Hatred is Never Holy

Last night I watched The Merchant of Venice performed in Hebrew by Israel’s Habimah Theatre at The Shakespeare Globe. The performance was great! The music was very lively and I love the scene with the princes and the way they acted the gondola rides. Simply hilarious. I was glad I decided to watch it. It was really an experience.

It’s not only because it was a really well-performed show, but also because of the security checks we had to go through and the incidents that happened during the performance. As you might have guessed, everything Israeli is always controversial and cannot be separated from the issue of….Palestine.

There were lots of ‘Free Palestine’ protesters outside the Globe when Matt and I got there at 7 (the play itself started at 7.30 but audiences had been advised to come as early as 6 for a security check - fyi, they don’t normally do this). Some protesters are giving out flyers about ‘Israeli apartheid’ and human rights violations. There were also the pro-Israel activists, handing out flyers about how boycotting art isn’t the way to go and that segregating people by nationality is not an expression of solidarity, etc. I didn’t know how many police officers were outside, but there were many.

Shit just got serious.

After we passed the security check at the entrance (it was the kind of procedure they have in airports, with metal detectors and guards saying “please take everything out of your pockets, oh and the watch too”, “no liquid”), we had to wait for a bit until the doors to the stage were opened. It was a full house (unlike the time when we went for Titus Andronicus in Cantonese).

Then the play started. Within the first few minutes, there were already people/protesters on the second-floor terrace who started being irritating by taking out ‘Free Palestine’ posters, Palestinian flags and shouting. Of course within seconds, they got arrested by the securities. Some of them are holding onto the railings which made it hard for the securities to get them - one woman had to be carried by four big security dudes because of this.

Shit just got more serious.

The actors continued on acting though (I really admire how professionals they are) and I wished I understand Hebrew because I thought some of them were actually making jokes about those protesters, but I’m not sure. Some people continued on protesting, this time they stood up and put a duct tape on their mouth (silent protest?), which were okay since they’re not distracting the whole show or anything.

A few minutes after the second act (it was Shylock’s trial scene), once again someone was being infuriating, shouting “IF YOU PRICK US, DO WE NOT BLEED?” - the original Shylock’s speech, but in this case of course he was referring to the Palestinians.

Oy vey!

If you’re being so rude, do we not get pissed?

Once again, I really admire those Habima actors, I bet they get those kinds of unapologetic discrimination a lot. So, without a doubt, this performance of The Merchant of Venice was the most intense show I’ve ever watched so far. And I’m really grateful to be able to experience it.

I don’t really have anything to say when it comes to the actual political conflict between Israel and Palestine. I don’t know, personally I think it’s way too complex, it’s not a black or white thing. But I think boycotting art, sabotaging performances, attempting to make them feel unwelcome, is not and never right. Not to mention pointless, because these people are artists, not policy makers in those country.

This reminds of the recent ban on Lady Gaga in Indonesia. It’s pretty much the same thing, except that she is banned on religious basis rather than political (although I’m still questioning the relationship between one’s morality and wearing bras-panties - covering yourself completely does not make you any more religious and morally superior than standing in a garage makes you a car).

“Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe.”
― Albert Einstein

uhm, so far ‘unemployment’ is great.

with no obligations to study/work, I can do stuff that I haven’t been doing in a while (without feeling slightly guilty for not using the time to study/work instead), such as creating collages (I finally added 5 pieces of decorative wisdom words collage in our kitchen), sitting in coffee shops, reading magazines, catching up with all the season finales of my favourite series, pondering/philosophising about life and mankind - blessed thee, the inventor of windows. and many more…

including, you know, just staying in and doing nothing.

today was really sunny and so I decided to go on an Obama adventure. Obama adventure? you know, it’s an adventure, with Obama. Oll ba maself. HAHA. (the other day I asked Windy which Friends character I am and she said I’m between Ross and Monica, but this kind of dark, dry humour makes me feel like Chandler)

so the initial plan was to go to British Museum and so I got off at Holborn. but then as I was walking towards Russel Square, I didn’t feel like going there anymore. I don’t know why, I felt like going to somewhere not as crowded and touristy I guess. so I walked around Bloomsbury, found this cool coffeeshop - but I wasn’t in the mood for sitting down just yet, so I strolled around, crossing some parks, and then I found myself in Covent Garden.

