Bandung Creative City: Creativity Nurtured

Creativity, a mental and social process whereby new concepts or ideas are generated, is a complex phenomenon. Different branches of sciece have studied it. However, up to this point, there are no unified authoritative explanations yet of how it is generated or how it can be nurtured. Some say, it's a Divine gift. Some others say it has to do with personality traits or social environment. There are even people who believe that it happens by chance.

Regardless of the theoretical debates, there is enough evidence that some communities are more creative than others as shown by the creative works they have produced. This phenomenon can probably show that creativity is to a large extent socially generated and nurtured. Based on this assumption, Nickerson (1999), for example, proposed some techniques whereby creativity can be generated and nurtured. Some of these techniques include encouraging confidence and willingness to take risks and providing opportunities for choice and discoveries.



Bandung Creative City is not just a title that has been awarded to this city for nothing. A lot of trend-setting creative products of fashion, designs, architecture, and music have been made in the city. 80 percent of Indonesia's top music groups, for example, originates from this city. Big names that are currently at the top music charts in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Brunei, such as Peterpan, The Cangchuters, and Kuburan - just to mention a few - are originally from Bandung.

The emergence of these groups does not come by chance. This city nurtures creativity by providing a lot of opportunities for young aspiring talents to experiment, show, and perform their creative works. These photos of young emerging music groups performing on stages set on Braga street sometime ago are just some examples of how the city nurtures creativity.

1967 VW Beetle

Just by looking at the shape of this headlamp - and before you even look at the embossed VW logo on it's lid - you can definitely tell that this is a photo of VW Beetle. And if you happen to be someone who has a very keen interest in this one of the most influential cars ever built, you'll know that this is of the 1967 model.

1967 is an important year in the development of VW Beetle. It was in this year that the drivetrain or powertrain of the car was significantly improved and the engine capacity enlarged. It was also in this year that the invention of first air conditioning system that was specifically designed for this car was granted a patent. (It was invented by Don P. Dixon of San Antonio, Texas.)

Here are some of the features of the 1967 VW Beetle:

Engine: 1500 cc OHV H4, 40 kilowatts (54 hp) @ 4200 rpm, 105 N·m (77 lb·ft) @ 2600, bore 83 mm, stroke 69 mm, comp ratio 7.5:1
Transmission: 4-speed manual
Wheelbase: 2400 mm (94.5 in)
Length: 4079 mm (160.6 in)
Width: 1539 mm (60.6 in)



As I said in one of my previous posts, VW Beetle is called by different names in different parts of the world. In Indonesia it is called VW Kodok (Toad or Frog VW). To my knowledge, the same name (frog, frogy, toad, toady) is only used in Iran (where it is called folex, which means frog), Iraq (agroga or frog), and partly in Malaysia where it is commonly called kura (turtle) or kodok.

Police Boots and Uniform

This is one of the uniforms of Kepolisian Negara Republik Indonesia or POLRI (the Indonesian National Police). Different units have their own sets of uniforms whose designs are made not only to indicate which unit a policeman or policewoman belongs to but also what function he or she is performing at the time. Regardless of the designs, the colors are the same. They are the colors of the Indonesian Police uniforms.

Boots like these are worn by the traffic police or police patroling on motorbikes.