Steve Berry-The Romanov Phrophecy

I remembered glancing this book at Gramedia BIP Bandung along with other Steve Berry`s book, "The Amber Room". Unfortunately I`m kind of person who prefers to borrow novel instead of collecting them :P. Lucky for me I found this book in PTSL UKM :D

Russia.. an inspiration for Steve Berry to create his novel “The Romanov Prophecy”. Tsar Nicholas and his long lost direct descendant combined with An American hero involvement and a nasty secret organization surely create some “thrill” :D So whats the story?

After experiencing communism and capitalist democracy, Russian finally opt revert back to tsarist form of government. Sounds weird? Well just like comment from Peter The Great at the opening page of the novel,

Russia - A country in which things that just don`t happen, happen..

Anyway.. so the people set up a committee to choose appropriate candidate with blood ties to previous tsar as their new tsar, similar like a selection in a pop idol contest.. So, In this sort of revolution, a nasty unnamed organization consists of representative from discontent Russian military and bureaucracy, Russian “mafiya” as well as “the new rich class” (yeah, I know what all of you thinking, sort of Roman Abramovich… :O ) tries to influenced the outcome of the selection process in favors of their candidate or I should say, their puppet candidate named Stefan Baklanov.

In this situation, our hero emerge.. an Atlanta lawyer named Miles Lord. Initially, he is ordered to perform a background check to Baklanov to ensure that there is nothing wrong with Baklanov`s claim to the throne and there is no one with stronger claim to the throne other than Baklanov.. unknown to him, his bos (Taylor Hayes) collaborate with the nasty organization. Then puzzle solving begins.. starting from Rasputin’s prophecy about the collapse of Romanov dynasty and its restoration, Felix Yussoupov and Kolya Maks with their Holy Band and finally the search of Tsar Nicholast long lost descendant in America…. The ending? Well you should read it for yourself

What become interest for me is the front cover blurb and author`s foreword page. It mentions Dan Brown name although it is not a “Da Vinci Code” type novel (kind of novel who is thought or maybe aim to reveal a shocking hidden facts about your religion). Until I realize some similarities between this novel and The Da Vinci Code. For both novels, the main protagonists consist of a man and a woman (Lord-Petrova vs Langdon-Neveu). The main protagonists are betrayed by someone they regard as their close allies (Taylor Hayes vs Sir Leigh Teabing). Two secret organizations, the good one and the nasty/thought to be nasty one (holy band-unnamed nasty secret organization vs priory of sion-Opus Dei). The nasty/thought to be nasty secret organization hires assassin(s) to eliminate the protagonist (Droopy,Cromagnon and Inspector Orleg vs Silas). There are puzzles to solve (Yussoupov riddles vs Priory of Sion riddles). Part of the puzzles or riddles are hidden in a bank safe deposit box (Commerce and Merchant Bank vs Bank of Zurich). and finally both conclude in a shocking revelation (long lost direct descendant of Tsar Nicholas II vs secret Jesus descendant). Wew.. what a similarity.. :D

Despite that similarities, there is of course some differences. The one that I notice from beginning is Berry`s decision to eliminate the secrecy of Hayes act of betrayal at the early stage of the novel. Thus there is no element of "whodunnit" in this novel. Moreover, in Romanov prophecy, the nasty secret organization is nasty for real :P but in the Da Vinci Code, it is revealed that Opus Dei is being "used" by Sir Teabing.

thats all for my book review.. looks longer than the previous one :p

Useful links
- Wikipedia-Da Vinci Code
- Steve Berry`s website

NB : it seems that the lost 2 bodies of Tsar Nicholas family has been solved. see here for the detail
Read more!

For the love of the game

Now let`s talk about football out of life in Emirates Stadium :D

Tonight is Capello first competitive match with England. And lucky for him, they will against Andorra who ranked by FIFA at 186th. But who knows that the part timers can upset the profesionals just like Andorra did when eight years ago they forced mighty France to win only by last minute penalty :D

part timers? yeah most of Andorra players are part timer. Here are some of them

Koldo Álvarez de Elaute (GK) = school football coach
Joseph Manuel Ayala (MF) = builder, he built the Andorra`s town hall!
Julia Fernandez (DF) = work in tourist business
Oscar Sonejee (MF) = salesman
Antoni Lima (DF) = football administrator
Jordi Escura (DF) = physiotherapist (looks like they don`t need off field physiotherapist)
Marc Pujol (MF) = student

The list was reported at March 2007, I don`t know if one of them change his job or become full time footballer.

