#its really simple but...c'est la vie~

[cyborg-pasta]

fanart of @strange-birb's Jason in their secret band au that I did a long time ago but posting now.

They made a really good and fun design, i just had to have a go at it.

[koishua]

10 QUESTIONS FOR U - valentines edition

favorite color of roses?

favorite flowers?

you can send a love letter to anyone. fictional/idols/celebs. who?

which idols have the best rizz?

most rizzful mutual?

favorite petnames/nicknames? giving or recieving?

fictional characters you're in love with?

have you ever had an online crush?

songs that you want to play at your wedding?

fav breakup songs?

fav love-themed kpop song?

mutual with beautiful themes?

pink vs red ? coquette vs old money / preppy?

favorite sweets?

DRINK WATER + YOU ARE LOVED <3

aww thank you!! you're super lovely and loved too :((

blue roses, but i really really like light pink ones as well. the flower shop i used to work at had a bunch of colours hehe

i really really really like carnations and freesias and also there's a magnolia tree close by and its pink flowers are to die for

girl bye im way ahead of you im sending one to yoshinori lmao but like not in a romantic sense like i have never thought of him that way but i really do want to send him a love letter of sorts to express how much he means to me!! platonically!!

rizz... i would have to say for me personally heejake, jiwoong, jimin bc he's an actual people magnet, sunwoo omfg sunwoo goodbye?????? but the thing is san imo too?? i also kind of wanna add ningning too bc i would fold in point two seconds... also yunjin bc as much as i have always been a loyal chaewon ult, i would quite literally pass out if she looked at me like she looks at the girlies she's effortlessly rizzed

none of y'all have rizz goodness gracious bye in my head all of you are either cute or scary gremlins

i get called a bajillion nicknames irl idek atp?? but here i really really like it when ria calls me enna i just find it so so cute but i also like it when people call me vie!! it's short and simple and also kind of humorous bc c'est la vie. ps. i die of joy when ppl still call me vera from time to time tyvm it's like being reminded of my roots AS FOR PET NAMES!! i once got called kitten and it made me promptly hurl it was insane just insane it felt like an out of body exp. i love it when my friends call me girlie tho it makes me feel like such a girly pop. one of my friends calls me her honey and it's saur heartwarming. as for giving....... i like to call people my child lmao they could be older than me idc all of my friends are first and foremost my children. other than that i can't really call anyone anything else it's so awkward for me to give any sort of affection lol

im in love with natsume hyuga from gakuen alice idk if y'all know but me personally oof that black cat oof oof i used to burn with a passion for him. also chat noir from miraculous... im sensing a theme here. also jeong guwon bc he's an ass babygirl that i find super duper annoying but also sth about him being so big and protective like GIRLIESSSSS. although im always ALWAYS reserved for han seojun and han seojun only.

i never had a real online crush so no. really admired? yeah lots

never thought about that yet hold on i feel so ashamed as a self proclaimed the most hopeless romantic!! canon in D— just kidding. probably soft piano versions to romantic iu songs hehe

never felt it, but probably ending scene by iu bc i cry every time

SAURRRR MANY i have to create a list bc im an avid romantic genre listener omgomg

i haven't seen them in a while im sorry i can't pick ;-; @atrirose @boyfhee @yrhome @niningz @blueprint-han @cotccotc off the top of my head?? love your mobile themes muah muah i haven't seen your webs so i can't say much about them but im sure they're great!!

always a sucker for deep red and the old money aes. even had individual themes for both!! and i love when ppl dress preppy but i can't pull it off :(

I LOVE ANYTHING CHOCOLATE !! AND COFFEE !! opera cake, tiramisu, brownies, profiteroles, etc etc!!

[papercrown444]

BEABADOOBEE RELEASED.

