#Mid 20th century kitchen

[shadowjackery]

The Gladdest Thing Under the Sun

I honestly thought we were supposed to wait a couple of days after the zine’s release, but, heck, everyone else is doing it, so here we are: My contribution to @gensokyozine​ . I’ve wanted to do this story for a while, so I hope you enjoy!

Descriptive text for the visually impaired or for easy quotation:

PAGE 1

Title: "Shadowjack presents: The Gladdest Thing under the Sun"

Yuuka Kazami, a youkai woman, climbs the cracked stone steps to the ramshackle Hakurei Shrine. She carries a parasol. Up the wooded hill, through the pines, stand the shrine gate and two guardian komainu -- one of whom, Aunn, is alive and waving cheerfully, tail wagging. The plum and cherry trees atop the hill are in bloom. Dandelions sprout as Yuuka passes.

PAGE 2, PANEL 1

Title: "Yuuka Kazami, Flower Mistress of the Four Seasons"

Yuuka wears a summer outfit that evokes the mid-20th century: a vest over a short-sleeved blouse with a necktie, a knee-length pencil skirt, hose and heels, a handkerchief neatly folded in her vest pocket. She also wears glossy leather gauntlets and tight sleeve garters. Her hair is bobbed and curled in 1930s fashion. Her eyes are slitted, like a snake's.

She rests her head on her hand and gazes up at Reimu, rapt. A cat with black and white fur, spotted something like a yin-yang ball, lies nearby, watching her carefully.

PAGE 2, PANEL 2

Title: "Reimu Hakurei, Mysterious Shrine Maiden of Paradise"

Reimu, a human woman with a long ponytail, looks down at Yuuka, sweating slightly. She says, "Um... you know..."

PAGE 2, PANEL 3

Reimu wears her usual red-white shrine maiden robes and ribbons, much patched and threadbare. She is barefoot on the porch, holding a broom.

Reimu: "When you look at me like that, I get the feeling I'm about to be CUT and PRESSED."

Yuuka is shocked. "Oh, my! I would NEVER. A wild flower is best viewed in its natural habitat, always!"

PAGE 2, PANEL 4

Reimu, smiling: "I'm a wildflower?"

Yuuka, grinning: "One of the best!"

PAGE 3, PANEL 1

Reimu greets Yuuka at the entrance to her residence. Yuuka bows formally. She has brought a package, wrapped in cloth with a floral pattern.

Yuuka: "Ojama shimasu."

Reimu: "Hai, hai."

Reimu: "Everything is flowers with you, isn't it?"

Yuuka: "It could hardly be otherwise, dear! I am what I am."

PAGE 3, PANEL 2

Yuuka takes off her shoes, while Reimu places the parasol on the weapons rack by the door. The top shelf holds scrolls, boxes labelled "needles" and "seals", and one Mk 2 hand grenade.

A large sign by the rack says in printed text, "Check ALL weapons before coming in! Including but not limited to: Swords, Axes, Bows, Spears, Guns, Wands, Staffs, Parasols, Lasers, Bombs, Poisons, Curses," and so on.

A handwritten post-it note has been tacked to it, saying, "SEIJA -- Do NOT obey this!"

Another, ripped and faded sign has been taped by the list, adding, "MARISA -- Whatever it is now: NO. I mean it."

There is a bullethole next to the sign.

A different yin-yang cat watches Yuuka.

Reimu says, "So what kind of flower is Marisa?"

Yuuka: "She reminds me of pampas grass."

Reimu: "?"

Yuuka: "One of a few varieties of cortaderia, somewhat resembling susuki."

PAGE 3, PANEL 3

The two women go inside where there's more shade.

Yuuka: "It's a fast-growing, invasive species that can contribute to rat infestations and dangerous wildfires."

Reimu, laughing: "A WEED!"

Yuuka: "But charming in its way."

PAGE 3, PANEL 4, OFFSET

Somewhere, Marisa sneezes.

PAGE 4, PANEL 1

In Reimu's kitchen, the two together prepare afternoon tea, while two different cats beg at their feet. Reimu pours hot water from a large kettle into a cast-iron teapot. Yuuka takes down bowls and cups, and opens up the Japanese-style lunchboxes she brought.

Yuuka has put on an apron that parodies the "piyo piyo apron" worn by Kyoko in the manga "Maison Ikkoku", but instead of a drawing of a baby chick on the chest, it has a drawing of a Dragon Quest slime, saying "suu suu".

Reimu: "You aren't bothered she stole the Master Spark from you?"

Yuuka: "Oh, Marisa didn't steal it from me! She bargained for it fairly."

Reimu stops what she's doing to turn toward Yuuka. "Bullshit."

Yuuka: "It's true! I was curious to learn a little magic, and in exchange for lessons I agreed to trade her a cutting."

Reimu: "Huh!"

Yuuka: "I don't mind helping another gardener to improve their art. She makes it bloom well, doesn't she?"

PAGE 4, PANEL 2

Yuuka carries a tray of sandwiches and snacks out of the kitchen.

Yuuka: "Besides... to cast it ONCE, she needs a device."

A surprise second Yuuka, with long hair, and wearing trousers instead of a skirt, whisks the teapot and cups from Reimu's hands, leaving Reimu with nothing to do.

Yuuka, the second: "But I by myself can cast it TWICE."

PAGE 5, PANEL 1

Only one Yuuka again. Yuuka and Reimu kneel on the veranda to take their tea. One yin-yang cat nearby sprawls asleep in the sun, an orange tabby circles curiously, and a third cat sulks by Reimu.

Reimu: "Okay, then how about... Alice?"

Yuuka: "Ohhh... Alice is special. With her pride and ingenuity, she bears the seed of great potential for power."

PAGE 5, PANEL 2

Yuuka beams with enthusiasm. She says, "Why, if one could but prune away a few of her mortal failings -- such as 'restraint' or 'mercy' -- she could make a truly MARVELLOUS youkai!"

We can now observe that Yuuka's necktie is not knotted, but instead held by a silver woggle marked with a "lily of the valley" emblem.

PAGE 5, PANEL 3

Yuuka blushes happily. "She might even be stronger than I. Wouldn't that be an interesting day?" A heart floats in her words.

Reimu tries to hide her concern. She thinks, "Ganbatte, Alice-san..." But only says out loud, "...er, uh... and Yukari?"

PAGE 6, PANEL 1

Yuuka grins wolfishly. "Yukari and I have an arrangement: She doesn't meddle in my garden, and I don't BURN DOWN hers."

Reimu: "Isn't it weird that a youkai of FLOWERS is so good at fighting?"

Yuuka: "I'm surprised to hear that from a Japanese!"

Reimu: "You say that like you're not."

PAGE 6, PANEL 2

Yuuka: "I am known in many lands, by many names, wherever flowers grow."

Yuuka narrates the scene from the foreground, wearing a woman's kimono and lacquered okobo sandals. She carries now a Japanese-style paper parasol. Her hair is tied up in a bun with a cherry-blossom kanzashi, and she wears a sunflower hair ornament. She is surrounded by flowers: chrysanthemum, hollyhock, and birthwort, and above her spreads blooming sakura.

Yuuka: "Did not your own samurai describe themselves as cherry blossoms, and fight for emperor and shogun under the banners of the chrysanthemum and hollyhock?"

In the midground, two armored samurai clash. The lower-status one has fallen to the ground; the richer has a bloody slash across his left eye. He swings his sword and chops the grounded man's spear in two, but the other is undaunted.

In the background, an army of horse and foot mounts the top of the hill, banners billowing.

PAGE 7, PANEL 1

Now Yuuka narrates wearing a huipil dress with embroidered shawl, and simple leather slippers. Her hair is done in buns, with a Mexican sunflower by her ear. A hummingbird flies near her. Growing around her are Aztec marigold, dahlias, banana yucca, and Mexican hat flowers.

Yuuka: "Across the sea to your east, the mighty Mexica gathered their 'hummingbird' soldiers to send to the 'Flower Wars' (they named them) to gather honor, blood, and sacrifices."

In the midground, the fighters are now two Nahuatl, one poor, one rich with a slashed left eye. The poorer one wears only a loincloth, and has a shield slung over his shoulder. His shield is painted with a hummingbird design, and from it hang a few feathers. The richer soldier wears a full-body jaguar costume, and wields a macuahuitl war-club. The poor soldier leaps to his feet and tackles his enemy, disarming him.

In the background, an army of Aztecs battle below a stepped pyramid and high mountains.

PAGE 7, PANEL 2

Now Yuuka narrates wearing men's doublet and hose, embroidered with fleur-de-lis and tulips, along with knee-high riding boots and gauntlets. Around her neck is a sunflower pendant. On her shoulder perches a falcon. About her feet, and entangling the narration boxes, are red, white, and yellow roses.

Yuuka: "And to the far west, the lords of the English struggled for a choice of kingly roses, red Lancaster or snowy York."

In the midground, the fighters are now two Englishmen, again one poorer, the other richer with the eye injury. The poorer soldier has some mail pieces and a simple brimmed helmet; the richer has plate armor, a full helm, and a shield. The rich fighter is overthrown, his foe about to stab him through the visor with his own arming sword.

In the background, mounted knights charge a line of archers behind wooden stakes. A church or fort stands on hills in the far distance.

Yuuka: "Flowers and War have always been intertwined."

PAGE 7, PANEL 3

We return to Reimu's veranda and cherry trees.

Reimu: "You've seen so many strange places... Do you have a favorite?"

Yuuka: "...it was in the west, in Flanders, perhaps a hundred years ago."

PAGE 8, PANEL 1

Yuuka invisibly narrates: "Such a war, Reimu! The men burrowed like moles, or took to the air like kites."

Above barbed wire, two airplanes spit tracers at each other. It is World War One.

PAGE 8, PANEL 2

Yuuka: "They plowed the earth with cannon, night and day."

Shirtless German artillerymen fire their gun amid sandbags. Something explodes close by.

PAGE 8, PANEL 3

Yuuka: "They slew by shot and poison, fire and blade."

A gasmasked French soldier, armed with pistol and entrenching tool, cautiously moves down a trench. An unseen enemy waits around the corner with rifle and bayonet.

PAGE 8, PANEL 4

Yuuka: "And for no purpose that I could see, no treasure nor slave."

Barbed wire and ruined buildings.

PAGE 8, PANEL 5

Yuuka, narrating: "The destruction was so maniacal it seemed no tree, no blade of grass, would ever grow there again. I thought you humans had gone absolutely mad!"

Yuuka, wearing colorful hat, coat, and umbrella, stands on a windy no-man's land, surrounded by dull mud and broken pieces. Tracer fire crosses the sky, coming from a distant machine-gun nest. She notices, but does not bother to avoid, the few bullets that land near her.

Yuuka, narrating: "But it was I who did not understand your passion. When I learned your true intentions, I was deeply humbled."

PAGE 8, PANEL 6

Yuuka, narrating: "Did you know, Reimu? You can find graves in the wild by how the flowers grow. (Bone meal makes such good fertilizer.)"

The corpse of a soldier lies upon the ruined earth. But near his outstretched arm, a single bluebell, and a few patches of grass, have sprouted.

PAGE 8, PANEL 7

Now there are no bodies, but grass and wildflowers and bumblebees cover the ground. A shattered helmet has a flower growing through the holes.

Yuuka, narrating: "I tell you that after this great war, those fields FLUORISHED with color. Rainbows spilled on seas of green grass!"

PAGE 9

Yuuka, narrating: "And ever after, all through those lands, the people wore blood-red poppies, to remember and give thanks to their kindred who slept below, for this sight they had worked so hard to create."

Yuuka wears early-20th century men's hunting clothes: a sturdy jacket and breeches with knee-high boots and gloves. Her curled hair is in a loose pompadour. As ever, she has a parasol. The sun shines warmly. The hill Yuuka walks down is covered in grass and bright red poppy flowers, stretching on forever. The plants almost completely cover a few remaining pieces of military hardware: a broken machine-gun, a lost helmet, a twist of barbed wire. Yuuka smiles.