and since I was already there, I headed to Buddha On A Bicycle to get some incense - I bought three packs: musk, jasmine, and amber. so happy! can’t wait to burn them in the morning! - then walked in to some other shops on my way to Soho/Leicester Square.

at this point the heat was really intense and so after I got my Indomie supply from Chinatown, I decided to walk towards Trafalgar Square to ‘cool off’ in National Portraits Gallery. The gallery was nice, pretty much everybody in the British history - from King Edward I to Kate Moss - has their picture somewhere in the gallery. but I gotta say, of all the portraits, my favourite section in the whole gallery is this little area with ‘portraits of the unknown’. basically, it’s portraits of possibly-famous people in the Renaissance that can no longer be identified due to insufficient data. I don’t know, it’s just, there’s something about these people… the fact that once, they existed and perhaps had significant contribution that enabled them to get their portrait painted. but now,… well, I guess it’s safe to say that they’ve been forgotten. but still, for that one brief moment, they lived. hm.

anyway, I feel like walking some more. preferably somewhere unfamiliar. I think I might go to Glastonbury some time around this holidays. no, not for the festival. but for the crop circle tours - and ‘alternative’ stuff alike. haha. but seriously, I’d love to go there.

and perhaps I should visit other places too, going for the ultimate ‘obama adventure’. while I’m still here, while I’m still free.

yes. why not. why not.

bitch please. okay, it was rainy and the weather was kinda shit, but still, it was a marvellous monday today.

treasures of the day

I met cinta and ingrid for lunch at warung indonesia. cinta had just come back from Jakarta and she brought me Dee’s Partikel and HiVi! CD - the two things I’ve been longing for from back home, mainly because 1) I’m a huge fan of Dee and her Supernova saga. 2) one of the guys in HiVi! is a friend of mine from high school.

afterwards we went for an “afternoon ice cream” at this place in soho called gelupo - I highly recommend this place and I’ll definitely come for another visit(s)! they don’t only sell ice cream and coffee/tea at gelupo, but also coffee beans, free trade/organic teas and stuff like that. I finally convinced myself to buy a cafetiere - fuckyea now I’m all set to claim the title: “a coffee aficionado” (Y).

the conversations we had were very interesting. at some point it got so political that it feels surreal. seriously, discussing human rights and geopolitics at an ice cream parlour? those 18th century, coffee house-based enlightenment thinkers would be proud I’m sure haha.

after that, I met my two cousins for yet another coffee and ‘dinner’ then we headed to piccadilly theatre to watch Ghost The Musical with my uncle - who’s here until thursday for a conference. the show was…enjoyable. it was a bit plain at the beginning, but it got interesting, especially the parts with Oda “the ghetto psychic” Mae Brown. I also enjoyed the special effects when Sam/the ghosts fly and disappear. cool stuff.

thank you universe, for today.

now let’s get started with writing and editing for The Leopard for all night long!

so, second year was officially over two days ago when I finished writing my Culture, Society and Individual exam (I still love how the acronym for the course is CSI - makes me feel scientifically smarter HAHA). not sure if I wrote a good argument or I started to believe my own bullshit, but I think I did pretty well during that 2 hours of endless writing. and so it was, the last exam of my undergraduate life. for my third year I will only submit examined essays. yes, essays and not a dissertation. I just don’t trust myself writing a dissertation, though I know it’ll make grad school so much easier if I do it now. but ‘easy’ is not a challenge, isn’t it? and I like to challenge myself because I’m so cocky like that.

regardless, hello un-summer-like summer!

seriously, there is something wrong with the weather. sun, y u no come out?

moving on, I’m pretty much jobless now. I still haven’t secured an internship yet and strangely enough I’m cool about it. in the worst case scenario where I can’t find anything, I still have my student ambassador job, The Leopard and I will probably help Abbie and Jessie out at Neverlazy. and I can always go back to decorating the house, writing poetry and short stories, brushing up my Japanese and Korean (I’ve given up on Mandarin, I think), and playing guitar. singing la la la la, let’s all sing! la la la la hallelujah.

for sure, in the next three weeks Imma be lazing around, going to film screenings, exhibitions, musicals, concerts. simply submerging myself in enjoyable, cultural life. then from june to october, I have no idea. no travel plans as of yet, but definitely not going home this summer. no big deal, though I won’t deny that I really miss Jakarta and its people.

