Sabtu, 28 Februari 2009

English Simply Can't Be Replaced!

English is destined to be in the next and succeeding centuries more generally the language of the world than Latin was in the last or French is in the present age.

 

John Adams (1735 - 1826)

U.S. president.

 

John Adams said that statement when he was the second president of the United States, more than 200 years ago but still his words are true. English has transformed itself into a worldwide language, wider than the use of Latin in the Renaissance and French in the early ages of colonization.

As you might want to know, Latin was the world language and was widely spoken in Western Europe until around the 18th century. Latin actually originates from the word Latium since the language Latin originated from ancient Rome and specifically the neighboring territory of Latium.  During the Renaissance and until its end in the 18th century, Latin was considered as the language of scholars and diplomats since it was once thought that if you could speak or read Latin then you would be considered as a well-educated person. Also, Latin was the language in poets and widely used in romantic plays. However, since it was very hard to learn let alone to master Latin , the language of Latin didn’t actually grow into a widely spoken language, since only the scholars, the diplomats, the aristocrats and the kings and queens who could master it. Until now, the language of Latin does still exist but it’s not barely spoken by people, even by its creator, the people of Latium ( the name of a place in ancient Roman empire ).

Then the language of French emerged. As you might want to know, French was actually the official language of England from 1100 A.D. until about 1300 A.D. Pretty shocking eh? Well, French is originated from the language of the Gaul, the inhabitants of today’s France. The Gauls at early times spoke a Celtic language, from which Irish, Welsh, Breton, and other modern Celtic languages were derived. French was widely spoken during the 18th and 19th century but its use by people was ended by the emergence of English.

English as you know is the language of all people. English actually is not actually ‘a’ language. It’s actually a language which words are from various languages. We can say like eau de cologne ( cosmetics), a la carte ( separately priced ) which are from French, aura ( actually from Latin ) and many other examples. Words in English are mostly derived from languages around the world so if you look through the words in an English dictionary, you will find similarities with other languages. Most English words are from other European languages, such as Greek, German, French, Italian and etc.

So, the statement which John Adams made more than 200 years ago is completely matched by today’s world conditions. I’ve said many things in my previous postings why English are the world’s language but I never mentioned the true reason, from the linguistic point of view, why English are so popular and easy to learn.

The reason is because English is a mixture of languages. Even Batik, a word in Indonesian, is now known as an English word. English takes words into its possession even though it doesn’t claim it’s its own creation but English has been widely recognized as a language of languages. You can find mostly anything in English since one of the biggest possibilities is that English may not exist if one of our languages doesn’t. English exists and will always exist since all of our languages support it to exist among us.

So I sometimes hate when people often say, “Later, Mandarin will replace English’s role in world’s communication.” That statement sounds perfectly stupid to me. Mandarin is a language of Chinese only while English is the language of the world. In my opinion, NO MATTER HOW HARD PEOPLE TRY TO REPLACE ENGLISH WITH CHINESE, THEY WILL ALWAYS FAIL BECAUSE THERE’S ONLY ONE LANGUAGE THE WORLD KNOWS TODAY THAT CAN UNITE THE WHOLE WORLD AND THAT’S ENGLISH. CHINESE ARE NOT CAPABLE ENOUGH TO DO THAT AND BELIEVE ME, ENGLISH WILL ALWAYS REIGN SUPREME!!!!

 

Pink Panther 2 : A Must - Watch Movie!