I LOVE THIS SONG ALREADY I LOVE FHE LYRICS I LOVE THE INSTRUMENTAL I NEED A SONG LIKE THIS IN MY LIFE ITS SO SIMPLE AND CUTE YET IT HAS A DEEP MEANING

sorry for caps

it reminds me of my (one sided) relation with someone and it made me think especially with things that have happened today and it brings a kinda c'est la vie vibe that my delusional mind isn't really used to

also i kinda like the demo ver better bc i can hear her voice more.. tbh that happens alot especially in songs like ripples and talk i feel like im fighting to hear her beautiful vocals

please listen to it !!!

[lingoreliclanguageacademyf]

Essential French Idioms for DELF, DALF, TEF & TCF Canada

Explore French culture through its idiomatic expressions, from 'enrichir ses revenus' to 'rendre les fins de mois moins difficiles.' Join us as we delve into common idioms tested in exams like DELF, DALF, TEF Canada, and TCF Canada. These expressions enhance language skills and offer cultural insights into everyday life.

1. Enrichir ses revenus

This expression means "To increase income." It signifies the act of making more money through different methods like working more, investing, or finding other ways to earn money.

Par exemple,

Pour enrichir ses revenus, il a décidé de commencer à travailler comme freelance le soir après son travail à temps plein.

(To increase his income, he decided to start working as a freelancer in the evenings after his full-time job.)

2. Rendre les fins de mois moins difficiles

"To make the end of the month less challenging" means managing money to ensure there's enough to cover expenses and obligations by the end of the month. This might involve budgeting, careful spending, or finding extra ways to earn money.

Par exemple,

Pendant la première moitié du mois, ils économisent une partie de leur salaire pour rendre les fins de mois moins difficiles.

(During the first half of the month, they save a portion of their salary to make the end of the month less challenging.)

3. Faire rentrer de l'argent supplémentaire

"To bring in extra money" means finding ways to earn more money beyond your regular income. This could be through part-time jobs, freelance work, selling items, or other methods of increasing income.

Par exemple,

Si vous avez un espace libre chez vous, envisagez de le louer sur Airbnb pour faire rentrer de l'argent supplémentaire chaque mois.

(If you have extra space in your home, consider renting it out on Airbnb to bring in extra money each month.)

4. Améliorer son train de vie

"To improve one's standard of living" means making changes in your lifestyle to make it better. This might include spending more on fun activities, upgrading where you live, or enjoying nicer things.

Par exemple,

Après avoir obtenu une augmentation de salaire, elle a décidé d'améliorer son train de vie en s'installant dans un quartier plus chic.

(After receiving a salary increase, she decided to improve her standard of living by moving to a more upscale neighborhood.)

5. C'est du gâteau

This phrase means "It's a piece of cake." It's used to describe tasks or activities that are incredibly easy or effortless, implying that accomplishing them requires minimal effort.

Par exemple,

L'examen était tellement facile que j'ai fini en moins de la moitié du temps imparti. C'était vraiment du gâteau !

(The exam was so easy that I finished in less than half of the allotted time. It was really a piece of cake!)

6. C'est de la tarte

"It's a cinch" is similar to "C'est du gâteau," implying that something is incredibly easy or straightforward to do.

Par exemple,

Le travail de ce projet était si simple que je l'ai terminé en une heure seulement. C'était vraiment de la tarte.

(The work on this project was so simple that I finished it in just one hour. It was really a piece of cake!)

7. C'est de la brioche

"It's a walk in the park" refers to something that is very easy or effortless. It suggests that the task at hand requires little to no effort to accomplish.

Par exemple,

La tâche était si facile que je l'ai accomplie sans aucun effort. C'était vraiment de la brioche !

(The task was so easy that I completed it effortlessly. It was really a walk in the park!)

8. C'est peanuts

"It's peanuts" is a slang expression used to describe something that is very easy, simple, or not challenging at all.

Par exemple,

Faire quelques photocopies pour le rapport était tellement facile, c'était peanuts.

(Making a few photocopies for the report was so easy, it was peanuts.)

9. C'est à la portée de tout le monde

"It's within everyone's reach" means that something is easily achievable or attainable by anyone, implying that it's not difficult to accomplish.

Par exemple,

Apprendre à utiliser ce logiciel est à la portée de tout le monde, il suffit juste de suivre les instructions.

