Part Ways

Happiness does have its degree. At least that is what I got from the reading “The Degree of Happiness” by Betrand Russell. I was blur myself when I first read the article. It is because, in all conscience I’ve never assume such things. For me back then, happiness is fair among everyone. Happiness is for everyone, no matter how young they are, how old they are, how poor they are, and how rich they are. But this article has open my mentality a bit more by parting the degree of “happiness”.

The article tells that it has two sorts of happiness. The first one is an example of the happiness of a farmer. In other view, the story seemingly represents the happiness that can be reached by the normal-living-level of people, a farmer.  It tells about how a farmer could reach his happiness. For this kind of group of people, even the things that they do is just a little, like farming for example, but it can totally made their day and cheer them up. Why? It is because the happiness and pleasure that they might get is from their own hardships. For instance, they harvest, and the outcome they got is from their own work, so that’s why they appreciate it to the max and get happily easily with it.

But in contradict, let’s see the happiness that the higher level of people might get. Like in the article, they listed artists and literary men as their examples. Yes, it’s possible for them to reach their happiness, but in a different way. They are actually depending on other people’s reaction and acceptance towards their work of arts. Because if the people out there like their work, of course they’ll get happy, but what about if the results turn out to be the opposite? It could knock them down to the ground until reaching a state of having a mental illness. Basically, the article did open my eyes about how happiness being described from different point of views. 

Think Smart, Not Hard

 

As I read the article Thinking Folly by Eckhart Toli, I might be reviewing the article not by hundred per cent referring to the article. Because I think I would like to interpret the article based on my own side of view.  In the article basically tells about how hard ones think using our brain.

In my last post, I did encourage people to think, use their brain wisely and critically towards anything that’s in front of their eyes.  But here, it might have a bit contradiction yet, in a good way. What I think about the article is, as a human being that have a similar state of mentality, yes we do need to think our brain wisely and critically but not more than that.

What I mean by not more than that is, just imagine if we overthink on most of everything? It might ruins everything. And as a human being, it has become mostly like a norm where we’ve been controlled by our own little tiny brain. That shouldn’t be happening because we are the one who needs to take control of the brain instead.

 

As we can see smart people out there, because of they overly think on most of everything, we can see that they are suffering. Maybe not a visible one, but emotionally suffered. They are tired, tired of thinking. What has come to my concern is that, such situation could damage us. And what happen when everything’s damaged? I don’t want to know.

It would be such a waste. A waste of smart people. Because of the overly think, it seems like they are killing themselves without even noticing it. There are no problems with thinking critically, but yet please do avoid, thinking overly. 

After A While

 

Test Your Brain is such an interactive show discovers about critical thinking. Think outside of the box to be précised. This series puts your grey matter to the ultimate test. In Test Your Brain scientists and illusionists, such as magician David Copperfield, perform a series of experiments to discover how the way in which you perceive the world is often astonishingly far removed from reality!

Normally, we wouldn’t think something as critical as we should isn’t it? But once we think, and we found the solving on something, we would feel such a relief and to be honest, the feeling of proud in us could be seen. This show definitely gives us something we would never expect. It opens our eyes even wider on things that we least take notice of.

This show parts in three sections, which are Test Your Brain: Pay Attention, Test Your Brain: Perception, and Test Your Brain: Memory. And undeniably, all of three of them attract me a lot. Each section has their own way to attract out attention in using our brain solely. As I watch the show, I could feel deep down inside, I’m definitely lacking of concentration.  The show test our brain in a way of distracting out main attention and see do we really paying attention actually? And I could feel clearly that I haven’t used my brain solely before this.

Maybe for some people, to watch such show of documentary would be boring, but it depends on certain circumstances. Like for me, I found it totally interesting. Like I’ve said earlier, it opened my eyes a little bit more even on littlest things. It can be conclude that by using our brain like we should, could bring lots of benefits to our everyday life. So, do test your brain today!

