Revisiting Jake Gyllenhaal

In the tradition of starstruck .. continuation of this message ..

Yeah. Told ya I'd see all his movies. Well, not all, to be honest. But I'll keep finding them as many as I can.

So let's start from where I left. Where was I .. hmm .. oh. In watch order: Bubble Boy, October Sky, The Good Girl, The Day After Tomorrow, Donnie Darko, Moonlight Mile, Proof, Zodiac, Rendition .. [insert pause here .. a long pause] .. Wait. I don't think I ever write any comments on the last three movies. Hmm.

I kinda lost Jake after that. Not until this year when suddenly he caught my attention again with his Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. I got pretty cynical at first, hearing the buzz that it's based on a game, and I didn't fancy any game-based movie. And Jake .. what the hell was he thinking playing in the movie like this? I mean, c'mon, apart from Bubble Boy and The Day After Tomorrow, it just didn't click to his existing list of works. Especially when the last movie I saw was Rendition. But it's Jake Gyllenhaal. I couldn't let the opportunity to see him on big screen pass me by after the very long pause mentioned above.

So there I went, with one coke and two bags of caramel popcorn in my hand. When Disney Castle showed at the beginning .. o man, a Disney movie?? Gotta be kidding me, right, Jake?? Well I could blame it on my dull knowledge of Prince of Persia, but seriously, what other suprises you got me there? Did you think I would enjoy watching you having fun playing in a Bruckheimer-Disney-light-family movie?? You're right, I would. I liked the movie. Not so overwhelmed by the story, but it was indeed very entertaining. The actions were good, the special effects were descent. And Jake, with all buffed and tanned and long hair, mostly appeared dirty and unrecognizable.. couldn't say it's my favorite look, but I didn't mind. Remember when I wrote that he got something in his manner, he surely still got it here. He's just way sweeter than the popcorn I chewed. He made me recalling why I liked him at the first place.

I'm re-falling in love.

So happened Brothers was also played around the same time. I got the recommendation from Rotten Tomatoes, and of course from my always-reliable JB. This movie put Tobey Maguire into the darkest side of his acting, that landed him in awards nomination. He's crazy, definitely got to the very edge of my nerves. The truth is, I wouldn't choose this movie should there haven't been Jake Gyllenhaal (and later I would thank Natalie Portman and the two cutie-pies as well). Don't get me wrong, it's a very good movie well-executed by all actors. But the mood was gloomy and cruel, it's "Zodiac and Rendition" feeling. Natalie Portman was very mature, never seen her like this before. Jake, he's a bit undertoned, shadowed by the explosive Tobey Maguire. However, there are two scenes worth a whole movie: 1) When Tommy told Grace he made peace with his ex-victim (and then they kissed .. oooo); 2) When Isabelle bursted out about her mom and her uncle (then Tommy gave her niece this very quiet look .. a mixture of disbelief, betrayal, understanding and other unspeakable feelings .. made me want to soothe him "She didn't mean it, she's just a little girl. Or do you want me to slap her for you?"). Anyway. From this same movie, I got a kicking joke: "Why did the girl blush when she opened the refrigerator? Because she saw the salad dressing." Got it? Good.

Then I went randomly backwards.

It's finally Brokeback Mountain's turn. When there was a very fuming and sarcastic debate on other mailist about the gay issue and Jake's choice of movie role, right before the Oscar 2006, I posted the whole of my favourite Jake's movie list to defend him and wrote comment on Brokeback Mountain: "Belom nonton, reason is told. But I think I won't miss it .. mo liat Jake yang ngambil peran gay karena potentially-frustrated. Padahal sih ga usah main di film ini juga, dia udah populer di hati gue .. ditambah sama BBM, siapa yang mau tanggung jawab kalo gue makin cinta sampe terbengong-bengong? Apalagi kalo menang, ga peduli deh mau dibilang apa .. ga peduliiiii, yang penting menang *siapin victory dance*". Sadly he didn't get the Oscar, and for one thing and another, I hadn't got a chance to see the movie, not until recently. I questioned myself, was this delay because I DID mind watching movie about gay people after all?

.. [this was the point where I lost my mind and ability to find enough words to comment on Brokeback Mountain.

Well, actually, this was the point where I accidentally pressed the delete key and lost all the rest of this post. Have to write it all over again, but since now it's already very late .. so yeah. It's to be continued].

Gadgets Overkill

Pager Evolution:

Motorola Jazz Pager. This was a free promotional item from one communication operator. Only needed to pay for their service for certain period. I remember at that, pager was booming. But I only got a chance to use this type before it's been replaced by a mobile phone. I still used both - pager and mobile phone - for a while until the operator service was discontinued. Now, I don't know where I place this pager, but if I digged into my closet, probably it's still there.

Mobile Phone Evolution:

My 1st mobile phone. I got it free in 1997. It's a Nokia 8110 a.k.a. Nokia Pisang (cause the curve was just like a banana). Very comfortable placing it at the ears and got a hi-tech feeling since it's been used in The Matrix not long after. I used this phone until it practically gave up.

2nd phone. Actually it was a loan phone, so yeah, it's still free. Nokia 3110 a.k.a. Nokia Paus (because the display was so big, when you saw it from the side, it looks like a whale). Quite heavy like a brick.

3rd phone. Nokia 6110 Blue a.k.a. Nokia Bunglon (colours changed at different angle: purple, green, red). I got it from a very kind guest from Singapore. At first I wanted to pay him back, but he didn't want to accept it. I loved this phone very much. It's a tough phone. And I returned the Nokia 3110 to its true owner.

