tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39259999981097594172024-03-05T15:03:26.364+00:00Finally My Own Blog!there's always room for a good storyCornelius D. Radjalihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11094382701302751222noreply@blogger.comBlogger131125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3925999998109759417.post-41908415559494205832019-12-31T10:50:00.001+00:002019-12-31T10:50:55.980+00:00I Survived 2019It's that time of the year again. Time to post annual blog post telling all the milestones, lost, and lesson learned from the past year.<br />
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Exactly a year ago, I wrote a post about how scared I am entering this year (2019). After being spoiled in the year before (2018), I whined on my previous post showing how scared I am losing all the things that spoiled me. And now, here we are; last day of 2019 as well as the decade. I survived.<br />
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So many things happened in my life in 2019. I finally have the courage to do some changes, especially in career and financial part. I'm proud of what I have achieve thus far. I know its not perfect, there are still room to fix, but compare to the previous year, how I end 2019 is wayyyy more awesome.<br />
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Learning from last year, I will enter 2020 with more courage and spirit. Its the fear, and uncertainty that gives color throughout the year. With courage and bold positive spirit, I have to, and will be ready to face any obstacles and challenges ahead; especially when it comes to self-development. I want to be a better person (physically and mentally), that way I can affect those around me. Thus I will generate and attract more positive vibes and blessings.<br />
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So, thank you 2019 for giving me chances, and be prepare 2020, I'm coming!<br />
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"Dear God almighty, help me, guide me, show me, and give me courage to enter 2020 with more faith, hope, and gratitude. Let me be the instrument of thy peace. Let me bring blessing, hope, and joy to everyone surrounds me everywhere I go. I know your plan is far far far more better compare to my dream, give me more faith and courage to always listen to your voice and rely on you. Amen."<br />
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#2020shouldbegood<br />
#2020shouldbedifferent<br />
#2020shouldbebetter<br />
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-2019marketer-Cornelius D. Radjalihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11094382701302751222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3925999998109759417.post-19052722952224187292018-12-30T19:04:00.001+00:002018-12-30T19:05:24.735+00:002018 sejauh ini....Setelah 364 hari tidak melakukan postingan, di hari terkahir tahun 2018 ini saya memutuskan untuk melakukan postingan di blog ini.<br />
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Keadaan saat ini, saya sedang duduk di meja makan, pukul 01:10 pagi sembari menyaksikan pertandingan MU vs BOU (streaming), dan belum ada 5 menit sebelumnya saya melakukan postingan instagram mengenai snack jadul yang saya temukan di Alfamidi hari ini, yaitu Canasta. <i>Guess what?</i> Rasanya sama, cuma sedikit lebih tawar, mungkin kadar msg nya sudah tidak sebanyak dulu...hehehehe.<br />
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Cukup pembukaannya, sekarang lanjut ke telusur ulang dan refleksi 2018. Untuk seorang bocah yang selalu mimpi bisa naek pesawat terbang tiap bulan, 2018 itu seperti mimpi. Karena salah satu klien saya menuntut saya untuk terbang setidaknya sekali sebulan ke Surabaya. Saya yang awalnya sangat tidak awam dengan jalan-jalan di Surabaya, sekarang setidaknya saya sudah mulai paham. Di luar pekerjaan pun, saya diberi kesempatan untuk terbang ke Singapura untuk nonton konser The Killers, yang bersamaan dengan F1 Singapore Night Race. Sedangkan puncak memori adalah saya berkesempatan untuk pergi ke Amerika, mengunjungi Staples Centre dan Disneyland. Serta pengalaman kehilangan passport, sungguh suatu pengalaman yang tak akan PERNAH terlupakan. Seolah saya bisa kembali membuat cerita baru setelah pengalaman hidup luar biasa di Glasgow ketika menempuh S2, setelah sekian lama berkutat di Jakarta dengan segala rutinitasnya.<br />
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Dari sisi ego seorang David, 2018 mungkin tahun terbaik yang pernah ada setelah Glasgow. Tapi apakah ini tahun 2018 selamanya bagus? Tidak juga, banyak mimpi dan target yang masih belum tercapai, namun layaknya manusia lain, yang terlintas hanyalah memori indah. Seolah menutup dan menebus semua kegagalan atau semua gol yang todak tercapai di tahun 2018.<br />
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Di penghujung 2018 pun saya mengalami gangguan kesehatan, perdebatan dengan keluarga yang membuat resah mental saya dalam menyambut 2019. Seolah sudah puas dengan segala pencapaian dan keberhasilan 2018, saya merasa takut untuk membuka lembar baru di 2019. Ketakutkan jika tahun depan mungkin saya tidak bisa terbang lagi setiap bulan, tidak bisa nonton konser, atau bahkan tidak bisa berplesir ke tempat baru. Ketakutkan akan karir yang tidak berkembang dan kesehatan yang memburuk, serta kehidupan rutinitas Jakarta yang konstan, yang secara perlahan akan "mematikan" semangat hidup.<br />
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Beberapa hari ini saya tidak berhenti memikirkan apa yang akan terjadi tahun 2019 nanti? Apakh saya sanggup melewatinya? Bahkan kegiatan olahraga saya (gym) yang biasanya menyegarkan pikiran pun tidak berhasil menghilangkan galau pergantian tahun ini.<br />
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Seolah seperti orang yang tidak punya iman, saya hanya berpikir menggunakan otak yang pas2 an ini untuk menanggulangi segala tantangan di 2019. Sampai pada hari Minggu, 30 Des 2018. Ya, beberapa jam lalu, saya baru saja menjalani misa mingguan terkahir di 2018. Khotbah Romli sangatlah menampar saya. Sebuah kalimat yang saya sangat familiar keluar pada khotbah tersebut.<br />
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"Serahkanlah keterbatasanmu pada ketidakterbatasan Allah."<br />
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Seolah kembali diingatkan oleh Gusti Allah, saya sebenarnya tidak perlu takut menghadapi 2019. Apapun yang sudah saya jalani dari saya lahir sampai saat ini adalah persiapan untuk suatu rencana indah yang sudah disiapkan Allah. Bersandar dan bergantunglah kepada Allah, tidak ada yang mustahil bagiNya. Segala kesulitan, beban, dan khawatir mu akan diringkan olehNya.<br />
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Khotbah minggu ini adalah mengenai peringatan keluarga kudus. Ini adalah poin kedua yang menamapar saya di penghujung tahun ini. Sukses dan pencapaian saya tahun 2018 tidak ada artinya jika saya kehilangan salah satu anggota keluarga saya. Keberadaan mereka hingga saat ini adalah keberhasilan yang seharusnya saya banggakan. Saya percaya jika semua kebaikan yang terjadi kepada saya adalah ketika Tuhan mendengarkan doa orang tua saya. Yang seharusnya saya banggakan bukanlah seberapa banyak saya terbang, tapi seberapa banyak saya bisa membuat keluarga saya tersenyum, sehat, dan bahagia. Saya yakin sejauh apaun saya pergi, sesukses apapun saya nanti, tidak akan berarti tanpa support dan keberadaan orang-orang terkasih, terutama keluarga saya.<br />
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Terima kasih Gusti Allah untuk hari ini. Dengan khotbah hari ini saya sedikit lebih optimis menyambut 2019.<br />
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"Allah, terima kasih untuk hari ini. Terima kasih untuk keluargaku yang masih setia mendapingiku saat ini. Sebuah berkat yang ternilai. Terima kasih untuk segala berkat dan ujian di 2018 yang membuat kami makin dekat dengan Dikau. Semoga di tahun 2019 nanti, saya menjadi pribadi yang lebih bersandar pada Tuhan dan lebih mengandalkan Tuhan ketimbang segala keterbatasan saya. Saya yakin ini adalah bagian ziarah saya untuk mencapai sesuatu yang lebih baik yang telah disediakan Tuhan bagi saya dan keluarga saya. Say percaya 2019 akan menjadi tahun yang penuh berkat, tahun berkelimpahan rejeki, dan kasih Tuhan yang selalu menyertai kami." Amin.<br />
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Terima kasih 2018 untuk memori dan pelajarannya, 2019 I'm ready! Come what may, God speed!<br />
