The conjuring review

I'm not a brave man. I'm afraid of height, broccoli and also an old man in speedo but for some reason i always came back to horror in entertainment media, especially in movie and video game. Its probably because fear as one of the basic human emotional reaction is an interesting thing to look at. How the creator build the fear and the tension in a media like book, movie and video game is a high art that isn't easy to achieve and it is hard to find that in today entertainment media.

Sure, there are still horror stuffs that you can find anywhere but i found that most of that is either jump-scare-fest horror type or its the bloody-bukkake-in-your-face horror type, which is my less favorite type of horror. The best kind of horror is the one that used the mind of the audience, reader, or player to create their own worst nightmare rather than throwing blood and tits constantly to the face of the audience. Luckily, today movie review is an exception, a movie that actually managed to make me sit on the edge of the chair and it makes me leave the theater with a shaking knee. its The Conjuring.

The conjuring is a movie 'based on the true story' of Ed and Lorraine Warrane, a famous paranormal investigator, played by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga. It is directed by James Wan, the man behind paranormal activity, Insidious, and the first Saw. The movie is about the Warren couple who investigating the usual haunted house where a newly moved family is haunted by a paranormal activity. As you guessed, the basic plot is as basic as a haunted house movie can be. Family moves in, the house is haunted, scary shits happen, someone with supernatural knowledge came to rescue the day. If you came for an interesting twist or shocking ending you will be disappointed. But if you came to this movies looking for a scare, great writing, tension and good performance from the actors, then you will spent your money in the right place. The movie did kinda remind me of a classic horror movies like the Exorcist and Poltergeist in a good way. No CG monster, no annoying teenagers that you hope will die soon and the best part is that the movie know how to make a great experience with only a simplistic premise. Seriously, when did the last time you were scared with a clapping hands?

Besides the Hulk supersonic Clap, that is

The movies gimmick is that this movie is a rated R, but not your usual R-rated movie because it doesn't contain any strong language, gore or sex like the usual R-rated movie does. This movie got that, rating just because it is scary. While at first i thought this is just another Holywood gimmick to promote a movie, i am now personally think that it deserved that R rated . The movie will make you sit on your edge even if you know that the scare will be exactly like you constructed in your mind. The movies highlight is how it build it tension where it paces really slow at the beginning that it almost make me wished that Jason Vorhees will come and rip some teenager in two, but then it pace up at the right time to steal back your attention with a superb tension building. The final act of the movies really leaves me breathless and i found my knee shaking when i leave the theater. It is that good.

The performance of the actors is equally strong with Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga stealing the show as Ed and Lorraine Warren. I really like the way they played their role as paranormal investigator. They are always going skeptic at first before going to investigate the requested case and it kinda make you believe that they  really knows what they are doing rather than someone who just gibbers paranormal mumbo jumbo for no reasons. The family who lives in the haunted house also gives a great performance, especially Lily Taylor as the mom and her five kids. Yes, great kid actor does exist, peoples. The characters in this movie is unlike the usual "here to be killed" horror character because you will actually care with what will happen with them. The writing in the movie really help the characters to shine in the screen and it even manage to slip some genuine funny comedic relief somehow. Both the writing and the acting is arguably the strongest aspect of the movie accompanied with its great tension building.

The Conjuring is definitely one of the scariest movies in this year but it doesn't meant that it is free form any flaws. One of the biggest problem in this movie didn't actually came from the movie but it came from the trailers that shows too much of the movies surprises. Add it with the generic haunted house movie premise, the movie becomes kinda predictable at times and it might severely ruin the overall experience for some peoples. I also found that the design of the ghost is kinda too simple and it failed to scare me in that aspect. They only used make up and costume with no CG to create the ghost in this movie so the design of the ghost is rather too generic for my taste. Sure, At some point you could argue that it kinda suits the classic horror movie feeling that i talked about before but i just kinda hope that they actually go more creative with the design of the ghost. The only thing that actually scared me in this movie is actually the thing that didn't used make up, that goddamn doll...

Don't make eye contact! It will steal your soul!

But then, all those flaws will fall short compared to all the good things that i told. The movie achieved what it tried to achieve, to scare its audiences and gives them a great horror experience. The tension building, the acting, and the writing all works to create one unforgettable moment both for horror and non-horror fans. James Wan really deserve the credits for making one of the scariest movies this years and reminding me how good it is to be scared when you are watching a scary movie.

Initial El review score

8.0

"GYAAAAA!!" - Me screaming in the theater

Man of steel Review

Lets get it straight, i am not a big fan of Superman and no, the EL in my nick name isn't taken from Kal-El. Its not that i hate him because he is practically a God wearing a red underwear outside of his spandex but it's because he rarely shown any interesting character development. I know that Superman is the ultimate role model for any superhero ever and that's what makes him become so iconic but all that perks is what restrict him to become anything but interesting. Sure, there's some one or two great character development moment in superman history but its quite rare compared to any other superhero like Batman or Spider-man.