(Learning to use this software is within everyone's reach, you just need to follow the instructions.)

10. C'est comme un jeu d'enfant

"It's like child's play" suggests that something is extremely easy or effortless to do, likening it to tasks that children can do effortlessly.

Par exemple,

Assembler ce meuble était si simple, c'était comme un jeu d'enfant.

 (Assembling this furniture was so easy, it was like child's play.)

11. C'est de la rigolade

"It's a piece of fun" implies that something is very easy or straightforward, often used informally to describe a task or situation that is simple to manage or accomplish.

Par exemple,

Organiser cette fête n'était pas difficile du tout, c'était de la rigolade !

(Organizing this party wasn't difficult at all, it was a piece of fun!)

12. C'est facile comme bonjour

"It's as easy as pie" means that something is very easy or straightforward to do, likening it to the simplicity of making or enjoying a pie.

Par exemple,

Apprendre à faire du vélo est facile comme bonjour une fois que vous avez trouvé votre équilibre.

(Learning to ride a bike is easy as pie once you've found your balance.)

13. Mettre du beurre dans les épinards

This is a French expression that means "to improve one's financial situation." It refers to making adjustments or finding ways to enhance income, similar to adding butter to spinach to make it tastier. This phrase reflects efforts to improve one's financial standing or overall quality of life.

Par exemple,

Depuis qu'elle a trouvé ce nouveau travail à temps partiel, cela met vraiment du beurre dans les épinards pour payer ses factures.

(Since she found this new part-time job, it really adds butter to the spinach to pay her bills.)

14. La cerise sur le gâteau/ Le bonus/ La meilleure chose

"The cherry on the cake" refers to an additional benefit or the best part of something already good. It signifies an extra, enjoyable element that enhances a situation.

Par exemple,

Après une journée de randonnée, regarder le coucher de soleil depuis le sommet de la montagne était la cerise sur le gâteau.

(After a day of hiking, watching the sunset from the top of the mountain was the icing on the cake.)

French idioms offer more than linguistic charm; they provide essential cultural insights for language learners. Embrace these expressions to deepen your connection to French language and culture. Let them guide you to a richer appreciation of French heritage.

If you liked this article, follow us on Instagram and Facebook for French language tips, lessons, and batch updates. Join our Facebook group. Join our Telegram group.

Consult our Blog section here: BLOG  Give us a chance to become a part of your successful online French language learning journey for DELF/ TEF Canada/ TCF Canada Exams. WhatsApp us at +91-9056131830 or email lingorelic@gmail.com to get in touch.

Fill out this form for us to reach out to you regarding your course query.

We look forward to accompanying you on your path to mastering French!

[themaresnest-dumblr]

Don't you just love Dumblr with its mature considered response to the merest measured criticism? To take your points:

'I honestly have no idea prompted this reaction.'

We thought we had actually laid it out pretty clearly ...

'This mod is a simple XML edit and I laid everything out as it is.'

Which is the part that worries us ...

'I personally don't want you to do anything.'

Well, you're posting a Dumblr publicly, so ergo you are wanting people to read it, and you are posting up downloads, so you want us to download them, ergo strictly speaking you are wanting us to do something.

Perhaps less of the emotive retorts and sticking instead to the points addressed would be helpful?

'Many mods out there are experimental and trying to make the best of EA's mess.'

So what? That's not a coherent argument for posting up a mod and adding an implied caveat at the end that you're not sure about how the variables you've meddled with actually work and - the crux of the matter - you admit you haven't had it safely tested elsewhere before uploading.

Judging by your avatar you've been around since Sims 2, so you should know that is a no-no.

Actually, screw the being polite about this ... for the love of plumbob, that's a no-no in any gaming community.

If you'd posted it up with a clear warning that downloaders were being de facto beta testers, so be it, but you left it for people to deduce this from what you were saying.

'I also have no idea what have you learned the hard way, and who is us?'

Okay, we are seriously entering Trump voter levels of bumnuggetry here.

