the Levant in the 2nd millennium bce, the griffin had spread throughout western Asia and into Greece by the 14th century bce. The Asiatic griffin had a crested head, whereas the Minoan and Greek griffin usually had a mane of spiral curls. It was shown either recumbent or seated on its haunches, often paired with the sphinx; its function may have been protective.

History
Griffins are normally known for guarding treasure. In antiquity it was a symbol of divine power and a guardian of the divine. Most contemporary illustrations give the griffin the forelegs of an eagle, with an eagle’s legs and talons. Its eagle’s head is conventionally given prominent ears; these are sometimes described as the lion’s ears, but are often elongated (more like a horse’s), and are sometimes feathered. Infrequently, a griffin is portrayed without wings (or a wingless eagle-headed lion is identified as a griffin); in 15th-century and later heraldry such a beast may be called a male griffin, an alce or a keythong. In heraldry, a griffin always has aquiline forelimbs; the beast with leonine forelimbs is distinguished as the opinicus.

In the Iron Age the griffin was again prominent in both Asia and Greece. Greek metalworkers evolved a handsome stylized rendering, the beak open to show a curling tongue and the head provided with horses’ ears and a large knob on top. Apparently the griffin was in some sense sacred, appearing frequently in sanctuary and tomb furnishings. Its precise nature or its place in cult and legend remains unknown.

Origin
The Griffin was known in Egypt before 3300 BC and is possibly more ancient still.

Pliny believed griffins came from Northern Russia; Aeschylus thought they originated in Ethiopia; and Bulfinch wrote that their native country was India. Herodotus said that legends of griffins came from the Issedonians who lived beyond the Oural Mountains. Biedermann wrote later that it has typological antecedents in ancient Asia, especially in the Assyrian k’rub, which is also the source of the Hebrew cherub.

Roles and Abilities
Because the lion was traditionally considered the king of the beasts and the eagle the king of birds, the griffin was thought to be an especially powerful and majestic creature. The griffin was also thought of as king of all creatures. Griffins are known for guarding treasure and priceless possessions. Adrienne Mayor, a classical folklorist, proposes that the griffin was an ancient misconception derived from the fossilized remains of the Protoceratops found in gold mines in the Altai mountains of Scythia, in present-day southeastern Kazakhstan, or in Mongolia. In antiquity it was a symbol of divine power and a guardian of the divine. In its body, the griffin is blessed with the speed, flight, and penetrating vision of the eagle and the strength, courage, and majesty of the lion.

Because of the griffin’s strength and powers of sight, it was believed to guard hidden treasures and in particular the vast gold mines of India and Scythia. The Arimaspians, a bold, one-eyed race of humans, constantly tried to steal their treasure and eventually drove the griffins away the mountains. Because of its association with the Holy Grail, one of the treasures most commonly guarded by griffins was emeralds.

Other popular treasures guarded by griffins were the Tree of Life, knowledge, and the roads to salvation. Greeks and Romans used griffin images to guard tombs.

Griffins mated for life and never sought a new mate if their partner was to die. According to Stephen Friar’s New Dictionary of Heraldry, “a griffin’s claw was believed to possess medicinal properties and that it’s feathers could restore sight to the blind.” By the 12th century, the appearance of the griffin had been settled upon and remains relatively unchanged in modern lore. “All of its bodily members are like lion’s but it’s wings and mask are like an eagle’s. It was not yet clear if it’s forelimbs are like a lions or an eagle’s or sometimes it is possible that they had the limbs of baby pigs.

In Media

Films

• A griffin was featured in Scooby-Doo! Abracadabra Doo with its own mythical backstory.

Literature

• In Tamora Pierce’s Protector of the Small Quartet, no lies could be spoken in their presence. In addition, wearing a band of griffin’s feathers revealed hidden things and dispelled illusions.
• In the film adaptation of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the griffins could speak the language of humans. They did not appear in the book.
• A gryphon appears in The Adventures of Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

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By: Ayu Anisa Budiarti
Source: Wikipedia, Wikia, Encyclopedia Britannica, DeviantArt

An Interview: Agni

How’s your early journey in music career:
Since I was in kindergarten, I already love to play guitar. And in third grade in elementary school, I went to guitar and vocal course. Then I followed regional competitions, and the peak was in 2008 when I followed Idola Cilik 2

What is your opinion about today’s music development?
Right now, many new bands and new talents coming up, and it colors Indonesian music industries. For me, what’s searched in today’s music is from its easy-listening aspect and easy to remember

What kind of song that’s worth considered great according to your thought?
The great song is that the song has its own ‘characteristic’. I mean, the listener will always remember all the time if the song has that special characteristic, like the interlude, and so on. What’s sure is that a great song doesn’t come from ordinary song which is easy to be listened that last once after the song finishes

How many song have you wrote?
I already wrote 9-10 songs, still very few. Besides, those are songs I usually use for competitions, so the theme of the song is Indonesia

What do you think music is?
Music is simple for me. Our life has its own music, because it’s music that can refresh and improve our right brain. For me, it’s clear that music is very important, because it makes me feel sensitive about the environment

How do you separate your time between school and music?
Right now, I’m not focusing myself so much in music, because I focus more on education. I still have time for music, but only in-between. If I have leisure time, I’ll take my guitar, trying to write song. Or I go to my course teacher’s house even though I don’t study in that course anymore

What kind of music do you like?
For kinds of music, I like all kinds of music because for me, each genre brings different color. But for now on, I’m still into pop music

Who’s your motivator musician?
The main motivator for me to write song is Yovie and… I really love their songs

What is achievement for you?
Achievement is something positive that can make people around us feel proud. It’s the highest accomplishment on something

Who are the people who contribute so much in your music career?
My parents and my family; they are the people who always support me. There’s also my music course teacher, and also one teacher in my elementary school who pushed me to follow Idola Cilik 2

What is your hope for Indonesian music industries?
I hope they can find new talents that really explore themselves deeply. Don’t just get famous in a short time and then fall down, because it’s not a true musician. For me, what we need is clever and qualified talents; those who can think out of the box and get out of their comfort zone

What comes into your mind when you heard a slogan “Push yourself to the limit?”
Push yourself to the limit. I can say that, if we have passion, we must know where our passion lies on. We must explore it as best as we can until we can reach the peak, because it’s our appreciation to the God who has given us such talents, and I’m sure that it has a good meaning. Be tireless, don’t give up easily, and try to the best!

