Seconds [2010]

One day consists of 86,400 seconds. This is one of them.



In relation to my last post, so as to not paint a "Bah, humbug!"-y picture of me. Because I do believe in love. It's just right now.. I'm a bit too tired.

Obsession, part huit - D'Sound

I remember hearing D'Sound's Tattooed On My Mind from their Beauty Is a Blessing album on my brother's computer for the first time. I remember begging him to just give me their CD, because really, he's ripped them on his computer and he doesn't need the physical CD anymore. Because I need it. I remember him finally giving in, and that the first time I played it, it was raining outside, and I had just got  home from school and I was so happy, I didn't bother getting changed from my uniform.

I remember chatting for hours with Sphyra online, interspersed with silly chatter in the #MD-Indo room on IRC, with D'Sound playing softly in the background, because I didn't want to sleep, and staying awake till I was exhausted meant that I didn't have to spend time staring at the cracked white ceiling of my grandparent's home.

I remember shoving D'Sound down Jo's throat around about the time I started sleeping over at her place, because THEY'RE MY FAVE BAND EVER, and convincing people that I have really cool taste in music was a valid way of interacting back then.

I remember driving around aimlessly at night with their many songs from their many albums played on shuffle, because that's partly how I convinced myself that staying in one city long enough to finish my degree is the logical (and responsible) thing to do.

I remember getting over break ups and make ups with their songs. I remember the excitement of finally seeing their CD in a record store, and buying it even though I was on a tight student budget. I remember long drives to Jakarta, shouting along to their songs, much to the chagrin of random friends who happen to accompany me, because I really can't sing.

I remember pulling all nighters with headphones on tight, because the designers always insist on playing loud heavy metal bands or fucking Kelly Clarkson at midnight, and I need something to help me concentrate on the article I've neglected for the past month.

So many memories.

This band got me through a lot of things. And I will never be able to tell them just how much they mean to me.

Except, oh hang on.. I did.

I remember the night I had dinner with Simone, the vocalist for D'Sound. She was the nicest, sweetest and friendliest person ever. She was also worried that I sneaked off to meet her when I was supposed to be studying for my Econ finals (7am the next day). I remember choking on the crushed almonds that were stirred in my hot cocoa. And my friends laughing at me because I was so shy. The next night, I went to their gig in Bandung, stood front row center, and at the end of the night, she saw me and recognized me, and managed to say she was glad we came.

I will always have a special place in my heart for D'Sound.

easily amused~

I feel ya Russell.. You know.. Sans pubes comment.

Traveling with friends = BEYOND AWESOME, but I can't deny that traveling alone is one of my favorite things to do. The plane ride, filled with melancholic staring of the fluffy white clouds outside (and then your eyes hurting because fuck it it's too damn bright), and the awkward look the taxi driver gives you when you're obviously on holiday alone.. I'm weird but it just fills me with glee, okay. Honestly, I like holidays on my own because I get to space out in a strange new place and it's a lot more romantic to smile at strangers having fun, rather than when you're out with your friends and they're bugging you to just fucking get ready, the trannies are about to start their awesome pole dancing at the gay bar across town. (Which were honestly hands down, some of the best dancing I've ever seen.)

White Wine In The Sun by Tim Minchin

I want to see him live. :)

Obsession, part sept - Jonghyun's voice.

This is basically going to be a video spam post of CN Blue's Jonghyun singing. Because his voice makes me melt into a warm puddle of goo.

A little back story; This dude is 1/4 of a Korean band called CN Blue, who dabble mainly in pop/rock. Jonghyun is the guitarist and sometime singer, they (CN Blue) mainly split the singing bits between Jonghyun and Yonghwa - the other singer. Whilst I love CN Blue, and I quite like Yonghwa's voice.. Jonghyun just makes me want to put on a pretty sundress, so I can sit in a grassy field, basking in the warm afternoon sunlight on top of a red and white checkered picnic rug.

Love his voice. Like no kidding. And he's not exactly hard to look at either.

But the fact that he's a kid born in 1990 makes me feel guilty and dirty. Because he's just too cute and oh so young. He's the same age as my baby cousin.

