Copenhagen, the city that I'm dreaming of going !

When people asked me” what is the country that you’re dreaming of going?” Copenhagen, Denmark is the answer.

The first time I knew that country was on the old book that i found in the book store when i was around 11^th year old. At that time, i was interesting with the view, building, and other classical things which provided in the book. Ever since that time, Copenhagen is one of my favorite cities due to the classical things that i admire.

Well, there are some information about Copenhagen that i got from the internet and books ;

Copenhagen is the capital and most populated city of Denmark. The city is cultural, economic, and governmental centre of Denmark. Copenhagen is now a city rich in design, architecture and a high quality of living,  as it got the third rangking of the richest cities in the world in terms of gross earnings in 2012.

Copenhagen’s landmarks such as Tivoli Gardens, the Little Mermaid Statue, the Amalienborg and Christiansborg palaces, Rosenborg castle, and many museums as the goal of every visitors. Restaurant is significant tourist attractions too, we can find typical Danish food can be the famous red and deliciously tasting such as smorrebrod (sandwich).

Copenhagen has more than 94.000 students enrolled in its largest universities and institutions, including the University of Copenhagen, the Technical University of Denmark and Copenhagen Business School.

The city has become the centre of a larger metropolitan area spanning both nations. On the cultural front, it has the lavish Copenhagen Opera House. This city is in the oceanic climate zone. Its weather is subject to low-pressure systems from the Atlantic which result in unstable condition throughout the year. Apart from slightly higher rainfall from July to September. While there can be snow from late December to late April. June is the sunniest month of the year. July and August are warm too with daytime temperatures around 20 degree celcius (68 degree fahrenheit) although reinfall averages 69mm per month.

The architectural of buildings are so classic and colorful. This city was got the rankes sixth for the best quality of life in the world. Copenhagen provided succesful to conduct  a bicycle community. All of its citizent has minimal one bicycle. So, it is not unusual to see more bikes than cars in a city where health, freedom, and clean energy are prioritised.  This city has not less than 13 Michelin-starred restaurants. That puts them on the map as the food capital of Scandinavia- but even without Michelin-stars, people can find a great variety of other fine restaurants with remarkable and delicious food all over the city.

Copenhagen is a physically beautiful city, exactly in the atmosphere, lifestyle and attitudes of the people, don’t be surprised if Muslims as a minority accepted in this city. Religious tolerance takes precedence over it. 

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Novel Review : Damon Galgut (In a Strange Room)

“ A journey is a gesture inscribed in space, it vanishes even as it’s made. You go from one place to another place, and on to somewhere else again, and already behind you there is no trace that you were ever there.”

-          Damon Galgut, In a Strange Room

In a Strange Room is a 2010 novel by South African writer Damon Galgut, he is such a brilliant author. The book was shorlisted for the Man Booker Prize in 2010, as well as for the Ondaatje Prize. His previous novel such The Good Doctor was a finalist for the Booker Prize and the commonwealth Writer’s Prize. Unfortunately his novel The Impostor wasn’t longlisted for the Booker Prize. 

At first page, this novel seemed so boring to me. I argued this novel told about a flat story of a traveler who travel to one place to another place, or perhaps a traveler who found something incredible in his journey. Then i kept reading until i find something different from the story. In a Strange Room don’t tell us about a cool trip a traveler travels through, This novel tells about a desire, latent hope, anger, and mercy. How a traveler decides to travel as far as possible and forget his painful past. There he faced many obstacles and the journey was not easy until he finally understood the meaning of life.  In a Strange Room is a beautiful and unforgettable resurrection for a man who looking for love and a place called home.

   

Nevertheless, It is a very intense, beautiful and heartbreaking book  i’ve ever read. Even the simplicity is artful and the reader is undistracted.

 

Plot

The story is about a young loner who travels across eastern Africa, France, Greece, and India. He travels casually, as it is. He follows the paths of travelers he meets along the way. For those who travel with him and the people he meets on the way – including foreigner with good looks and unique character, a group of careless backpacker, and a woman wrestling with her life- he is a follower, lover, and guardian. Eventhough the man was well intentioned, every journey ends with a disaster. Traversing the stillness of wilderness and the frenzy of border crossings, every new direction is tinged with surmounting mourning.  A combination of these three trips will change his life.