By: Clevaria Ery Swandari

Fried Potato Donut: How to Make

Ingredients:

1. 500 gram wheat flour
2. 50 gram milk powder
3. 11 gram baking soda (1 sachet)
4. 20 gram potatoes
5. 100 gram granulated sugar
6. 4 eggs (take the egg yolk)
7. 100 ml cold water
8. 75 gram butter
9. ½ teaspoon salt

Steps:

1. Steam the potatoes, puree it using blender and let stand for a few minutes
2. Mix the wheat flour, granulated sugar, milk powder and baking powder in one bowl and stir well
3. Add butter and salt, stir again until it turns into elastic dough, then let stand for 15 minutes
4. Divide the dough into 50 gram each. Form it into round shape, and let still for 20 minutes
5. Heat the cooking oil into deep frying pan
6. Use a narrow short glass to make a hole in the middle of the donut dough and fry until it turns golden
7. Put the fried donut on paper towels to drain the remaining oil, dust with snow sugar. You can put any kind of topping on the donut
8. Sweet fried potato donut is ready to serve

Donut

Vanilla Cream Topping Donut

Sugar-covered Donut

By: Windy Widiawan

Rabbids Invasion

Can you imagine if our country is full of bad rabbits? Even though rabbit is a cute animal, but think again if they always disturb your environment. They always make troubles and break public facilities. I think you’ll never be safe to live there, and surely you’ll get out for a new town. But, in your new town, there are many same rabbits again. Aarrgghh!!!

Rabbids Invasion is a French/American animated television series which began to play on August 3rd 2013. The animation is created by Ubisoft motion picture. It’s one of most popular cartoon of Nickelodeon.

Rabbids Invasion tells us about the life of troublemaker rabbits. They always make troubles everywhere, and they always make people angry. They like to break a house, burn the town, and they even can make people feel afraid or hurt with their behaviors. But it’s their behaviors that make this serial looks funny. You’ll laugh when you watch this serial.

Rabbids Invasion is a comedy serial for kids or adult. But if you have a child, give them mentoring when watching this serial. If not… your children will make chaos, just like what the rabbits do

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By: Yosef Endika Widiyanto

Volleyball

Volleyball
It’s a passion
Volleyball
It’s an obsession
Volleyball
It’s a sport

Volleyball
It’s a way of life
Volleyball
It’s an adventure
Volleyball
It’s something I breathe

Volleyball
You win or lose
Volleyball
It’s duel or die
Volleyball
That’s the game

By: Mohamad Anugerah Ramadhan

Pulitzer Prize Photograph Brings Awareness – At a Price

Original article by Catherine Witko

Joseph Pulitzer is most renowned for the award that is given annually in his name to outstanding pieces of American journalism. His work as a journalist and newspaper publisher was forthright and revealing; his reputation as “a passionate crusader against dishonest government” was irrefutable (Topping, 1999). Pulitzer established the prizes to honor journalists who demonstrated excellence in their work. There are twenty-one different categories in which a piece can be placed, including fiction, drama, poetry, music, and of course, journalism. The prestigious prize is so coveted that the reputation of winning such an honor is of higher value than the cash prize given alongside the certificate of honor.

In 1994, Kevin Carter submitted a photograph he had taken during a trip to Sudan to cover the civil war that was ravaging the country. He had no idea at the time that he would eventually win the coveted Pulitzer Prize. He had even less of an idea that soon after receiving the award, he would succumb to depression. Although it brought about Carter’s untimely death, the photograph showed the world a tragedy occurring in Sudan. It shattered the complacency that existed among people generally walled off from such struggles. It was a disturbing call to action to help those in other parts of the world who truly needed it.

The confrontational photograph was taken during the early 1990s when Sudan was engaged in its decades-long civil war. The country had always had an enormous budget deficit as well as a large national debt, given the fact that in its early colonizing years, Britain had opted to slow down Sudan’s industrialization efforts (Metz, 1992)

Famine struck the poor country as it tried to pull itself out of a terrible debt and economic ruin. The United Nations had already begun to aid the country by establishing food centers and helping teach the citizens other ways to grow crops and speed up the economy. However, Carter published this photograph originally in The New York Times to show people how there should be more effort put into helping the people of Sudan.

His photograph cast an uneasy light on the problems Sudan and its people faced, and was confrontational in that it addressed the biggest problem: poverty. It depicts a young, starving girl crawling toward a feeding center set up by the United Nations. However, there are many subtle details in the piece that make the boldness of its message powerful. The background shows a barren wasteland with no other signs of human life or past human activity; it looks more like a place where little vegetation had grown or where a disaster had struck. This was probably due to the harsh sun that causes drought in Sudan for many years at a time. A little closer to the viewer is a vulture, which is obviously stalking the main object in the photograph—the child. The starving child is collapsed on the ground, seemingly paralyzed by hunger, given the protrusion of the child’s rib cage from her chest. Whether or not the child was actually smaller than the preying animal behind it, the way in which Carter angled the spacing of the two creatures gives the appearance that the vulture was as big, if not bigger than, the human child. The lighter colors of the environment around the child and vulture give them an even bolder contrast in the photograph, making the eye immediately jump to the two characters in the picture.

The photograph and the story of the fate of the photographer show how powerful a picture and its message can be. Philosopher Stephen Toulmin gives us strategies and language to use to understand how a text operates on readers or, in this case, viewers. For example, warrants, according to Toulmin, are the ways in which an artist constructs an image to appeal to people’s beliefs, values, and cultural and innate predispositions. This image’s implicit warrant is that people cannot stand to see innocent children suffer. It is only natural for humans to feel an inclination to help someone in need. The explicit warrant in the photograph was that people, more specifically the children, in Sudan were starving. This combination of the obvious and the subtle messages creates strong pathos; that is, they affect the emotional side of the viewer. The pathos causes so much anguish within viewers that they feel an obligation to find ways to help those suffering in Sudan.

Tragically, Carter committed suicide three months after the photograph was published and only a week after being awarded the Pulitzer Prize. Carter’s death is speculated to have been a result of one of two things: either he could not handle the fame that was brought on by the photograph and the award, or he could not bear the guilt of not helping the child in the photograph. In a Time magazine article following Carter’s tragic suicide, the piece relayed the guilt that Carter felt and how “even some of Carter’s friends wondered aloud why he had not helped the girl” (MacLeod, 1994). The guilt he had felt afterwards for not helping the little girl seemed to be too much for the man to handle.

When Carter and the newspaper company published the photograph, they as journalists knew full well the potential impact the photograph could have on those who saw it. The publisher, as well as the photographer, knew that the audience for the most part would find the scene it depicted to be disturbing. The photograph was indeed tragic, but what made it that much more horrific was the audience’s knowledge that the setting and the images were not set up or manipulated in any way; this was the starving child’s reality. The photograph was intended to draw attention to a tragedy and to encourage more humanitarian intervention.

Carter could have chosen to submit a video of the starving girl to the Pulitzer Prize foundation; however, a photograph seemed to be a better means of conveying the message. A photograph allows viewers to use their own imagination; it begs the viewer to attempt to picture what happened outside the frame and what happened after the picture was taken. The image was chosen because Carter felt it captured the isolation and desperation the people of Sudan felt at the time. He had come to Africa to capture the story of the Sudanese economy and the devastation caused by it.