So yes. Guilty. And dirty. But I'm stalking him on youtube nonetheless. Here's three covers he's done that I've been watching quietly in the dead of night.

I LOVE YOU INTERNET!

Thank you oh mysterious benefactor, Ryusenkai!

I give you Bump of Chicken - Firefly :)

Firefly -  Bump of Chicken by sparo-

I can't stop grinning. :)

(No 'obsession' in the title, but yes. Definitely part of my obsessions. Because I've been stalking them since forever!)

Any chance of a Jakarta concert, guys? Or Singapore. Please. I'd fly to Singapore for you.

easily bored

And yet easily amused.

I need some fun changes in my life. This would usually mean a drastic haircut, but I kinda need to grow my hair out for m'darling Quincey's wedding. I could pierce my ears some more, but I keep loosing my earrings, and I barely have enough for my current piercings. I could get a tattoo, but thinking of what I want permanently etched on my skin is a bit too much effort for a random rainy day musing.

So I basically decided I'm totally going to dye my hair. A fun, bright colour. Not completely though, I think I'm going to keep the top part of my head a dark colour, and then bleach the rest of it. It sounds awful, but it will look absolutely brilliant. I swear. So. Colours.

Option 1.

Isn't it the purdiest shade ever? A little Sailor Moon-y, no? Though for the life of me, I don't remember if any of the Sailors ever sported a hair this shade.. So. Green. Either this shade, or maybe a darker shade.. A sort of dark leaf green. Like a right-in-the-middle-of-rainy-season leaf green. All rich and fresh looking.

Option 2.

I love purple. Purple is my favourite colour. And apparently 'ungu' ('purple' in Indonesian~) was my first word. My mum is forever disappointed her kids refused have 'mum' as their first words. (My brother's was ' Toyota'.. Not surprising considering he's still a car enthusiast to this day..)

Option 3.

This lovely washed out shade of blue. Something very anime-ish about this colour. My 15 year old self would totally vote for this one. Bleaching my head and dealing with the subsequent hair-issues would be worth it for this shade though. I mean look at it.

Option 4.

Apparently, really bright shades wash out pretty quickly. So this shade of pink is on my to-do list, regardless. I don't think I'll pick it right away though. The pic is here for the sole reason that I think Miss A's Jia is super hot, and I have the biggest girl crush ever on her.

All pics found via google image search soz if I grabbed one of yours~

So yeah. Waiting for some of the cash from my freelance jobs to finally drop down into my bank account and then BAM. Goodbye boring hair!

Have some bonus Miss A eye-candy. Because I love Jia. And Min (the tiny girl with the asymmetrical hair).. But mostly Jia.

(not quite obsession) Calvin Harris ft. Example - We'll Be Coming Back

Apologies. This blog is fast becoming a music diary of songs I'm currently interested in. But this one.. Ahhh.. I posted Example's Kickstarts song as part of my obsession post a while back.. And here he is again, featuring on a track with Calvin Harris. I have to say, after that super anoying and catchy (damn it! SO catchy!) single with Rihanna.. Calvin Harris is now back in my good books with this song! I'm not a fan Rihanna, as her nasally voice just scratches on the last meager remains of my sanity.. I mean the song is catchy as hell, but you won't find it amongst the stuff I have on my computer.

So yes. This song. Rather lovely. And I'm posting the (fanmade??) video on my blog as a personal bookmark. I should start making some proper posts, I know. But yes. For now..

Is this song going to be played on loop? Well.. As soon as it's out on iTunes, it is. So, not an 'obsession' yet, but definitely will be.

Obsession, part six

Introducing Tablo, one third of a South Korean hiphop group Epik High. Apparently Epik High is quite good, and Tablo is apparently some sort of genius (?).. At least that's what I've gathered from random websites. But fans are rather prone to exaggeration, so I generally take everything with a grain of salt.

I've given up being picky with songs considering how many songs I enjoy outside of my usual genre of choice. 'Getting wiser with age' is my excuse.

Anyway. Yes.

