tak jarang dalam hubunganku dan ima (girlfriend) ada perdebatan. dan suatu kali aku dan ima membaca cerita ini (diambil dari sini). lalu kami sama2 tertawa



Sepasang pengantin baru tengah berjalan bergandengan tangan di sebuah hutan pada suatu malam musim panas yang indah, seusai makan malam. Mereka sedang menikmati kebersamaan yang menakjubkan tatkala mereka mendengar suara di kejauhan: "Kuek! Kuek!"

"Dengar," kata si istri, "Itu pasti suara ayam."

"Bukan, bukan. Itu suara bebek," kata si suami.

"Nggak, aku yakin itu ayam," si istri bersikeras.

"Mustahil. Suara ayam itu 'kukuruyuuuk!', bebek itu 'kuek! kuek!' Itu bebek, Sayang," kata si suami dengan disertai gejala-gejala awal kejengkelan.

"Kuek! Kuek!" terdengar lagi.

"Nah, tuh! Itu suara bebek," kata si suami.

"Bukan, Sayang. Itu ayam. Aku yakin betul," tandas si istri, sembari menghentakkan kaki.

"Dengar ya! Itu a. da. lah. be. bek, B-E-B-E-K Bebek! Mengerti?" si suami berkata dengan gusar.

"Tapi itu ayam," masih saja si istri bersikeras.

"Itu jelas-jelas bue. bek, kamu. kamu.."

Terdengar lagi suara, "Kuek! Kuek!" sebelum si suami mengatakan sesuatu yang sebaiknya tak dikatakannya.
Si istri sudah hampir menangis, "Tapi itu ayam.."

Si suami melihat air mata yang mengambang di pelupuk mata istrinya, dan akhirnya, ingat kenapa dia menikahinya. Wajahnya melembut dan katanya dengan mesra, "Maafkan aku, Sayang. Kurasa kamu benar. Itu memang suara ayam kok."

"Terima kasih, Sayang," kata si istri sambil menggenggam tangan suaminya.

"Kuek! Kuek!" terdengar lagi suara di hutan, mengiringi mereka berjalan bersama dalam cinta.

Maksud dari cerita bahwa si suami akhirnya sadar adalah:
siapa sih yang peduli itu ayam atau bebek? Yang lebih penting adalah keharmonisan mereka, yang membuat mereka dapat menikmati kebersamaan pada malam yang indah itu.

Berapa banyak pernikahan yang hancur hanya gara-gara persoalan sepele?
Berapa banyak perceraian terjadi karena hal-hal "ayam atau bebek"?

Ketika kita memahami cerita tersebut, kita akan ingat apa yang menjadi prioritas kita. Banyak hal jauh lebih penting ketimbang mencari siapa yang benar tentang apakah itu ayam atau bebek. Lagi pula, betapa sering kita merasa yakin, amat sangat mantap, mutlak bahwa kita benar, namun belakangan ternyata kita salah? Lho, siapa tahu? Mungkin saja itu adalah ayam yang direkayasa genetik sehingga bersuara seperti bebek?



setelah membaca cerita ini, walaupun sebenarnya ini adalah cerita biasa, bila kami berdebat dan merasa sama benarnya, biasanya salah satu akan berkata,
"iya iya... bebek, bebek... "
atau
"iya iya... ayam, ayam..."
dan itu menunjukkan salah satu dari kami mengalah meskipun masih merasa benar
dan yes, cara ini lumayan efektif mengurangi intensitas perdebatan kami
hehehe

1...God won't ask what kind of car you drove, He'll ask how many people you drove who didn't have transportation.

2...God won't ask the square footage of your house, He'll ask how many people you welcomed into your home.

3...God won't ask about the clothes you had in your closet, He'll ask how many you helped to clothe.

4...God won't ask what your highest salary was, He'll ask if you compromised your character to obtain it.

5...God won't ask what your job title was, He'll ask if you performed your job to the best of our ability.

6...God won't ask how many friends you had, He'll ask how many people to whom you were a friend.

7...God won't ask in what neighborhood you lived, He'll ask how you treated your neighbors.

8...God won't ask about the color of your skin, He'll ask about the content of your character.

9...God won't ask why it took you so long to seek Salvation, He'll lovingly take you to your mansion in heaven, and not to the gates of Hell.

10...God won't ask how many people you forwarded this to, He'll ask if you were ashamed to pass it on to your friends.



well i think passing chain mail is just stupid. but i like the content of this article -- which i found somewhere on the net -- so i decided to post it here :)

[no spoiler ahead]
a perfect movie!
excellent and outstanding!
highly recommended!
it's a deep, tearful, yet heavy-thinking drama movie.
and definitely, one of the best movie i have ever saw.
i (almost) cried twice (or three times?).
i wish i could give more than 5 rating to this oscar-winning movie.
25% of the blog i visited so far give this movie 4 stars. and the rest, definitely, 5 stars.

there are a lot character. different race. american, mexican, black, chinese, persian, and some others. some are racialist, or discriminative, and some are the victims. violence, guns, love, family, injustice, power, prejudice, culture and racial conflicts, and daily madness, the scenes are just taken from daily life in america. but this is more than just a racial and discrimination issues. much more.

there are brandon fraiser, sandra bullock, don cheadle, matt dillon and ryan phillippe. but no one can considered as the main character. every character has a background story, a story to tell. it comes with their background at the beginning of the movie, and in the end, somehow they are correlated by each others. everyone has their motives. everyone have the power. the power to destruct, and the power to create something good. all happens in 36 hours, in our multi-ethnic city, LA.

the part that i like most are the locksmith climax scene, and the police officer and the director's wife climax scene. the OST is beautiful too.

note: it has some 17+ scenes though

"It's the sense of touch. In any real city, you walk, you know? You brush past people, people bump into you. In L.A., nobody touches you. We're always behind this metal and glass. I think we miss that touch so much, that we crash into each other, just so we can feel something."

a must see movie, www.crashfilm.com

Rini, siswi yang terkenal centil dan genit disuruh kedepan kelas oleh salah seorang guru favoritnya.