However good the reasons as to why Carter published this picture, his method of capturing that heart-rending moment invited criticism. In an article relaying Carter’s tragic death, MacLeod recounted the details that Carter had told their mutual friends about the scene he photographed:

He wandered into the open bush. He heard a soft, high-pitched whimpering and saw a tiny girl trying to make her way to the feeding center. As he crouched to photograph her, a vulture landed in view. Careful not to disturb the bird, he positioned himself for the best possible image. He would later say he waited about 20 minutes, hoping the vulture would spread its wings. It did not, and after he took his photographs, he chased the bird away and watched as the little girl resumed her struggle. (MacLeod, 1994, par. 10)

This patience for the perfect shot created the spacing and lighting needed to have the desired effect on the viewer. But in order to get the best possible shot, Carter ignored his responsibility to help the struggling girl. His professional detachment seemed to override his own humanity and morals. His decision would have a lasting effect on the world, as well as a lasting and overwhelming effect on Carter himself.

Following his death, some saw in the photograph parallels with Carter’s own death. The starving child in the foreground of the photograph symbolized Carter himself, and the vulture preying on him from behind represented the angel of death that would soon consume him through depression (MacLeod, 1994)

Although there will forever be speculation as to the true reason why Carter killed himself, one can take a guess that it was a collection of reasons, including the backlash generated by the photograph. It seemed in the end, unfortunately, that both the child and Carter suffered equally, in different senses, and eventually succumbed to a similarly tragic fate.

Carter’s suicide seemed to bring even more notoriety to the photograph, by making his own tragic feelings something that others could feel compassion for alongside the child herself. Carter wanted to bring attention to society how the Sudanese people were struggling. Although his life ended tragically, the photograph itself endures as an indelible symbol of the famine and suffering in the world and as a call to action to the rest of the world.

By: Marcellino Julius Putra
Source: http://www.jme.com

 

Hymn of the Old Man

There is a small story in this culture city
The afternoon must be picked up by the evening
In the road of story
The cloud of smooth was saying
To greet an old man
Who wears orange cloth

Priitt… priiit…
He blew the whistle
His hand was gaze upward and received the money

In the hollow of his face gestured
That much of note that wrote in the milestone
Bad or not, who knows?
But I’m sure that he has written something in this life…
Struggle!
Struggle in the hunchback body

In the crowd of the city, the sun has said to me
You’re still young, you struggle must be bigger than him!
Do your best!
Push yourself to the limit!

Do you want to write your note without meaning?

By: Charlees Rachma Dewangga Pasopati

Donald Duck in Comics

Donald Duck (full name: Donald Fauntleroy Duck) is a cartoon character created in 1934, at Walt Disney Productions. Donald is an anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet.He usually wears a sailor shirt, cap and a red or black bow tie, but no trousers at all. He is presented as a best friend of Mickey Mouse, whom he sometimes envies. Donald is most famous for his semi-intelligible speech and his mischievous and temperamental personality. Known for having a fiery temper, a humorous (yet distinctive) “duck” voice and mannerisms and having appeared in many cartoons, films, video games, comic books and more, Donald is one of the most iconic Disney characters of all time, as well as among the most popular. Along with his friend Mickey Mouse, Donald is one of the most popular Disney characters and was included in TV Guide’s list of the 50 greatest cartoon characters of all time in 2002.

Beyond animation Donald is primarily known for his appearances in comics. Donald was most famously drawn by Al Taliaferro, Carl Barks, and Don Rosa. Barks in particular is credited for greatly expanding the “Donald Duck universe”, the world in which Donald lives, and creating many additional characters such as Donald’s rich uncle Scrooge McDuck. Donald has been a very popular character in Europe, particularly in Nordic countries where his weekly magazine Donald Duck & Co was the most popular comics publication from the 1950s to 2009. Disney comics’ fandom is sometimes referred to as “Donaldism”, a term which originated in Norway (Norwegian: Donaldisme).

And now, I have some comic strips of Donald Duck. It actually generates from many sources, but these strips I got here are created by Al Taliaferro, one of the most famous Donald Duck comic creators. Enjoy!

 

By: Ayu Anisa Budiarti
Source: Wikipedia, Wikia, IMDb, Disney (comic strips mostly from Google Images)

Charging Your Phone with Fruit? Of Course You Can!

Steps:

1. Prepare an apple, USB data cable, and a phone
2. Plug the USB data cable into your phone
3. Plug and push the other cable tip to the apple until it gets dipped into the apple’s flesh
4. Tada! Your phone is charging!

How can it possible?
When we plug copper plate and zinc plate into the apple and connect the, with a cable, electric currents occurs and flows from copper plate to zinc plate, which means that the circuit generates electricity. Inside the apple, there’s an acid liquid that function as electrolyte. When both copper and zinc plates are plugged into the apple, the chemical reaction occurs and generates electricity

One apple can produce weak electric current. For gaining bigger electric current, we need more apples arranged into serial circuits. Zinc plate plugged into the first apple is connected to copper plate plugged into the second apple. Zinc apple plugged into second apple is connected to copper plate plugged into the third apple, and so on.

By: Clevaria Ery Swandari

Interviewing Foreigners: The Experience

On Saturday, I went to Malioboro with my classmates Irene, Kezia, Nadya, Hilda, Thea, Cevy and Dona, looking for foreigners to complete the final project of ‘Speaking 1’. Before we go, we gathered in front of the chapel at 8 am for a breafing. I came there from Bantul at half past seven, and when I arrived in the front of the chapel, no one came yet, noticing that I came the earliest. So I waited for them. After waiting for an hour, we were all finally complete, at last. The we had a briefing and then we left tha chapel at 10 am

Arriving at Malioboro, we stopped by McD because there were still few foreigners walking around Malioboro Street. After 30 minutes waiting in McD, we went out and walked down the street toward 0 km Malioboro area. In front of Vredeburg Museum, we saw foreigners with the traditional dancer across the street. And, did you know? One of the dancer was Didi Nini Towok! It seemed like they were having an event. My friends and I wanted to take picture with him, but none of us dared to speak. Finally one of the foreigners walked toward the flute seller. Then my friend Nadya became the first one who interviewed him. Then we decided to look inside the mall and we were very grateful that although we were rejected by the foreigners three times, but many of them came to us and wanted to help us. Even there were foreigners from Australia volunteered themselves to be interviewed and asked to take picture with us. They were friendly, funny, and talkative. There were also two handsome foreigners, Irene and Hilda got chance to interview them,  but my other friends and I only got chance to take picture with him. In Malioboro mall we also met our friends from other classes, but they complained that many foreigners rejected them.

Finally we got the foreigners, but Nadya, Kezia, Dona and I wanted to repeat the interview because we felt very nervous in our first interviews. I went to the 3rd floor looking for another foreigner, and when I saw one who was walking alone, I quickly approached him. Luckily, he accepted my offer to interview him. His name is Robby and he is from United States. He said that Jogjakarta is his favorite cities compared with the other cities that he has ever visited. His favorite local food of Jogjakarta is fried rice and noodle, and he also said that “Jogjakarta has the typical food”. The interview was very fun, and I think he’s friendly. Although sometimes I don’t understand what he said because of the noisy condition, I felt very happy to do this project because it seemed like I was playing with my friends, but sometimes hot weather and crowded condition  made us feel hopeless. After that we ate at KFC Malioboro mall and went home.