4th phone. It's Nokia 6100. My aunt got two. One was light blue, one was pink. She offered me to trade my Nokia 6110 with the pink one, plus additional 500k. Considering my Bunglon was already experiencing problem, and the offer was generous, I took it. I love the pink colour, it's a limited edition. It is indeed the lightest Nokia phone ever. The only problem with this one is the cover is easily chipped. I had to give it a face-lift two times. Then the good thing was, my aunt returned my Bunglon, so I got it as spare (though now it went dead unrecoverable).

5th phone. While I still using Nokia 6100, my husband got this Nokia 6300 White for free. And guess what, I become the end user. Until today. This one is simply classy. Oh, the white color is also limited. Everytime people see my phone, they think I've changed the cover. As for Nokia 6100, it's still working fine for a spare.

6th phone. Nokia 6120 Classic has a very simple model, yet has powerful 3.5G. I got it from my brother. When most people use Blackberry, I still prefer using this as my reliable mobile net. At home, the phone become a modem to my computer. Sure it's not as fast as LAN, but with the right GSM card, it's far more superior than dial-up and other external broadband modems. At certain spot, it can even play YouTube Mobile.

Finally. I'd never thought of using a BlackBerry. Not until it's lying there with no master. This Curve 8320 was bought for my husband. But not long after that, he got one too from his office. And he'd very much like to use my Nokia 6120 as his mobile net modem too. So reluctantly, I handed it over to him and use BB instead. I'm still learning how to use it now. My only disappointment that this BB responds slow and cannot be used for internet modem. And it's really difficult to type on the pad. But yea, now I officially join into the BB society. And I have to wait for my husband to borrow his modem for blogging at home.

Camera Evolution:

My one and only camera. Canon Powershot A80. The LCD display can be flipped in various angles, so basically it's easy to take my own pics. It uses compact flashdisk and rather heavy because it needs 4x AA Batteries. I love my camera. It has captured all wonderful moments happened in my life.

iPod Evolution:

1st iPod. It's a U2 Special Edition 20GB. My husband bought it. But since I'm the one who listen to music for most, I often hijack this iPod from him. It's very elegant with red and black color, quite heavy though.

2nd iPod. I guess my husband was tired of the hijacking. When Apple released iPod Nano-Chromatic series, he bought the 8GB Silver for me (though at first I prefer the red color, but up to now it's nowhere available on store. Learn that it is limited for online sale, as it's intended for some sort of charity program). It's so small and thin I can almost hide it in my palm. Love it. My ultimate entertainment.

JBL On Stage speakers for both iPods. Very compact, it can be placed anywhere easily. It functions as a charger for the U2 iPod too.

DVD Player Evolution:

1st DVD player. Sony DAV S-550. It is almost as old as my marriage life. I've replaced the optical head once, probably will need another replacement really soon. But I'm keeping this, cause I love it very much. It's so sweet.

2nd DVD player. Pioneer DVD Recorder DVR-330. I followed Oscar 2006 prediction quiz, held by my DVD rental store. Eventhough I only guessed it right 4 out of 5 categories, apparently no other participants could guess all right either, they drew my name by mere luck. Pioneer is well-known for their good optical head. But since my movie watching experience is way too much, it finally gave up before I could learn how to use the recorder. And it's difficult to get a replacement head. I still keep this player, just in case. Too valuable. Read more.

3rd DVD player is a Crystal DVD. I don't have the picture at the moment. I bought it for my son since his DVDs are so scratched and my Sony can't play it.

Moral of the inventory:
1. 6 mobile phones since 1997 till present is not that much. Average one phone every 2 years.
2. I only bought Nokia 6100. Other mobile phones I got it free.
3. I have never bought a brand-new mobile phone from mobile phone store. Though most of all is new indeed, I got them from someone.
4. I'm a keeper. Never change or sell a gadget for trend-sake. I use my gadgets until they're used up. When there came an offer I couldn't refuse, I'd make sure the old ones were not wasted. Either I kept for spares, or gave it to someone who needed it.
5. Personal gadgets on my hand and well-functioning: Nokia 6100 (for spare), Nokia 6300 (for telephone), Blackberry Curve 8320 (for .. BBM-ing, FB-ing, Tweet-ing and other mobile social networking), Canon Powershot A80 (for taking pics and videos) and iPod Nano (for music of course).
6. Oh, I will soon include Sony Playstation 2. It's my son's birthday hand-him-down gift from my brother. Up to now, it's not installed yet.
7. I've been longing for THIS!
8. Overkilled?? HELL YEAH!!

Mati Gaya di Hari Ini

Mau buka Facebook, ga bawa hape 3.5G.

Mau buka Twitter, ga bawa hape 3.5G.

Mau denger iPod, ga ada baterei.

Mau baca buku, ketinggalan di rumah.

Akhirnya kegiatan gue nunggu bus sambil makan sate ayam pake lontong dan minum teh botol. Terus bengong-bengong duduk di lapangan parkir sambil liatan jalanan. Berpikir sejak kapan gue membutuhkan gadget buat membunuh waktu.

Di dalam bus gelap-gelapan, mau bobo-bobo pun ga bisa. Serba salah, apa yang sebaiknya dilakukan? Jadilah gue bersenandung dan bernyanyi selama satu jam perjalanan Jakarta-Lippo Karawaci.

Terima kasih. Biarpun gue mati gaya, paling tidak gue masih bisa ngamen di dalam bus umum. Uang recehnya, Pak? Bu? Kak?

Ya! Kita Harus Percaya!

Mat's singing "Dia Mengerti":
"Dia mengerti, Dia peduli .. persoalan yang kita alamiiii. Namun satu yang Dia minta, agar kita percaya .. sampe kumisan menjadi nyataaaaa .."