Therefore, i really recommend this novel to read, especially for you who likes reading. I’m sure, if you read this novel you won’t miss every page.

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They Tell You To BeYourself, Then They Judge You

I first read this quote on Pinterest. At that time, the thing that comes to my mind is those two sentences are  form of people’s resistance of individual’s destiny.  Why do i say so?

Here, i’m not meant to judge anyone, everyone has the right to express an opinion, whether it is acceptance or rejection.  So, i just want to share my point of view about this quote.

Be yourself, I think few people disagree to this statement as the biggest part of motivation. This statement has a strong power that can urge people to reach their will or destiny, it could be positive meaning or even negative meaning.

Judging, I think none of human who doesn’t do that kind of thing in their life even children can’t avoid it. For me, judging on something is not wrong. That’s natural.

Thus, “they tell you to be yourself, then they judge you” is a combination between two forms that can yield a big decision in someone’s life. Realistically, someone changes just because of the demands of people. In fact, people are born as their own self. They were changed because of the influence of their parents, family, and society that change their own absolute characters as time goes by.

Let’s we take a look at real life problem, this kind of thing commonly happened to human physic and behaviour. First, ugly people will always being mocked, that’s real. In fact, almost everyone who has deficiency becomes a bully victim who ultimately end their lives by suicide. However, not few of them are trying to change their deficiency permanently such as plastic surgery, botox, and they are willing to cut or change the part of their faces that isn’t perfect in order to look perfect or more attractive. In contrast, this also applies to good looking people. Not few of them are being mocked. They were admired  publicly but cursed sarcastically from behind. There are some people who get jealous and finally try to bring them down.

Second, this is also happens to good people. Many of them are underestimated, treated arbitrarily just because they are too good or too patience. They were considered naive.  Hence, they were ask to be harder to avoid oppression. I often hear this such of people’s opinions like, “ you don’t have to be so good, sometimes it isn’t working in this hard life.” In the other side, this problem happens to bad-mannered people. Not few of them treatened unwell (injustice). They were required to be good in order to be accepted and appreciated by many people. Is it confusing? So what we are supposed to do? 

Obviously, our lives are demanded by many things and from that demands we depend our lives. For me, everything is depend on ourselves. Our belief in ourselve, and appreciate ourselves. Nothing can change our life except ourselves. It’s okay being ugly, it’s okay if you are not okay. The good or bad of a person is a self-reflection, nothing can possibly same in the world. Do what you think is right, don’t do what you think it’s going to harm people. Appreciate and go beautify yourself without change something that should be a gift from God to you. Change your behaviour if many others are disturbed, if you have a feeling so that you will understand which one is good and which one is bad. Be yourself without any compulsion. Everything is from you and will be back to you.

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Wonder Movie

Let me tell you something before we start to the main point.

Actually, i have currently been seeking for new movies, exactly an inspiring movie. The reason why i tend to seek for kind of that movie is because i often read some articles and real life stories about a survivor and strong people who fight for their illness that seemed impossible to be cured. I’m inspired by their stories, because by understanding their condition, it successfully makes me realize that life must be thankful for. That’s it!

So, i got this movie trailer from youtube, after clicked on so many movie channels. This is one of the upcoming movies that impressed me most. Perhaps, i can’t convince you that this movie is good enough to impress you, but based on the trailer that i’ve watched and some reviews of the movie that i’ve read have convinced me that this movie is deserve to watch.

Wonder is a Hollywood upcoming movie directed by Stephen Chbosky and written by Steve Conrad based on the 2012 novel with the same title, written by R.J. Palacio. This movie distributed by Lionsgate Production Company, release in November 17,2017.

The story tells about a young boy who struggle to overcome a facial difference. August Pullman (Jacob Tremblay), call as Auggie is a young boy born with a facial deformity which up until now has prevented him from going to school. He has been in and out of hospital for years. With the support of his mother, Isabel Pullman (Julia Roberts) and his father, Nate Pullman (Owen Wilson), he tries to fit in at his new school, Beecher Prep.