 

Not Just an Animation Movie

The Adventures of Tintin (known as The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicornoutside North America) is a 2011 American 3D motion capture adventure film based on The Adventures of Tintin, a series of comic books created by Belgian artist Hergé (Georges Remi). Directed by Steven Spielberg, produced by Peter Jackson, and written by Steven Moffat, Edgar Wright and Joe Cornish, the film is based on three of the original comic books: The Crab with the Golden Claws (1941), The Secret of the Unicorn (1943), and Red Rackham's Treasure(1944). It is the first-ever animated film for both Spielberg and his long-time collaborator, composer John Williams.

With a strong team behind the production of the movie, no wonder the outcome of this movie is undeniably amazing. This kind of animation feature film is obviously hardly to be found these days. Plus, this movie di include deductive reasoning skills throughout the main character, Tintin. There are so many things we could learn from this movie actually. Especially when it comes to Tintin’s enthusiastic characteristics, he’s still young, but that doesn’t stop him to do things that he love even how impossible the things are in our perspective.

 

Adventurous yet thrilling are the best words that could describe this movie. It’s a movie that not just suitable for kids, but for all ages since it is an animated movie but with a feature film’s identity in it. It’s totally not the cliché type of animated movie like what we already have in the market up until now. Throughout the movie, I can feel myself arouse from my seat everytime the thrilling parts came out.

Sometimes I have had a thought about how possible people like Steven Spielberg could come out with such ideas in directing movie again. In conclusion, this animated film is well done and well accepted by the citizens around the world.

Expect the Unexpected.

 

As I watched a movie called Animal Farm, a 1999 tv movie directed by John Stephenson, one word came from my mouth, weird. The film tells the story of how the animals of a farm successfully revolt against its human owner, only to slide into a more brutal tyranny among them.

Honestly saying, this movie kind of weird to me in a way of, how possible animals could act such ways like in the movie. Especially when the movie centres Pigs as the dominant or leaders among other animal, it’s not that I have issues or offensive towards pigs, but I’m just being realistic. Who loves pigs? We hardly find one right? So, that is my point. By putting Pigs as the main roles, the viewer’s surely won’t feel comfortable throughout the whole movie.   

Another thing that bothers me during the movie was I keep on wondering why human, could look up to animal and even deal with them and even treat them at the same level as human. Maybe I hardly figure out the production’s intention in delivering this movie’s message, but in my eyes, everything seems not right everywhere. For me, animals are animals, and humans are humans. There are gaps over there. Plus, in the movie, the pig named Napoleon can even interact with humans in the movie. What is the point, I am not sure.

All in all, it’s not that I hundred per cent objecting this movie because from afar, I did see the message that they are trying to deliver to the audience. But maybe they had used a method that my mentality hardly accepts from the beginning until the end. Maybe I’m discriminating on an obvious way, but I’m just letting out my thoughts about this movie. How about you? Make your judgement today.

He is Not Perfect After All

 

 

When you heard the name “Steve Jobs”, of course the first thing that came across your mind would be, genius! There is no doubt that he was a genius. But being a genius doesn’t guarantee him to be perfect, have a perfect life, and even perfect personality.

Many of us weren’t aware at all of Steve Jobs’ personality. Maybe because he had cherished our life too much with his creativity in inventing phenomenal high technology products right? Yes, he was. He was the one who lighten up our days with amazing gadgets from Apple. Everyone knows that. But the thing now is, what people don’t know that what Steve Jobs was really like back then?

After the shocking news of his death at the end of 2011, the ugly truth has come out. The Steve Jobs that nobody knew. Only then people dare to open up such things about him. For what circumstances? I barely know myself. Maybe he was not as perfect as people imagined. What I mean by the ugly truth is, only now we know that Steve Jobs was not that good actually. As the brand Apple managed to capture the fame among society, Steve Jobs also changed.

Yes, people changed. He changed by being a hot tempered person, demanding perfectionist, and even irresponsible. This was the worst part. Back then, he was in a long relationship with his girlfriend and even made her pregnant. But unfortunately, Steve Jobs strongly denied the issue and just left her girlfriend abandoned with the child. We can see how irresponsible he was after fame has taken over everything in a person.