Guru: Rini, maju ke depan dan coba tuliskan B-H-I-N-N-E-K-A T-U-N-G-G-A-L I-K-A.

Rini maju kedepan lalu menulis, I-N-N-E-K-A T-U-N-G-G-A-L I-K-A. Sambil tersenyum genit Rini kembali duduk.

Guru: Lho Rin, BH nya dimana?

Rini: Maaf pak, BH nya ketinggalan di rumah.

Tahukah anda bahwa:

1) Mazmur 118 adalah pasal yang terletak di tengah-2 Alkitab?

2) Sebelum Mazmur 118, Mazmur 117 adalah pasal terpendek dari Alkitab?

3) Setelah Mazmur 118, Mazmur 119 adalah pasal terpanjang dari Alkitab?

4) Ada 594 pasal pada masing-2 sebelum dan sesudah Mazmur 118?

5) Kalau seluruh pasal dijumlahkan, di luar Mazmur 118, semuanya berjumlah
1188 pasal?

6) Bahwa angka 1188 atau Mazmur 118:8 juga merupakan ayat yang terletak di
tengah-2 Alkitab?

Ayat yang terletak di tengah (ayat sentral) seharusnya memiliki arti yang
tersendiri dan penting bukan?

"Lebih baik berlindung pada TUHAN dari pada percaya kepada manusia." -
Mazmur 118:8

Anthony Robbins is the world greatest motivator. and Jim Rohn was his mentor, years ago. and here, are some of his quotes ...

on reading:
“Don't just read the easy stuff. You may be entertained by it, but you will never grow from it.”

on health:
“Take care of your body. It's the only place you have to live.”

on the value of time:
“Time is more value than money. You can get more money, but you cannot get more time.”

on motivation and habit:
“Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.”

on first decicision:
“It is the set of the sails, not the direction of the wind that determines which way we will go.”

on character:
"Character isn't something you were born with and can't change, like your fingerprints. It's something you weren't born with and must take responsibility for forming."

on desire:
“Without a sense of urgency, desire loses its value.”

on your life:
“Let others lead small lives, but not you. Let others argue over small things, but not you. Let others cry over small hurts, but not you. Let others leave their future in someone else's hands, but not you.”

on discipline:
“Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment.”
"Discipline is the foundation upon which all success is built. Lack of discipline inevitably leads to failure."

on planning your life:
“If you don't design your own life plan, chances are you'll fall into someone else's plan. And guess what they have planned for you? Not much.”

on building something:
“If you go to work on your goals, your goals will go to work on you. If you go to work on your plan, your plan will go to work on you. Whatever good things we build end up building us.”

on success:
“Success is not to be pursued; it is to be attracted by the person you become”
“Success is steady progress toward one's personal goals”
“Success is doing ordinary things extraordinarily well.”

on communication:
“Effective communication is 20% what you know and 80% how you feel about what you know.”

on working through the hour:
“You don't get paid for the hour. You get paid for the value you bring to the hour.”

on what you want:
“When you know what you want, and want it bad enough, you will find a way to get it.”

on destination:
“You cannot change your destination overnight, but you can change your direction overnight”

on trying:
“How long should you try? Until.”

on leadership:
“A good objective of leadership is to help those who are doing poorly to do well and to help those who are doing well to do even better.”

on risk:
“If you are not willing to risk the unusual, you will have to settle for the ordinary.”

on setting a goal:
“The major reason for setting a goal is for what it makes of you to accomplish it. What it makes of you will always be the far greater value than what you get.”

on the people around you:
“Get around people who have something of value to share with you. Their impact will continue to have a significant effect on your life long they have departed.”

on happiness:
“Happiness is not something you postpone for the future; it is something you design for the present.”

on fixing a problem:
“If someone is going down the wrong road, he doesn't need motivation to speed him up. What he needs is education to turn him around”

on philosophy:
“Your philosophy determines whether you will go for the disciplines or continue the errors.”

on communication skill:
“Take advantage of every opportunity to practice your communication skills so that when important occasions arise, you will have the gift, the style, the sharpness, the clarity, and the emotions to affect other people.”

on overcoming failure:
"Failure is not a single, cataclysmic event. You don't fail overnight. Instead, failure is a few errors in judgment, repeated every day."

on effort:
"For every disciplined effort there is a multiple reward."

on education:
"Formal education will make you a living; self-education will make you a fortune."



some information, as taken from woopidoo.com

Career Highlights

+ Jim Rohn's seminars cover a span of over 39 years
+ Jim has addressed more than 6,000 audiences and 4 million people worldwide
+ In 1985, Jim won the coveted CPAE Award from the National Speakers Association
+ A millionaire, entrepreneur and businessman devoted to helping others achieve all they are capable of in life and business
+ Jim Rohn has authored more than 17 books, audio and video programs
+ He has been hailed as one of the most influential thinkers of our time
+ Jim has helped to motivate and train an entire generation of personal development trainers as well as hundreds of executives from America's top corporations
+ He has been described as everything from a master motivator, to a modern day Will Rogers, ... to a legend!

