Furniture Reporter

Well, the joy of having an exquisite modern sofa is always obvious, I think that there is more to just owning a modern sofa and having it as your best friend in terms of being comfortable. But remember over time, a sofa is like anything else, it wears and tear leads it to need a good cleaning. Cleaning a modern sofa is rather easy once you have determined the necessities of your particular couch. I think that it is quite a good thing to care for your own modern sofa certainly because it would give you the best results in the future. To care for your own furniture is very much critical because it dictates a lot for your own home. The following will help you in preparing and actually cleaning the modern sofa.

Ok, cleaning it is a must so I’ll cut to the chase, people should always keep in perspective that a modern sofa is always an important part of your living room. Although there are certain things that we should keep in mind, we also need to keep it together in a manner that we all know that would benefit us. First off, vacuum the modern sofa, its pillows and its cushions with the hose attachments. Do not forget the arm rests and backing of the couch. This will clean loose dust and dirt. Getting its dirt and dust out can be a valuable first step on making your modern sofa as clean as it could possibly be.

Now, on to the second step that you need to do, you should dust the wood areas with a soft rag and a cotton swab for the area between the material and wood. The wood areas are known to be easily dusted, but just to be sure you need to check for yourself. It is always a good thing to be cautious on your moves. Sometimes if you ignore the dust for your modern sofa, it can be a problem in the future, so I suggest you should be smart and take it as it is and clean it first just to be sure.

Ok, this is pretty much important, find your warranty. If it is still in effect, the warranty may be null and void if you apply any cleaning solutions. Call the company for cleaning instructions. Sometimes, we forgot these things but in retrospect we should know these things, if we damage the modern sofa while cleaning it that would most likely void your warranty, so it is important to go at it carefully, find the warranty, check the terms of the modern sofa and see it there is something you can do about it. Remember that your modern sofa is always best with care, so cleaning it and taking good care of it is a sign of great ownership.

Jron Magcale
http://www.modani.com

So, I know this is a pretty popular shape for chairs, but I honestly didn’t really like it until I saw a pink version in Clinton Kelly’s apartment. And since then, I just am totally enamored with them. They’re the perfect mix of vintage and modern!

And I love the table in this next one as well…so simple but organic (oh! my least favorite word used in design! But there it is…).

This is my living room sans couch, dining suite, and pictures on the wall. Ironically, it now shares common traits with the Seattle apartment, where we have yet to buy a couch, a dining suite and to put things on the wall.

Ben and I started looking at couches, dining suites and things to put on the wall while I was there a few weeks ago. I think we share a common vision. I say this, of course, with the understanding that we may be seeing that common vision from completely different perspectives.

We have agreed, as a start, that the entertainment system is all him, and the kitchen is all me. While that division in domesticity may reek of 1950s ideologies, it is a fair call on our part. I love to cook, and have very specific ideas of how I want ‘my’ kitchen. And Ben knows more about electronic components and how to make them ‘talk’ to each other than I thought was possible. So, in this arrangement, we are playing to our strengths.

We have other differences too. Last weekend my boyfriend admitted that he has added to his collection of plastic 2:1 scale musical instruments (Rock Band, Guitar Hero), while I confessed that I have bought 4 pairs of new shoes in the past two weeks. He loves video games, I love shoes. We’ll make room for both, somewhere.

In the meantime, we get to choose a couch that says, “Ben and Sandy live here.” Likely it will NOT have one of those fabric contraptions with pockets that hangs over the arm and holds the remote controls.

We did find one we both sorta liked. Mostly what we liked about it was that it had a chaise lounge on one end. That says to me, “stylish, yet perfect for snuggling.” To Ben it says, “I can watch TV horizontally.” The point is, we both like that style of couch.

I had to be honest with my soon to be ‘domestic partner’ when he mentioned that ‘La-Z-boy’ had couches on sale that recline on both ends.

If we get a couch like that, I worry that we will become a couple who have ‘his and hers’ end tables, mine littered with empty tea cups and books yet to read, and his piled high with remotes and back issues of ‘Fortune’. We’ll head to our respective ends, recline and get comfortable. Comfortable, we three feet of leather between us. Yes, the couple with one of these is a couple that no longer enjoys a passionate relationship.

His response to my impassioned argument was to laugh, and say, “Well, it IS true that we are defined by our furniture.” He is teasing me, but I think we’ll be getting a couch with the bit that sticks out.

