Whaku Bhim, Papuan Choir: Gospel Night

Got an email from Ocha this morning, informing there would be a choir performance in Indonesian Embassy's Auditorium at 7pm tonight.

The choir is Whaku Bhim, a choir from Papua, the eastern-most province in Indonesia. It is reported that they got a gold and a silver medal from the World Choir Games 2008 in Graz, Austria. Haaa, then this is a must-see performance for me :D

Paduan suara Whaku Bhim dari Papua akan ditampilkan secara khusus bersama beberapa kelompok paduan suara lainnya dari China, Australia, Amerika Serikat, Eropa dan Afrika Selatan dalam acara "We Are The World, Die Grosse Sommer-Nacht der Chore", International choir competition World Choir Games.

After contacting Rahmadi, Rizky, Mieke, and Reini, we agreed to go there by Reini's car at 6pm. As expected (at least by us Indonesians, not by those Dutch ladies) the small concert started late. Although the choir had arrived at 6.30 from Nijmegen (another concert there), the Indonesian ambassador didn't arrive from an appointment in Morocco's embassy until almost 8.

The choir consisted of church members and universities' students from Jayapura and its surroundings, conducted by Aris Sudibyo.

I didn't know the first song they sang, but I could notice that they're good. The second song was Indonesian version of "The Majesty and Glory of Your Name" by Tom Fettke (is it "Betapa Mulia NamaMu Tuhan"?). Now here I got a lot more excited and think that they sang it beautifully (perhaps also because I really love this song :D).

Other songs were "Sanctus"and I-forgot-the-other-one. The Tenors were kinda flat & stiff. The soloists (or descants, I forgot) were weak. At this point I was kinda having a skepticism. I mean, they're good, okay.. but what I heard were not the quality of WCG's gold medal choir.

Then came "Bukakan Pintu KasihMu" by Ronald Pohan and "Toki Gong (Sambil Menari Halleluya)" by Christian Tamaela. Ahh, "Bukakan Pintu KasihMu" are so typically Ronald Pohan. With all those complicated and close-harmony chords. I love his works. Impressively, the choir sang Toki Gong very well (except one noticeable false/drop at the release of one verse) and the clap-part was perfect. Very tidy. Now I could see that they've actually practising very hard. "Bukakan Pintu KasihMu" was nicely sung, with a lot better vocal compared to previous songs. The last 'Amen' part was great. "All Things Bright and Beautiful" was sung okay.. I think it was put as last song to neutralized the effect of Ronald Pohan's song, khekhekhee.

Second session was started after a break with bakso, hahaha :D
A medley song (I forgot what they were) and another Ronald Pohan's song "Tinggal Sertaku", which was composed before the death of his father E.L. Pohan. Then the session was mostly filled with Negro Spiritual songs such as "I Want To Thank You Lord", "Everytime I Feel The Spirit"(You introduced this to me B'Josh :D), "Soon Ah Will Be Done", ended with "Elijah Rock". I really liked Moses Hogan's work :D

I would say they sang Negro Spiritual really good. The ringing of the voice and the vibrato fit really well, apart from their physical appearance (well, the conductor said so :D). I think they related more with those songs and sang them more relax-ly (if this word exist :p). The dynamic flowed rather smoothly, although with less control to go piano/pianissimo. The soloists in this second session were much better. The power of the choir were great, although there's a tendency to be screamy (udah kecapekan kali ya).

***

Whaku Bhim was also appointed to perform in World Symposium on Choral Music in Copenhagen, Denmark. Later in a chat with the conductor, I acknowledged that the conductor was a former conductor of Universitas Kristen Petra choir (a very good choir in Surabaya). He was encouraged by Aida Swenson Simanjuntak, one of the judges/committee of WCG (Oh, Tante Aida existnya dirimu, hehehe) to form and train Whaku Bhim. So in 6 months, forming and training a choir like this was a very good achievement I think.

Eventually I knew they got silver medal in Mixed Chamber Choir and gold medal in Open Folklore. So, the gold medal was from Open Folklore.. I gotta see their next concert at 6 August 2008 at the same place, performing Papuan folksongs and dance. Tomorrow, they will be touring to Germany for another (some more) concert(s).

In the end, I really enjoyed the small concert. It's so endearing to see other Indonesian choir participating in World Choir Games.. Congratulations!!
And I really miss my choir now :)

Kembar Hitam-Putih

Untungnya sih bukan kayak zebra :D

Tapi bayi yang satu kulit putih, bayi yang satu lagi kulit hitam. Si kembar ini lahir dari pasangan ibu dari Ghana dan ayah dari Jerman. Yang berkulit putih diberi nama Ryan dan yang kulit hitam bernama Leo. Katanya kelahiran seperti ini terjadi dengan probabilitas 1 dalam sejuta (siapa juga yg ngitung2 ini..).

And the twins are already revealing opposing personalities.
Light-skinned Ryan is described as a "spirited" baby, while Leo is laid back.

Berita lebih detail bisa dibaca di sini dan sini, lengkap dengan videonya.

Praying Dog

I found out about this dog from detik but since the article was written as lame as usual, I search for other source: this and this.