The superman movie franchises also had its fair share of success and fail. While the first two are considered as a good classic superhero movies, the rest is mostly considered as failure. the last superman movies, despite being technologically capable to made some kickass movies, is just super boring for me and it does nothing to make me invested in his characters or story. So i started to wonder could this new superman movie changes my opinion about the iconic god wit h the red underwear? Oh wait....this time the costume is kinda different.

Dude, that bulge! wears the underwear for godsakes!

The new Superman movie, Man of Steel, is a reboot of the classic superman movie telling the usual Superman origins story. Krypton explode, Kal-el aka superman sent to earth, Superman tried to adapts with other humans, general zod comes, Superman smashes, the ends. It might sounded like i hates its story for being simplistic and unoriginal, but i actually liked it. Despite some moment that i consider quite stupid and unnecessary, i think the story is doing a great job to make me feel invested in the movies universe and the characters around it.

To be honest, i'm quite sceptic with Henry Cavill as superman at first but after i finished watching the movies, im pretty satisfied with its performance. He looks and feels like the superman that i wanna see and i like how the movie potraits Superman moral development. It makes superman feels like a relatable good guy rather than a flawless god. Michael Shannon as general Zod is also great because he had a believable backstory that did explain his motivation to be the villain and he played it quite good. Amy Adam as Lois Lane is probably the best Lois Lane because she nailed the capable brave cynical woman which i can appreciate rather than the usual damsel in distress like any other superhero movies love interest. The rest of the cast did equally good and likable enough to be memorable like Kevin Costner as Jonathan Kent, Russell Crowe as Jor-El and Antje Traue as Fiora.

Some of you might think that this Superman would be like the new Batman movies since Christopher Nolan is involved in this movies as the producer. But most peoples tend to forgot that the one who directs this movie is zack Snyder, a talented visual director who makes good movies like 300 and Watchmen and also made a horrible visual masturbation movies like sucker punch too.

This movies would be a masterpiece if he just made it into a triple A hentai.

Lets be honest guy, Zack Snyder is the suitable director for this kind of movies. I dont think a movies focused in superman character ala Nolan style will works. The best things that superman can do is smashing stuff and thats what Zack Snyder did well in this movies. The action scenes in this movies feels like Dragon Ball Z in steroid. Its bombastic, full of destruction and its everything that i hoped from any Superman movies.

The movies problem mostly lies around the movies pacing. While the first part of the movies paces is quite decent and managed to build a sense of a believable universe and characters, the second part of it is a non-stop CG fireworks festival which is impressive but because The audience is bombarded with non-stop action scene with a little down time to take a breath and appreciates what happened in the movies, it leaves me a little bit exhausted.

Some peoples might also thinks that the dialogue in this movies could be a lil bit stiff and lacks of humor but personally i think the movie dialogue is quite decent. It does well to establish character interaction and motivation without having to be way too complex to be interesting. I do had some problem with the romance between Superman with Lois Lane where it feels like it lack some emotional depth that made it hard for you to care about this peoples. Its kinda surprised me because both Superman and Lois is an interesting and believable characters but the romance between them is surprisingly bland and way too convenient.

Despite some problems that i mentioned, Man of Steel is a really fun movies that you have to watch, whether if you are a Superman fans or not. Don't came to this movies expecting a complex movies about human characters ala Nolan's Batman. Instead, treat this movie as summer popcorn block buster movie with a decent story and bombastic over the top action scene. After all, Its all that i hoped for a Superman Movies.

The Initial El Scores

8.0

Super Fun

Dreadout Preview; A Short Look Into The Promising Indonesian Horror Game

If you used to watched a movie in Indonesian movie theater, you might remember the time when you watched a  movie there and you saw a horrible trailer for an Indonesian horror movies before your movies start. You know, the kind of Horror movies which strangely shows more boobs and sex rather than scare as horror movie supposed to show. Personally, that kind of horror movies baffles me because if i want to see boobs and sex i will watch porn, not horror movie. It is just plain stupid and not entertaining.

It is a sad truth since Indonesia had a lot of great folklore and some ghosts that will scare you if they can execute it well but somehow they keep making shitty horror movies over shitty horror movies that nobody want to watch except horny teenager with no internet connection. But just when i'm going to give up with horror movie in Indonesia, a light of hope came through the door of video game world.

Meet Dreadout, an Indonesian indie horror game who used Indonesian local folklore and ghost to make a promising scary game that could scare the living ass out of you. The game is a third person survival horror where you play as Linda Melinda, a high school girl who trapped in a mysterious village full of supranatural events and ghost. To survive again the horror, you are armed with a smartphone, An SLR camera and handycam to exorcist them by taking their picture and post it in instagram to humiliate them by showing how they look when they are not using make up.

Eh, what is it? Did you think that i mistook fatal frame with Dreadout? No friendo, Dreadout is heavily inspired by fatal frame, as in 90% of the games so far really feels like fatal frame with Indonesian setting rather than Japanese settings. I didn't mind if they are ripping of Fatal frame because that game itself is one of the scariest game of all time and copying a good old idea with some fresh new spices is a welcome formula to me. Since they used Indonesian folklore for the ghost, you might know that some of Indonesian ghost just might look too silly or generic to scare you and using it for the game might actually hurt the experience for the global market, i meant look at how silly pocong is and how generic looking kuntilanak is.

