PHOTRA

The Expendables: Fantastic Poster!

uhui — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 05:44:53 +0000

I have never put high expectations on action hero movies. I usually watch them on DVDs months after their release and (maybe) at times watching them in cinemas, but only after reading the reviews and recommended by friends. Why? Simple, I don’t believe, that a person can actually run across a room or an open field that is flooded with bullets and explosions, and not get killed or wounded. What are the odds out of a 100 men shooting at 1 man, and none of them can actually (at least) wound the person?

However, after being lured by the trailer where they highlighted the action hero stars’ last names: Stallone, Statham, Li, Lundgren, Crews, Couture, Rourke, Austin, Willis, Schwarzenegger; I decided to put The Expendables into my list of “long awaited must watch movies in cinema”. Why against my idealistic opinion of an action-hero movie? Well… I thought there are too many famous names in stake for this movie to be crappie. Yet, I was wrong.

If you are looking for nostalgia walk into 1980s Stallone action movies… this movie suites your appetite. The plot is plain and simple, a group of mercenaries hired to overthrow a dictator of a small island nation in South America. No mind games, no tricks, and anti-climax. It was just full pack shooting, explosions, hand-combat, knives-through-throats, and killings of faceless enemies, from the beginning till the end. A memorable scene is the conversation between Willis, Schwarzenegger, and Stallone. Although the scene is not significant at all, meaning with or without it the audience will still understand the plot, yet it is truly entertaining. It is rare for these legendary action veterans together in one scene.

All things considered, from a scale from 1-10, I give The Expendables a 3; not because of its plot, or all the action, but for Stallone’s effort to assemble an all-star action cast of the last 3 decades into one movie, hence creating a cool poster to put on my bedroom wall.

Worse Case Scenario…

uhui — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 01:38:08 +0000

I recently introduced myself to a Colleague…

Me: “Hi… I’m Dismas.” Colleague: “Nice to meet you Dismas. Interesting Name… (short pause)… DISMAS… “Dis Miss”.. Helps me to remember your name easier.”

Me: OK @__@

A conversation with my buddy a couple of months back..

Buddy: gw iseng-iseng google nama temen2 gw, dan gw baru sadar kalau nama elo itu sebenernya adalah nama seorang Santo. gw pikir salah ketik di akte lahir dan males ngurus sehingga stuck sampai sekarang…

Me (again): OK @__@

Let me make things clear. NO: that’s not a good way to remember my name.. if you want to use a phrase to easily remember my name, you can use “Dis Mas Be True”. YES: Dismas is a name of a Catholic Saint. It’s my baptism name given by my parents, as I was born and raised as a Catholic (and trying my best to be a good one). Hence (another) NO: it was not a typo error in my birth certificate that I have to live with for the rest of my life. The “S” was intentional typed!

DISMAS (as earlier said) is a name of a Catholic Saint. Wikipedia (its an irony that I’m using Wikipedia, and not the Bible, as a source of reference for a Catholic Saint — like I said earlier.. trying to be a good Catholic people!); Also known as the Good Thief or the Penitent Thief, is the “good thief” described in the Gospel of Luke. This unnamed thief, crucified alongside Jesus, repents of his sins, and asks Jesus to remember him in his kingdom… [read more]

Good Thief?! There’s no GOOD in a THIEF! Walaupun ada kata GOOD di depan THIEF, at the end of the day, the bugger is still a thief. And apparently (Dismas) is not a professional thief (unlike anyone of Ocean’s Eleven or from the Italian Job team) — he got caught and (worse) crucified!