A bit obsessed with this song to be honest. Jinsil, the female singer on this song has a really, really, really cool voice. I mean - listen to it! Listen! Isn't she just fantastic!? I can listen to just her part all day. And I quite like Tablo's rap bits too. It's.. pretty. The whole song is just lovely really.

I've had it on repeat on random days these past couple of months.. Ahh.. So nice.

get me a guy with a voice like this, stat!

I want to have sex with his voice. Seriously. I like 'em grouchy and raspy and melty.



Okay so this one is a bit depressing, and it's been on my 'masochistic tendencies' playlist for some time. (Yes, a playlist especially dedicated for when I want to feel especially horrible and alone and broken hearted. What can I say - I like to torture myself.)

A newer, happier song. I say 'new' but this was from about 2009 I think.



This song never fails to make me happy, and a little like I should be falling in love with someone right now. Just so I can twirl them all silly-like around my living room.

Invention of Love [2010]

A love story from the world of gears and bolts.
Animated short 2010.
Inspired by Lotte Reiniger works and Antony Lucas's Jasper Morello film.

Graduation project

Written & Directed by Andrey Shushkov
http://a-shushkof.livejournal.com/

Original Music and Sound: Polina Sizova, Anton Melnikov.
Violin perfomed by Anna Gudkova
Not original music part: Chopin
Animation, Design, Compositing, Editing: Andrey Shushkov

http://www.facebook.com/LoveInvention



The animation is just gorgeous and the music so beautiful. The story.. Everything.. Just, yes.

Sign Language

Ben holds a sign for a living, and loves his job more than almost anything. But today is his last day.
more: http://www.facebook.com/signlanguageshortfilm

Grand Prize, Virgin Media Shorts
Grand Prix, Reed film contest
Nominee, Best British Short, British Independent Film Awards
Final 15, Short Short, BAFTA
Best Short, Portable Film Festival



Just too damn cute.

I really do love short movies. :)

Exeter, Devon. 1998.

I remember being absolutely in love with this song when it first came out. I remember my best friend hating it so much we had a mini argument as her dad drove us to my house.

1998 was so much fun.

I was living in a tiny city called Exeter. I say city, but it's probably smaller than South Jakarta. Hell.. I know it was smaller. A sleepy, student city. Pretty and peaceful to a 13 year old who knows nothing of pubs and clubs and largely ignored concerts. Sizable library though. And the most breath taking cathedral ever. Even as a clueless kid I'd get shivers whenever I went in.

Quick trips down memory lanes are never enough when it comes to Exeter.. But in 1998 it's filled with beach trips down to Sidmouth, "working" at my friend's cafe, pranking people on the phone.. Silly crushes on sillier boys and generally overachieving in school (hey.. I was once a straight A student! And regularly featured on stage either acting and/or with the Samba Club. Yeysh. I wanna hit myself.) Apple tree swings in Saf's garden, cutesy code words with my besties, and my first interests in shopping sparked by the ever so classy Katie and London-girl Safia.

Also the year I was forced to read Harry Potter. (I remember there were threats about not being fed unless I read at least the first few pages.....)

1998 wast he last year that I enjoyed school. Academically anyway. Well.. Until university.


Being 13 was super fun. My baby cousin is turning 12 this year. And I'm kinda sad. She used to step on my face and drool all over my shirts. I wonder what sort of troubles she's getting into these days? She's a bit old to be honest, it comes with the territory of being the baby of a close-knit family where the oldest cousin is 32-turning-33 I guess. We often forget just how much of a baby she still is. All things considered.. I hope she enjoys her pre-puberty days as much as I did.

Walk Off The Earth - Somebody That I Used to Know (Gotye - Cover)

Just.. BUH. I can't even.. This is serious ear candy. No idea who Gotye is, but Walk Off The Earth did a kickass cover of their song. And on one instrument no less. Enjoy :)

And available for download too! mp3 download: http://bit.ly/yrnlSA

Obsessions, part cinq - Where it all began: MUSIC I DON’T UNDERSTAND.

Or rather, songs with foreign languages, with lyrics I have no hope of understanding without the help of the Oh-So-Wonderful Google, and/or music that I can’t sing along to unless I stare at the lyrics for hours.