Mostly looks like human sized weeds joints

Mostly looks like....any Asian girl who forgot to take bath in the morning.

Fortunately, the developer seems to realize this and they made some changes in the ghost design which somehow turned a generic and silly ghost into something original and frightening.

Yikes!

I cant judge too much about the game yet since its still in development stage and the game could always be better/worse than the demo the Developer show to us. But judging from the demo, This game strong point, compared to the fatal frame series, came from the ghost design, its variety and the overall control. I found that the fatal frame ghost tends to be...bland. They are mostly just a transparent human ghost. Well, yes some do crawl, had broken neck or another twisted Things that could happen to human body but they are mostly just transparent human and the control feels like an old survival horror game where it feels like the player is controlling someone who just had a terrible hangover with its fixed camera angle. Dreadout ghosts, in the other hands, tends to had more variety and the control feels more fluid where it used an over the shoulder third person camera which give us more control. The demo also shows a highly atmospheric game with genuine creeps and original looking ghost which explain why i heard a lot of girly scream came out from a man when i'm watching the Lets play video of this game demo in youtube.

Since the game is still in development stage, i do had some wishlist regarding the game that hopefully the developer team will address. you know, since i'm not making this article just so nobody can read it and it disappears into the unknown dark side of Pluto. I do really Hope that they read my article and it might somehow improve the game. So, here's my wish list for the game:

1. Pace the game well. Please don't get too excited by showing too many jump scare since it might kill the overall experience.
2. Explain the game mechanic better. One major problem in the demo that i played is the lack of information about the things that i should do in the game. Seriously, how did i suppose to know that a cockroach is vulnerable again smartphone camera?
3. Add some depth to the camera and combat mechanic. The camera and combat mechanic, so far, is a lil bit too simple where we can mash the 'take a picture' button with no restriction and limitation, almost like playing call of duty with ghost. A mechanic where the player had to manage the focus and the zoom level for the SLR camera or aiming at some specific part of the ghost to add extra damage might be nice.
4. Make sidequest feels rewarding. Nobody will do a sidequest if it doesn't had any satisfying rewards so its important to let the player know that doing sidequest will help them improve the game experience. Maybe it can be rewarded with bonus skill perks or alternative endings.
5. Explain the ghost origin story through gameplay. An old style survival horror notes or audio diary would be nice and it will add the immersion of the game.
6. And for my final wish, i really hopes this game will be a success and open the path for Indonesian game industry to shine.

Hopefully this might help the game to be better and more immersive

Digital happiness, the developer behind Dreadout, is the first Indonesian indie developer who succeeded in a global crowd funding campaign by collecting 29.000$ of its 25.000$ estimated target. From the demo and the number of money they got from the donation, we can all see that peoples love this game and the hype is rather big for an unknown Indonesian indie game which really surprise me. 

The best compliment that i could give to Dreadout so far is that the game had some good promising things about it. Great atmosphere, original looking ghost, and whats most important, its scary. Since the games crowd funding is already succeed through the indiegogo.com campaign, their next target is to hit the global market via steamgreenlight.com. If you are a horror fans, its your chance to support this game by voting yes so this game could be released globally via steam service. you are welcome to try the demo there and give it a nice thumbs up if you like it and i'm always open for discussion and opinion about the game. This game might be one of the scariest game that came up this year so do your part to support this game, friendos!

Dreadout indiegogo page: http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/dreadout
Dreadout steam greenlight page: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=114109333&searchtext=dreadout

Dead Space 3 Review

Survival Horror, why is it so hard to find it in the world of video game this day? Well, i didn't meant that there is no more survival horror game left but what I meant is its really hard to be terrified when you are playing (supposedly) survival horror game this day. Most of survival horror game just wasn't scary anymore. Well, it was at least in the mainstream market.

Resident evil, one of the most well known survival horror game, became (dare i said) a shitty action game with co op partner to ruin your single player game and now one of my favorite series, Dead Space, is following the same step like Resident Evil by adding co op to the single player campaign? What in the name of God is this? A world corporate conspiracy to wipe out survival horror from this planet?

It was so sad because The first dead space is a great blend between action and surival horror. Yes, i do realize that the horror is just a marathon of jump scare but it was executed so well that it managed to make me scream like a litle girl in the haunted house. The second instalment, even if there's more action shoved into our face, still had some good horror moment in it. Now, the third and final instalment is here, I will tell you all my opinion on this game.

Dead space 3 takes place 2 month after the Titan Sprawl necromorph outbreak in dead space 2 where Isaac is now getting romantically involved with Ellie Langford. You know, the one eyed girl who survived together with Isaac at the end of Dead Space 2. After the prologue, we see that Isaac had broke with Ellie and now she is gone missing in a mission to find a way to stop the marker. To save ellie, Isaac now must once again face the horror of necromorph attack, hostile environment, and awkwardly horrible love triangle. No, friendo, you are not reading a typo. Dead space, one of the scariest series I've ever played is now became twilight in space.

 Its a badass version of twilight...but it is still twilight!

