Ken & Kaskus

Title: Ken & Kaskus, Cerita Sukses di Usia Muda

Author: Alberthiene Endah

Publisher: PT Gramedia Pustaka Utama

Publication Date: June 2013

Pages: 301

Are you familiar with the term Agan, Aganwati, Pertamax, or Mimin? Yes, those are some words that mostly used by kaskuser, members of kaskus, the largest Indonesian community. Started in 1999 in Seattle, US by Andrew Darwis. At first Kaskus  was just Andrew's school assignment and now it turns out to be a giant community with high creativity and powerful sense of belonging among the members.

Rome was not built within a day. It also happens for Kaskus. This book will tell about the struggle of two young men who believe in their intuition  and have courage to pursue their dreams. Narrated from Ken Dean Lawadinata's point of view, one of the person behind Kaskus, we will experience one of a very inspiring memoirs. We will learn from their failure, their fear, their argument, their confidence, and the like. How they scratched from nothing and finally in 2011 Global Digital Ventra, a subsidiary of Djarum, agreed to have big investment in Kaskus. And how they at last can have their dream office at Menara Palma, Kuningan, Jakarta. One of the unique and very comfortable offices ever.  

There are lots of thing to learn from Ken's life, how he turned himself from a very critical student at school and often got many problems with the teachers and now becoming one of the youngest  CEOs. Other thing to note is how decisive he was in deciding to leave his study in Seattle and followed his passion in developing Kaskus. I also salute Ken's parents for their trust upon their son even the father lent a big amount of money to Ken so he could invest in Kaskus.

Now Kaskus is becoming an epic. It has 6 millions members, high traffic with  30 millions visits each day. Such a wow...A very recommended book. Inspiring.   

Jobs the Movie

via YouTube

Jobs  is a 2013 American biographical drama film based on the life of Steve Jobs. Ashton Kutcher plays as Steve Jobs. In preparation for his lead role, Kutcher followed a fruitarian diet similar to the reported diet of Steve Jobs. The diet caused Kutcher to land in the hospital with abnormal pancreatic levels just before shooting began. This diet also one of the causes of Jobs' death as I read in his biography. 

When will this movie play in Indonesia? Can't hardly wait.....

Holiday Reading

Still on holiday mood, instead of getting headache looking at messy home, mountainous dirty laundry, high cholesterol, more weight, thinner wallet, etc, haha...common problems post Eid holiday, I tried to concentrate on reading. I finished these three local books, all are awesome, I really had good time with them. The memoir of the great one, Ken Lawadinata (big boss of Kaskus), a very touching novel with a very long title Surat Panjang Tentang Jarak Kita Yang Jutaan Tahun Cahaya written beatifully by Dewi Kharisma Michellia and the last one is a short stories collection of A.S. Laksana, one of the best Indonesia writers, Murjangkung, cinta yang dungu dan hantu-hantu.

I decided to put aside Dan Brown's latest work Inferno during this holiday since the book is so thick and heavy, definitely not a friendly book to be with. Not sure when I will finish this Inferno. Hopefully still this year since I am always easily distracted by new books and forget about the old ones:))

Eid Mubarak 1434 H

  

To forgive is the highest, most beautiful form of love. In return you will receive untold peace and happiness.

 --Robert Muller

Tons of dirty laundry (since our domestic helper is on leave for two weeks) and several jars of signature cookies mark the coming of Idul Fitri. Finally, the victory day is just around the corner. It's time to join the annual exodus, the mudikers. We'll be away for a moment, leaving a quiet Jakarta. Have a blessed Idul Fitri everyone! 

Selama Kita Tersesat di Luar Angkasa

Author: Maggie Tiojakin

Publisher: PT Gramedia Pustaka Utama

Publication date: July 2013

Pages: 241

Perhatian:

Jangan baca buku ini di tempat umum guna mencegah terjadinya reaksi yang tak diinginkan. Bawa pulang buku ini, sembunyikan, baca diam-diam waktu tengah malam sambil ditemani kopi panas. Atau teh. Atau...Pilih candumu sendiri.

 

This book caught my attention with its unique title and cover. At first I thought it's a science fiction book that telling about aerospace, alien, etc, definitely not my cup of tea, but I still bought it since I had already been  'tempted' by the warning at the back cover of the book (see Perhatian).  

This book is written by Maggie Tiojakin, a writer and a journalist, who delivers her 14 absurd short stories collection.  Maggie also generously shares her five extra English short stories as a bonus. reading this book is like having a journey. Unpredictable one. You will meet lots of strange yet interesting moments. Some stories are actually having a common setting such as: a flooded area (Lompat Indah),  a murder in an apartment (Saksi Mata), a teenager who is addicted to play games (Suatu Saat Kita Ingat Hari Ini), etc, but Maggie is really good in creating the strong characters with strange name and unpredictable endings. Once you read it, it's just unputdownable. You will be curious to know more about the other stories. Well...Maggie seems having a power to make the readers addicted to her writing.

A well written book. Those 14 stories (plus five extra stories) are telling about different kind of topic therefore I salute Maggie for her deep research and brilliant exploration. I really learn a lot. I guess I will find Maggie's other works.   

The Open Book

A friend told me about The Open Book. A children's library located at Dharmawangsa Square. It's just launched since February 2013. I dropped by at the place yesterday and welcomed warmly by Ms. Wiwi, the librarian. The place is really cozy and children friendly. They have a wide variation of books collection and several interesting programs, such as: story telling, kids yoga, art and craft, drawing class and you can even celebrate your birthday party here. 

A library is still uncommon in Jakarta particularly children's library. People in Jakarta still prefer browsing around  the mall instead of visiting a library. If you need an alternative place for your children, I guess the Open Book is one of recommended places. Can't hardly wait to take Najla and Zea there. You girls will have so much fun there!

Live While We're Young

Cute-vintage stuff, e.g. bookmarks, greeting cards

Monsters Cupcakes

...and live while we're young

Yesterday after finishing my lecture, I dropped by at FX to see my students' programs. They're assigned to conduct a two-day-bazaar and exhibition. Each of them must get together with his peers and open a booth. They sell many different products from cake, garment, accessories even a photo booth, you can take a pic with a minion (yep, they're inspired by Despicable Me the movie). Beside selling the products, the programs also provide a talk show related to many interesting issues and of course a music performance.   

Being with all of these creative-brave-and-energetic young people really boost my mood. I can feel their energy spreading and influencing all over the place. Kind of nostalgic to realize that my college time actually have been over 20 years ago. Gosh I am old, haha..but I believe that age is just number, young is forever, at least young at heart *hiding the gray hair* :))