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silence-burns · 4 years

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No Place Like Here (Except For a Few Taverns) //part 8 (epilogue)

Fandom: The Witcher

Summary: Life on the road is never easy for a lone witcher, but it would get significantly easier if he didn’t have two idiots following his every step.

One might think that killing a harpy was as bad as it could get, but the unspoken truth was actually that selling its head was way more difficult.

Jaskier strummed his lute from the height of his horse to both yours and the horse's dismay. You had to wait for Geralt while he dealt with the business of getting his promised money, and as time passed in front of the withering house at the end of the muddy road, the boredom, along with the sun, rose.

You were sitting on the fence, fanning Jaskier's hat in hopes of chilling the air at least a little bit. Roach feasted on the grass on the other side of the fence. You hadn’t noticed when she got there. She refused to share any answers.

"Do you think we'll get enough money at least for a beer?" you asked the artist and his suffering horse. The horse only snorted, pulling its ears back and considering throwing its rider to the ground. The artist shrugged.

"They've been at it for at least half an hour by now. Either they're still arguing, which gives hope for at least a few coins, or Geralt's in the middle of skinning them alive, which results in more coins."

"Maybe we could get another job," you mused, looking around.

The sun had already parched wide spots of grass, painting it unhealthy shades of dried yellow. The few trees sticking out in between the houses didn't look much better. A few of them used to bear fruit, but the drought and hunger among the people took them all already. If the rains didn't come soon, the crops wouldn't suffice to feed the villagers.

The fields on the other side of the fence were a sad thing to look at. Roach was skimming on the bordering patch of thin grass, but the rest didn't look any more promising. Whatever problems the village might have, they were all focused on the prospect of famine. Not many would care to spare any coin to a witcher.

"Maybe you could play at a wedding? Or a funeral, if need be."

"Do you see anyone interested in that?" Jaskier gestured to the empty village. "Because I can't see a living soul here. Everyone's roaming the forest and hoping to stack enough food to survive another day. They won't have anything to pay with, even food."

You winced. That was true. "Looks like we'll have to hit the road again. There's another village, two days down the road…"

The melody coming from under Jaskier's fingers ended abruptly. You frowned, not expecting him to have any objections, but in the next moment you noticed the reason behind his growing smile.

Further down the road, coming from the direction you followed earlier, came the merry chatter of voices accompanied by instruments of varied sort.

You groaned when the colorful crew strodded through the village, their voices booming over the empty houses.

"I know them!" Jaskier squealed and turned his horse towards the newcomers.

Geralt walked out of the building the moment the bard was enveloped in a hug and drowned in questions.

"More bards?" Geralt groaned and walked to the fence next to you.

"Looks like it. Unless they kill monsters with those flutes."

"Last thing we need is more bards."

"And the first thing we need is some coins. How do we stand on that?"

Geralt pulled an uneasy face. You noticed his knuckles were suspiciously red.

"I'm afraid we have more bards than coins. The bastards here were not completely honest about the funds in their possession."

Your growling stomach deemed it unfortunate.

"Maybe we'll have more luck in the city. When do we move on?"

Geralt eyed the bards booming with laughter, Jaskier's face flushed and more alive than it'd been in weeks.

As if Jaskier could sense the witcher's eyes on him, he rode back, fidgeting in his saddle. "Geralt, please, can we ride with Crokus for a while? I haven't seen him in ages and we're going in the same direction anyway, so…"

"Wait, you've got friends? Like, actual friends?" you stopped him.

"Of course I do!"

"He does," said the blonde man coming closer. "Although it surprises me too sometimes. My name is Crokus, nice to meet you both. I've heard tales of your adventures, I wish I had such a company with me."

Geralt eyed the outstretched hand as if it was a viper. He didn't move, but the muscles under the tight leather seemed to tense.

You slipped in closer on the fence, flashing your brightest smile. "And I've heard a lot about the food and drinks that never leaves a troupe of bards."

"Oh, we have something special reserved for the evening, once we make camp. You should join us!"

"We'd be delighted."

The road welcomed you, dust rising beneath the horse's hooves. Following the musicians at a distance sufficient to retain one's sanity, Geralt couldn't stop from glaring at you from the height of the Roach.

"What?" you snapped at last, as the sky darkened and mosquitos began their hunt. "I was hungry. Still am."

"We still have some cheese left."

"You mean the one I couldn't crunch even with my shoe? Thanks, Geralt, but I think I'll try whatever they have."

"You know there won't be much sleep tonight, though? They are only getting started."

The bards didn't break off their singing even in the saddles, their merry crew's voices sang clear, and their melodies changed every few notes—showing off to one another. You shrugged.

"Probably, but it's not like we're joining them for good. Unless you want to change your sword for a lute, which, by the way, I'd pay to see. But other than that, we'll part ways tomorrow anyway, so let Jaskier have his fun for now. He had a difficult past few days," you said. then laughed, remembering the circumstances that led to losing both of Jaskier's shoes.

"He is having fun," Geralt nodded. "What if he chooses to stay with them?"

"Well," you said, toying with the reins. "Last time I checked, he was a big boy, usually capable of making his own decisions. Besides, we often part ways and then stumble into each other again. Such is life."

"Hmm," Geralt said. Roach agreed with a soft neigh.

Their moods didn't change when the camp settled and the sky was overrun by the stars. Geralt stayed gloomy even when the fire rose high and cast flickering shadows over the figures dancing around it to the fast music sinking into your weary bones. You couldn't stop your foot from twitching slightly to the music and songs as you laid wrapped into a blanket, your cheek pressed into Geralt's arm.

You watched through heavy lids as Jaskier danced on the grass, his feet bare, and his smile unfaltering as he let the celebrations consume him whole. Crokus was always a step next to him, and his companions swirled around them, never losing their footing. Despite the hour growing late, no signs of stopping could be seen.

You felt Geralt yawn soundlessly. His hand stroked your back and arm and occasionally swiped at the bloodthirsty mosquitoes.

"He's happy," you whispered into the dark leather.

"He is."

There was something in that voice that left room for more words, but they didn't make it to you in time. Somehow, before you noticed, the other voices lulled you to sleep, leading you through colorful swirls of half-made concepts.

The morning rose a few hours later. Jaskier didn't, engulfed in whatever dreams he had on Geralt's lap, clutching the black leathers. There was a serene expression on his face, undisturbed by the rays of sunshine.

Crokus and his merry band were in better shape. They had already gathered around the remnants of the fire and prepared breakfast.

You turned your head to see Geralt already awake. He watched the troupe with a neutral expression, but his hand was on Jaskier's back.

The road through the forest took you most of the next day and ended way quicker than you thought. It opened onto a city circled with a stone wall, very effective for whatever usually crawled out of the forest at night. Geralt grew even more silent as you cleared the city gates, the bards exchanging warm welcomes with the guards.

The gates were followed by a rather large area, usually used by the vendors to showcase their goods of various sorts and dubious origins, but they were already packed for the night, leaving enough space to stop the horses. The inevitable came.

"The journey was most pleasant thanks to your company, friends," Crokus smiled.

"The pleasure is ours," you said. Geralt was a mute figure somewhere to your right.

"Take care of yourself," you addressed Jaskier, currently exchanging some notes with one of the other bards.

He frowned. "Why? Aren't you going to do this anymore?"

"I thought you'd stay with..."

The bards laughed, their beautiful voices falling into a melodious chorus. "That wouldn't be wise."

"Some friendships are best honed from a distance," Crokus explained, turning his horse to the left.

Jaskier nodded as if it was an obvious truth to every bard. He watched the band disappear into the street, the hooves of their horses echoing off the buildings.

"So… You aren't really friends," you said.

"Of course we are!" Jaskier exclaimed with dramatic outrage, but its effect was lost as he clutched the notes to his chest like a mother and her newborn child. "Some bonds are just too great to—"

"I think that your ego just wouldn't survive that company for long," you laughed. The expression on his face was answer enough.

"Let's go, the night is near," was the first thing Geralt said in a while. He turned Roach in the right direction. You might not have been able to see his face, but the invisible weight seemed to be lifted from his shoulders.

"I know a perfectly good tavern, right around that corner." Jaskier rode up, continuing to babble about the notes he received from his friend.

The sun bathed everything in warm reds and yellows, making the picture of the bard and witcher in front of you resemble a painting. You smiled and gently kicked your horse to follow them.

A/N: Hope you enjoyed this chapter :D Something might come to an end, but don’t worry, the merry group will be back soon with another adventure, in a separate mini-series! (it’ll be called “Don’t Trust The Chicken”)

#No Place Like Here #geralt x reader #geralt x you #jaskier x reader #jaskier x you #Geralt #geralt of rivia #geralt/reader #jaskier #jaskier/reader #jaskier/you #the witcher #geralt x reader x jaskier #the witcher netflix

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aboleth-eye · 5 years

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Hello! Would you have any advice for new DMs/things you wish you had been told when you started DMing? I'd like to try it myself, but I've only ever been a player, and just figuring out where to start is a bit overwhelming! Thank you in advance!