To be fair, i knew that dead space was never been well known for its story, let alone love triangle story, but by God the story and the characters here is so painfully shallow. Isaac struggle agains his dementia and his quest to destroy the marker at dead space 2 is much more interesting than Isaac "Cullen" Clarke quest to get back with Ellie "Swan" Langford in the middle of space zombies attack. It's only two month after they first met but they are acting like they had been married for years. By the way, are you wondering about how is Isaac affected by his deceased ex-fiancée that used to haunt his mind with guilt and dementia in the previous dead space? Not a single mention came from Isaac mouth like he never even remember that he used to had a fiance. Isaac is definitely good at moving on.

If the story is awkwardly forced into the game, the gameplay is where dead space 3 delivers the fun. The core dismemberment gameplay still hasn't changed because why fix what isn't broke and with the addition of the robust weapon crafting system, you can create your own perfect tool of dead to kill the space undead the way you like it. Wanna create an acid flamethrower with cryogenic torch? You can. Or maybe you prefer an electrified rocket launcher with shotgun attachment? Be my guest. The weapon crafting system is robust and feels satisfying when you used it to blast necromorph limbs to the space. The game also delivers some memorable set pieces like the spaceship mini game and surprisingly, there's a lot of puzzle this time which i think is fine.

Sadly, even if i had a blast playing Dead Space 3 and i do really want to play it again with the new game+, the fun factor is the thing that kill the horror in this game. Survival horror isn't supposed to be fun, its supposed to be terrifying. It supposed to deliver the "i don't want to play this but i had to" experience like what i feel when i'm playing amnesia the dark descent. Survival horror should make you feel insignificant and weak not makes you feel like a badass who can solve every problem with bullet. The fear factor get even lower because supply is as easy to get as trying to find a sand in a desert. You will rarely feel in the edge of dying in this game.

What about the co op part you asked? Did it ruin the game the way Co-op in resident evil ruin everything that makes survival horror scary? Well, i gotta admit Dead Space 3 Co-op had some unique idea that manage to impress me. When you are just playing solo, there will be no AI partner to ruin your game and if you want someone to accompany you since you are to scared to play this game alone (seriously?), your partner can join anytime you want it. There's also some co-op optional mission that shows how John Carver, Isaac partner in co op, seeing some creepy illusion because he was affected by the marker but the player who plays as Isaac can't see what the other player see. It is a nice additional mission that you can enjoy with your friend.

In conclusion, Dead Space 3 have changed from a good blend of survival horror and action into a simple action game with nothing to scare you. It left me disappointed, but its not making me mad that i want to throw my Dead Space 3 disc into a deep black hole in the space, it just simply disappointing. The game is fun to play but it really lack the feeling that make Dead Space unique and memorable. If you are a horror fan, i suggest that you just skip this game but if you like action game with some minor horror element in it you might wanna give this game a try.

Initial El Score

6.5

 Just a decent survival action horror game

Less is More: menciptakan lebih dari kurang

 
Saya adalah seorang gamer yang menyukai game horror dan beberapa dari pembaca yang bukan gamer juga mungkin mengenal serial game horror seperti Resident Evil atau Silent Hill. Game- game ini terkenal karena mereka berhasil mengusik salah satu emosi manusia yang paling dalam, rasa takut. Karena saya penasaran dengan apa yang membuat game horror begitu menakutkan, saya mulai melakukan riset-riset kecil tentang rasa takut dalam video game. Dalam riset singkat saya mengenai rasa takut dalam video game, saya menemukan sebuah istilah yang menarik yaitu less is more, anggapan bahwa terkadang kurangnya hal yang menakutkan dalam video game horror justru memberikan lebih banyak rasa takut. saya penasaran dengan Apa maksud dari istilah ini? Apakah less is more Ini berlaku juga dalam kehidupan nyata? Ada baiknya juga kita membahas mengenai less is more ini.

Less is more adalah tentang bagaimana kita memberikan nilai lebih pada suatu hal meskipun kita tidak memiliki atau memberikan lebih karena kesederhanaan bisa memberikan nilai lebih dibanding kompleksitas dan membuat sesuatu lebih mudah dipahami serta diapresiasi. Istilah ini pertama kali diucapkan oleh Andrea Del Satro, seorang penulis puisi pada tahun 1885 dalam puisinya yang kemudian menjadi salah satu motto Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, seorang pioner dalam aliran arsitektur minimalisme. Jika ada yang bingung dengan konsep ini, Anggaplah ada seorang wanita yang menggunakan pakaian minim berjalan di mal, bisa dibilang kekurangan kain, apa yang terjadi di dalam pikiran kaum pria? Tentunya insting kita sebagai lelaki (yang normal) pasti akan lebih memperhatikan wanita itu dari atas ke bawah, Kurangnya kain di tubuh wanita membuat pria lebih tertarik kepada wanita tersebut.

P.s: Gambar ini hanya untuk membantu visualisasi less is more, bukan membantu visualisasi yang lain.