These are the details that will be a welcome relief from paperwork and red tape, packing, giving away, storing, and sorting, and from the endless lists that govern my life at the moment.

Today my home looked like this:

and this:

and this:

as I packed, sorted, sold, and gave things away.

So, I am looking forward to working through a new list, a list for the next chapter in my life. So far it looks like this:

Buy a couch
Get a job
Make some friends
Join a gym
Learn new running routes

Yes, all that to look forward to, but notice that the couch is number one on the list.

When Ben and I stayed at the B and B in Yosemite, I was bust nesting - unpacking and looking in cupboards - and I heard a call out from the living room, “Honey, come in here.” When I got there, Ben was sitting on a big, lumpy, seen better days couch with his arms outstretched. “Look, Honey, we have a couch. Come sit with me.” And I did, and we sat for quite some time on that big, lumpy, see better days couch, enjoying the simple pleasure of snuggling up on it together.

That is why it is first.

Recent Incidents of Persecution

Kerala, October 31 (Compass Direct News) – Suspected Hindu extremists burned down a school building run by a church on Oct. 16 in Kuravilangad. The Global Council of Indian Christians reported that the main building of St. Mary Higher Secondary School was destroyed in the fire, and authorities found materials used to set the school ablaze on the premises. Church authorities demanded an investigation, and government officials have visited the site. The school has a reputation for holding seats open for poor Dalit Christians in spite of strong opposition from the upper-caste Hindus. A police investigation was ongoing at press time.

Karnataka – Mangalore police on Oct. 14 assaulted a Christian for participating in a recent protest rally against attacks on churches. The Global Council of Indian Christians reported that local police targeted Herald D’Souza for taking part in the rally, dragged him to a police station and severely thrashed him, then charged him with rioting. The head constable, identified only as Gopalakrishna, assaulted him without initiating any inquiry. D’Souza sustained serious injuries on his backbone, chest, face and hands. A complaint has been registered against the head constable, but senior police officials are pressuring the Christian for a settlement.

Andhra Pradesh – Police on Oct. 14 arrested Christians in Kamareddygudem village of Nalgonda district. The Evangelical Fellowship of India reported that at about 8 p.m., as the five-member Operation Mobilization (OM) Christian media team led by Kummari Rajesh was screening a film on Jesus, a group of extremists arrived on motorbikes. They assaulted the OM team and destroyed equipment worth more than 200,000 rupees (US$3,950). Rajasekhar Sarella, legal counsel for the Christians, told Compass that Rajesh filed a First Information Report against the extremists at Thripuraram police station, and the extremists filed a counter complaint. The Christians were charged with “unlawful assembly” and “hurting religious sentiments.” They were released on bail on Oct. 20. Police also arrested Hindu extremists Gundeboina Lingaiah, Srinivas Reddy and Narshingh Venkatreddy for damaging property and voluntarily causing hurt with dangerous weapons. The extremists were also released on bail.

Karnataka – Unknown assailants set a church building on fire on Oct. 13 in Yadavanahalli, Bangalore, burning it down at 1 a.m. According to the Global Council of Indian Christians, a pulpit, tables, sound system, fans, music instruments, lights and other furniture of St. Anthony church were reduced to ashes, with damages estimated at around 100,000 rupees (US$1,975). Police claimed that it was an accident, while the Electrical Inspectorate of Karnataka ruled out an electrical short circuit. Church authorities have filed a complaint, and at press time a police investigation was underway.

Andhra Pradesh – Hindu extremists belonging to the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (World Hindu Council) disrupted worship and threatened Christians on Oct. 12 in Madanapally, Chitoor. The Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) reported that about 20 extremists barged into Krupa Prayer House shouting the Hindu devotional slogan “Jai Sri Ram [praise lord Ram]” and told the Christians not to conduct future worship meetings. The Hindu extremists planted a stone in front of the church and told the Christians that they were planning to build a Hindu temple there. A GCIC representative told Compass that the matter was settled, with a police official promising to give the Hindu extremists land for a temple elsewhere.

Uttar Pradesh – Hindutva (Hindu nationalist) extremists allegedly belonging to the Rashtriya Swayam Sevak and Bajrang Dal on Oct. 12 disrupted worship, desecrated Bibles and vandalized furniture at a church in Anola. The Evangelical Fellowship of India reported that at about 10 a.m. some 15 to 20 extremists led by Sanjeev Saxena stormed into an Assemblies of God Church, denouncing Christ and cursing. They warned pastor Jallal Masih and the nearly 35 believers not to worship in the church building again. A representative of the Christian Legal Association told Compass that no Sunday worship has been held there since then.

