Archive for November, 2009

And I mean it.

The number of button on gentlemen suit has little or nothing to do with the degree of suit formality.  It also has nothing to do with the function appropriate. That goes without saying that there are certain “number of button” rules that you need to follow when you are ordering suit for black tie occasion.

Polo Ralph Lauren 3 Button Charcoal Suit (courtesy of www.ralphlauren.com)

The tendency, or should I say trend, in Indonesia, is for people to wear three-button suits regardless their physical shape and profile.  I kind of suspect, that the reason three-button are very popular are because of the common perception that three-button are more formal than the two-button.  And whilst it is comfortable to presumed so, the truth is, three-button and two-button are just equally as formal, and equally proper for almost all occasions.

Three-button suits are created for those who are tall and lean. The distance between the buttoned buttons (which are the two most upper buttons) helps press and drape the clothes on you body, which is beautiful if you are lean. In return, if you are fat, or chubby, or chunky, or beefy, or big boned (or which ever terms that you are comfortable with), it accentuate your curve, especially those  that you actually want to hide.

Other reasons, why three-button suits are for tall people is the length of the lapel. You will notice that three-button suit has shorter lapel, hence shorten the overall impression of the suit, and helps create a proportional image for tall men. For this reason, some experts recommend that three-button suit should only be used by a men taller than 6 feet (180cm-ish).

Short man, or fat man, need an impression of tall and lean. And for this reason two-button suit are very suitable. The lower upper button of the two-button is usually buttoned on the most upper button only, slightly above the waist, hence draping the clothes on the leaner part of your torso, creating a silhouette than flattered your figure.

Ralph Lauren Anthony Wool Gabardine Suit (courtesy of www.ralphlauren.com)

The lower upper button also means longer lapel, creating long V shape that stretch from your neck to your waist. And for those who familiar with visual perception will acknowledge, that any vertical lines that run along your clothes will help you looks slimmer, which is exactly what this lapel do. It helps if you opted for narrower lapel too.

One may argue that the choice between three-buttons and two-button, is a matter of taste and trend.  Well, it might be so, but  we need to bear in mind, that what ever clothes that we decided to wear, should at first flattered your figure then second follows the trend, and not the other way around.

The Boat that Rocked Poster

That does it, it’s official, I love British movie more that I love American, French or even Indonesian (excepting the Naga Bonar which I still think is one of the best masterpiece ever !!! ).

The latest establishment is of course The Boat that Rocked, which is not only uproariously fun and hilarious, but also heart warming and crowd pleaser in a real sense.

Written and directed by Richard Curtis, a name you’ve probably heard from a like such as Mr. Bean’s Holiday and Love Actually, the movie which is loosely based on the real Radio Caroline, tells a story of a Radio Rocks, a pirate radio that transmit from an old merchant vessel off the northern coast of the United Kingdom during the age of rock and roll.

The story started as Young Carl (Tom Sturridge) who was sent by his mother to stay with his Godfather, Quentin (Bill Nighy) to straighten up after he got himself expelled from his school for smoking, something that Quentin not surprisingly claimed as a spectacular mistake.

Soon on board the ship, Young Carl get acquainted with the rest of the ship crew, who are no other than the Dj’s and operators who run the Radio Rock 24 hour a day, non stop. Characters who were played by a like such as Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Rhys Darby, Nick Frost, Chris O’Dowd and many more, promised nothing less than excellent acting play as well as smart yet funny dialogue, complete with a mixed British  accent.

It was the age of the hippies, hence Young Carl adventure on board the ship will ultimately evolve around booze, drug and sex, especially sex. But make no mistake, if you think this is just another happy go lucky movie, who presents stupidity, like most Hollywood comedies do, as it main attraction you are catastrophically wrong.

This movie is not for the faint hearted. There are plenty of heart break moments, emotional scenes and some element of surprise here and there, that were embedded as a part of the story. There were the antagonists too, suitably played by Kenneth Branagh and Jack Davenport who posed as a government suits, aimed to close down the Radio Rock.