'The hard way', as in fifteen years of downloads that turned out to be harmful to our games because the aspiring modder hasn't tested their upload properly (or in some cases not at all).

You know, as in Sims 3 being around for, erm, fifteen years.

If you really needed us to spoonfeed you that explanation - as opposed to it being a particularly feeble rhetorical question? - maybe, and with due respect, you're not bright enough to be messing about with modding?

Of course, it could be that English is not your first language and therefore certain language idioms are lost on you, in which case, c'est la vie ...

As for 'us', as per the first sentence of our initial response to you (ie. 'So you want us to download into our games' ) 'us' in this context is those you are proffering your mods to in general, in this instance, the Sims 3 players who happen to read your site on Dumblr. Again, did that really require elaboration?

'You can open the package and see the edit. It requires zero coding skills to understand the XML text. You can even use Nraas Retuner to achieve the same effect.'

Wait, what? You are now telling us that you have uploaded a mod which another and very popular mod could do for us anyway?

In which case, what's the point of this one?

'And if you don't like it you don't have to download it.'

No shit, Sherlock!

'I don't know what fight you think your are fighting, but this a mod for a game, and hundreds are being posted each day.'

No shit, Sherlock x 2 and 3!

'Like just don't add it to your game and you are good.'

No shit, Sherlock x 4!

'And one more question. Who is us?'

You mean the same question you asked earlier?

Glad to see you proof read your reply before posting to make sure you weren't repeating yourself, because that would have been highly embarrassing as well as suggesting a certain slapdash approach to your character, which is not really what you want to see from someone proffering you mods ...

Artisan Skill Gain Fix

Here is something that probably no one asked for but here it goes. Maybe someone else needs it too The Glass Blowing Station from the Sims 3 Store, that comes with The Prism Art Studio. Also interduces the Artisan Skill. This is probably my favorite Sims 3 Store Premium Content. However this is EA after all and for whatever reason, the skill gain for the Artisan skill is astronomically high. You sim will gain 2.5 skill points just from crafting their first glass object. And you will max it within a day or two. As a kid I used to exploit this back in the day, but now I want more of a challenge, hence this mod was born.

Technical Things:

This is the weirdest skill done by EA. It has a different skill gain compared to the rest of Store Skills. I didn't have the time to look at the Vanilla skills but I am going to assume that all of them are like the other store skills.

The code is a bit of a mess, so I can't figure out what is the skill gain value actually is. The default skill gain for this skill is 50. 50 what? Per minute, hour...? I experimented with different values and I settled on 10. Again 10 what? But this seems to make it match the rest of the skills. Anything less was too slow, anything higher was too fast. This mod requires the Glass Blowing Station to be installed(official or decrapped). Just put this mod in Mods>Packages if you have it installed as a .sims3pack. And if you have it as a .package file I believe it needs to go into Mods>Overrides folder(I can't test this).

There are no mods that conflict with my mod, that I am aware of.

DOWNLOAD

[miniimapp]

CAN YOU DO ROBAIRE X READER HCS PLEASE !!! <3

Gen ;; Fluff - Headcanons

Warnings ;; None that I can think of :)

Proofread + edited ;; Lightly, twas but a quick skim so I probably missed a ton of mistakes but c'est la vie !!

Auth. Note ;; YES I CAN !! Sorry it's taken so long, I've had a surprising amount of major life events just appear out of nowhere recently !! Robaire is such a swoonable man this was so fun to write :D

Enjoy !! <3

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Robaire speaks French

We knew this

He's very proud of his fluency in French

It's one of his most well-known features

A fan favourite if you will

Robaire also likes to try and teach his non-speaking friends a few words and phrases every now and then

You like to tease him

It started when you were ordering in a restaurant and basically all the menu items were in French

Lord have mercy because there was this one dish you really wanted to try but that pronunciation ??

Get out, there was no way

You butchered it so bad even the people on the table next to you winced

Nosy fuckers

You'd like to think you're not the worse at French or pronouncing French words

But holy shit the letters and accents on that bitch...