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-2018Editor-Cornelius D. Radjalihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11094382701302751222noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3925999998109759417.post-61309126060660694572017-11-20T06:32:00.001+00:002017-11-20T06:32:51.722+00:00Justice League - A Beacon of Hope for DC Comics Movie<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span class="s1">Less than 30 days ago I watched Marvel’s Thor Ragnarok, which is surprisingly very very entertaining, I’m talking if its compares to its two previous movies, and ended up with me losing my faith in the upcoming DC comics’ Justice League. I’m thinking that Thor Ragnarok just hit the ball straight out of the park, not only that they set a new level, but invent a new concept of how to bring comic book superheroes to the cinematic world; and there’s no way in hell that the next DC comics’ movie is going to be that good.Sure DC had their heyday with Nolan’s Batman trilogy, but after that, personally I think, things went south for Warner Bros. Despite the success of Wonder Woman, I still had my doubt on the Justice League. Marvel took a decade to assemble the Avengers, the studio introduce each characters through years of process to make the audience familiar to the kind of Loki, infinity stones and Groot to the “muggle” of comic world out there. Now DC comics is trying to introduce their version super friends after three movies? You see how pessimistic I am right? But apparently Justice League surprised me.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">Less than 12 hours ago I watched Justice League and my prediction was spot on. It was not as entertaining as Thor Ragnarok, but it somehow it impressed me more compare to Thor Ragnarok. It still has that<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Zack Snyder’s gloomy and blue-yellowish color through out the movie, apparently DC is still into darker tone. As for the cast, I had my doubt the first time I saw the cast line up, but I was wrong. This is the perfect cast for Justice League movie. I can see how they put effort to bring the big three characters to live according to comic book. Supes is full of hope, Diana is still struggling with her idealism and her past, and last, Batman, although he looks like he’s on something the whole movie, but he’s starting to reflect the Batman version of comic book, the insecure one; the only human in the league without super power. However, I get a sense that because DC is trying to focus on the big three, the other Justice League member’s character left a bit under develop. As if they only associates the Flash as the funny one, Aquaman as the muscle, and Cyborg as the geeky one. I’m expecting the presence of Green Lantern on the next Justice League movie, it’s no JLA without the emerald knights; also Martian Manhunter. In the end, the cast and their role really do impress me.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">Plot-wise, I would have to go with average. While Marvel’s movie is full of twist, DC is plain. They need to improve by adding drama to create curiosity and enthusiast for the audience. However, in the bigger picture, I sense that DC is trying to introduce its superheroes after this big movie, while its contrary for in the Marvel world. They build the characters through time heading to the first Avengers movie. For me personally, its a gambling move. What if Justice League failed? It would be a very hard homework to leverage the audience trust towards the DC’s movies in the future. Fortunately, it works, all the sins from BvS and Suicide Squad is paid, at least 3/4 of it. This leaves another good impression for me.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1">As for the script, DC is still left far behind Marvel creative team. I understand the challenge of combining stories from comic books to create a new storyline, but DC need to learn a lot from Marvel for this case. I like the tale scene (amazon, atlantian, lanterns, human, and gods), but I still find few scenes with bad script that makes the scene existence is unnecessary in the movie. DC have to learn to make the combination and transition as smooth as possible. Remember the infinity stones as the bigger storyline, with small chapter as Shield vs Hydra, Howard Stark assassination, civil war, etc? DC can’t just come up with merging one of the best story in DC comics history, The World Without Superman & The Return of Superman, with the Mother Boxes plot, it has to be more smooth. But if I compare it to BvS & Suicide Squad, Justice League is way ahead of its previous movies. Can’t imagine if they use the identity crisis or flashpoint story line. This part does not impress me.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">Good cast, good plot, average script, how about the cinematography? To be honest, I’m not a big fan of alien entity (tentacles, weird shape spaceship) that has been going on since the man of steel, and apparently still appearing in thus movie. But again, if we compare to previous DC movies, this movie improves a lot. They learn from their mistakes, and for that I lift my hat off to them. Another impression por moi.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">Overall this is a good movie. I never give “good” statement to any of DC movies before, but this one is exceptional. As I mentioned, they learned from their mistakes and improve it. They gamble and it works. There’s still few things that they can improve in the future, but if this is where the direction of DC comics movies going forward, then I think they still have a chance to be equal with Marvel Cinematic Universe. My faith in my childhood hero movie (Superman) is back. My verdict 4/5.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">There’s two credit scene, so sit your ass down. The second one is epic.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
Cornelius D. Radjalihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11094382701302751222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3925999998109759417.post-83427087793074656042017-06-15T11:24:00.000+01:002017-06-15T11:24:55.066+01:00RIP Lady the dogI never expect that this day would come....<br />
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This is for you Lady...<br />
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Thank you for being there for us, we will miss you.<br />
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#RIP #Ladythedog<br />
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<b style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13.3333px;"><span style="color: #400080; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: x-small;">Rainbow Bridge</span></b><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: x-small;"><br /><br />Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.<br />When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet<br />goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and<br />play together. There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and<br />comfortable.<br /><br />All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor; those<br />who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember<br />them in our dreams of days and times gone by.<br />The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss<br />someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.<br /><br />They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and<br />looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent; His eager body quivers.<br />Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs<br />carrying him faster and faster.<br /><br />You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you<br />cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses<br />rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once<br />more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never<br />absent from your heart.<br /><br />Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together....<br /><br />(anonymous) </span>Cornelius D. Radjalihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11094382701302751222noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3925999998109759417.post-16992643083481981992017-01-03T17:39:00.001+00:002017-01-03T17:39:29.476+00:00The 2017Hallo,<br />
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Sepertinya sudah lama sekali saya tidak menulis blog dengan Bahasa Indonesia ya. :-) Yak, cukup dulu dengan bahasa Inggrisnya ya, saatnya mengasah kembali kemampuan bercerita dengan bahasa ibu.<br />