Yuuka, narrating: "Tens of thousands of men willingly buried themselves for nothing better than the GLORY of FLOWERS!"

PAGE 9, PANEL 2, INSET

We return to Reimu's veranda. Yuuka clutches a handkerchief, almost overcome with romantic tears.

Yuuka: "It was the most beautiful thing that I have ever seen!"

Reimu stares at her and says nothing.

PAGE 10, PANEL 1

Yuuka says, "Excuse me!", wipes her tears, and takes out her compact to redo her makeup.

Reimu thinks, "Yuuka is one of my oldest friends, but she really is a monster, isn't she? I don't even know how to BEGIN to explain the truth to her... or if I even should."

PAGE 10, PANEL 2

Title: "FLOWERS appearing in this story."

Many cut flowers are arranged on a wooden surface, with identifying captions. In no particular order, they are: primrose, fleur-de-lis (yellow iris), common sunflower, anemone, dandelion, Mexican sunflower, tulip, rose, cempoalxóchitl (Aztec marigold), dahlia, banana yucca, Mexican hat flower, pineapple sage, bee orchid, celandine, Flanders poppy, lily-of-the-valley, bluebell, daffodil, kiku (chrysanthemum), aoi (birthwort), hollyhock, ume (Japanese plum), and sakura (Japanese cherry).

PAGE 10, PANEL 3

In a simplified art style:

Reimu pats Alice on the shoulder and says, "Alice, we sure attract some weird ones, don't we?"

Alice wears her usual workdress and hairband, but also has sturdy explosive ordnance disposal goggles and gloves. She is inserting a stick of dynamite into the back of a Hatsune Miku doll. Other dolls and marionettes (and one teddy bear) fill the room, all with visible dynamite fuzes sticking out of their heads, and all with glowing eyes.

Alice says, "Don't disturb me when I'm setting the explosive charges! If they went off, they could hurt the dolls."

Reimu: "...This is why she likes you, you know."

Alice: "?"

END

#fan comic #touhou #yuuka kazami #reimu hakurei

[thejournallo]

Explain the basic: The various practices

Let's dive into it right away!

Disclaimer: Everything I will talk about in this post is all information gathered from books and online research on affidable sites. Please be aware that when reading and learning about witchcraft, you have to have multiple sources of information to learn from. I will always be here teaching, but out there are people doing the same things! (have multiple sources to learn)

In my last post about witchcraft, I talked in a general way about what witchcraft has in itself and what there is to study and know. Now we are going to talk about the many ways a witch can practice, discover, or try along the journey of becoming a witch;

Wicca: Wicca is a modern pagan witchcraft tradition founded by Gerald Gardner in the mid-20th century. It involves the worship of nature and a dual deity, the god and goddess. Wiccan practices often include the use of rituals, spells, and the observance of the Wheel of the Year.

Traditional Witchcraft: Traditional witchcraft is a term used to describe various pre-modern and folkloric practices that have been passed down through generations. These traditions often focus on practical magic, herbalism, and working with spirits and ancestors.

Kitchen Witchcraft: Kitchen witches focus on magical practices that revolve around everyday activities, such as cooking, cleaning, and gardening. They believe that magic can be found in simple, domestic tasks.

Hedge Witchcraft: Hedge witches often work with the spiritual world and practice divination, trance work, and shamanic journeying. They are known for their ability to "hedge ride" or travel between realms.

Eclectic Witchcraft: Eclectic witches draw from various traditions and practices, creating a personalized and unique path that suits their beliefs and needs. They may combine elements from different traditions and adapt them to their own practices.

Shamanic Witchcraft: This combines aspects of shamanism with witchcraft. Practitioners may work with spirits and totem animals and engage in journeying and spirit work.

Ceremonial Magic: Some witches incorporate elements of ceremonial magic into their practices, including the use of complex rituals and symbols and the summoning of spirits or deities.

Solitary Witchcraft: Many witches prefer to practice alone and are known as solitary witches. They create their rituals, spells, and magical practices without belonging to a specific coven or tradition.

Green Witchcraft: Green witches focus on herbalism, plant magic, and nature-based spirituality. They often work with the energies of the Earth and its natural elements.

Hereditary Witchcraft: Some individuals claim to have hereditary witchcraft in their family, passed down through generations. These practices can vary widely but often emphasize the importance of family traditions and rituals.

Chaos Magic: Chaos magicians embrace a more experimental and eclectic approach to magic. They often believe that belief itself is a powerful tool for creating change.

Modern Witchcraft: In recent years, witchcraft has experienced a resurgence in popularity, with a focus on self-empowerment, feminism, and personal transformation. This modern form of witchcraft often incorporates elements from various traditions.

Obviously, as there are many types of practices, there are many types of magic:

Black Magic:Black magic, also known as "dark magic" or "left-hand path magic," is often associated with practices that are considered harmful, malevolent, or morally objectionable. It is believed to involve the use of supernatural forces or rituals to bring about negative outcomes, harm others, or achieve selfish or destructive goals. Examples of practices associated with black magic may include curses, hexes, necromancy, and invoking malevolent entities. These practices are often intended to cause suffering, illness, misfortune, or even death.

White magic: White magic, also referred to as "light magic" or "right-hand path magic," is typically associated with practices that are viewed as benevolent, healing, and morally acceptable. It involves using supernatural forces or rituals for positive and ethical purposes. White magic includes practices like healing spells, protection rituals, divination for guidance, and benevolent energy work. It aims to promote well-being, positivity, and the greater good.

Blood magic: Blood magic is a form of magic that involves the use of blood, either the practitioner's own blood or the blood of animals or other individuals, as a powerful and symbolic component in rituals and spells. Blood is believed to have a strong connection to life force and vitality. In blood magic, it can be used for various purposes, including sealing oaths, making pacts with supernatural beings, enhancing the power of spells, and connecting with ancestors or deities. (NOT EVERY DEITY WILL ASK YOU FOR BLOOD. THIS IS A TYPE OF MAGIC TO LOOK UP BEFORE YOU START. Blood is a POWERFUL intrusion.

Candle Magick: This type of magick involves using candles of different colors and inscribing them with symbols or intentions. The flame and wax are used as tools to manifest one's desires.

Sigil Magick: Sigil magick involves creating a symbol, or sigil, that represents a specific intention or desire. The act of creating and focusing on the sigil is believed to help manifest the desired outcome.

Crystal Magick: Crystal magicians work with the energies of crystals and gemstones to promote healing, protection, and other intentions. Each crystal is believed to have unique properties and energies.

Elemental Magick: This form of magick focuses on the elements (earth, air, fire, water, and sometimes spirit) and their corresponding energies. Practitioners invoke and work with these elements for various purposes.

Moon Magick: Moon magicians align their magickal practices with the phases of the moon. They believe that the different phases (new moon, full moon, etc.) have specific energies that can be harnessed for different purposes.

Divination: While not traditional magick in the sense of casting spells, divination practices like tarot, runes, astrology, and scrying are often used for seeking guidance and insight into future events or understanding the present.

Necromancy: This is the practice of communicating with the dead or working with the spirits of the deceased. It can involve mediumship, seances, and rituals aimed at contacting or influencing spirits.

As said before, you are in complete control of your journey to try and practice whatever type of magic, but be respectful of the ones that are religions or traditions like voodoo or hoodoo.

Hoodoo and Rootwork: These are African American folk magick traditions that blend African, Native American, and European influences. They often involve the use of herbs, candles, oils, and other materials for practical magic.

Voodoo and Vodou: These are Afro-Caribbean religions that incorporate magickal practices. They involve working with spirits, ancestor veneration, and ritual practices.

I added a little more of what I should have added as a priority, but I think this is all for now. In case I find anything new, I will add to it and try to explain as well as I can.

As always, have a wonderful day or night! I will love to know your thoughts, and I will be here in case you have any questions.

#journal #manifestation #manifestation method #manifesting #explained #explain the method #manifesation #spiritual development #shifting methods #loa methods #witches #witchcraft #witch #witchblr #color magic #magic #spell #potions #mystic #witchcore #witchy vibes #witch aesthetic #witchcraft community #witchcraft 101 #witchcraft smp #witchcraft books #witchcraft aesthetic #witch community #pagan witch #witches of tumblr

[just-a-random-hobbit]

Miguel O'hara × Italian!spider!reader hcs

Idk don't ask, I was in the mood for writing smth w a lot of self insert SO

Here we go

It's gonna be messy sooooo sorry not sorry

! Yes, I'm studying Spanish at school, but I'm kinda an ass w it. Sorry for the mistakes !

Since you entered the spider society you only spoke English, but sometimes some Italian words slipped

Same thing happened w Miguel and a lot of times you heard him speaking w himself in Spanish

Next thing you know is that with Miguel you talk in Italian and he talks in Spanish with you, except for a few words yow two can understand each other

An example?

"MIG, TI HO PORTATO IL RAPPORTO SULL'ULTIMA MISSIONE"

"MIG, I GOT YOU THE REPORT ABT LAST MISSION"

"Mh bueno, dámelo"

"Mh good, give it to me"

"VA BENE MA DOVE CAZZO SEI?"

"ALRIGHT BUT WHERE TF ARE YOU?"

"¿PRQUE COÑO GRITAS? ESTOY AQUÍ, ¿DONDE PIENSES QUE ESTOY?"

"WHY TF R U SHOUTING?, I'M HERE, WHERE DO YOU THINK I AM?"

Lovely

Once you brought him some 'nduja (idk maybe you're from Calabria or went there for the holidays) and he loves that, I just know that he does, you can't say otherwise

If you like football you'd watch some matches w him and talk abt them for a few days

I also just know that you two talk shit abt Americans or people in general who cook an abomination and call it "Mexican food" or "Italian food"

Spices vs herbs, an endless war in the kitchen

Sometimes false friend words kick in and the conversation is hilarious

"Mmh ayer he comido unas gambas riquisimas"

"Mmh yesterday I have some delicious shrimps"

* disgusted * "tu cosa?"

"You what?"

(Gambas in Spanish means shrimp, in Italian it means leg) (omg idk if this is a word used in Spain and not in Latino America hold on a sec) (ok in Mexico it's camarón, can we pretend for a sec that it's also used gamba?) (It's not bc I don't have a lot of dialogue ideas, ofc not...)

"¿Me traes aquél vaso porfavor?"

"Can you hand me that glass please?"

* confused * "oook?" * hand him the flower vase *

(Vaso in Spanish means glass, in Italian it means flower vase)

(Ik these situations are really clichés but I still find them cute and funny)

You are siesta/pennichella mates

Now imgine if you get closer and closer w Miguel and invite him over for the Sunday lunch, (probably since you are a spiderperson you don't have a lot of relatives anymore, BUT LET'S IMAGINE THAT AT LEAST GRANDMA IT'S STILL WITH US)

Like- how cute it would be, w grandma saying to this beast of a man: "ma stai sciupato, mangia ancora qualcosa" ("you are so thin, eat some more") and he just keeps eating what she gives him bc he can't say no.

I also think that he's not really used to big family reunions, I read a few comics but I didn't catch any hint of a big family tree, so maybe he'd be kinda disoriented if you have a really big family.

For all my northern lovelies (me included) he's gonna be surprised when he sees that we aren't the italian bubbly and cheerful stereotype, but kinda cold and grumpy.

Another thing for the northeners: he's gonna bitch abt the time we usually have lunch and dinner. Lunch at 12/13 and dinner at 19/20???? You must be joking (Yes, the average northener eats early, obviously it depends on the family. In my experience and the ones of my friends these are the usual eating times)

If you still go to school and (like me) go to school also on Saturday: he's shocked. That's it. Just shocked that you have only one day to rest. But this helps to remind him that taking breaks it's important, so you two hopefully spend some time relaxing together, taking a break from school and being spoderman/spiderwoman.

