FORD RANGER

Just found out about Global Ranger Challenge couple weeks ago. It drove my intention to learn about Ford Ranger. And I suddenly I'm in love with boy. Yeah I love him cause I think, no I believe he can handle the rough roads in Jakarta and it's suburbs. I love the design. I love him because he has quite big wheel which I think can handle the sudden flood in Jakarta.

pictures courtesy of Ford Ranger 

INDONESIAN HERITAGE: NEW VERSION OF TRADITIONAL MINANGKABAU HOME, RUMAH GADANG

Istana Pagaruyung

Rumah gadang (Minangkabau: "big house") or rumah bagonjong (Minangkabau: "spired roof house") are the traditional homes (Indonesian: "rumah adat") of the Minangkabau. The architecture, construction, internal and external decoration, and the functions of the house reflect the culture and values of the Minangkabau. A rumah gadang serves as a residence, a hall for family meetings, and for ceremonial activities. With the Minangkabau society being matrilineal, the rumah gadang is owned by the women of the family who live there - ownership is passed from mother to daughter.
The houses have dramatic curved roof structure with multi-tiered, upswept gables. Shuttered windows are built into walls incised with profuse painted floral carvings. The term rumah gadang usually refers to the larger communal homes, however, smaller single residences share many of its architectural elements.

There is another Indonesian traditional home of the Toraja in Sulawesi called Tongkonan that has similarity roof design.

Tongkonan 

Tongkonan is the traditional ancestral house, or rumah adat of the Torajan people, in Sulawesi, Indonesia. Tongkonan have a distinguishing boat-shaped and oversized saddle back roof. Like most of Indonesia’s Austronesian-based traditional architecture tongkonan are built on piles. The construction of tongkonan is laborious work and it is usually built with the help of all family members. In the original Toraja society, only nobles had the right to build tongkonan. Commoners live in smaller and less decorated homes called banua.

Linda Garland, an Irish-born interior and landscape designer and environmentalist who has lived on Bali for 35 years, had long been fascinated by the Minangkabau buildings of western Sumatra and proposed to Rob Cohen, director of action-adventure movies (The Fast and the Furious, Dragonheart),  that they revive the architecture on his seven acres. The residence would consist of three traditional Minang rumah gadang (big houses), with dramatically curved thatch roofs and multitiered upswept gables, and one lumbung (a rice house) to serve as one of the guest pavilions. Garland consulted with scholars of Minangkabau architecture and conducted a monthlong survey of the Minangkabau region of Sumatra to arrive at the selection of buildings.

Linda Garland created this oceanfront retreat for film director Rob Cohen of The Fast and the Furious fame. Dominating the Pantai Jasi coast, and set amid a coconut plantation right at the water’s edge, the property is modeled on the royal residences of the Minang people of Sumatra, and built entirely from recycled timber.

courtesy of decorreport 

Happy Birthday Aries

Aries, you are the most volatile and passionate of the Fire signs, eager and playful. You are the ‘cardinal’
Fire sign. The Fire element means you are an Intuitive Type, driven by enthusiasms, excitable, spontaneous.

courtesy of astrologycom

‘Cardinal’ means you are a mover and shaker, action oriented, expansive and like to take charge. It means you are one of the ‘pushers’ of the zodiac, first to leap in and have your say. Your spontaneity sometimes gets you into trouble, if for instance you lead with your mouth via a tactless statement. Or you might leap into a project only to butt your head on all of the boring details you did not consider. You are most happy when you discover your truly authentic self and share your enthusiasms with others, using your competitive energy constructively. You are the ‘child’ of the zodiac, the first sign, your key phrase: “I Am”.

 This glyph is the symbol of the sun (the circle) with an arrow that aptly describes how a person ruled by Mars defends and asserts themselves or their egos, it also represents our survival factor and even the Arian sexuality.   The glyph for Mars is typically male in nature and represents the energy of Mars bursting forth from the constraints of life with desire to do, to be, and to conquer.  This planet is associated with Ares, the God of War.   In the beginning Ares was the God of agriculture, giving the crops the life from the sun and the arrow to the farmer for strength to persevere and defend his crops from all predators.   This association was changed by the roman solders to represent the ability and the willingness of the warrior to attack all his enemies and defend his life with it's arrow; this arrow gave it another association with war in the mind of the Romans.