Robby and I

My friend and I took picture with the handsome foreigner

All of us took pictures with the foreginers

By: Windy Widyawan

The Magic Requiem

Mozart was a genius composer. He had written many song of opera or mini concert, quartet style or big orchestra. He had learned violin since he was five years old. So, he was already able to make a composition when he was twelve. Many composers amazed him because of his talent. He has a good carrier and began to play music in a palace.

After that, he decided to get out from his job in palace. But he came into a difficult life. He lost much money and he began to drink to waste his depression. Then, he got a rival. His name was Salieri. He was a musician too. But he didn’t like Mozart’s behavior. So he asked Mozart to make a Requiem Composition. Mozart had known that this composition was made for him. But, he still made this composition.

Finally, he could finish his composition. But he died after this, just like Salierie’s supposition. What happened next? The requiem song was sung for Mozart’s burial. So, coincidentally or not, he had made a song for his own burial.

By: Yosef Endika Widiyanto

Holiday in Queensland

December the 24th 2010 early morning my family and I were packing our stuff, we are going on a holiday to Queensland. It was summer holiday and my family had been planning this trip since last year. We wanted to go around Australia and see different places, so we did. We plan to take the trip by car, so we did and make our way towards our first stop near the border of Victoria, the small town called Wodonga.

It took us 8 hours to get there through alternative road and given the fact that we had to stop 4 times for break plus we had to pass through farms and off road tracks. Certainly worth it though because we like the view of the farms and the weather was great as well so no complains throughout the trip. We arrived at Wodonga around 6pm we stayed at Barkley motel, there was nothing much we did that night all we did was have dinner and then went to bed early. The next day early in the morning we continued our journey towards Queensland, we’re passing through the borders of NSW and continued our way towards our next stop which is a town called Newcastle. Throughout the journey we still took the alternative road just to see the farms and hills along the way apparently we all liked the view. Not much to tell from the trip but we arrive at Newcastle we plan to stay there for 2 days, the town was beautiful near the docks it’s nothing like the big city or the country side it was more in between. We walked around buying souvenir and visit historical sites. I would say that I enjoy that place but after spending time in Newcastle we hit the road this time climbing mountains and passing The Great Dividing Range making our way towards Brisbane.

Throughout the journey we had trouble with the congestion and it was unusual because the traffic happen in the alternative roads, we turned on the radio and tuned in. Apparently as we knew Australia is in the worse state at the time natural disaster running across the land. Bushfire, floods, strong winds and many more, so as we made our way towards the border of Queensland we are stopped and asked to turn around apparently the flood ahead was deep. So we stopped at the gas station many cars and people were there chit chatting but we heard rumors about another alternative road so we took the risk going there. Since we didn’t want to lose our money of paying the hotel so we had no choice but to try, on our way a lengthy water flood on the road stopped us. My dad had doubt to move forward but I told him why don’t I checked the depth of it, so I made my way towards the water getting towards the middle it becomes deeper but cars still able to go through. After I checked I wave the sign to say it’s okay to go on, so we went on. We arrived at Brisbane at 10pm, exhaustion from all of us. We checked in and clean ourselves and went straight to bed. The morning we travel around Brisbane, it was the most beautiful city in Australia in my opinion. Anything that you want you can find, we spent our time in Queensland for quite a while but we were also cautious about the news of the flood. It seems the river is feeling up with rainwater. After several days in Queensland we head back to NSW for new years.

On our way back to New South Wales we stopped by at Gold Coast apparently it’s one of the most popular beaches in Australia and certainly the biggest too. After playing and swimming we continued our road trip we arrived at Canberra late at night and stayed there. The next day we went around the city I was surprised because the capital was quite but my dad told me that the capital is supposed to be quite because this is a place for governor and facility is less. We still made our way around Canberra and we stopped and visit the parliament house and my most favorite place AIS. Australia institute of Sport is one of the places I wished to attend to because it’s the most prestigious place for athlete to be in. so we looked around and the facility was amazing every tool and sport center is there for athlete to develop their skill. After looking around and visiting sites in Canberra we made our way toward Sydney. It was New Years Eve the next day we went around the city to go shopping and visiting famous sites such as the Botanical garden we walked around and took photos and occupying ourselves until late at night. It was around eleven at night people gather around under or near the Sydney Harbor Bridge, waiting for the fireworks to lit up. There was police, ambulance and firefighters around just in case if there’s an accident happen around. Luckily there was none, my family and I enjoy the fireworks and enjoying the whole summer season. The next day we wake up early and drove ourselves back towards Melbourne this time no alternative but the toll roads. We used the M1 line and make our way back this time no stopping by towns and sites so we plan to get there late at midnight the least.

We arrived at home around 12.30, all of us were tired but we enjoy our road trip. I must say it was the most fun trip I have ever experienced. It certainly the best trip anyone could ever imagine taking a drive towards Brisbane from Melbourne passing 4 big cities and 3 states, it should not be a missed. This is my trip and my adventure, I had a blast and I enjoyed the moment.

By: Mohamad Anugerah Ramadhan

Who Am I?

I muse alone
In question, alone in my heart
Let go my marrow
Hurt, like a sand box, with the stone
Who am I?

The place of the choice that bring hope
The place of the hurt that bring perfection
Imagine someone who’s gentle and beauty
Never can stop to suppose and find myself
Who am I?

Even though I don’t know my identity
But,
I know the meaning of love
But, who is the self
The self that always alone

Sometimes there is an uncertain feeling
Feeling that always haunts
But…
I can’t understand that feeling
Like a bird trying to fly away alone

Finally…
I found something  I was searching for
Something that my heart is searching for
It is her

But,
Does she feel like my feeling?
Maybe no
Because all of that is just imagination
Not only the distances
Not only the spaces
Not only the times
But everything…

Everything is so far to reach
You’re there, I’m here
Only the one that I have been thinking of
Do I really exist for her?
Do I really mean something for her?
Who am I?
Who am I in her heart?

By: Marcellino Julius Putra

Depapepe: The Accoustic Guitar Duo

Do you know Depapepe? Have you ever heard that name? I think it’s the famous group and we often hear it in our ears.

Depapepe (デパペペ) is a music group originating from Japan. The acoustic guitar duo is composed of guitarists Miura “Depa” Takuya (三浦拓也)  (born Kobe, 5 April 1983) and Tokuoka “Pepe” Yoshinari (徳岡慶也) (born Kobe, 15 July 1977)

The name Depapepe itself comes from the combination of both short names of the band members, by combining the Japanese word for overbite, ‘deppa’, and the name of Tokuoka’s previous band ‘DERUPEPE’. Contrary to a popular rumor circulating among their fans, the two guitarists are not brothers.