HOW WERE YOU MEANT TO KNOW THAT THEY'RE SAID THAT WAY

THOSE LETTERS DON'T EVEN LOOK REAL

WHAT WAS THAT PRONUNCIATION !?!?

AND IT'S NOT SPELT THAT WAY AT ALL

ITS NOT YOU !! ITS THE FRENCH LANGUAGE AND THE FUCKERS WHO THOUGHT IT UP THAT ARE AT FAULT HERE !!

But there was an upside to this humiliating situation

Robaire had the most adorable twisted up expression as he watched you fumble

He looked like he wanted to just cut in and say it for you so badly

Poor baby

Now, in that moment there was no way you were going to have fun with it because holy fuck the embarrassment-

But looking back ??

That shit was so funny and you definitely use it against Robaire now

At first it was just any French word you spied that looked difficult to pronounce

Even if you actually could pronounce it you'd find a way to fuck it up

But after a while you started fucking up every single word

For funsies

Because Robaire puffs up like an uncomfortable baby bird

Aw he's so cute !!

I'm not talking a simple fumble or a small hiccup

No,, you butcher these words like your life depends on it

Not even bonjour is safe,, bitch !!

And it's not easy to act like even more of an idiot than you already are

It's bad enough that you fumble an embarrassing amount of words in your mother tongue

But seeing Ro choke back a laugh at your dramatics as he forces a disappointed facade makes it worth jt

The judgy stares though ??

Not your favourite part,, you have to admit

But who needs confidence when you have a Robaire

That man has enough ego for the both of you

And I don't mean Jesse type ego

No,, I mean that he is so proud of you and your achievements that you don't even need an ego

Robaire will happily be your cheerleader all day every day !!

Mans is literally on a mission to give you the biggest head in the world istg

There are compliments for everything-

Folding socks ?? You're so helpful and kind !!

Eating a snack ?? He's so proud that you're taking care of yourself !!

Breathing ?? Omg you're literally saving the planet by feeding the trees !! Can you be any more of an angel ??

He will never hold back a thought from you

If he thinks you look stunning he's gonna tell you that you look stunning

And, of course, you do !!

Likewise,, if Ro thinks there's something you could do to improve yourself he'll let you know

And he's so encouraging and kind about it,, he will never make you feel attacked or belittled

Ro believes in the criticism burger !!

A positive comment followed by constructive cristiscism followed by tips on how to improve upon weaker areas followed by a fuck ton more positive comments

Even when he's giving you advice Robaire will let you know how proud he is that you've gotten to the point that you're at

You will be told over and over again how excited he is to see you improve

Basically Ro genuinely gets invested in you and your hobbies and your life

He's interested in everything you've achieved and everything you hope to achieve in the future

He's proud of every improvement you've made in any aspect of your life and your commitment to continue the good progress in the future

He's also proud of you when you take breaks and time for yourself

Robaire is someone who believes in his partner

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I truly hope you enjoyed !! <3

[dreamsister81]

"If  you listen to the lyrics of Hallelujah closely, you  notice  it’s a  song  about  sex,  about  love,  about life on Earth. The hallelujah isn’t a tribute to a worshipped person, an idol or a god, but it’s the hallelujah of orgasm. It’s an ode to life and to love."-OOR, August, 1994

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Why did you cover a Leonard Cohen song?

Because I find myself in Hallelujah, not because of Cohen.-Knust interview, September 13, 1994

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“Any of the covers on the album are there because they mean a certain thing in my life that I love and I miss. One day I was house-sitting for a friend and she left her whiskey out and I got into it and hit this horrible sorrowful jag. I went to the gig-Sin-É, in fact-weeping like a fucking animal. The whole time. I sang ‘Hallelujah’ that night and I got through the show just on the edge of tears. I don’t know why. It just wells up inside you."-Hot Press, October 5, 1994

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And this version of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah", does he know the John Cale version? "Well, actually, I'm playing John Cale's version, that's where I got it from, from that record "I'm Your Fan" that I listened to at a friend's house. I also know Leonard's original, but he doesn't sing every verse, the way John interprets it is so...simple."-Rock & Folk, October, 1994