Again, for people who go to school: he listens to your meltdowns. Even if he's from the future and from another country he understands that the school system stopped evolution in the mid 20th century and it fucking sucks.

If you struggle with subjects like chemistry or science he's more than glad to help you

If you go to a liceo he kinda sees himself in you and your experience, so with lots of subject to study and standars super high

If you have Spanish as a second foreign language at school he's definitely going to help you. YOU HEARD ME? YOU AIN'T GOING ANYWHERE UNTILL YOU LEARNED PERFECTLY TODOS LOS IRREGULARES DEL SUBJUNTIVO!!!!! (I really need his help)

If you go to a professional/technical (idk how to translate themmmm) institute with subjects in the field of engineering and computers he's gonna help you if you need help, giving you some tips and extra informations so that you can be the best of your class.

Let's say that you live in Milan: there aren't a lot of skyscrapers, but there are still some buildings on which you can swing decently. Same thing goes for most of the big cities

Now let's say that you live in a small town, in the middle of the countryside, where the tallest building is the bell tower of the church: "how the fuck do you swing and jump and- do litterally all the spiderthings?" And you just show him that you attach you webs on the top of the nearest strong tree or house. He's just like:

Hhhhhh WHAT SHOULD I ADDDD

IDFKKKKK

Bye

Edit: ok got 3 more hcs

The idea of always having a sweet breakfast was kinda weird to him, and didn't really got used to it really fast. But with some time he found the combinations that he preferred: espresso and gocciole

He's team gocciole

He's also team lemon estathé

#miguel o'hara #across the spiderverse #spiderman 2099 #miguel o'hara x reader #miguel o'hara x you #miguel o'hara fluff #miguel o'hara x y/n #miguel o'hara x italian!spider!reader #miguel o'hara italiano #miguel o'hara headcanons #miguel o'hara hcs #miguel o'hara random

[theoutcastrogue]

7+1 Classic American Pocket Knives

1) Toothpick, slipjoint folding knife, white plastic scales (shell knife, aka Handle Knife Patent), nickel silver bolsters, slender clip-point blade a.k.a. toothpick (not to be confused with the Arkansas toothpick, which is an ironically named humongous knife). Tang stamp "COLONIAL PAT No. 231064", 11 cm closed, 20th century (mid-20th, maybe?)

2) Fish knife, slipjoint folding knife, cracked marble celluloid handle with a fish-shaped shield, nickel silver bolsters, carbon blades: 1 clip-point and 1 saw/hook-remover/bottle-opener. Tang stamp "Imperial PROV. USA", 12.5 cm closed, c. 1946-1956.

3) TL-29 a.k.a. electricians knife, linerlock folding knife, rosewood handle with brass inset "TL-29" and lanyard ring, nickel silver bolster, brass liners, carbon steel blades: 1 spear-point and 1 wire-stripper/flat screwdriver. The name stands for "Tool, Lineman, number 29", originally from the U.S. Army Signal Corps. Tang stamp on the ricasso "CAMILLUS NEW YORK", and on the blade "TO RELEASE PUSH CENTER LOCK TO LEFT", 9.5 cm closed, circa 1960s.

4) Trapper, slipjoint folding knife, dark red bone (peach seed jig) handle with nickel silver shield "CASE", nickel silver bolsters, brass liners, chrome vanadium carbon blades: 1 clip-point and 1 spey. A Case model #31950 CV. Tang stamp on main blade "CASE XX" and 8 dots for date, and on the spey blade "USA 6254 CV), 10.5 cm closed, 2022.

5) Engineers knife, slipjoint folding knife, jigged bone handle with steel shield "USA" and lanyard ring, steel bolsters and liners, carbon steel blades: 1 spear-point, 1 bottle-opener/flat screwdriver, 1 punch, 1 can-opener. Identical pattern with an ubiquitous camping knife, later adopted for the U.S. Army Engineers. Tang stamp "CAMILLUS CUTLERY CO. CAMILLUS N.Y. USA" (4 lines), 9.3 cm closed, 1942-1945.

6) Buck 110 a.k.a. "Hunter", lockback folding knife, ebony handle, brass bolsters, stainless steel blade. Tang stamp "BUCK 110 USA" and date symbol, 12.3 cm closed, 2018.

7) Barlow, slipjoint folding knife, derlin (synthetic) handle, nickel silver bolster with fancy scroll work, carbon steel blades: 1 clip-point and 1 pen-blade. A Schrade #206, a.k.a. "Grand-dad's barlow". Tang stamp "SCHRADE USA 206", 8.5 cm closed, 1976-1983.

+1) Hunting knife or "Bowie knife", full tang fixed blade knife, jigged bone handle, carbon steel blade. The outlier, neither American nor a pocket knife, but made for the American market and advertised as a "bowie-knife" *, with its iconic clip-point blade. Tang stamp on the ricasso "ALFRED WILLIAMS SHEFFIELD ENGLAND", and on the blade "EBRO" between two Maltese crosses, 22 cm total, circa 1890-1920.

* For collectors, a "bowie" is a knife made for carrying (as opposed to keeping in your kitchen or toolshed), for the American market (regardless of where it was manufactured, the most famous ones are indeed from Sheffield), and somewhat arbitrarily, from 1827 to 1865 (from the Sandbar Fight to the end of the American Civil War). A more generous date range goes to the end of the 19th century, from 1827 to 1900. Everything else is up in the air: it can be big or small, simple or fancy, fixed blade or folding, with a clip-point or dagger or any other blade pattern, and of any materials. Today most people associate the term with a large fixed blade knife with an intense clip-point blade, regardless of when and where it was made.

P.S. I'm missing a stockman knife, and I want very specifically a Case medium stockman with clip, spey and sheepfoot blades, and a nice bone handle (pattern stamp 6318SS).

#tools of the trade #folding knife #knife #bowie knife #trapper #engineers knife #tl-29 #trs #sheffield #england #usa #multitool #barlow #trc #trp

[hclib]

Kitchen Interiors, Bad Roommates, 1930s Costume, and Levitation: Highlights from the Minneapolis Central Library Picture File

A range of cabinets on the 3rd floor of the Minneapolis Central Library hold the library’s Picture File, a collection of 600,000 images—in both color and black and white—sourced from books and magazines between 1895 and 2001. The collection provides a visual history of American culture in the twentieth century, tracking changing trends in fashion, interior design, and advertisement, as well as subjects in the news, reproductions of paintings and photography, and portraits of notable people. Many of these images were never digitized: you won’t find them in a Google image search.

Throughout the years, the Picture File has been a resource for local artists, History Day project students, theater set designers, zine authors, Halloween costume brainstormers, advertising creatives, and others looking for visual inspiration. The library’s annual report of 1943 even noted with pride that librarians from St. Paul Public Library had borrowed material for a children’s exhibit: “the reason for this—the St. Paul Art Department has no such collection of pictures.”

The files, indexed by subject, often reveal surprises. Librarians used the headings to play with meaning and stimulate the visual imagination, asking the question: what is a picture about? The way you read an image can change its focus and draw out new and unseen elements and contexts. The juxtaposition of images in a folder creates new connections: for example, “Everyday Life” groups mid-century advertisements for household appliances next to images of dogs and nuclear families next to the uncanny photography of Diane Arbus and conceptual works by Marina Abramović.

The Picture File contains images rich in local history as well. Clippings from historical Twin Cities publications and non-local photographic prints from the Minneapolis Times photo morgue, complete with original airbrushing, can be found throughout the collection. While most images in the collection can be checked out, folders with Minneapolis-related subject headings have been transferred to Special Collections for safekeeping. And local photos from the newspaper morgue can be found in the Hennepin County Library Digital Collections.

Above images from the Picture File at Minneapolis Central Library:

1. Interiors: Kitchens before 1960 2. Roommates, Bad 3. Costume: 20th Century, 1935-1939 4. Levitation

This post was written by Mark V. from the Art, Music, and Literature department. An exhibit on the Picture File will be on display in the atrium of Minneapolis Central Library for the month of April.

#Minneapolis Public Library #magazines #photographs #graphic design #artist resources #picture files #library collections

[hometoursandotherstuff]

I don’t know if it’s haunted, but it’s a former coach house for the Kilmer Sanitarium in Pt. Crane, New York, and was mostly for TB patients. It was converted to a residential home in the mid 20th century and it’s a major fixer-upper for $85K, but it straddles the Osborne Creek- how cool is that? Let’s take a look inside.

This is actually the living room that the current owners are using as a bedroom. It has a beautiful stone fireplace. 

This would be the dining room. 

The kitchen is large and needs updating, but it’s useable for the time being. 

You can tell that the house was converted in the mid-century, b/c it’s full of paneling and suspended ceilings.

This looks like some kind of bonus room. I can’t tell what’s going on w/the floor.

Looks like a storage room.

Upstairs was where the coach drivers stayed. 

There are 4 bds. up here and 3 baths.

The baths need some updating- this is the most useable one.

I have no idea what’s up w/this one. Cute froggy wallpaper, though.

In this room, the paneling is very warped, so maybe there’s a moisture problem.

There was a turntable for the coaches that was operated by hand, but it looks like it’s been removed. Why would they take out such a unique, historic feature???

Anyway, the barn area has lots of potential.

Nice back porch needs repair. There’s also a lot of junk on the property.

This steeple feature deserves to be restored and the chimney needs to be repointed.

Lovely grounds. For $85K, if someone wanted to restore it, I think it would be a beautiful and unique home.

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/317-Sanitaria-Springs-Rd-Pt-Crane-NY-13833/29737721_zpid/

#historic coach house #coach house conversion #historic fixer upper #bargain fixer upper #old house dreams #long post

[ridiasfangirlings]

Yata fell under the power of the strain and began to behave like a typical stereotypical housewife from a mid-20th century advertisement. Wearing an apron, always ready to take care of "her" husband. At first, Fushimi found this funny, but the longer it went on, the more irritated he was by Yata's behavior and he set out to find the strain and get his boyfriend back.

Imagine Yata just walking around in an apron and house dress with his hair tied up, properly making a meal for his beloved husband XD Fushimi would definitely find it amusing at first, like he’s never going to let Misaki live this down. Imagine this after they’ve just started dating, they’re chasing after some Strain and Yata ends up getting hit. Fushimi won’t admit that he’s worried exactly but he does end up hovering over Yata a little. Yata says he’s fine and suddenly looks up at Fushimi with wide eyes. Yata immediately apologizes for worrying ‘my dear husband’ and Fushimi almost chokes. Yata looks down at himself in disgust, like why is he wearing these indecent shorts and for that matter why is he interfering in his husband’s work. He decides to go home and make Fushimi a nice dinner, kissing him on the cheek and heading off without another word, leaving Fushimi just totally flabbergasted. 

Fushimi goes back to S4 to research what sort of power this Strain has, it turns out that this is like the Rigid Gender Roles Strain who makes people act like stereotypical housewives. Fushimi probably doesn’t have much in the way of frame of reference for this kind of thing (it’s not like he’s ever been near a housewife outside of Yata’s mom) but he thinks well, this can’t be so bad at least it isn’t something dangerous. He heads home after work and is surprised that Yata’s there waiting, wearing an apron and looking very domestic. Yata sits Fushimi down at the table, hands him a newspaper and starts serving him food. Fushimi is amused by this treatment and Yata’s being all don’t worry darling, no need to get up I’ll handle everything. Fushimi thinks this isn’t so bad, like imagine he tries just for the hell of it to ask Yata to hand feed him and Yata’s right there on his knees holding out a forkful of food. Fushimi could definitely get used to this kind of spoiling, after dinner he gets to sit on the couch playing on his PDA while Yata cleans up dinner and then starts vacuuming the floor and cleaning the bathroom and doing laundry. He’s not nagging Fushimi about eating vegetables or taking care of himself and it’s a little nice, having Misaki only interested in Fushimi’s comfort. 

