Thursday, September 29, 2005

As Long as We Got Each Other..

Got this song all over my head since sang it in B'Therman's wedding..
I think the song is very motivational. So I dedicate this song to my friends who's struggling in their work, in their study, in their Final Project, in their service (I mean for the church),
who is sick, who's got sad moments in their life, being left by their loved ones, who feels left alone, everybody...

Especially this one goes to Toman, whose mother will never be close to him physically anymore. May God grant us the serenity to accept things we cannot change.

Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.
Matthew 18:19-20 (NIV)



As Long as We Got Each Other
(Growing Pains)
by Steve Dorff and John Bettis

Show me that smile again
Don’t waste another minute on your cryin’
We're nowhere near the end
The best is ready to begin


As long as we got each other
We got the world spinnin right in our hands
Baby you and me, we gotta be
The luckiest dreamers who never quit dreamin’


As long as we keep on givin’
we can take anything that comes our way
Baby, rain or shine, all the time
We got each other Sharin’ the laughter and love


Thursday, September 22, 2005

Airlines trial technology to allow mobile calls at 30,000ft

quote dr artikel yang di link pada judul..
Two airlines are to introduce technology into their aeroplanes that allows passengers to make in-flight calls, without interfering with the aircraft's systems, reports The Guardian
Terkait juga dengan post-ku di blog ini Bahayanya mengaktifkan ponsel di pesawat

Jadi emang udah ada riset supaya teknologi komunikasi seluler dapat digunakan selama penerbangan. Kita liat aja gimana perkembangan teknologinya. Klo dipikir2 emang untuk penerbangan jarak pendek, matiin HP emang tidak bermasalah. Tapi untuk penerbangan jarak jauh memang perlu dipikirkan orang2 sibuk yg komunikasinya dalam level 'important & urgent'.

Yah, semoga sukses deh orang yg ngembangin teknologi itu. Eh, tapi tetap diingatin klo take off dan landing, alat komunikasi seluler tetap mesti dimatiin :D

ps: Thanks to Basbang for the article

Tuesday, September 20, 2005

Gossip gossip evil thing (Socrates' Triple Filter Test)

Singing: "Gossip.. gossip evil thing, much unhappiness it brings. If you can't say something nice, don't talk at all is my advice..."

Yep, that's it.. Too many things happen around us everyday. And usually everybody already know how dangerous a gossip could be. Have seen too many unpleasant things happen just because a little talk over here, a little talk over there.. We might not intend to tell bad things, we might think that it's not harmful, and it's just a kinda joke. But we never know how other people would receive the message, how they would deliver it to other people, and how people would react to that story.. Little thing could become big in a very short time. Over-blown-up! And before you realize it, it's already too big to handle..

I got an article sometime before, and it's a nice one to share to remind us about the power of words and how to use them wisely..

Sorry, I got this story from a community, don't know the real source of the article.
Next time someone starts to spread gossip, think of this:

In ancient Greece (469 - 399 BC), Socrates was widely lauded for his wisdom.

One day the great philosopher came upon an acquaintance who ran up to him excitedly and said, "Socrates, do you know what I just heard about one of your students?"

Wait a moment," Socrates replied. "Before you tell me I'd like you to pass a little test.It's called the Triple Filter Test.

"Triple filter?"

"That's right," Socrates continued. "Before you talk to me about my student let's take a moment to filter what you're going to say. The first filter is Truth. Have you made absolutely sure that what you are about to tell me is true?"

"No," the man said, "actually I just heard about it and..."

"All right," said Socrates. "So you don't really know if it's true or not. Now let's try the second filter, the filter of Goodness. Is what you are about to tell me about my student something good?"

"No, on the contrary..."

"So," Socrates continued, "you want to tell me something bad about him, even though you're not certain it's true?"

The man shrugged, a little embarrassed.

Socrates continued. "You may still pass the test though,because there is a third filter - the filter of Usefulness. Is what you want to tell me about my student going to be useful to me?"