It has been a general knowledge that football has become a giant industry. Some of the player can be categorized as millionaire, such as Frank Lampard with his 151,000 Euro per week salary. So.. it`s not a strange phenomena if nowadays some football players are branded as "play only for the money". I wont mention a name but all of you could think one from many examples of football player of this type :D

Back to the Andorra case, before their tonight match against England, I`ve found an article in goal.com that really touch me :) particularly at the last sentence when Manolo Jimenez, one of the other Andorra part timers, said

“I’m not a full-time professional, I play for free, for the love of football,"

Manolo Jimenez (left) in an Euro 2008 Qualification Match against Croatia (September 2007)

Yeah he play for free.. just for love of the game. I imagine that every weekend at Andorra National league which only comprise of 8 team, he plays with FC Andorra with such a joy that cannot be described by money lover footballers :D

Reference
- Andorra`s amateur dare to dream
- Andorra National team page at wikipedia
- Andorra`s weapon of Mac`s destruction
Read more!

And the new midfielder is........

All of you must know the answer... (as usually another late posting from me :P )

yeah right.. it was neither Barry nor Alonso or Inler, de Guzman, Appiah and Robinho (Have we ever bid him anyway? :lol: )



So at least until January 2009, the available midfielders have to be utilized. Seems like it wont be a problem if Fabregas the maestro is fit all the time :D but what if he injury, let say for a month ? Another Craven Cottage display? hopefully not...

Now.. the question is who will be second to Fabregas in maintaining Arsenal creative display? In my point of view it could be either Denilson or Nasri. How about Ramsey? Since Wenger prefer playing Eboue than him in two initial EPL matches, I think Ramsey will need prove his skill at reserve and Carling Cup matches first ;)

Hopefully everything will run smoothly until next transfer window :D And we could see perhaps Arsenal won`t need a new midfielder at all.. ;)
Read more!

Welcome Back... Ramadhan...

Ah, Ramadhan is coming just in few days from now :D I
Hope that this Ramadhan will be a better Ramadhan for me than my previous Ramadhan :) Insya Allah..

Anyway.. since I cannot create a good poem about Ramadhan, so I try to search poems about Ramadhan and luckily I get this wonderful poem at Muhajabah.com ;) Hope it can enlight you all :D

Ya Ramadan!
by Noor Syed
In the name of Allah, the most Merciful, the most Kind

A blessed month is casting its shadow upon us
A night of this month is better than a thousand months
Bear with patience for the sake of Ar-Rahman
It's a continuous training to strengthen our Imaan.

Glory be to Allah who sent Ramadan as a mercy to mankind
Its a purification of our soul, our heart, and our mind
With the most sincere devotion and love we fast
To be cleansed and free from sins of the past

Glorified is He, who choseth this holy month,
To test our sabr and fill our hearts with warmth
Of his Divine Light, His blessings shall glow,
The Seer of the unseen, all He does know

Ya Allah! For thee, let my breath be more pleasant than musk
Ya Allah! For thee, let me be thankful when day turns to dusk
My thoughts and heart are purified, my eyes truly see'
This blessed month, the month of spiritual rhapsody!

Ya Allah! For thee, my life I shall live!
Ya Allah! For thee, my soul I shall give!
In the name of Allah, the most Merciful, the most Kind,
Praise be to Allah, who sent Ramadan as a gift to mankind

Read more!

Welcome Silvestre ^_^

It has been 34 years since Brian Kidd moved to Arsenal from their rival Man United :D and now Ferguson has agreed to sell Silvestre to Arsenal

So what would we have here.. an experienced centre back who could also play as a left back. A good addition for Arsenal defence who is "not so good" at several occasion :P (remember 4-2 defeat against Liverpool at last ECL ?). As Clichy is in good form recently so I think Silvestre would be often deployed at centre back to support Gallas-Toure duo.. or in other word to subtitute if one of them gives too many permission for the opposing striker to test Almunia :P

One more thing, how Old Trafford public will greet their ex player :d whether they will do in a friendly way or unfriendly way? :P
Read more!

