Website: DeviantART Review  

Posted by moroka in

This is about an art site call DeviantART. I think some people might be very familiar with this site.  Direct link to this site is here at DeviantART. I must warn you beforehand that this is not a totally clean website, but you have an option to filter the unnecessary contents of the site. "Mature content" is usually not shown to non-member or member with age restriction.

To get full access to the site, it is better to register. Registration as a DeviantART member is free but there is an option to purchase premium subscription at $29.95/year. With this premium, you can view the site without any ads, and there are a lots of additional feature that you can get such as pretty journal,  and customizable profile page.

I have been joining the site since 2006. I didn't check the site often but I will always be there whenever I'm really bored. It is actually a fun site for those who appreciate art. I joined the site as free member on March 2006. At first, my intention was just to download the wallpapers, skin and themes for my Windows. Without membership registration, some of the wallpapers are not viewable.

Slowly, from time to time, I discovered that I can submit my own work there. You can actually submit almost everything there - photos, digital art, traditional art, sketches, stock photos, wallpapers, skin and themes for various OSes, etc, as long as you are the authorized owner of the artwork - but please bear in mind that you can NOT ever submit other person's work, or you'll be banned by the admin or worse, the community will 'bang' you. There will always be new member there that do not know this rule, and it is good if we can inform them nicely.

So, why am I always go back and forth to this site. What is so special about this site? What is so good about DeviantART compared to any other websites that give you ability to post pictures/photos?

1. You can submit almost everything - even literature (poems, short story, etc) if you're really good at that kind of work. You can even submit desktop screen shots if you like. I submitted quite a number of desktop screen shots when I first joined the community, and this is my most favorite of all:



2. Your work can be commented and favourited by the others. You'll be notified for every comment and favourite that you get. Most of the time, if your work is good, it will be appreciated with good feedbacks and a lot of favourites. Even if your work is not good, sometimes you can get good critiques from experts to improve your work further.

3. If you think that your work is good enough that somebody would love to buy it, you can make your work available as print, in which you can sell them online, through DeviantArt itself. All the printing and shipping will be handled by DeviantArt staffs, in which they will get some commission from your sale and you get some parts from the sales - it is clearly pointed out when you submit any of your work as print for sale. I think it is fair enough. You don't really have to give out so much effort, but you can gain something out of it.This is so far my two best seller in the site:




4. You can make new friends with people who like your art, or vice versa. You can dedicate your art or photos to them, and they can do the same to you. Fun, isn't it? For me, for the sake of spending your free and leisure time, why not? It is good to make some 'friends' online. I think this will not necessarily make you socially in-adept to real world perspective.

5. You can join various contests held by DeviantART staffs or members. I think the contests in DeviantART are endless. There will always be new contests every month, if not every week. You have the chance to win a lot of things - subsciption, prints, gifts, gadgets. So far, I joined a lot of contest and won in few of them. Cool, isn't it?

6. You can have your own blog there. It is called journal. I often express my personal opinions in DeviantART journal. It was fun to receive support from unknown person from various countries back then. It feels good to know that we can unite in online world, getting feedback from various persons from variety of personal backgrounds.

7. I like how my submitted photos and digital art (called deviations in the site) are arranged in the site. In fact, you can arrange them the way you like. For free account itself, you can create as many folder as you want inside your own "gallery" online. It is like you have your own portfolio for your work. For subscribers, more options for customization are available. I have to say the premium option is worth it.

I think that's enough. Personally, I never regret joining this site. Feel free to join the site, either for fun or just to spend some leisure time there. :)

Hindi Movies: Award Winning Movies  

Posted by moroka in

After watching the Devdas movie, I feel like doing a review of my favorite Hindi movies.


These are some of the best Award-winning Hindi movies that I enjoyed very much. My list starts from year 1996, though there are lots of classic movies before that which are quite enjoyable. I will just focus on post 96-s.