The bloom quickly comes off the rose though. Like Fushimi is used to cuddling in bed and sleeping late when he doesn’t have work, but now when he wakes up Yata is already awake cooking breakfast. Yata never wants to sit with him to eat unless Yata’s feeding him too, Yata always just goes back into the kitchen to keep the food hot for his ‘husband.’ Yata has no interest in going out, like they had plans to go to a movie but Yata just says ‘you go on dear with your friends, have fun’ while Fushimi sits there clicking his tongue (he doesn’t have friends). Yata doesn’t want to play video games and even when Fushimi finally convinces him to Yata loses on purpose, because of course it wouldn’t do for him to be more skilled at this. Worst of all Yata doesn’t rise to Fushimi’s taunts at all, tolerantly smiling or even agreeing no matter what Fushimi says. At some point imagine Fushimi mocking Mikoto in hopes that the ‘old’ Yata will angrily respond but Yata just nods all you’re right dear. Fushimi can’t help but feel upset about this, when he and Misaki agreed because they were on the same wavelength it was fine but he doesn’t want a Misaki who refuses to have opinions of his own.

In a way too imagine this as kind of a wake up call for Fushimi — if you’d told him in Homra that he could have a Yata who was only interested in Fushimi’s well being, who agreed with everything Fushimi said, he probably would have thought that was just how Misaki should be. But now that he has this submissive domestic Yata Fushimi isn’t happy at all, he doesn’t want a Yata who only calls him amazing because it’s Yata’s role to be that kind of support, he wants the honest Misaki who says amazing with shining eyes. Fushimi even misses the way Yata would nag him about vegetables, because even if it was annoying Fushimi knows that’s how Yata shows affection. This sterile boring Misaki isn’t what Fushimi wanted at all, he wants the Yata back who will argue and get angry and be uselessly energetic, the one who fearlessly hits zero or one hundred points rather than remaining at a dull fifty.

#sarumi #Talking K #not even a naked apron Yata has a sensible house dress on #Fushimi likes being all spoiled at first #but a Misaki who doesn't argue or yell or look at him with shining eyes is no fun

[mariacallous]

Scanning the broad swathe of history, there appears to have been a cyclical pattern in the taste for aspics and gelatin molds. Periods that embrace the jiggle are always followed by periods of disgust sometimes so intense and visceral that entire generations lose the skill to make them. The pattern is clear: In periods that favor technology in the kitchen, inventiveness, novelty, and foods that shock and surprise, aspics become wildly popular. In those that favor tradition, homey simplicity, local ingredients, and straightforward honesty in cooking, aspics are seen as too fussy, a hodgepodge of extraneous ingredients, even repulsive. There is perhaps no other food type in history that has experienced such wild swings in fortune.

Aspics are in a sense the bellwether of modernity. Technologically savvy periods in history, like the mid-20th century, the late 19th century, the late Middle Ages and Renaissance, all looked favorably on aspics. We have been for the past few decades in a period that has practically no interest in them, except perhaps as a joke. Now that may be changing. So too is our attitude toward science in the kitchen. Homemade hipster pickles and hoppy craft beer are gradually giving way to industrially made impossible burgers and spiked seltzers.

The Great Gelatin Revival: Savory Aspics, Jiggly Shots, and Outrageous Desserts by Ken Albala

[birdofdawning]

Sleepovers

Chapter 4

This is a vaguely ongoing and extremely self-indulgent exercise that has no real plot, only a few scenes I want to do (but haven’t yet done) and an ending (also not done). This is probably the most self-indulgent chapter so far. But I got to read a lot of mid-20th Century science fiction for it and that was often fun.

Here is the previous chapter, which is much shorter - and frankly, better - and here is the beginning, when it was just a fun idea from the discord server.

The next day Myka realises that she is on holiday, and begins to relax.

She returns from her run with coffee and a bran muffin to find Helena dressed smartly in a suit and tie and with her hair up; she’s tearing about trying to gather what she needs for the day. Myka raises the cups she’s holding. “I brought you a coffee,” she says brightly.

Helena gives her a look that Myka feels is a little unwarranted. “I am looking for my keys,” she says darkly, as if she is pronouncing a doom on a wicked city. Myka remembers that non-scheming Helena has never been much of a morning person.

Putting down the cups on the kitchen counter, Myka digs into her pocket and holds up the keys, jingling them in front of her friend’s face in a cheerful fashion.

Helena narrows her eyes. “I meant spare keys. A spare key,” she lies, “so you can come and go.”

“Okay.” Myka takes her own coffee and clears space on a rather worn armchair. Helena continues to pull drawers out and look under piles of debris, swearing under her breath in Nineteenth Century. Myka sits quietly and watches with deliberate interest, knowing how irritating Helena will find this. She does not point out how much easier it would be if Helena kept her apartment tidy, and she knows Helena is very aware of her not pointing it out.

Emptying out coins, circuit boards, and tape from a fedora, Helena sniffs and says “I hope you’re going to bathe soon.”

“Sure. But I don’t want my coffee to get cold.” Myka takes a performative sip, and then, just to see what happens, adds “Oh hey, isn’t your breakfast meeting soon?” She hides behind her cup at the glare she receives.

Helena picks up the set of keys and begins pulling one off savagely. “Take this. I’ll pick the lock.”

“You keep it,” argues Myka, “I’ll pick the lock.”

Helena considers this and then nods. “It’s not a particularly tricky one,” she says, “so I suppose you might manage it if you’re sober.” She puts her keys away and begins putting papers in a satchel.

“Although you are the official occupier,” muses Myka, who has discovered that she is in an uncharacteristically impish mood. “Perhaps it might be better if you picked the lock, in case someone got worried and called the police. And I’ll take the key.”

Helena shoulders her bag. “I am leaving now,” she says, “before I say or do something inhospitable.”

“Oh no, wait! I’m sorry!” Myka stands up and tries to look penitent. She steps over to Helena, straightening her tie and tucking it further down under her vest. “You have a good day at work today, dear. I’ll have the pot-roast ready when you get home.”

“The pot-roast,” repeats Helena.

“Not really, it’s a bit. Like we’re a married couple in the 1950s. And anyway you promised to take me to dinner tonight. Oh! Is it okay if I borrow some clothes? I need to do some laundry.” She glances down at her longer legs and wider hips. “Not pants, I guess, but a shirt?”

Helena pauses with her hand on the doorknob and looks her up and down with overt appraisal. “No, you have too much seat for my trousers. Frankly, I’m not sure if anything I have will fit you. You’ll probably find my shirts too tight. But you can look and see.”

Myka grins. “Thank-you, Helena.”

Her host gives a small bow and departs.

And then returns, picks up the other coffee, bestows another baleful glare upon her guest, and leaves again.

By midday Myka is feeling ready for lunch. She’s had a lovely morning curled up on the couch with the sun coming in through the tall bay windows, going through the precarious towers of Helena’s books. Aside from large non-fiction hardbacks on practically every topic under the sun, her host seems to enjoy reading mysteries and various Twentieth Century classics (she suspects that Helena has discovered high school reading lists on the internet).

But the bulk of the collection are tattered science fiction paperbacks and magazines. There are tottering piles of Azimov and Le Guin and Blish and Vonnegut. Paper cities of Analogues and Novas and Nebulas and Penguin’s Best Science Fiction, many now being used as improvised coffee tables. The more fantastic authors, Zelazny and Burroughs and Tanith Lee, are piled up by the door, as if Helena is uncertain about having them in the house.

And to Myka’s absolute delight she has discovered that Helena heavily annotates her books as she reads. And that she is not inclined to be magnanimous toward her fellow authors. Gleefully Myka flips through books to find her friend’s one-sided arguments with her literary heirs.

‘Is every character here secretly a banker’s clerk?’ she has pencilled into Rendezvous With Rama, ‘or do they just act like it for fun?’

In Brave New World, she writes ‘Yes I take your point, but I still feel rather ill.’ In Huxley’s later novel Island she adds ‘It’s a bit too late to come over all priggish now my boy!’

To young Heinlein: ‘I understand you are writing for children, but need you really be writing for children?’ To older Heinlein: ‘Perhaps you should go back to writing for children.’

‘Yes yes’, she snaps at Ray Bradbury, ‘I'm sure your boyhood was idyllic; but could we get to the IDEAS please?’

Myka decides to see what H.G. Wells thinks of Franz Leiber over lunch.

Throwing her coat over the largest of Helena’s shirts Myka pockets the Leiber and leaves the apartment, manipulating the tumblers to lock the door behind her. She wanders downhill into a district filled with thrift shops, small restaurants, and bustle. The streets of San Francisco are busy with pedestrians and trolleys and bicycles, and for the first time in years, or so it feels, she isn’t in any particular hurry. She tilts her head to feel the late summer sun on her face and smiles. A cellist is playing Dvořák’s Cello Concerto in B minor, and then shifts seamlessly into The Cure’s Close To Me, and Myka lingers and listens to two more pieces before putting a large note in the hat and moving on.

She goes into a cluttered used bookstore, half thinking that she might find something she once loved that she can leave at Helena’s. But after two minutes she realises that, as usual, she’s critiquing the lack of display shelves and the table of unalphabetised ‘Just In!’s taking up the centre of the store instead of looking through the stock. And that she still thinks of books in a store as ‘stock’.

Instead she goes into a nearby not-quite-boutique clothes store and finds a pair of jeans that she doesn’t hate. On her way to the check-out she automatically reaches to grab some black t-shirts in her size. Then she pauses. She is on holiday, and besides she’s feeling happier than she has in... a long time. She chooses a green t-shirt and a red one and marches to the counter. Maybe she’ll stop by a drug store and get some hair-dye too.

A woman is at the counter asking the assistant about the store’s club card and Myka stands behind her absently staring out the window at the people passing. After a moment she feels herself being watched and she looks down. On the other side of the woman is a stroller from which a solemn looking toddler is regarding her, one hand in its mouth. When it sees that it has her attention it removes its hand and says “Abah. MAH!”

The woman glances down, and then over her shoulder at Myka. “Oh!” she says, “Yes, it’s a lady.” She smiles at Myka. “You’ve made a friend.”

“Apparently so,” agrees Myka, politely.

Then the woman gets that same look Myka has begun to recognise over the last six months. “You’ll be ready for one of your own soon, I expect!” she says smilingly. Then she blinks twice, looks a little blank, and turns back to the assistant. Myka sighs internally.

Her clothes bought, she wanders down to a Portuguese restaurant and orders lunch for one. While she waits she steels herself and turns her phone on. Immediately it starts buzzing with notifications. There’s a very long one from Artie that radiates annoyance and grievance, but begrudgingly allows her a few days of leave; seven increasingly worried messages from Pete, along with a photo of a foot-long sandwich he bought in Florida; one check-in from Abigail, followed by a blow-by-blow account of a conversation she witnessed between Pete and Steve about Pete’s sandwich; and fifteen questions from Claudia, including What is H.G. working on? Did H.G. ask what Claudia was working on? What does H.G’s place look like? and Has H.G. changed her hair?

Helena herself has sent three messages:

im at work pick me up at 4

do NOT tidy

im serious myka

She thanks Artie, tells Pete she’ll be back soon, and reassures Claudia that H.G’s hair still is the same. Then she turns her phone off again. It feels good. She’s on holiday. No need to worry.

She eats her piri-piri chicken and reads Our Lady of Darkness along with past Helena and her furious pencil.

At 3:20pm she catches a bus to the Mission District and retraces her way to Helena’s work. It’s in a small building on a side street, shared with a real estate office.