Depapepe Signed Cover: Miura Takuya (right) and Tokuoka Yoshinari (left)

Depapepe was established in 2002, and they made three albums before they joined Sony Music. They were successful to take the major debut in 2005 with their album “Let’s Go!” at the 10th rank from Oricon’s Instrumental Artist Debut Chart.

Depapepe had made a beautiful instrumental. There are many instrumental musics that can make you feel driven to its melodies, for example “Sky!Sky!Sky!”, “Dolphin”, “Happy Shine”,  “Kitto Matta Itsuka”, “Morning Smile”, “One”, “Summer Parade”, etc.

They can make the instrument that’s easy to hear. They are so skillful when they play the guitar. The melody that they made in their music is easy to be remembered in our head. Even though they play only with their guitar, they can play it like a great concert. We’ve also ever seen many people joined in to play with them, like harmonica, tambourine, etc.

Let’s hear one of their music titled Howl of the Wolf

By: Charlees Rachma Dewangga Pasopati
Source: Wikipedia, YouTube

Dream Story: This is Not Heartbreak Hotel

(This fan fiction story is written on June 14^th 2013 and it’s based on dream experienced on the same date)

What a beautiful town, I talk to myself.

My mom and I go abroad. I really don’t know about the country we visit, but the view is so gorgeous. We go to malls, have unique lunch, and visit a lot of historical places. Then, at 4.30 pm, we head to the hotel.

After we book a room, we go up by lift. I ask my mom the number of our room, then she shows me the key. 330. That’s quite nice, I think. We reach 3rd floor, and we step out of the lift. And… I feel… speechless. Wow! It’s so… amazing! The decoration, the furniture, everything! OMJ! How can we stay in this such luxurious hotel? Nahh… keep going. This chance possibly won’t happen again. Just enjoy it while you can.

I keep walking and looking for the room number. 340, 339, 338, 337. Then I walk in front of room 336. Suddenly… zap! I stop in front of that room. I don’t know, I feel like… something strange comes from that room. I feel a powerful energy coming from it. I wanna reach it to find out, but my mom keeps walking. So I just leave it and run after her.

We put our belongings, and I directly take a shower. I keep thinking about that room. What’s inside? Who’s inside? I keep thinking until I forget that I’m taking a shower. I wash my body quickly, and then go out. After that, it’s my mom’s turn to take a shower. I quickly dress up and go outside, looking for room 336. And…

It’s open! I directly run to its door, and hear voices from inside. I hear two people talking to each other. One sounds in a hurry, and the other sounds very gentle. Wait. That voice is so familiar. I try to sneak, but then someone goes out of the room. Surprised, I suddenly run to my room and close the door. God… that’s so close. My mom suddenly asks me what happens, but I say nothing.

At 7 pm, I watch TV while having some meals. My mom stands in front of the mirror with her dress.

“Wow… nice dress. You’re going somewhere?”
“Yes. I wanna meet my friend,” She powders her face.
“She lives here?”
“Yes. And I promise to meet her tonight. You wanna join?”
“Is it far?” I retort.
“Emm… maybe… around 20 minutes from here,” She counts with her fingers.
“Hmm… And friend… I bet you’ll be with her for a very long time… right?”
“Yes. Hehe,” She gives peace sign to me.
“I guess I just stay here. I’m so exhausted, and I feel like I wanna sleep earlier. I’m sorry, Mom”
“That’s okay, darling. Okay then. See you soon. Take care. Just lock the door when you sleep”
“Alright. See you. Be careful, Mom! Or we won’t back home completely”

I continue watching TV. Then I see a leaflet on the table. It’s a restaurant menu. Wait. What is this that I see? The dinner is served at 7 pm? I must go downstairs! I quickly wear my decent cloth, turn off the TV, and lock the door. Then I see room 336 is open, again. Okay. I must see it this time. I walk slowly and slowly until I reach the door. I walk across the door again. Then I peek to see what’s inside. It’s a beautiful room, but I see no one, even though there are voices from there. Wait. There’s someone. And… uh-oh. I quickly run and enter the lift. Another close call.

After I finish my dream-come-true dinner, I go back upstairs, heading to my room. Room 336 is closed. Man, I can’t see what’s inside. I just go across it, and open my room’s door. Suddenly that room is opened, and someone goes out. Now I can see who goes out. But… wait a second…

“Annie?!”
“M… Michael?!!”

He runs into his room. I directly lock my room’s door back, and then run, enter his room. There is Michael Jackson, with his white shirt, black trouser, and black socks, standing beside the mirror in his beautiful and fragrant room, staring at me with his almost-closed eyes and messy hair.

“M… Michael? What are you… doing… in here?” I stammer.
“A… Annie… How can you… be… here?” He asks me back, blushing.

I close the door to give us a kind of privacy.

“I’m… having a vacation with my mom. She’s at the town right now, meet her friend. So I’m alone here. And now, your turn. What are you doing here? I mean… I don’t see you in TV for about 7 months. What happened to you?”
“Annie… I… I…” He looks very tired, and suddenly falls down.
“Michael!!!” I run to him and hold him from falling down.

His face is so pale and his eyes are almost closed. I lead him to the bed and lay him down. I draw the chair near the wardrobe, put it beside the bed, and sit on it. I must get the clarification about this.

“Michael… what is actually happening to you? You look so exhausted right now. Your eyes, your face, your hair. What happened? Tell me, Michael. Just tell me. I won’t tell anyone, I promise. You know me, right?” I ask him gently.
“Annie… I don’t know where to start…” He speaks unclearly.
“Michael… Just tell me anyway… Please…” I have to convince him this time.
“Well… I actually… emm… I’m having a problem. Like, you know… media write their stories, again. And… one of those stories make some people really mad at me. And… and… they’re… trying to attack me, to defame me, to denounce me, to… to…”
“To…? To what, Michael? To what?” I ask a bit emotionally.
“To… to… to kill me,” He slurs.

Oh my God. I directly freeze. Suddenly he holds my hand. It feels like his hand melts the entire ice in my heart.

“Annie… what should I do? I’ve been here for a week, and I really wanna go out. But if I go outside with no disguises, new headlines will spread, and they’ll quickly find me. If I go with disguises, I will hardly breathe. I… I… I’m tired, Annie. I’m tired of being judged like this. I don’t have any idea…” He speaks slurring.

I really don’t know what to say. This is not the usual Michael. I really must help him. I slowly take a deep breath.

“Michael… I’m… I’m very sorry about that. I mean… It’s just… I couldn’t believe what happened to you right now, when I’m not with you. I’m… I’m sorry… that I leave you this way. I mean… I’m so sorry that I’m not around when you need me. As you can see, I’m very busy. I have to go here, I have to go there. But in those busy times, I never forget to think about you. Like, “Where are you now?” “What are you doing now?” “Is there any problem with you?” Those words never get away from my mind…” I take another deep breath “Michael… I can’t help it… to see you hurt… like this…” I start to cry.