Great Question! Here are my Lessons Learned from when I ran a game for the first time!

There are Four Lessons I wish I’d known when I got started: Have Your Resources Handy, Start Small (3 Parts), Things Go Awry, and Have Fun Together! ((This is going to be a very long post, so I’ll cap it a little less than halfway down))

1.) Have Your Resources Handy!

If this is your first time running a Tabletop RPG system, even if you’ve been playing for years, HAVE THE BOOK(S), WEBSITE(S) AND/OR PDF(S) NEARBY! I’m serious about this, guys! Playing a game or watching someone else play is a totally different monster to running it!

When you first declare to the group that you’d like to host a game, I recommend you read the rules over at least two or three times before hand–start with a deep read first to get it all in your head, and then you can choose to speed read once you’ve had some time to digest the rules.

But even if reading ttrpgs is your thing, have the resources within easy reach. Either have your laptop available with open tabs to any pdfs/scans of the game source material and any relevant websites (like standard reference document pages), and/or have a physical copy of the game book with you. If you are running certain monsters or encounters, I also recommend you copy down any stats and information to a separate text document (on laptop or printed) so you won’t have to page through stuff during the game.

2A.) Start Small: The Setting

If this is your first time or fiftieth time running a tabletop roleplaying game, and you are running a new system for the first time, limit the scope of project to start. Writing campaign and world settings can be very intense, and it is very easy to write something too specific and railroad people into your lore and world.

For instance, don’t create a massive world with a continent of named cities and landmarks! Don’t plan out every inch of your world, or else it’ll turn into a “fill-in-the-blank exploration” story instead of an organic world you can change as your group learns and grows!

My first campaign started in a very specifically written city on the edge of a vast magical desert. I planned out a timetable of events that would catapult the players into the “open-world”. The players noticed this and didn’t appreciate it.

Also, do not bog your players down with Lore! I’ve gone into campaigns where you need to know information “for backstory”! This is your first campaign, it’s good to know what to introduce and when! A group of starting adventurers typically doesn’t need to know your world’s entire array of deities, pages and pages of history, and legends “that shaped the world”! You can introduce these things at character creation IF THE PLAYERS ASK, and then slowly dish things out as the characters live in your world.

It’s also good to not ties yourself down to specific placement of towns, countries, cities, landmarks, etc. Leave the map blank save for the starting area, and any broadly defined areas such as forests and mountains. Once characters finish their first missions and adventures, they’ll explore! With all the “white space” of your world, you can insert places and things as you journey with the group!

One of my favorite encounters when I was very new to D&D was when we accidentally burned down a forest. We were fighting a massive tiger with a pixie NPC in a forest, and the pixie just trapped everyone (tiger included) in entangling vines. Our pyromancer in the party tried to set the beast on fire, and they rolled a critical failure.

The beast was set on fire and died! And so did the pixie! And now there’s a raging forest fire we have to run from! We get an oxcart running and we take shifts to outrun the magical fire–FOR THREE DAYS! It was an incredibly tense situation, and it was fun to add “an entire forest” to the pyromancer player’s list of things they set on fire.

You know what would have made all that suck? If the DM had decided: “Okay, you pass through this location which is a lich’s hideout and have to face that; then the next day you’ll have to ford a river with the tired oxes. Finally, you’ll be passing through this county’s border…”

We just burned down a placeholder forest, and all the consequences that came with it came AFTER we were finally safe! The DM didn’t bog us down with heavy lore and their maps during a tense situation; they kept the focus on the action at hand.

Prioritize the players’ story before your own! That’s the lesson I want to make absolutely clear. You aren’t telling your story with friends as the characters; the Dungeon Master/Game Master/Storyteller is the worldbuilder who tells the character groups’ story as they interact with the world.

2B) Start Small: The First Encounters

Another item I want to bring up is Do Not Start Your Campaign with a “Unique Encounter”! Start your campaign setting with a simple task for the players to face. Here are the kinds of challenges I mean: defeat a bunch of zombies in a graveyard for a reward, go into a mine full of bats to retrieve a homing beacon, follow a simple mystery to find a girl’s lost dog, etc. The Players’ should be introduced to your world with something simple to follow–that way they can make their marks and introduce how they roleplay to the story.

Do Not try something you’ve “never seen before”! Don’t have the characters whisked off to another plane or world while they slept! Don’t have the players face fifteen or so mooks at once during an ambush! Don’t have your characters struggle to tread water or leap floating platforms while fighting a monster! These kinds of encounters instantly put players on guard and feel railroaded! Give them the chance to decide how they integrate themselves into the adventure.

My first campaign violated this rule. When the players left the city to enter the desert, they were suddenly beset by 12 monstrous scorpions! And me, in my ambitious tunnel-vision, thought it’d be interesting to have each scorpion have its own turn. I rolled twelve Initiatives for the scorpions and it was a LONG combat when it clearly didn’t have to be.

It all looked so good in my head, but when you get players involved you can tell how grueling and boring something like that could be. I learned a lot that session.

That combat ended the campaign for me. I decided to go back to the drawing board because that kind of thinking was not going to fly for me and my friends.

Instead, give your players a task that could easily be solved in one or two sessions! Do not give your players “only one way” to solve this! For instance, if your first challenge is to get past some guards, let the players come up with the solution themselves. They might decide to fight the guards, use magic/science to teleport past them, go off on a side quest to become guards so they can infiltrate them, or even walk up and attempt to socialize with them. You as the storyteller/DM merely narrate the results of whatever the characters do; just bridge the gaps and think of consequences from the players’ actions.

ALSO! Have a time limit for your first session, or plan breaks for food/drink/stretching. This activity of DMing can be very stressful, and you might need a break to take stock of what problems and choices occurred during play.

2C.) Start Small: The Players

Have your players build starting or low-level characters (I typically start with 3rd level for D&D). The low levels will mean most powergaming and gamebreaking attempts by certain types of players will be nipped in the bud right from the start. It will also typically limit the powers and abilities of your group (so you won’t have to memorize or look up high-level stuff until much later).

Another thing I highly recommend is that you are present during character creation! Do not let people determine/roll character abilities and stats without you. Either be physically present when dice get rolled and abilities get determined, or be present digitally in a chatroom, discord or roll20 when electronic character sheets get filled in!

My first campaign I allowed one of the players to bring a character from a friend’s campaign into it. The original DM ended the campaign; and even though I had played in that campaign alongside this character I had no clue what they could do. This made things challenging because this character “suddenly” remembered they could fly–so I had to add aerial combat onto my plate during the first fight of the campaign.

It made the situation tense, especially with my bad early encounters (see the 12 Scorpions combat above).

3.) Things Go Awry

If you’ve come this far, there’s one last piece of advice I want to give you. Your first campaign is gonna suck in one way or another.

I don’t mean that to be disheartening; I want you to think of it as a learning experience. Whenever a person learns a new skill or engages in a new activity for the first time, it’s always gonna suck. (Even if someone has a “natural talent”). You as the DM/Storyteller are going to notice problems crop up left and right; especially if you don’t take the advice I offered above. For instance, if you start learning to paint with a new medium or start a sport you’ve never tried; you need to practice with the tools and techniques you’ve prepared to see what works for your style of learning.

Running a roleplaying game is a very unique mashup of activities. There’s typically a math element you need to consider behind every action the players take. You need to workout your improvisation skills to bridge connections and gaps your players make. You need to get in front of a group of people (sometimes more or less experienced than you) and tell a story that keeps their attention. It’s a stressful mix of being an improv actor, a storyteller and the physical laws of your world.

Hopefully your players will understand when things get crazy and overwhelming. Gametime might come to a halt because you need to look up a specific rule or wording that you aren’t familiar with. It’s okay. Until you get to know how your game world runs with your players in it, it is totally fine to take a breath and think things through. Oftentimes you can ask your players for help in making a determination or house-ruling.

Last note on this topic: Get Feedback! At the end of the session, be bold and ask your players if they enjoyed the session, what they liked and what they didn’t like. Feedback is how DMs get insight on how the game is playing out. While you’re DMing, your mind is on a million different topics; let the players tell you how they felt during gameplay, so you know what made them feel good or bad on the other side of the curtain.

4.) Have Fun Together!

This is something that needs to be said, if I’m honest. Running a game can be a stressful activity that “ruins” some things about it now that you are “behind the curtain”. This is your first session, in what you hope to be a series of games where you and your friends make all sorts of memories.

However, some DMs get incredibly discouraged and no-nonsense when they run a game for their first few times. That is understandable, especially if being the “mastermind” is a challenge you haven’t prepared for. A few sessions in and you might find the game isn’t fun for you and/or your players. That might be a sign that you need to take a break from hosting–use that time to think how you can make the game fun for everyone, or if this campaign just needs to be scrapped!