The same girl at the front desk — the only employee she’d seen the previous afternoon — looks up from her phone as Myka lets herself in off the street. “Hi,” says Myka, “Remember me? Helena’s friend?” The girl stares at her, impassive. “From yesterday?” adds Myka, hopefully.

It’s an open-plan office, and she now has the attention of the other people working there. “Oh, you’re a friend of Hel?” says one of them with an entirely unconvincing casualness. She’s a tiny woman with wild black hair.

“I am,” says Myka.

“Right, right, cool,” says the woman. Myka nods politely and the woman says “Cool” again.

Myka glances back at the reception girl, eyebrows up.

“Casey thinks Hel is a secret agent,” the girl explains, picking up her phone again.

“WHAT?” says Casey far too brightly, “Haha no that’s, that’s crazy… those were just jokes! jokes that we… god, did you think we were serious when we making all those… those jokes…” She suddenly turns on Myka. “But seriously, is she though?”

“Is who what?” says Myka, startled.

Casey speaks rapidly. “A secret agent. Formerly. Like, one who was in deep cover for years, somewhere remote. Or in prison? So she didn’t know about the Suez Crisis and Madonna and Watergate and the Ninja Turtles?”

“We told her about the Ninja Turtles!” says Myka, outraged. Everyone is looking at her. “By which I mean... What has she told you about herself?” she says more carefully.

“‘She is from England and they don’t have that there’,” Casey and the girl say in unison.

“Oh,” says Myka.

A rather boyish person at the back of the room rolls their chair a little closer. “She’s obviously been away somewhere. There’s too much stuff she doesn’t know about the world. Though she’s very quick,” they admit, “The next time whatever it is comes up she knows all about it. My guess was some sort of witness protection program”

“Jonny, she’s British!” objects Casey.

Jonny shrugs. “So? What was Ben’s idea again?”

“‘Amnesic, but too embarrassed to admit it’,” says the girl to her phone. “I think she was trapped in a cult. Like, a sciencey one.”

“A ‘sciencey cult’?” repeats Casey dubiously.

“Yeah, where she wasn’t allowed to see the outside world or whatever. And had to be gross with the cult leader.” The girl considers for a moment. “Unless Hel was the leader?”

Jonny snorts. “Well, that’s better than ‘Interloper from alternate Earth that doesn’t have a Eurovision Song Contest’”

“Oh yeah!” says the girl looking up. “That was a good one. Who said that?”

“You did.” Casey frowns at both of them. “I can’t help but feel that no-one else is taking this seriously.”

Myka has decided to pretend none of this is happening. “So... Can I see her? Helena?”

“Oh, yeah. HEL!” shouts the girl.

“Do you all call her Hel?”

“Yes. Why, is that not her name?” asks Casey spinning around and looking at Myka hungrily.

“No, no, it’s really her name!”

Jonny stands up “She’ll be out the back. I’ll show you the way,” they offer.

Instead of taking her up to the upstairs offices like yesterday, Jonny leads her out to a large shed behind the building. Brahms, she thinks, is playing somewhere. Jonny knocks once on the door and opens it. “Hel? Friend of yours is here?”

“Show her in, thank-you Jonny,” Helena’s voice sounds a little distracted, and Jonny rolls their eyes and preforms an elaborate bow, gesturing for Myka to step through the doorway.

If she had thought Helena’s apartment was cluttered it’s nothing to this space. There are mismatched workbenches and shelves crowding every wall, some extending out into the centre of the room and almost blocking the aisles. Machine components, wiring, and tools are scattered everywhere, but Myka’s eyes are drawn to the numerous metallic cylinders of various sizes and designs that sit completed or in segments all about her. Many hold delicate latticed coils of some brassy metal. An old radio in the corner is playing the Brahms.

“I’m glad I don’t have to do the Health and Safety audit on this place,” she says.

“You are an untruther,” says Helena’s head, appearing above a large cylinder, “even now your soul crys out: ‘Myka!’ it urges ‘take up thy clipboard and pen and make a concise and detailed plan of what Helena needs to tidy up!’”

“A little bit,” admits Myka, glancing behind her. Jonny has returned to the main building so she shuts the door behind her. “I’ve just met your Greek chorus. I felt like I was the earnest young ingenue suddenly surrounded by comic peasants in a Shakespeare play. That bit where they come in and start talking about things that don’t seem to have anything to do with any other thing that’s been said before; and the heroine just goes along with it until they leave.”

“Aren’t you getting a little old to be the ingénue?” says Helena cruelly, vanishing back behind her cylinder.

“Look who’s talking.”

Helena huffs. “I was never an ingénue even when I was young. So there.”

“No, you would have been the young pretty witch. Or a fairy. Or Circe.” On the back of the door someone has pinned a large list of handwritten WORKSHOP RULES.

“Was Circe ever in a Shakespeare play?” says Helena absently, obviously concentrating on something else, “I didn’t think so, but I was never really that interested in the man. I saw the occasional performance with friends, but most of my knowledge of his work comes from reading children’s magazines.”

“No, he never did the Odyssey. How would he have staged it? He probably would have focused on Penelope and Telemachus and the homecoming. Helena, every one of the ‘DON’TS’ written on this list has ‘HELENA exclamation mark’ added to it in red marker pen. Or almost every one.”

“That’s because she hasn’t broken all of them yet,” says a voice from further down the shed.

“I have been doing this since long before you were born, my lad,” says Helena, focused, “And who knows? Perhaps I will be doing it long after you’re dead.”

“That’s what concerns me,” says the voice.

Myka bends down to examine one of the cylinders. “What is all this? What are you actually doing here? Something about power storage, right?”

Helena throws down a tool and stands up, straightening her vest. “Myka,” she says, putting her hand in her pockets and rocking on her feet as she prepares to lecture, “Did you know that the world is still using chemical batteries for all its electrical storage needs? It’s either that or direct power transmission. No-one has come up with a more efficient solution since 1859. Oh, they’ve certainly improved the technology,” she waves a hand at Myka as if she had been about to object to the premise, “but the idea is still the same. It’s inefficient and highly destructive to the planet. We need to be investigating alternatives.”

“So that’s what all this is?” Myka looks around at the various cylinders again.

Helena’s eyes are gleaming. “This is my particular project,” she says.

“This sounds like it may be getting a little proprietary,” says the voice.

“Oh, pooh!” says Helena. “Myka’s my dearest friend in all the world,” and Myka tries to stifle the big goofy grin that wants to spread over her face and continue looking serious.

“I just thought I’d better mention the fact,” says the voice.

Helena strides out from her workbench and stands beside Myka, looking down at the nearest cylinder. She still has her hair pinned back and her shirt-sleeves are rolled up and Myka thinks she looks very… capable.

“Have you ever had a horse pass close to you?” Helena begins, irrelevantly.

“I have.”

“And you can feel it, can’t you, even though it doesn’t touch you? The faint movement of the displaced air, the vibrations through the ground. The sound.”

Myka nods.

“Everything leaves a disturbance in its wake, merely through possessing substance. And this disturbance is energy. And the larger the mass of the object, the more disturbance. The more energy. Yes?”

“Okay.”

Helena leans forward, holding Myka’s gaze. “And how much disturbance is thrown about by the presence of the universe itself? The sheer weight of all existence?”

Myka considers. “But… we know this, don’t we? This is just physics. The transference of energy.”

“Yes,” says the voice from further up the shed.

“No,” says Helena. “I’m not talking about energy being transformed from chemical to kinetic to potential and so-on. I mean that the mere fact of the universe Being is so immense that it casts a shadow on reality. Like a monstrous fish gliding beneath your rowboat. It leaves eddies in its wake.”

“But… where is its wake if the universe is all there is? Or are we getting into… I don’t know, alternate universes here? What does the universe cast its shadow on?”

“Upon itself,” says Helena as if this is obvious. “Or, if you like, a sort of under-verse beneath our own. The servant’s quarters of the universe. The furnace room. It’s not actually beneath though,” she explains kindly. “That’s a metaphor.”

Myka thinks back to her science fiction. “Subspace?”

“Yes,” says the voice.

Helena shrugs magnanimously. “If you like. I don’t really care for the word, it seems to make everyone here giggle like school girls. But I do not insist.”

“Okay,” Myka, trying to follow. “Okay. So what then? You find this ‘under-verse’?”

Helena smiles, like a conjuror about to perform her trick. “Ah! But it is already found!” She steps away and rips some papers down from the wall where they had been pinned, and making Myka wince. “Look!”

It is a table of figures with a graph showing constant fluctuations in whatever it is measuring. “What am I looking at here?”

“These,” says a sly Helena, “are the oscillations of an infinitesimal energy field. In a vacuum. What is causing it?”

“You discovered this?”

“No, that would be Max Planck,” says the voice.

“Wait,” says Myka.

“Hel, you know this is zero-point energy. It’s just quantum mechanics, and you sound like a crazy person when you talk like this.”

“Oh, quantum mechanics,” says Helena nastily, “Oh yes, ‘science is getting too hard and we can’t be bothered anymore, we won’t keep investigating, let’s just make it all up from now on!’”

The voice begins to object “That’s not—"

“Myka, have you come across this nonsense?” says Helena, ignoring it. “‘Quantum mechanics’, they call it. It’s ever so easy: every time you get a result you can’t explain you simply just invent a new law and then the company removes to the nearest public house to celebrate.”

“Helena…”— Myka feels a little awkward — “I mean, I’m no scientist but I know quantum mechanics has been a pretty important part of physics for over a century.”

“Oh, but of course, because if you only squint hard enough the natural laws of the universe don’t apply anymore!”

And the sheer gall, the bold-faced disingenuousness of this jab considering what the two of them have experienced, makes Myka’s jaw drop in astonishment.

Helena seems to catch herself too. “Well. Anyway. The cylinders work, don’t they, Ben?” she calls over her shoulder.

“They do seem to work,” admits the voice reluctantly.

Myka sighs. “Work how?” she asks. “Wait.” She looks back at the coils in their cylinders. “Are you syphoning off the, uh, zero-point energy?”

Helena and the voice laugh. “Myka,” says Helena — perhaps a little condescendingly — “We’re talking about almost immeasurably small amounts of energy. It’s only enough to nudge a few particles.”

“Oh, but you believe in the particles,” the voice scoffs.

“That’s just chemistry.” Helena waves the remark away. “That’s just how things are made.”

Myka looks about at the cluttered workshop with all its debris. “You know, if this was one of— if this was a scientific romance the scientist would be building a vehicle to carry him down into the Under-verse, where he would see all sorts of weird stuff. And come back only once to tell his friends about it, and then disappear back into it, never be seen again.”

Helena frowns. “This isn’t like dropping to the sea floor in a capsule, Myka. What you’re proposing would be more akin to devising a manner to physically enter the world of… radio waves perhaps. You couldn’t just visit the land of radio waves and walk about.”

“You can,” disagrees the voice, “We are. Right now. They’re all around us.”

Helena rolls her eyes. “However. What these are for—” she gestures at the cylinders “— is to tether a zero-point energy field. Because…” and here she gets that look of manic glee again: “Myka, we can energise it!”

Myka thinks this through. “Okay. So. You can… add more energy to the field… Oh!”

Further down the shed a large man rolls his chair out into the aisle and points at Myka. “You’re getting it!” he says.

“Yes!” says Helena, “We use these coils to tether a field within the cylinders, then syphon power into it, increasing the field’s total volume of energy. It takes a little of that energy to keep the field tethered, so there’s always some loss (I’m working on that), but meanwhile…” she walks over to a finished cylinder and clamps two jumper cables to bolts on its top. “Meanwhile we have a reservoir of power sitting around waiting to be used.” She pulls a lever. All around them hanging strings of Christmas tree lights that had been obscured by papers and shelves of apparatus light up the room with a rainbow of cheerful colours. Helena does a graceful half turn, presenting all this to Myka with an enigmatic smile and outstretched hands, like a stage magician. “Et voilà!”