Michael moves his hand to wipe my tear. Oh… that soft hand…

Just a drawing to depict our relationship in this story, hehe

“Shhh… don’t cry. It’s not your fault for not being around. I understand. You have your business to attend to. So am I. Don’t worry. My friends are helping me for my recovery. But… your presence is the best medicine, ever,” He smiles at me with his weak eyes.
“Oh… Michael… I’m so happy to see you smiling like this. I’m so glad that my presence is very worthwhile for you. I… I…”
“Thank you… my Love”

He takes my hands and kisses them. Oh… that softest kiss is always Michael’s. Then he holds my hand tighter.

“Michael?”
“Yes, Annie?”
“Emm… I’m sorry, but… I need to go to restroom”
“Oh… okay. You can use mine”

I go to the restroom in his room. Wow… It’s so clean and smells very nice. I even can’t believe how clean it is. It’s even cleaner than the one in my room. But it’s little bit messed up. So I tidy it up. I go back to him, and look around the room. Man, it’s really messed up. The table, the wardrobe, even the bed. I must tidy up his room. Michael tells me that I don’t have to, but I can’t. I must help him. So he just let me tidy up his room.

The first one is wardrobe. I open it, but suddenly all Michael’s clothes fall down and bury me. I put out my head, and Michael just laughs. I laugh back and tidy up his clothes. Done. Now, table. Oh my … it’s full of make ups, meals, and accessories. I pick a perfume and smell it. Oh… the smell is very nice. It’s the smell of nature, fresh nature. I smell it again. Michael says it’s his favorite perfume, and he allows me to use it. I dab a bit, and suddenly that fresh scent spreads all over my clothes. I put it back, and tidy up the table. Finish. About the bed, maybe I don’t need to, because right now he’s on the bed. So I just pull the blanket and cover him with it. Then I sit back beside him. It’s like he’s calling me with his expression.

“Annie…?”
“Yes…?”

My face is getting closer to his blushing face. Closer… closer…

“Emm… Michael?”
“Yes?” His breath is so warm.
“Umm… I… I…”

He smiles at me and touches my cheek. I hold his hand and smile back. I can feel his heartbeat through his hand. Then, he closes his eyes slowly and slowly. I call him, but he answers without any voice. Then, his eyes are fully closed. He falls asleep. I still hold his hand, and still can feel his heartbeat. I put his hand on the blanket, and tidy up his hair. It’s very close for me to… wait. It’s already 11 pm? Whoa! I must get back to my room. Actually I really wanna look after him until he wakes up. But if my mom goes back here and finds out that I’m not in my room… she’ll be very upset. So I decide to return to my room. “I’m very sorry, Michael. I must get back to my room”

I turn off the lights and turn on the bedside lamp. I go outside, and close the door slowly and quietly.

“Good night, Michael. Sorry that I can’t be there for you tonight. Have a nice sleep and dream. See you tomorrow. I Love you”

I get into my room. I brush my teeth and put on a little make up. I still can smell Michael’s perfume on my clothes, so I decide not to change. I climb the bed, pull the blanket, and sleep, in peace.

“Good night, Michael, my Love. I Love you more… always”

By: Ayu Anisa Budiarti

Brandos: How To Make

Ingredients for first batter:

• 60 gram rice flour
• 350 ml coconut milk from half part of the coconut
• 2 pieces pandan leaves
• 2 ½ teaspoon salt

Ingredients for second batter:

• 125 gram rice flour
• 300 gram rough-shaved coconut
• 50 gram black ketan (sticky rice) flour
• 50 gram white ketan flour
• 2 eggs
• 475 ml water
• 3 bananas (sliced into thin pieces)
• 75 gram sugar (for topping)

Steps:

1. Boil the ingredients of the first batter, stir until dense
   Prepare the ingredients for the second batter, mix rice flour and shaved coconut
2. Slowly mix the boiled ingredients of the first batter into the flour and coconut mixture. Stir slowly, then add eggs and water
   Divide the batter into two parts. Add black ketan flour into the first part and white ketan flour into the second part
3. Prepare the cake mold that has been heated
4. Pour the batter of white ketan until the half of the container is filled
5. Add the banana slices into the batter
6. Pour the black batter on the white batter and the banana slices, cover the mold and wait for about 5 minutes
7. Take the batter out of the mold then sprinkle the sugar on it
8. The food is ready to serve!

By: Clevaria Ery Swandari

Praiseworthy Deeds: Sandra Dewi

Who doesn’t familiar with Sandra Dewi? She’s a beautiful Indonesian artist who has the full name Monica Nicolle Sandra Dewi Gunawan Basri who was born in Pangkal Pinang on August 8th 1983. She’s not only talented in entertainment, but also in education as well, especially culture. It’s proven on December 10th 2015 that she received an appreciation from the Prime Minister of South Korea for her participation in presenting Korean culture to Indonesia. She’s active in presenting Korean culture without forgetting her own culture, and thanks to her hard work, the results are very satisfying.

We have to be proud for having Indonesian artists that have been recognized abroad. The relation between Indonesia and South Korea becomes closer even more because they understand their culture each other. Sandra feels very happy as she shared her happiness via her Instagram account. This was welcomed warmly by the Indonesians. This also proves that both Indonesia and South Korea are rich in culture. We must preserve the culture we have.

We don’t only have to be proud of her, but we also have to be proud of our own culture. Make our culture to be well-known in other countries. Be like her, which in here means that take the example of her deeds for Indonesia. As a young generation, we have a very great opportunity to do the best things. We must improve the abilities we have in ourselves. Later, it can lead u to become the Indonesian Ambassador for national or even international events. Don’t waste your time, so there will be no regret later on.

By: Windy Widiawan

Kiss the Rain: A Song

This song is written by Yiruma. He is the one of the most talented pianist. Kiss the Rain is the one of his famous creation.

Kiss the Rain tells us about sadness. He wants to show us that rain is meaningful. How to kiss the rain? Rain has made every fields grow, makes us calm and cool. But, in other hand, there were floods, which make people die and suffer.

Yiruma concerned about the sadness. If you listen to this song, you will feel better, happier in a peaceful way. At that time, you’ll forget your problems. The meaning of Kiss the Rain is to accept your problem as a part of your life which you have to face. You can face your problems happily.

