Brands

Having been in a post vacuum for sort of a long time and 'seen' some things going on on this only known inhabited planet, some of which included the launch of an international ballistic missile by North Korea (which I believe you all know) and the second son of President Joko Widodo, Kaesang Pangarep, being accused of religious blasphemy and hate speech for his video titled "#BapakMintaProyek", as well as engaging in a debate against a friend from high school who seems to be strictly creationistic, here I am to express another thought of mine through blogging.

Well, firstly, I'm not a marketer (my brother is), so I'm not going to give you a lecture on brands through this writing. It is more to my attitude towards them. What is a brand?

I think of it as some kind of ID card. It refers to what makes something different from others. When it comes to fast food chains, names such as KFC, Burger King, and McDonald's quickly come up in our minds and top the list. They are very famous brands since virtually everyone in the world knows them. Speaking of bags, Prada, Gucci, and Louis Vuitton are highly associated and very popular with high-class people.

Perhaps many people stick to certain brands in their lives; they develop a sense of 'contempt' towards products and/or services of other brands. However, that's not exactly true of me. I'm a kind of a person who is quite flexible and doesn't force themselves to get something at all costs out of an exclusive liking. Nevertheless, as with many, or all, things in the world, there are always exceptions.

Fashion

In terms of fashion, I'm not a picky man. I would be willing to wear any clothes that look nice (enough) on me and won't get me embarrassed in any situation. In addition, they should be comfortable for me and not cause any physical (and therefore mental) disturbances when I am doing my activities. I generally choose function over appearance. Currently I have a backpack that I've used for some time (perhaps around 2 years) and it doesn't display any sign of wear! The brand is Bodypack and I am really satisfied with it, so I'll definitely buy another Bodypack if I need another bag. My fashion brands also include Lois (trousers) and Indomaret (briefs).

Food and drinks

As I'm not an affluent man, I rarely splurge on expensive food. I will consume food and drinks that suit my taste and of course are not dangerous for my health. However, I have a preference towards HokBen (fast food) when my adventurous mode is off. For those who do not have the faintest idea (and haven't opened the link), HokBen is a Japanese food restaurant from Indonesia that provides a selection of mouth-watering dishes. Unfortunately, the prices are apparently going up so much that it seems to be becoming less affordable. Another fast-food chain worth mentioning is CFC, the name of which stands for "California Fried Chicken" – don't be fooled by the name, though, since it is originally from Indonesia. CFC has two special dishes that, I think, no such types of other brands can outdo: Onion Rings and Chicken Strips. They are simply mouth-watering and will definitely heighten your appetite in a split second.

Books

Reading is an essential activity that more or less determines the future of our planet. Therefore, choosing the right book for you is as important as deciding on your life partner – I'm not being lebay. I specialize in English and dinosaurs, so my book collection is mostly comprised of those kinds of book. With regards to English, Cambridge, Oxford, Longman, and Merriam-Webster have a special place in my heart. I find they are very reliable, informative sources which every English lover should consult. However, I am also open to other brands such as McGraw-Hill, which is an awesome addition to my collection. As for dinosaurs, brands are less important than authors! (well, strictly speaking, authors are actually brands as well) Dinosaur books by world-renowned experts such as Dr. Thomas R. Holtz, Jr. (American paleontologist) and Julius Csotonyi (Canadian paleoartist) are something I would pick even without looking at the covers first. One publisher that is worth mentioning for its stunning, rich dinosaur (and other subjects too) illustrations is DK (Dorling Kindersley), by which two dino books of mine were published.

Toiletries

Well, it is important to maintain a high level of hygiene. As a rule of thumb, I'd choose any which don't cause negative side effects, such as pimples (fortunately, my skin is not very sensitive) – Cussons Baby proves good for my hide. There is an Indonesian saying "Hair is a woman's crown", stressing the importance of hair beauty. I'm one who believes that it also applies to men. Natur is the brand I use since, as its name suggests, it contains natural substance(s) (although I know that not everything natural is nice, for example T-Rex). Nevertheless, so far so good!

Entertainment

Everyone needs entertainment, including me. Nowadays I never watch TV and play games, so I don't have any preference for certain TV and game 'brands'; I do watch YouTube videos though, and while there are some interesting channels, such as Edho Zell, I don't really limit myself to them. I'm not a moviegoer, so I rarely go to the theater and will watch any movies that attract me, regardless of the 'brands'. However, in terms of music, there's only one eternal 'brand', Jay Chou. I've been a loyal fan for a month of Sundays and personally I'd say he is the best musician in the world – his music will still be enjoyable in 66 million years' time.

That's about me. How about you? Are you a brand person or not? Share you thoughts in the comment section below! Continue reading

Why Jay Chou?

Who is this guy? Perhaps many of you have heard his name but are not sure who he is exactly (some people might mistake him for John Cho, a South Korean actor and musician). To make a long story short, Jay Chou is a famous – especially in Chinese-speaking countries – Taiwanese singer, songwriter, producer, actor, and so forth. And he was dubbed the "heavenly king" for a reason.

