Angklung is a traditional musical instrument from West Java, Indonesia. This instrument is made of bamboo. One angklung instrument produces one tone, for example an F tone. Therefore, we need several angklung instruments to play a song. You have to shake the instrument to produce the tone. Usually angklung are played by a group of people to perform a song. Every player in that group cooperates with each other in order to produce a harmonious sound.
I remember when I played angklung back then when I was in university. I & lots of people from all over Indonesia were performing several songs in the area of Presidential palace to celebrate 50th Indonesia Independence day. My group was playing certain part of the song & several other groups were playing other parts of the song. So, all of these groups had to be united into one enormous group, in order to be able to play one complete song. Before all groups met in Jakarta to play one complete song, each group had been given only its part of the song. So, before we went to Jakarta, my group was only practicing our part of the song, in Bandung. Other groups were also only practicing their part of the song, in their cities. Then one day, all groups met in Jakarta to practice playing one complete song, for each song that we had to play in the area of Presidential palace several days later. It’s not easy to play a complete song in such an enormous group because each group had never heard and never practiced a complete song before that day. But finally we made it.
Angklung produces a very unique sound. Maybe you won’t believe it if you don’t hear and see it by yourself. Do you want to hear & see angklung concert? Just click the videos below to hear & see the angklung concert.
video: Indonesian music
video source: youtube (by 40daysineurope)
video: classical music
video source: youtube (by ikyuson)
When you visit Bandung (West Java, Indonesia), you should go to saung angklung udjo to see the angklung concert & other performing arts. Click here to visit the website of saung angklung udjo.
I want the world to know about my beautiful country, Indonesia. There are 2 choices about it: to do or not to do. It means: I do something about it so that the world will know about Indonesia, or… I don’t do anything about it. So… what am I going to choose? To do or not to do?
I choose…. “to do”. I’m going to let the world know about my country, by writing about Indonesia in several posts in my blog. So…. every now and then, I will write about some places, dances, culture, heritage, and other things about Indonesia, in this blog. Up to today, my blog’s visitors have come from 79 countries (up to march: 57 countries). By writing about Indonesia in this blog, at least visitors from 79 countries can know about Indonesia. I think that’s a good start.
When I’m into something, my mind & my heart & all of my energy are really into it. But it won’t last long. Soon I get bored and not that into it anymore. My blog is one of the example on that. When I’m into blogging I write frequently, and when I’m not into it anymore I don’t write anything at all. As you can see, from the moment I started writing in this blog (october 2008) I wrote frequently, there was at least 1 post per month, but then it just stop. My last post was in March. From then on, I didn’t write anymore. I just cannot write anything when I’m not in the mood for writing.
Blogging is a new experience for me but it has surprised me a couple of times. I started blogging at the end of october 2008. When I first started to write a post in my blog, I never thought that there would be visitors in my blog -except of my best friends coz I only told my best friend about my blog. But then…. I was so surprised to find that my blog’s visitors came not only from my country (Indonesia) but also from other countries. Up to now, my blog’s visitors have come from 57 countries in 5 continents (Asia, America, Europe, Africa, Australia). These are my blog’s visitors up to now:
Usually my blog’s visitors per day were around 20 – 50 visitors, and sometimes there was only 1 visitor. But in february 25, 2009, I was so surprised to see that there were 1089 visitors in march 24, 2009. 1089 visitors in only 1 day! I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw that. I’ve never got visitors that much in 1 day before. What a surprise!
I remember when my brother has just got home from the cinema that day. He has just seen the Red Cliff 2 movie in the cinema, and he said that the movie was great. He had seen the Red Cliff 1 movie in the cinema a couple months before he saw the Red Cliff 2 movie. Since he said that, I was curious to see that movie. Within Asia, Red Cliff was released in two parts (Red Cliff 1 and Red Cliff 2) totaling over four hours in length. The first part was released in July 2008 and the second in January 2009. The story from Red Cliff 1 continued in Red Cliff 2. Outside of Asia, a single 2,5 hours movie will be released in 2009. The Red Cliff movie was directed by John Woo, and stars Tony Leung, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Zhang Fengyi, Chang Chen, Zhao Wei, Hu Jun. Since I haven’t seen the Red Cliff 1 movie, I went out to buy the Red Cliff 1 DVD. After I and my sister saw the Red Cliff 1 in the DVD, we went to the cinema to see the Red Cliff 2 movie.
