Review of Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part I

Keywords: dystopian, oppression, propaganda, rebellion

Audience: PG-13

Violent content: shots and blood

Sexual content: one short kiss

[if you know nothing about Hunger Games series, you'll find this review unhelpful]

I went to see Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part I today. I'd waited for the press screening, but somehow there was none.

The second movie of Hunger Games series was one of my favorite movies on 2013. So this is very unfortunate that Mockingjay Part 1 doesn't win my heart. It doesn't mean the movie is bad. The filmmakers have captured the essence of first half of the book well, but perhaps I expected too much. You can't blame me; they made great campaigns!

Rurouni Kenshin, The Legend (Should Not) Ends (Like This)

Keywords: samurai, assassin, action, early Meiji

Audience: PG-13

Violent content: lots of fights and some blood

Sexual content: none

This is the third live-action movie for Rurouni Kenshin, and it is supposed to be the last. I'd heard some complains about how cheesy this movie is. That was half the reason why I didn't look forward to it as much as Kyoto Inferno. I can hardly remember a thing from the manga or anime. Even I can't recall the ultimate fight between Kenshin and Shishio very well, but Shishio's fire and his girlfriend's act of love. So I just hoped the movie would entertain me and Kenshin would win in a satisfying way.

Table-top Game Reviews: Steam Park and Assassin's Creed Arena

Recently I spent a day to just play table-top games with my friends. Most of the games were new for us, only one of them had always been our favorite. We played Steam Park twice, Heroclix once, Assassin's Creed: Arena twice, and COMBO once. I owe some friends to review Steam Park and Assassin's Creed: Arena. So, I'll just make short reviews here.

Rurouni Kenshin, Kyoto Inferno: To Be A Swordsman Is to Invigorate the Heart

Keywords: samurai, assassin, action, early Meiji

Audience: PG-13

Violent content: lots of fights and some blood

Sexual content: none

I went to see Kyoto Inferno last night, after half a year waiting in excitement. I wish Indonesia got earlier release, because August was so boring.

The plot is full-packed, as if they cram stories from at least 8-volumes manga into it. I don't mind. I love the humor. I enjoy the fights. I leave my cynical mind at home, wanting to see my childhood "friends" on screen without unnecessary disappointment. Unfortunately, those who know very little of Samurai X may find it difficult to follow so many characters and actions.

About Beauty and Beautiful Songs About It

One of my all-time favorite song is Unpretty by TLC. I saw it first when I was 11 or 12 in MTV. Even though my English listening skill was very limited back then, I could understand what the girlband was trying to say through the song.

Never insecure until I met you
Now I'm being stupid
I used to be so cute to me
Just a little bit skinny (Unpretty - TLC)

(Unpretty - Glee Cover)

Girls are burdened with expectations for their appearance. Beauty salon, diet program, make-up, fashion, cosmetic surgery are exist to fulfill the so-called girls' need for being pretty. The thing is, why do they feel unpretty? It's because they see people who "speak" about how the girls don't live up to the requirements to be pretty.

How To Train Your Dragon 2: About Growing Up

Keywords: fantasy, viking, dragon, rider
Audience: everyone
Violent content: humans and dragons fighting each others (very mild visualization)

Sexual content: two kisses, if I didn't lose my count

I love the fact that this is a family movie. Although Hiccup and his friends have grown up and--as expected--crushes and kisses are obvious, they are just side dish served as humor material.

The plot is first about Hiccup's finding his true calling, second about how dragons and humans should co-exist. You may think that's also the case with the first installment, but trust me the sequel will touch you in a different way.

Make sure you watch it in 3D for a satisfying ride. (I watched it in 2D and now am longing to see it again... in 3D.)

X-Men Days of Future Past: Story of Renewed Past

Keywords: action, sci-fi, super power, time travel
Audience: 13+ (under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian)
Violent content: some blood and severed limbs (mild visualization)
Sexual content: almost nudity (not only Mystique)

Warning: you may think this review contains mild spoilers (although I don't think it does)

I'm not a big fan of X-Men, but I like it enough that I'd been looking forward to Days of Future Past (DOFP). And I heard that it would be Jackman's last time playing Logan/Wolverine.