Current obsession: 2PM. Because let’s face it, much as I try to suppress it – I’m as susceptible to abs as the next girl. And oh boy, do these boys have abs. Hellooooo!

Exhibit a. AAAAABBBSSS.

Exhibit b. Dem boiz look good in fitted shirts.

And they’re hilarious to boot. Abs and comedic talent – the way to my (admittedly shallow) heart. Every. Time. But their songs are fun, and perfect for dancing madly to.

BUT! As the title suggest – this wasn’t where it all began.

1999 was a year of discovery for me, and as far as I could remember it – awesome music. Freshly landed in Jakarta, my ears were immediately assaulted with Neo’s Cewe Matre – a weird, but somewhat hilarious song about girls who are only out for money. Woke up one day to Sheila On 7’s Dan playing on MTV one day, and at one point, I was introduced to Dewa. (And back then, Indonesian was pretty much a foreign language for me! :p) And suddenly a whole new world opened..!

Up till then I was listening to Oasis and Blur and NSYNC and All Saints and Natalie Imbruglia – all brilliant artists, yes.. But all English speaking singers, with lyrics in English. The most ‘foreign’ artist I knew back then was Bjork (but she sang English songs so I figure she doesn’t count..) and Sash! (But his songs were mostly about the beats, not the lyrics). So to my utter delight, I found a sh*tload of Indonesian artists via my cousin and brother. And then.. I found Utada Hikaru.

For a time, I was obsessed with her.

She was pretty, her songs were.. amazing, and different, I didn’t understand a single f*cking word – and it was glorious. I’ve been listening to this one again non-stop:

I found the lyrics and patiently spent 10 minutes on the internet loading the page (back then, I still had dial-up internet folks!). The wait was worth it though, I was just completely mesmerized by the pretty, pretty lyrics. (And we all know how much of a whore I am for words, yes?.. At least when I’m not distracted by ABS.) 

saigo no kisu wa
tabako no flavor ga shita
nigakute setsunai kaori
(the last kiss
tasted like tobacco
a bitter and sad smell)

ashita no imagoro ni wa
anata wa doko ni iru n' darou
dare wo omotte 'ru n' darou
(tomorrow, at this time
where will you be?
who will you be thinking about?) 

you are always gonna be my love
itsu ka dare ka to mata koi ni ochite mo
I'll remember to love
you taught me how
you are always gonna be the one
ima wa mada kanashii love song
atarashii uta utaeru made 

(you are always gonna be my love
even if i fall in love with someone once again
I'll remember to hold on
you taught me how
you are always gonna be the one
it's still a sad song
until I can sing a new song)

Pretty, yes?

So yes. Utada Hikaru’s First Love got me hooked on Japanese musicians. (From there I discovered L’Arc~En~Ciel, Gackt, X Japan, etc).. Basically, I blame her for my love of songs that I DON’T UNDERSTAND BUT SOUND SO PRETTY! Mainly it's French singers, who have me wrapped around their little fingers because hot damn, French is a sexy language. With the Japanese in tie for first place because seriously. Utada Hikaru. Not to mention Bump of Chicken and School Food Punishment and Spitz and Cibo Matto and many, many, many instrumental artists I adore. (Not to mention my obsession with anime and manga in high school introduced me to a sh*tload of Japanese musicians!)

But for now, my obzeshoon is with teh Koreans.

Damn it, Carla Bruni – start singing more songs. Your voice is too smexy to be kept quiet! Either you release new songs or I ogle at ABS!

Fine. Abs it is. (For now at least ;P haha)

Lakon Animasi

This is.. Both cute and cool. From Indonesia's very own Lakon Animasi. Enjoy. :)

Obsession, part quatre

Just a little obsessed. Not so much.. But I can't stop listening to Example's songs right now. Finding his songs fun to dance around to!

First got into him after I found him from We Are Hunted, a music website I've been really into. Then saw his appearance on 8 Out of 10 Cats and Nevermind the Buzzcocks, both panel shows I've loved for ages (Nevermind anyhoo, 8 Out of 10 I've only started watching since Jon Richardson went on to be a captain.)