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Jadi di hari ketiga tahun 2017 ini saya ingin berbagi "catatan saya" untuk Anda semua. Catatan tentang apa yang bagaimana saya melihat tahun 2016 kemarin dan apa saja yang harus saya lakukan di tahun 2017 ini.<br />
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Saya akan mulai dengan sebuah dari salah satu ucapan yang saya terima ketika momen pergantian tahun kemarin, yang menyebutkan "<i>Life is about choices and decision we make</i>". Hidup kita adalah semua pilihan dan keputusan yang kita pilih/ambil/perbuat. Ketika membaca ucapan ini langsung terbenak di pikiran saya sosok Craig Sager. Sedikit informasi, Craig Sager adalah seorang reporter olahraga (bola basket) asal Amerika Serikat yang belum lama ini meninggal setelah "kalah" dalam pertarungan melawan penyakit kanker. Ia memenangkan penghargaan Jimmy V tahun 2016 kemarin atas kegigihannya melawan kanker. Dalam pidato penerimaan penghargaan tersebut Sager menyebutkan jika "<i>Time is simply how you live you life</i> - waktu adalah caramu menghabiskan hidupmu."<br />
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Kedua ucapan ini seolah-olah saling melengkapi dan saya menanggapinya dengan dugaan, mungkin ini adalah "modus" Sang Pencipta yang berusaha untuk menyampaikan sesuatu ke hambanya yang kadang suka telmi ini. Saya melihat ini seperti sebuah jawaban untuk doa yang meminta di malam pergantian tahun, yaitu agar tahun 2017 menjadi tahun yang lebih baik terutama bagi saya pribadi.<br />
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<i>Hidup ini adalah kumpulan dari pilihan dan keputusan yang kita buat, dan apa yang sudah kita putuskan maka kita akan menjalaninya dari waktu-waktu sampai pada akhirnya kita membuat sebuah keputusan baru. </i><br />
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Hingga saat pergantian tahun kemarin saya terus merasa kecewa dengan tahun 2016. Kenapa? Saya merasa karir saya mandek, rejeki sepertinya <i>seret</i> banget, banyak publik figur yang meninggal (walaupun tidak ada hubungan langsung dengan saya, tapi rasa sedihnya tetep kena *<i>emangbaperansihorangnya</i>*), kerabat meninggal, hanya bisa menyelesaikan 1 buku, dari 366 hari (tahun kabisat) hanya mampu mengunjungi 2 destinasi wisata lokal, dan lain-lain. Apakah sebegitu parahnya 2016 saya, bukankah masih banyak orang menderita dibanding saya? Tidak juga, saya hanya melihat kegagalan ini murni hanya dari kacamata saya. Sebenranya jika ditelusuri akan lebih banyak hal yang saya syukuri di tahun 2016 ini, namun apalah daya saya hanyalah seorang manusia. mahluk yang ditakdirkan untuk lebih banyak ngeluhnya ketimbang bersyukur. Itulah mengapa saya beranggapan mengapa 2016 bukan tahun yang baik untuk saya pribadi.<br />
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Tapi setelah membaca 2 kalimat tersebut, saya seakan ditampar dan diingatkan jika semua kejadian yang menurut saya membawa sial/negatif/buruk pada tahun 2016 kemarin sebenarnya adalah karena ulah saya sendiri. Karena saya yang mengambil keputusan untuk tidak mau meyudahi momen-momen kesedihan dan keputusasaan tetapi malah membiarkan momen-momen tersebut merajai 2016 saya.<br />
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Hal ini membuat saya berpikir di hari kedua tahun 2017, saya harus lebih jeli lagi dalam mengambil keputusan di 2017. Karena saya tahu perjalanan saya menuju impian/kebahagian saya masih panjang, dan akan lebih baik jika saya memilih keputusan-keputusan yang akan membuat waktu di perjalanan saya menuju impian/kebahagian saya menjadi sesuatu yang menyenangkan.<br />
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Menulisnya sih sederhana ya, tapi seperti biasa, menjalaninya akan butuh kekuatan yang sangat besar. Untuk itu saya hanya bisa berdoa:<br />
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Sang Khalik, berikanlah hamba Mu ini kebijakan dan kekuatan dalam mengambil keputusan dan menjalankan hari-hari di tahun 2017 ini. Bimbinglah hamba Mu beserta kerabat dan keluarganya, semoga di tahun 2017 ini dapat menjadi tahun berkah bagi semuanya. Tuntunlah kami selelalu di dalam jalan Mu dan lindungi kami dari segala cobaan dan bahaya. Amin.<br />
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-2017 editor-<br />
<br />Cornelius D. Radjalihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11094382701302751222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3925999998109759417.post-38508782456368358902016-10-30T17:01:00.002+00:002016-10-30T17:01:25.253+00:00TimeSometimes I wonder what it feels like to have control of time.<br />
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You can rewind and re-live all the your precious moments, skip and move forward all of the bad and boring ones, and the best one is to pause or play it in slow-motion when you are having the "time of your life".<br />
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Unfortunately that's not how things work. Wake up, live your life. Make every moments count. No matter how hard you try, you can never return time, even just for one second. So, make every second matters!<br />
<br />Cornelius D. Radjalihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11094382701302751222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3925999998109759417.post-54197414327883833762015-10-31T07:53:00.002+00:002015-10-31T07:53:25.789+00:00short prayerWhen you are down and feeling devastated, just take a break and say this prayer<br />
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"Dear Lord, if today I loose my hope, please remind me that Your plans are better than my dream."<br />
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Happy weekend.<br />
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<br />Cornelius D. Radjalihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11094382701302751222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3925999998109759417.post-50115974953978736382015-05-23T05:10:00.001+01:002015-05-23T05:10:34.097+01:00CoincidenceCoincidence.<br />
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A natural phenomenon? Or a script well-planned and well-executed?<br />
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Do you believe that your existence in this world is just something out of the ordinary?<br />
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Or do you believe that your existence is for a certain purpose?<br />
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Something to think about over the weekend.<br />
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Have a great weekend folks!Cornelius D. Radjalihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11094382701302751222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3925999998109759417.post-67974738574007628602014-11-07T08:27:00.001+00:002014-11-07T08:29:17.339+00:00baca musiknya, dengarkan liriknya...<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="344" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Hd4f4NBebLs" width="459"></iframe><br />
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one of their best songs.Cornelius D. Radjalihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11094382701302751222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3925999998109759417.post-4187286803771257112014-05-17T05:44:00.001+01:002014-05-17T05:44:19.344+01:00Mascagni<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="344" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/dl3F3TjNf-A" width="459"></iframe><br />
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Hail Mary, full of grace, The Lord is with thee<br />
Blessed are thou amongst women,<br />
and blessed are the fruit of thy womb, Jesus<br />
Holy Mary mother of God,<br />
pray for us sinners,<br />
now and at the hour of our deathCornelius D. Radjalihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11094382701302751222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3925999998109759417.post-22419684513565796892014-05-10T05:45:00.002+01:002014-05-10T05:45:31.324+01:00The Real MVPKevin Durant's 2014 MVP speech is arguably one of the best NBA acceptance speech ever. The way he addressed his teammates, community and foremost his mother, is truly touching.<br />
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That's what real superstars would do. You can't and won't get BIG without the help of others, so value your neighbour, for no matter how small their contribution is, they still contribute to your success.<br />
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Remember this, superstars are those who remembers and values their roots.<br />
