Stuck and Immovable, List of Things That are Trapped in my Head

by Raditya Nacho Pradana

This past few weeks have been a blessing for me, I got a new job (an intership program actually, Is it classified as a job people?)  I turned 20 last July, I had a girlfriend (it’s so important I even have to write it down) my last GPA was surprisingly decent, I am feeling like I am in my prime and happier than ever (not sure whether i am really happy, or  just becoming more enthusiastic and optimistic towards life, well either way, i think both are good things), anyway  I want to share you some things that have been in my head for quite a while, there are this beautiful cult movies, funky and soul reaching music, food that keeps me curious, and a book that blows my mind. Ok, let’s start from movies:

Dazed and Confused (1993 Movie)

This movie reminds me of my Higschool, SMA Pangudi Luhur, and all of the wacky, silly, crazy, fun and inspirational things we have done, Higschool is that period of time that you wish could stay forever, and i am grateful because when I look back at my Highschol time, I have no regret whatsoever for things that i have done.

Dazed and Confused is about School's breaking up for the summer of '76 in States. The seniors debate party politics while next term's freshmen run the gauntlet of brutal initiation rites, barely comforted by the knowledge that they'll someday become the seniors. No one's looking much farther ahead than that. This has a free-wheeling, 'day-in-the-life-of' structure which allows writer/director Richard Linklater (Mind you, Linklater is also famous for his series of Before Sunrise, Before Sunset, and recently Before Midnight umm and oh yeah School of Rock) in his second feature, to eavesdrop on an ensemble cast without much in the way of dramatic plot. The movie is plotless but fun at the same time, and really gives you that nostalgic feeling everytime you watched it. Go download it through torrent! Err i mean go buy the original DVD!

From the Ritz to the Rubble by Arctic Monkeys (2011 – 2012)

The song was just perfect, fast paced and yet funky, the song’s taken from the Suck It and See album, and in my opinion the best song in that album, competing fiercely with Fake Tales of San Fransisco and When the Sun Goes Down. The lyrics are golden

Got too deep but how deep is too deep?

Well I'm so glad they turned us all away we'll put it down to fate

I said a thousand million things that I could never say this morning

Got too deep, but how deep is too deep?

This town's a different town today

This town's a different town to what it was last night

You couldn't have done that on a Sunday

Basically the songs ramble about going out and other stuff, have it a go listen to it now!

Ramen

There is this Ikkudo Ichi Ramen, Everybody talk about this Ramen Place like it is the only decent Ramen Place in Jakarta, and everytime they talk about it the more curious i become, too bad this Ikkudo is way too far from where i live, it takes much effort and motivation to finally go there, soon maybe, from what i have heard, Ikkudo Ichi allows us to choose the thickness and density of the noodle, you could choose between hard, soft, and medium, then you could also personalise your broth and oil, you have option to choose the level of intensity whether you want it to be light or maximum, the ramen comes with quite a cheap price, only 39K for their signature dish which is Tori Kara - chicken ramen with special red sauce, topped with boiled eggs, wakame, and sesame seeds, my friend also told me that beside ramen, the hero of the restaurant is a grilled beef, eventhough it comes with a quite expensive price – around 59K for 5 slice of beef. All this stories from my friend only make the wants of trying this food grow even stronger.

Room by Emma Donnoghue

This book is captivating, beautifully written by Emma Donoghue, it is built on two intense bounds: the limited point of view of the narrator, a 5-year-old boy named Jack; and the confines of Jack’s physical world, an 11-by-11-foot room where he lives with his mother. We enter the book strongly planted within these restrictions. We know only what Jack knows, and the drama is isntant, as is our sense of disorientation over why these characters are in this place. This one of a kind book, very rare i have seen book that can utilise a child narrator this good before, go give it a read, and feel different after you read this book.

Yeah, that’s it, four things that are stranded in my head, hoping to pop them all before the end of this month, Ciao!