The priority of the DM is to bring people together. If a game system, campaign concept or player actions aren’t making the group (you included) happy; it’s better to stop things and take stock before things go too far. It is never fun to admit your game isn’t viable or enjoyable, but hopefully you’ll have new experience you can take with you the next time you try your game.

And heck, if you find you prefer playing at this time, that’s fine! Even if this attempt didn’t have the results you expected, there is nothing to stop you from trying again later if you wanted. But now that you know how it is behind the curtain, you are naturally more observant to how your own DM/GM runs their games and you can learn from it.

Remember how good the game system/lore/etc made you feel! It’s why you wanted to DM in the first place; you recognized you had a story you wanted to tell, and this ttrpg had the tools to bring it to life! No matter what problems arise when you’re behind the curtain, the game should still bring you enjoyment whether you play or manage the game. Do not give up on the game just because of one bad session or two!

When I decided to end my campaign, it really was a painful decision. I loved the world as it was in my mind, but I was not executing it well so that my players enjoyed it. I got feedback after that terrible 12 Scorpions combat, and decided to take some time to think about everything. Our group went back to our original DM, with other members trying to DM in that time; and honestly I didn’t DM until I started a small separate group months later.

During that gap in DMing I digested what I liked and didn’t like about my campaign, and had more time to reflect on the rules. I decided to take a few steps back and learn from my mistakes. I still made mistakes the second and third times I DMed, I make mistakes even to this day.

But at the heart of it all, I love games so much that I want to constantly make my stories and worlds even better, even to this day.

I take the struggles of DMing as learning experiences, rather than let them define me as a writer, storyteller and game master. I use them as stepping stones so I don’t fall through the gaps again. I may have started out with a bad first campaign, but I would never take those mistakes away.

I hope these lessons were helpful! I love D&D and tabletop roleplaying games so much, and love giving out advice on how to make the experience your own. I hope this helps a lot of new people bring their stories to life! Also, I hope I helped everyone’s expectations into the right state of mind.

Good luck and happy gaming everyone!! Much love!

– Aboleth-Eye

#aboleth eye #d&d ask #d&d resources #dm resources #lessons learned #tabletop games #tabletop resources #dm inspiration #tabletop inspiration #game night #tabletop story

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travelwankerworld · 4 years

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Another trip booked with ‘Untravelled Paths’ & another success.

This time a 4 night trip to the Puglia region of Italy – The Dolce Vita Puglia Experience

We flew from Luton to Bari with Wizz Air.

It was very cheap, about £70 each return.

It would have been even cheaper had Wizz not done their ‘Roulette Wanker Seat’ routine! Where unless you pay to pick your seats; unlike any other airline who will allocate you seats together – Wizz makes a point of making sure you are as far away from your travelling partner as possible!

So underhand. So out of order.

It is a 4-hour+ flight so is nice to be sat together.

The upshot, about a 1/3rd of the flight’s cost, was paying to sit together!

The saving grace is that overall, it is still cheap for the distance (& the convenience for us from Luton).

We did the lounge at Luton. The basic reason being that I had a credit left on my ‘Priority Pass’ membership which I wanted to use up before it expired.

1st Stop – Matera

The flight was good & when we arrived we were met by our guide Marius. We were the only 2 on our flight & found out there were just 2 more coming & they were on the later Stanstead flight that night.

Off we went to our 1st stop – Matera – It is a city carved into the mountainside. The original dwellings here were effectively caves.

It was quite an impressive place & we saw it first at night all lit up.

Our accommodation was – Residence San Giovanni Vecchio

We had a wander about & up to the main square, then back down to get some food in a little pizza place –

Trattoria Braceria Bellavista di Fedele Manicone

It was a nice little place, the food wasn’t amazing but it was fresh & the wine was cheap! – it was also served in a carafe with wicker around it & with small glasses.

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Standard ‘funny faces’ picture was required. Lisa is getting much better at them!

Lost In Translation

Whilst wandering around we found a bakery (Gran Caffe) that Lisa had seen whilst researching – it was stuffed with loads of dirty cakes!

We ended up asking a bloke behind the counter what was the best – he pointed out what sort of looked like doughnuts but with a bit of custard creeping out of them.

We ordered 2.

Wow! They were gorgeous.

So we then tried to find out what they were called.

One thing I need to say here, which was one of the reasons Italy grew on us, was the fact that most people don’t speak English, just Italian.

I love this. (we Brits are generally shit at languages so for once we didn’t have to feel guilty for this).

This then lends itself to a lot of gesturing & the use of Google Translate!

It is also how we arrived at what we called these – Titty Titty Lemon Cakes!

We ‘spoke’ to a woman & she tried to explain in Italian whilst gesturing to her chest & laughing & saying Limon a lot.

Cue immature photos:

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Wehay! – Titty Titty Lemon Cakes

Loads of Lemon Titties!

Anyway, enough fun for day one & back to the apartment & bed.

The next day we went across the road for breakfast & finally met our other 2 ‘travellers’ – Kamal & Friddy.

Marius met us & gave us the ‘What to do’ rundown in Matera on a map.

We then went almost next door to a shop that had a model of the town so it could be explained further – it is very much a 3D type of place with lots of levels & alleys to explore.

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We did a lot of walking, the place was impressive & the weather glorious (it’s October!).

One of the places you are supposed to go is Casa Grotta which was a look at the ‘caves houses’ presented to you of how they were lived in.

Quite frankly, it was shite!

Throughout Matera, there are various sculptures of Salvadore Dali’s art. Can’t remember if there was a reason for this.

We also came across some a temporary art exhibition whilst we were there – some female sculptures sat in various places & some ‘turkeys’ which were individually designed & painted…..but, to be honest, they just looked like big cocks!

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Dali

Female Sculpture

Big Painted Cocks

Cookery Class At A Retreat

We all met up late afternoon to go to our cookery class. About a 30-minute drive & we arrived at some grounds.

From what we understood it was like a retreat. It was in the middle of nowhere & looked very nice.

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We made pasta dough from Semolina flour & then went onto make a variety of different shaped/types of pasta.

We also made 2 other dishes, one was made from nearly stale sourdough bread (soaked in water) rubbed with garlic & layered with tomatoes. The other was very similar but mixed with egg and herbs to make balls that were to be fried.

It was quite a laugh doing it with a few breaks so we could get a bit of wine in.

Then we got to eat all of our own stuff. It was pretty good actually & very simple.

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We got back to Matera, went for a quick nightcap & then bed.

Next day, we had breakfast & checked out – we were off to Alberobello

Bread & Focaccia To Die For

On the way though we were going to visit a traditional bakery that still uses a stone oven & only cooks sourdough bread. The place was called DiGesu’

Wow!, both Lisa & I could have died here. The bread looked & tasted amazing.

We got to try the various types of bread washed down with a small glass of red (well I did, it was 10.30 am but they wouldn’t have put it out if they hadn’t wanted us to have it).

The whole thing was very interesting.

A sort of byproduct from this style of baking is the focaccia bread.

They make the focaccia dough & put it in various spots in the oven to test the temperature.

Quite frankly it is one of the best-tasting things I have ever had! So much so that it was what we bought from the bakery to have later for our lunch.

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So we left there & were on our way to Alberobello.

Early Proof Of Tax Dodging

This place is very famous for the type of houses they have – they are called Trulli’s.

They are round in construction & were originally built without mortar/cement.

It is said that part of this style of housing came about as a tax dodge.

Landowners at the time were taxed by how many building they had; so the landowners would get their workers to build these house for them to live in.

When/if they got news of someone coming to check their ‘wealth’ the landowner would instruct his workers to take apart the houses thus avoiding tax.

So we got to stay in one for the night. This was right in the heart of the area where these were best preserved (& funnily enough where the tourists came). They were lovely.

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So off we went for a wander.

The Wine Tour – A Tale Of 2 Servers

Early afternoon we met up again to be taken to a local vineyard for a tour & wine tasting – Yay!!!

The winery was called I Pastini.

It was really nice here, a family-run place in lovely surroundings.

A young lady did the tour around the various buildings & part of the vineyard. It was actually quite interesting and didn’t go on too long which gets a massive tick!

They plant rose bushes at the end of each row of vines here. They do this as if there are pests/bugs etc, they will attack the roses first. This is like having a warning system for their grape crop & so if it happens, they can do something about it.

Simple but effective. I found stuff like this quite interesting.

Some wine tours we have been on are beyond dull.

And let us face it, nobody gives that much of a shit about how it all came about etc – we are there to taste & drink the wine!

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The wine tasting was good – we got a selection of nibbles to go with it.

As I recall we tried 4 or 5 wines.

What I do remember very well (which is where the problem lied) is that 2 people were doing the wine pouring for the tasting.

The side we were on was a woman who had clearly challenged herself to pour so little in the glass that it would have evaporated by the time you went to taste it!