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<br />Cornelius D. Radjalihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11094382701302751222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3925999998109759417.post-15661218194060966582013-08-10T09:34:00.001+01:002013-08-10T09:37:09.596+01:00Who would you pick?Good afternoon good people of the world.<br />
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On this cloudy Saturday afternoon, a totally random question just popped into my mind.<br />
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"Would you rather have your eulogy or your life story be read or narrate by Samuel L. Jackson or Morgan Freeman? And why?"<br />
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Personally, should I ever received or honoured by a certain reward or achievement, I would love for Morgan Freeman to read the short biography of me. His deep tone, his voice characteristic, I bet the inauguration would be one hell of an event. Besides, who would you rather have reading your life story other than the man who played God himself? I'm sorry Charlton Heston, I know you split the Red Sea, but you couldn't do it without the help of the almighty. :-p<br />
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For the eulogy, I prefer Samuel L. Jackson. Reading and or listening to eulogy has never been a pleasure. It always bring tears, no matter how funny you try to write it. I want people who attend my funeral to be remind. Remind of what? Life goes on, I'm in a better place now, stop crying over me, do something great, do something amazing, don't waste your time in sorrow. Imagine Samuel L. Jackson reading my eulogy and suddenly with all the swear words scold the grievers. Hah! That would hilarious. "I dare you to cry, mother <i>f*cker!</i> I double dare you!" :-p<br />
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It's just a random thought. Please don't take it seriously. I'm happy and grateful with my life at the moment, I just adored the talent of these 2 actors.<br />
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Enjoy your weekend happy people :-)<br />
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<br />Cornelius D. Radjalihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11094382701302751222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3925999998109759417.post-86822109521172035042013-06-30T16:06:00.002+01:002013-06-30T16:06:43.475+01:00A World without MeI'm trying not to sound like a little teenage drama queen, but do you ever wonder what would it be like to see or to live in a world without you in it? Ever wonder who's going to miss you or who's going to wish that they had someone like you in their live?<br />
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Just a random thought.<br />
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<br />Cornelius D. Radjalihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11094382701302751222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3925999998109759417.post-66175482044219404682013-06-25T17:17:00.004+01:002013-06-25T17:18:35.167+01:00Random TweetGod listen more than what you said, answer more than you asked, give more than you could have imagined in His own time and in His own way.Cornelius D. Radjalihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11094382701302751222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3925999998109759417.post-29169461686042141402013-06-25T16:03:00.002+01:002013-06-25T16:03:38.394+01:00Damn, it hurt!<i>"The thing that hurt the most when you fall in love is when you can do nothing about it." </i><br />
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Damn, I never thought I would say this, but I'm really thankful for what how I felt at the moment. It hurts like hell, but it's really, really an indescribable feeling of pleasure. I wish I could remove the pain, but what is day without night, right?<br />
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And for this moment, the least I could expect from her is that although she's not "in the same place with me", she still smile when she heard my name......Cornelius D. Radjalihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11094382701302751222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3925999998109759417.post-86033535058739702992013-04-21T08:24:00.000+01:002013-04-21T08:24:47.557+01:00Somewhere Out There<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/cJ7Ujq9UTM0" width="560"></iframe><br />
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Where ever you are, I hope to see you soon.<br />
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<br />Cornelius D. Radjalihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11094382701302751222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3925999998109759417.post-79729119558990513012013-01-11T12:18:00.001+00:002013-01-11T12:23:35.848+00:00New Year's Reflection<i>"Kalau kamu ngerasa mama kamu bodoh, jangan kesel, karena berarti mama kamu berhasil besarin kamu jadi pintar. Terima kasih gih."</i><br />
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"If you think your mother is stupid, don't be mad, be grateful. It means she has successfully raised you as a smart kid."<br />
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A tweet by a renown Indonesian movie producer.<br />
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A great reflection to start the year. Quite often we see ourselves better and smarter than our parents. We tend to think they are old school and lame, we have nothing in common when it comes to decision making or way of thinking. It is because our ego, we failed to see the big picture here. My parents (I'm fortunate enough to still have a complete parents to guide me) work so hard for me and my brother to received the best education, so that we can be a better, smarter, wiser person than them. Yet, sometimes we still disrespect them.<br />
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I'm sorry and thank you Mom & Dad, without you guys I wouldn't be the person I am today.Cornelius D. Radjalihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11094382701302751222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3925999998109759417.post-89746500007365503772012-12-31T09:57:00.003+00:002012-12-31T09:57:54.839+00:002013<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">My dear friends,</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Here we go again. 365 new pages to write on, new year, new stories, new adventure! </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">I dare you to keep on dreaming, to dream higher, to dream bigger, so that you will always have hope for a better tomorrow! Trust me, have a little faith in Him, 2013 is going to be awesome! </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">HAPPY NEW YEAR 2013!</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Best regards,</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">D.</span>Cornelius D. Radjalihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11094382701302751222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3925999998109759417.post-64304788256207591762012-12-14T10:51:00.002+00:002012-12-14T12:14:35.575+00:00Catastrophe in Laker Land<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I will never get tired when it comes to the LA Lakers. I'm a big fan of the Lakers, and as a caring fan, I'm really concern about what's been going on the LA LA land these days.</div>
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I just finished reading the game report of the Lakers loss tonight in MSG. It's quite shocking, on the report I read that small possibilities for the Lakers to lose (yep, there I said it) in single digit figure looking by the first half stats. But as we all can predict, when this former Minneapolis lake team are struggling, number 24 is not going to just sit and watch. The mamba strikes again on the second half and guess what? Their plying the D "quite" well on the remaining time. Unfortunately the Knicks are too strong, they played better ball, although they are lacking in rebound number and Melo is out, I have to admit they got a hell of a game.</div>
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Now enough with the game review, let see what we can analyse from the Lakers' last 4 games. </div>