1996: Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge
Starring: Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol Mukherjee


Plot: For me, this is just a simple love story of a man meeting and falling in love with a woman, but what makes it really good is that the path to love between them is very challenging up till the end of the movie. Kajol Mukherjee, the main actress in this film plays Simran, an innocent girl who was raised by a conservative father, Baldev (played by Amrish Puri), who has arranged her marriage with his friend's son, Kuljeet (played by Parmeet Sethi) without considering that even Simran, similar to other girls has her own dreams. Simran met a man, Raj (played by Shah Rukh Khan), and they both fell in love. It was through a lot of challenges that finally their love is united.

Why it's good: The story convey a very strong message about how parents should understands their children, especially in today's modern world. As son/daughter, we have to try our best to deal with our parents, hopefully one day they will accept our reason. The soundtrack in this movie is awesome by the way, all of them!

1998: Dil To Pagal Hai

Starring: Shah Rukh Khan, Karisma Kapoor, Madhuri Dixit, Akhsay Kumar


Plot: The movie is more about a love triangle between a man and two women. Rahul (Shahrukh Khan) does not believe in love. He does not understand how two people can be in love forever. Pooja (Madhuri Dixit) believes that someone is made for everyone – they just have to meet one another. Nisha (Karisma Kapoor) on the other hand believes that love is friendship. Nisha fell for Rahul, but Rahul fell for Pooja, so does Pooja. Pooja, however accepted Ajay (Akshay Kumar) in her life and was afraid to tell Ajay of her real feeling because Ajay was a kind man.

Why it's good: In the end, love conquers all. The soundtrack in this movie is awesome as well, all of them!


1999: Kuch Kuch Hota Hai
Starring: Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol Mukherjee, Rani Mukherjee, Salman Khan


Plot: The story is about three friends, Anjali (Kajor Mukherjee), Rahul (Shah Rukh Khan) and Tina (Rani Mukherjee). During their college years, Anjali who was a little bit of tom-boy was in love with her best-friend Rahul, but Rahul had eyes only for Tina at that time. Anjali who value her friendship over love, decided to back-off with broken heart and went back to her hometown. Rahul and Tina got married. Years later, Rahul and the now-deceased Tina's eight-year-old daughter, whose name is also Anjali attempts to reunite her father and Anjali to fullfill her mother last wish. Conflict arise when Tina's daughter found out that Anjali is soon to be wedded to Aman (Salman Khan).


Why it's good: The storyline is quite unique. The element of friendship, love and sacrifice is strongly addressed in this movie. The soundtrack in this movie is really good.


2000: Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam
Starring: Aishwarya Rai, Ajay Devgan, Salman Khan



Plot: The movie is about a love triangle. A student of classical music, Sameer (Salman Khan) and his teacher's daughter, Nandini (Aishwarya Rai) fall in love. However, Nandini's family arrange for her marriage to another man, Vanraj (Ajay Devgan) unknowing of her relationship with Sameer. Vanraj and Nandini got married but after knowing that Nandini's love is for Sameer, Vanraj sacrifice his love and promise Nandini to get her reunited with Sameer.

Why it's good: This movie sets the new definition of love; it is all about sacrifice. In the end, the measure of how true your love is based on how much sacrifice you're willing to make for your loved one. The songs in this movie is quite good, too.


Japan Drama: JDrama Worth Watching  

Posted by moroka in

I do watch J-Drama sometimes, and some of them are far too great than the K-Drama, while some are crappy enough for the time that you have spent on it. So, here is the list of my personal favorite J-Drama (according to my own ranking). I haven't watch J-Drama as much as K-Drama, so forgive me if I'm not being fair enough for the short list:-


1. One Liter of Tears (One Liter no Namida)


"To be able to smile and tell everyone this; i have, at least, cried one liter of tears.

"Just being alive is such a lovely and wonderful thing.."

"Even though I have been hurt before by those heartless glares this also helped me to understand that around me, there still exists some gentle glares. Therefore, I definitely won't run away. That's what I'll do. Definitely. Always."

"Reality is too cruel, too brutal. I don't even have the right to dream. As I think about the future, the tears will come out again."

You must have remember these sentences in this drama. It is a really sad drama. Why?

This drama is based on the real-life struggles of a 15-year-old girl named Aya who suffered from an incurable disease, but lived life to the fullest until her death at 25. The script is based on the diary Aya kept writing until she could no longer hold a pen. The book that later followed entitled One Litre of Tears has sold over 1.1 million copies in Japan alone. Aya Kitō proved her courage and positive attitude towards an uncertain future when suffering such an illness, spinocerebellar ataxia.