August-The Two Tales of Merdeka

Finally it`s August!! yup two weeks late from my initial plan to write this article :P nevertheless, it`s better to late than never write article at all :D

Back to my first sentence.. why is August is so special? for me it is because august is the month of independence for both Indonesia and Malaysia. Two country that have a relation like brothers or sisters in a family. It is called "Benci tapi rindu" in Indonesian :D it can be easily describe with these attitudes : like to compete between each others, claim each other properties, but generally still "love each other" ;)

Anyway.. I noticed something interesting between "merdeka" in Indonesia and in Malaysia ;)

The declaration of Independence of Indonesia was held with very little preparation. Initially the Japanase (through admiral Terauchi in Dalat) told to Sukarno and Hatta that the declaration of independence was permitted to be held at August 24th. But the young generation of Indonesian nationalist dislike Japan intervention and prefer to announced it earlier at 16th of August. So they took Sukarno and Hatta to Rengasdengklok (small town nearby Jakarta) in order to declare the independence of Indonesia and officially start the revolution. But the plan failed because they couldn`t convinced Sukarno and Hatta, however agreement was reached and the date of independece set at the next day, August the 17th.

So can they prepare such a big day just in one day? well apparently not :D For me thats the best part.. because for the next hours the atmosphere was full of struggle B) and I recommend to read the detail at Sukarno biography which was written by Cindy Adams.

We could read the thrill after Japanese warn the nationalist to preserve the status quo which mean that they wont allow any such declaration and will stop it by force. Moreover there was also some witty stories regarding the preparation of the declaration and the declaration process itself :D We could read how Sukarno was using just ordinary textbook to compose the text and he didn`t even remember about the pen that he used to compose the historical text :P

The declaration was planned to be held at Ikada field but later at the last minutes it was moved to pegangsaan timur 56 to prevent open confrontation between Indonesian and Japanese. Sukarno himself was sick at the day of declaration but still he kept going on. After he finished reading the text, there was confusion about what we would do next? Fortunately Latief Hendraningrat, one of the PETA soldier, took initiative to raised the flag by using a bamboo stick. Nevertheless, the proclamation was successfull altough it wasn`t prepared properly. But thats the art right? ;)

Contrary, the declaration of Independence of Malaysia was generally prepared very well. The date itself had been set almost one year earlier at the treaty of London 1956. Place for the declaration (Stadium Merdeka) was specially built after the date had been set. And the situation itself was can be considered peaceful although technically Malaysia is in state of emergency because of communist rebellion. The declaration was attended by Sultans of Malay and foreign diplomats. Malayan Film Unit recorded and filmed the event.

This short excerpt in Malay can describe the event in much "live atmosphere"

Stadium Merdeka 5.00 pagi, 31 Ogos 1957, hujan turun dengan lebatnya. Dato' Abdul Razak yang melawat Stadium pada pagi itu gelisah dengan takungan air di tengah-tengah padang di mana Askar Melayu akan mengadakan perbarisan kehormat. Dato' Razak adalah Timbalan Pengerusi, Jawatankuasa Persiapan Kemerdekaan dengan Tunku sendiri adalah Pengerusinya.

7.00 pagi, hujan mulai reda. Dato' Razak menalifon Tunku dan melaporkan keadaan di stadium. Beliau mencadangkan agar ketibaan Raja-raja Melayu, Duke serta isteri dan Pesuruhjaya Tinggi dilewatkan satu jam.

9.00 pagi, langit mulai cerah, rintik-rintik hujan semakin mengecil dan hilang dari pandangan. Perabut dan perhiasan mula dibawa keluar dengan kadar segera. Tunku telah bersiap sedia di rumahnya. Berbaju Melayu hitam, berkain samping, berselitkan keris bersarong gading dipinggang serta bertengkolok songket, Tunku menantikan saat untuk bertolak.