Kiss the Rain, a very meaningful song. You can make a perspective about this song. Kiss is a word that has the meaning of friendly condition, love and togetherness. Rain is sadness, happiness, sorrow, fun and other perspectives according to each person. But, we have the word kiss to explain this song: can you tell us? Love and togetherness in sadness or happiness

By: Yosef Endika Widiyanto

Zodiac: The Characteristics (Good and Bad)

Aquarius: 20 January – 18 February

Big heart
Have a sensitive and sentimental feeling
Respectful
Careful
Sportive and forgiving
Love peace
Have many friends
Generous

Extravagant
Easily offended
Don’t like to be critic

Pisces: 19 February – 20 March

Quiet person
Friendly
Good listener
Have a sentimental feeling
Easy to be forgiving
Easily used so many people take advantage
Honest and trustworthy
Can keep secrets
Patients

Pessimist
Easily offended
Have many personalities

Aries: 21 March – 19 April

Brave
Loyal
Honest
Don’t take orders
Smart
High self esteem

Big ego
Spiteful
Estimate others

Taurus: 20 April – 20 May

Quiet person
Friendly
Loyal
Expressive
Gentle

Always think that he/she better than anyone else
Improvident
Have high dignity

Gemini: 21 May – 1 June

Smart
Respectful
Optimistic
Easy to make friends
Diligent
Diplomatic

Change mind easily
Break promises
Unstable
Always in a hurry

Cancer: 22 June – 22 July

Detailed person
Sensitive
Likes to be in the spotlight
Very loyal
Sensual

Like to daydream
Possessive
Moody

Leo: 23 July – 22 August

Childish
Loyal
Big hearted
Natural leadership
Luxurious
Sentimental

Love to order people
Always estimated others
Improvident

Virgo: 23 August – 22 September

Critical
Very honest
Never give up
Discipline
Shy
Idealistic

Not forgiving
Big mouth
Love to give critics to others
Not a respectful person

Libra: 23 September – 23 October

Advisory
Clean
Fair
Helpful
Love peace

Spiteful
Moody
Can control emotion
Stubborn

Scorpio: 24 October – 21 November

Can keep secrets
Serious person
Diligent
Brave
Not easily seduce
Sensitive

Not a respectful person
Improvident
High self esteem
Like to take advantage

Sagittarius: 22 November – 21 December

Humor person
Affections
Forgiving
Easy to make friends
Sincere

Break promises
Hypocrite
Careless
Lazy

Capricorn: 22 December – 19 January

Hard worker
Ambitious
Loyal
Easy to adapt
Low profile

Easily offended
Emotional
Pessimist
Improvident

By: Mohamad Anugerah Ramadhan
Source: Cara Cepat Mencari Potensi Diri (a book in Bahasa)

The Habituals of the Indonesian according to the Japanese

Prof. Nagano, staff of Nihon University, gave intensive lecture course of Asian agriculture at IDEC Hirosima University. He always becomes a consultant of Agriculture in countries of Asian, including Indonesia. There are some things he said when he was talking about Indonesia.

1. The Indonesian likes to have meeting and creates variety of committee.
In every activity, the Indonesian always holds meeting firstly, with the consumption of course. After the meeting, they will create a committee.  Then, they discuss again and again, criticize each other, and then each of them will say that their idea is the best. Finally, that plan will be postponed, although the purpose of that program is actually good.

2. Rubber Time Culture (RTC)
When I met native speakers who came to Indonesia, I asked “What is the famous culture in Indonesia?” Spontaneously they answer, “Rubber time”. I laughed, but I actually felt so embarrassed. Is our discipline that terrible?

3. Postponing Jobs
The other principle is that people like to postpone their jobs. But it’s not the same with the Indonesian principle. “If it can be done tomorrow, why must hurry to finish it now?” they say generally. I never feel embarrassed with my Sensei who always said that the Indonesian liked to postpone their job.

4. Talk more, do less
Prof. Nagano gave an example when he came to Indonesia and gave training to the farmers. His assistance came from Indonesian Agriculture Directorate complete with his uniform, although he came with his work uniform and boots. His assistant just gave instruction but he didn’t want to get involved. Why? Because he came with his complete uniform and tie. Prof. Nagano described that the Indonesian is very well to talk much and gives instruction directly, but very few of them who want to get involved.

I only want to remind that we always lulled by the fact that Indonesia is a rich country, the people that like to work together, Pancasila, various religion, etc. It’s just a terminology. But, how about the reality?

Actually our country is in a mess. Even it’s too hard to stand back again. Where is the solidarity that makes our nation like Korea. Can we rise up again?

We can always be satisfied with things that we don’t do. But we have too much discussion. We give ideas and criticize everything, but for nothing.
We only talk too much, without action.

By: Marcellino Julius Putra
Source: LINE Official Account

 

Climbing Merbabu Mountain

When I was in Senior High School, my friends and I decided to go to Merbabu Mountain on April 17th  2015. I was so happy about it because this would be the first time for me to go there and climbed to the top of the mountain.  There were 30 people that also climbed there.  When the day came, I was always ready to do it.  Before we started to go, my friends and I took a photo together.  At 2 PM  we went there by bus.  At 4 PM we arrived there and went to 1st base camp of Merbabu Mountain.  After that, we ate together while playing cards to prepare ourselves.  Some of my friends were sleeping and the others were smoking because when we were climbing, we were not allowed to smoke.  At 6 PM we started to climb. Before we did it, we prayed together. And then we climbed through the long journey.

I was so frightened because the road was so far and so difficult that it made me feel so tired.  But my friends always helped me. There were many tracks to walk until the top.  But we chose to go through the cuntel tracks. On cuntel tracks, there were four posts. We could take a rest before we arrived on the top of the mountain.

We arrived at the first post in about one hour. I was so thirsty and hungry, then I drank the water that my friend brought. We took a rest around 5 minutes and continued the journey again. The weather was cold. I searched the salonpas, then I put on my nose to make my nose feel warm.

I felt afraid when I arrived in the place people usually called “Devil’s Bridge”. The road was very narrow. You could see the ravine around it. You would smell the scent of Magnesium. It smelt disgusting because it was like when the people fart. Apparently, we arrived at the third post.  It was the time to eat and smoke together. We were so hungry so we ate many foods.  Not only that. We also spent so many cigars because it was so cold. Even though I wore thick jacket, but I still felt so cold.  We then built a camp, and then we slept at around 11 PM. At 2 AM, we continued the journey again to reach the top of the mountain. At 5 AM. we finally arrived on the top and we could see the sunrise. It was so beautiful. We took many photos and did selfie or even groufie.

This is us! Can you find where am I?

So, we had gone through the journey for about 11 hours. We were so happy because everyone who climbed with me were all arrived successfully.

Based on this adventure, I remember a quotes from the football club, Liverpool FC.

We will never walk alone

This is the spirit that drive our spirit to the peak.I know that if we dare to do something, the nature will support us.

By: Charlees Rachma Dewangga Pasopati

Potato

The sunshine bathing the Earth greets the students with their laugh who are going to study.

Riiiiiing…

The bell rings, and all students directly run into their class.

A woman teacher in a kindergarten steps into the class, followed by a warm smile drawn on her lips.

“Good morning teacher,” greet the students.
“Good morning children. Today, I have a game for you”

With the potatoes and plastic bags that have been prepared by the children, she gives the instruction to them.