I rarely watch movie trailers (I hate them, in fact), so my expectation was build up upon my own assumption from random stuff I found on internet about DOFP. I thought that somehow the older team and the younger (past) team would meet and work together against a massive danger. It turned out that only one character does the time travel (doesn't need an expert to guess who, this poster is obvious).

About Beauty and Why I Gave Up On It

I am not what beauty products and tv shows would refer as beautiful in their campaign. Dark skin, curly hair, too wide eyes, big round face, wide forehead are not listed in the stereotypical features of beauty. At least that was the trend during the first 20 years of my life (still apply for most of them nowadays, though).

Some of you might think it's ironic that a supermodel was who make me finally understand that I am indeed beautiful. But it was Tyra Banks and her American Next Top Model who showed me that women who look like me could be approved as very beautiful by those who are most critical about visual beauty.

And when I believe I'm beautiful, I decided to cover it.

I am a muslimah (feminine noun for "someone whose faith is Islam"). In Quran, muslimahs are instructed to cover their heads with veils (khimar) and their bodies with loose clothes (hijab). However, I don't wear them only for Allah. I wear them also for myself and all women in this world.

Technologically Lonely

There has been a growing debate about whether, in this technologically advanced world, the development of technological tools and how people use them is the underlying reason why the modern society is overwhelmed by increasing loneliness. However, I can not fully agree with his contention.

First of all, it is true that modern gadgets provided people with a way to busy themselves anywhere, anytime, thus they can simply ignore people around them. I remember my teacher told me that when he was young, people used to talk to others they did not even know in London cafes. Nowadays he would only find people set up barriers from others by indulging themselves with cellular phones or laptops, leaving him with no chance to talk to anyone. This attitude toward technological tools indeed contributes to the increasing loneliness mentioned.

Despite the fact pointed above, the actual purpose of developing technological devices is to facilitate various aspects of our life, including communication. Telephone was invented to allow people to speak to friends without getting out of their houses, so why only the newest form of communication channel—the Internet installed in laptops or other devices—is blamed for it making people lonely. In spite of limiting its users in respect of contact with others, the Internet is actually aiding people to send messages and documents cheaper and faster. The same reason is applicable to mobile phones. Therefore, the assertion that the development of technological tools has plunged humanity to loneliness is unconvincing.

Moreover, the growing loneliness is not directly caused by the advancing technology. With the ever increasing competitive work force, it is more reasonable to accuse financial demands as the reason why people have less chance to connect themselves to family and friends. Even if someone argues that the overwhelming competition is incited by the increasing speed of the most recent devices, it is again how people use them which result in the lack of leisure time to communicate with others.

To sum, it is not the advancing technology that makes people lonely. The development of such devices itself was instead intended to facilitate people to connect themselves with others. Even if the speed following the advanced technology caused some professions to be more demanding, the culpable side is again the uses that humanity has put to it.

How to Tackle the Paper-Based IELTS Reading Comprehension

The basic rule is DON’T SKIM. You just have to do everything in moderate speed. As long as you don’t slack while doing the test, you’ll be fine. Surely, it is advised that you get adequate practice to improve your so-called “moderate” speed.

If you have some difficulties in understanding the reading passage, well, those in the paper-based IELTS are actually simple. A paragraph consists of a main sentence and some supporting sentences. Meanwhile, a sentence’s core has a subject and a verb. Have yourself some exercises to mentally break the passage in this way. Don’t get confused with long paragraphs or seemingly endless sentences, because they are all basically the same.

1. Read the first three sentences, look if there is any question related to what you’ve found there. Make a temporary answer if it is possible.
2. Read the rest of the paragraph, look again at the questions. If you’re lucky, you’ll be able to answer most of them by then.
3. Repeat step 1 for the next paragraph(s).
4. After reading the whole passage, check the answers you’ve made so far. There may be something you misunderstood when you only had read the first paragraph.

This way, you would not waste your time reading without answering any question (and likely to forget what you’ve just read). Moreover, it would be safer than getting lost in the passage when you try to answer the questions directly.