Pink Panther 2 is definitely a movie worth - watching. This is the second movie after the Pink Panther Movie but the Pink Panther 2 has not lost the first movie's brilliance. I watched the first movie when I was on a flight back from New Zealand and you know what? I laughed all the way since for me it was just so funny. Steve Martin, the leading actor was so smart and incredible that he could transform himself from an English-man with a British accent into a French guy who could barely speak fluent English.
In the first movie, the main story was about the Pink Panther diamond which was presumably stolen by a Chinese mafia. But the story then proved that it was not stolen by a Chinese but it was given by its rightful owner to someone. No stolen ring actually!! Now, in the second movie the story was about a master thief who could steal anything he wanted. The Magna Carta from the British Museum, The Shroud of Turin from the Museum of Turin,  the Royal Japanese blade stolen from Kyoto, The Pink Panther Diamond stolen from the Petit Palais in Paris and also the Pope's Ring were all things that the Tornado, the thief's name, stole. That's why these nations form a group of super - detectives called the Dream Team and they had asked the clueless, yes that's right CLUELESS, Inspector Jacques Clouseau to be the leader of the team. Sweeping from Paris to Rome and back to Paris, the team actually couldn't find anything. In this journey from Paris to Rome and back to Paris, Inspector Jacques Clouseau behaved stupidly. He accidentally burnt a restaurant, which he had burnt a few years earlier. He also messed up a lot during the journey, destroying places and goods. HIS TRADEMARK. 
But once again, his wild and sometimes stupid instinct proved to be the key in solving this mystery. When all of the members of the Dream Team were absolutely sure that they had caught the master thief Tornado, he was the one who was pretty sure that the thief was still on the loose. He was laughed by the world for making such stupid conclusion but still, he was the one who laugh the last. 
He solved the case when the rest of the Dream Team were having a dinner party at the Petit Palais, celebrating their 'success'. Out of nowhere, Inspector Jacques Clouseau came out and said that the thief was actually a member of the Dream Team itself. He said that Ms. Solandres, a writer of many Tornado articles, was the thief. For one moment, it appeared to be a joke but  a moment later it was the fact. Ms. Solandres was actually the thief and you can guess the rest. Inspector Jacques Clouseau managed to arrest her and he showed the evidences that lead him to her. Also, he managed to deceive the master thief by replacing the Pink Panther diamond with its replica. Again, THE PINK PANTHER DIAMOND WAS NOT STOLEN! It's just great and my jaws dropped when I saw this scene. We were all made to think that the Pink Panther was now stolen but yet, it was not! 
For me, this movie still provided me with a lot of things to be laugh about. The actors, the mustache, the scenes and the stupidity in this film still make this film worth watching. Believe me, if you're a man with sorrows and you're looking to end your sorrows, watch this film and when you come out of the auditorium, I can be pretty sure that you have a smile on your face.


Jumat, 27 Februari 2009

Perfection = A Big NO For Humans!

The essence of being human is that one does not seek perfection.

George Orwell (1903 - 1950)


Sabtu, 21 Februari 2009

The Contest between English Football and Italian Football

It's drawing near!!! The last sixteenth stage of the Champions League 08/09 is coming and starting from the 24th February 2009. I, as a fond football fan, is very ecstatic and excited since I can now watch my favorite team, Man Utd again competing in the league of the champions. On the 24th of February 2009 Man Utd are against the defending champions of Italy, Internazionale Milan. A match worth to savour since no one can predict how it's going to end. Some people said to me that the most likely result in San Siro, Milan  is a draw. I doubt it. These 2 teams are highly offensive team and their managers are always competing. Perhaps for you who don't know football, these things are called RUBBISH. But for me, it's a TREASURE.  Yeah right.. Someone's trash is another one's treasure. Simply correct! Okay, back to our main point. Inter Milan is now on the hands of Jose Mourinho, a man who named himself as The Special One. Alex Ferguson however is called the "gaffer" and  the "gaffer" is the oldest manager in the English Premier League. Simply the most experienced one. 

These 2 teams, Man Utd and Inter Milan are both doing well in their own leagues. Man Utd are on top of the EPL with 5 points clear of Liverpool with the chances of being 8 point clear if they could win tonight. They are on a difficult mission against the Rovers, from Blackburn. Inter Milan however is experiencing what could be their greatest moments this season. They're 11 points clear of their closes rival, Juventus the La Vecchia Signora. Inter Milan are now the strongest possible champion of the Serie A since their competitors doesn't seem to be capable enough to compete with the defending champions.

Now, about the predictions, I can only say that the chances are pretty likely that Man Utd are going to take the advantage in this game. They would either play safe or they would go on the offensive. These 2 possibilities are likely to happen but for me, I would love to see Man Utd go on the offensive. The likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Luis Nani, Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez are the backbones of Man Utd in attacking and against the Italian catenaccio, I still think that they're capable of breaking that wall. 

VIVA MAN UTD. GLORY GLORY MAN UTD!!!


Minggu, 15 Februari 2009

When we're just by ourselves, we are nothing. But when we're one, we are something!

