wurd to ya mutha

i knew i was in for some good reading when the following statement was already found in the second page of states and economic development:

"marxist and neo-liberal perspectives on the successes and failures of development have exaggerated the significance of the world economy and market mechanisms, and consequently underestimated the differential autonomy and capacities of sovereign states for mobilizing their internal resources." (weiss and hobson, 1995; emphasis mine)

second page of 168. argh. i mean, yay!

munchkin #1?

HEY IT'S MUNCHKIN #1!






well, the infamously expressive munchkin #1.

the recipe that changed the world and caused the russians to cry in joyous tears (almost!)

as hinted before, my infatuation for nastar or pineapple cake is beyond measures. in fact, if i were given three wishes by a genie.. one of them would be a lifetime stock of nastar. just saying. so, to taste for yourself what my wife made for me, i'd like to share this great recipe so that you, too, can go head over heels for it. caveat: it isn't exactly life-changing as what the title of this post suggests, but it is in fact good. VERY GOOD KIND OF GOOD. give it a try, because there's a famous saying around these parts of the world: if ata can do it, so can a squirrel in the park.


ingredients:
250g plain flour
30g corn flour
225g butter
20g milk powder
60g caster sugar
2 egg yolks
1/4 teaspoon salt
cloves for garnish

pineapple filling:
400g ripe pineapple (grated)
200g sugar
3 cloves
5cm cinnamon or 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt

mix the grated pineapple, sugar, cinnamon, cloves and salt and stir well; heat while stirring constantly until mixture forms a thick jam; lift, let it chill.

glaze:
2 egg yolks (mix well)

directions:
1. preheat oven to 150 degrees celsius
2. sieve plain flour, corn flour and milk powder.
3. add sugar, egg yolks, butter and salt to the flour mix; stir with fork until it forms a crumb-like texture.
4. take a tablespoon of the mixture, shape into a ball, flatten; fill center with 1/2 teaspoon of pineapple filling then fold to form a round shape.
5. set the cake which had been formed on a buttered baking tray; glaze the surface of the cake; put a clove on top.
6. bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes or until the cake is cooked (golden color); lift, let it chill; store in an air-tight jar.

source: budiboga (in bahasa)

kids will (obviously) be kids

me: "ayah sayang sama kendra." (dad loves kendra)

kendra: "ayah sayang sama kenda."

me: "no, you're suppose to say: kendra sayang sama ayah." (kendra loves dad)

kendra: "ayah sayang sama kenda."

me: "okay, we'll try this again when you're 7."

munchkin #2?

MUNCHKIN #2!




well, the inglorious munchkeen #2.

sidenote: these type of posts (pictures with no stories) will be a regular installment onwards with the intention to keep a profile of the kids' developments. yay for regular.

literal video version: bonnie tyler's 'total eclipse of the heart'

do you recall watching music videos that have absolutely nothing to do with the lyric of the song? well, there's plenty of them actually and especially during the 80s and 90s. AND BOY DID IT SUCKED! so here's what you get when someone totally creative has way too much time on his hands and an awe-inspiring music video to play around with..

there's plenty more on the interwebs but this one pretty much rules all.

UPDATE: video shot down due to copyright issues. too bad if you hadn't seen it.

UPDATE II: OMGOMGITSUPAGAINOMG.

how to kill your time: the useless way

i found this out through a friend's facebook feed.. it's called 'nameanagram'. so basically just enter your (full) name to find out what it can come up with. mine is: A MARK ARAB KIT. nice. but what could be a mark arab kit?! *giggles neverendingly into the night*

what's yours? (click picture)

the times they are a-changin'

so, here's what's up: friendster is out (cancelled my account), and twitter is in. as uncle bob said: the times they are a-changin'. i concur. thus, changes are made accordingly to the 'links' section.

now go on with your lives as if this post never existed.

munchkins?