Dealing with the vocabulary questions is tricky when you have very little knowledge in the area. The best way to prepare yourself is reading everything and make sure that you look for the difficult words (and memorize them, of course). Books specifically telling you about what and how to memorize the most popular words occuring in IELTS would also help you much.

However, if your time is running out, go get yourself a lot of IELTS practice tests. Coin new words there, find their meanings. Make sure that you learn something from the answers’ explanation because experience would make you remember at best.

To Hit the Books or To Surf the Net

People nowadays are enjoying the benefits generated by the Internet and the World Wide Web. It is possible for you to look for many kinds of information by surfing the Web without having to go out of your house, even get out of your bed. By a few clicks and keywords, you are led to anything you want to know about your favorite rock star or the recipe of a Korean dish you have just had the other day. Moreover, our fast-paced busy life should thank the existence of online media, both text and video, for it allows us to keep up with the hot issues with the slightest distraction from our demanding daily activities. That is how the Internet cover our need of conventional radio, newspaper, and television. Now, when it is compared to the classic source of information, books, does the Internet still able to emulate them?

In case of learning something, the Internet can help you catch the gist of it but books are vital to give you a thorough and credible information. You can say, hey, there are websites out there with the same weight of content! It is a flawed argument for there is a fatal weakness in the Web: anyone can post anything freely there. You can not do the same thing with books, especially those printed by the notable publishers. There are copywriters and editors who conduct tough selections among the scripts. This kind of process is extremely rare in the Web.

The next point that is going to be elaborated in this paragraph is the fact that the Internet is also a medium to access books. Books, in nature, are pages containing some accumulated information which were written for a certain purpose and function. In this advanced world, it is not necessary for books to be tangible. To avoid shipping problems and limitations, you can buy the digital version of particular books and print them by your very own printer or you can just read them on your screen. What help you to do this? The Internet. Therefore, even though you begin with the cyberspace in your study, you will end up reading books available there.

Eventually, it is not possible for us to learn just as much by surfing the Internet and the World Wide Web as by reading books. The information available in the cyberspace are overall and superficial. To learn something at best, reading books are still the most helpful way.

GRE Issue Task 5

No business should sacrifice the quality of its products or services for the sake of maximizing profits.

The speaker asserts that, in any business, maximum profit goals should not render the quality of products and services to be sacrificed. I strongly agree with this claim. I see that instead of leveraging profit by reducing cost, the loss of quality will only stimulate a downward trend of revenue. This inclination works out for all kinds of businesses, as elaborated below.

Let us begin with tangible products, namely toys, food, and electronic devices. A corporation may skip a single step in its production to cut its production cost. Assuming that it is the safety check such as rounding sharp tips in children toys, bacterial scanning in food, or electrical stability in home theater sets, those products will be harmful. As soon as they find it, people will throw it away and the company will lose its market. Even worse, there is a possibility that consumers will sue the company because its products have hurt them.

Service-based business is our next target. How do you think of a hotel with a bad service quality would be? People will not recommend it to their peers, let alone they will come back again. What about an airport which always make its passengers feel stressful due to its lack of friendly officers and complicated administration? Even if there is no rival to worry about, individuals will fly more often if they know they will find themselves feel comfortable in the airport. Furthermore, I suggest that the airport should add more facilities related to its passengers’ needs, such as a free hotspot area or a handphone charger booth. Despite of their maintenance costs, these facilities will attract more customers, and result in more profit as what every corporation strives for.

Last but not least, this issue is also viable in the internet, particularly the social media sites. Facebook, for instance, has to restrain itself from accepting too many advertisements in its site. A bigger number of marketing deals with big companies will generate a bigger sum of money in the short term, but visitors will consider it as a quality loss. They will distaste Facebook for its letting a bunch of third-parties attacking them with unnecessary campaigns, and eventually rely on other sites in the same category. As lack of visitors means the death of an internet-based business, Facebook would wither and die as a consequence. This possible disaster is why Facebook should strictly maintain its quality rather than pursuing profit maximization.

As now it is clear that sacrificing the quality for profit will only result in undesirable ends, I appeal that every business leader should find a way to gain more profit by maintaining or even increasing the quality of its products and services. In the end of the day, the market will respect it and the corporation will stand out among its competitors.