I once watched an A1 GP on Star Sports and the commentator that time said something that made me pretty ecstatic. Not because it was pretty good or like that but it was pretty patriotic. The commentator said, "Gentlemen, for the pride of your nation, start your engines!" Wow, that suddenly lit a fire inside my heart and I was of desire. It was pretty great for me since the commentator wanted to say that you have to be proud of your nation and when you are competing in a competition like the A1 GP, your nation's pride is at stake. If you do well, you'll be a hero in your nation but if you do bad you'll turn from hero to zero and your nation will actually be like humiliated. 
I once heard a friend of mine said, "What can we expect from our country? Nothing!! We can do nothing! We can hope nothing! Our country is hopeless!"At first I was a bit angry but after I thought for a while, what my friend just said was actually kinda reflects the truth of this nation. We all know that our country gained its independence approximately 63 years ago, but actually like a historian once said, we never actually gained our real independence. It was an independence because the Dutch and the Japanese left the country. It was only a symbol of 'independence' but it never actually reflected our real independence. 
Why did I say "real independence"? Because actually there's not very much different between now and the times before the 17th of August 1945. Our country is still a developing country without any prospect at all of becoming a developed one. Well, maybe there's a prospect but our dream future maybe can only be established like 50 to a century from now. We are still dealing with various kinds of problems. A high rate of inflation, about 6 %, is a perfect example. 6 maybe seem little but it's' actually big. 6% per year will actually be 60% in 10 years and you can actually imagine what a 60% inflation will do to our country's economy. 
So, what can we do to gain our real independence? If we are just by ourselves, we are nothing. But when we're one, we are something. When we are together we can be the instruments of change. We can do things to revolutionize this country. I know that I know little but I do know how to get out of this problem. First, we are to support our government. We believe that our government is the best that we can get right now. Second, education should get our largest attention. By having educated people, we can actually retrieve what we have lost! We can build our country once again and we can make things count. Third, our morality should be revolutionized. We need to have a burning spirit in our heart that we want this country to be a mature one. How can we do that? By doing those 3 major steps. 

Can those 3 major steps provide us success? I don't know since only time can tell. As people often say, times change and people change. Let's just hope that this change brings our country success and wealth so that its people can get out of poverty and start living a worthy life. God bless you all.


The 'experts' of hunger??

The outrage of hunger in a world of plenty will never be solved by 'experts' somewhere. It will only be solved when people like you or me decide to act.

Frances Moore Lappé, contemporary US writer, nutritionist, and co-founder of Food First

Wow!!! That statement is absolutely correct!! Today, the world is suffering from a life-threatening and also life-ending hunger that will actually be lethal to a country's population. Take African countries for example. Hunger has been a major issue there for years and it has shown its effects on them. Hunger has killed million of people in every year and this could prove to be harmful to a country's development process. 

Well, if you look to that statement actually there's a very interesting part. This part is actually in the first sentence. It said that the outrage of hunger will never be solved by experts somewhere. It then lit up something in my mind. By whom will it be solved? If it can't be solved by experts, who can? Then the second question is, why can't they solve it? Why can't experts do something? Are they hopeless? Are they afraid? Are they stupid? NO, it's much simpler than that.

Maybe the simplest reason why the outrage of hunger can't be solved by experts is because most experts never experience hunger. Most experts are people who are "blessed"!! They never know hunger. They never experience hunger. They never actually recognize the problem they're facing.  So, because they don't know what they're facing and how to face it, they can't solve it. It's just like a man who's trying to perform a heart surgery but instead he is actually a dentist. Both of them are doctors but dentist is not specialized to perform a heart surgery. That man would be stupid if he actually like performed that surgery. This kind of condition is actually the same with the condition of 'experts'. They maybe are called 'experts' but they are not like that. They are good in theory but they are worthless when they have to solve everyday problems.  So, to conclude what I've just said, I would like to say that 'experts' are kind of helpless when they have to solve  serious problems. So, once we've got our conclusion, then we have to think once again. Who can solve it??

This statement never actually mentioned the 'solvers'. It only mentioned about a solution. This statement actually said that we are the ones who have to act first. What?? Why should be us? Well, it's because problems are solved from their roots and we're actually the roots of our country. A country is like a tree. It has to have roots so that it can stand and grow. We are the roots and we are the ones who determine the fate of our nation. Okay, then.. What can we do? There are a pile of things that we can do, for example : 
- we can be a member of organizations specialized in solving hunger
- we can donate money so that the level of poverty can be decreased
- we can also be less wasteful and be more economical so that the needs of other people can also be fulfilled

Well, that's all I can say now. Like Mahatma Gandhi said, "We must be the change we wish to see", we also have to be the ones who react and act first wherever and whenever. God bless you folks.  Have a nice weekend. 

Kamis, 12 Februari 2009

I Love You

Hey guys... Valentine's near and a lot of us want to do special things to our loved ones. Well, for this occasion I wrote a poem. It was a poem I wrote a few years ago with my friend but I have perfected it and am hoping that you all will like it. Check this out:

Time passed by…..

I felt nothing but a deep hole in my heart…

When I looked to the sky…

 I can’t see anything but the emptiness…

 

Then you passed by…

It seemed that I had been just given a new life

A miracle…

A spirit of life…

 

Then I realized, I shouldn’t waste my time…

Because in you,  I see my future…

Lies beneath your skin…

And it’s a definite future that I have in you…

 

You are my power and my soul…

My spirit of life that can’t be replaced by anything…

I put my faith in you…

Wondering could you feel the same…

 

I think this is the time…

The craziest time in my life…

The time that I’ve been waiting for too long…

The moment to say a simple word…

That I LOVE YOU……

WHEN THERE’S A WILL THERE’S A WAY!