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" 'Hallelujah' for example I learned in New York from John Cale after a year working at Sin-é on a day when I found myself crying like a baby and that song expressed exactly what I was feeling. A title like 'Hallelujah' makes one think of the church, of morality and instead there is a deep humanity inside, there is the idea of making love, losing love, being crucified. Leonard wrote ten verses for that song and I don't know why he didn't sing them all, I just chose the ones I felt were most mine. He has this extraordinary ability to grasp the fundamental element of a certain situation and to "steal" it, make it his own and build the text around it."-Rockerilla, October, 1994

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The artists you've covered so far are Van Morrison, Leonard Cohen, Alex Chilton, they're connected on a certain line. It's kind of cult people or like that. Do you select those songs consciously?

It doesn't matter who's song it is. I did it because each moment in my life matched the song so well. For example, Leonard's "Hallelujah." One day, I was intoxicated with so much sadness, I was totally wasted after drinking whiskey and practicing this song. Right after that, I went into the gig as I was, and I was screaming like an animal. I'm singing that song with those experiences in mind. I have to be myself before the song exists.-Rockin'on October 1994

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"Hallelujah, I was just housesitting for a friend, watching her cats while she was away and I got into her whiskey and got into her record collection and there was there was John Cale's version of Hallelujah on I'm Your Fan. And I'm not...there are Leonard Cohen enthusiasts...it's not because of Leonard that I did the song, it's simply because of the song and because of the verses. I'm just in there somewhere. I have no blood bound allegiance to Leonard, although i have an incredible admiration and real great love of his work you know? There's a difference between somebody who's a total Tom Waits freak and just somebody who just likes to listen to them, and you know, the Tom Waits freak will know everything: the demos, the back in the days when he used to sound like Billy Joel, blah, blah, blah...hear the European demos, well, he didn't used to, but back when he was a bit smoother. You know, just knows everything. And I don't know everything about Leonard Cohen, and I haven't read Beautiful Losers, and I haven't done that, but it was just a great song."-WBCN's "Nocturnal Emissions", October 23, 1994 in Boston, Massachusetts

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" 'Hallelujah' I didn't do it because it's by Leonard Cohen, but because I like the song. Based on that it was done for all the songs, including mine. The version that inspired me is a John Cale version with all ten verses, unlike the way it appears on Various Positions. The night I first proposed it at Sin-é was a special night, I had also been a bit of a jerk. You see, the word Hallelujah has its own definite sign, you connect it to the church. Instead, for me it is a word that celebrates something very human, it speaks of a deep connection between pain and the human condition. That word has nothing to do with being nailed to a cross: there's when you're hurting, but there's also when you're making love, when you're losing it."-Buscadero, November, 1994

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"The fact that I did Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah doesn't mean anything, Cohen is something you discover when you're discovering life, you don't get there when you're very young."-Rumore, November, 1994

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"Finally, Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah not for the meaning of religious purity that anyone can see, but for more earthly reasons: pain, sex, orgasm and the cruelty of everyday life. I believe in people, not in heaven. Without people God would not exist, he would not make sense."-Tutto, February, 1995

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I wanted to ask you about your version of "Hallelujah". I guess its based more on John Cale's version than Leonard Cohen's original?

Yeah. But I heard the one on (Cohen's album) Various Positions first. Then I was stuck in a room with that I'm Your Fan CD (a Cohen tribute album) and I listened to (Cale's version) and it was, again, very simple. Then I heard that version one time again in Tower Records, and I was just struck. There and then, I thought, "This is wonderful ."

But am I right in thinking you don't really rate your version, compared with Cale's?