This glyph is the symbol of the sun (the circle) with an arrow that aptly describes how a person ruled by Mars defends and asserts themselves or their egos, it also represents our survival factor and even the Arian sexuality.   The glyph for Mars is typically male in nature and represents the energy of Mars bursting forth from the constraints of life with desire to do, to be, and to conquer.  This planet is associated with Ares, the God of War.   In the beginning Ares was the God of agriculture, giving the crops the life from the sun and the arrow to the farmer for strength to persevere and defend his crops from all predators.   This association was changed by the roman solders to represent the ability and the willingness of the warrior to attack all his enemies and defend his life with Mars is concerned with the masculine side of your nature, strongly sexual, it makes one aggressive as well as decisive; Hasty and rude as well as positive and energetic.   Mars gives an individual facet to the personality, bringing to the surface the instinctive desires and impulses.  It is too often associated with anger and violence by those not having the benefit of the energies it gives to the typical Arian.  It denotes the warrior, not the warlike, and gives the subject the courage to face self, (the baser self), the one enemy we all have in common and the one enemy we must all learn to control.it's arrow; this arrow gave it another association with war in the mind of the Romans.

Moodboard based on Aries personality signs

Metal: Iron, ruled by Mars.
Colours: Red, magenta, pinks.
Herbs for Health: Rosemary, in cooking and as a tea. Put it in your bath for aches and pains. Sweet marjoram, tarragon, garlic, ginger and horseradish.
Foods for Health: Onions, tomatoes, red chilli, beetroot and spinach, persimmon and red pawpaw.
Flowers: All small red and pink flowers.
Scents: Red carnation and red rose.

First Sign of the Zodiac: The sign of the Ram
Birthstone of Aries: Diamond

Celebrating your love ones birthday in Aries sign,
 feel free to order Birthday Klappertaart
089637070353

EASTER KLAPPERTAART

KLAPPERTAART 22cm Rp.175K incl delivery charge 

KLAPPERTAART 12 cups Rp.225K incl delivery charge

Rayakan Kebangkitan Yesus Kristus bersama keluarga sembari menikmati dan berbagi penganan tradisional nikmat, Klappertaart. Hubungi 089637070353 atau pin BB 27704182.

LAST PROJECT: ALEX'S WARDROBE

This is probably my last work in interior and furniture. Since I had decided to do more in blogging interior etc than working on it's field. Alexander Thian is an old friend of mine. He is one of twittebrity in Indonesia, which currently known also has one of the biggest influence amongst Indonesian tweeps. It's just my luck that I knew him long before he gets into twitter stardom. So in his small apartment he asked me to do his wardrobe. I was like more than happy since the idea of open wardrobe is not common for Indonesian. So this is some kind of breakthrough for me to do this simple, economic design. For Alex it is a taking risk. So let's see how it looks. Hope you like it. 

Gavin DeGraw – Sweeter

Musisi multitalenta, Gavin DeGraw, setelah dua tahun lalu, merilis album keempat berjudul Sweeter, September tahun lalu. Penyanyi yang mulai bernyanyi dan bermain piano sejak usia 8 tahun ini, masih setia mengusung warna pop rock dan soul ke dalam album terbarunya ini.

Gavin mengaku untuk pertama kalinya dirinya berkolaborasi dengan penulis lagu lainnya, seperti Ryan Tedder dan Andrew Frampton dari The Script. Menurutnya proses kolaborasi ini mengubah caranya dalam menulis lagu selama ini.
Memang album jika disimak album ini terasa sedikit berbeda dari album sebelumnya, Free, yang lebih gelap. Ada yang lebih hidup dan riang di album ini. Vokal Gavin pun terasa lebih bertenaga dan dieksplorasi. Memang Gavin sendiri mengakui kalau di album ini ia mampu bereksperimen memasukkan gaya musik yang disukainya termasuk memasukkan elemen yang biasa hanya dilakukan DeGraw di panggung. Kali ini DeGraw juga berkolaborasi dengan sejumlah produser lain seperti Ron Aniello (Matt Nathanson), Eric Rosse (Sara Bareilles), juga Butch Walker (Weezer).

Dibuka dengan ‘Sweeter’ yang ditulis DeGraw bersama Tedder, lagu ini langsung menghentak dengan petikan gitar dan gebukan drum dalam irama pop funk. Alunan vokal DeGraw serta piano yang bertenaga membuat lagu ini langsung mencuri perhatian karena mengungkapkan jeritan hati yang ingin berkencan dengan gadis yang telah menjadi kekasih pria lain.