What Others say about Jim Rohn

"I truly believe Jim Rohn is an extraordinary human being whose philosophy can enhance the quality of life for anyone who exposes themselves to it. He certainly had a positive impact on me at a time in my life when I was first forming the philosophies that guide me today."
Anthony Robbins

"Jim Rohn is outstanding! He is among the most polished, professional speakers in America, with a message everyone should hear."
Brian Tracy

Twenty years from now
you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do
than by the ones you did do.

So throw off the bowlines.
Sail away from the safe harbor.
Catch the trade winds in your sails.

Explore. Dream. Discover.


~ Mark Twain



"And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years." ~ Abraham Lincoln

Introduction - Branding is the single most important objective of the marketing process. What is branding??


1. The Law of Expansion - The power of a brand is inversely proportional to its scope. What’s a Chevrolet? A large, small, cheap, expensive car.


2. The Law of Contraction - A brand becomes stronger when you narrow its focus. Starbucks is a coffee shop that just sells coffee.


3. The Law of Publicity - Brands are born with publicity,not advertising. With no advertising, The Body Shop has become a powerful global brand.


4. The Law of Advertising - Once born,a brand needs advertising to stay healthy. Advertising "No. 1 in tires" keeps Goodyear No. 1 in tires


5. The Law of The Word - A brand should own a word in the mind of the consumer. "FedEx this to LA".


6. The Law of Credentials - The crucial ingredient to the success of any brand is its claim to authenticity. Coca-Cola is a powerful brand because it’s "the real thing."


7. The Law of Quality - Quality is important, but brands are not built by quality alone. Does a Rolex keep better time? Probably? Does it matter? Probably not.


8. The Law of The Category - A leading brand should promote the category not the brand. EatZi’s is a new brand selling quality take-out meals at affordable prices.


9. The Law of The Name - In the long run, a brand is nothing more than a name. The primary difference of a Xerox copier is the Xerox brand name itself.


10. The Law of The Extensions - The easiest way to destroy a brand is to put its name on everything. What’s a Miller? Line extensions are killing Miller.


11. The Law of Fellowship - In order to build the category, a brand should welcome other brands. The best location for a Planet Hollywood is next t o the Hard Rock Cafe.


12. The Law of The Generic - One of the fastest routes to failure is giving a brand a generic name. Blockbuster is a good brand name while generic brand names are not.


13. The Law of the Company - Brands are brands. Companies are companies. There is a difference. Does Tide need the name P&G on the box? Brands should stand on their own.


14. The Law of Subbrands - What branding builds, subbranding can destroy. Express, Select, SunSpree, and Garden Court erode the power of the Holiday Inn brand.


15. The Law of Siblings - There is a time and a place to launch a second brand. When Honda introduced an expensive car they didn’t call the brand, "Honda Ultra."


16. The Law of Shape - A brand’s logotype should be designed to fit the eyes. Both eyes. Avis has the right idea, Arby’s is too vertical.


17. The Law of Color - A brand should use a color that is the opposite of its major competitor. The distinctive robin’s egg blue of a Tiffany box helps burn the brand into the mind.


18. The Law of Borders - There are no barriers to global branding. A brand should know no borders. Heineken is sold in 170 countries. All brandsshould be global brands.


19. The Law of Consistency - A brand is not built overnight. Success is measured in decades. BMW has been the ultimate driving machine for 25 years.


20. The Law of Change - Brands can be changed, but only infrequently and only very carefully. Twenty years ago, Citibank was a business bank. Today Citibank is a consumer bank.


21. The Law of Mortality - No brand will live forever. Euthanasia is often the best solution. Kodak is a photographic brand that will not be as effective in the digital era.


22. The Law of Singularity - The most important aspect of a brand is its single-mindedness. By focusing on safety, Volvo has become the largest selling imported European luxury car.


source: Ries.com

# Intro

1. The Law of Either/Or
The Internet can be a business or a medium, but not both.

2. The Law of Interactivity
Without it, your Website and your brand will go nowhere.

3. The Law of Common Name
The kiss of death for an Internet brand is a common name.

4. The Law of Proper Name
Your name stands alone on the Internet, so you'd better have a good one.

5. The Law of Singularity
You should avoid at all costs being second in your category.

6. The Law of Advertising
Advertising off the Net will be a lot bigger than advertising on the Net.

7. The Law of Globalism
The Internet will demolish all barriers, all boundaries, all borders.

8. The Law of Time
Just do it. You have to be fast. You have to be first. You have to be focused.

9. The Law of Vanity
The biggest mistake of all is believing you can do anything.

10. The Law of Divergence
Everyone talks about convergence, while just the opposite is happening.

11. The Law of Transformation
The Internet revolution will transform all aspects of our lives.



you can read the content of the book by clicking the links directly.

i used to have the book, the bahasa indonesia version, i bought it on 2001 or so, but now it's gone because i forget who borrowed it.
still, it was a good book.

The Invitation

It doesn’t interest me what you do for a living.
I want to know what you ache for
and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart’s longing.

It doesn’t interest me how old you are.
I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool
for love
for your dream
for the adventure of being alive.

It doesn’t interest me what planets are squaring your moon...
I want to know if you have touched the centre of your own sorrow
if you have been opened by life’s betrayals
or have become shrivelled and closed
from fear of further pain.