MUNCHKINS!




well, munchkins.

language diplomacy

or, in this case, lack thereof..


mori, ftw.

source: teteh_yuni

please don't disturb, i'm on cloud number 9

it's one thing to have the skillz to make cakes, it's another to be able to make your husband's favorite cake. so ata just made me some bad-ass nastar (pineapple cakes) today and this is the shiznit, fellas. now excuse me while i go get another one. THE LAST ONE.

we've come this far: conclusion edition

this is the last part of a not-so-much-of-a-journal of my family's visit to sydney. previous posts are here, here, here aaand here.

the little reunion with my parents and brothers was a long time coming and was in need to happen. and when it did, i couldn't believe that: 1) we were still able to chat and cuddle up in bed like how it was back in the days, and 2) THAT THE BED WE WERE IN ACTUALLY SURVIVED DESTRUCTION!!! whoah, all hail to second-hand ikea beds! for your information, my dad, brothers and i are the size of gorillas. no sugarcoat. so anyways.. where was i? oh, yeah, we've come that far. from tamban luar, jakarta, ann arbor, jakarta, dispersed and then together again here in sydney for a moment in time. it's been a journey.

meanwhile, as i'm writing this post, the kids are sleeping in my room for the night. i looked over my shoulder to see them, pausing and cherishing these precious times while they're still around. after all, it won't be long until my own little babies will be gone. they'll grow up and pursue their own lives faster than i could probably say "kendra/ceska, stop dating that guy for god sakes!", while ata and i will grow even older and for the most part will be engaged in conversations that begins with a "remember when.." phrase (and being me, i can sort of imagine that my reply will be a "no, when was that?" answer more often than not). the circle of life: oh-so-soon.

anyways, it's been almost a month now since my family have gone back to their respective habitats and the dust have finally settled in. their visit to sydney have taught me a lesson that no matter how beautiful this city is (and how much we love it), there's just so much to life that you can't live without even more, that is: family and friends. we've sorely missed them. all of them. and we can't wait to go back.

pushing the boundaries of greatness

someone please give this man a beer..

i'm definitely throwing out my bike after watching that video. (zing!)

maintaining a blog is like keeping a pet..

there'll be "aaargh!" moments every once in a while. like, now.

you've got to see it to believe it (and no, it's not about aliens)

so, did you realize that kicking the volleyball in a game is legal? i certainly didn't, until i saw this play between peru and argentina's under-19 women's teams.

you'll thank me for this awesomely useless knowledge someday.

munchkins day out: luna park

not much to say except: WEEEEEEEEEE!!!


















..and BOINK!

and also by the way

as part of a tribute to michael jackson, the 'tunes for the lame' is all his. it's a feature located to the right section of this blog where you can actually, well, hear stuff if you press the play button. no magic, just plain genius. hey.

a tribute to the gloved one

for one, i still find it hard to believe that michael jackson is gone. i've tried to post something more substantive in addition to what i've written up previously but i just couldn't, it hadn't hit me yet.. until now. as cliché as it may sound, i did kinda grew up with his music. back when i was actually young, had a lot of hair and cute as hell, my dad used to have this kick-ass hi-fi system where he would blare out 'black or white' from the living room just to show off his rad toy. it was deafening. i swear. but more than anything else, michael's music kept lingering in my head and left a lasting impression until today (other than music from the traveling wilburys and engelbert humperdinck - yes, unfortunately you heard me right).

the first michael jackson album that i bought was 'bad' and it's definitely my favorite of them all (not counting jackson 5 albums). 'man in the mirror' is also right up there among my all-time favorite songs and i think it's one of those vintage pop music that is simply timeless. in fact, i still hear many of his songs quite often, even in the midst of all the circus that surrounded him late in his career and now his death. because to me, nothing means more than his music and his entertainment-ship on stage. everything else is media crap (at its best) and i care less. plain and simple. at the end of the day, michael has left us all but his legacy will continue to live in the hearts of which his music have touched. and i'm just one of many.

here's to immortality..

i bet a friend of mine somewhere in belgium who loves his thinkpads more than anything except for his family can never do this in his lifetime..

lo and behold..

and i bet i can never do that in three billion lifetimes. just sayin'.