Awesome !!! that’s what I thought when I saw the Red Cliff movies (both the Red Cliff 1 & the Red Cliff 2).
There were lots of strategies in these movies, but the most amazing one was the strategy where Zhuge Liang had to get 100,000 arrows in a short time. The strategy on how he got those arrows was awesome !!!
Zhuge Liang also had the capabilities of reading the nature (the wind, etc) that helped them a lot to determine what strategies they’re going to use.
The capabilities of reading each other’s mind between Zhuge Liang and Zhou Yu was amazing. They could understand each other’s mind by only looking at each other’s face. I loved the scenes where they communicate their strategies by only seeing at each other’s face.
There was also a scene when both of them communicate to each other by playing music instruments. They didn’t talked at all. They only played the music instruments and they knew what each other was saying by only listening to the music they were playing.
If you haven’t seen this movie, you should see it. It was awesome !!!
Rising sun by the morning calm is a title of a concert of japanese & korean songs that was held in GoetheHaus Jakarta yesterday. It was presented by difertimento vocal ensemble. I had never seen a vocal ensemble show before, and I didn’t know whether I was going to enjoy it or not, but I still bought the ticket because I always like to try something new. I wanted to know about it.
Yesterday I went there with my friends to see that concert. Surprisingly, I could enjoy the show. This show were divided into 2 part. Part 1 was japanese songs, and part 2 was korean songs. I enjoyed the korean part (part 2) more than the japanese part (part 1).
Sometimes I forget to thank you for everything that You have given me all this time. I’m so sorry for that.
Thank you for giving me these eyes, so that I can see so many colors and all beautiful things in this world. Thank you God, because with these eyes :
• I can see my beloved family
• I can see the leaves blowing in the wind
• I can see the smiles on people’s face, the colors of their eyes, etc
• I can see the blue sky, the blue ocean, the green forest, the color of the flower, the cute animals, etc
• I can see amazing music concert performance
• I can see my friends
• I can see my favorite singers, actress, & actors
• I can see my favorite movies & TV shows
• Etc
Thank you for giving me these ears, so that I can hear all beautiful sound in this world. Thank you God, because with these ears :
• I can hear my family’s voice
• I can hear my friend’s voice
• I can hear beautiful music and songs
• I can hear the sound of flowing water
• I can hear the sound of the wind
• I can hear the ocean waves
• I can hear the singing of my favorite singers
• Etc
Thank you for giving me this mouth, so that I can speak & eat tasty food.
Thank you for giving me this nose, so that I can smell the air.
Thank you for giving me a healthy body, so that I can experience life and feel all beautiful things in this world.
Thank you for giving me such lovely family & friends.
Thank you for the food, the home, the job, the life experience (good and bad), and everything else that you have given me.
On 28-29 december 2008, I & my big family went to Puncak. These were my big family that went there: my mom & my sisters & my brother & my sister in law, my aunts & their husbands & children, my cousins & their husbands & children. We were there for 2 days & 1 night. Usually it only takes 2,5 hours to get to Puncak, but it took us 9 hours to get there because of the traffic jam.
It ‘s so cold in Puncak & the view’s beautiful. All of us had fun there. We played 2 games at night & 1 games in the morning. To play those games, all of us were divided into 3 teams. At the first game, the score of team 1 was 2, the score of team 2 was 2, & the score of team 3 was 2 too, so…. there was no winner in the first game. In the second & third games there was no winner too because the score of all teams were the same.
On 29 dec, we had barbeque, played cards, and gathered around the pool. When we gathered around the pool, we pushed all men to the pool eventhough they still wore their clothes. While the men were playing in the pool, the women were sitting around the pool. It was fun.
Then it was time for us to go home. I really had fun there. What a great day to end the year of 2008.