Well, he's a man. Mine's too fast. I know the difference between myself in a totally empty situation-which is best, where anything can happen-and in a situation where something's expected. And I don't feel very good about that day, and the time I chose that song to be included on the record, it was between that version and another version that I really despised. All in all, there must 22 versions floating out there. It's just never the right time. It seems that the only right time is when I'm telling it to people. And I guarantee, I have mashed that version into the ground nightly on tour, just creamed it. And there's also a version on the master reel for "So Real" that, because I was so wiped out and exhausted after that day-we'd recorded "So Real" and I recorded one last "Hallelujah", and that was my best one-I just forgot about that "So Real", I was so tired. So it's just hanging around out there. C'est la vie. Part of making records is letting stuff go.-February 28, 1995 interview, published in Uncut, September, 2004

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 I tell him that Bono loves Grace and says that Buckley's cover of Cohen's Hallelujah is better than his own. (Buckley plays John Cale's slightly altered version of the song from the I'm Your Fan tribute album to Cohen.) Buckley slumps back in his chair, as he does when on the defensive, and curls his lip in a manner that accentuates his resemblance to Matt Dillon. "I don't think I did that right," he sighs, passing over the compliment without comment. "I hope Leonard doesn't hear it. The way I do it live is better. I did it all live in the studio, there's no overdubs at all, but I pop it in unexpectedly in the show and it works better. The way I did it sounded more like a child and sometimes I've sung it more like a man."-Mojo, March, 1995

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"It's a hymn to being alive. It's a hymn to love lost. To love. Even the pain of existence, which ties you to being human, should receive an amen-or a hallelujah."-Schwann Spectrum, Spring 1995

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"I found myself in that song and I performed it many times in solo shows. But I'd be neglecting something if I didn't say that I learned it from John Cale. John Cale was the one that brought it to recording first, on the tribute album I'm Your Fan and he used these lyrics, these verses, for the song that didn't appear on Various Positions, which was the first album that Hallelujah appeared upon. I was house-sitting for my friend Susan and she had some whiskey...I don't know, I just hit a big, really bad sorrow jag and put on the song, and it was so simple the way John sang it that the words went through me, and I learned the words that night, played it that night at my gig at Sin-e...I don't know, it just stayed with me ever since. I wasn't gonna put it on the album at first 'cause I didn't write it and it would be kinda cheesy but I thought better after a couple suggestions from a friend of mine, and I did. Unfortunately, I think people will ask for it until the day I'm grey and old and fat, which I don't like, so I'll have to write something better, and I will."-Sony promo interview

.

.

.

"He has a unique talent for making everyday life poetic and surreal-the most difficult way to write. However, on Hallelujah, I much prefer the lyrics rewritten by John Cale for the I'm Your Fan compilation. It is this version that I have taken up, not Cohen's version."-Les Inrockuptibles, July, 1995

.

.

.

"That's not a hallelujah of chasteness and piety," Buckley explains. "It's more menstrual. It has more to do with the hallelujah of orgasam, of pain, of joy, of flesh, of being tied to the earth. Not of invisible angels in heaven who may or may not come down to tell you how good or bad you are, or Santa Claus."-Sydney Morning Herald, August 25, 1995

[ask-a-merchants-garden]

[Leaning on his hip Zachie chuckled lightly nodding aggreably. Yes despite it all it was true that he was surrounded whether he knew it or not, by other Zacharies sharing the same miseries. He wished it could be different but as they say c'est la vie]

If it were as simple as being a guardian I think I would have at least been able to go around the Zone I reside..no I think this may be more akin to Hugo's old situation. I am trapped in a world of my own creation..and for whatever reason I do not know, its falling apart.

[He shrugged, despite the questions, despite this mess he's in. It felt good to get it out there to someone other than himself. Well not himself himself at least heh. And that someone being a merchant who though went through the same ebb and flow felt and dealt with it all differently. Refreshing a perspective it may be, he wondered if Insane was still running even now. He would save his questions for now. ]

Perhaps I am a basilisk having frozen myself in an effort to preserve what little I have left. Watching hopelessly as it shatters before me?