There, he strives to teach others and make them understand that beauty is not just from the outside. He shows everyone that he is just an ordinary kid, no different that the rest of the world. Auggie becomes the most unlikely of heroes when he enters the fifth grade. His family, his new classmates, and the larger community all attempt to discover their compassion and acceptance.

Auggie’s extraordinary journey will unite all of them and prove people can’t conform when they were born to stand out.

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7 Tracks Recommendation For Your Trip

7 Tracks Recommendation For Your Trip!

Don’t even pretend you haven’t been googling a song to stick on your trip. I have too, and that’s how i stumbled into something pleasure. Now, i would like to provide you 7 tracks recommendation in order to make your trip more fun. You can play it on your tape, ipod, mp3, or whatever you want to.

So, let's check out the tracks !

1. Bob Mould “ See  A Little Light”

"I see a little light, I know you will

 I can see it in your eyes, I know you still care

 But if you want me to go

 You should just say so"

See a little light is a song about opportunity, chance and the importance of making decisions and making things happen. If you are the one who loves Alternative rock music, this “see a little light” will beats your ear.

2. M83 “I Need You”

"Have you ever had a feeling

That we’re not alone?

Hold to call the feeling senile

They unearth for more

Going down the dusty roads

We are cold and see through, I need you.."

If you watched Divergent movie, you’ll directly know this track. This is one of backsounds from Divergent. If you are listening to this track, you’ll hear the serenity from that Electronic music band.

3. Filous ft. Mat Kearney “Goodbye”

"My heart is on the table, somebody’s gotta try

i’m willing and i’m able, don’t you know it?

I don’t wanna say goodbye"

Still about electronic music, this track won’t disappoint your trip cause the rythm is good to hear.

Eventhough  the lyrics are seemed so deep, but trust me this track won’t drive you crazy.

4. Lord Huron “The Night We Met”

"Take me back to the night we met

I don’t know what i’m supposed to do

Haunted by the ghost of you

Take me back to the night we met"

If you are the one who loves a melancholic song, this track is for you. Maybe most of you know this track from 13 reasons why. That’s true!, this track is so beautiful, but it’s even more poignant when you consider the lyrics.

5. Hollow Coves “The Woods”

"We’re all falling and we need a place to hide

A safe place in the woods, where we can start the fire"

Hollow Coves is one of my favorite Indie Folk bands. You’ll hear a simple acoustic melodies, vocal harmonies, and impactful themes. If you’re listening to this “The Wood” single, you’ll feel as if you were at the place filled with serenity.

6. JR JR “ Same Dark Places”

"I know everybody goes to the same dark places

Sometimes in the dead of night when you think you can’t make it

You might find i left a light beside the bed for you

Cause i’ve been there too"

Back to alternative song,” Same Dark Places” is one of my favorite alternative songs, because the lyrics are inspiring and the way they sing that song can make the listeners feel pleasant.

7. A Fine Frenzy “Blow Away”

"One of us is gonna be here, and 

One of us is gonna be running

Off alone into the great unknown"

If you’ve ever watched Monte Carlo movie, you’ll  certainly know this track. A Fine Frenzy is a solo singer who contributes her music into Pop genre. Most of her songs are simple and catchy. This track is the song which i like most. This track can make your trip more fun.

So, that’s all some tracks that i listed, hopefully it will help you seeking a good trip songs. Cheers!

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Ted Talks : John McWhorter " Txting Is Killing Language.. JK !!!" Summary

Txting Is Killing Language.. JK!!!

By John McWhorter

We always hear that texting is a scourge. The idea is that texting spells the decline and fall of any kind of serious literacy, or at least writing ability, among young people in the US and now the whole world today. In another way, texting is actually a miraculous thing, not just energetic. One thing that we see is that texting is not writing at all.

Basically, if we think about language, language has existed for perhaps a hundred thousand years ago and it arose as it speech. Writing is something that came along much later. According to traditional estimates, if humanity had existed for 24 hours, then writing only came along at about 11:07 p.m. that’s how much of a latterly thing writing is.