The dog's name is Conan (1,5 year old) (named after Arthur Conan Doyle), a long haired Chihuahua .

He learned the position by imitating his master in a Zen Buddhist temple in Japan.

"I think he saw me doing it all the time and got the idea to do it, too," Yoshikuni said.

He is just too cute to ignore, hehehe :D

Sheep Dash!

Got a link for a BBC's reaction test game from Wuri: Sheep Dash!
It is said in the automobile driving manual that the average driver's reaction time is 0.75 seconds.


As warned in her email, the game is indeed addicting :D
I have tried it around 10 times and the best (and average) result I got is Bobbing Bobcat.

Let me know if you can get Rocketing Rabbit or Turbo-charged Cheetah! :D And tell me how you do that, hehehe.

Take Copter / Baling-baling Bambu

Lagi-lagi karena nonton channel national geographic..

Seorang Jepang bernama Gennai Yanagisawa, 75 tahun telah mengembangkan mesin terbang personal berdasarkan konsep mesin terbang Leonardo Da Vinci. Mesin terbang ini hanya memiliki satu tempat duduk untuk penggunaan pribadi dan memiliki 2 baling-baling yang terpasang pada sumbu vertikal. Mesin itu dinamakan GEN H-4.

Yanagisawa's inspiration: da Vinci's 1493 ornithopter

Pada helikopter biasa, ada sebuah baling-baling besar pada sumbu vertikal badan helikopter dan ada sebuah baling-baling kecil di bagian ekor untuk memungkinkan helikopter menjaga kestabilan dan terbang maju.

Fungsi ini diimplementasikan pada GEN H-4 dengan dua baling-baling sejajar pada sumbu vertikal yang berputar saling berlawanan arah, sehingga bentuknya lebih compact.

Satu hal yang masih menjadi masalah adalah pengaruh angin kencang pada GEN H-4. Mesin ini belum memiliki toleransi tinggi terhadap kecepatan angin.

Harga mesin ini masih mahal sekali. Berita mengenai demonstrasi mesin ini di Italy, tepatnya di Vinci tempat asal Leonardo si pengembang konsep awal, bisa dibaca di sini.

Dalam tayangan videonya, Gennai menyampaikan kalau sejak kecil dia memimpikan bisa terbang di angkasa. Itu yang mendorong dia untuk mengembangkan mesin ini. The power of dream is truly amazing.

Mengagumkan ya.. Jepang semakin mendekati pewujudnyataan Take Copter alias Baling-baling bambunya Doraemon :D

Cane Toad

Di salah satu TOEFL test yang pernah aku ikuti beberapa tahun lalu IELTS test practice yang aku ikuti tahun lalu, ada materi reading test tentang Cane Toad. Disebutkan kalau Cane Toad didatangkan dari Hawai dan digunakan sebagai usaha alami/biologis untuk membasmi hama Cane Beetle yang menyerang tanaman tebu di Australia.

Rasanya ini ide yang bagus kan?

Tapi sayang kenyataannya ga begitu. Setelah didatangkan, si makhluk kecil menjijikkan tidak-terlalu-menarik ini malah ga mengkonsumsi si Cane Beetle. Seingatku karena beetle-nya makan daun di tempat tinggi dan larvanya makan akar dalam tanah sehingga Cane Toad-nya ga bisa memakan mereka. Ujung-ujungnya, karena begitu giat berkembang biak, si Toad ini bertambah banyak dan malah menjadi hama di Australia.

Lah, terus kenapa tiba-tiba ngomongin makhluk tak menarik ini?
Hehe, tadi pas nonton national geographic di TV (tumben banget kan), si Cane Toad ini dibahas. Pembahasannya mengenai mereka sebagai hama dan penanggulangannya.

Bertambah banyaknya Cane Toad menjadi masalah di Australia. Selain mendiami banyak lahan dan bersaing untuk resource alami dengan banyak makhluk setempat, si Toad yang ternyata beracun itu membahayakan biodiversitas (terjemahan sotoy dari Biodiversity.. eh, rasanya di perasaan biologi dulu ada padanannya: Keanekaragaman Hayati). Dilaporkan kalau populasi ular, burung, dan sejumlah reptilia menurun drastis. Ini terjadi karena mereka mati segera setelah sok jago memakan Cane Toad.

The spread of Cane Toads in Australia from 1940 to 1980 in 5-year intervals
(taken from Wikipedia)

Sekarang ini mereka sudah tersebar luas di seluruh Australia.

Cara penanggulangan agak nyeleneh yang pernah dipakai adalah dengan menjadikan Cane Toad sebagai bagian dari 'olah raga'Cara penanggulangan agak nyeleneh yang pernah dipakai adalah dengan menjadikan Cane Toad sebagai bagian dari 'olah raga'. Cane Toad diperlakukan seperti bola dalam permainan golf dan cricket. Metode ini ditentang oleh kelompok pemerhati (peri ke)binatang(an).

