a Black Cat named "Me"

There was a forest where every animal is colored white. even if they weren't born white, they paint their fur into white. everything was white, genuine and faux. A black cat named Kuro amused and wondering if she could live inside the forest too....
"..then you should paint yourself white, just like us here.." the snake said....

"...but why should I?" another black cat asked.
" That's because you'll ruin us all if you don't paint yourself white!" the hippo answered.
"what if we just want to be ourselves?"
" then you shouldn't befriends with us or staying in this forest!"
another white animal said.....

Noir was really sad..."I thought they could be my friends..."
"They didn't wanna be my friends too....so son't cry...." Kuro said to her.
Kuro and Noir became friend for each other,because the other animal in the forest thought they were bringing bad luck, and refused to be their friends...

They became good friends, but then came the day when they must choose the different path to go.
" You'll always be my friend, Kuro..." Noir said before she go.
"You too..." Kuro whispered.
Alone, Kuro walked through the path she had never know before....
Kuro had Noir as her friend, but from now on she must travel the road on her own....and secretly she feared of the loneliness, the pain, and the unknown road....

To conquer her fear she create an armored stronger version of herself, in which she hid and nursing her sad and broken heart.....she is safe inside the armor that looked tough, but the pain of being lonely and being an outcast are still there inside her.....

...until suddenly, one day, came a stranger that somehow seemed familiar, offering a helping hand.
" I won't hurt you, because I know how it feels like..." he said.
Kuro had never met anyone who treat her like this stranger do.

Kuro decided that she'll try to trust someone once more. She reach out to the hand, and somehow all of her armor and her other self disappeared....
"...now I can see the real you" the stranger smiled at her.
As long as she remembered, she never had a place that she could called "home". But strangely, inside this stranger's arm, she felt safe and happy to be herself.

" I will took care of you from now on...therefore, I'll give you this choker" he said.
"Why would I need a choker?" Kuro asked
The man smiled again at her and said,"...so that you'll remember you will always had a friend to live with now."

From then on, Kuro decide that this man is her master. Now she had a friend to go along on this unknown road ahead. Sometimes she still wearing her strong and cautious self to protect her master from anyhting they might stumble upon in this journey. But when Kuro is with him she could always show herself and being happy to be herself, a black cat that will never paint herself into white.

Music (and my thoughts of it)

Just like everyone else said, music is great.

Today I finally watch BECK live action movie. I don't really follow the manga version but I've gotta say that this movie is great. I was a little bit repulsed by the wig worn by Hiro Mizushima as Minami Ryuusuke at first. But as the movie goes on, the ambience improve drastically, especially at the ending part.

Okay, you may call me overreacting but I myself think that music is magic. It has been with the nature since the very beginning of time, and it has been inside every one of us since the day we're born. Every sound made by nature, on it's own category can be heard as music. Every voice that we spoke, on it's own definition can be heard as music. Of course there are voices that we love to hear and voices that we refuse to hear if possible. But I think, composed with certain dose of other voice and rhythm and moods, it could always be the sound that we find amusing. Music pacifies a crying baby. Music rejuvenate people of certain sickness. Even plants are reacting to the music played for them. Don't you think that music is magical enough?

Music can gather a huge number of mass in one place, brings them peace or brings the riot among them. The same favorite music ties two strangers in a love relationship they don't even imagine at first. Music ties people to make more music in a band, and with the other bands they united into one community under the name of Ko-J-Tsu (one of Surabaya's Japan Lover community; I'm one of its member). Music send an ordinary looking boy to a country he had never imagine to learn more about it.  I was so touched by a friend story that tells one of his mentally-handicapped student (he's a drum private teacher and a superb musician) asked him to play a song at the end of their lesson, and cheerfully shouted "One Piece!!!" when he played one of the animation series' soundtrack (titled "Memories"). Again, don't you think that music is a power sooo great that everyone can be affected without seeing or touching  the real substance of it?

I don't really know about you, but sometimes, when I'm amazed at something, I heard a music created inside me. When things get bad while I have no power to make it better at the time, I listen to the songs that suit my mood, or even heard another music coming from my head. I got goosebumps when I heard a very good piece of music, and though I don't precisely know what is wrong, I know when a music is not played at the extent of the musician's skill.

Music is inside every one of us, just like the air we breathe. We are born with it. We listen to it, like it or not. We speak through it. We live through it, and some of us are lucky enough to live for it on the stage or in the recording room. No one really hate music. Even some of us who couldn't produce a very nice voice or not well educated in music could not prevent themselves from appreciating music in its many form.

I play music, though my self-taught skill of course never as great as anyone well educated in music. I sing, to my heart content, though at first I doubted myself. I have my own preferences in music genres though I will humbly admit all the good piece of music beyond my preferences. 

All in all, I love music :) (and I honestly hope that Indonesian taste for music will soon improved)

Srimulat : the story behind the curtain

the book front cover

This is my final project for my college years. We are bound to propose for a project with certain necessities, value, and prospect of marketing at the mid 2009. I propose on Srimulat as my research object, and being approved by the lecturer in charge of Design Research subject. Then we were supposed to do a research on the subject to find the problem that we can solved within the graphic design boundaries. The research should be then organized as the first chapter from the whole paper of our final project, and then being tested by a group of lecturer at the end of the semester.

chapter 1, the history of the group founder, Raden Ayu Srimulat

By the next semester, we were supposed to finish the next chapters of the paper, plus creating a mock up for the output of our final project, held an exhibition of it, and finally being tested for the last time by our lecturers. The whole processes should be done in a year or two semesters....but I got a problem and unable to attend the exhibition, and thus, got to do my exhibition in the middle of the next semester before having the final test.

chapter 2, Srimulat rised to popularity in Surabaya

Srimulat is an almost legendary group of comedians which was started off as a keroncong music group in the 1950's. They are at the top of their popularity in 1970's before the stars getting dimmer and dimmer until now.

They were unique, because their theatrical comedy did not follow the usual and general theatrical processes. For instance, they did not have much time to rehearse the play, which the second play scenario was sometimes even being finished right when the first play was still performing on stage. Each of the comedian was basically an artist and traditional stage-play performer. Each of them being popular solely because of the facts that each of them having their own signature at the stage. Some of them will have a special catchphrase on the stage, or some kind of appearance characteristic that differs them from the rest of the comedian within the group.

chapter 3, Srimulat Solo division

The group was disbanded in 1980's, and had been succeed to survive several time before most of them died of old age, having another profession, or even got popular by themselves in commercials and other comedy show. I was hoping that at least I could preserve the memories of the group with my Illustrated book before they are being forgotten.

chapter 4, Srimulat sudden highlight in Jakarta

Compiling the material have been a great challenge, as there are only two books that ever discuss about the group. It is because of this project too that I was given the chance to meet tha actual person of Mrs Jujuk Juwariyah, the widow of the leader and the senior actress in most of the stageplays, and Mr Herry Gendut Janarto, a popular biography book writer. I also was given the chance to have a talk with Mr. A.C Andre Tanama, an artist and lecturer of ISI Jogja (which works I adore so much) and his friends in Grasindo Book Publishing Mr Adinto Fajar.

chapter 5, some of the comedians and their short biography

This book may not have the best illustration I ever made, but I made it with my whole heart and efforts, and I'm so proud of it. Many many great thanks to everyone involved, help, support and cheering me up during the process of making the book come true. You're the best :)