Sementara lewat ‘Not Over You’, nuansa yang dibawa Tedder begitu kental lewat gebukan drum yang menjadi ciri khasnya. Tetapi vokal dan interpretasi DeGraw membuat kolaborasi ini terasa menyatu dan berhasil menyuarakan tentang proses sulitnya melepas bayangan masa lalu bersama mantan kekasih.

Sementara Frampton membawa nuansa baru pada presentasi musik DeGraw di tembang ‘Run Every Time’ yang berkisah tentang kebiasaan melarikan dari masalah percintaan.

‘Soldier’, single ke-2 dari album ini memiliki lirik puitis romantis yang memikat. Dalam balutan pop, rock sedikit sentuhan soul, blues dan gospel dengan dinamika lagu yang semakin megah berpadu dengan interpretasi vokal DeGraw yang bertenaga, lagu ini langsung menjadi favorit saya. /I'll get it if you need it, I'll search if you don't see it, /You're thirsty, I'll be rain, You get hurt, I'll take your pain./

Lewat Candy kita akan merasakan kemampuan vokal DeGraw dengan range vokal yang lebar. Lagu ini meski sedikit terasa cheesy liriknya, namun makna keseluruhannya sendiri mengungkap tentang hubungan cinta yang terasa artifisial akibat mimpi yang tak sesuai kenyataan hidup.

Lewat ‘You Know Where I’m At’ DeGraw mengajak kita untuk bersantai sejenak menikmati tembang balada. Vokalnya menyayat, menanggalkan gaya ngerocknya, dengan alunan musik sederhana membuat lagu yang ngepop dibalut dalam sedikit nuansa gospel ini begitu menyentuh. /Oh, it's better up ahead /The worst is over now /Remember what I said /Live, you don't have to look back /But if you ever do, /You know where I'm at/.

‘Stealing’ masih membawa nuansa blues dan gospel, sayangnya sedikit mirip dengan tembang ‘You Know Where I'm At’.

‘Radiation’ dengan alunan gitar yang ngefunk membawa nuansa kesegaran dalam album ini. Keberanian bereksperimen DeGraw lebih terasa di tembang ini sehingga terasa menonjol dan dinamis secara keseluruhan. Apalagi pada bagian backing vocal nyanyi bersama membuat lagu ini terasa hangat meski kontradiksi liriknya justru terdengar kejam.

Kemudian DeGraw membawa kita kembali bersantai sejenak dengan permainan piano dalam ‘Where You Are’, sebuah tembang rayuan untuk kembali bersama setelah melakukan kesalahan dalam sebuah hubungan. Tembang sederhana yang cukup memikat.

Album ini ditutup dengan sebuah tembang balada yang sederhana, hanya diiringi permainan pianonya, namun mengandalkan kekuatan vokal dan interpretasi DeGraw. Lewat tembang ini DeGraw seakan mengajak sang kekasih untuk jujur setelah menjalani melalui masa yang dingin.

Bagi para penggemar Gavin DeGraw album ini, meski masih terasa kurang melakukan eksplorasi dan evolusi musik, sudah pasti akan mengobati kerinduan mereka.

No. Title Length
1. "Sweeter" (DeGraw, Ryan Tedder) 3:43
2. "Not Over You" (DeGraw, Tedder) 3:38
3. "Run Every Time" (DeGraw, Andrew Frampton) 3:06
4. "Soldier" 3:31
5. "Candy" 4:38
6. "You Know Where I'm At" 3:21
7. "Stealing" 4:17
8. "Radiation" 4:17
9. "Where You Are" 4:21
10. "Spell It Out" (DeGraw, Frampton) 3:57

CHRISTIANITY INSPIRES PART 2, In Versace We Trust

The First Cover of Anna Wintour Debut in Vogue US. 

My interpretation is the cross on the couture blouse 

which reflection of high fashion, represented by 

the vertical line, and the ready to wear which 

represented by the horizontal line. The top which is 

a high fashion item a.k.a. couture by Christian Lacroix 

in his early years, combined with jeans, 

a common people wear.

Christianity is a hot topic, a source of inspirations, to adore also to critisize. As you can check it out in my previous Christianity Inspires. Thanks to Juris who told me the Versace fall 2012 collection had a sense of Christianity. Somehow Versace Fall 2012 collection reminds me of Christian Lacroix couture back in the 80s. Either it will lift up your faith or not, it surely does lift up your faith in Versace. In Versace we put our trust, our taste. Let's enjoy it.