Akhirnya peneliti berusaha mencari cara untuk mengatasi Cane Toad. Salah satu yang menarik adalah fakta bahwa mereka bereaksi terhadap sinar ultraviolet. UV light yang juga biasa dipakai di dance floor itu menarik perhatian serangga-serangga makanan si Toad dan akhirnya membawa Cane Toad masuk kotak perangkap. Kotak-kotak perangkap itu disebar di alam bebas dan berhasil menangkap banyak Cane Toad sampai berplastik-plastik besar yang kemudian dibekukan untuk membunuh mereka.

Terus, Cane Toad yang berhasil ditangkap sampai berplastik-plastik itu diapain? Apa dikirim ke club-club golf dan cricket?

Ternyata tidak. Sebagian besar diproses menjadi pupuk dan sisanya dijadikan souvenir, seperti dompet koin. Emangnya ada yang mau ya?

Energy Drink

Drinking energy drink at night is certainly not a good idea.. At least now that's what I think.

I had dinner with Mai, Doudou, Dirk, and Harold around 8 pm at my place (and I was glad they finished all my cookings till the last piece, especially those two girls competing over the Rendang). After washing the dishes around 11 pm, I drank the still-half-full energy drink. I thought, it's leftover from the afternoon and just finished it and threw the can away.. Nothing's wrong with it.

I was wrong..

It's 4.20 in the morning and I haven't slept yet. Not that I didn't try to. I have turned off the light, said my prayer, curled up on my bed since around 2, and.. nothing happened. I mean, I still couldn't sleep. Oh man..!

Oh, and I got a jogging appointment with Puspa at 8 in the morning.. Arrgh.. Need to sleep!

Follow Up: The jogging thing still happened although 1 hour later than planned. Not bad :D

Rest In Peace Alrin

Aku terima sms dari Eldi minggu lalu.

"Gua dapat kabar dari Sari. Alrin meninggal karena Malaria 5 hari yang lalu"

Ga kusangka. Alrin yang aku ga terlalu kenal dekat. Cuma beberapa kali pernah ketemu dan kerja bareng. Terakhir kali waktu Konser Terima Kasih PSM-ITB setelah World Choir Games 2006 di Xiamen, China. Alrin mengiringi kami TLV Male menyanyikan beberapa lagu dengan permainan pianonya (link ke posting yang lalu).

Eldi bilang, dia kaget banget karena baru berencana untuk merekrut Alrin untuk proyek berikutnya dengan TLV.

Sebelum itu aku udah kenal Alrin dari beberapa proyek tapi jarang ketemu setelahnya. Hanya saling menyapa dan ngobrol sebentar kalau ketemu di jalanan ITB. Menurutku dia tipe pendiam yang ga ngomong banyak kalau ga perlu. Tipe orang yang teduh tapi tetap menyenangkan untuk diajak ngobrol. Dari obrolan kami, dia ga pernah belajar piano secara khusus, tapi belajar sendiri karena senang aja. Untuk main piano di Bandung, dia memanfaatkan piano di Aula Barat ITB yang nganggur siang hari. Bagiku, dia bermain bagus dan aku mengagumi dia karena kecintaannya terhadap piano itu.

Aku heran, kenapa meninggal karena Malaria? Bukannya dia di Bandung? Bukannya obat Malaria udah ada sejak lama? Ya, mungkin ini cuma pikiran-pikiran egoisku yang mencoba complain dengan apa yang terjadi.

Belakangan dari Sari aku dapat info kalau Alrin kena Malaria saat berdinas di Sulawesi, sebagai anak Geologi bertugas ke pelosok-pelosok daerah. Sari juga ga terlalu yakin, tapi nampaknya penanganan terhadap sakitnya Alrin terlambat dilakukan, sampai akhirnya dia meninggal 9 Juli lalu.

Ya, I don't know Alrin that much.. But I admire him. And I write this to show that his life has indeed touch mine and I believe also many others'.

Rest in peace, my friend.. For God loves you more than we do...

New Room

Yep, I've just moved from my old room at Roland Holstlaan to this new one at Poptahof Noord. 4th of July was the day I signed my new contract with DUWO, the housing agency.

My new room is a unit on the 2nd floor with 3 bedrooms, a toilet, a bathroom, a dining room, and a kitchen. I share it with Jarot & Handy... (well, they share it with me since they got the unit first and offered me to stay with them :D)

My room is the biggest (and the most expensive) of the three, but still 40 euro cheaper than my old room. It's also bigger.

So far, I'm satisfied with my new room, although I just realized that Netherlands also has mosquitos :( Come to think of it, maybe I didn't realized it before because I lived in the 13th floor at Roland Holstlaan and the mosquitos were too lazy and couldn't afford to fly that high, hahaa :D Plus my new room has plants under its window which makes it nice to see but tend to become the home of those darn mosquitos. Ah well, everything comes in balance :D

So, say hi to my new room! :D

Von Smith

I know Dreamgirls hype was over..
But I stumbled upon this video and I thought his vocal technique was awesome! The fact that he can sing so high was amazing, although personally his type of voice is not my favorite. Yupe, some of you might have known him: Von Smith (birth name: Vaughn Lee Smith).
His other songs can be found in his myspace.