I want to know if you can sit with pain
mine or your own
without moving to hide it
or fade it
or fix it.

I want to know if you can be with joy
mine or your own
if you can dance with wildness
and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes
without cautioning us to
be careful
be realistic
remember the limitations of being human.

It doesn’t interest me if the story you are telling me
is true.
I want to know if you can
disappoint another
to be true to yourself.
If you can bear the accusation of betrayal
and not betray your own soul.
If you can be faithless
and therefore trustworthy.

I want to know if you can see Beauty
even when it is not pretty
every day.
And if you can source your own life
from its presence.

I want to know if you can live with failure
yours and mine
and still stand at the edge of the lake
and shout to the silver of the full moon,
“Yes.”

It doesn’t interest me
to know where you live or how much money you have.
I want to know if you can get up
after the night of grief and despair
weary and bruised to the bone
and do what needs to be done
to feed the children.

It doesn’t interest me who you know
or how you came to be here.
I want to know if you will stand
in the centre of the fire
with me
and not shrink back.

It doesn’t interest me where or what or with whom
you have studied.
I want to know what sustains you
from the inside
when all else falls away.

I want to know if you can be alone
with yourself
and if you truly like the company you keep
in the empty moments.

© Oriah Mountain Dreamer, from the book The Invitation published by HarperSanFrancisco, 1999

menurutku buku ini...
* lebih kusuka dari buku2nya si kiyosaki. kiyosaki cenderung memberikan cerita, tapi jarang memberikan point2 penting. sedangkan tung desem menjelaskan dengan point2 yang cukup detail, urutan langkah2 apa yang harus diambil, secara lebih spesifik.

* ... mudah diterapkan (alasan lihat point sebelumnya)

* enak dibaca karena cara penuturannya yang juga cenderung berupa cerita

* cukup bagus untuk membakar semangat/motivasi (adrenaline juga? hehe) karena isinya beberapa berkaitan dengan emosi

* menimbulkan semangatku membaca tentang buku pengelolaan uang kembali -- sejak yang terakhir oleh kiyosaki

* bisa mengubah pandangan2 dasar mengenai attitude dan cara pengelolaan uang yang memiliki arti penting dalam hidup. dan masih juga ada beberapa pandangan lain yang cukup bagus.

* bisa dibilang 50% dari tiap halaman bukunya aku mendapatkan sesuatu yang baru dan berharga..

* line spacing, paragraph spacing yang cukup lebar, ada cukup banyak karikatur (meskipun bagiku karikaturnya ga terlalu menarik) yang menghibur sehingga tak jenuh dengan buku yg biasanya text doank, serta typografi yang bagus, membuat buku ini nyaman dibaca


perbedaan yang terjadi setelah membaca buku...
* semangat terbakar sampai kurang lebih 2x lipat! fu fu fu!
* so pasti pengetahuan bertambah luas. dan pengetahuan tersebut adalah pengetahuan yang jauh, jauh lebih berharga daripada nilai nominal buku tersebut
* kemungkinan masa depan yang lebih baek? hahaha



pertama kali mengenal nama tung desem
dari tahun lalu melalui fotokopian makalah seminar Marketing Revolution, yang kalo ga salah waktu itu biaya seminarnya sekitar 3 juta *kalo ga salah lhoo*
pokoknya isinya benar2 menarik -- lain dengan buku2 marketing yg pernah kubaca sebelumnya. point2nya singkat jelas padat dan dapat diterapkan. ilmu yg tak ternilai harganya :)
setelah itu barulah sedikit2 cari informasi tentang pak tdw ini.. jadi waktu liat ada bukunya di uranus, langsung deh bertekad akan kubeli, berapapun harganya! hueheuhe
untunglah ternyata tidak terlalu mahal. aku beli yang ga pake hardcover, harganya 56 rebu perak di toko buku uranus. padahal kalopun knowledge ini dalam bentuk buku yang harganya 300 rebu pun aku rasa layak untuk dikoleksi. mungkin buat sebagian org bisa jadi harga yg terlalu murah membuat mereka kurang menghargai isinya



apa sih hebatnya tung desem waringin?
A.Tung Desem Waringin adalah salah seorang murid terbaik
Anthony Robbins (World's Number 1, Success Coach) dan
Exclusive Indonesia Robert T Kiyosaki Authorized Consultant
(World's Number 1, For Financial Freedom Coach)

B. Bapak dari 2 orang anak ini pernah berkarir di BCA selama 8 tahun
(Agustus 1992-Mei 2001) dengan jabatan terakhir sebagai Pimpinan
Cabang Utama BCA Borobudur di Malang dengan prestasi diraihnya
selama di BCA antara lain :
1. Hasil Audit terbaik di Indonesia
2. Pertumbuhan Kartu ATM terbesar di Indonesia
3. Pertumbuhan Kartu Kredit terbesar di Indonesia
4. Pemulihan kembali pertama BCA pada saat di Rush Tahun 1998
5. Tingkat mati mesin ATM terendah di Indonesia

C. Beliau juga pernah berkarir di Lippo Shop sebagai Senior Vice
President Marketing selama 8 bulan (Juli 2000- Febuari 2001), dan
pada akhirnya beliau memutuskan untuk menjadi konsultan dan
pembicara maupun Wirausaha, di bulan Februari Tahun 2001.