So yes. You can find me bouncing along to Example's songs at the most random times right now.

It's not too soon!

Who else gets giddy for Christmas? (I try so hard to be an adult, but I keep failing.)

Some say November is a bit too early for all the Christmas-y ads and songs and gimmicks to come out, I say NEVER!! I adore Christmas ads :D And here's one from John Lewis.



Adora-babble yes? So adorable you just gotta tell people, and babble about it  ;)

Obsession part Deux

Two posts in one day? Say it ain't so, Mousey!

Technically these posts consist of videos and not much else, so Opa Colson will probably consider this as me being a horrible cheat.

So here's a little explanation on why I'm posting videos of short movies.. I love short movies. I hunt the internet for short movies. Silly ones, sad ones, strangely angry ones, videos make me happy. I like watching them. A while back I posted Hugh Newman's Validation video, and now I think it's high time I post another video! One I (sort of) recently stumbled upon.

It went viral a while back, so you might have or might not have seen it before. I present to you the extremely funny 'Every Argument Every Couple Ever has EVER' from thecaseydonahue, I think the title says it all. Enjoy.

Be warned.. SQUEE POST!

Squee according to urban dictionary;
A noise primarily made by an over-excited fangirl.

So. New episodes of Doctor Who featuring Matt Smith as the eleventh Doctor, complete with a new TARDIS and a new sonic screwdriver.

But before I start, I have to admit that I only got into Doctor Who a couple of months ago, starting on Chris Eccleston's ninth Doctor. So I'm no expert on the minute details of the TARDIS, the Doctor's mannerisms etc.. This squee post is from a new fan's point of view, please don't clobber my n00b-ness.

Lesse.. I wasn't all that enthusiastic on Eleven's first appearance when he replaced Ten, in fact I thought it was a bit too over the top. Mind you, I'm a big fan of David Tennant's tenth Doctor, and I was sort of still teary eyed over his reluctance to regenerate. So yes.

And then came the months of waiting, until finally this appeared;



I have to say I was a little bit intrigued. But as always, I never trust trailers. (Insert a call back to my horror at the Star Trek movie trailer.)

And then FINALLY. The Eleventh Hour. The introductory episode for Eleven.

Matt Smith as Eleven : I loved how he was sort of a little bit Ten, but still managing to be different. I loved the lines the writers gave him and the outfit.. works. The stills looked odd, but after seeing the episode and how he carried it off, the outfit definitely works for him. And his 'what, what? WHAT?' made me squee a little.. okay a lot. On the whole, I really did like him.

Amy Pond : I loved loved loved the little kid who played mini-Amy! She was adorable and sweet and perfect. Was also very taken with adult-Amy. I loved the details in Amy's life - her job, her trips to see the shrink, the Raggedy-Doctor things she made, and how everyone knew of the Raggedy-Doctor, recognizing him on sight. And her boyfriend - I predict funny things from Nurse Rory.

TARDIS and the sonic screwdriver : I wasn't so sure of the TARDIS's new look at first, it was.. big. And a lot shinier than the last one, neater and more polished. But then all the details I wasn't so sure about at first made me squee when I watched it again. So so so pwetty! The sonic screwdriver.. well not much to say about that really.

Other bits.. Loved the part where they showed the world through the Doctor's eyes. Wasn't so sure about the cryptic messages.. would rather be given hints throughout the show like the Bad Wolf messages in Ten's time. Thought the storyline was meh, it was good but it wasn't great. Having said that I really really like the montage of the past Doctors' faces, and then Eleven stepping through Ten's face. Awesome. Also liked how he told off the giant eye, even though I had to stop myself from making Lord Of The Ring jokes.. (The Doctor would so kick Sauron's ass.).. The 'whats to come' bit at the end has me intrigued. Did I spot vampires? And the Doctor with a gun??

Am also curious on how reliant Eleven will be on the sonic screwdriver. Hopefully not so much. Would love to see him fiddle more, rather than the whole 'point-and-voila' thing Ten had going on.

*excited bounce* (Just for you, A)

Can't wait for next week!!