Tamil Nadu – Hindu extremists attacked a church and damaged a statue of Mary on Oct. 9 in Ganapathy, Coimbatore. The Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) reported that the assailants entered the church premises, broke the glass cabin and damaged the six-foot tall statue. The incident sparked protest among Christians, resulting in about 100 church members gathering on the road demanding protection and the immediate arrest of the Hindu extremists. Police have arrested three extremists, said the GCIC, and at press time calm had returned to the area.

Karnataka – Hindu extremists on Oct. 5 burned Immanuel Full Gospel church, and police forced its pastor to give a false statement in Kanaji Pura, Chamarajanagar. The Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) reported that extremists set fire to the church, damaging the pulpit, Bibles and hymn books. The extremists along with police officials had threatened pastor C.J. Patrick two weeks prior, telling him to cease worship and shut down his church. A police complaint has been filed, but police have pressured the pastor to falsely state that it was an accident and not an attack. A GCIC representative told Compass that the case was closed, as the pastor gave the false statement in writing.

Uttar Pradesh – Police raided a church based on a complaint filed by Hindu extremists belonging to the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (World Hindu Council, or VHP) for forceful conversion on Oct. 2 in Baradabari. The Global Council of Indian Christians reported that police investigated The Alliance Ministry’s Life Church, taking away a church register and other documents. After the enquiry police returned the register and allowed pastor Rajender Gautham to continue his ministry, but on Oct. 4 summoned him again. They told him to halt future worship meetings in the church building, as the VHP had threatened to attack Christian meetings in the area.

Chhattisgarh – Violent attacks rattled the Christian community in Dantewada district in the past month, with Hindu extremists seriously injuring a Christian woman attending a funeral with an axe blow to the head. As Christians gathered for a memorial service for Somli Bai of Narli village on Sept. 29, an angry mob attacked them, injuring about 35 Christians, six of them seriously. A woman identified only as Bode was admitted to a hospital with a serious head injury from an axe, as was Raju Karma, who was critically wounded and his motorcycle burned. Some of the Christians took shelter in a nearby jungle, with three persons missing. On Oct. 5, a mob demonstrated in front of Indian Pentecostal Church in Kirandul, 10 kilometers (six miles) from Narli, accusing the pastor of forcible conversions. He has reportedly gone into hiding following death threats to his family and him. In Bacheli (three kilometers from Narli), pastor Sudarshan Pani told Compass that Hindu extremists tried to kidnap Satish Basra, pastor of the late Bai’s church. Local residents foiled the kidnapping attempt. Police have been informed of all the incidents, but a First Information Report has not been filed, according to local sources. “These troubles have been started by outsiders who have come into the Kirandul-Bacheli area and are inciting local people against Christians,” Pastor Pani said. “A few high-caste families have voluntarily accepted Christianity in the past few days and this has added more fuel to the fire. The convert families are firm, but the pressure is being felt by the entire community.”

Karnataka – Police on Sept. 28 disrupted a worship service and detained a pastor in Hubli. The Global Council of Indian Christians reported that police took the pastor for questioning based on Hindu extremists’ allegations of forceful conversion. Worship came to a halt as police ordered members to stop the meeting. Saying that that he had not caused any disturbances and was conducting the worship service in a Christian’s building, pastor Daniel Kote was released after questioning. Recently Hindu extremists had attacked another worship meeting led by Pastor Kote in Hotel Chalukya, resulting in services moving to the church member’s building.

New Delhi – Hindu extremists belonging to Bajrang Dal and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh vandalized a church, accused the pastor of forcible conversion and brought down the roof and a wall of Rehma Faith Church on Sept. 17 in Peeragarhi, west Delhi. The same mob on Sept. 18 arrived at the church with saffron flags, vandalized the remains of the church and pelted Christians with stones, while police stood by as mere spectators, reported the Christian Legal Association of India. A child and three church members were injured in the attack. A complaint has been registered and police protection has been provided on the church premises.