D. Kini setiap Jumat 16.30 Sore beliau menjadi pengasuh acara
"SmartWealth" yang disiarkan radio SMART FM serentak di 7
kota Indonesia. Dan di waktu senggangnya beliau menjadi kolumnis
rubrik "Road To Be Wealthy" di Majalah Warta Bisnis.

E. Sebagai Konsultan perusahaan beliau berhasil meningkatkan
pendapatan dari sebuah Media Iklan Gratis di Jakarta sebesar 16
kali lipat dalam waktu 1 bulan. Meningkatkan 100% penjualan di
"MANET" Toko Busana Muslim di Blok F Tanah Abang. Meningkatkan
100% Aset Bank Lestari di Jl. Setiabudi 9 Denpasar Bali & 2000%
kredit sepeda motornya di Bali. Serta berhasil meningkatkan penjualan
rata2 sebesar 40% dari total 9.800 Sales dari Columbia Elektronik
dan Furnitur, hanya dalam sebulan setelah training dilakukan. Sales
Shampoo Selsun naik 200 %. Millenium Handphone & Accessories
naik 500%. Apartemen Belezza & Bellagio meningkat penjualannya
sebesar 400%

F. Beliau dalam 48 bulan terakhir ini sudah berbicara di depan
sedikitnya 218.000 orang, baik di dalam maupun di luar negeri.
Beliau juga diundang oleh Columbia 19 kali, TELKOM 21 kali, BASF
INDONESIA, SIEMENS INDONESIA, REUTERS INDONESIA,
ANEKA TAMBANG, AKARI INDONESIA, JAYA KONTRUKSI,
JAYA TRADE, AMWAY, AIG LIPPO,Citibank, Bank Mandiri,
BCA, BANK DANAMON, TRIMEGAH SECURITIES, Bank Panin,
Bank DIPO International, Dipo Star Finance, Bank BUMIPUTERA,
50 BPR se-Indonesia yang tergabung dalam PT. UKABIMA,
Guna Group, Sungai Budi Group, Pabrik Plastik Tictas, PT. Agro
Makmur Sentosa, BPPN, PT. Nestle Indonesia, PT. Hakuhodo
Indonesia, Oriflame, PT. WanaArtha Life, Universitas-Universitas
dll. Serta di undang sebagai Pembicara Pertama dalam "Indonesia
First National Wealth Convention", September 2002"

G. Terpilih menjadi "10 Eksekutif 2003" versi Lions Club Surabaya
Patria dan Jawa Pos Group.

H. Memecahkan Rekor MURI dalam penjualan buku inspirasional pertama
yang terjual sebanyak 10.511 exemplar dalam 1 hari lounching buku
Financial Revolution secara retail bukan corporation.

I. Sebagai Konsultan pribadi, Beliau membantu merubah orang menjadi
percaya diri, menyembuhkan orang trauma, phobia, bulimia,
menghentikan kebiasaan merokok, membantu orang gemuk menjadi
langsing, membuat breakthrough sukses mulai dari anak petani
sampai anak mantan Presiden Indonesia, dari lulusan SD sampai
lulusan Doktor, juga Top Eksekutif dan Selebriti. Untuk hal ini
Beliau ditempatkan di peringkat tertinggi di Majalah Pilar Bisnis
edisi November 2002 sebagai pelatih yang mampu merubah CEO atau
Top Eksekutif menjadi Lebih hebat.

DAHSYAT..!!!

Epilogue
In 1994 genocide in Rwanda wasn't the biggest in history, but it may have been the fastest. It happened in less than 100 days. At least 500,000 people, mostly Tutsis, were killed from a population of nearly eight million. By comparison, it took the Nazis six years to kill six million Jews in the Holocaust, a rate of about 2,700 people a day.

In ten weeks, hundreds of thousands of innocent and unarmed people were slaughtered. Nearly one third of all Tutsis on earth were wiped out.

up to one million Rwandans were murdered, most of them by people they knew - friends, neighbors, even family members.



Hotel Rwanda
“Hotel Rwanda” is the true story of how hotel manager Paul Rusesabagina (Don Cheadle, “Boogie Nights”) saved the lives over 1,200 Tutsi refugees by offering them sanctuary in his hotel.

Filled with apathy, despair and eventually hope, “Hotel Rwanda” is an intricately woven biopic that focuses on the life of Rusesabagina and his family. Rusesabagina is a Hutu, but his wife Tatiana (Sophie Okonedo, “Dirty Pretty Things”) is a Tutsi. As a relatively wealthy hotel manager, Rusesabagina is able to use bribes and influential contacts from the hotel to procure safety for himself and his family. However, his conscience gets the better of him as he eventually puts his family at risk by sheltering Tutsis in his hotel.



The Fact
"I asked them: are you sure this enemy is this old man? Are you sure it is this baby? The actual negotiation took two hours, not like the few minutes you saw on the screen," he said.

When the convoy came to evacuate his family, Rusesabagina decided to stay behind to help the rest of the refugees in the hotel. "If I evacuated and these people were killed, I will never be a free man," Rusesabagina recalled. "I will be a prisoner of my own consciousness and I will never eat and be satisfied." He helped his family climb into the evacuation truck, choosing to stay behind. "I could not leave these people because I felt responsible," he said.

One of the few times that Rusesabagina left the hotel was when he drove through the streets of Kigali to retrieve food stock for the refugees. "On our way, our whole country was smelling death. There was no living human being. Dogs were barking, fighting for human bodies," he said. "From the hotel roof, you could see the militia men killing people.