While everyone was having a party or going out in new year’s eve, I could only stay in bed because I got ill. I got a fever, headache, runny nose, cough, sore throat, and was very tired. My illness was so severe that I had no energy to do anything, even for watching TV. When I watched TV –even for about an hour- my headache was getting worse and my energy was getting lower and lower. From 31 dec 2008 – 7 jan 2009 my illness was still severe, but it got a little better in 8 jan, and now I feel much better eventhough I haven’t recovered yet.
From 31 dec – 4 jan, I got so upset because I got ill in my vacation (I was in vacation from 25 dec – 4 jan). “I was planning on having fun in my vacation but I cannot do it because I got ill? I hate it!”, my heart said it at that time.
But when I think of it now, in the the year 2008 I’ve never got very sick (=severe illness for more than 5 days) like my illness in 31 dec – 7 jan. It means in 2008 I only got very sick once (from 31 dec – 7 jan). Therefore I should be grateful to God that I have never got very sick more than once in the year 2008.
Today is December 1, 2008, and it’s the World AIDS Day. So I’m going to write this post to support the campaign of “Bloggers Unite for World AIDS Day”.
“The campaign of “Bloggers Unite for World AIDS Day”
Several days ago, I got email from The BlogCatalog Team about “Bloggers Unite for World AIDS Day” and also read about it in the website of “Bloggers Unite”
On December 1st, bloggers from around the world will unite for World AIDS Day 2008. Worldwide an estimated 33 million people are living with HIV. NIDA and AIDS.gov are working with Bloggers Unite because we value and recognize the power of a voice. Multiply that voice by the thousands and the sound of humanity will echo the blogosphere. HIV/AIDS affects too many in our communities to ignore. Be a part of a growing community of leaders that lift their voices.Together, we can reduce the stigma of this pandemic through our words, voices and actions.
Unlike most campaigns where we hope awareness led to action, this is one campaign where awareness is action! If even just 10 percent of our members get involved, we can reach an estimated 4 million blog readers. And if half of our members participate, we can reach 20 million. And if all bloggers participate, we can reach the entire world.
So, I decided to support that campaign by writing this post.
“The story of one HIV/AIDS’s victim in my country”
I remember watching a talk show about HIV/AIDS in my TV. There was several guests there, but the story of one of the guests keeps on flashing through my mind and I couldn’t forget about it. Here’s her story. Continue Reading »
Home sweet home. Bandung is my hometown. I always want to go to my parent’s home in Bandung. I grew up there with all of my brother and sisters and my parents. I had been living there since I was born until I got my bachelor degree. After I graduated I went to Jakarta to find a job. Since I got a job in Jakarta I had to live in Jakarta. I had never lived far away from home before, so it was so hard for me at the first two or three months. I got home sick. I couldn’t stand living in Jakarta. I always wanted to go home. So, at the first two or three months I always went back home to Bandung every weekend.
Nowadays I only go to Bandung once or twice a month on weekends. It always feels good going home. I love it so much. When I am in Bandung, I usually hang out with my friends on Saturday, and stay at home (spending time with my parents, sisters, and brother) on Sunday.
These are the activities that I love to do when I’m going back home to Bandung: Continue Reading »
I wasn’t in a good mood when I went to work this morning. Because of that moody feeling, I couldn’t concentrate on doing my work. I tried to concentrate but I failed. I tried again but I failed again. Then I took my ipod and turned on all songs of Enya (album: A day without rain). At first it didn’t help me to concentrate, but after listening to several songs, my mind began to calm down and I could concentrate on doing my work. Enya has saved my day.
Two days ago, I was watching a talk show program in star world (cable TV). I was amazed by Mimi Ausland, one of the guests of the talk show. Mimi Ausland is a 12-year-old girl who makes a difference in the world. She turned her great idea into action. This is how she did that :
“O my God! It’s so beautiful! “, I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw the view in front of me. It was the most beautiful beach I had ever seen. The color of the sea was so beautiful, with blue color in one side and green color in another side. I had never seen any view like this before. I was so astonished seeing it. “Dreamland”… is the name of this beach. It is located on the west coast of the Bukit Peninsula in Bali, Indonesia.