Me with Jay Chou wax statue at Madame Tussauds Singapore

Those who know me well – or at least friends of mine on Facebook – must know that I am a staunch fan of him. Thomas Huxley supported Charles Darwin's theory of evolution so much that he got referred to as "Darwin's bulldog"; I would be more than happy to be called "Chou's T. rex". :)

Maybe people around me are wondering, "Why is he fanatical about Jay Chou? What's so special about this man? Why is he always rhapsodizing about him?" I listen to and sing his songs every single day; I attended his first concert in Indonesia; and I have even written a few articles about him (never listened to Jay's songs? Click here) – well, it is a little act that I can do to spread the "good news" of JC (= Jay Chou): this is called "evanjaylization", a term which I coined last year.

Nowadays, many people, especially girls, are crazy about the Korean drama series Descendants of the Sun (which reminds me of birds: descendants of the dinosaurs). I guess it is largely because of the main actor Song Joong-ki, who is thought to be handsome or cute. It is also easy to point out other popular Korean artists, such as Girls' Generation (SNSD),  2NE1, Kara, T-ara, and SISTAR (bands consisting of several beautiful and sexy girls capable of singing and dancing energetically and simultaneously) and their male counterparts, such as Big Bang, Super Junior, SHINee, and 2PM, not to mention Psy, whose Gangnam Style MV has amassed over 2 billion hits.

Let's move from the east to the west. Countless names are ready to overwhelm us when we are talking about music. Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, and Katy Perry are some examples; they have enormous fan bases scattered all over the globe. Justin Bieber seems to have gained favor again with his new catchy songs, such as What Do You Mean? Bands such as One Direction have also attracted people all around the globe and there's also old-time favorites, like The Beatles, Queen, The Rolling Stones ... you name it.

But... Why Jay Chou? Why do I only stick to this not-talking-much, slanted-eyed man. Why do I always look for his CDs and/or DVDs when entering a music store but not others?

First of all, I 'm not a moviegoer. It is not that I loathe going to the theater, but it is just that the silver screen is not something I am enthusiastic about (seems legit, doesn't it?). I don't know much about acting and that sort of stuff, so although Jay has starred in several movies, including the Hollywood action flick The Green Hornet and the self-directed one Secret, I'm not really keen on them. (Nevertheless, as a "layman" I know that he is NOT a bad actor and CAN act. And of course I will always support him in all his endeavors. :-))

But music is my thing. It colors humans' lives in infinite ways, and Jay is a special gift in this matter. I think the answer to the question (the title of this article) is that, in terms of music, nobody can be compared to Jay Chou (this reminds me of his Incomparable concert and his war-themed song 無雙 (Wu Shuang), which translates to "incomparable"). Jay has a talent that no-one else has. He is a multi-instrumentalist in that he can play the piano, guitar, drums, and many others, but there's something more than that. American paleontologist Steve Brusatte says in an Earth Unplugged video that there's just something about dinosaurs, there's some magic to them, and there's some indescribable essence to them. Jay Chou is similar to dinosaurs in this way.

Bang Jay*, as I often call him, is a music prodigy. Other than his fantastic ability to play lots of musical instruments, some things that might fascinate you are as follows:

1. he composes and sings all his own songs
2. he writes lyrics for his songs (although a big part of them are contributed by Vincent Fang)
3. he writes songs for other singers
4. he has won countless music awards

HOWEVER, it's JUST NOT enough... Frankly, it is probably almost impossible to explain why I adore his music so much. You need to get your feet wet and I'm sure (hopefully) you will get addicted to it.

Jay's music is unique. To be honest, personally, I think his songs can't be categorized into any well-known genres, such as pop, ballad, and rock – that's why when people ask me what my favorite kind of music is, I answer "Chou style". However, it seems that Jay Chou's music can divided into several major types. Jay Chou's songs range from Chinese style (zhong guo feng) songs, such as 東風破 (Dong Feng Po) and 青花瓷 (Qing Hua Ci), through romantic, lovely ones, such as 簡單愛 (Jian Dan Ai) and 手寫的從前 (Shou Xie De Cong Qian), to gloomy, heartbreaking ones, like 說好的幸福呢 (Shuo Hao De Xing Fu Ne) and 安靜 (An Jing). Jay is also well-known for his rap ability: catch some melodies in 聽媽媽的話 (Ting Ma Ma De Hua) and 雙截棍 (Shuang Jie Gun). On top of that, Jay has attempted to produce rock-like songs, such as 龍戰騎士 (Long Zhan Qi Shi) and 跨時代 (Kua Shi Dai).

Jay Chou has been my idol for around 13 years. "Officially", the first song that I listened to was The One concert version of 雙截棍 (Shuang Jie Gun), thanks to my first brother, who borrowed his friend's VCD or DVD. Since that moment, I have grown up listening to his songs, which is something that I am proud of. Jay Chou was, is, and will always be in my heart.