What complete this movie more than anything else (i.e. pretty girls, festive environment and nudity) is of course an excellent sound tracks from the names of the decades such as Beach Boys, Smokey Robinson, Skeeter Davies and many others. What makes them special, is that the music are more than just running at the back, but instead complement the story and helps incite the emotion, relating the scene with our own experience (which only happens only if you are either coming exactly from that decade, or well verse with the rock n roll music).

All in all The Boat that Rocked will make an excellent weekend movie, one that you can watch many times over.  The story line is light, yet meaningful, well balanced by smart dialog, catch quotes and convincing play from its casts. Now, I’m not so much inclined to quantify my judgment by passing score, but if I must, I will gladly gives this movie 8.5 out of 10. And yes, its that good.

Two hours from now, all farmers market across the city will be bustling with customers and traders alike, with tons and tons of fresh fruits and vegetables, farming , fishing products and other necessities delivered in masses.

The fisher ports, which are located on the city’s north would be busy by then, with vastly varied of fresh and delicious seafood were dropped from the hundreds of traditional fishing boats that roamed the northern sea.

Jakarta at dawn, taken from my apartment window

In the entertainment and red light districts, thousands of Jakartans inhales the unseeingly delicious life, drown themselves in the hedonic satisfaction, without the slightest care of the world. You can find everything here, scantily clad women imported from Central Asia and Eastern Europe, illegal drugs, booze and the nonstop nightlife that will continue  till the doomsday.

No matter whether it’s a weekdays or weekends, people are travelling in and out of town. There is no such thing as a holiday in Jakarta, what is there is just shifts and breaks of people from different professions running their trade alternately.

Jakarta is a melting pot in a real sense. Hundreds of ethnicity, dozens of languages, all mixed and entrusted to the evolution on the people’s way of live.

Sun rise, taken from my apartment window

In Jakarta you will never be alone, for friends are easy to make and difficult to break. It’s Indonesian thing, the only comfort that strikingly and decisively differentiate Jakarta from other metropolis.

Jakarta is far from perfect though, as a matter of fact it will never be a perfect place to live. The air quality is getting worse every year, the public transports are virtually useless and the traffic is dreadful. There is nothing in this city that can be valued as structurally beautiful, an eternal marking of disastrous city plan.

The social gap is horrendous, the cost of living is among the most expensive in South East Asia, yet the income level is among the lowest.

But even if one can judge that Jakarta with all the harsh reality it presents, as a god forsaken city, she is  still undoubtedly and indisputably, offers opportunity, a chance to live up the dream, to excel and rise above the challenge. It’s Indonesia’s American dream, where one can change their fortune in the blink of an eye.

Generations have changed and replaced, the poor were made just as the riches emerged. And for ten millions of its people, Jakarta is their livelihood.

My Jakarta is my home in many respects. I came to know and remember her street just as I come to understand my own veins. I came to understand and love her imperfection simply because I am a Jakartan.

Living in Jakarta leads me not to take everything for granted all the things that I have in life, and to appreciate simple things. Jakarta teaches me to live strong and yet reminded me to be emphatic. She allows me to be independent but never lonely, and to be smart but not foxy.

For me Jakarta Is my playground. And tonight as I watched the sparkling light of the power transmission tower, I found that despite her ugly truth and weaknesses, I love Jakarta.

I was visiting Bandung last weekend, on business terms. And whilst it was not my first visit at all, it was the first time I really realized and recognized how beautiful Bandung is compared to Jakarta.

Which kind of cemented my early prescription that Jakarta’s messy town layout, could not and must not be blamed on genetic material of Indonesian (who is said to be incapable of planning) but instead on the Jakarta City Council and officials, who appears to have planning and development capabilities in par with those of my 3 years old nephew.

Now surely, I could spend pages and sentences bitching out about Jakarta, and make my misery and contempt becoming all too public, but as I walked through my mind and weighing options, it dawned upon me, that if, only if, in one blatant night, Jakarta can copy Bandung infrastructure and city marks, what that will be ?

Numero uno in my list, are the beautiful parks-small or big- that scattered around Bandung area. Parks in Bandung, are more just than a green notch on the map and certainly more than a place for street vendor to offer their good. Parks are really recreational area where family or couples gathered, and study place where student and teachers discuss. I’m not sure just how many parks that they have in Bandung, but it appears to me that almost in every major and minor street intersection, there you can find the park.