Di Stadium Merdeka, Tunku berdiri gagah menerima ketibaan Duke of Gloucester yang memakai pakaian istiadat ketenteraan British berpangkat Field Marshall. 'God Save The Queen' berkumandang ketika Duke of Gloucester yang merupakan pakcik Queen Elizabeth II masuk dan mengambil tempat. Duke telah diiringi oleh Pesuruhjaya Tinggi British, Sir Donald MacGillivray.

Raja-raja Melayu pula duduk dipayungi oleh sembilan payung kuning, Yang DiPertuan Agong pula duduk di tengah-tengah, di kirinya Tunku dan di kanannya Duke.

Duke kemudiannya menyerah 'Instrumen Kemerdekaan' yang mana merupakan suatu pengakuan British bahawa ia menyerahkan kedaulatan Pulau Pinang dan Melaka kepada negara baru ini dan seterusnya menarik balik 'perlindungan' yang diberikan kepada negeri-negeri Melayu.

Tunku kemudiannya membacakan pengistiharan Kemerdekaan yang antara lainnya menyebut "Dengan nama Allah, Persekutuan Tanah Melayu untuk selamanya sebuah negara yang demokratik dan Merdeka". Acapkali suaranya tenggelam dan pekikan Merdeka! Merdeka! Merdeka! oleh rakyat sebuah negara baru yang lahir dari suatu perjuangan yang suci

Well you can see the difference between the two events :D But despite that different I congratulate both Indonesia and Malaysia. Happy Independence day !! Merdekaaaa!!!!

Read more!

Anwar Ibrahim- The Battle of Permatang Pauh and Road to Putrajaya

After a busy day, nothing would be better than writing something about Malaysian politic :D

Anyway...I`m aware that I just a foreigner in this country or alien in other word (but of course a legal alien :O) nevertheless it doesn`t stop me to follow and sometimes analyze political situation in Malaysia. Although it is just analysis from an amateur in politics :p

There is no doubt that The result of Malaysia 2008 General election surprised many people, particularly the incumbent Barisan Nasional (BN) after they had been denied into just simple majority in Parliament and lost five states to the opposition. Regardless of this shock, they still rule the country. The question is, until when....?? Especially if Anwar factor is being considered

After his 5 years quarantine from politic prevent him to contest in March 2008 election, it was apparent that Anwar has prepared Plan B, which is called "by-election" or "pilihan raya kecil". In
Malaysia, by-election must be held if a state assembly member or parliament member vacant his/her seat. There is no "pergantian antar waktu" or PAW in Malaysia :D .
FYI, in Indonesia, PAW allows the winner political party in an area to substitute his member of parliament or member of state assembly directly without an election. I`m sure Anwar will prefer this way :p

Permatang Pauh has been considered as Anwar`s stronghold. He has been elected there since 1982. Furthermore, it is was his wife, Wan Azizah, who replaced him after he had been temporary banned from politic and she repeatedly announced that she would vacant her seat for his husband. So if Anwar want to stage a political comeback, it is very logic to say that Permatang Pauh will be his fastest and safest way. But Permatang Pauh is not the ultimate target of Anwar Ibrahim. He is targeting the bigger fish in Putrajaya :D He is not making secret of his intention and even announced that at September 16th, parliament members from Sabah and Sarawak will cross to his side and cause the current government to lose their majority in Parliament. In other word Anwar Ibrahim will become PM.... of course if anything run according his plan.. Is it ?

Then surprise came at the right time in form of new sodomy allegation :o Whether it is kind of "BN conspiracy" or not, the allegation surely become obstacle for him. But Anwar took the risk by letting (or instructing ??) Wan Azizah to resign her seat at July 31st. Furthermore the election commission has also set the election date at August 26th.

The next question is.. who will be Anwar`s opponent?? By the time this article is made, there is no official anouncement from BN. Is it -ex aide turned enemy- Ezam Mohd Nur ? or Datuk Firdaus Ismail who was defeated by Wan Azizah in 2008? or perhaps BN will boycott the by-election and Anwar will win uncontested as suggested by Tan Sri Annuar Musa ?