It was my first time in Dreamland. I went there with some friends. I heard that lots of foreigners like to surf there, but I didn’t see any surfer there at that time. Maybe it’s because it wasn’t the right time to surf?
We were walking along the beach, enjoying the touch of the sand in our feet and the beautiful view of the sea. Unfortunately we could only be there for only a short time. After taking several photos, we went home with a beautiful memory in our mind.
After losing the presidential election to Barack Obama yesterday, John McCain delivered his concession speech.
I saw his concession speech on TV. He said this in his speech: “I urge all Americans who supported me to join me in not just congratulating him, but offering our next president our good will and earnest effort to find ways to come together to find the necessary compromises to bridge our differences and help restore our prosperity, defend our security in a dangerous world, and leave our children and grandchildren a stronger, better country than we inherited.” McCain has lost the presidential election but he urged his supporters to support his former opponent. I admire him for that.
This was his concession speech (source: FOXNews) :
JOHN MCCAIN: Thank you. Thank you, my friends. Thank you for coming here on this beautiful Arizona evening.
(APPLAUSE)
My friends, we have — we have come to the end of a long journey. The American people have spoken, and they have spoken clearly.
A little while ago, I had the honor of calling Senator Barack Obama to congratulate him.
(BOOING)
Please.
To congratulate him on being elected the next president of the country that we both love.
In a contest as long and difficult as this campaign has been, his success alone commands my respect for his ability and perseverance. But that he managed to do so by inspiring the hopes of so many millions of Americans who had once wrongly believed that they had little at stake or little influence in the election of an American president is something I deeply admire and commend him for achieving.
If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.
(APPLAUSE)
It’s the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen, by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different, that their voices could be that difference.
It’s the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled. Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been just a collection of individuals or a collection of red states and blue states.
We are, and always will be, the United States of America.
(APPLAUSE)
It’s the answer that led those who’ve been told for so long by so many to be cynical and fearful and doubtful about what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day.
“Obama has just won the election!” my friend shouted from her office desk. Hearing that, I and several friends jump out our seat and stopped our work, “Really? Turn on the TV ! ….. Turn on the TV!” my friends said. Then all of us gathered in front of the TV to watch that election result. There were two television in our office, so we watched CNN in one TV and Metro TV in another TV.
“Obama menang tuh!”, teriak salah satu temen kantorku dari mejanya. “Oya? Nyalain TV ! … nyalain TV!”, kata beberapa teman. Aku dan teman-teman lainnya langsung berhenti bekerja dan berkerumun di depan TV. Berhubung di kantor kami ada 2 TV, maka kami putar CNN channel di TV yang satu, dan metro TV di TV yang satu lagi.
Di TV terlihat kerumunan para pendukung Obama di sekitar podium pidato. Di situ juga terlihat Oprah Winfrey di antara kerumunan pendukung Obama tersebut. Continue Reading »
I think Blogger Indonesia is an interesting blog. The owner of this blog, A. Fatih Syuhud, is the same person as the owner of tutorial blog that I mentioned in my previous writing (writing, my new experience). These two blogs have lots of articles about blogging. Those articles have helped lots of people, including me (beginner blogger), to understand about blogging world. The blogging’s articles in his tutorial blog is more “a step by step manual”, but in Blogger Indonesia the blogging’s articles are talking about wider topics. Tutorial blog uses Bahasa Indonesia, but Blogger Indonesia uses English language in the articles.
Writing is a new experience for me. I’ve never thought that I could write about something before. I started to write because of one reason that I mentioned in my first writing in this blog. After that first writing, I thought that I would never write again. But then…. I started to write the second writing. “Wow ! I can write !”, that’s what I thought after finishing the second writing. Then I made a decision that I wanna learn to write by writing in blog. I’m new in this blogging world so I don’t know how to blog actually. I started to create my blog by reading an article about tutorial blog wordpress that was written by A. Fatih Syuhud. It was a very good article. He wrote it so clearly that someone like me -who know nothing about blogging- could create a blog. I’m very grateful to him.