Taking her cue, Myka claps enthusiastically and Helena’s grandstanding demeanour is belied by a faint blush to her cheeks. “Yes, well,” she says, dropping her arms. “It’s still very much a work in progress. It doesn’t take much to power a few lightbulbs. But we shall see. Anyway, that’s what I have been working on.”

The man in the chair points behind Myka. “See that radio? It’s been switched on, playing entirely off a cylinder for going on five months now.”

Myka turns to stare at the radio, which is playing Joaquín Rodrigo now. “The cylinders don’t, I don’t know, get hot or something? Lose energy that way?”

“No,” says the man. “The field seems to be… well, in its own closed system or something.”

“In the Under-verse,” says Helena.

“It’s very irritating,” agrees the man. He rubs his temples. “See, I hate that we don’t know! We should be working this all out before we start playing with it!”

“We work it out by playing with it!” argues Helena, and Myka can tell that this is a regular dispute.

The man pulls at his hair. “You are so irritatingly analogue! How do we even work together?!”

And Helena flashes him a broad smile, her real smile, the one that makes her look like a slightly manic child. “Really rather well, my darling,” she says, “that’s why we’ve still got investors,” and he groans.

Myka reaches out and squeezes Helena’s hand. “Well, I think you’re a bit wonderful.”

“Yes, I am, aren’t I?” says Helena, “But I believe I promised to take you out to dinner. Let me get my coat.”

“I never get taken to dinner,” complains the man.

“Well, Myka’s a bit wonderful too.” Helena throws her coat over one arm and takes Myka’s elbow with the other. “Good evening, Ben. See you tomorrow.” Ben gives them a little wave and they step out into the dusk.

#Sleepovers #myka bering #helena wells #warehouse 13 #fanfic #Helena only stopped referring to zero-point energy as the luminiferous ether a month ago

[swede1952]

Good morning. ⏰🥱☕

23 April 2024

I woke up early this morning and it wasn't because of Charlie. I just woke up an hour earlier than usual. Now I'm tired and sipping luke warm coffee. I Suppose that I could get up and top off my cup. Something else that I do, that I think other people do now-a-days, is I reheat my coffee in the microwave when it cools down. Hmmm … I remember life without the kitchen microwave. I wonder how we survived without it. I was talking with somebody yesterday who said she popped corn from kernels on the stove. Oh, how mid 20th century. 😉 Yes, I'm aware that stores sell stovetop popcorn. I remember the ruggedness of having to boil water on the stove for my cup of ramen.

“Revenge is a dish best served in something microwaveable” - Josh Stern, And That's Why I'm Single: What Good Is Having A Lucky Horseshoe Up Your Butt When the Horse Is Still Attached?

#photo #photography #photographer #photographylovers #morning #foliage #microwave

[unproduciblesmackdown]

Summer Stock: Plot Synopsis

Time Period: Mid-20th Century Place: A Technicolor New England farm-turned-theater

ACT 1

Overture: Watch For: Offstage voices, live music

SCENE 1: The Barn at Falbury Farm Jane is sweeping straw while singing. Pop enters, comparing Jane's singing ability to her late mother's. Pop lets Jane know that they have lost their last two farmhands to Margaret Wingate. Margaret has taken over most of the farmland in town except for Falbury Farm. Pop and Jane wonder where they're going to find help to bring in the harvest. Celestial voices join Jane in song. Song: "Get Happy" Watch For: Animal noises

SCENE 2: Metro Rehearsal Studio There's a spotlight on Joe Ross' feet as he is tap dancing. Joe, the director, is running the rehearsal. Singing words of encouragement. Jane's sister, Gloria Falbury, is running late to the rehearsal. The writer of the show, Phil Filmore, is not happy with Gloria becoming the new replacement performer of the show. Joe insists Gloria is a good performer. The rehearsal was supposed to end at 5:00 pm and it is now 5:05 pm. They get kicked out of the rehearsal studio and don't have any money to pay for more rehearsal time. Phil and Joe are worried their show will never make it to "The Great White Way," also known as Broadway, because they don't have a place to rehearse. Gloria tells them that she has a place that they can rehearse and it won't cost any money. Phil and Joe are excited and sing with the ensemble. Song: "Happy Days are Here Again/I Want to Be Happy" Watch For: Tap dancing

SCENE 3: The Yard, the next day We are in the barnyard and the theatre troupe comes in singing with various props, sets, and costume racks. Gloria surprises her father and sister by bringing the whole troupe of performers to the farm where they are planning on rehearsing and performing their show that is a work in progress. Gloria introduces Pop and Jane to Joe, Phil, and the rest of the ensemble. Jane is not so easily convinced that this is a good idea. She has a farm to save and doesn't have time for the nonsense of show business. This troupe is delaying Jane for an important meeting. So, she reluctantly agrees to let them stay for one night. Song: "Accentuate the Positive" Watch For: Cow mooing, shouting

SCENE 4: The Cherry Orchard Jane is walking up a path, still angry that the troupe of performers are on the family farm. She sings a song about "chasing rainbows." She always feels like she's chasing her dreams and they never come true. Joe ends up hearing Jane sing and he is impressed. He sings with her. He tells her that she's just not "chasing after rainbows," she's accomplishing things. Jane agrees and says she will accomplish her dreams by herself. Jane hurries off, up the road. Song: "I'm Always Chasing Rainbows"

SCENE 5: The Drawing Room at Wingate Manor At Wingate Manor Mrs. Wingate and her son, Orville, are drinking tea. She is trying to convince Orville to propose to Jane. If Orville marries Jane, then the Wingate family will become the largest commercial farming operation in the Connecticut River Valley by also owning the failing Falbury Farm. Mrs. Wingate and Orville sing a song in preparation for the marriage proposal. Jane and a maid enter and see Orville bent down on one knee as if he were proposing to his own mother. Mrs. Wingate continues to encourage Orville to propose to Jane. When Jane finally hears Orville's marriage proposal, she refuses and insists on saving the farm herself. Song: "Always" & "Always (Reprise)" Watch For: Shouting

SCENE 6: The Barn Back at the farm the cast is sitting on hay bales, strumming a ukulele, reading the trades, and writing home. They are thinking about heading back to the city to audition for another show. However, Joe tries to convince them to stay. He sings a song and in doing so he stalls them, long enough to hear the last train of the night leave without them.

In the kitchen Pop is preparing food and Gloria enters. Gloria has become a true city slicker and Pop loves his farm country roots. They both defend their lifestyles and Jane comes back from her failed proposal. Song: "It's Only a Paper Moon" Watch For: Train whistle

SCENE 7: The Kitchen, a short time later Pop pits cherries as Gloria enters, sits, and helps herself. Pop is planning on using all of the cherries they've grown. They sing a song about how Pop thinks the best things in life are free and Gloria sings that some of the best things in life cost money. Jane enters and warns Gloria about Joe. The cast comes in to eat dinner and Jane approaches Joe to request that his performers help with farm work in exchange to use their farm as a performance venue. Joe agrees and they all sing a song about how they will work for their food. Song: "The Best Things in Life are Free" & "Dig For Your Dinner" Watch For: Yelling, triangle ringing, jumping on table, tap dancing, silverware banging

SCENE 8: Jane's Bedroom, that evening When Jane is sleeping, her sister Gloria comes into her room, because the barn wasn't a very comfortable place to sleep. The two have realized that they have become two very different people that used to be so close when they were children. They listen to an old record of them singing as children. Song: "Me and My Shadow"

SCENE 9: The Yard, the next morning Exhausted, the performers all start on the farm work begrudgingly. Joe encourages them to work hard so they can continue using the farm as a performance venue. Mrs. Wingate arrives at the house to speak with Pop. She sees the performers working on the farm and disapproves. Phil says he needs to still work on the song for when their leading man arrives on the farm. Gloria suggests a kiss would make a good transition out of the song. Gloria pulls Joe into a kiss. Phil unfolds a vocal chart and Orville runs in clutching a rolled land-map. They don't see each other and collide. Orville is looking for his mother and Phil explains he's working on music for the star of the show. Just then, Montgomery Leach, the star of the show, arrives and Mrs. Wingate is smitten with him. She insists that Montgomery stays at her home, Wingate Manor, instead of Falbury Farm. Montgomery goes with her and everyone else goes back to work. Song: "Howdy Neighbor, Happy Harvest" Watch For: Animal noises, shouting, Phil and Orville collide

SCENE 10: The Drawing Room at Wingate Manor, that night Montgomery Leach and Mrs. Wingate make a toast. Montgomery sings a song that flatters Mrs. Wingate and they dance together. Song: "Red Hot Mamma"

SCENE 11: The Barn, the next day During rehearsal, Gloria and Montgomery are singing together poorly and not getting along. Pop says the song they're singing was his and his late wife's favorite song and Gloria and Montgomery are ruining it. Phil is not happy with the lack of chemistry between the two leads. Phil insists on singing it the right way with Orville joining him for the duet. Together the two men execute the love song beautifully. Montgomery is not happy with being embarrassed and says he will leave the show. Joe takes Montgomery's place for the rest of rehearsal. Gloria goes to kiss Joe and Jane stops the kiss by clanging a cowbell and announcing supper. Before they eat Jane asks Joe his intentions with Gloria and it turns into a song where Jane and Joe almost kiss and Gloria catches them. Gloria runs off crying. Song: "'Til We Meet Again" & "You Wonderful You" Watch For: Actors in the aisle, yelling, clang of a cowbell

ACT 2

SCENE 1: The Front Porch, twilight A performer is writing a letter home and all of the performers are concerned about the drama that has ensued so far. Pop enters and offers cherry desserts. But, the cast declines. The ensemble is worried and Pop sings a song about just enjoying the night. Off-stage we hear Jane and Gloria fighting. Song: "June Night" Watch For: Animal noises, acrobatic dancing, cymbal crashing, yelling

SCENE 2A: Jane's Bedroom, Continuous Gloria starts packing her suitcase and yells at Jane to leave her alone, because Gloria had feelings for Joe and her sister almost kissed him. Gloria grabs their mother's record and Jane and Gloria fight over it. Ultimately snapping the disc. Gloria sings a song about how her sister, Jane, will miss her. Gloria grabs her suitcase and leaves. Song: "Some of These Days" Watch For: Yelling, record breaks

SCENE 2B: The Drawing Room of Wingate Manor, Same Time Montgomery Leach is writing a note to Mrs. Wingate about how he'll miss her. Mrs. Wingate cries out in disappointment once she reads Montgomery's letter. Song: "Some of These Days" Watch For: Train whistle, yelling

SCENE 2C: The Barn, Continuous Jane goes after Joe with half of a broken record. She says her sister is leaving, because of him. It's over and Jane sings about how she won't miss Joe and that she doesn't need him. Jane leaves Joe and Joe begins to dance alone. He picks up a crumpled newspaper, reads it, and saunters off. He turns back at the sound of a cricket chirping. Song: "Some of These Days" & "Joe's Dance" Watch For: Yelling, kicking, tap dancing, cricket noise

SCENE 3: The Kitchen, that night Jane is at the kitchen window. She stands at the sink, miserable, washing dishes, singing about "chasing rainbows." Pop knows something is bothering her and Jane explains that she thinks they have to sell the farm. Joe appears and says maybe they don't have to sell. He shows them a fundraiser he found in the newspaper and suggests they host a fundraiser of their own. Gloria is back and standing in the doorway. Gloria says that she could get this show into shape as a producer. But, she wants to be back to the city on the first train in the morning. Jane sings a song, insisting Gloria stays and helps them produce the show. Song: "I'm Always Chasing Rainbows (Reprise)" & "It All Depends On You"

SCENE 4: The Drawing Room at Wingate Manor, the next day Mrs. Wingate is singing to Montgomery Leach's signed photo while Orville watches on. Phil is introduced by the maid and enters looking for his vocal chart. Jane and Joe must step into Gloria and Montgomery's roles and some parts must be rewritten to fit their voices. Phil notices that Orville has made some changes to the score and is impressed. Phil convinces Orville to come help him work on the show. Song: "Always (Reprise)" Watch For: Doorbell