I once brought this issue to my parents; why would they name their son after a thief. Beginilah jawabannya:

Parents: “Ya kami berpikir worse case scenario saja. Seandainya kami salah mendidik kamu dan kamu ternyata menjadi orang yang jahat dan merugikan orang lain… semoga kamu sadar bahwa bagi YANG MAHA KUASA… tidak pernah ada kata telat bagi pertobatan”

Me (another again): OK @__@

But I believe they have a good point, and I thank them for the name. My name is a constant reminder for myself, that I am (and nobody) is perfect; People make mistakes… and it is never too late to repent. Moral of the story: In Life… always prepare yourself for the worse case scenario.… deengg jeeeggerrr…

Ade Ku..

uhui — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 06:37:15 +0000

Dia Debat ya Mas??? #__#

uhui — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 08:33:56 +0000

PEMILU 2009 is around the corner. Indonesia sudah mulai mengimplemantsaikan debat antar Capres dan Cawapres sebelum masyarakat memillih. Recently, it struck me: sampai saat ini (sebenernya) tidak semua orang di bumi Indonesia ini tahu apa arti debat itu. I had this funny yet kinda sad incident, ketika sedang dinas ke Balikpapan:

Di suatu kedai nasi goreng di Balikpapan: TV menunjukkan Bapak SBY sedang memaparkan visi dan misi dalam debat Capres putaran pertama….

Tukang Nasi Goreng ~ TNG : Apa nih Mas? (menunjuk ke arah TV)

Me : Debat Capres Pak.

Mendengarkan paparan visi misi SBY sebenatar…

TNG : SBY menang?

Me : Mungkin… kita lihat saja pas Pemilu nanti.

ketika Pak SBY selesai, gambar berubah ke moderator (Anis Baswedan) yang akan mempersilahkan Bapak JK untuk memulai gilirannya.

TNG : (sambil menunjuk sang moderator di kaca TV) Dia debat ya Mas?

Me : ~~ diem hening binggung… mikir2 saya salah ngomong dimana ~~ baru sadar bahwa sang Bapak tidak tahu artinya debat.

Just to be sure; menurut Wikipedia: “Debate or debating is a formal method of interactive and representational argument. .. [read more]“

Nevertheless, walaupun banyak yang pesimis dengan debat antar Capres-Cawapres, saya yakin bahwa bangsa kita sudah (sedang) mengambil langkah yang tepat. Di tengah kampanye yang banyak di dominasi iklan-iklan (menjual janji) di media massa, spanduk-spanduk (mengotori) jalan raya, dan “ceng-cengan” tidak penting antar tim sukses partai… sangatlah jarang kita bisa melihat dan mendengar calon-calon pemimpin kita side-by-side and face-to-face berbicara tentang bagaimana mereka akan membawa bangsa kita ke depan. It’s time to change! Hidup Indonesia!!

Fun Together…

uhui — Thu, 14 May 2009 03:30:20 +0000

everyday person

uhui — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 08:57:40 +0000

Compilation of individuals that caught my attention…
[ go to album ]

Edges

uhui — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 02:24:19 +0000

I took these pictures during my university years. In this compilation album, I tried to give a different approach in the objects or people I took. I hope you take pleasure in this compilation. Cheers!….
[ go to album ]

Brand new look…

uhui — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 03:35:33 +0000

A late night inspiration led to a new look. The idea struck me when I was writing XML script (looks familiar??).

From Carlsberg to Teh Botol Sosro

uhui — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 05:27:24 +0000

Dimas and Rachel, my 2 most best buddies, we’ve been a long journey together; heart breaks, discussions, chats, coffees, getting drunk, cafes, pubs, clubs, beers, girlfriends/boyfriends, curhat, breakups, nongkrong bareng di tempat ga jelas, love life, gossips, smiles, sadness, disappointments.. You name it we got it!!

It started out 3 years ago, as a pioneering High School English debate team sent to Malang for a debating competition (which we didn’t win) and lasted till today; despite our individual change of differences in priorities, jobs, studies, universities, and countries. I like to refer the 3 of us as Partners in Crime; each with their own uniqueness and mischievous experiences to share and enrich each other.I thank you guys for everything and would like to make a toast for our friendship:

“A journey is best measured in the quality of time spent with friends rather than miles! Our journey together for the past years was indescribably fun… I cherish the moments we had-have-having. I really appreciate you guys! Here’s to you guys: I wish you all the best in Life, Love, and all the shits the the world has to offer!!”

Trailer: Thailand Trip 2007

uhui — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 02:16:07 +0000

Me and my friends recently went to Chiang Rai, Thailand for 10 days. We decided to compile our journey’s memories into a reality show episodes. More stories of the trip can be found in our blog: International Service Avenue.