"No, not really..."

"Well," concluded Socrates, "if what you want to tell me is neither True nor Good nor even Useful,why tell it to me at all?"

The man was defeated and ashamed.

This is the reason Socrates was a great philosopher and held in such high esteem.

Friday, September 16, 2005

Semalam aku bermimpi..

Kemarin malam aku bermimpi.. Aku sedang berada di dalam sebuah mobil. Aku duduk di sebelah orang yang mengemudi. Selama perjalanan, kami ngobrol-ngobrol:
(berbincang-bincang)
"Kasihan sekali. Ibu Isabel berada di pesawat Mandala yang jatuh di Medan awal September kmaren ini.."
"Oh ya?"
"Iya, ibu itu ikut menjadi salah seorang korban meninggal."
"Waah.. Kasihan sekali"
..dan perbincangan berlanjut, dan sampailah aku di tempat tujuan. Turun, dan mengucapkan salam perpisahan...
"Makasih ya, Bu Isabel. Hati-hati di jalan.."
......

Dan aku terbangun. Terdiam, sambil mengingat-ingat.. Siapa yang kusebut baru meninggal, dan siapa orang yang mengantarku....

catatan: perbincangan yang disebutkan di atas hanyalah bagian dari mimpi dan tidak ada kaitannya dengan kejadian sesungguhnya.


Tuesday, September 13, 2005

Charlie and The Chocolate Factory

Hey hey.. I watched Charlie and The Chocolate Factory in Cihampelas walk (Ciwalk) yest'day. It's somewhat a relief for me after such busyness some time before (unfortunately there's also a not-so-good story happened related to this watching-event, sadly..). Ah Well, I watched it with B'Rehold, B'Josh, Oclyn, and Hans.

About The movie itself. Humm.. Good story, and hey.. I like Willy Wonka's don't-care-attitude :p I like Charlie's family: Charlie's cynical grandpa, his 'not-so-nyambung' grandma (Georgina, if I'm not mistaken), his enthusiast grandpa Joe, his other grandma (dont' remember). I love the way
Charlie's mom and dad looked at him, seemed wanting to give every good thing in the world but couldn't.

The scene I love best is the one when Willy, along with Charlie, visited Wilbur's house (I want to write "Willy's Father's house" but am not comfortable with those 'over-used' possesive expression :p), picturing a single building left alone in the area covered with snow.

Why I like it best? Early in the previous scenes, when Willy decided to left his father to build his own chocolate factory, his father firmly stated, "When you return, You won't find me here!" (Not the exact words he mentioned). For me, it's like breaking up their father-and-son relationship, neglecting the existence of Willy, stating that Willy and him was on their own from that moment on and alone.

But then in the scene of that single building I mentioned before, I receive the message that what he's saying was just crap and a statement of self-defense. At the deserted area, still at the same position of his own house tagged with -Wilbur Wonka, Dental Practitioner- (again, might not be the exact words ;p), he waited for Willy to return. To make sure that if Willy somehow return, he will still be able to find Wilbur right at the place they separated.

The whole story itself is amusing ^_^ I like it..

Thursday, September 08, 2005

Bahayanya mengaktifkan ponsel di pesawat

Masih terkait dengan peristiwa jatuhnya pesawat Mandala Airlanes di Medan, muncul beberapa dugaan mengenai penyebab kecelakaan itu. Salah satunya itu dugaan sinyal2 ponsel yang mengganggu sistem yang terkait dengan penerbangan sehingga pesawat akhirnya tidak bisa terbang sempurna dan terjadilah kecelakaan.

Beneran juga sih.. Tiap naik pesawat kan ada pemberitahuan dari pramugari/a untuk matiin HP saat melakukan penerbangan.. eh, ato saat take off & landing aja yah?(rada ga ingat jg, tapi aku sih selalu matiin aja selama perjalanan.. Sekali2 asyik juga hidup tanpa interupsi HP :p).