Tentunya saya tidak mengatakan kalau wanita hanya menarik ketika mereka tidak berkain dan menyarankan semua wanita untuk berpakaian seperti Lady Gaga di kamar mandi kalau ke mall karena jika kita kembali ke konsep less is more, maka ada juga wanita dengan pakaian yang kurang menonjolkan lekuk tubuhnya namun terlihat lebih menarik karena lebih sederhana, misterius dan elegan.

Bagaimana Less is more ini bisa membantu kita dalam kehidupan sehari-hari? Pertama, kita harus memahami salah satu sifat dasar manusia yaitu rasa tidak puas. Manusia adalah mahluk dengan kebutuhan yang tidak terbatas. Berbeda dengan hewan yang kebutuhannya terbatas pada makan dan berkembang biak, manusia memiliki kebutuhan emosional, psikologikal, spiritual dan masih banyak lagi kebutuhan lainnya. Kebutuhan yang tidak terbatas ini pada akhirnya akan menciptakan rasa tidak puas, sebuah dorongan untuk terus meminta dan mendapatkan lebih. Rasa tidak puas inilah yang membawa kita sebagai manusia ke keberadaan kita sekarang, semua hasil kebudayaan umat manusia adalah hasil dari rasa tidak puas ini. Ketika kita tidak puas dengan kegelapan, kita menciptakan lampu dan ketika kita tidak puas dengan dengan berjalan di tanah kita menciptakan pesawat terbang. Rasa tidak puas ini adalah bagian penting untuk berkembang menjadi manusia yang lebih baik namun ketika rasa tidak puas ini menjadi berlebihan dan membuat kita menginginkan lebih banyak dari yang seharusnya kita miliki atau berikan, di sinilah masalah muncul.

Rasa tidak puas seringkali menuntut kita untuk terus memberikan lebih pada apapun yang kita lakukan, miliki atau yang kita inginkan hingga akhirnya nilai dari apa yang kita miliki atau lakukan justru berkurang. Ini sering saya lihat dalam perilaku konsumtif kita yang selalu menuntut lebih meski sebenarnya kita sudah hidup lebih dari cukup. Tuntutan untuk selalu berlebihan ini tidak selalu berarti positif karena segala hal yang berlebihan akan selalu menjadi hal negatif sehingga yang akan terjadi adalah kontra-produktif, more is less. Nilai dari apa yang kita lakukan, berikan atau ciptakan menjadi berkurang akibat rasa tidak puas yang menuntut kita untuk berlebihan.

Bagaimana kita menciptakan lebih dari kurang dalam kehidupan kita? Saya punya satu analogi sederhana yang saya buat. Anggaplah ada seorang miskin yang cuma bisa makan sepiring nasi meskipun sebenarnya ia ingin sekali makan daging sapi. Jika ia menginginkan daging tersebut secara berlebihan, maka ia akan berusaha untuk mendapatkan daging tersebut tapi lupa bahwa ia harus makan nasi yang ada dulu untuk mendapatkan energi agar bisa berusaha mendapatkan nasi tersebut sehingga usahanya untuk mendapatkan daging teraebut menjadi sulit. Namun, jika ia memahami bahwa ia harus menerima kenyataan dulu, bahwa ia hanya memiliki nasi yang menurutya kurang, maka ia akan memakan nasi yang ada kemudian berusaha untuk mendapatkan daging yang ia inginkan.

Jadi pesan moral ini sederhana saja, untuk menciptakan lebih terimalah apa yang ada dulu, meskipun menurut kita apa yang kita punya sekarang itu masih kurang. Merasa kalau pesan moralnya mirip dengan sesuatu yang pernah kita pelajari di SD? Yep, salah satu bentuk less is more yang bisa kita gunakan di kehidupan sehari-hari adalah bersyukur. Masih banyak bentuk less is more yang bisa kita gunakan seperti semakin sedikit kita berbicara semakin bernilai apa yang kita katakan ke orang, rendah diri membuat diri kita terlihat tinggi di mata orang lain, kesederhanaan lebih baik daripada berboros-boros ria dan masih banyak lagi.

Less is more bisa membantu kita menciptakan hidup yang lebih seimbang dan bahagia jika kita bisa menerapkannya dengan tepat karena konsep ini adalah penyeimbang dari sifat dasar kita yang selalu ingin berlebihan. Selama kita bisa menyesuaikan kapan kita menggunakan konsep ini, dijamin hidup kita ga bakal ruwet-ruwet amet.

Semoga tulisan sok tau ini bisa membantu para pembaca untuk membuka perspektif yang lebih luas dalam hidup kita sebagai manusia yang sempit dan kecil. Be seeing you all in my next article. May the force be with you.

5 Tips and Trick Berdoa Dengan Memahami Bahasa Tuhan

Saya rasa kita semua mungkin sadar betapa tidak spesialnya kita di alam semesta ini. Sekeras apapun kita berusaha ataupun berpikir bahwa kita spesial, kita hanyalah debu kecil bagi padang sahara bernama alam semesta ini. Jika kita telah menyadari bahwa kita bukan apa-apa di alam semesta ini, seringkali akan muncul kerinduan akan sesuatu yang lebih besar yang mendorong manusia untuk bertanya dan mencari tentang makna keberadaanya. Dari sinilah konsep akan Tuhan mulai terbentuk di pikiran kita dan dari sinilah juga manusia mulai melakukan ritual-ritual spiritual seperti memberikan sesajen, melakukan ritual peribadatan dan berdoa dalam usaha kita menemukan dan berkomunikasi dengan Sang Segala untuk menjawab pertanyaan-pertanyaan di hidup kita.