This drama really makes me appreciate my life even more than before. Recommended to anyone.


2. Great Teacher Onizuka (GTO)

This is a really enjoyable drama. A lot of unexpected things occur among the high school students, and only a great teacher can solve their problems, in a way that you have never think about it.


3. Attention Please


It is not easy to be a cabin attendant or stewardess, and it is even more difficult for a girl who is not lady-like. Whatever you wanna become, you choose. The successfulness of your job, however depends on how much you put yourself into it.


4. My boss my hero


This is a really funny drama with a lot of actions. It is about a man who can only inherit his father position as a gang leader if he can graduate from the high school. The fact that he left the school since he was little, it was a great challenge for him to graduate.



5. Gokusen



This is a delightful series about a young female teacher who just happens to be in a yakuza family. Starred by one of the ex-Morning Musume, this is a very enjoyable drama. This drama is quite similar in concept with GTO but I put this after GTO because for me the level of fun in it is lesser than the latter. :p


6. Engine


I like this drama because the story is really good. It is about love and sacrifice. And love here does not have its limit to man-woman relationship, as in most of the dramas. What is so good about Takuya Kimura? I'm not really sure. My sister who happens to be so much of a fan of him said that he is so cool. Acting like cool, talking like cool. Whatever.


7. Beautiful Life

Sad thing about the real life; sometimes you just don't have so many choices. You can just do some things to help the person that you love, with your limited abilities, and limited time. And when the time comes, you have no more choice, but to let go.

Movies That I Enjoyed Recenty: Part 3  

Posted by moroka in

List of movies that I enjoyed recently:

27 Dresses

Very sweet movie. I watched it because of Katherine Heigil (one of Grey's Anatomy stars). I couldn't comment more, watch it yourself, and you will know how sweet it is. :D


Just like heaven

Very nice movie. I have watched this movie twice. Very sweet, romantic, and at the same time stirred my emotion away. At first I thought it is a ghost movie, but then I realize it is a love-never-ends movie.

P.S. I love You

What can you do when you lost someone that is really close to you, someone that you really love, forever? If you want to start again, how do you plan the first step to it? Not everyone is so lucky to have someone, who can put you back together even though he/she are no longer with you.



Iron Man


A good movie from Marvel, in par with Ghost Rider. It reminds me of PC Game Marvel Ultimate Alliance. If compared to X-Men, I do think X-Men is better than this movie, but as a Marvel fan, I think this movie brouhgt the Marvel name into something marvellous.

Korean Drama: KDrama Worth Watching  

Posted by moroka in

This is my all time favourite korean drama list (according to my own ranking), recommended to any korean drama lover. Even if you're not, you can start to watch it now, maybe you will know why we like korean dramas.


1. Dae Jang Geum/Jewel In The Palace - the longest and maybe the best korean drama that I have watched so far. Consists of 70 episodes with total 54 hours of show. With a lot of moral values, great story of a great woman, great costumes, and totally great inspiration this drama is a must watch show.



2. Full House -the first korean drama that I watched. I simply love it. I didn't remember how many times I have watched it over and over (it must be more than 5 times for sure..=D). I started to watch other Korean dramas after falling deeply in love with this drama.




3. My Girl - this is not the second or the third Korean drama that I watched but it gives a very big impact on me after the Full House. It is very enjoyable for sure. A lot of unexpected incidents occurred throughout this drama and I simply enjoy the funny things done by the main actress.




4. Love Story in Harvard
-
the theme for this drama is quite serious. It mainly concerns on a story of college life, career life (doctors, lawyers and related issues) and love story which is very challenging. It is very serious, and if you're looking for something funny in this drama, you will hardly find it. I think this drama is worth watching because of its great ending. All the seriousness just disappear and a life full of bliss appears. :D


5. Bad Family - It is not about a family that involves in mafia gang, or something like that but it is a story of fake family that was being set up to help a girl who has lost her memory as an impact of a car accident. The girl also lost her parents during the accident. In this drama, it is really good to see that the fake family eventually becomes real.