It literally was the smallest amount of wine that could allow you to taste it.

On the other side of the room was the young lady who did the tour & she was making up for our loss with her pours, she wasn’t pissing about!

Kamal & Friddy were on her side & after about 3 they were not finishing theirs & pouring some away ready for the next one. I can’t even get my head around this, but we would have loved that problem!

The result – they ordered a case of wine to be shipped back to the UK & we bought a bottle to take away with us.

You would have thought that most people that own a vineyard & do these type of tours must have realised that if you get people a bit pissed they will get their wallets out.

We would have.

There is no question we would have also bought a case, they were pretty reasonable. Alas, we were sober & therefore could easily rationalise & avoid spontaneous purchases!

We left there, wallet intact, back to Alberobello.

We did a bit more wandering & picture taking; then went to a wine bar to try & rectify the wrong from earlier.

That evening we went to a nice little restaurant, the food was pretty good but I am not naming it. The service speed was a joke & getting the bill at the end was like pulling teeth. Such a shame really,

Next day was time to move again.

We had until lunchtime to wander around the bits we had missed & sneak in a cheeky beer before leaving.

The next destination was our final one in Bari.

On the way, we stopped for lunch at a little town called Locorotondo. We were told to have a little explore before settling down to eat which we did.

Was a very pretty little town with lots of rabbit warren type of streets.

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We wandered around for what seemed like ages looking for somewhere to eat. We googled various places but nothing seemed quite right & most were in these narrow streets which were in the shade.

A Perfect 90 Minutes With Wine, Meat & Cheeses

We finally, just before we lost the will to live, decided to sit at an outside restaurant that we had passed about three times – Controra

Quite frankly, this turned out to be one of the highlights from our trip. We sat there for about an hour & a half and was just perfect.

We had a great view, were sat under a shade (it was proper hot that day) & ordered a bottle of the white wine that was from the vineyard we went to the day before. We also ordered a plate of meats, cheeses & bread. It was all superb.

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It turned out, through broken English & lots of gesturing, that the woman who owned the restaurant/bar was the sister of the woman at the vineyard who was tight with the tastings (who turned out to be the owner’s mother!).

The toilets in this place were a bit quirky. My favourite part was the fact that above the sink there was no mirror on the wall, there was just writing saying ‘You Look Fine‘ which quite frankly is genius.

We left here to go to our next stop.

If we didn’t have to go, we would have happily ordered another bottle of wine, more food & sat here for hours.

Enroute to Bari was another stop, this time to visit an Olive farm – Masseria Brancati

We had the standard tour of the old buildings with old ‘machinery’ AKA massive stones that crushed shit, no big shakes in terms of new stuff.

What was interesting that we didn’t know, was the fact that olive oil used to be called ‘Liquid Gold’. It was the modern-day equivalent of oil i.e. it was used for all sorts of things and thus made it very valuable.

So much so, that they would hide & disguise where the olives were stored and processed to avoid being robbed.

The olive groves here were massive. All the trees were 5 meters apart from each other which was the distance required to make sure each tree got all the light & water it needed without imposing on each other.

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The slightly mind-blowing thing of it all is that all the trees were saw were at least 1,000 years old, quite a few were 2,000 years old & there was one that they had dated at 3,000 years old – so if Jesus did exist, this tree existed well before he did.

….and they are all still producing Olives!

Also, each individual tree is a National Heritage Site – they are all tagged & are monitored by satellite.

What the fuck!

The Buzz Of Bari

We left there and headed to our final destination – Bari. (** – Sidenote story – read at end)

We arrived & went to our B&B – Antipico.

Bari, we were told, was a lively local town.

There are tourists here, no question, but the locals outnumbered by far.

We liked it here and it grew on us very quickly.

We had a quick wander about and got a drink in this really cool little bar – La Ciclatera. It was a small place that had alcoves & stuff everywhere!

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Then back to get showered & changed ready for dinner.

When we went out in the early evening, we got to see what Marius has said about it being lively.

The place was buzzing with people everywhere. It was a Saturday night, yes, but not like you would think.

The big difference was that it was everyone. There were families, groups of young people, groups of older, groups surrounding by kids.

Everyone was out.

People were sat everywhere & anywhere and there was a lot of noise being created by what seemed like the whole community coming out to play.

We had decided to try a place to eat called MareViglie lo Sprofondo

We really liked it here, it was pretty busy but the service was excellent. Again, the lack of English speaking made the asking/choosing more fun.

This was very apparent from our starter order – we thought we had chosen a ‘premium’ platter to share – we pictured it being hams, salami’s, cheese, olives and the like – lovely!

What came out?

3 big portions of raw cold fish! – Salmon, Tuna & Swordfish.

A far cry from what we wanted but actually really nice.

The main course was better but somehow I ordered a pizza which effectively had chips on it & a bit of ham!

Lisa fared better with ‘mouse ears’ pasta.

Despite this, it was a really nice meal & a nice bottle of white.

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Afterwards, we wandered about for a bit; the streets were still full of people & this still included kids of all ages. We went back to our little bar again for a couple of G&T nightcaps.

The next morning we heading for our breakfast. Not quite the same as we had experienced in the 2 other places.

It was a short walk to a cafe where we were eligible for a free coffee & a croissant.

This was supposed to be the ‘Bari’ way……well, quite frankly, we preferred the other way!

Bari On Bikes

We then met up with Marius, Friddy & Kamal. This was going to be a tour around Bari on bikes.

Friddy & Kamal decided they didn’t want to do it. They were going to get a train & visit another town nearby. We said our goodbyes as we wouldn’t see them again.

A shame really as the cycle tour was really good – Velo Service

We saw a lot of places that we had already seen….but this time with some information explaining what on earth things actually were & with some history behind it.

Including Basilica San Nicola which was St Nicholas’s church – he was the patron saint of sailors, prostitutes & children; which sorts of works if you think about it.

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One of the stops has a bittersweet taste to it.

We stopped at basically a woman’s house in a square. she had a little kitchen set up outside.

We were going here to learn how to make pasta again as we did when we were in Matera.

This woman was quite a character, she spoke no English & just shouted for most of the time.

She shouted to her neighbours, to people walking past she knew…but most of the time she shouted at her husband.

Marius & the girl from the cycle tour gave us a running commentary.

She was laying into her husband big time.

Really slagging him off, saying how lazy he was & utterly useless arsehole! (he looked a lot like the character of Manuel in Fawlty Towers).

We sat there in the sun, with a beer & made pasta.

She cooked various things & we tried them.

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We really enjoyed it here, so much that we said to Marius about coming back for lunch, which he arranged.

We did our last bit of wandering & then headed back for food.

We had asked Marius to join us which he did before he had to leave for his flight.

Anyway, we had some lunch, it was like tapas really, a few small plates, nothing mind-blowing.

When we left and asked for the bill, they wanted 50 euro!

Holy shit! How much?!

We did the British thing and paid immediately asking no questions.

Then followed it up with a whole lot of bitching in private.

It did put a bit of a dampener on our last lunch to be honest, but such is life.

Since then I have looked at the Google reviews & a lot of people complain about the ‘Quantity to Cost’ ratio, so it wasn’t just us she stiffed which is nice to know.

Anyway, off we went & found a little bar to get a bottle of white wine & while away an hour or so until we were ready to head to the airport & home.

Another great trip with Untravelled Paths to a lovely part of Italy.

___________________________________________________________________

** – Sidenote Story:

When we 1st arrived in Bari, a friend of mine, Simon (Hells Bells Hols Bols) rang me. I text back to say I was away in Italy & would ring when I got back to the UK.

A variety of texts were then exchanged where it turned out that not only was he also in Italy, he was also in Alberobello! & further to this, he & his wife Rosemary had bought a Trulli! He was actually there having work done!

Gutted!

Had he rung the day before we could have all met up for a beer & seen their new holiday home (which they will be renting out when finished) – you can find it on Instagram – https://instagram.com/trullo_genista

Puglia, Italy – Pasta, Pizza, Wine, Sourdough Bread & More Wine Another trip booked with 'Untravelled Paths' & another success. This time a 4 night trip to the Puglia region of Italy - …

#puglia #sourdough bread #wine

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captainevans · 6 years

Photo

i’ve been asked to make a tutorial on how to make an asymmetrical mobile header like the one i currently have, so here we are.

under the cut i’m going to do a basic tutorial for the top gif, and the bottom one requires a bit more skill and a lot more patience.

if you have any questions or if you want either of these headers, please message me so i can give the image in the correct size!

what you need:

photoshop (i use cs5 but it works with other versions)

for the first tutorial, simple giffing skills. for the second, basic/intermediate giffing skills + ability to remove the background.

psds or basic coloring skills.

for header number one.

1. i personally just go to file>import>video frames to layers to make my gifs, but you can also load screencaps from kmplayer. do whichever you’re more comfortable with. select similar layers, and create a new group.