Jakarta Jerkarta. not sure which one I miss the most:
- eating rice for breakfast in front of the TV, watching news/gossip. OR having coffee and croissant with mom at the Starbuck’s in her office.
- lunch at my grandparents. OR ‘cafe talk’ with best friends.
- street food hunting. OR second-hand shopping.
- sushi tei. OR bakerzin.
- salihara. OR taman ismail marzuki.
- driving. OR taking a cab.

june to october. dayum, five months of freedom. or lack thereof.

as much as I feel the pressure to find work to make my CV more polished, I don’t feel the need to rush it. not rushing, hm perhaps not quite a good thing to do in an instant-obsessed society like this. whatever, I enjoy embarking on a journey, it gives you time to prepare. then to reflect.

yada yada yada.

I don’t know much about how you’re supposed to mature, but I think as I grow older, my view on life has become more hippie-ish. it’s like when all Jason Mraz’s songs make sense to you and you live your life according to it. haha, guess it is safe to say that I’ve become the curbside prophet’s follower. speaking of Jason, I really like his new album. not really a fan of I Won’t Give Up, I prefer Be Honest. I also like the psychedelic feeling of 5/6 and The World As I See It but my favourite’s gotta be Who’s Thinking About You Now?, which apparently is also Jason’s favourite track as well from this album (Y).

what else what else. one of my cousins is getting married in november. he’s only 24. wow. I still can’t picture myself getting married at 24. to be honest, with this kind of eccentricity and semi-workaholic-ness, it is more likely that I’ll still be single at 30 (the average marriage age for women, according to The Telegraph), but I suppose it isn’t so bad. besides, there is never a cosmic mandate for people to get married, why so anxious?

here’s a picture of a swan.

went to greenwich park for matt’s belated birthday picnic today. (picture taken by an unknown guy, using abbie’s camera)

me, matt and windy went to see the all american rejects at the garage last night. it was greattttt!

apart from it being my first gig in 2012, what makes this concert more special is the fact that it’s windy’s first ever gig (yep, i’m proud and honoured to be there on her first concert lol). the band was awesome. it’s nice that they played their old songs as well and not simply their new singles. had a lot of fun screaming “DHURRTYY LIDDLEE ZEE KREETT!!!” and “MAA PAY PURR HAARD WILL BLEEEDDDD”along with them. tyson ritter is a good performer, engaging with the audience and stuff -something that british musicians should learn more (no offense haha).

and, and…

the crowd was GREAT. they sang a long in almost all songs, jumped, screamed, waved…all the things audience should do in concerts haha. to be honest, when it comes to live performances, i think a great crowd is actually more important than the performer itself. i mean, if the music is just so-so but the crowd’s great and participating, it makes the concert feel more exciting rather than the opposite. besides, why bother coming to a concert if you’re not gonna sing, jump and scream along? (dear london-based death cab for cutie fans, i’m speaking to you :p)

i just love gigs. or live music, simply.

can’t wait for sondre lerche in may and keane in june!
(don’t ask about coldplay in june, am already regretting not buying the ticket)

the view down my avenue today. everything’s so pretty :)

[DISCLAIMER: Nindy, the writer of this article, is a 20-year-old second year Media Communications student who has finally come to terms with being uncool. Yet, she still has high hopes that someday or in another life, she will finally be cool.]

Thick-rimed vintage glasses? Yep.
M83, Foster the People, Kings of Convenience, Bat for Lashes, Sigur Rós on my iPod? Checked.
My granny’s summer dress, leather oxfords, electric blue nail polish? Yes. Yes. Yes.
My favourite book? Certainly “The Dharma Bums” by Jack Kerouac.
Sipping organic green tea latte while tumblr-ing on my Mac? Sounds like a perfect day to me.

Uhm, pardon me for being so stereotypical, but I’m sure that if we think those statements above are inaccurate descriptions of ourselves, at least we know one person who actually fits the portrayal. And considering I’m at Goldsmiths, knowing only one person with such attitude and lifestyle is quite impossible.

Anyway, what is it about these hipsters –yes, I just used the ‘H’ word– that make them look so distinctive?

What is it about those indie darlings that make other people strive to become just like them?

How important is it to become ‘cool’?

Speaking of cool, maybe it’s the only explanation why many people have chosen to embarrass themselves by wearing glasses with no lens on (yes people, you DO look ridiculous on that, but if it makes you feel any better, you’re slightly smarter than that Matthew guy who tattooed a pair of sunglasses onto his face –go on, google it).