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1. I'm kinda fed-up listening to the saying "everything's gonna be okay when Nash and Gasol returns". You know what? Screw Nash and Gasol. Why? Honestly, looking at the stat, Nash is not that good at playing D, and Gasol seems to be left-out in this D'Antoni's system. Sure when they return, people may expect an explosive scoring machine, but what are the odds of one machine gun against a robust tank like the OKC, Heat, Memphis or as we saw tonight, the Knicks? They need to work out on their D. Where to start? Rebound. Both sides. Minimise the turnovers, the team are not young guns who can run back and forth, therefore it is better for them to optimise the shot clock period. Playing in slow paste like the Pacers is not a bad idea. Looking at the players' stamina at the moment and their current resource, this type of O is (IMHO) more efficient than the run & gun. Moreover, it will also help reducing the turnover number.</div>
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2. Optimise the bench. If you remember the other night when the Lakers are playing against the Nuggets, Jamison and Meeks scored 61 points combined. That's just insane. I realise not every night you can play like that, but they have the potential. On one hand, Meeks are an ultimate shooter, he should fit with D'Antoni perimeter O system. On the other hand, Jamison is a 'big' small forward, coach Mike should've known how to use him like he used (Tyson) Chandler while he was coaching the Knicks, plus he can shoot from the perimeter as well. Last but not least, Jordan Hill. This guy proves the management that he's an asset to this organisation with his outstanding play on the playoff last season. With Howard, Jamison, Gasol/Hill it should be impossible for the opponents to score lots of point from the paint, but yet they did (so far). </div>
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3. Shooter(s). Other than Mr. Bryant who can coach Mike relay on when it comes to killing the opponents from beyond and inside the arch? Personally I would say NO ONE. Sure, MWP hits some 3's lately, Jamison & Meeks had their moments with the Nuggets, but that's not enough if D'Antoni wants to implement his famous O by killing the other teams from shooting. Its either he (D'Antoni) needs to adjust with the current players available or make an extra effort to "create" a new shooter(s) from the available options OR bring in some shooter(s). CMIIW, Lakers has always been a strong front court team, whereas all of D'Antoni's teams are strong on back court and perimeter.</div>
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4. Is it too late/soon to call the Lord of The Rings? It's never too soon to bring him. We all know KB24 wants him and we all know Phill is one of the few coaches out there who can 'work' with Kobe. But personally, I would still give D'Antoni chance, it's a bit unfair judging him with the result of the last 4 games. His 2 first options playmakers are out, one his powerful big man is out, all the players nor D'Antoni didn't get the chance to practice together on the summer camp, and last but not least, the fans are nagging. It's a perfect storm for the Lakers organisation. </div>
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So what's my forecast for the Laker nation? If by the All Star weekend they can't reach at least number 6 of the Western conference division, then I doubt they'll win the ring this season, heck, they might not even make it to the playoff.</div>
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Well that's my two cents regarding the Lakers situation at the moment. Don't get me wrong, I'm still a Laker fan, just saying my opinion. I hope coach D'Antoni can sort things out.</div>
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Go Lakers!</div>
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<br />Cornelius D. Radjalihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11094382701302751222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3925999998109759417.post-48787400424269068442012-11-30T05:12:00.002+00:002012-11-30T05:12:12.771+00:00Can you believe how illogical people can be?<div>
Can you believe how illogical people can be?</div>
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Yes, that is the question.</div>
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As if we're living a world that knows no sincerity and grateful, people nowadays are full with suspicion and bad ideas. When someone do good things, no matter how small it is, there will be a conspiracy amongst people regarding the good act. I wonder if it ever occur in those shallow-minded-head that sometimes we do good, because we wanted to do good. Thats it, no other reason, nada. </div>
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I hope one day, maybe today or tomorrow, people are willing to look perspective from a wider view. Thus, fingers crossed, it will make this world a better place to live.</div>
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<i>"People are often unreasonable, illogical, and self-centred; forgive them anyway.</i><div>
<i>If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives; be kind anyway.</i></div>
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<i>If you are successful, you will win some false friends and true enemies; succeed anyway.</i></div>
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<i>If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you; be honest and frank anyway.</i></div>
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<i>If you find serenities and happiness, they may be jealous; be happy anyway.</i></div>
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<i>The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow; do good anyway.</i></div>
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<i>Give the world your best you have and it may never be enough; give the world your best anyway.</i></div>
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<i>You see, in the final analysis it is between you and God; it was never between you and them anyway."</i></div>
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-Teresa of Calcuta-</div>
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Credit to my John who shared this beautiful message.</div>
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Cornelius D. Radjalihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11094382701302751222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3925999998109759417.post-1081595416628248452012-11-28T16:51:00.001+00:002012-11-30T04:46:51.551+00:00Rivalry<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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A story of two legends with two different personalities in pursuing their one and only dream.</div>
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This is probably one of the best sports documentary ever filmed. This is what true rivalry and friendship is all about. David Letterman described the relations between these two legends as 'rivalry at its finest point'. No doubt, I can't agree more with the statement. </div>
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From this Magic-Bird's connection, I learned that a rival is someone who you will always look upon, they are your indicator of your hard work, of your every tears and sweat you drop to become a better you. But at the same time also your best friend, a part of your life.</div>
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Have you find your true rival?</div>
Cornelius D. Radjalihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11094382701302751222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3925999998109759417.post-58585163548453232842012-10-31T16:33:00.001+00:002012-10-31T16:34:38.426+00:00The Best Band on The Planet (so far)Earth, Wind & Fire. I never ever ever ever EVER get tired with this band. Unarguably, they are the inspiration for today's music. I could dance all day long with their tunes. And on top of that, on this video they are collaborating with one of the most talented person on earth, David Foster.<br />
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If you don't move any of your body part, not even little movement, while listening to their music. Brother, you're deaf! 'nuff said.<br />
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P.S: Happy halloween :-)<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/VnS_iuMeVbk?fs=1" width="480"></iframe>Cornelius D. Radjalihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11094382701302751222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3925999998109759417.post-27467876803536268812012-10-18T16:56:00.000+01:002012-11-28T16:58:46.363+00:00What's your plan for the future?Parents: "So, what's your plan for the future, kid?"<br />