"When there's a will, there's a way"

You must have heard this proverb before. Maybe it sounds old-fashioned but it's actually the ultimate truth. This proverb is very brilliant because it tells us that if you have any willingness for doing something and you try to fulfill your willingness, there must be some way to fulfill it.  Personally, this proverb has encouraged me a lot in most of my experience of studying.  Many times I’ve felt that I can do nothing but every time I look and read this proverb, it reminds me that actually I have the capability and what I need is a single will. 

Many examples can be shown to support the rightfulness of this proverb.  For example is an American inventor, whose name was Thomas Alva Edison.  We all know that T.A. Edison was the inventor of the famous electric-powered light bulb.  What is extremely interesting was the fact that he had done more than 300,000 experiments before he managed to invent the famous light bulb.  Another example was Marie Curie, who was a brilliant Polish scientist.  She discovered the elements, which are polonium and radium.  She worked hard with her husband just to discover the elements which is now known to be radioactive elements.  

These 2 examples can show us that their will to study and to help the human kind has succeeded and it shows that these examples which refer to the proverb are perfectly matched. 

So, the question now is how can I practice this proverb?  We have known the facts, the truth about the proverb but we still have to know how we can practice it because without action, an idea is useless.  In my personal opinion, there are some ways to practice it, which are:

-          don’t give up, because giving up is why so many people fail when they face difficult challenges

-          if at first you don’t succeed, try and try again, because by trying more and more you become smarter and has been able to make your experience as your number one teacher

-          focus on what are you doing, because if you focus, it means that you can’t be interrupted and focusing could play a major and crucial part in you success

-          Don’t look behind, but look forward, because if you look behind it means you don’t have any confidence on what you are doing.  Have faith! It’s the number one factor why people can succeed

-          the last but the most important is you have to involve God in every thing you do because He’s the controller of our life

So, what I could say about the way we practice the proverb is “everything started with a single will but the effect of the will and the way we try to get to our point could be a massive one, which could widely affect the world around us.” There have been a lot of examples and there is no doubt that this proverb could play a major part in your success.

Minggu, 01 Februari 2009

THE USAGE OF LANGUAGES

English is a form of speech and a language spoken by millions of people. Language as the principal means used by human beings to communicate with one another, knows no limit in communication. A language can go beyond the borders of anything, even the borders of human hearts. Sometimes, language is the friend in need when we’re facing troubles and need some relaxations.

But, actually, the need of languages doesn’t seem to be understood by most people. Mostly, they will always say that learning more than 1 or 2 foreign languages is rubbish. They don’t say these kinds of things because they really think that way, it’s actually because that the laziness that conquers their deepest desires. I’m pretty positive that everyone loves to be able to speak more than one language, but the fact tells the contradiction, for people are just too damn lazy to get up on their feet and start learning. That’s why people often ask me, “Why do you have such desire and such push in your heart to be able to master those kinds of languages? You actually don’t know whether you’ll need them or not!” I always try to be patient when I’m confronted into these kinds of interrogative, heart-stabbing questions because they just don’t appear to have an ending. These kinds of questions are meant to get us down when in contrary; having the desire of mastering foreign languages is actually a miracle. It’s a miracle that provides time to savor and not many people have this kind of desire.

In first, the usages of languages are to be described.

A language is a complex mixture of linguistic signs and arbitrary meanings. It’s also a perfect tool to discuss a wide range of topics. Humans are fools when they don’t have any languages; so then languages are the ones that differentiate humans from others.  A language is also able to unite the whole world. England, for instance, is united with English. The whole world actually is united with English, since England was the ruler of the 6 continents around the world. Languages can also be personal identities, able to determine the educational state of a person, whether he/she is well-educated or not.

Now, why do we need to learn languages?   There are several answers, which are:

-        mastering languages is important because we’re in the middle of the globalization era

-        we have to maintain the existence of Indonesia by becoming a high – quality and well – educated people

-        mastering languages can lead you to personal success in life, like earning bigger salary than others

-        languages exist to be used by humans to communicate, so by mastering languages, actually you’re expanding your range of communicating.

-        Languages don’t come easily, so actually by learning languages, you’re actually enhancing your credibility.

-        It increases your understanding to the whole world of communication.