Furthermore, just admit it, even when you act like you don’t care whether you’re cool or not (exhibit A, yours truly here), I bet deep inside your head –or heart, whichever drives you more– there is still that silent wish of being seen as ‘cool’ by others with your “I-can’t-be-bothered” attitude. No?

Perhaps cool is the reason behind every Apple product that you and I own (oops ;p), which gets me to my next point. Although the main tenet of the so-called “hipster philosophy” is resistance to the manipulative capitalism’s mass culture (I’m sure Adorno and Horkheimer would be proud), but by being as ‘original’ and as ‘indie’ as possible, aren’t we actually practicing a culture of ‘niche consumerism’? That being said, then the only difference between ‘the masses’ and us is that we buy our clothes in Rocket or Urban Outfitters and not in TK Maxx or Marks and Spencer.

I guess that should leave you all with something to think about. After all, being witty and intelligent are another ‘cool’ requirements, eh?

So, think about it and be cool.

…is tumblring. right.

le sigh. le facepalm.

i could’ve and should’ve been working towards my degree right now (doing school work) but here i am. as you may or may not know from the recent blog posts, i am kinda jaded. and seriously i don’t know why it is happening.

why is it that lately i’ve been lazy and unmotivated to do anything?
and by anything, i mean everything except showering, cleaning the kitchen, staying in touch with friends and spending time with them.

i don’t feel like watching tv series (haven’t watched any in the past 3 weeks. no shit). i don’t feel like reading long texts without pictures HAHA. i don’t feel like browsing the internet, reading and replying emails, facebook-ing, even TWEEETING. omfg.

oh and actually, if it ain’t for the sake of ‘surviving’, to be honest i don’t feel like eating. cooking? bitch please, who wants to cut chillies and vegetables then cook them when you can simply fry eggs or make indomie? i’m not too excited about doing groceries and buying foods either -which is unusual, since i’ve always loved coming to supermarkets.

jeesuz kryzt, i sound like a suicidal person who’s bored with life!
nah, chillax, i may be weary but i’m not suicidal.
could it be a quarter-life crisis?

but i’m not even sure why am i stressing out on becoming an adult. it’s not like it’s a total blur anyway, i’m pretty confident that i’d turn up fine. it’s not because i’m freaking out about having responsibilities too, i think. i mean, i grew up having this “you can’t screw up otherwise they all gonna think you as one of those dysfunctional household’s ‘products’” mentality; that is one big fat duty. certainly i’m not afraid of being old and boring. since when does becoming old have to be boring anyway?

nonetheless, if this apathy keep on going, where am i heading with my life?

my plan for the future.

anyway, lacking motivation issue aside, these are what i’ve been up to lately.

- lovely valentine’s dinner with lovely fellow ForeverAlone

yep, just as i thought that

the all single flatmates (with no ring on it #sorryBeyonce) decided to have a dinner date in La Tasca on our own because spending valentine with your boyfriend is too mainstream LOL. and in the spirit of anti-valentine, we all wore dark colours, with just a little touch of pink.

and since i love these people more than i love my money and my time *insert ‘Aaaww’ here*, i decided to get each of them a V-day’s gift. a ‘personalized’ Bloomsberry&Co. chocolate bar, wrapped with old newspaper and magazine (reuse and recycle rule!) and a personal ‘love letter’ put inside an envelope with a self-made Boromir meme glued at the front.

so glad that they liked it. happiness is…seeing happiness in others.

- learning how to play guitar again

matt has provoked influenced me to buy a guitar and start again. and what can i say, six years are such a long time for a ‘hiatus’ so i kinda re-learn everything from the start again. this is what happen when you quit too soon.

meet Kenny, my new guitar :)

it feels so good to play guitar again. and now that we have two guitarists in the house (possibly three, because windy is learning it too), it’s only a matter of time (AND SKILL) before we start a band and write a song to sing along.

- seeing my cousins.

guess which one is the diplomat, the banker and the Goldsmiths alumnus? ;p

not much to say, but i guess i should consider myself lucky to have family over here. cos as much as these people can be so intellectually intimidating, it’s so much fun to share a family joke/gossip with these people.

what i woke up to this morning. looking forward to have christmas on valentine’s.