Rusesabagina spent his days buying lives of Tutsis with liquor, reasoning, persuading, so that each band of killers who came to the hotel to take out various Tutsis on their lists for killing somehow ended up going away. Mr Rusesabagina would then stay up until four in the morning using the one phone line which the Hutu Power authorities had not managed to cut off as they did not know its number, sending faxes to Bill Clinton, ringing the French Foreign Ministry, ringing the King of Belgium, telling them what was going on.

"The so-called international community never said anything."

The real horror in this story is how well Gourevich brings out that it was not only the victims who knew precisely what Hutu Power planned and how it was carried out: the UN's appalling negligence has been well documented, as has the responsibility of many church leaders. Bill Clinton, unlike the others whose guilt springs fresh out of these pages, has even made an apology.



Related Links
- Rwanda Genocide Brief History by Brandon Dallas Evans

- Paul Rusesabagina's speech: "Among you—all of you, might be a Wallenberg and yet you do not know it. Many of you have a mission, yet you do not know it," Rusesabagina said. "Tonight, I urge you, each and every one of you, to be a Wallenberg."

- My favorite review by Maurice A. Williams: I recently watched "Hotel Rwanda" on DVD. Next, I got a copy of the book. It's a powerful true-life story, but it lacks something. For one thing, it lacks what one Amazon reviewer described as a comprehension of what would "make people go out and massacre their neighbors with machetes." There's a powerful presence of evil in this true-life story, an evil that inspired hundreds of thousands of people to murder hundreds of thousands of men, women, and children. Surely, it would take more than radio messages of a madman to incite so many people to commit so many murders.
I had previously heard predictions of a massacre in Rwanda years before it happened. The mother of Christ was reported to have appeared to six girls and one boy in Rwanda starting in late 1983. In 1991, Ernest Rutaganda, one of the visionaries, was told through a vision that there would be a massacre of Tutsit and that President Habyarimana would be killed by his friends. This was two years before the event, but the other earlier predictions have been publicized ten years before the event.

- another complete-brief-history of the genocide

Cuando anochezca ( When the night falls )
Te esperare ( I will wait for you )
Quiero volverte loco esta noche ( I want to drive you crazy tonight )
Con La luna llena ( With the full moon )
Te esperare ( I will wait for you )
Hoy moriras entre mis brazos ( Today you will die in my arms )
Nunca sonaste algo igual ( You never dreamed about something like this )

When you're near me, I close my eyes,
I want to feel you by my side
When you kiss me, I close my eyes,
I want you by my side

When I realize there's no telling lies,
Then I know it once in a lifetime
Making love to you, every time it's new,
You know you're my once in a lifetime

Todo tu cuerpo temblara ( All your body will tremble )
Pero esta vez, es realidad ( But this time it will be real )
Aunque el tiempo pase ( Though time passes by )
Nunca, nunca lo olividaras ( You will never,never forget it )
Sera ( It will be )
Solo una vez en tu vida ( Only once in your lifetime )

When you touch me, I burn inside,
Colder chills run down my spine
When you take me, it's hot in love,
- Can't get enough!

When I realize there's no telling lies,
Then I know that once in a lifetime
Making love to you, every time it's new,
You know you're my once in a lifetime

Once in a lifetime, once in a lifetime, once in a lifetime

Giving all I've got, I'm your love-me-not,
You're my lover, once in a lifetime
Taking care of you, every time it's new,
You know you're my once in a lifetime

(When you're by my side and I want you hot)
(When I close my eyes then i touch the skies)
(When I realise there's no telling lies)
(Making love to you Everytime it's new)

When you're near me,cant get enough
Once in a lifetime

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you
But make allowance for their doubting too,

If you can wait and not be tired of waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or, being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise,

If you can dream -- and not make dreams your master;
If you can think -- and not make thought your aim;
If you can meet with triumph and disaster,
And treat those two impostors just the same,

If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken
And stoop and build'em up with worn out tools

If you can make one heap of all your winnings,
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss;
And lose, and start again at your beginnings,
And never breathe a word about your loss

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew,
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there isn'thing in you,
Except the will that says to them "Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings -- nor lose the common touch;
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you -- but none too much;

If you can fill the unforgiving minute,
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And--which is more--you'll be a Man, my son!

These latest 3 days I played Breath of Fire IV, one famous RPG game from Capcom, years ago.
I got it from a CD rental, and actually i got it for my little brother... but when I tested it, the story was interesting, and I keep playing it and playing it... ^^;
I've played for about 13 hours for 3 days.
The graphic was mixed between 3D environment, and 2D character (just like Ragnarok Online). We can rotate the environment 360 degrees, with 90 degrees rotation each.

I haven't figure out much about this game, but my friend said it should be finished in 80 hours of game play... means that if i play it 8 hours a day, then i might be able to finish it in 10 days... *looking at my unfinished task, sigh*

so... anyone here have played this game before?

It’s an excellent book for anyone in management, and if you are thinking of starting a business, then make sure to read this book before doing anything else. These are my notes from Good to Great:

1. Modest & Rigorous Leadership: Be a leader who is humble, modest, focused on sustaining the right results, rigorous (not ruthless), and ambitious for the company or team. This means that the leader doesn’t, and probably shouldn’t, be a larger-than-life and charismatic individual who likes be known as the leader at the expense of the team.

2. The Right Team: Get the right self-disciplined people on the team and the wrong people off the team, before setting the goals, vision, strategy, organizational structure, and so on. Leverage these excellent people to figure out where to go and how to get there. This way, everyone is in agreement and energy doesn’t need to be wasted on motivational exercises; plus being on a winning team is great motivation anyway. Also, the “right” person is more about character and ability, more than specific experience and skills.