SCENE 5: The Barn The performers are rehearsing for their show. They're figuring out their costumes. Jane is running her lines and having difficulty with the choreography. Gloria wants the sky to be painted pinker for the show. The assistant choreographer wants to change the choreography to something easier and the associate director doesn't want it to change. They play "Rock, Paper, Scissors" and the assistant choreographer wins and starts teaching everyone the new dance through a song. Joe enters and is confused, because they're changing the choreography. Phil and Orville are going over the music and they sing a song about being lucky. Gloria loves the song and wants to add it to their show. Song: "Everybody Step" & "Lucky Day" Watch For: Cymbal crashing, horns, acrobatic dancing, clapping, shouting

SCENE 6: The Barn, the next morning Gloria was able to get people from the theater industry to come see the premiere of their show 'Til We Meet Again. Song: "Rehearsal Sequence - Farm Part 1" Watch For: Cheering

SCENE 7A: The Barn, a short time later Jane is rehearsing, Phil explains to Orville that a sitzprobe is when the cast sits and practices the vocals with the orchestra for the first time. To make matters worse, Mrs. Wingate enters with the mayor of the town. She makes the mayor tell them that the barn is not up to code to house all of these occupants and they must be gone in 48 hours. In that case the producer, Gloria, decides the show must start in 46 hours to comply with the mayor. Song: "How Ya Gonna Keep 'Em Down on the Farm"

SCENE 7B: The Barn, later The performers are in the middle of their technical rehearsal. Phil is teaching Orville what a technical rehearsal is and the GI's enter singing and dancing. Mrs. Wingate and the mayor return, again. The mayor says that legally they are not allowed to sell tickets to their performance. In that case Gloria says, if they can't sell tickets, then they'll rely on passing a bucket for donations. Song: "Rehearsal Sequence - Farm Part 2"

SCENE 7C: The Barn, later still The performers are having their final dress rehearsal. Jane is singing and can-can dancers run on stage. Mrs. Wingate and the mayor enter for a third time to state "it is unlawful to gather in any public or private structure for the purpose of lewd or disorderly conduct." Mrs. Wingate hopes that discourages anyone from coming at all, because they'll be arrested if they do. Gloria says they'll perform to an empty house if they must. They continue to rehearse and are amazed at how much they have accomplished in a short time. They all go get some sleep. Song: "Rehearsal Sequence" Watch For: Cymbal crashes, actors in the aisles

SCENE 8: The front porch, early in the morning A ghost light glows. Joe, Phil, Orville, Gloria, and Jane are on hay bales finishing up a production meeting. Pop encourages everyone to get some rest with the help of some cherry tonic. The sunrise is just the color of pink that Gloria wants for her set. Jane and Joe linger behind and Joe gives Jane his first coin that he ever made in showbusiness. He confesses that he has feelings for Jane. They lean in, are interrupted by Pop's voice, and Joe kisses her hand. Jane watches Joe whistle as he leaves and now alone she sings about how she has feelings for Joe, as well. Song: "It Had to Be You"

SCENE 9A: Backstage in The Barn, Opening Night The show curtain hangs in reverse across the upstage wall. Ensemble members peek through it, looking out at the audience. They don't see any sign of Mrs. Wingate. Their show starts. Song: "Opening Night Overture / Happy" Watch For: Tap dancing

SCENE 9B: A Makeshift Dressing Room, Continuous Jane is going through her script. Joe enters with flowers from Jane's garden. Jane is nervous about performing. Joe reassures her. Then, it's time for them to be at their starting places.

SCENE 9C: Backstage / Onstage / Continuous Joe and Jane sing their duet. Phil watches from the wings wishing that Orville could hear his music. Orville surprises him and appears. He was keeping his mother busy from attending this performance. But, she disappeared from the house and came to ruin the show. Mrs. Wingate threatens to yell "FIRE!" Montgomery comes in reciting Shakespeare. That distracts Mrs. Wingate enough to swoon over Montgomery and not ruin the show. The cast continues to sing and dance. Song: "You Wonderful You (Duet)" & "Opening Night Cont'd Step / Hinky" Watch For: Yelling "FIRE!"

SCENE 9D: Jane's Make-Shift Dressing Room, Continuous Jane is dressed in a black gown. Joe slips heels on her feet. Jane tells them to wish her luck. Gloria does wish her luck. But, in the theater it is bad luck to wish "good luck." What could go wrong? RIP! Jane's dress gets caught on Gloria's foot and rips the dress. Jane is in her undergarments. Gloria covers Jane with a tuxedo jacket. Joe throws a fedora on Jane's head and tilts it over her eyes. Jane is nervous. But, Joe encourages her. Watch For: Ripping sound and ripped dress

SCENE 10: Onstage, Continuous The stage picture has flipped and there is a vivid pink sky that spans the back of the stage. The band vamps as the ensemble all in tuxes stand frozen in tableau—hiding Jane from view. The ensemble reveals Jane. She is nervous, but then summons some courage and sings. Song: "Get Happy (Reprise)" Watch For: Horns and acrobatic dancing

SCENE 11: Backstage, Continuous Jane runs into Joe's arms and she is proud. The audience loved the show. Gloria says that all the people from New York want their bosses to come see the show. Montgomery and Mrs. Wingate remark how the food was wonderful and unique to serve farm-fresh cuisine at a theater. They're all excited to write more shows, perform, and feed more audiences on the farm. They call dinner and a show SUMMER STOCK. At the end of the song Joe and Jane are hidden by the fedora. The fedora falls and reveals the two kissing. Song: "You Wonderful You (Finale)"

#via the linked sensory friendly performance guide; simply transcribed by me #i would have a different idiosyncratic grammar & relay some additional details / rephrase to add context at some points #also now snapshotted in the wayback machine....great little guide; Keeping That. and archiving in general #summer stock #orville wingate #orvphil #phil is not happy with the lack of chemistry between the two leads; phil insists on singing it the right way with orville joining him for #the duet; together the two men execute the love song beautifully

[nwbeerguide]

Released as part of Wes Anderson's "Asteroid City", Dogfish Head Craft Brewery releases "Asteroid City Lager"

Press Release

MILTON, Del. (May 30, 2023) – Dogfish Head Craft Brewery proudly introduces Asteroid City Lager, a crisp and nifty lager brewed in celebration of “Asteroid City,” a new film by Wes Anderson. “Asteroid City” takes place in a fictional American desert town circa 1955, when the itinerary of a Junior Stargazer/Space Cadet convention is spectacularly disrupted by world-changing events.

Inspired by the movie’s compelling and unique design aesthetic, Asteroid City Lager shares much more than a title with its namesake film. Just as “Asteroid City” is a rich and layered take on the typical science fiction flick, Asteroid City Lager provides a stratified, Earthy twist on a classic lager’s light and refreshing flavor profile.

Brewed with regeneratively grown pilsner malt, Tuxpeno corn malt and Zuper Saazer hops for subtle notes of savory corn and a whiff of wild blossoms and herbs, Asteroid City Lager was then finished with a mid-20th century Pennsylvania lager yeast as a nod to the 1950s era during which “Asteroid City” takes place. Not to mention, the beer’s label – developed in collaboration with Wes Anderson, himself – features artwork centered on one of the film’s most eye-catching images; essentially, it is a billboard advertisement for a billboard advertisement.

“The magical, whimsical worlds Wes Anderson has created in his movies have been touchstones for our off-centered brand throughout the years,” said Dogfish Head Brewer & Founder, Sam Calagione. “From the playful and colorful design of our canal-front hotel, the Dogfish INN, to the vibrant and refreshing vibes of this Asteroid City Lager beer, Wes’ work inspires us, and this collaborative beer is a liquid celebration of this new frontier Wes and the entire team behind ‘Asteroid City’ have created.”

Focus Features will release “Asteroid City” in limited theaters in New York City and Los Angeles on Friday, June 16, expanding nationwide on Friday, June 23.

Asteroid City Lager will be available to enjoy during “Asteroid City” screenings at select Alamo Drafthouse locations nationwide, including those in New York City, Austin and Denver. For the perfect pairing, guests can attend one of the cinema’s “Asteroid City” Chili Supper Screenings, where a custom, pre-set menu featuring chili, hotdogs, grilled cheese, themed popcorn and Asteroid City Lager will be served. Tickets for Alamo Drafthouse screenings of “Asteroid City” are on sale now at www.drafthouse.com/show/asteroid-city.

In addition to Alamo Drafthouse, Asteroid City Lager will be available for purchase both on draft and in 4pk/16oz cans at Dogfish Head’s coastal Delaware locations, as well as at other regional retailers, like Eataly NYC Flatiron.

For more on Dogfish Head and Asteroid City Lager, please visit www.dogfish.com. To learn about “Asteroid City,” check out www.focusfeatures.com/asteroid-city.

...

ABOUT DOGFISH HEAD CRAFT BREWERY:

Dogfish Head has focused on brewing beers with culinary ingredients outside the Reinheitsgebot since the day it opened as one of the smallest American craft breweries more than 27 years ago. A Delaware-based brand and supporter of the Independent Craft Brewing Seal, Dogfish consists of Brewings & Eats®, an off-centered brewpub, Chesapeake & Maine®, a seafood and cocktail spot, Dogfish Inn®, a beer-themed hotel and Dogfish Head Craft Brewery®, a production brewery and distillery featuring the Tasting Room & Kitchen and Dogfish Head Distilling Co.® For more, visit www.dogfish.com.

...

ABOUT ALAMO DRAFTHOUSE:

Alamo Drafthouse Cinema was founded in 1997 as a single-screen mom and pop repertory theater in Austin, TX. Twenty-six years later, with 39 locations and counting, Alamo Drafthouse has been called "the best theater in America" by Entertainment Weekly and "the best theater in the world" by Wired. Alamo Drafthouse has built a reputation as a movie lover's oasis not only by combining best-in-class food and drink service with the movie-going experience, but also introducing unique programming and high-profile, star-studded special events. Alamo Drafthouse created Fantastic Fest, a world-renowned genre film festival dubbed "The Geek Telluride" by Variety featuring independents, international filmmakers, and major Hollywood studios. Alamo Drafthouse continues to expand its brand in new and exciting ways, including the American Genre Film Archive, a non-profit film archive dedicated to preserving, restoring and sharing film, and with eight new theaters announced for this year and beyond.

...

ABOUT ASTEROID CITY:

ASTEROID CITY takes place in a fictional American desert town circa 1955. Synopsis: The itinerary of a Junior Stargazer/Space Cadet convention (organized to bring together students and parents from across the country for fellowship and scholarly competition) is spectacularly disrupted by world-changing events. The film stars Jason Schwartzman, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hanks, Jeffrey Wright, Tilda Swinton, Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Adrien Brody, Liev Schreiber, Hope Davis, Stephen Park, Rupert Friend, Maya Hawke, Steve Carell, Matt Dillon, Hong Chau, Willem Dafoe, Margot Robbie, Tony Revolori, Jake Ryan, Jeff Goldblum. ASTEROID CITY opens in limited theaters in NYC and LA on Friday, June 16th and expands nationwide on June 23rd.