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Kid: "Simple, </div>
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1. I'm going to live like today is my last day on earth, therefore I will try and do everything before I left this earth;</div>
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2. I'm going to live every second of today, I don't want to fear what become of tomorrow nor haunted by the sadness of the pass. To qoute Shakespeare 'what's done is done', and tomorrow has its own problem, therefore why worry?;</div>
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3. I'm going to enjoy a great quality of life, and not bragging about the number of candle I had and will have on my birthday cake. If I don't enjoy it now I may be regretting it tomorrow.</div>
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Thus, I can and will have my ideal bright future."</div>
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I'm so sick and tired with people worrying about what's going to happen tomorrow, as if they forgot that there will be no tomorrow without today. If they lived today with fear and paranoid feeling of what become of tomorrow, then when tomorrow's come, fear they shall have. </div>
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I hope I can create my own bright future.</div>
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Cornelius D. Radjalihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11094382701302751222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3925999998109759417.post-31896181776121513182012-10-01T20:14:00.004+01:002012-10-01T20:15:48.014+01:00Failure & Imagination<br />The other day, when I was browsing Youtube, looking for an random idea (read - waisting my valuable time, because I'm starting to felt as a loser with a master degree) I ended up with probably one of the most motivational video I have ever watched.<br />
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Here's the video:<br /><div>
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Once again JK Rowling managed to 'persuade' me to think beyond my rationale. As if she cast a magic spell, I was, unarguably, under the influence of Harry's magic wand. Moreover, this time she read what she wrote to me as if she was reading The Tale of Beedle the Bard.</div>
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Just when I thought my mind facing a dead end, and I started to loose my self esteem because I think I'm a failure, she explained that failure is the thing that prepare you to the next level. Without failure you will never know how far can you go, or where did things went wrong in the first time? </div>
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<i>"..but some failure in life is inevitable. It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all - in which case, you fail by default."</i></div>
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Failure will give one a chance to find what is our deepest dream? To focus on what we truly desire. And most importantly, failure help us to reflect ourselves.</div>
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The second idea, imagination.</div>
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I read all of Harry Potter's series, including its spin-off. When I read the first book, that's probably the first time in my life I'd would give anything I posses to anybody, as long as they don't disturb me while I'm reading the book. </div>
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Through the whole series Rowling's took me to take part in her imagination. I always adore and envy to those who can write fiction story. They got the ability to 'draw' what happen in their own little fantasy world into something people can enjoy. But little that I know, all of the intense, weird characters, as well as Hogwarts castle came from Rowling's imagination. </div>
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<i>"Imagination is not only the uniquely human capacity to envision that which is not, and therefore the fount of all invention and innovation. In its arguably most transformative and revelatory capacity, it is the power that enables us to empathise with humans whose experiences we have never shared."</i></div>
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We never know where our imagination can led us to, but Rowling's believe imagination is the something that can connect the impossible, hence the 'birth' of invention and innovation.</div>
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In conclusion, we should never under estimate the power of imagination and the valuable lesson of failure. We may fall, but we must never give up. We have to keep on walking. And when there are obstacles ahead, think the unthinkable to remove the obstacles. Once we done that, not only did we make ways for ourselves, but also to those who are in need.</div>
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<i>"If you chose to use your status and influence to raise your voce on behalf of those who have no voice; if you choose to identify not only with the powerful, but with the powerless; if you retain the ability to imagine yourself into the lives of those who do not have your advantages, then it will not only be your proud families who celebrate your existence, but thousands ad millions people whose reality you have helped change. We do not need magic to change the world, we carry the power we need inside ourselves already: we have the power to imagine better."</i></div>
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And to end this post, once again I would like to ask you to value every single second of our lives. Every second have its own story, and in the end, its not how many seconds we've passed, but how many stories we lived.</div>
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<i>"As is a tale, so is life: not how long it is, but how good it is, is what matters."</i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The first thing I would like to say is ‘thank you.’ Not only has Harvard given me an extraordinary honour, but the weeks of fear and nausea I have endured at the thought of giving this commencement address have made me lose weight. A win-win situation! Now all I have to do is take deep breaths, squint at the red banners and convince myself that I am at the world’s largest Gryffindor reunion. </span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Delivering a commencement address is a great responsibility; or so I thought until I cast my mind back to my own graduation. The commencement speaker that day was the distinguished British philosopher Baroness Mary Warnock. Reflecting on her speech has helped me enormously in writing this one, because it turns out that I can’t remember a single word she said. This liberating discovery enables me to proceed without any fear that I might inadvertently influence you to abandon promising careers in business, the law or politics for the giddy delights of becoming a gay wizard.</span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">You see? If all you remember in years to come is the ‘gay wizard’ joke, I’ve come out ahead of Baroness Mary Warnock. Achievable goals: the first step to self improvement.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Actually, I have wracked my mind and heart for what I ought to say to you today. I have asked myself what I wish I had known at my own graduation, and what important lessons I have learned in the 21 years that have expired between that day and this.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I have come up with two answers. On this wonderful day when we are gathered together to celebrate your academic success, I have decided to talk to you about the benefits of failure. And as you stand on the threshold of what is sometimes called ‘real life’, I want to extol the crucial importance of imagination.</span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">These may seem quixotic or paradoxical choices, but please bear with me.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Looking back at the 21-year-old that I was at graduation, is a slightly uncomfortable experience for the 42-year-old that she has become. Half my lifetime ago, I was striking an uneasy balance between the ambition I had for myself, and what those closest to me expected of me.