Salah satu dari usaha kita untuk berkomunikasi dengan Tuhan adalah melalui doa untuk mencapai apa yang kita inginkan dalam hidup dan layaknya doa, ada saatnya doa kita dijawab dan tidak dijawab. Seringkali tersirat di kepala kita bahwa pada saat itu doa kita tidak "terdengar" olehNya dan ketika doa kita terkabul maka Ia "mendengarkan" doa kita. Ketika kita menggunakan kata "mendengarkan", sebenarnya kita secara ga sadar membuat Tuhan menjadi seperti kita, seperti manusia yang kecil, berbicara, mendengarkan, berjalan, dan milih-milih apa yang mau didengarkan ataupun apa yang ga perlu didengarkan. Padahal kalo menurut pendapat pribadi sih aneh rasanya kalo kita mengatakan Tuhan yang Maha Pendengar itu tidak "medengarkan" apa yang kita doakan. Doa yang tidak dijawab ini seringkali juga membuat kita merasa jauh dari Tuhan, membuatnya sulit dijangkau di kehidupan  kita meskipun sebenarnya Dia berada lebih dekat dari urat nadi kita sendiri.

Orang yang dipercayai bisa berkomunikasi dengan Tuhan seringkali disebut sebagi  nabi, dukun, shaman atau orang suci dalam agama dan keyakinan mereka. Orang-orang ini adalah sosok manusia yang dipercaya memiliki kemampuan untuk "berbicara" dengan Tuhan atau kekuatan yang lebih besar di alam semesta ini dan mereka mengunakan kemampuan itu untuk menyampaikan pesan-pesan dari Sang Segala itu ke manusia lain yang ga bisa mendengarkan suaraNya agar manusia bisa menemukan jalan hidupnya atau membantu orang-orang di sekitar mereka agar keinginan dalam doa mereka terkabul. 

Sayangnya, Bagi manusia biasa seperti kita ini, berbicara dengan Tuhan kelihatannya adalah hal yang ga mungkin  mengingat betapa kecil dan ga berartinya kita sehingga mulai deh muncul anggapan bahwa hanya orang-orang terpilih seperti nabi saja yang bisa "berbicara" dengan Sang Segala tersebut tapi apa itu benar?

Dari pengalaman hidup dan juga beberapa pengalaman hidup orang lain, saya mulai meyakini bahwa Tuhan setiap hari berbicara dan menjawab doa kita melalui bahasa kehidupan. Apa yang terjadi, apa yang kita lihat dan apa yang kita rasakan dalam kehidupan kita itu adalah Tuhan yang sedang "Berbicara" dan memberi "petunjuk" pada kita. Bahasa ini bisa berupa kejadian tertentu yang seringkali mengusik intuisi kita, mungkin seperti sindiran sarkastik dari Tuhan kalo buat saya tapi tentunya bahasa Tuhan ini akan berbeda-beda tergantung manusianya. Mungkin ada yang mendapat petunjuk dari Tuhan ketika ia sedang melakukan ibadah agamanya, melalui ramalan horoskop, melalui saran teman, melalui quote film dan buku atau mungkin melalui status facebook dan twitter yang kita follow. kemungkinannya tidak terbatas layaknya Tuhan itu sendiri.

Ayah saya kebetulan adalah seseorang yang mempelajari mengenai bahasa Tuhan melalui kehidupan dan ia mengajarkan saya beberapa tips yang cukup berguna dalam berdoa dan memahami bahasa Tuhan ini.

1. Pray With Your Energy.

Tips yang pertama adalah Tuhan mendengarkan energi jiwa dan emosi manusia. Tuhan tidak mendengarkan bahasa verbal sehari-hari yang biasa kita gunakan seperti bahasa Indonesia, bahasa Inggris, bahasa Jepang ataupun bahasa Arab melainkan energi jiwa kita karena bahasa verbal sebenarnya hanyalah alat untuk menyampaikan makna, bukan maknanya. Ketika kita berdoa dalam mood negatif seperti kesel,sedih, marah dsb, tak peduli betapa indahnya rangkaian kata-kata dalam doa itu, maka energi negatif itulah yang akan ditangkap oleh Sang Segala sebagai doa kita dan tentunya jawaban doanya adalah semakin banyaknya hal negatif tersebut dalam kehidupan kita (law of attraction). Mulailah berdoa dengan perasaan yang lebih positif seperti rasa syukur atau senang ketika meminta sesuatu terhadap Sang Segala tersebut betapapun buruknya keadaan yang sedang dihadapi. Ini bukan hanya agar Tuhan mau mendengarkan doa kita tapi juga agar kita bisa mengasosiasikan Tuhan sebagai sebuah eksistensi positif di alam bawah sadar kita dibandingkan eksistensi negatif yang membuat kita berdoa dan berbicara dengannya ketika sedang menghadapi cobaan saja.