Nah, klo dr apa yg aku liat sendri dan mengingat kebiasaan masyarakat Indonesia, cukup sering juga peraturan di pesawat itu dilanggar. Heran juga.. ntah karena emang ngeyel, ato saking cueknya jadinya ga dengerin si pramugari/a itu ngomong apa..

Berikut ini potongan fakta-fakta gangguan pada penerbangan yang terjadi akibat pengaktifan ponsel di pesawat:
1. Pesawat Crossair dengan nomor penerbangan LX498 baru saja lepas landas dari bandara Zurich, Swiss. Sebentar kemudian pesawat menukik jatuh. Sepuluh penumpangnya tewas. Penyelidik menemukan bukti adanya gangguan sinyal ponsel terhadap sistem kemudi pesawat.

2. Sebuah pesawat Slovenia Air dalam penerbangan menuju Sarajevo melakukan pendaratan darurat karena sistem alarm di kokpit penerbang terus meraung-raung. Ternyata, sebuah ponsel di dalam kopor di bagasi lupa dimatikan, dan menyebabkan gangguan terhadap sistem navigasi.

3. Boeing 747 Qantas tiba-tiba miring ke satu sisi dan mendaki lagi setinggi 700 kaki justru ketika sedang final approach untuk mendarat di bandara Heathrow, London. Penyebabnya adalah karena tiga penumpang belum mematikan komputer, CD player, dan electronic game masing-masing (The Australian, 23-9-1998).
Yahh, semoga sosialisasi tentang hal ini makin baik dan makin banyak orang yang tau tentang bahaya penggunaan ponsel ini. Dan juga semoga orang-orang yang udah tau juga berani untuk mengingatkan orang yang 'bandel' di pesawat (kali aja blom sadar bahayanya..)

Tuesday, September 06, 2005

Mandala Airlines Tragedy..

I read the news about Mandala Airline plane crash in detik.com.
I browse through the mass news about that accident, trying to find list of passenger, to see if someone I know was in the list. The accident happened in Medan, a city where some of my relatives lives. I thank God I didn't find any relative's name in the list. Although I am familiar with the name of the previous Governor of Sumatra Utara, Raja Inal Siregar.

Later that day, I got news via the elefante chorale's mailing list that Toghie's father should've been on board of that crashed Mandala plane. Thank God, he cancelled the flight because he had a class to be lectured.

But then when we're practising some songs for an event in Sesko AU, Lembang ('we' refers to some of my friends from GII Dago Choir and I), we got news from B'Therman
that Dame's mom and sister were on the plane. And both didn't survive.. *Sigh* I am terribly sad..
I got this weird feeling in my stomach and my head.. You know.. It feels terrible knowing that a person you love died.. Having a friend experiencing it brings the same effect.. You just can't ignore it.. Having the thought "What if my ... What if I.."

And this accident reminded me that we people are so close to death.. And remind me that today could be my last day..
My very deep condolences to Dame and also to all family left by their beloved family member..


MAZMUR
23:1 Mazmur Daud. TUHAN adalah gembalaku, takkan kekurangan aku.
23:2 Ia membaringkan aku di padang yang berumput hijau, Ia membimbing aku ke air yang tenang;
23:3 Ia menyegarkan jiwaku. Ia menuntun aku di jalan yang benar oleh karena nama-Nya.
23:4 Sekalipun aku berjalan dalam lembah kekelaman, aku tidak takut bahaya, sebab Engkau besertaku; gada-Mu dan tongkat-Mu, itulah yang menghibur aku.
23:5 Engkau menyediakan hidangan bagiku, di hadapan lawanku; Engkau mengurapi kepalaku dengan minyak; pialaku penuh melimpah.
23:6 Kebajikan dan kemurahan belaka akan mengikuti aku, seumur hidupku; dan aku akan diam dalam rumah TUHAN sepanjang masa.