</span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I was convinced that the only thing I wanted to do, ever, was to write novels. However, my parents, both of whom came from impoverished backgrounds and neither of whom had been to college, took the view that my overactive imagination was an amusing personal quirk that would never pay a mortgage, or secure a pension. I know that the irony strikes with the force of a cartoon anvil, now.</span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">So they hoped that I would take a vocational degree; I wanted to study English Literature. A compromise was reached that in retrospect satisfied nobody, and I went up to study Modern Languages. Hardly had my parents’ car rounded the corner at the end of the road than I ditched German and scuttled off down the Classics corridor.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I cannot remember telling my parents that I was studying Classics; they might well have found out for the first time on graduation day. Of all the subjects on this planet, I think they would have been hard put to name one less useful than Greek mythology when it came to securing the keys to an executive bathroom.</span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I would like to make it clear, in parenthesis, that I do not blame my parents for their point of view. There is an expiry date on blaming your parents for steering you in the wrong direction; the moment you are old enough to take the wheel, responsibility lies with you. What is more, I cannot criticise my parents for hoping that I would never experience poverty. They had been poor themselves, and I have since been poor, and I quite agree with them that it is not an ennobling experience. Poverty entails fear, and stress, and sometimes depression; it means a thousand petty humiliations and hardships. Climbing out of poverty by your own efforts, that is indeed something on which to pride yourself, but poverty itself is romanticised only by fools.</span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">What I feared most for myself at your age was not poverty, but failure.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">At your age, in spite of a distinct lack of motivation at university, where I had spent far too long in the coffee bar writing stories, and far too little time at lectures, I had a knack for passing examinations, and that, for years, had been the measure of success in my life and that of my peers.</span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I am not dull enough to suppose that because you are young, gifted and well-educated, you have never known hardship or heartbreak. Talent and intelligence never yet inoculated anyone against the caprice of the Fates, and I do not for a moment suppose that everyone here has enjoyed an existence of unruffled privilege and contentment.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">However, the fact that you are graduating from Harvard suggests that you are not very well-acquainted with failure. You might be driven by a fear of failure quite as much as a desire for success. Indeed, your conception of failure might not be too far from the average person’s idea of success, so high have you already flown.</span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Ultimately, we all have to decide for ourselves what constitutes failure, but the world is quite eager to give you a set of criteria if you let it. So I think it fair to say that by any conventional measure, a mere seven years after my graduation day, I had failed on an epic scale. An exceptionally short-lived marriage had imploded, and I was jobless, a lone parent, and as poor as it is possible to be in modern Britain, without being homeless. The fears that my parents had had for me, and that I had had for myself, had both come to pass, and by every usual standard, I was the biggest failure I knew.</span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Now, I am not going to stand here and tell you that failure is fun. That period of my life was a dark one, and I had no idea that there was going to be what the press has since represented as a kind of fairy tale resolution. I had no idea then how far the tunnel extended, and for a long time, any light at the end of it was a hope rather than a reality.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">So why do I talk about the benefits of failure? Simply because failure meant a stripping away of the inessential. I stopped pretending to myself that I was anything other than what I was, and began to direct all my energy into finishing the only work that mattered to me. Had I really succeeded at anything else, I might never have found the determination to succeed in the one arena I believed I truly belonged. I was set free, because my greatest fear had been realised, and I was still alive, and I still had a daughter whom I adored, and I had an old typewriter and a big idea. And so rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life.</span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">You might never fail on the scale I did, but some failure in life is inevitable. It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all – in which case, you fail by default.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Failure gave me an inner security that I had never attained by passing examinations. Failure taught me things about myself that I could have learned no other way. I discovered that I had a strong will, and more discipline than I had suspected; I also found out that I had friends whose value was truly above the price of rubies.</span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The knowledge that you have emerged wiser and stronger from setbacks means that you are, ever after, secure in your ability to survive. You will never truly know yourself, or the strength of your relationships, until both have been tested by adversity. Such knowledge is a true gift, for all that it is painfully won, and it has been worth more than any qualification I ever earned.</span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">So given a Time Turner, I would tell my 21-year-old self that personal happiness lies in knowing that life is not a check-list of acquisition or achievement. Your qualifications, your CV, are not your life, though you will meet many people of my age and older who confuse the two. Life is difficult, and complicated, and beyond anyone’s total control, and the humility to know that will enable you to survive its vicissitudes.</span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Now you might think that I chose my second theme, the importance of imagination, because of the part it played in rebuilding my life, but that is not wholly so. Though I personally will defend the value of bedtime stories to my last gasp, I have learned to value imagination in a much broader sense. Imagination is not only the uniquely human capacity to envision that which is not, and therefore the fount of all invention and innovation. In its arguably most transformative and revelatory capacity, it is the power that enables us to empathise with humans whose experiences we have never shared.</span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">One of the greatest formative experiences of my life preceded Harry Potter, though it informed much of what I subsequently wrote in those books. This revelation came in the form of one of my earliest day jobs. Though I was sloping off to write stories during my lunch hours, I paid the rent in my early 20s by working at the African research department at Amnesty International’s headquarters in London.</span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">There in my little office I read hastily scribbled letters smuggled out of totalitarian regimes by men and women who were risking imprisonment to inform the outside world of what was happening to them. I saw photographs of those who had disappeared without trace, sent to Amnesty by their desperate families and friends. I read the testimony of torture victims and saw pictures of their injuries. I opened handwritten, eye-witness accounts of summary trials and executions, of kidnappings and rapes.</span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Many of my co-workers were ex-political prisoners, people who had been displaced from their homes, or fled into exile, because they had the temerity to speak against their governments. Visitors to our offices included those who had come to give information, or to try and find out what had happened to those they had left behind.