Secondly, the tall trees that lined Bandung’s road. Whilst Jakarta has abundant of trees, the dispersion is not impressive, with mostly the posh real estate that still have some of the tree lines covering the path walk. Bandung on other hand, is like one gigantic posh area, where the houses are pretty (much will be said on this), the path walks are wide and coolly covered by the shades of green from the tall trees.

The buildings. Simply beautiful and elegant. Unlike Jakarta who is well ahead in its capitalist nature, Bandung antique houses and building are still well kept and maintained. This goes without saying it has not been in touch with modernization, but here the difference lies between Jakarta and Bandung. In Jakarta, old houses were downed and new building constructed. In Bandung, old houses were refurbished and the same building emerged fresh and pretty, attracts some anonymous bystander to come and visit. On top of the old building, you need to see the new building. Bandung is Indonesian mecca of art deco and to that affect creativity that it impose.

The food and the restaurants. Now to be completely honest, Bandung and Jakarta collection of cuisine might be comparable, being Jakarta slightly ahead due to its melting pot nature. But take a look on the restaurant and food places that stretched sand pread all over Bandung. They are fabulous, the foods are good, the ambiences are perfect (probably helped by the cool temperature that Bandung is famous for), and the prices are affordable. Same thing can not be said about Jakarta’s restaurant, well known for its ridiculous price margin and over if not false confidence of their food taste.

The Scenery (and with that comes the temperature too). Bandung is always cooler than Jakarta, which mainly attributed to its high above sea level altitude. It’s the same attribute that helps bring the green and mountainous scenery to Bandung, which if compared to Jakarta, are much prettier.

If there is any particular place that I would like to “import” that will be Dago, which is Bandung’s version of “Puncak” except that it’s much closer and much cooler. For you Jakartans, imagine this, you live in a nice, wooden, with large garden, villa in Puncak, you wake up at 7 each morning, have a nice breakfast, reading session, showering and dressing, get it all done finish by 8 and drive to the office in CBD and arrived at 8.30. Impossible !!! Not in Dago, you can exactly follow that schedule and still be on time. And yes, it’s that good. If you don’t believe it, come and visit, and see it your self.

The girls….ahhh the topics of all the guys in the world. Surely you’ve heard the term “neng geulis” which is an immediate reference to the Sundanese girls. This is not me saying that Jakarta’s girls are plain ugly, or there is no ugly girls in Bandung, sure there is always an exception for everything. I’m just saying that you can see more pretty girls in Bandung compared to Jakarta, it’s like in Bandung, the stats for pretty girls are 8/10 whilst in Jakarta like 3/10. It really is easy to spot good looking face in Bandung, same thing can not be said about Jakarta.

Now as in any personal observation, I could be wrong and do no justice to Bandung in general and its people in particular. Nonetheless, this is my take. You can add or substract as you wish. Your comments please.

You see, I have spent some 3 years of my life stuck in a small city called Brisbane, which is by any possible means, a complete and total opposite of Jakarta. Brisbane is small, clean, tidy and efficient. The sceneries are absolutely beautiful. Populated by some 3 million people, Brisbane is an easy place to live.

But despite all of that, after settling back down in Jakarta for about 2 years, I found or maybe realized that there is something about Jakarta that makes me want to stay and that deep in my heart I have strange and yet considerable sense of attachment with the city.

At first, I thought it was partly because of family and friends. The fact that most, if not all, of them are living in Jakarta, which to some degree helps budding the feeling of “I’m never alone”. And while this may true to some extent, the deeper I look for the answer, the revelation becoming very obvious, there is something, some kind of fondness that binds me to the city, despite al its weakness.

Jakarta is a living being. 24/7, 265 days, full year long. It breaths, contracting and expanding every single bit of tic tac seconds. And it talked and screamed about hope and opportunity, in a way that other cities did not. Allow me to give you an example.

It’s now already one pass midnight by the time I reach this paragraph. But the road down the from of my window apartment in South Jakarta, is still busy, with cars of various pedigree strolling around hurriedly across the municipals border. The traffic light installed some 300m from my place is still busy managing the incoming traffic from 4 different sides of the city.

TBC