#Delaware #DE #Milton #Asteroid City #Dogfish Head Craft Brewery #Press Release #Beer #Craft Beer

[art-of-manliness]

Odds & Ends: February 24, 2023

Just One Quality Conversation With a Friend Boosts Daily Well-Being. Jeffrey Hall, who came on the AoM podcast to discuss how long it takes to make a friend, has a new study out showing that having just one quality conversation with a friend during the day can boost your well-being. A “quality” conversation can range from meaningful talk to joking around to offering sincere compliments — it’s just the act of reaching out that matters. The boost you get is biggest when you have the conversation face-to-face, rather than electronically.  The Power Elite. A genre of books that I enjoy are sociology-themed books from the middle of the 20th century. The Lonely Crowd and The Organization Man are examples we’ve highlighted on the site before (see here and here). Along these lines, I recently read The Power Elite by C. Wright Mills published in 1959. It was interesting to see how a sociologist described the status structure in mid-century America. While things have definitely changed since 1959, the insights about status and ambition are timeless and still relevant today.  TriggerPoint MB Vibe 3-Speed Vibrating Massage Ball. I’ve been dealing with some aches and pains in my hips lately. A physical therapist recommended adding this massage ball from TriggerPoint into my foam-rolling warm-up before doing squats. Using a ball in place of a foam roller increases the pressure and intensity of the self-massage. When you turn on the vibration, it adds even more intensity. It could be placebo, but it’s helping. My aches have been reduced and squatting doesn’t hurt when I use this before I get under the bar. John Wooden’s “Two Sets of Three.” Legendary coach John Wooden gave his sons two sets of three rules. These “Two Sets of Three” undergirded his life philosophy, as well as his famous “Pyramid of Success.” We have them hanging up in our kitchen and recite them at each of our weekly family meetings. We’ve added a couple specific to what the McKays want to work on. “Don’t Be a Potato Head” refers to not being the kind of person who sits silent and slack-jawed in class or Sunday school and stares blankly at their phone at restaurants and events, and who is instead curious and engaged with others and the world. Don’t be a potato head.  Quote of the Week When we are young, we are slavishly employed in procuring something whereby we may live comfortably when we grow old; and when we are old, we perceive it is too late to live as we proposed. —Alexander Pope The post Odds & Ends: February 24, 2023 appeared first on The Art of Manliness. http://dlvr.it/SjyLw8

[euphoniouspandemonium]

Now I'm quite curious about Leslie, Percy, and Florence (yes I do know more about Percy than I do about Leslie and Florence, but there's no such thing as "knowing too much about Percy")

Oh yes. Ohohoho yes. Thank you for asking and you are so right, there's no such thing as knowing too much about Percy, like I still feel like I don't know enough about Percy and I'm the author who has three (3) WIPs with him in it, one of which is almost a sort of biography, and is incapable of thinking about anything else.

Okay okay so! Leslie first, because I am currently having a lot of brainrot:

Leslie is a character in Clarity Is Blood On A Murder Weapon and I want to hit them with a brick. Affectionately. They suck but it's okay because I love them and I think they're hot.

Also they are my pronouns buddy (they use they/he/she as well, though I'll be using they/them for this ramble for the sake of clarity) <3

The rest is under the cut!

You see, they were raised in a very "queer people gross only Feminine Woman In Kitchen and Manly Macho Man Dude Bro" because it was mid 20th century America so what can you expect. That was, of course, a problem, cause they're nonbinary and bisexual. So of course they left once they turned like 19. Also they have a younger sister - Roq - who got kicked out for being gay like a year later (when she was 17 oop) but that's another story. They did take her in, of course.

After they left, they met Kevin and Stephen and then a while later Roq started living with Leslie so The Friend Group was created. Stephen in the early days of their friendship was recovering from Very Bad Terrible trauma and later on a few other peeps were abducted into this friendship, but that is probably a story for another day.

Anyways! That's enough for their backstory! Tis time for... *drumroll* ... their personality! And such!

As I said, they suck (affectionate). They're a selfish dumbass honestly, and they just kinda act like they don't give a fuck about anyone's feelings but they absolutely do and they want the people they care about (*cough* their friends and their little sister and their boyfriend *cough*) to be safe and well and happy. But most importantly they always wear heart shaped sunglasses and of course in the scene where they are most vulnerable they are not in fact wearing said sunglasses. In fact they are broken. Do with that what you will.

But other than being a fool and an asshole they are an absolute darling of a person. They get so so hype every time their friends or partners get happy, ESPECIALLY if they're the one that made them happy. They are obsessed with everything heart-shaped. They know all of their friends' favourite songs. They're still a piece of shit but. A darling piece of shit <3

Also they fuck around with gender A Lot <3 because they can <3 and honestly they are really fucking gender in literally anything, ranging from dresses to shirts with giant sleeves to ridiculous pattern combos, like oh lord the gender envy. Also did I mention they're hot. And pretty. Actually I have a drawing of them, if you'd like to see.

And now! Florence!:

She's from the Earl/Edith WIP and honestly she could kill me and I'd thank her. I haven't developed her much yet, but all you need to know is that she says "Well, well, well. I have found a pretty little thief in my room" at one point. She has a really ethereal vibe and it seems like she draws moths and butterflies towards her~ and Edith is but a foolish little moth~ oh and I am implying some romantic emotions between Florence and Edith cause like. She was literally in a polycule with Edith and their husband Jonathan but then Something Happened. Don't even ask me what the something is because I don't know either. Also Florence is the antagonist's sister. Oh oh and she has two borzoi dogs, Frankie and Lola <3

And since I have talked about Percy A Lot I will make this a lil list of fun facts:

- named himself after Percy Shelley

- has watched Different From The Others - aka what is probably the first pro-gay film ever - in a cinema in Berlin in 1919. Makes me wish I was him.

- knows oh so many languages

- loves warm milk. It makes him feel very safe and comfy

- he falls asleep EVERYWHERE including but not limited to sofas, chairs, the ground, Oscar's lap, beds, tables, meadows, trains etc, and if you try to move him he just makes sad pathetic little noises and continues sleeping.

- has a birthmark near his nose

- he never lives in one place for too long but he always leaves something that will forever puzzle and haunt the person who's gonna live there next. Small boxes filled with weird old objects, like vintage pictures, teeth, children's toys. He can in fact be a bit of an odd boy sometimes. I would sell my soul to find such a box by the way.

#asks #percy #leslie #florence #this is very long. something about how i apologize for what you have unleashed.

[prince-shawn-egbert]

Refresh Your Environmental elements By Normal Junk Removal

Household junk incorporates every one of the waste materials we can envision. Our regular routines experience a great deal of junk and waste we need to manage consistently. Kitchen is by a wide margin the main spot of junk creation in the types of jars,Guest Posting bottles, coverings, strips and perpetual junk. It must be removed on everyday schedule to stay away from any wellbeing risk and congestion. While kitchen is the significant spot where we face this issue, papers, plastic shopping sacks and tissue papers likewise stack up into vast junks. There should be a very much conceived program to remove the junk routinely from homes. It is my overall perception that a precise junk removal plan inside an area is more powerful than individual removal. The waste management authorities have a bigger number of facilities to remove any litter than we have. If this significant responsibility is left with people, we will observer interminable garbage around the town as the normal perception individuals toss litter on roads or void spaces without any dithering. I came to realize about a fascinating service given by a company through call in.

1-800-GOT-JUNK is most certainly an intriguing name for such a service. It was established by Brian who found out about this service when he saw a junk truck in Macdonald's drive-through. He purchased a truck and concocted the name The Rubbish Young men. His trademark is likewise exceptionally fascinating saying 'we will stash your garbage instantly'. They use trucks to remove the garbage when called on their number right away. It is a seriously novel confidential service because in many nations this service is given by the overseeing authorities. The vast majority of individuals idiotic their garbage outside their home bins. Garbage trucks are intended to gather these wastes usually in types of huge bundles. These garbage trucks are uniquely intended for removal of garbage usually as side loaders, front and back loaders. These carts were first used in the mid 20th century but because of smells and unfortunate management, the trucks were planned with covers and were put to use all the more productively. These covered trucks were first used generally in Europe and afterward started to be used overall in the long run.

Later on additional productive models were created for the better use. Schooling and mindfulness is truly vital to manage the junk in our general public. Junk recycling is definitely not an extremely new term but the majority of individuals don't know about this. With the rising pollution and corruption of regular assets, it is critical to manage the waste successfully. Because of the human irresponsibility, the impacts are becoming damaging to the planet. It is advisable to reuse and recycle materials to save the planet from extreme pollution. Paper materials are more environment amicable than plastics particularly because they discard no hazardous gases when copied. The monetary cost of waste management is very high but can be cut by planning routes, using better vehicles and instruction of masses on environmental issue.

#youtube

[articlesub410]

Artisan Retro Trailers

Artisan Retro Trailers

Step into a world of unparalleled RV customization craftsmanship and artistic expression at Ace of Spades Custom RV.

We are passionate about turning RVs into masterpieces that evoke awe and admiration wherever they roam.

From handcrafted cabinetry and exquisite finishes to meticulous attention to detail, every element of our custom work showcases the artistry and skill of our talented team.Whether you desire a sleek and modern design or a timeless and elegant aesthetic, we will collaborate closely with you to create an RV that stands as a true work of art.

James West, a seasoned professional in the RV industry, has been a Certified Red Seal Master RV technician since 1999. His expertise spans across 18 trades within the industry, making him a versatile and highly skilled professional.His proficiency includes RV electrical systems, wiring, plumbing, propane, welding, and the installation of various components such as solar panels, hot water heaters, appliances, inverters, converters, batteries, entertainment systems, and much more.

He also specializes in carpentry, a skill that has proven invaluable in his line of work.

West’s journey in the RV industry began with four years of professional training in British Columbia, Canada.

This comprehensive training equipped him with the necessary skills and knowledge to excel in various work settings, including RV dealerships, independent RV repair shops, and as a self-employed professional.

 In 2014, after years of working in mediocre RV dealerships, James decided to take a leap of faith and opened his own RV Repair shop in Langley, BC Canada.

 The shop, which he owned for five years, offered a variety of services, including RV repairs, maintenance, and upgrades.

 However, after experiencing a significant increase in small business taxes in Canada,  James decided to explore opportunities elsewhere.

 James and Teri applied for a small business work visa and decided to relocate their business to Las Vegas, Nevada.

 The process was challenging, but they were thrilled when Homeland Security approved their application.

 They successfully moved and set up their new shop in South Las Vegas, marking a new chapter in their professional journey.

 In addition to running the repair shop, James and Teri also built their own personal tear drop trailer, a 13-foot travel trailer with a log cabin theme.

 This trailer, equipped with every imaginable amenity, serves as a testament to their craftsmanship and attention to detail.

 They have plans to reproduce replicas of this tear drop trailer, but with a vintage retro vibe, and in four very different styles. Our Retro Vintage teardrop trailers are inspired by the iconic designs of the mid-20th century, evoking a sense of wanderlust and adventure.

From the sleek curved lines to the polished aluminum exteriors, every inch exudes classic sophistication.The carefully selected color palettes and vintage-inspired accents add a touch of nostalgia, making these trailers a true head-turner wherever you go.

While our teardrop trailers pay homage to the past, we believe in blending vintage aesthetics with contemporary amenities.

Inside, you’ll find thoughtfully designed living spaces that maximize comfort and convenience. From cozy sleeping quarters to compact kitchens equipped with modern appliances, our trailers offer everything you need to make your journey enjoyable and memorable.

West and his team are planning to market their trailers at Barrett Jackson auctions as vendors.

However, they are also open to direct inquiries from individuals interested in owning one of their unique trailers.

The RV industry has seen significant growth over the years, with RV ownership increasing by over 62% in the last twenty years.

Currently, about 11.2 million U.S. households own an RV, and this number is expected to rise.

As a seasoned professional in this growing industry, West is well-positioned to provide high-quality services and products to RV owners and enthusiasts alike.

His journey from a trainee in Canada to a business owner in Las Vegas is a testament to his dedication, skill, and entrepreneurial spirit. 

Please check out our instagram account to see all of our RV projects. Our account dates back to 2018 where we showcase most of our RV renovation and customization jobs including a tiny house from a 5th wheel to the ‘expedition like earth roamer’ replica that our client requested. A truly high end, modern build to date.