2. crop your image size to 586x330, and then hit alt+ctrl+c to change your final canvas dimensions to 584x328. this will make your edges clean and not fuzzy.

3. color your gif, but do not sharpen just yet! make sure your psd/coloring is added to the group above your image layers. you’re gonna need this later.

4. from here, take your line tool with weight set to 20px and in the color of your choice (i’ll be using white for both headers), and draw a line (i’m going from left to right here) starting just above the bottom corner and drag it all away across the image.

5. repeat step four as necessary until everything below is filled.

6. now toggle off your group’s visibility by clicking the eye in the box next to it.

7. right click on one of the shape layers, and merge visible. this will put all your shape layers into one. toggle your group’s visibility back on.

8. now from here you add your time delay and sharpen. select all frames and set time to 0.05-0.07 depending on what speed you want your gif. after that click on the shape one layer, right click and select similar layers and click the timeline button at the bottom of your screen.

9. right click on your layers, convert to smart object, and filter>sharpen>smart sharpen with an amount of 500%, radius 0.3px, remove gaussian blur, and the more accurate box toggled on.

10. save for web and devices, and you’re done!

for header two.

lord jesus help us all

kidding. mostly.

for this header, you’re going to want to stick with something that doesn’t move around so much, just because this requires more work and you’ll be removing the background one layer/frame at a time.

1. load your frames as previously stated in step one in the tutorial above, but do not resize anything yet. go to file>new to create a new canvas and set dimensions at 584x328.

2. now to the fun part - removing the background! you can either use the pen or quick selection tools to cut around your image. it doesn’t have to be perfect, but you want to get as close to your image as possible. right click to select inverse and delete the background.

****it’s important to note: when deleting your background, each frame needs to match up with each layer and you cannot mass delete the backgrounds. one at a time, until everything is gone except your image.

3. repeat step 2 until every layer is without a background. you’re gonna be here a while.

4. so we’ve cut the excess. again, it doesn’t have to be perfect, just as long as it’s close to your image as possible.

5. for this header, i want the color of the original background to be the color of the header so use the eyedropper tool to get an exact match.

6. create a new frame, and using the paint bucket fill it with your preferred color. drag that layer to the very bottom so it’s underneath your image.

7. now for the second fun part. using the paint brush tool set at a low opacity (anything less than 10%) and a size of 12px, go around the image until whatever excess from the background that was still there is gone. again, go through each frame/layer at a time. it’s okay if a little gets on hair/clothes, just make sure it isn’t a lot so the image doesn’t look too different going from one frame to the next.

8. drag the group over to the 584x328 canvas you’ve already created, and hitting ctrl+alt+t, transform the image to your liking.

9. create your asymmetrical border using steps 4-7 from the tutorial above.

10. color your gif, sharpen, and save!

#evansedit #steverogersedit #captainsamerica #userraisa #dailyteamcap #beardedchrisevans #dailychrisevans #usernush #userananda #userchaitali #marveledit #marvelcastedit #*resource #*headers #becka makes a thing

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fst-critique · 3 years

Link

The Spring 2022 Menswear season was one of the strongest in recent memory. Taking place between Milan and Paris, the seasonal shows concluded within roughly 15 days. Exhibiting a sense of optimism, designers who chose to show their Spring-Summer sets during the traditional calendar season carried the burning fashion torch onward with an attitude ripe for surprise and enjoyment. Though the venture took place alongside the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, attention to the viral disease was ignored as a focus on dressing for a less constrained future took place over the fear and anguish delt to society over the last 18 months. This summer saw beachside havens, quiet metropolitan stages, and city landscapes used as the perfect backdrop for which many a lively fashion film and few in-person events took place. The minimal scenes and airy atmospheres reflect comfort and promise that simpler times are indeed ahead. Timelessness and modernity were abandoned as themes of exuberance and living in the moment represented a transformation to showcasing personality. Both time and fashion must move forward. Those involved in leading the art post-Covid did so with fervor and an opportunistic sensibility. This season’s most popular trends are appreciating the natural body, unfettered suiting, and animated colorways. For styles, a revival of streetwear, upscale take on workwear, and exploration of Western wear transpired neatly. Expect next year’s Spring Summer styles to be full of life, adventure, and a new appreciation for the undomesticated world ahead.

TRENDS

The overarching trend of Spring-Summer 2022 was a shift to embracing the natural. Displaying a sense of confidence and vitality, menswear designers across Western Europe tapped into the zeitgeist’s desires to show themselves unabashedly. Strutting alongside a utopian- or dystopian in the case of Rick Owens- beach, owning and touting the body with all its flaws and glory was the focus as fashion seeks to define appeal and sensuality for the present-day man. Going to great lengths to reveal the chest, shoulders, back, and legs, designers from the Prada duo to Rick Owens boasted their models' agile bodies by highlighting the male figure in all its beauty. Raf and Miuccia underwent an exploration of a new identity for their Prada man with light rompers and revealing skorts, while Rick Owens kept to his unisex aesthetic with an organic strategy centered on soft lace tank tops. Stepping outside their full-throttle sex-appeal image for just a second, Stefano Gabbana and Domenico Dolce took to show a subtler side of their brand with a mesh top embroidered with colorful jewels. For his Y/Project presentation, Glenn Martens handy patterns crept into a realm of versatility. Allowing wearers to transform their garments, wool knits included a neckline full of twisted and braided straps that revealed the upper chest and traps seductively. Riccardo Tisci exalted the macho-man through the use of sleeveless gaberdine wool trench vests, as Matthew Williams elected to counter such aggression with lean, slim trousers. For Fendi, Kim Jones highlighted the waist with cropped blazers that New York’s Peter Do would snatch up in a second. Designers want the men of the future to feel comfortable in their skin. Independent of styles that showed restraint, those leading life in such pieces post-lockdown will feel free and jubilant knowing their willingness to escape conventional male dress codes has finally transpired and been accepted.

Breathable, composed suiting is the tailoring of the moment. No excess padding, dramatic variations, or elongated shapes. Instead, ideas played into the ongoing wait-and-see narrative plaguing society at large. In the meantime, as life returns to some level of normalcy, baggy trousers and shapeless jackets offer some reprieve to the lived-in t-shirt and sweatpant pandemic uniform. Prada’s blazers were cut casually with wide sleeves and a slight slope of the shoulder. Bruno’s taste for Lanvin dipped into an oversized look complete with rounded shoulders. His wide notch lapels encouraged an image of 1980’s suiting, as did the jackets mid-thigh cut. Christophe Lemaire and Sarah Lin Tran added to the style with variations that hung loose and away from the body. Shown in an empty carnival at night, Alexandre Mattiussi’s kept to the trend of the oversized suit by including sleeves that extended well past the wrist bone. Dior Men’s Kim Jones and the Meier’s for Jil Sander showed classic styles that were long and representative of a double-breasted fold. Lose and flowing trousers continue to remain in vogue, though the elastic waistband is finally meeting its end. A constant dating back three seasons now, this loose cut of pants is continuing to show a presence. Distancing themselves from any notion of the slim-cut pant, both Lemaire and The Row- in typical fashion- provided a most appealing version with trousers that were wide around the hip yet tapered in at the ankle. Keeping to this shape though done in a less intense version was Véronique Nichanian’s variant styled with a rolled cuff as to show a casual demeanor. The hybrid suite has long been a topic for discussion since the onset of the pandemic. Those looking to abandon the ship of suits once and for all may after all be brought back into exploring the toned-down variations of the season. Cut with an essential purpose and with movement in mind, the non-confirming suit is a trend that will undoubtedly cement itself in menswear for decades to come.

The color scheme most representative of Spring-Summer 2022 is enthused vibrancy. For the moment, minimalism has no place in fashion post-Covid. After months, now bordering years, of isolation and staring at the same grey and beige curtains, colorists are being celebrated by those trapped inside for their approach to redefining life as a place where joy will flourish. Best showcased by Jonathan Anderson's appreciation for the pop of color- bright red, ultramarine blue, and bubble-gum pink- the British designer alleviated boredom with hues that are reminiscent of childhood bliss. Jeremy Scott’s sequined Canadian tuxedo was done in a shiny blue that will be perfect for any Studio 54 disco-themed party. For a more traditional offer, Walter Van Beirendonck opened his collection with three single-breasted suits done up in bright, lush hues of orange, pink, and green. Jil Sander continued the use of the monochromatic with a green trouser and jacket combination. Diversifying their offering with playful separates took shape with a color-blocked jumper, a red, turquoise, white, and black prints played second fiddle to an eclectic silk yellow foulard- maybe Luke and Lucie Meier are colorists after all! Dries Van Noten continued on the usage of color blocking with typography set in tones of faded yellow, burgundy, and blue as shown in his opening long parka look. Infusions of neon orange and green in sporty jackets added to Noten’s energy. In total, much of the tones found throughout the season harken a mood similar to that of the 1960s London “Youth Quake”. One could easily picture teens across London’s hip Chelsea neighborhood flaunting such outrageously fun styles. As was the mindset back then, these respective color patterns will help consumers express themselves as individuality will continue to hold relevance come Springtime next year.