Anyway...Just my imagination...if everything is according to Anwar`s plan, will Indo-Malay relation will be better ? Could be... if Anwar keep his promise which he has said before at Kick Andy Show :D I quote this from Kick Andy website

Anwar yang sewaktu muda dulu pernah belajar di Indonesia mengaku memiliki hubungan emosional dengan Indonesia. Teman-temannya juga banyak. Antara lain Fahmi Idris, Adi Sasono, Amin Rais, Adnan Buyung Nasution, Taufiq Ismail, dan Rendra. “Itu sebabnya saya dibenci karena dianggap lebih pro Indonesia. Saya dituduh tidak nasionalis karena sering membela kepentingan Indonesia,” ujarnya. Salah satu yang paling sering dia kritik adalah perlakuan Malaysia terhadap tenaga kerja Indonesia. “Saya sering protes atas perlakukan terhadap TKI. Sering terjadi penyiksaan. Saya tidak ada urusan dengan nasionalisme. Saya melihat persoalan ini dari kacamata kemanusiaan,” dia menegaskan. Kondisi tersebut, menurut pria yang selalu tampil rapih ini, belakangan semakin menjadi-jadi. “Ini yang selalu saya kritisi. Sebab kalau pejabat tinggi seperti saya saja dipukuli, apalagi TKI,” ujarnya masgul. Karena itu, dia bertekad untuk memperbaiki keadaan dengan mencalonkan dirinya dalam pemilihan perdana menteri mendatang

Well... let`s wait and see ;)

Other links

Anwar Ibrahim biography in Wikipedia
Anwar Ibrahim featured in Kick Andy Show
PKR-Anwar Ibrahim political Party

Read more!

Jack Who??

That was my reaction after reading match report for Arsenal 10-2 win against Burgenland XI and 3-1 win against Stuttgart. At that two matches, Jack Wilshire was named in the score sheet. two goals against Burgenland and one goal against Stuttgart.


I have heard some of the Arsenal reserves players such as Nazer Barazite, Rui Fonte, Gavin Hoyte, Kieran Gibbs, Jay Simpson, etc, but I haven`t heard about Jack Wilshire at all... :x . After try googling for the player, I managed to find some websites that discussed him and looks like he is really a good talent :D

Here is the fact that I can summarize about him

- (still) 16 years old !!
- Can play anywhere in midfield (left, right, center, holding midfielder, behind strikers). But currently he often positioned as left midfielder by Neil Banfield (Arsenal reserves manager)
- Left footed
- Has been with arsenal since 9 years old
- Break into u18 team last season when he was only 15-16 years old and ended the season with double digit goals and assists !! He was also featured in some reserves team games
- and above all.. He is an Englishman, thats why English Arsenal fans are so ecstatic about him :D

Hope that he will be featured in Carling Cup this season to gain some experience in higher level football :D Who knows next season he might be breaking into Arsenal`s first team just like Cesc Fabregas ;)

Here is some interesting links about Jack Wilshire

Wenger, The Key Man in Jack Wilshire Development
Jack Wilshire assist and goal at reserves team game vs West Ham
Read more!

Playstation 2, Coltan and Congo Civil War

"Kids in Congo were being sent down mines to die so that kids in Europe and America could kill imaginary aliens in their living rooms,"

-Oona King, ex British Parliament member-

Until mid 2008, at least 140 million of Playstation 2 (PS 2) are sold worldwide, making it as a best selling game console ever. Nevertheless a report which was issued by Toward Freedom, an independent media, had linked the success of PS 2 with the brutal Congo Civil War (1998-2003). Won`t you be curious to know what is connection between the two things??

It started at 1997 when Laurent Kabila with support from Rwanda, Uganda and Angola had successfully toppled Mobutu Sese Seko to become The President of Democratic Republic of The Congo (DRC). Unfortunately, the relation between Kabila and his allies (especially Rwanda and Uganda) deteriorated and turned into hostility after Kabila had expelled his Rwandan chief of staff. And then war erupted after Rwanda and Uganda assisted Tutsi Minority in DRC to rebel against Kabila.