Andhra Pradesh – A revenue inspector and his workers demolished a church building on Sept. 3 in Hyderabad. According to the All India Christian Council (AICC), the revenue inspector identified only as Srihari said that he had carried out the demolition according to orders from another revenue inspector identified only as Sudhakar. The pastor, identified only as Jairaj, had all pertinent documents for legal ownership of the land, but the inspector refused to listen to him and went ahead with the demolition work. Hindu extremists reportedly had earlier pressured the pastor to vacate the building. Pastor Jairaj has sought help from the National Minority Commission. Moses Vattipalli told Compass that AICC has decided to file a case against the revenue officers.

Report from Compass Direct News

A couple of weeks ago I mentioned an essay I was writing on Ruskin and Morris in relation to Industry, Mass-production and it implications on the craftsmen. Well after a few emails I’ve decided to throw up some sections of it. Enjoy.

The Social Disease - tyranny over the worker:

In today’s age we can and have designed, constructed and utilised technologies, materials and methods with the predicted out come of reduced labour (in cost and energy), faster output and cheaper materials. All of which is designed to make life of everyday citizens better, giving those less wealthy a greater lifestyle, one of proposed comforts and perceived necessities. However in doing this workers have been made just that - workers; starved of creativity and individualism which has been depicted as ‘The Great Crime’[1] against humanity.

These developments lead to the introduction of the machine age and subsequently industrialisation, which came about due to the greed of capitalism and consumers. In order to produce items at a much faster rate a system of divided labour was introduced which consisted of the item being broken down into parts, tasks simplified into production fazes, resulting in the division of labour. This created a faster, cleaner way to produce elements. It meant, however, that workers were repetitively undertaking one task. Whilst this course of action enabled parts to be produced more rapidly subsequently dropping the overall cost of the product, there was and is no design or creativity for the workers. This results in little or no sense of work satisfaction.[2] Workers became so consumed with a single monotonous task that it is said to have consequently resulted in so little “intelligence… left in a man [that there] is not enough to make a pin, or a nail, but exhausts itself in making the point of a pin or the head of a nail.”[3]

Whilst the gains are monetary for the manufacturer, thus understandable for their desire for such production methods, I find it hard to understand how the consumer and production worker stand to gain. John Ruskin explained how the consumer’s and factory worker’s convince themselves of the benefit of this system through a symptom coined as the ’social disease’. This social disease is a vicious cycle of (as stated earlier) proposed comforts and perceived necessities.

Starved of creativity and satisfaction in their work factory employees began to “look to wealth as the only means of pleasure.”[4] It is here that the cycle completes itself.

The idea, where wealth brings happiness, can be seen in the time of 1860 through the commissioning of William Morris’s first house. Morris saw that there was this desire to build something out of one material in the attempt to disguise it as another, demonstrating the social discourse of the day. Even though the public and those whom owned the houses could tell that it was a fake façade, designed to give the illusion of wealth (and therefore happiness), those with the opportunity still chose to utilise the embellishment.

For the rich the objects (of true art or value) were and are largely a show of wealth and social status, portraying an idea of joy and grandeur; a life which those less fortunate dreamed of. With the development of materials and technologies the poorer classes could afford imitation pieces to give a false illusion of wealth[5]. The imitation pieces “sense of beauty…had not entirely disappeared [however it is important to note that]…people called those things beautiful which seemed to them proper to their social situation.”[6] Hence the social discourse. People perceive wealth and social standing as the only means to gain happiness. Not through creativity or understanding of art. John Ruskin and William Morris sore that the “nature of the disease threatening early industrial Britain (as D.H. Lawrence described it: ‘The great crime which the moneyed classes and promoters of industry committed in palmy Victorian days’) was the condemning of the workers…”[7]

It is through viewing the lack of pleasure in the society and understanding its cause those like John Ruskin (1819-1900) and William Morris (1834-1896) set forth to educate the public in the tyranny of Industrialisation.

[2] As workers don’t follow an object through its entire creation they have very little connection to the finished product.

[3] {Ruskin, 1977 #1}, p. 23

[4] {Ruskin, 1977 #1}, p.20

[5] The poorer classes, whom used to be the creators, were now reduced to buying imitation art to find happiness as they couldn’t afford to compete against mass-production in large industry, resulting in the loss of creativity and joy.

[6] {Clutton-Brock #3}, p.61

[7] {Gerard, 1988 #2} (D.H. Lawrence. Nottingham and the mining countryside, in phoenix, Heinemann, 1936, p.138.) , p. 2