 

So, if I were asked whether I regretted learning English or not, I would say NO and mention that people who don’t have the desire to learn new things are just plain cowards. They’re no use at all because learning is an ever-lasting process which takes a life time to try mastering it. Learning is essential and learning languages is also pivotal. Languages, such as English, are there to be learned and mastered. 

Ephesians 2: 8-9

Ephesians 2: 8-9, the meaning and the extended explorations

Ephesians 2: 8-9

8For it’s by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it’s the gift of God - 9not by works, so that no one can boast.

This part of the Bible, which is the Ephesians 2: 8-9 actually contains the most important thing for Christians, since it’s talking about faith. Faith is said by the Bible to be the only way for Christians to be able to receive the gift of salvation, a true gift for Christians, but the Bible also says that it’s not any faith that will bring salvation, for which it’s the faith to Jesus Christ which will bring us true salvation and eternal joy for us in heaven above.

But first, since the verse says “For it’s by grace you have been saved, through faith…”, there comes a time when you wonder, “Why faith? Why faith is so important? What is so special about it? Are there any things that can replace it?” These questions often wander around inside our head without any answer popping out and giving us solutions to these questions.  According to the Oxford Dictionary, faith is a trust in somebody’s ability or knowledge, but it could also mean as a religious belief. Faith for Christians could be meant as a trust or a belief in God’s ability to control our lives. From the Bible we know that God’s influence in our life is massive and something which is massive must have a strong authority. So, we get the relationship between faith and God that faith is actually the evidence that we believe in God’s plan for our lives.

Why faith? This question is definitely the question that keeps people’s minds awake, wondering why faith is chosen to be the link between us and Jesus Christ. God holds the greatest authority in our live and for that; He has beautiful plans for us. There are evidences that God has plans for us, but what matters is not either the evidences exist or not, but it’s all actually about whether we believe in those evidences or not. Faith is the belief in God but without faith we’re just too arrogant to admit God’s influences in our lives. Why faith is so important? The answer is that faith is the only connection between our hearts and the mighty Lord above. This answer has answered the two other questions mentioned above that faith is the only connection and nothing can replace it. It’s so special that faith to Jesus Christ is promised by God to be the only way to ensure our salvation.

Other questions that still possible to be wandering around inside your mind about these particular verses is actually “Why can salvation be given to us by grace, through faith?” The answer to this is actually so simple, because actually no one; no human being even Adam can actually retrieve salvation himself. Adam sinned and by what he did, he actually has made all human beings sinful. Sin makes human beings so different from God, even though before sin actually ruled us, we were very similar with God, because we have God’s characteristics. But, sin has changed it wholly. Sin has made a distance between God and us. We are in a position of no power and so we can’t actually do anything to fix the mistake Adam made thousands of years ago. It’s only God, our creator that can find a way to unite us and Him once again. So, it’s by grace; the grace of Lord that we can actually earn salvation through faith, since no one can earn salvation because no one deserves it. But God has made us deserved for salvation by His grace.

Why did God send His Only Child to give us salvation? The answer for this question is once again pretty simple. It’s actually because man is never meant to die. Salvation is an act of saving from harm and God gives us salvation because God actually rescues us from the eternal death in hell. We must first recall that Adam, as the first human, was created to be immortal, but sin made him mortal. Adam only lived for about 900 years, very contradictive with the former fact that he was immortal, meaning that he should have lived forever. By sending His Only Child, Jesus Christ, God actually gives us the opportunity to regain our actual fate, to live with God for eternity in heaven.

Why can’t we earn salvation by our works? Verse 9 says that “Not by works,…” and this is actually because none of man’s works are actually worthy enough to earn salvation. We must remember that humans are sinful and that makes all the works done by humans sinful too. Sin doesn’t make human earn salvation and that’s why, our works can’t be considered as the main factor for earning salvation, for which our works is actually driving salvation away from us.

Why shouldn’t we boast? Verse 9 says that”…, so that no one can boast” and this is because no man’s works can earn salvation and  because of it, there’s no need to boast about our works since our works aren’t going to give us eternal live. It’s just bringing us further from God and that’s why, once again, salvation is given by grace through faith.

Ephesians 2 : 8-9 once again holds the true process behind salvation, and actually this gift is too great for us. It’s only because of our God’s love to His creations that we could earn this salvation. We as sinful human beings don’t actually deserve to be given salvation since we sin and we deserve death as our punishment ( Rome 6: 23) but once more, God’s love is so great that He, has actually given it to us.

We, as Christians should be more than grateful that we actually have a God, a Father who loves His children so much that he wouldn’t let even one of them to run away. So, we as His children should respect and obey Him wholly for our lives lie on His hand; for He holds the greatest authority in the universe.

God Bless You!