Such a disappointment because so many look up to him to be a good role model. But this is a total unexpected matter. Nobody ever thought the dark side of Steve Jobs isn’t it? So here is the proof, nobody is perfect.

 

 

Happyness is Yours Finally

 

Will Smith played the role of Christopher Gardner based on a true story film, The Pursuit of Happyness. In the film, Gardner was then a homeless salesman who suffered from the life pressure. He was a salesman who invested his family saving just in order to try demonstrating and selling portable bone-density scanners to doctors. But unfortunately his plan just turned such burdensome to him and turned his life upside down. Not just that, his wife also left him because she thought that they have no future anymore. Luckily Gardner still has his only son, Christopher Jr. played by Smith’s off-screen son, Jaden.

Based on my opinion, this movie has such a strong value for example we can see Smith’s character have gone through from ups and downs from the start until the end. He’s such a strong man physically and mentally just to reach one goal, happiness. Not just for his happiness, also for his son’s. Especially can be seen when his wife left him with nothing and after his plan for the scanners were turned down, that forced him to be homeless. At that moment, it honestly left me almost teary-eyed to see Gardner and his son unwillingly to spend their night at the subway’s bathroom.

Honestly saying, I hardly bear to see this kind of struggle ones need to face. But this is the reality we as a human need to humbly endure in our life. With such a strong and heartfelt performance by Will Smith, the movie has no doubt and proven to be a great movie with a precious value. His character never simply gave up in anything that he does.  Because in life, giving up is never be the answer to solve our problems. Because life is never unfair, the thing is we just need to wait for it to come. Sooner or later. Like in the end of the movie, it tells us that Christopher Gardner finally gets his happiness by getting a new job and later, owning a multi-million brokerage firm.

The Hell on Earth

From Hell is a movie adaptation of the popular murder case, Jack the Ripper in London, around the year of 1888. The movie was directed by Hughes Brothers and the movie was released in 2001. Even though the movie was using one of the hottest actors in America which is Johnny Depp, the fact doesn’t help much in highlighting this movie in the public eyes.

Based on my opinion, as I watched the movie, there are lots of differences with the original case.  Despite I was just doing my observation hundred per cent relying on various articles from the internet, but I strongly feel that the situations are mostly different. As a watcher, honestly I was excited when I was about to watch the movie version of the case, but halfway of the movie, lots of doubts started to kick in.

People are eager to know who is he...

Maybe the producer and the director have their own reasons why they interpreted the movie in differ ways from the movie, but I bet the public are mostly left unsatisfied. Because usually, when there were any true events happening in the past and were decided to be adapted into a movie version, people will be more eager to relate to the case because the realness of the case could be felt throughout the movie IF the movie is successful.

For an obvious example, one of the victims from the case, Mary Kelly, supposed to be killed but in the movie, it was the opposite. By using the actress Heather Graham, she played well of the character but for people who understand the actual event, would notice few differences in her characteristics.

Like I’ve said before, maybe the production team of the movie have their own reason in changing the flow of the real story.  And I have thought of one thing, that the reason might be because of “Jack the Ripper” case was still unsolved until today. Therefore, maybe that’s was their way in spicing up the movie. But for those who don’t know anything about the case or the movie, don’t make a quick assumption. Watch first. 

Maybe one of them? 

The Pianist, It’s Not All About Piano

 

Don’t misunderstand about the title I’ve made above. Honestly saying, I have nothing against Adrien Brody playing the main character as a person who plays the piano. What I’m trying to point out is that the story itself is just not all about the piano. The movie “The Pianist” is a movie directed by Roman Polanski and is an adaptation of an autobiography of the same name.

There are plenty other things that involved in the movie. For example, the main thing about the movie is war. The war seems obviously shown in the movie. The war revolves around the German against the Jews community.  What can I conclude here is, my post this time will go against my last post because right after I watched the movie, my perception changed. Not practically changed by the way, but more to confusion. Because I’m clueless on which sides should I believe? 

Which sides do you want to believe?