*"Bang Jay" is a term that is occasionally used by Indonesians to refer to Jay Chou – "bang" is short for "abang", which means "older brother" in Javanese. I am not sure, but this was probably invented by me myself. :p

Articles you might be interested in:
Jay Chou's Songs for Weddings
A List of Jay Chou's Chinese Style Songs (Zhong Guo Feng)

Connection with Jay Chou:

Jay Chou Facebook

Jay Chou Instagram

JVR Music YouTube

JVR Music Official Site

English website about Jay Chou:

Jay Chou Studio

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How to Be Good at English (Part 1)

My high school English teacher said that English is a "golden bridge". And, that's certainly right. As an international language English connects people all over the world. Even Jay Chou, my favorite musician, studied English in order to play the role of Kato well in the movie The Green Hornet.

I have a few friends from Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, Kenya, Nigeria, Sweden, and India. What language do I use to communicate with them? Yeah, English! English makes you "fly" around the world! English is like "a tongue that everyone must own" if they want to "get out of their shells".

And, several questions come up:
• What is the way to be good at English?
• How can we understand well what people say in English? (listening)
• How can I speak English fluently? (speaking)
• I want to read Harry Potter novels but I can't! Can you help me? (reading)
• How can I produce good writing in English? My teacher ordered me to write an English essay. (writing)

I have experienced learning English for more than ten years—yep, not too long. Some people told me that I am good at English. (I don't know whether it is true or not. Humbleee~ :p) Given the fact, I'd like to give you some tips on how to be good at English. I hope these are useful for you. :) Here they are~

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Tip #1

Like learning other languages, learning English is a matter of habit. You have to accustom yourself to it. Wanna be great at listening? Watch English movies! (such as Hollywood movies) Try not to turn on the subtitles. You can read the text when you feel it is necessary. Another way is to listen to English songs. (Phew! Jay Chou has not written any legitimately English songs. I hope he will. :)) Wanna be awesome at speaking? Talk with English-speaking people! Find some partners that are willing to converse with you in English and do it consistently. Wanna be excellent at reading and writing? Read a lot of English books! (I suggest that you choose ones that are interesting to you) The more you read, the better you can write. You will meet a lot of new words, and you can use those in your writing. :) Don't forget to write anything in English! Why don't you update your Facebook status and tweet in English? :)

Tip #2

Oxford and Merriam-Webster dictionaries

Your dictionary is your "weapon". It is an extremely useful means of learning English. Whenever you find a word that you don't understand the meaning of, look it up in the dictionary, Don't be lazy to open your dictionary! Make sure that your dictionary is good. A good dictionary provides how to pronounce a word, what type of verb a word is (is it a transitive or intransitive verb?), what part of speech a word is (a noun? an adjective? an adverb?), etc. I myself use Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's Dictionary and several Oxford dictionaries.

Tip #3

Think once, not twice. Once you read or listen to a word, "feel" the word. Imagine what it describes, what its form is, etc. For example, the Indonesian word for "human" is "manusia". When an Indonesian reads or listens to the word "human", they have to imagine how a human appears, what forms it, etc., rather than the word "manusia" and subsequently those! So, what is in his brain is the form, the appearance of a human, not the letters "m", "a", "n", "u", "s", "i", and "a" and then the form and the appearance of a human! Let's see the pictures below:

Don't do this... :(

Do this! ^_^

In my opinion, this is a common mistake made by most learners of English. They think twice. We just need to think once.

Pretend that your brain has two modes: one is your mother-tongue mode and the other one is English mode. When you want to do anything in English, block your native language mode completely! Nothing in it is to "infiltrate" your English mode! All of your mind is English.

Tip #4

English is not a phonetic language. This is very important. In "about", "a" sounds /ə/, while, in "all", it sounds /ɑ:/. In "say", "s" sounds /s/, while, in "is", it sounds /z/. There may be more than one speech sound for one letter. Be careful with this.

Tip #5

Your brain is amazing! Be fast! You don't have time to think! Use your subconsciousness.  Don't be "fascinated" with the words you read and hear. Don't get "captivated" with the words you use. You have to think a looooooooooonggggg wayyy~

Tip #6

English Grammar in Use and Advanced Grammar in Use

Grammar is the foundation of a language. It is needed for all kinds of activity: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. You should have good English grammar books—and, of course, read them. My favorites are Betty Schrampfer Azar's series, one of which is Understanding and Using English Grammar, English Grammar in Use by Raymond Murphy, and Advanced Grammar in Use by Martin Hewings.

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Additional information: There are many means of learning English, e.g., books, websites, and English clubs. I like to read four of-the-day English points on EnglishClub to enrich my knowledge. I also have an English-learning group named Learn English with Q-Man. Please join if you'd like to. :)
★ English: Connecting People ★
PS: Sorry, NOKIA.. :p

Related article: How to Be Good at English (Part 2)

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