</span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I shall never forget the African torture victim, a young man no older than I was at the time, who had become mentally ill after all he had endured in his homeland. He trembled uncontrollably as he spoke into a video camera about the brutality inflicted upon him. He was a foot taller than I was, and seemed as fragile as a child. I was given the job of escorting him back to the Underground Station afterwards, and this man whose life had been shattered by cruelty took my hand with exquisite courtesy, and wished me future happiness.</span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">And as long as I live I shall remember walking along an empty corridor and suddenly hearing, from behind a closed door, a scream of pain and horror such as I have never heard since. The door opened, and the researcher poked out her head and told me to run and make a hot drink for the young man sitting with her. She had just had to give him the news that in retaliation for his own outspokenness against his country’s regime, his mother had been seized and executed.</span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Every day of my working week in my early 20s I was reminded how incredibly fortunate I was, to live in a country with a democratically elected government, where legal representation and a public trial were the rights of everyone.</span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Every day, I saw more evidence about the evils humankind will inflict on their fellow humans, to gain or maintain power. I began to have nightmares, literal nightmares, about some of the things I saw, heard, and read.</span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">And yet I also learned more about human goodness at Amnesty International than I had ever known before.</span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Amnesty mobilises thousands of people who have never been tortured or imprisoned for their beliefs to act on behalf of those who have. The power of human empathy, leading to collective action, saves lives, and frees prisoners. Ordinary people, whose personal well-being and security are assured, join together in huge numbers to save people they do not know, and will never meet. My small participation in that process was one of the most humbling and inspiring experiences of my life.</span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Unlike any other creature on this planet, humans can learn and understand, without having experienced. They can think themselves into other people’s places.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Of course, this is a power, like my brand of fictional magic, that is morally neutral. One might use such an ability to manipulate, or control, just as much as to understand or sympathise.</span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">And many prefer not to exercise their imaginations at all. They choose to remain comfortably within the bounds of their own experience, never troubling to wonder how it would feel to have been born other than they are. They can refuse to hear screams or to peer inside cages; they can close their minds and hearts to any suffering that does not touch them personally; they can refuse to know.</span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I might be tempted to envy people who can live that way, except that I do not think they have any fewer nightmares than I do. Choosing to live in narrow spaces leads to a form of mental agoraphobia, and that brings its own terrors. I think the wilfully unimaginative see more monsters. They are often more afraid.</span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">What is more, those who choose not to empathise enable real monsters. For without ever committing an act of outright evil ourselves, we collude with it, through our own apathy.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">One of the many things I learned at the end of that Classics corridor down which I ventured at the age of 18, in search of something I could not then define, was this, written by the Greek author Plutarch: What we achieve inwardly will change outer reality.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">That is an astonishing statement and yet proven a thousand times every day of our lives. It expresses, in part, our inescapable connection with the outside world, the fact that we touch other people’s lives simply by existing.</span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">But how much more are you, Harvard graduates of 2008, likely to touch other people’s lives? Your intelligence, your capacity for hard work, the education you have earned and received, give you unique status, and unique responsibilities. Even your nationality sets you apart. The great majority of you belong to the world’s only remaining superpower. The way you vote, the way you live, the way you protest, the pressure you bring to bear on your government, has an impact way beyond your borders. That is your privilege, and your burden.</span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">If you choose to use your status and influence to raise your voice on behalf of those who have no voice; if you choose to identify not only with the powerful, but with the powerless; if you retain the ability to imagine yourself into the lives of those who do not have your advantages, then it will not only be your proud families who celebrate your existence, but thousands and millions of people whose reality you have helped change. We do not need magic to change the world, we carry all the power we need inside ourselves already: we have the power to imagine better.</span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I am nearly finished. I have one last hope for you, which is something that I already had at 21. The friends with whom I sat on graduation day have been my friends for life. They are my children’s godparents, the people to whom I’ve been able to turn in times of trouble, people who have been kind enough not to sue me when I took their names for Death Eaters. At our graduation we were bound by enormous affection, by our shared experience of a time that could never come again, and, of course, by the knowledge that we held certain photographic evidence that would be exceptionally valuable if any of us ran for Prime Minister.</span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">So today, I wish you nothing better than similar friendships. And tomorrow, I hope that even if you remember not a single word of mine, you remember those of Seneca, another of those old Romans I met when I fled down the Classics corridor, in retreat from career ladders, in search of ancient wisdom:<br />As is a tale, so is life: not how long it is, but how good it is, is what matters.</span></div>
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Cornelius D. Radjalihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11094382701302751222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3925999998109759417.post-7127909148299998272012-09-14T17:24:00.000+01:002012-09-14T17:27:25.169+01:00What is Our Deepest Fear?<i>"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.
Your playing small doesn't serve the world.
There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you.
We are all meant to shine, as children do.
We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.
It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we're liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."</i><br />
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<i></i>I remember this poem from one of my favourite movies of all time, Coach Carter (2005). The passage originally comes from Marianne William's book, A Return to Love. The poem gave me a new perspective on how I reflect myself. In a modest way, one never realise what can one do with one's abilities.<br />
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Quite often we underestimate ourselves. We are too afraid of taking big steps in life, because we believe that we're incapable to do so, thus it create a low self esteem. But little that we know that we have an amazing potential that allows us to do anything in this world. ERGO, we need to be more aware, we need to learn how treat ourselves differently and start giving credit to our own quality. We need to learn how to shine.<br />
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And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.<br />
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As we're liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.Cornelius D. Radjalihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11094382701302751222noreply@blogger.com0