2. Do The Ritual

 

Tips yang kedua adalah lakukanlah ritual. Tentunya saya tidak menganjurkan pembaca buat pergi melakukan ritual gaib ke gua terpencil di hutan gelap untuk meditasi, memberikan sesajen dan membakar dupa demi mencari wangsit karena untuk manusia modern yang serba sibuk hal ini jelas akan terlalu merepotkan. Ritual yang saya maksud di sini adalah ritual sederhana namun memiliki nilai simbolik personal yang bisa dilakukan sehari-hari di tengah kesibukan kita. Ritual ini tidak harus selalu bersifat gaib, religius ataupun spiritual karena ritual pun juga bisa punya efek praktis. Misalkan pembaca ingin membeli sebuah buku tertentu namun tidak punya uang, maka lakukanlah ritual menabung. Ritual ini memang terlihat seperti pelajaran yang kita dapatkan di buku PPkn SD tapi menurut saya hal sederhana seperti menabung adalah sebuah ritual efektif karena ritual simbolik yang paling efektif adalah melalui usaha nyata. Ritual yang bersifat simbolik juga bisa memberikan energi positif seperti memasang note mengenai target pencapaian kita di kamar atau di kulkas, mengganti wallpaper desktop dengan tempat wisata impian, atau sekedar berkhayal melakukan sesuatu yang keren dan tentunya ritual doa yang bersifat religius juga merupakan sebuah pilihan yang baik. Ritual-ritual simbolik kecil ini adalah ritual sederhana yang seringkali membantu kita membentuk mindset positif dalam mencapai apa yang kita inginkan.

3. Do It With Love

 
Tips yang ketiga adalah lakukan dengan cinta. Cinta yang saya maksud di sini tentunya bukan cinta romantis ala sinetron tapi cinta dimana ada dua di dalam satu. Cinta di sini adalah ketika kita melakukan sesuatu dengan sepenuh hati dan jiwa sehingga apa yang kita ciptakan menjadi bagian dari diri kita, sebuah perpanjangan eksistensi diri, sebuah seni. Apapun yang kita lakukan dengan cinta adalah sebuah doa yang paling baik karena kita melakukannya dengan seluruh energi positif yang kita miliki. Jika Hal ini bisa kita aplikasikan pada pekerjaan kita maka kita tidak akan perlu bekerja lagi seumur hidup, aplikasikan pada kehidupan spiritual maka Tuhan akan menyatu dengan kita, dan tentunya aplikasikan ke pasangan kita maka kita tidak perlu lagi pasangan hidup karena kita telah menjadi satu dengan pasangan kita.

4. Listen to Your Life 

Tips yang keempat adalah dengarkan hidup kita berbicara. Hidup kita adalah sekumpulan sebab-akibat  yang berjalan melalui sistem hukum alam semesta. Hidup kita bukan sebuah kebetulan yang terjadi secara acak tiap hari karena semua tindakan, pikiran dan emosi yang kita ciptakan akan menjadi sebab yang akan menimbukan sebuah akibat tertentu dalam hidup, mirip dengan apa yang kita sering sebut dengan karma. Kejadian-kejadian tertentu dalam hidup seringkali menjadi sebuah petunjuk tentang apa yang kita telah lakukan dan apa yang harus kita lakukan dimana hal ini mengusik intuisi kita secara tidak sadar dan membuat kita belajar tentang apa yang harus kita lakukan. Sebagai contoh, dulu saya seringkali tidak memperdulikan perasaan orang dan secara sengaja ataupun tidak sengaja sering menyakiti perasaan orang. Namun ketika karma menampar hidup saya dengan balasan yang setara dimana seseorang yang saya hargai tidak menghargai saya, saya sadar bahwa Sang Segala memberikan arahan untuk menghargai orang dengan lebih baik. Dengan mendengarkan Sang segala dalam kehidupan kita, maka kita tidak akan perlu lagi takut tersesat dalam hidup ini dan kita akan selalu punya inspirasi untuk apa yang harus kita lakukan untuk mendapatkan apa yang kita inginkan.

5. Have Faith

 
Tips yang terakhir adalah yakin.Well yes, ini adalah tips yang paling generik, sering kita dengar di film-film keluarga, kartun pagi dan sinetron kejar tayang yang membosankan namun inillah bagian terpenting dari memahami bahasa Sang Segala tersebut ketika kita menginkan sesuatu. Seperti Tulisan saya sebelumnya yang membahas mengenai bagimana keyakinan bisa merubah realita kehidupan manusia, kemampuan dari keyakinan ini mampu membuat doa kita semakin efektif. Tak ada gunanya kita menangis-nangis penuh pinta kepada Sang Segala tersebut jika kita tidak meyakini apa yang kita inginkan untuk menjadi kenyataan. Meyakini sesuatu berarti kita telah menciptakan suatu kenyataan dalam hidup kita oleh karena itu kunci utama dari sebuah doa yang efektif adalah meyakini bahwa apa yang kita inginkan akan menjadi kenyataan dalam hidup kita.