3. Manage by Facts: Ask questions, and keep asking questions to understand your data, and do it in a way that encourages dialog, not blame or coercion. Confront the brutal facts and know that you will prevail – eventually. This is similar to ideas from Six Sigma where you use facts to manage the business, not opinions. This is where those self-disciplined people to apply some disciplined thought to the facts.

4. Stay Focused: Know what you and the team are passionate about and what you can be the best in the world at. Combine those with an easy-to-understand economic denominator, such as profit per employee, or profit per region, or profit per brand, and so on. Never deviate from doing only what you can be best at, only what you’re passionate about, and only on that economic denominator. This is where those self-disciplined people apply some disciplined action to what they’re focused on.

5. Use a Council: Assemble a team of people to raise issues from around the company, meet as a team of peers regardless of titles, and meet regularly to focus on the following: Asking the difficult questions (the facts), debating the right course of action (stay focused), accepting the final executive decision, and reviewing what has and has not worked and why.


the review was taken from here

#1:
Shout to the Lord, all the Earth let us sing;
Power and majesty, praise to the King.
Mountains bow down and the seas will roar
At the sound of your name.
I sing for joy at the work of your hands.
Forever I’ll love you, forever I’ll stand.
Nothing compares to the promise I have in you!

repeat #1

#2:
My Jesus, my savior, Lord there is none like you.
All of my days, I want to praise
The wonders of your mighty love.
My comfort, my shelter, tower of refuge and strength,
Let every breath, all that I am
Never cease to worship you!

repeat #1
repeat #2
repeat #1

Nothing compares to the promise I have in you!
Nothing compares to the promise I have in you...
Nothing compares to the promise I have in you!

my readings per 2:00 PM, january 16th 2005 (some are old readings, and i re-read and begin to underline them)


1. Marketing (fourth edition)
Philip Kotler, 1998, Prentice Hall Australia Pty Ltd
status: page 5 of 910 -__-"
language: english
comment: i was given this book from my former beautiful lecturer, Wivina Limantara. she's an art graduate from australia. the book's thick is around 5 cm, can be use as my pillow hehe. Kotler is good in his explanation. havent read this book more than the first chapter though. damn it's thick... when will i could finish this book eh? hmmmmm? mmm......?


2. Mastering Viral Marketing
Matthew P. Richardson and Elaine Bachman, 2003, British Institute of Management
status: 88 pages, finished
language: bahasa indonesia
comment: not so excellent, but it gives some good examples, and good category in some topics. it got some brainstorming for me previously.


3. Discover Your Destiny: Your Future Revealed
Hee Yin Fan, 1996, Times Book International
status: page 27 of 117
language: english
comment: i thought i wont be able to study about four pillars. but i just found a week ago that my father has this book. great book. tough reading. i have to reread some of the pages again because the interpreation is seems a little difficult for me. like the ba zi (four pillars) master once said, ba zi is easy to understand, but it is difficult to master. half of the book is about chinese calendar (the thousand year calendar)


4. One-Day MBA in Marketing
Michael Muckian, 2002, Prentice Hall (Indo Publisher: Interaksara)
status: page 39 of 385
language: bahasa indonesia
comment: err.... maybe it's pretty good, but until what i have read today, it's too .... err... what's the term? technical? formal? sort of like that lah! not gonna read it in the mean time anyway. one of my old book.


5. Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind
Al Ries and Jack Trout, 2001, 1981, McGraw-Hill (Indo Publisher: Salemba Empat)
status: page 14 of 321
language: bahasa indonesia
comment: not mine. borrowed from my friend Martyn Chong. he's a graphic artist, and have some interest in advertising too. havent read this book too far, but i know it would be good. Jack Trout is a high quality trademark.


6. Differentiate or Die: survival in our era of killer competition
Jack Trout, 2000, John Wisley & Sons, Inc. (Indo Publisher: Penerbit Erlangga)
status: page 35 of 217
language: bahasa indonesia
comment: interesting. very, interesting book. Jack Trout explanation is easy to understand. he tells interesting facts as well. one book that i want to read on the first place right now.


7. How To Think Like a Millionaire
Charles-Albert Possaint, 1985, Golden Globe (Indo Publisher: Pustaka Tangga)
status: page 35 of 366
language: bahasa indonesia
comment: good one. a lil conceptual, or abstract. still at the begining page. but i checked some of the middle pages when i still determine whether will i buy the book or not, and they're quite interesting. It covers about Walt Disney, Henry Ford, Paul Getty, Conrad Hilton, Soichiro Honda, Ray Kroc (Mc Donalds) Aristotle Onasis, John Rockefeller, and Thomas Watson. how they can reach millionaire from zero.


8. Before 30: Kisah & Prinsip Kehidupan Philip Mantofa
Sianne Ribkah M. H., 2004, Gereja Mawar Sharon
status: page 99 of 198
language: bahasa indonesia
comment: not mine. i borrow this book from ima, my ministry friend. this book tells stories (likely to be narrative than descriptive) about the life of Pdt. Philip Mantofa, BRE. he is my church/ministry leader. very excellent book, as what he really is. i'd give 9 of 10.