Thats it?

Nope... in fact we are entering the main topic right now. The rebel was situated in eastern provinces (see picture below) which is "accidentally" very rich in ore called Coltan (Columbite-Tantalite). This ore is the principal source for tantalum and niobium (other name for columbium) transition metal which mainly used to make capacitors for various electronic devices. Interestingly 80 % of coltan reserves is in DRC while 80 % of coltan production comes from Australia.

Uhmm.. before we continue to the next paragraph, there is a little correction for image below, I think tantalite should be Ta2O6 instead of Ta2O5 :p Same correction is also applied for columbite :D

And the story goes....

Based from a BBC news article, The Coltan price was only $40/lb at January 2000 when it suddenly rocketed to $380/lb at Desember 2000 and by July 2001, the price was around $100/lb. This event will surely not be wasted by the rebels (plus Rwandan and Ugandan Armies who backed them) as their source of income. It was reported in DRC United Nations mission website that in 18 months Rwandan Army had made fortune at least $250 million through the sale of coltan, even though no coltan is mined in Rwanda

Interestingly, at that same time, Sony began to launch its phenomenal PS 2. I quote this from wikipedia :

Only a few million people had obtained consoles by the end of 2000 due to manufacturing delays.^[8] After its release, it was difficult to find PS2 units on retailer shelves.^[9] Another option was purchasing the console online through auction websites such as eBay, where people paid over one thousand dollars for a PS2.^[10] The PS2 initially sold well partly on the basis of the strength of the PlayStation brand and the console's backward compatibility, selling over 980,000 units by March 5, 2000, one day after launch, in Japan.^[11] This allowed the PS2 to tap the large install base established by the PlayStation — another major selling point over the competition. Later, Sony gained momentum with new development kits for game developers and more PS2 units for consumers

So, PS2 experienced a huge demand but there was supply shortage (manufacturing delay) and according to an established economic principle, the price will increase if the demand also increase. of course it was not PS2 who solely responsible for the rocketing coltan price. It was believed that increase in selling of mobile phone and PC`s also helped to increase coltan price.

Meanwhile Sony spokesperson, Satoshi Fukuoka denied that Sony has been using "bloody tantalum" from DRC`s coltan. After enquiring to their suppliers, Fukuoka stated that the tantalum they use is not "illegally mined Congo coltan". Nonetheless, he admitted that it is difficult to ensure not a single "bloody tantalum capacitor" is being used. I quote what he said in toward freedom website

"The material suppliers source their original material from multiple mines in various countries. It is therefore hard for us to know what the supply chain mix is," he said. "I am happy to state to you that to the best of our knowledge, (SONY) is not using the material about which you have expressed concern (illegally mined Congo Coltan)."

Is it true? I don`t know for sure...
I just can say, "The Truth is Out There...."

Reference
- Toward Freedom
- BBC News
- Wikipedia
- DRC United Nation Mission Website

Read more!

Wenger - I am in the market for a midfielder

News from Arsenal.com :

By Richard Clarke in Austria

Arsène Wenger is aiming to bolster his midfield for the new campaign but, as yet, he does not have a specific target in mind.

After the Barnet game on Saturday the Arsenal manager said that he would bring in “one player certainly... maximum of two” before the window closed at the end of August. After the 1-1 draw at Szombatheyli on Tuesday he was more specific about the position but not the person.

“We will need one more body in there,” said Wenger when asked about his midfield. “At the moment we do not have Alex Song who is going to the Olympic games, Abou Diaby was not here tonight and nor was Fabregas.

“If we find a reasonable target then we will do it. But there is no special name on the list.

“We have some time. We have until August 31. We left 11 players back in Austria for this game. They will play in Stuttgart [on July 30].”

Before that, on Monday, Arsenal go to Ritzing to play a Burgenland XI. Arsenal TV Online subscribers will be able to see this game live.

[ Wednesday, July 23, 2008]

Well..since Pat Rice contacted O`Neill to keep him informed of Gareth Barry`s recent status, I think it`s quite obvious that Barry will be Arsenal`s top target in their central midfield. Beside Barry, maybe Wenger could try Samir Nasri in that position. Although, Nasri will likely to be deployed in right wing which was his position in Marseille

Hopefully Wenger can outflank Benitez in the "Battle of Gareth Barry" ;)

Read more!