After I’ve read the article that has been written by Hitler himself earlier, I was just about to believe that the Jews are the actual betrayer. But after I’ve watched The Pianist, I’m dazed. The Jews have been severely treated. Until up to one point, I couldn’t bear watching how bad they were treated. And I keep asking myself until today, how bad the Jews were until they could be punished that way. 

Maybe I wasn’t born in that era to witness and to observe myself what were the real situations. Because everyone was against each other back then. Everyone wanted to survive for living. They don’t care about any other things anymore. Like the main character,, he had tried so many things and sacrificed in losing his family in order to survive. It was all different back then. People were strongly goal driven. They’d do anything to get what they want.

Fairly, this movie is such a strong movie and now I know why it earned so many notable awards at film festivals. The movie totally deserved it. If only I was there to see myself what the real situations back then, it would be easier for me to judge who’s wrong, who’s right.

Jews and Hitler Are Nobody to be Listened to

vs

Like the article that has been written by the Hitler himself, The Jews and their Deceits, we can see how much that Hitler hates the Jews. Even though that Hitler was not a good man himself and even been called the most powerful dictator, but he still want to feel the freedom as a human being. Everyone does.

Why must we listen to people that didn’t give anything to us? Like what the article tells, the Jews had “forced” people to convert to their religion in order to spread their power. And the targets at that time were the Catholics. As what has been described by Hitler, the Jews are liars and can’t even be trusted.

As an observant here, I cannot put my words clearly because all my life, I have never met any Jews to experience this. And I even think that in our era now, we are no one to judge who is right and who is wrong since all of us know that Hitler was not a good man indeed. Maybe he had condemned the Jews because he felt losing to them at one point. But if we are talking about freedom here, yes Hitler was right.

No one wants to be controlled. Especially when we talk about religion, our beliefs. As a human being, we are free to believe on what WE want to believe, not what others want to believe.  As long as we always keep the faith in God, it’s totally fine. Everyone deserves their own freedom in order to reach our own happiness.

In this case, maybe Hitler thought that the Jews are liars because they are hungry for powers. But there was no difference with him because he even killed people and practiced euthanasia but he just didn’t realize that others need freedom to live as well, not just him.

Want to Start or Want to Quit?

From kids to our parents’ generation, who doesn’t have Facebook? Almost impossible to find none but now, everything has changed when quitting Facebook is even cooler than having one.

Based on the article written by the reporter from New York Times, Jenna Wortham - All The Cool Kids Are Quitting Facebook, Facebook really did continue to grow in the early years. But nothing lasts forever since the percentage of the newcomers not really reaches the expected figures based on the research made from October 2009 to October 2010.

Why such thing happened actually? I get shocked myself once I read the article because it seems pretty obvious that Facebook is like “everyone’s thing” these days. As a Facebook user myself, I did notice that everyone seemed to get hitch with Facebook itself in the early years like 2009 but it has become like a table turner  when the result of the research revealed.

As we can determine by ourselves, Facebook can become our friend but at the same time it can also be our enemy. Because there must be good reasons why people start to use Facebook at the first place isn’t it? I have my own reasons why I did sign up on Facebook myself. As for my own reasons, I start to use it because to be honest, I wanted to follow the trend when everyone starts to have their own Facebook accounts. Then, I wanted to re-connect with my old friends and want to know about their out-and-about.

But now, people start to quit Facebook because it’s even cooler. Why? There are several good reasons that make such good senses. For example, people started to not communicate with each other lively. Because through Facebook, yes it’s true that we are meeting people, talk to people but all of that are just virtually and that’s obviously not good. It can even break people’s friendship and even relationship because they are not talking to each other anymore. Through Facebook too, trust in people is fading, according to the article.

Based on my own opinion, I have to admit now that Facebook is not good in certain ways. Like everything that have been mentioned in the article by Wortham, they are all make sense. Good ones actually. But at the same time, I need to admit that how hard I ignored Facebook, I still can’t live without it. Facebook has become like a part of the air that I’m breathing everyday. It’s like, how bad the air has been polluted, but we still need air to live right? So, it’s pretty much balance on how my thoughts on Facebook. I’m not going to persuade people to start to use Facebook, but at least I’m not encouraging them to quit Facebook.