9. The Power of Simplicity
Jack Trout and Steve Rivkin, probably 2004 (havent open the plastic cover yet hehehe), ??? (Indo Publisher: Bhuana Ilmu Populer)
status: page 0 of ?
language: bahasa indonesia
comment: errr...? dunno havent read it yet *wink wink*


10. Bible in Indonesian (Formal Translation) 25th Edition
2004, Percetakan Lembaga Alkitab Indonesia
status: ??? page (yes, three digit pages only hehe) of 1025+313 pages (old and new testaments)
language: bahasa indonesia
comment: seldomly T_____T

Liao-Fan's Four Lessons


Original Work by Mr. Liao-Fan Yuan of the Ming Dynasty
Interpreted by Mr. Zhi-Hai Huang
Re-edited by Police Officer Wang
Sponsored and recorded by The Education Foundation of Liao-Fan's Four Lessons


Liao-Fan's Four Lessons was originally written in the Ming Dynasty of
China by Mr. Liao-Fan Yuan. The book was intended to teach his son,
Tien-Chi Yuan, how to recognize the true face of destiny, how to tell
good from evil, and the method for correcting one's faults and
practicing kind deeds. It also provided living proof of the rewards
and outcomes of people who practiced kind deeds and cultivated virtue
and humility. Relating from his own experience at changing destiny,
Mr. Yuan himself was a living embodiment of his teachings. After
hearing this wonderful book, one may feel more open and confident
towards life, and at the same time, courageously compelled to follow
the example of Liao-Fan in changing one's original destiny. Liao-
Fan's Four Lessons is truly a rare book which is not only precious to
an individual's spiritual needs, but is also capable of transforming
unhealthy attitudes in today's society.

While listening through the lessons, one may wonder why the Chinese
placed so much emphasis on examinations. In the olden days of Chinese
civilization, studying was held in highest regard whilst all other
occupations were considered low-class. The Chinese government
selected its officials through a system of meritocracy; many levels
of imperial examinations were given to all who wished to take them.
It was very difficult to pass these tests, and one had to be very
learned and talented in writing essays. Those who did pass had the
chance to advance to high government positions and live a life of
wealth and prominence. People who couldn't pass the examinations
were not recognized, no matter how smart or able they were otherwise.
That was the reason why many youths of that time turned to studying
for the exams in hopes for a prosperous future.

Since the original work of Liao-Fan was written in classical Chinese,
it tended to be poetic and terse, making the book hard to read and
understand for modern-day people. In early 1900, Mr. Zhi-Hai Huang
added a detailed commentary to the book using modern Chinese. This
edition of Liao-Fan's Four Lessons became very popular and benefited
many people of his time. However, as time went on, even Mr. Huang's
edition became too tedious for today's readers, so the influence of
this beneficial book was greatly reduced. In view of this sad
situation, police officer Wang devoted himself to the reorganization,
editing, and reprinting of the book, allowing better access and
understanding to these wonderful teachings. Today, with the
sponsorship of kind people, officer Wang's edition of The Brief
Explanation of Liao-Fan's Four Lessons has been produced into Liao-
Fan's Four Lessons Audio Book. After listening through it, we hope
that everyone will learn the spirit of Liao-Fan in changing one's
destiny and create a brighter future for oneself, the society, the
nation, and all people of the world.

The Book of Change

The I Ching, also known in the West as The Book of Change, may be the oldest book in the world. Originating thousands of years ago among the courtly shaman-diviners of ancient China, it springs out of the unconditioned consciousness of primeval humanity. Here are truly fundamental perceptions of reality, distilled into inter-related images of physical and spiritual reality. The images are associated with numbers, and the numbers may be derived from certain technical manipulations that enable a skilled psychic reader to use the book as an oracle. In fact, the book has been used and abused for fortune telling from its earliest days. It had itself evolved out of a still more ancient divining tool known as the Tortoise Oracle, which wisdom it incorporated.
In Chinese, "ching" means book. "I" means change, or changes. Thus the name may be translated as The Book of Changes. But "I" means not only change. Strangely enough, it also means permanence, or the unchangeable. The Book of Changes views all of the changes that we and the world go through as an unfolding of the immutable laws and principles of existence. By explaining our present situation in terms of the natural laws that have given rise to it, we can know where we are headed and what the future is likely to be.

The I ching views the universe as a natural and well-coordinated system in which the process of change never ceases. It presents human nature and destiny as based on principle and order. Study of the I ching thus makes it possible for us to orient individual human activities and situations within the larger context of harmonious interactions between people, nature, and the cosmos.

The I ching is a practical guide through the perplexities and insecurities of daily life. It roots our actions, experiences and expressions in the fundamental ground of existence. It's beautiful commentaries help to give us the moral strength we need to fulfill our ideals. The loveliness of its images provide endless joys of meditation, study and contemplation.

The heart of the book is in its images. There are sixty-four in all, and the psychic reader must be familiar with the particular meaning of each one, as well as the ways in which one image relates to, and may change into, another image in the course of time. Age-old traditions describing the images through the medium of imaginative verse help the intuitive and psychic personality to disclose the underlying themes. And, in addition, a great number of philosophers have written commentaries about the images in the I Ching. The legendary contributions of Confucius, or Kung-fu-tse, from about 500bc are the most celebrated, but there have been many others of comparable scope and quality. The images have been interpreted from the point of view of many of the world's religions, including Christianity, and they have been related to secular concerns in translations like the one that has guided the affairs of present-day Japan's pre-eminent corporate leader, Matsushita.

Indeed, the I Ching may be consulted for a psychic reading on virtually any subject or concern. All things in Heaven and Earth are dreamt of in this philosophy, Horatio.