STYLES

Beginning around 2005 and lasting until 2017, a new type of sportswear was widely adopted and offered as an alternative mode of dress that captured a wide demographic across cities from Moscow to Los Angeles. Oversized t-shirts, high-top sneakers, icon-riddled hoodies, and distressed trousers provided a way for cities youth to embrace a concept of nonconformity. Rising from the previous hip-hop, punk, and rock-and-roll eras of fashion, the gritty, new silhouettes and flashy outfits of urbanites seeped far enough into the mainstream to welcome a contemporary statement known officially as Streetwear. Hood by Air’s Shayne Oliver, Alyx creative director Matthew Williams, and Off-White founder Virgil Abloh played crucial roles in established this scene with offerings that accompanied a combined aesthetic of athleisure and skate-wear. Over the past few years, this style of representation has declined dramatically as the consumer's age and taste grew up all in the same. Such the novel concept of getting dressed up by dressing down introduced the idea of risk-taking to the menswear market that paved a path for a more pertinent display of rebellion. The return and reflection of how to reintroduce and revamp streetwear heading into 2022 was a task undertaken by the most seasoned designers throughout Paris and Milan.

The ease and comfortability factor of the style made a strong case for even some of the most outlandish streetwear variations this Summer. With lockdowns ending, such a need to define a new look has come as the desire to dress up is equally matched with a proposal to remain dressed down. Virgil Abloh paired his recent menswear endeavor with another collaboration with Nike and his label Off-White. Low-top Air Force 1’s had a makeover as the monogrammed LV logo wrapped around the sneaker's leather exterior. Continuing to embrace his now-iconic concept of scribbling descriptors on products, the terms “Lacet” and “AIR” were printed on his new Louis trainers. The yellow, green, and blue kicks come just months after the designer recently announced his “Dear Summer” project with the American sportswear giant Nike. A confidant and dear friend of Abloh, Kim Jones furthered the re-emerged streetwear style with his Dior Menswear campaign. A joint effort with Houston rapper Travis Scott, Jones and his musical muse fermented on a plan to coincide formal tailoring with graphic, original sketches from the rapper. The work, more doodle’s than fine art, was felt most in a paint-splattered t-shirt whose broad and slightly cropped cut allows for ease of layering. No stranger to the street movement of the mid-2000s, Riccardo Tisci insisted upon adding to the democratic scheme with his Burberry set. Large and in charge, XL tops with prints representing that of a conceptual camouflage will do anything but hide the wearer. Wrestler-inspired high tops sneakers and bondage trousers completed a new city uniform and should they be adopted by Londonite’s, will help to re-establish the Italian as a leading figure in the movement that he helped define decades ago. Opposed to delivering the tacky, overpriced pieces that contributed to the decline of streetwear in the first place, such improvised, practical ideas will aid in the resurrection of the movement in which teens and young adults will find hard to resist.

With a constant presence across runways every season, workwear products have provided a foundation for menswear designers to build upon dating back decades. Dickie’s overalls, Levi’s 501 jeans, and Martin Margiela’s tabi boots all evolved from the practical functionalities of such historic designs. Utilizing a contemporary vision, textile’s and authentic versions of such hard-scrabbled attire met a softer, fashion-forward interpretation that saw a deeper dive into the meaning of labor-intensive products unfold. Martin Rose, Thebetsile Magugu, and Glenn Martens advanced into an aesthetic of up-scale workwear with their modernized versions of double-knee trousers. Neil Barrett’s pocket-laden jackets will have any fashionable carpenter vying to get their weathered hands on such a useful piece. Virgil Abloh’s PVC jacket and trousers would be a pleasant surprise for Niagara Falls attendants braving the wet majestic mist, though his colorful hockey gloves may suit Canada’s Winter Olympic team more realistically come the 2022 Winter Olympics. Études creative directors and founders Aurélien Arbet, Jérémie Egry, and José Lamali take care of the truckers across major highways with tailored denim trucker jackets that would be digested by even the most unfashionable journeymen. As the world prepares to once again begin the foray back into the office, designers made sure to represent the pride behind the many blue-collar industries that supported the masses during the most intense moments of the pandemic.

Back in the 19th century when cowboys tended to buffalos and wrangled with outlaws in taverns, little did they know just how great of an influence their appearance would have on high fashion nearly two centuries later. Somewhat mythological, these figures represented a time when the United States was undergoing an expansion to the western part of the country that with it brought a whole new look seen through pointy heels, fringed jackets, and loose cotton shirts. The idea that the proverbial lone-wolf traveled on horseback with leather trousers and rhinestone vests is merely a falsity brought on by exited film directors and their inaccurate depictions of history as shown in the 1960s Spaghetti Western movie craze. Thanks to admirers of this lifestyle like Ralph Lauren, the freedom and rugged aesthetic of the cowboy has long been altered to fit a stereotypical metropolitan look supported with calf-high cowboy boots, cow print trousers, and of course, the suede fringed jacket that has gone on to become an easily identifiable staple of any western-loving fashionista’s wardrobe. Drawing a line between escapism and utility, many provided an updated product to accompany the restart of normal life. In many ways, venturing into the post-COVID world mirrors the undertaking of the first pioneers who ventured into the vast wilderness unaware of the challenges and beauty that would accompany the journey. The American western style is back in fashion. Enticing versions of the classic silhouettes and the introduction of more abstract takes define a new period of what it means to be a present-day pioneer.

Dwindled to just two of the four fashion capital cities holding a menswear week, the allotted period felt much shorter than years past. Concluding just a week before the Haute Couture presentations were shown in Paris, those who went on to exhibit and introduce their concepts for the upcoming Spring and Summer seasons did so with an ambitious mindset that allowed for many a rememberable moment. Of such trends and styles, breaking conventionality with exposing the natural body took home the grand prize for daring to reveal the pure human form. Cropped blazers, shorter cuts, and tangible lines introduced a sense of rawness and visibility to how men will and should dress next year. Much in the same way was the soft tailoring that arrived alongside this rise to escaping conformity. Curved trousers, natural shoulders, and oversized jackets avoid restriction and allow for a taste of freedom. Inspiring and spirited, the mod color pallets of the season play their part in exercising the ability for consumers to dream of an easier, joyous life ahead. As far as styles go, the updated streetwear takes, luxury utilitarian forms, and re-imagined western apparel and accessories are set to provide wearers with fashionable looks that will accompany their expeditions from their 300 square foot apartments back into civilization. Menswear is currently one of the fastest-growing and most-watched markets in the scope of the fashion industry. These Spring-Summer 2022 trends and styles will ensure this growth remains constant.

#Fultonstcritique #menswear

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sjingegno · 4 years

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Culture: Maize, Music, and the Mesoamerican ballgame 🌽🎺🏐

Like any unified and organized civilization, fun activities or games are an integral part of a communities identity. In the Mesoamerican cultures music and religion, food and sport are closely tied to religion and the deities that one worshipped.

For the Teotihuacános musical instruments resembled that of a modern day trumpets or flute made from shells, pottery or even bones.Musical instruments such as these would have represented the anthropomorphic characteristics associated with the culture, and may have even been adorned with the features that are are attributed to them. Such as the feathers of a quetzal bird. See the video below for a cool demonstration!

Food, especially corn or Maize, is an extremely integral part not only of their religion but the nutritional balance and health of these individuals. It is associated with many gods, such as Xipe Totec and Tlaloc, and indicates signs of fertility and agricultural prosperity. In addition to maize, beans, squash, amaranth, and small animals such as pheasants or hare were also found to be apart of their native diet, based upon agricultural digs and remnants. The Teotihuacán civilization was so advanced that they had created ways to crop their produce.

The most quintessential characteristic of the mesoamerican cultures. Originally attributed to the Olmec, many other cultures used this game as not only a way to create a geographic sense of identity, but it is believed that the game contained spiritual significance as well.

The typical layout of a ball court consisted of a narrow central playing aisle with an end zone at the end sides of the aisle. Do you central playing field is bordered by too long and skinny rectangular buildings which I believe to be a spectator stands. Simple courts have been closed and zones, with the court resembling the shape of an uppercase ‘I’, wow others are open. The ball courts that have been discovered across Mesoamerica are vary in size.

Some of the techniques used to play the ball game included players attempting to move the rubber ball throughout rings located across the upper side walls of the court and scoring points by hitting stone markers in the central aisle of the court and or over a line painted across the floor covered in plaster. Players hit the rubber ball with their hips, rather than with their hands or feet, in teams of two.