Writing has certain advantages. When we write, because it’s a conscious process, because we can look backwards, we can do things with language that are much less likely if we’re just talking. For example, a passage from Edward Gibbon’s “ The Decline and Fall of The Roman Empire .“

Casual speech is something quite different. Linguists have actually shown that when we’re speaking casually in an unmonitored way, we tend to speak in word packets of around seven to ten words. we’ll notice this if we ever have occasion to record ourself or a group of people talking. Speech is much looser, it’s much more telegraphic. Actually, language is speech not language written that we naturally tend to think.

Now of course, as history has gone by, it’s been natural for there to be a certain amount of bleed between speech and writing. For example, in a distant era now, it was common when one gave a speech to basically talk like writing. The kind of speech that we see someone giving in an old movie where they clear they throat, and they go ,”Ahem, ladies and gentlemen,” and then they speak in a certain way which has nothing to do with casual speech. It’s formal.

Well, if we can speak like writing, then logically it follows that we might want to, also sometimes write like we speak. The problem was just that in the material, mechanical sense, that was harder back in the day for the simple reason that materials don’t lend themselves to it. It almost impossible to do that with our hand except in shorthand, and then communication is limited.

Once we have things in our pocket that can receive that message, then we have the conditions that allow that we can write like we speak. And that’s where texting comes in. And so, texting is very loose in its structure. No one thinks about capital letters or punctuation when one texts.

What texting is, despite the fact that it involves the brute mechanics of something that we call writing, is fingered speech. That’s what texting is. Now we can write the way we talk, and it’s a very interesting thing, but nevertheless easy to think that still it represents some sort of decline. In this new kind of language, there is new structure coming up such “ LOL “ which indicated different meaning for some people and used in a very particular way .

So, the way Mr. Whorter thinking of texting these days is that what we’re seeing is a whole new way of writing that young people are developing. And so texting actually is evidence of a balancing act that young people are using today, not consciously, of course, but it’s an expansion of their linguistic reportoire.  

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Book Review : Black Beauty

Black Beauty

“... there is no religion without love, and people may talk as much as they like about their religion, but if it does not teach them to be good and kind to man and beast, it is all a sham...”

-          Black Beauty, Chapter 13, last paragraph.

Black Beauty is an 1877 classical book that successfully  mesmerized me with a simple but heartbreaking story. Anna Sewell as the author of this book who got injured at the age of 14th which caused her disabled and unable to walk. She had learnt about horses, spending many hours driving her father to the station from which he commuted to work.  Her dependence on horse-drawn transportation during Victorian era fostered her respect for horses.

Black Beauty is one and only novel written by her and was published ,exactly five months before her death of hepatitis. Her purpose of this writing was actually not for children, but the purpose was to induce kindness, sympathy, and an understanding treatment of horses. But, this novel turns out to be a childhood story. The novel became an immediate best-seller with fifty million copies sold. The novel is one of the best-selling books of all time and was listed at number 58 on the BBC’s survey “The Big Read” in 2003.

The story tells about a black beautiful horse named Beauty who had been kept from one employer to another employer with different treatments. Black Beauty was born from a good horse lineage. During four years in his first stable, Black Beauty grew as a strong, good, and well-mannered horse. He raised from a new employer Judge Gordon in Birtwick Park.

Beauty had a wonderful life and bestfriends, Ginger (a strong horse) and Merrylegs (a beautiful pony). He is also managed by  a great horse man named John Manly and a very young steward named Joe Green. They had been experiencing many tragedies like fire, survived from a broken bridge, until the heroic story saved Mrs. Gordon’s life.

Unfortunately, Beauty and his bestfriend were sold to Earshall, due to Mrs. Gordon illness which cause Gordons moved to town. At that time, their life became worse. They were forced to use short bridle and spend their energy to pull heavy loads without being fed.

Beauty becomes disabled and almost die, he was separated with his bestfriend  Ginger that was died tragically. At the end of the story, Beauty meets his old steward Joe Green who become an adult. Joe Green still remember Beauty by a white marks on Beauty’s head.

Thus, for you who love reading story, i really suggest you to read this novel if you haven’t yet. Because this novel have a very good value, and Anna Sewell teaches us how to understand the horses, how to treat them in a right way, and to see life from their point of view.

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