6. Fantasy Couple - worth watching because the story is unique and one of its kind. It is totally different from other Korean dramas. What you will see in this drama? Expect the unexpected. Vengeance can turn into love and care, and vice versa. I simply love it. :D



7. Super Rookie - you're not excellent in study, doesn't mean that you will not be excellent in your career. It is a very funny and inspiring drama. :D

8. Wonderful Life - Life is so wonderful, even though there a lot of pain that we must endure before we can achieve that wonderfulness. Small mistake sometimes leads to greater problem in the future, but it can also teach us to be more independent, and be more mature. And, the little girl in this drama is very cute =D


9. Winter Sonata - i think everyone knows about this drama. Once, it was very famous that I had the chance to watch it more than once. The theme of this drama is sadness, so you can expect that there will be tears from time to time in this drama.

10. Successful Story of A Bright Girl - a story about egoistic man and a happy go lucky girl. What if they are meant to be together? That is the interesting part of this drama. It is more about how they face the challenges together, in a very different approaches. :)


11. Sweet 18 - What happens when you got married at a very young age in the modern world. 18 is considered young nowadays. It is an enjoyable drama. :D


12. Stairway to Heaven - the concept of this drama is quite similar to Winter Sonata. It is more or less in par with the latter. Sadness most of the time since life is not always about happiness. That's the truth.



More review will come next, if I have time to watch other dramas. :)

Movies That I Enjoyed Recenty: Part 2  

Posted by moroka in

The Italian Job
IMDB Rating = 6.9/10

Someone insisted that I must watch this movie. So, I stopped my routine for a while, and watched this movie. It turned out to be quite good. This movie reminds me of Nicholas Cage's, Gone In 60 Seconds but I think this movie is better than the latter because the way they do the 'job' is unpredictable. What kind of job? You must see it yourself. =p

By the way, the BMW's Mini Cooper S in this movie is very cute. You will want to add this little car to your favourite car list after watching this movie. At least for me. =p


IMDB Rating = 7.0/10

I watched this movie not long time ago. Nothing much to say, but I enjoyed watching it. Some parts are funny, some other parts are quite serious, and some other parts can be an inspiration. I love all of the parts though. It's been such a long time I didn't watch this kind of show, maybe that is why I love it very much. How to win your love back? Run fatboy, run! =D

I love the song 'Everyday I love you less and less' by Kaiser Chiefs from this movie. And of course, you should hear the song 'Ruby' from the same band, too. It's very good.


Van Helsing

IMDB Rating: 5.4/10


I like this movie because of the fun adventure throughout the story. It is an action-packed movie with a lot of mystical characters. So, why is the rating in IMDB so low? I think that is because of the ending which is not-so happy ever after. Remember the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen? These two movie in my opinion is quite similar. Action packed, but not-so happy ending. And yeah, IMDB Rating for League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is also 5.4.

Movies That I Enjoyed Recenty: Part 1  

Posted by moroka in


Combination of Disney's animation and the reality, really makes this movie very special. Actress Amy Adams really put on a great performance in this movie. She contributed her voice in some of the songs, too. I am really happy to see Disney once again produced high quality movie that I must say, is very entertaining. I don't see a reason why you shouldn't watch this movie. It is a very adorable family movie.






The first zombie movie that I really like. Unlike Resident Evil sequels, which are full of unnecesary CGI (I admit that the Resident Evil sequels are good), but this movie really frightened me at some point. Resident evil sequels are more on to Action-Thriller film anyway. This movie is more on to Horror-Thriller. So there is no wonder, it keep gives me some nerves. I keep thinking of what if this situation really happens in the future? I just could not imagine how it will be, but this movie shows it quite well.




I found similarities between this movie and the comic that I once read, 'Harimau Laut 007' written and illustrated by Tony Wong. The plot of the story is similar to the comic, where a group of young girls were kidnapped, and being trained to be the most incredible fighters, eventually to be the infamous professional killers. If you have read the comic, maybe you will realize it. Even the training methods used in this movie are similar to those in the comic. I really enjoyed the matrix-like actions in the entire story, and most of all, although this is not a great movie, it is still enjoyable. It is an action-packed movie anyway.