The symbolic association with the game is that the movement of the rubber ball across the court is representative of the suns movement across the sky. Inherently corresponding to the dichotomy of night and day with the sun passing through the underworld before rising and a new day. The ballgame was associated with human sacrifice specifically the practice of decapitation. The exact reasoning for why is unclear, however archaeologists continue to research. In hopes to uncover how, what or why sacrifice and the ball game were so connected.

Bibliography:

“The Archaeology of Complex Societies: Teotihuacan.” The Archaeology of Complex Societies: A Project Presented by the Graduate Students of The Ohio State University Department of Anthropology, scalar.usc.edu/works/archaeology-of-complex-societies/teotihuacan.

Cartwright, Mark. “The Ball Game of Mesoamerica.” Ancient History Encyclopedia, Ancient History Encyclopedia, 21 Sept. 2020, www.ancient.eu/article/604/the-ball-game-of-mesoamerica/.

Both , Arnd Adje. “." Encyclopedia of Religion. . Encyclopedia.com. 12 Aug. 2020 .” Encyclopedia.com, Encyclopedia.com, 25 Sept. 2020, www.encyclopedia.com/environment/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/music-music-and-religion-mesoamerica.

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pinkblood-kin · 7 years

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mod kiibo! i really love your anthology icons, how do you make them? they look so nice but i have no idea how to make them look like that... sorry if you can't answer >.

I guess it’s finally time for me to make a tutorial! Pay in mind that’s how I personally make them, & there is no one correct way to make any type of graphic.

Proper tutorial under the cut:

1. Choose your editor of choice + what you would like to edit

First of all, you need to find a program to edit in. Fun fact – although Photoshop is a really good editor (from personal experience, I used many versions throughout the years oldest being 7 & newest CC), not all of us have that type of money or are comfortable with pirating, so we will focus on freebie editors in this tutorial. Free of charge editors may not have as many options as PS, but for something as simple as icons you won’t need much – I’m using currently FireAlpaca (which is usually seen as the free version of PaintToolSai) which is an art program with layer functions similar to PS. Another similar editor I highly recommend is GIMP, but you will have to look up some base tutorials to use it properly (but it takes only a few days to master it which is always a good thing, plus they got some decent tutorials on their official site).

Next, you need the files to edit (duh!). Luckily, I already have downloaded the two available anthologies for V3 so I’m set to go! if you don’t have any scans, many scanlation groups offer volumes &/or chapters in zip/rar files. Here is a good place to get DR related anthologies: ☆.

2. Find a template that works for you

You can either make your own base for the icons of whatever size you wish, or you can find a PSD file online (note: PSD files aren’t fully functioning on most freebie editors, due to PSD being a PS centered files & has many more functions that won’t work in some programs). Here is the PSD file I’m using: ☆. Now, this is a good base, but I feel the frame is too wide & the icon itself is too small (95x95). The original author gives permission on changing sizes, so it’s not a problem for us.

In the upper menu, choose Edit > Image Size. I small window will pop up (as shown bellow) & you can change the icon to any size you desire (although anything above 150x150 isn’t recommended).

Now for the border – after you closed the size window, press on your keyboard cmd+T (or ctrl/shift+T on Windows I don’t actually remember please look it up properly;;) & a resize option will show. If you tag the corners, the resizing will be even, & you can make the border as wide or thin as you want (another option is to make your own border by choosing select > all & then select > Draw Selection Border or find a PNG file online that you like).

3. Customize + cropping

Now after playing around with the file a bit (changing sizes, colours & adding maybe some things of your own like small pixel art at the corner) you can now make your own icons! Just open up the manga page & copy it, then go back to the file of your icon & paste it on top of the layer called BASE & use again the cmd+T command to resize it & place it however you like. & there you go!

Extra notes: colouring & redrawing

To fill in a new layers with colour, I use a massive normal pen brush (I actually use the max size because I also use it to colour on top of big graphics).

The pen(Fade In/Out) should usually be the size of 1 px because usually you need to draw super thin lines, & you can make it look like you used pressure on a tablet while actually work with a mouse (also highly recommend for art if you don’t have a tablet 10/10).

The pencil brush is your eraser & filler for black/grey parts. DO NOT USE THE ERASER TOOL DEAR GOD. It will leave holes in your layer & you’ll have to paint white underneath every other layer & you don’t want that, trust me!

#icon tutorial #mod kiibo #(I hope I explained it well;;)

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kmaier-blog1 · 4 years

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Top Five iPhone Apps for Photo Editing

Growing up I wasn’t much into taking photographs of people, places or even family members. That all change when I become a parent and got into sports. In the past, if you wanted to take really good quality photographs, you need an expensive camera and special software for editing. But thanks to technology, iPhones, and apps that you can easily download, you longer need to be an expert and purchase expensive equipment. So, I decided to check out photo editing apps on my iPhone and to my surprise, there are over one hundred apps on the app store that were free and some as much as seventy dollars. I decided some research was needed to comb through all of the apps and find out which ones were the best. Here are my results are the best apps for photo editing on an iPhone.

1. Enlight (iOS)

This app has the traditional editing tools and a variety of filters. There are various creative tools and special effects, you can turn a picture into a painting or a drawing giving a standard photo a unique design. There are also drawing tools, text, borders, and frames to choose from. The app is not free but for only $3.99 you can’t go wrong and you won’t have to deal with ads.

2. Snapseed

Snapseed is an all-purpose editing app that gives you precise control over color and exposure. The app can be used by serious photographers who like to have fun with their photos. The app can a vast range of editing tools that are easy to use. You can edit the exposure and color of the photos. There is an option that lets you take your current photos and transform them into black & white. While the app is free the con is that there is no autosave.

3. VSCO

VSCO is another app that lets you transform your current photos into black and white giving it a vintage look. VSCO has many filters that can be adjusted to your style. There are many tools that let you adjust the exposure, contrast, sharpness, and clarity. If you are looking for an app that works well with Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/) this the one. You can download the app for free from the app store it only provides you with ten filters, you can purchase a yearly membership for $19.99 which gives you access to over 130 filters.

4. YouCam Perfect (iOS)

If you are looking for the best app for your selfies, CNET.com picked YouCam Perfect for iOS. (https://www.cnet.com/topics/mobile-apps/best-mobile-apps-ios/best-photo-apps-for-iphone/) The app has many tools and features, it allows you to record selfie videos and instantly edit them. You can add fun stickers and backgrounds to your selfie. YouCam Perfect also you to crop your photo and you can even change your physical appearance by adding makeup such as lipstick or blush. YouCam also makes it easy for all your selfies exportable to social media platforms.

5. Superimpose X

Superimpose X app gives you the ability to create unique digital art of your photos by combining and blending images. You can combine two or more photos to create a composite image. This apps also allows you to change the background of the original photo. There are various tools and filters that allow you to blur and give shadows to your photo. Other features include the ability to gradient and distort your image. For only $4.99 from the App Store Superimpose gives you the freedom to edit your photo for social platforms easily.

Like I said there are hundreds of apps that you can choose from that will help you edit your photo for any social media platform and make you look like a professional photographer. With any app you will have to download and see what works best for you. I personally like YouCam Perfect as it was easy to use and upload selfies on Facebook and Instagram.

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longislandweekly-blog · 5 years

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There are tons of family-friendly activities at the fair, including camel rides for kids! (Photos by Kimberly Dijkstra)

The annual Long Island Fair celebrates 177 years of agriculture as the festivities commenced on Saturday. Housed at the Old Bethpage Village Restoration, the fair is the perfect way to kick off the fall season.

“Nassau County is proud to be the home to New York State’s oldest fair,” said County Executive Laura Curran in a statement. “Come on down to enjoy some wholesome family fun. Enjoy a stroll through the village, check out the old-time reenactors and explore the butterfly and craft exhibits. Don’t miss the fairgrounds section to enter the corn husking contests, cheer on the pig races, enjoy the circus and magic shows and much more. We are so fortunate to have a historic cultural attraction in our very own backyard.”

This tradition has countless competitive exhibits, local craft vendors and activities for all age groups. Anyone can showcase their skills and engage in friendly competition for the coveted blue ribbon.

“There is something for everyone. Grandparents, parents and children alike come to the event and end up having a great time,” Long Island Fair Manager Gary Haglich explained. “It is a multigenerational event that mixes traditional and contemporary elements.”

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Welcome to the Long Island Fair! (Photos by Kimberly Dijkstra)

The giant pumpkin seemed significantly smaller than recent years, but there’s no telling how much it weighs until the contest ends!

Tasty treats in the culinary competition.

Young artists show off their work.

Juniors art entries

Lorraine Lane took second place with this cross-stitched Mona Lisa.

The exhibition hall is only the start of the fun at the fair.

Many food vendors to choose from.

Friendly alpaca at the petting zoo.

Kids love feeding the animals.

This alpaca’s got spunk.

Family meets the Boer goat.

Good advice

Kids take a ride on a camel.

Aquabatics

Candy apples are a staple of any country fair.

Gymnastics demonstration

Exiting the circus show

Crowds fill the stands to see Aquabatics.

