amazing grace 奇异恩典
歌手:茱迪 科林斯 Judy Collins
专辑:Wind Beneath My Wings

奇异恩典何等甘甜
我罪已得赦免
前我失散今被寻回
瞎眼今得看见
如此恩典使我敬畏
使我心得安慰
初信之时即蒙恩会
真是何等宝贵
当我感到痛苦悲伤时
你却不走留在我的身边
当我正要掉进深渊
你却把我救出
你带我给新的生命
无论如何只要我肯相信
奇迹一定会在我的眼前出现
瞎眼今得看见
瞎眼今得看见

 

When you pull up to the stop light with a Veyron there are two words that you need to say : 1001 horsepower. 

The Grand Sport specifically differs from the regular super car the Veyron because it is a roadster: meaning an open air performance experience. Bugatti's calls the Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport "the world's fastest and exciting roadster."This statement is backed up by a top speed of over 200 mph at 224.

   
Bugatti has official revealed the new Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport - the open-top, convertible, targa top or whatever you want to call it Veyron. Bugatti didn’t just pull the roof off the Veyron coupe - engineers made a few changes to create the world’s fastest roadster.

The Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport has a slightly higher windscreen, re-styled daytime running lights and a lightweight transparent polycarbonate roof. It was the removable roof that was the main challenge for engineers. The monocoque structure has been strengthened around the side-skirts along with a stiffened B-pillars using carbon fiber support. The interior features moisture-resistant backstitched leather with some new features such as a reversing camera with a 2.7-inch monitor in the rear-view-mirror and the Puccini sound system.

Power comes from the W16 1001 horsepower engine that allows for a top speed of 253mph with the top closed and 190mph with the roof off. With the folding roof in place top speed is limited to a very low 81mph.

Bugatti will produce only 150 units of the Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport - 50 of which are already going to registered Bugatti customers. The first unit will be sold to at the Pebble Beach Auction with the proceeds going to charity.

Words on the supercar from Bugatti's pilot official:

"When I had the chance to test-drive the new Grand Sport for the first time myself, I was filled with excitement", said Pierre Henri Raphanel, Bugatti's Pilot official, "as soon I shifted into second gear, I knew this was a completely different car. I could immediately feel the difference. Even with the roof still on, in the tips of my fingers and at the base of my spine everything was more present, more intimate. More precise with less understeer, almost as if you had taken away some filters from the suspension and the steering." The former Le Mans winner has probably driven more kilometres in a Veyron than anyone else, presenting the car to numerous customers and the press. Taking off the roof "the excitement comes directly from the engine – giving you the feeling that you had a horsepower factory just thirty centimetres behind your head, trying to suck you up and swallow you," he raves.

The Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport is limited to a production run of 150 units.
Want one? The Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport retails for 2.2 million dollars.

Dream on, and build your own here.

 

I love the sight of no boundary between inside and outside. It makes sense in Singapore to build an awesome continuous terrace like this. I would gladly take my morning coffee sitting in the front bamboo garden. And have a look at their modern gallery kitchen. We would never guess that this is the interior of an Art deco terrace house.

The renovation of 31 Blair Road was completed in 2008 by Ong & Ong, a design studio specialized in architecture, interior design and landscape design.

Singapore-based architectural studio Ong&Ong presented us 31 Blair Road. A Contemporary renovation of an Art Deco style terrace house, results in an austere neutral living space. Continuity of spaces eliminate the boundary between inside and outside, in order to create multiple relationships between diverse activities that occur in a residential realm. Austere and Minimalistic with a constant analogy to industrial spaces.

+ Photos are by Tim Nolan for Ong & Ong

I am curious about this upscale folding camper that comes with luxury beds and an enclosed teak veranda. I perceived it as an extension of the glam camping (also known as glamping) trend that grows over the last couple of years. But Opera has the advantage of delivering comfortable camping wherever you wish to camp. It is called Opera because the Sydney Opera House was the design inspiration.

Opera is scheduled to launch this December. I will be looking for more details. For now, you can watch a promotional slideshow on Your Suite in Nature.

+ photo: Your Suite in Nature

Michael Pinet is the Stylist for Private Brands Marketing & Development at The Bay. He recently treated us to a little lesson à la Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman on the art of tablesetting.

Table coverings
Your usual starting point is your table cloth, runner or placemat. The key thing to remember here is: "The more formal the dinner, the more coverage." At a formal gathering, you always use a fabric tablecloth. "And always press your linens," advises Michael. "You want to show care."

Dishes
One thing Michael stresses is how "being a good host these days is making life easy for your guests, not trying to impress them." Traditionally, a formal table setting means all of your dishes, cutlery and glasses are on the table at the beginning of your meal. Nowadays this look has been edited down to make it easier on the guest.
A big trend right now is the charger plate. "This defines your space," explains Michael. A charger plate is a larger plate that frames your dinner plate. A different coloured (but matching) dessert plate over top of your dinner plate is also a very nice touch. You can remove it once dinner starts. Your bread plate is always to the left of your dinner plate. Your charger stays on through the meal and comes off with the dinner plate.

Dinnerware designer Rosanna Bowles plays by her own rules: "It's really 'anything goes' now for tabletop, which is so much fun!"

DOs and DON’Ts of table style Since launching Seattle-based Rosanna Inc. in 1982, the elegant entrepreneur has reserved a place on tables worldwide with her fashion-forward takes on traditional dishware. The self-confessed “dish freak” and doyenne of patterned plates shares her tips for making ordinary tables extraordinary.

Don’t overdose on white. We’ve all heard that white plates are a must for food presentation, but Rosanna’s not bound by that old adage. "It makes for a dull tabletop and doesn’t let your creative side come through when setting the table," she says. "Everyone should have a set of 12 white dinner plates, but you build on that."

Do dress your table as you would dress yourself. "Mixing and matching different styles and periods is big in fashion now," says Rosanna. "You may have contemporary white plates, but you can mix in antique salad plates as side plates, accessorizing with Edwardian silver sugar bowls as vases and using unmatched flatware."

Do invest in patterned appetizer plates. "You can inexpensively insert them into the white china you already have, and they totally change the look of a table setting," Rosanna says.