“Okay. Take the potatoes you have brought, and then write down the name of the people you hate on it. I don’t limit the number of the potatoes you will use. After that, put them into the plastic bags and bring them wherever you go”

In the next day, each students bring the potatoes in the plastic bags they have prepared yesterday. Some brings two, three, five, and even seven. Like what their teacher had instructed, each potato are written down with the names of the people they hate and they must bring it wherever they go, even into the restroom, for three days.

Days are going on. The potatoes begin to rot. Students start getting not comfortable, especially those who bring until seven potatoes. Besides heavy, the smell is very bad. After they pass the third days, they feel happy because they don’t need to bring that stuff.

“So, how do you feel?” Asks the teacher.

The students start commenting. Basically they say that they feel not comfortable, can’t go anywhere freely. They even say that they can’t stand the bad smell, and they feel tired because the potatoes are heavy.

The teacher then says, “That’s how the hate feels that we always bring everywhere. If we can’t forgive other people, it really is not fun to bring rotten potatoes, right? That was just only three days. How if we bring that hate forever? So, it’s very nice if we can forgive each other and live in peace”

The students nod as the begin to understand the moral value of the potato thing they learned. They all smile, and the teacher continue to give a new lesson

By: Clevaria Ery Swandari

Making Up Your Face

Make-up is a must thing for women. It makes them look more beautiful. There are many types of make-up, from the thick and complicated one until the thin and simple one. Right now, I’m going to tell you steps of wearing simple make-up.

1. Before using the makeup, the face should be clean and dry. So wash your face and wipe until dry. Make sure there’s no dirt on your face
2. For fresher and relaxed-looking face, do face sport by saying A-I-U-E-O. Or if you want your make up last longer, apply ‘ice cube’ on your clean face.
3. Use a facial moisturizer to make your face moist. Also, use a foundation. Foundation should be appropriate with the type and color of our skin, or you can wear one level higher than the original skin color for a brighter makeup result. Apply foundation on forehead, nose, cheeks, and chin, then spread well on your face.
4. Use powder, loose powder or solid powder (powder compact or two way cake) that can soften and cover up flaws on the skin. Also, adjust the color of the foundation that has been worn.
5. Use an eyebrow pencil: Create a line forming eyebrows, and then bold it depending on your own style. Usually women prefer to wear brown eyebrow pencil because it looks more natural.
6. Wear eye shadow with soft colors or colors that suits the condition and fashion as well. For natural impression, wear dark brown eye shadow and gradate with russet and white. Wear eyeliner along the eyelid and under the eyes. To make your eyelashes look pointed, squeeze the eyelash curler for 15 seconds. After that, wear mascara to thicken and curl your eyelashes. Eye is the important part in makeup, so make your eyes look beautiful.
7. Wear lipstick and lip gloss for beautiful, good-looking, and fresh lips. Wear natural colors such as pink.
8. Finally, wear blush-on onto the cheeks. Put it in a circle and don’t put it too thick. Wear blush-on that matches the color of lipstick and eye shadow.

Those are the tips to wear natural make-up for young adult. Make up can make your face look more beautiful, but don’t wear make up more than 24 hours because it can affect the condition of your skin. If you have sensitive skin, wear make-up tools that are never been used by others. Don’t wear make-up carelessly, but wear it depending on the situation, or if it’s really needed.

By: Windy Widiawan

It’s Christmas!

Christmas is coming!!! And this month is December. Everyone in the world is preparing for it. Christmas tree, Christmas decoration, Santa Claus, reindeers, all about red and white appears everywhere. Christmas is actually the birthday of Jesus Christ. 2000 years ago, he had come in the world to safe our life from sins.

Now, Christmas is the ceremony that we’re waiting for. We can make our dream come true in Christmas day. We celebrate our Christ and wait for His birthday. We will sing together, dance with our family and have dinner together.

Christmas give us many meaningful gifts. We can learn about togetherness, love and be patience to wait Jesus. Before Christmas, there’s a advent time for waiting His coming. We must make our corona that contains four candles that must be lit every week until Christmas day.

Have you ever prepared it? And… how are you going to celebrate Christmas this year?

By: Yosef Endika Widiyanto

Rocky Roads: How to Make

Prep time: 10
Total time: 10
Serves: 18 pieces

Ingredients:

• 440g Milk cooking chocolate, broken into pieces
• 6 Marshmallows cut into quarters
• 6 Pieces of biscuits (broken into largish chunks)
• 2 Turkish delights
• 1/4-cup coconut
• Handful-roasted almonds

Instructions:

1. Melt the chocolate in a bowl suspended over a pan of boiling water, making sure that the water does not touch the bowl.
2. Once the chocolate has melted add the rest of the ingredients and mix well, but make sure that you don’t break up the biscuits too much.
3. Pour into a baking tray, which has been lined with parchment or greaseproof paper, level out and stick in the refrigerator for a few hours.
4. Once the mix has set, tip out and cut into squares, make yourself a cuppa and enjoy.

By: Mohamad Anugerah Ramadhan

My Struggle

God, You are like a drawer
You brush my canvas of life amazingly
You give me love or white
But You also give me a beautiful color
SO that my life becomes technicolor

When I ask for happiness
You give me sadness
So that I can feel the real happiness
When I ask for success
You give me failure
SO that I can feel and find the real success
And when I ask for strength
You let me fall
SO U may to struggle and not give up
Nothing is impossible

By: Charlees Rachma Dewangga Pasopati

Editor’s Note

Push yourself to the limit. That’s the slogan we take as our theme for this blog. I believe that people will wonder, “Why do you take that slogan as the theme instead of taking the hot news or phenomena as the theme?”

We’ve decided to take that slogan as the theme, because it pushes us to make this blog the best. We think that if we take other kind of theme, things will be different, and we won’t have chance to explore ourselves. You can see that most of the articles are telling you about what we’ve done, achieved, and shared. It’s not about being arrogant, boasting things up; but it’s about giving inspiration and motivation to everyone

Sometimes I think that it’s very hard to find a person who really take serious efforts in everything he does. It’s very rare, even in my own environment. Seeing people lazy to do things, always wasting time doing nothing, postponing things up, etc., they really irritate me. Imagining if this country keeps going on like that in the future, when will this country grow up?

This slogan also makes me realize that doing things seriously is useless if it’s only for oneself. Most people work but only for themselves. They only want to achieve their own needs without thinking other who might need more things. Unfortunately it’s what happen to the recent life. People become so selfless that they even can’t help their own friends, their own parents, or even their own children. This can lead to the extreme individualism, which is completely not good.

Remember again. What is our goal in and for our life? Everyone sure will answer “For a brighter future”. But don’t misconcept it. Everything we do is all for the future of this world. If we do bad things for that, won’t our world will turn bad? Of course it will. But if we put the best efforts for things we’re reaching for, the future will surely get a very bright path and results, and it can be useful for the people who will live in the future.

Push yourself to the limit. People might block your way, but never give up! Your future guarantees greatness if you do hard work and serious dedication for the world

Ayu Anisa Budiarti