Kurang lebih seperti inilah pelajaran yang saya tangkap tentang bagaimana kita bisa membuat keinginan dalam doa kita bisa lebih mendekati kenyataan. Apabila ada komentar, kritik, saran atau hinaan (selama itu hinaan yang bagus) jangan malu untuk berkomentar. Semoga tips and trick ini bisa membantu pembaca untuk lebih positif dalam meraih apa yang diinginkan dalam hidup. May the Force bless you all.....

SKET Dance Review : When i Fell in Love With An Anime series

When you reached the age of 23, you might become a more mature human than you used to be and start looking the world in a more mature way. In my case when i became older, i became a cynical jerk who thinks that humanity can't evolve beyond a jerk who thinks for their own self and inevitably, that will let them to their doom. Being a mature could make you see everything in the suckiest way and it happen with the way i see manga and anime.

I do like to read manga and watch anime in the TV when i was a teenager, mostly all kind of anime and manga like Dragon Ball, Naruto and Rurouni Khenshin which usually about people fighting in over the top way. That day, i am still an innocent boy who see the world as a prairie of flower, smile and love but then, time changes my brain and its really hard to be a happy-go-lucky man like i used to be. I am an adult now and it makes me see most anime and manga as a tsunami of angsty pretty boy dealing with overused cliche dilemma while occasionally an oversexualized hot girl showing up just for being an eye candy. The worst case of anime and manga that i ever see is when some long hard slimy things is wrapping teenage girl with large breatst in the subway while the other people in the subway watching it with excitement and blushed face.

Oh wait, that was something else. Thanks for the reminder spidey.

Yes, I know that kind of anime is called shonen which is aimed at the teenager not adult like me but even if it was for the teenager it is still not an excuse to overused the cliche and angsty storyline that driving me crazy. At first, it is good to see that kind of anime, second one its ok, third is acceptable, but after the fourth one my brain starting to tell me that i hate to see people whining about friendship, courage or any other generic moral message over and over again.

Well, i do have some exception from this shonen anime that i consider as good like Naruto, Gin Tama and Fullmetal Alchemist which i think had some depth and good subtlety in the story. Eventhough i think that anime or manga like Naruto is good, i rarely get invested emotionally into the story and the character mainly because its kinda hard to sympathize with the characters when they can technically blow a mountain into dust to solve every problem that exist.

Sadness? i blow sadness...

But then, i watched some anime that was aired in the animax called SKET Dance which i think is a really strange title and premise for an anime. SKET Dance (a transliteration of "Suketto Dan" which means "helper club") is a story about a school club that dedicated to help students overcome any kind of problem they had. The main characters of this anime is Bossun, a useless boy with an extraordinary ability to concentrate really hard, then Himeko, an ex-deliquent girl who happens to have the strength of female gorilla and Switch, a super nerdy otaku who can only speaks using a speech synthesizer in his laptop.

you can see that it left everyone with a strange impression at first but after couples episode, i was so hooked with the series because it was so funny. I laughed out loud at some episodes from its quirky humour, Japanese pop culture references, and the hilarious fourth wall joke. It also had some cute romantic story between the characters that sometime manage to make me go "awwww".

 

hei, its still better than "ewwww"....

But then, the series caught me off guard when suddenly it became so traumatizing, depressing and above all, emotionally touching. I felt sympathetic and attached to an anime character like i never do feel before. Well, its an angsty teenage dilemma that they faced but it was done in an interesting way that won't bore you to death and you will always want to see how it will be resolved.

So far, there is 2 particular story that i think is really superb and unique. Thoose 2 stories is the backstory of 2 main character which is the story about Bossun and Switch past. The story explain why bossun so determined to help people in need without favor and why switch never talk with his own mouth. I won't tell how the stories goes since it will be a spoiler but trust me, there will be some unexpected twist so you will want to see their story by yourself. Personally, Switch backstory is the most emotional one and i'll even admit that it made me drop a man tears (not pussies tears) at the end of the story.

if you don't feel any emotion after watching this scene, then congratulation! you are emotionally dead.

SKET dance could make you laugh out loud then makes you cry after it. That is why this series leaves an emotional impact to whoever watching it. It is not all about laughable stupid things but it could also make you care in the emotional level which i rarely do feel when i watched an anime.  When the season 1 ended, there's some funny feeling that i felt, i feel like there's some part of me that die inside where it almost feel like someone that i cared is leaving me to somewhere far away. It is that good

There's some gripe that i have with this anime like how it sometime the story could end in a cliffhanger without any resolution that will satisfied anyone, some character could be a lil bit over the top and some unnecessary angsty dialogue can be a little annoying sometime. Also, it might be just me, but i am kinda hoping that they show the serious emotional case more often since most of the case is just there to make you laugh.

Overall, SKET Dance is a really great anime. The manga itself won an award for best shonen manga in 2011 so we know that it got a good reception in Japan itself that. This might be one of my most memorable anime that i ever watch so far and I'm so waiting for the second season to start. If some people asked me "do you like SKET Dance?" i will replied it with "no. I love it.".

The Initial El Score Review

9.5  

Love it!