Ben Elton-The First Casualty

Have I told you that I like historical novels? Well if I haven`t, I`m going to tell u now :D

I found this novel at the University Library. Well.. looks like a nice book as a "supplement" for my "busy" research. Don`t know much about the author but according to the book , he is also known as a stand up comedian. Errrr.. so what a stand up comedian do with a historical novel? Let`s see about that ;-)


It tells us story about Douglas Kingsley, a successful Detective with the London police, who becomes an enemy of the state after he refused to take part in the Great War and denounces the war as a stupid and illogical. As a punishment, the court decides to put him in jail along with the criminals that he successfully nabbed before. But then a terrible incident happens which would change Kingsley`s fate. A well known viscount, son of a political figure and was known for his patriotic poems as well as his action in the battlefield, is killed mysteriously. So the government (who regard Kingsley as their top detective) decide to to fake Kingsley`s death at the prison and send him to the battlefield in Ypres in order to investigate the matter

And so the investigation begins in the middle of The Third Battle of Ypres. For me, the investigation is a mixture of comedies and also ironies. We could see the irony when Kingsley tries to interview his witness, then suddenly artillery shell comes and blow his witness to pieces of debris. The investigation itself makes us to think whether the viscount death really worth of deep investigation compare to other soldiers death. While on the other hand I could hardly not to laugh at the masturbating lunatic soldier at one of the Kingsley`s interview session and at the MP Sergeant who stamp his feet so hard every time he finishes his words.

At the end.. well you can guess yourself who is the real killer :D

Overall I give this novel 3 out 5 stars ;-)
Read more!

Jack of all trades and master of some??

We meet again :D

Maybe curiosity surround when someone look at my blog headline

"wish to be jack of many trades and master of some"

what is exactly mean?

well.. it was written in opening page of an extractive metallurgy textbook (written by Prof Terkel Rosenqvist). He said that (if I`m not mistaken because I forgot the exact words) a metallurgist should be jack of many trades and master of some. At first I dont understand what does the phrase mean, but with a help from google and wiki, I managed to solve the mystery :p

From wiki :

"Jack of all trades, master of none" is a figure of speech used in reference to a person who is competent with many skills but is not outstanding in any one. The term has become a cliché and often used as an insult in its current form, which is only half of the quote. The full quote, "Jack of all trades, master of none, though ofttimes better than master of one,"^{[citation needed]} is actually a compliment, though the term stemming from it, just 'Jack of all trades' is usually seen as a compliment to someone who can adapt to most situations.

A Jack of all trades may also be a master of integration, as the individual knows enough from many learned trades and skills to be able to bring their disciplines together in a practical manner. Such a person is known as a polymath or a Renaissance man, and a typical example is someone like Leonardo da Vinci.

So it is a pun from an established idiom. Metallurgist should be know several things outside his field as a metallurgist and he manages to become expert in some of it (including his own field, of course :p).

Speaking of this wordplay, I remember an anecdote from my undergrad year in Bandung Institute of tech (ITB) which stated that an ITB student is an expert in many areas but excluding his own field, :O . Well sometimes it could be right, because I know someone with a astronomical background but he becomes an expert in military and intelligence things :D

How about me? well I`m not too expert in metallurgy, I just know several things (look at my CGPA). Beside metallurgy I also have an interest in historical things and love to read about it. But I dont think I`m an expert in this subject also.. :p. Anyway, since I`m doing research in semi-solid metal forming of steel (thixoforming) as my postgrad research subject, hopefully I can become an expert in this field. Ameen.....
Read more!

Welcome...welcome...

Sometimes writing could be very easy and sometimes could be very difficult.

Sometimes words are flowing endlessly from your brain and you can type it with unbelievable speed... but sometimes it seems like you don`t have anything to write (or to type) and you just staring and empty paper (or an empty page of word processing page) for hours

It`s very long time since I want to write a blog, but it is just now that I can realize it :p

See u soon :D
Read more!