Autumn has begun!

Families wait their turn at the butterfly exhibit.

Old-time reenactors can be found all around the village.

Children have fun pumpkin picking.

Unlike other fairs or exhibitions in the area, the Long Island Fair is the official New York state fair for Queens, Nassau and Suffolk counties. The event also only occurs in the fall. When first created, the fair was always hosted in October right around or after the gathering of fresh crops.

“Fall is the perfect time,” Haglich said. “We do a heaviest pumpkin contest, where people can enter a raffle to win the pumpkin. Vendors also put fresh fruit and flowers on display because of the harvest.”

The competitive exhibits are focused on crafting, culinary and garden skills. There are categories for a variety of hobbies, including photography, fiber arts, painting, jewelry making and many more. Anyone can enter, including children. This year, the fair added back the poetry competition and continues to add more and more excitement.

“The exhibition hall helps guests get a sense of the community,” Haglich mentioned. “The fair is a place where people come and bring their flowers, produce and crafts for competition or display.”

In addition to the traditional entertainment, guests can partake in magic and puppet shows, leather making, hat making and dance lessons. The fair will also be featuring modern acts including Swifty Swine Pig Racing, an Aquabatics Show, the amazing Circus Dubois act and many others.

The fair has come a long way since its beginnings in 1841 when the Agricultural Society of Queens, Nassau and Suffolk counties was created. The society worked to develop the Queens County Fair solely using members’ farming areas or large vacant spaces.

In 1970, the fair was moved to the Old Bethpage Village Restoration and was renamed to the Long Island Fair. Like the original location, these grounds were built through the support of the public. During this time, the Agricultural Society officially partnered with Nassau County to help further the growth of the community and its surrounding events.

“Every fall, the Long Island Fair pays homage to Nassau County’s roots and celebrates the change of seasons with family-friendly fun,” Nassau County Legislator Arnold Drucker said. “I hope everyone has an opportunity to enjoy the vendors, exhibits and attractions being presented at the Old Bethpage Village Restoration, a gem in our community that brings the past alive all year long through captivating historic events and educational programs.”

The Long Island Fair will continue next weekend as it will run from Sept. 28 to 29 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day at the Old Bethpage Restoration Village. Haglich encourages those to come by and experience the tradition of the massive event.

“It is important that the fair has gone on for so long,” Haglich said. “There is a stewardship that people have, and we have the responsibility to keep it going in the future.”

—Additional reporting by Christopher Birsner

Courtney Shapiro is a contributing writer to Anton Media Group.

The Long Island Fair is back with family-friendly fun! Enjoy the exhibits, old-time reenactors, petting zoo, acrobatics and more this weekend at Old Bethpage Restoration Village. View Long Island Weekly's photo gallery from the first weekend. The annual Long Island Fair celebrates 177 years of agriculture as the festivities commenced on Saturday. Housed at the Old Bethpage Village Restoration, the fair is the perfect way to kick off the fall season.

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biofunmy · 5 years

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Souvenirs From Europe You Can’t Sneak Through Customs

Consider some of the goodies an American visitor to Europe can bring home: rare cognac and (certain) cheese from France, fresh cream truffles from Switzerland, a hard-to-find Irish whiskey from Dublin, a one-off Yves Saint Laurent gown from Paris.

But what about that super-sleek Peugeot or super-cool SEAT you glimpsed on the Côte d’Azur?

Uh-uh.

Just like the prosciutto and tomatoes you savored in Rome, those cars, and many more like them, are forbidden fruit (as is most fruit) when it comes to importing European delights into the United States.

The reasons are complicated, and most have to do with a tangle of federal, state and local laws and regulations. Almost all newer cars available for sale in Europe not built for export to America do not comply with a long list of safety and emission standards. Some have different bumpers, different lighting and even different brakes and brake lines that don’t meet American specifications. And those are just a few examples of noncompliance.

Short of exporting yourself overseas to enjoy a Mercedes-Benz or a Jaguar with a stick shift or a Skoda wagon from the Czech Republic, there are exceptions: Some models older than 25 years, with their original engines, may be allowed in. Of course, buyers must pay for shipping, as in by ship.

Enthusiasts who scour the internet might find a car overseas that had been built to conform to United States regulations, but the choices will most likely be limited. And if you’re considering one of the European delivery programs offered by some carmakers, be aware that those vehicles are basically no different from the models those brands sell in the States; the main benefit is that vacationers can arrange to drive their new vehicles for a set period in Europe before it is sent home, and save on the high cost of a rental car overseas.

For people determined to take a shot at importing a car, a comprehensive guide is published by the Customs and Border Protection agency.

And if you fall in love with those Audi Avants you can no longer buy in America, don’t take it personally. “From a business point of view, the U.S. market simply does not support bringing them here,” said Mark Dahncke, a spokesman for Audi of America. “We do continually evaluate our product portfolio to see whether it makes sense to bring them back. We’ll keep trying.”

Meanwhile, we can always dream. What follows, in no particular order, are some new vehicles from Over There that aren’t currently available Over Here. While others may seek out the best fondue, consider an automotive daydream. And there’s always the rental option.

Volkswagen Up GTI. For those who get a jolt out of the Smart car, this baby is as cute, and as a bonus, it’s fun, fun, fun. One British car authority described it as “a Top Gear award-winner, and all-round tremendous thing.” Top speed is about 120 m.p.h., and its zero-to-60 time is just under nine seconds, but, in Mazda Miata-speak, the joy is in the getting there. The ride is fairly firm — such is the price of a 95-inch wheelbase — but motorway jaunts are delightful, tight parking spots beckon, and everybody (almost) gives the Up a smile.

Audi RS4 Avant. Avants are Audi-speak for wagons, and wagons are pretty much verboten in the States, where the S.U.V. rules. But to Europeans, wagons make sense, and this powerhouse with its twin-turbo V6 motor, developed in partnership with Porsche, is near the cream of the crop. Quattro all-wheel drive is baked into the RS4. If you think wagons aren’t sexy, this one’s an eye-opener.

Subaru Levorg. Almost the whole world gets this wagon-esque model, essentially a version of the WRX sedan that is sold in the States. In typical Subaru fashion, the Levorg isn’t quite sleek (a popular joke not long ago was that Subaru designers worked out of a dungeon), but it is a powerful hauler, especially attractive now that the company no longer offers the practical hatchback WRX in the United States. All-wheel drive is standard, and some Levorgs can churn out 300 horsepower. The name, by the by, stands for “LEgacy eVOlution touRinG.” Of course.

Alfa Romeo Giulia, manual transmission. We know the stick shift is a dying breed in the United States, and it’s clear that take rates on sticks are dropping in Europe as well. But there remain a few examples available overseas — from Jaguar, Mercedes and BMW, among others. We’d choose the Alfa Giulia with its six-speed manual. Time was when the Italians said they’d offer such a gearbox in America, but for now the only choice is an automatic.

Renault Mégane RS. Among heroic European hot hatches, the Mégane is an evergreen, its history dating back more than two decades. Available as either a petrol or diesel (this is Europe, remember), the Mégane has a design similar to the Mazda3. Still, the car’s French character shines though: It’s responsive, lightweight and proudly Gallic. Designers of French cars historically sacrifice handling prowess for creature comfort, but not here, so the Mégane arrives as a cruiser extraordinaire when you bomb down the autoroute.

Citroën C3. While we’re speaking French, sort of, consider the Citroën C3, which emphasizes form over function by taking a page from the customization book popularized in the past decade by Mini. For our money, this four-door hatch is adorable, with its soft curves and purposeful stance. The contrasting roof seems to almost float, and then there’s “Airbump,” a panel of thermoplastic molding, air-filled bumps that line the lower part of the doors to deflect scratches and dents in those nasty Parisian parking lots. It’s rumored that France’s PSA Group, which also makes Peugeot, is plotting to re-enter the United States market (the last Peugeot left an American dealership in 1991). Fingers crossed.

VW T-Roc R. I fell in love with the T-Roc when I first saw it, in blazing tangerine paint, at the Frankfurt motor show a couple of years ago. Sitting on a show floor overloaded with bulbous crossovers and S.U.V.s, the T-Roc (terrible name) was special. Now comes the high-performance R version: 296 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque, slightly more than what the Golf R hatch makes in the United States. A seven-speed dual-clutch automatic is standard, as is all-wheel drive. Bet five bucks the T-Roc will never be photographed under the Brooklyn Bridge, although VW says it will introduce a subcompact crossover, slotted below the Tiguan, in America in 2020.

Lotus Elise. A British sports car? There has to be one on this list. While some models from this classic British brand are available in the United States, including the Evora, the hyper-lightweight Elise has been off limits for us for several years because it doesn’t comply with airbag rules, among other safety standards. But you can at least look at one and, if you’re lucky, drive one through the South Downs or Scottish Highlands. Yellow is the preferred color.

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