[Looking skyward at the swirling inconsistant mass of clouds, musing on their conversation. He reached a hand outward catching some of the white flakes. Cold yet temporary they melted quickly upon contact. If it all was a manifestation of his mind..perhaps it could change again? ]

If you've any ideas Insane, amigo I'm open to suggestions. And ah, if I am able to escape this tiny prison maybe I could lend some aid to you. If you'd like that is. We've both gone through hell and highwater just to reach a modicum of peace and earnestly why can't we all eventually replant our gardens? This winter is heavy, blinding, but it can't be all there is. (However I will definately take a heater if you can procure one amigo, I may be used to this but dios mio a break from it does sound good. Heheh)

[Taking a deep breath he pauses once more on the ledge. He felt lighter as did the clouds overhead as the snow slowed to a light flurry. Despite their meeting having only been a short time ago, the kinship was something hard to come by. So what Zachie was to do was an act of that kinship. Taking his mask gently, the strings slackened as though never tied. Pulling the mask off fully he looked over and a small smile grew on his face. An offer of trust though he didn't expect Insane to react in kind. Zachie after so lomg spent by himself with himself had grown numb to his own appearance though he knows the sentiment behind the need of a mask to other Merchants.]

Heh if you enjoy flowers, you really should've seen this Zone in its heyday. Blooms both curated and wild of every size and color for as far as the eye can see! [Gesturing he threw his arms out wide toward the white field]

And maybe one day I can show you instead of telling you. Y'know.. I'm of the mindset that we all have our own flower we match to. Hm.. Eventually I'll prepare you your very own crown of blooms like i used to for others, and we can see which call to you amigo heheheh.

[He pondered what kind of bouquet would match a man who's life has been spent running from temporary intersection into other worlds and interactions before moving on must be like. Plagued by experiance but emboldened by it. Maybe something resiliant, growing anywhere, but different everytime? Clover flowers, Lupine, Maybe Marigold even? ]

Ah-! Lo siento I was getting off topic as you can tell Im very passionate for this hobby of mine heh..where was I..? Si. Before we head inside, I would like to say one thing.

"Mun"

a trip to a beach sounds more than lovely if possible!~

@ask-a-merchants-garden, continued from hence ask.

"Hm..Oh! si it is, but not in the way you may think amigo! All sugar here is made from grown and harvested Sugarcane, we no longer do the Smokestacks since the Re-Wiring.

[Stands a tad more rigid until shaking himself from his stupor and refocusing on the topic at hand.] ... ///

It was a bit odd to eat a cake in the Zones, and for a moment Zacharie hesitated as the other pushed the plate towards him. The...years here had made him somewhat averse to sugar, even if he never really was hungry.

To be fair the first few times he had indulged with Sucre...well, the ramifications of that particular bit were not best pondered upon. But it did mean that he would be hypocritical if he suddenly decided that he was diabetic.

So Zacharie did what any sensible person would do. He picked up the entire slice, regarded it critically, tilted up his mask, and shoved it into his piehole.

"Prfehty gfoord johrb." The other Zacharie - no, Martinez or Zachie, for simplicity's sake, blinked. Zacharie rolled his eyes, and swallowed. "̴P̵r̷e̷t̴t̷y̷ ̴g̵o̷o̶d̴ ̸j̸o̴b̴.̶ G̸o̵o̷d̷ ̸u̶s̷e̵ ̷o̴f̷ ̸a̸l̶l̶ ̶t̸h̵a̵t̴ ̴t̸i̸m̴e̶ ̷o̵n̵ ̷o̵u̶r̵ ̸h̵a̴n̶d̵s̷.̷ ̷Y̶o̸u̷ ̵s̶h̴o̸u̷l̶d̸ ̸t̵r̶a̴v̸e̷l̷ ̵o̶u̸t̸s̴i̶d̵e̴ ̴y̵o̷u̸r̸s̵e̶l̸f̵ ̸-̸ ̸m̷a̴k̴e̶ ̵a̸ ̴s̷m̴a̴l̶l̵ ̴f̴o̵r̸t̵u̷n̶e̴.̶ M̴a̵y̷b̴e̷ ̶a̵ ̸M̴a̶r̵t̷i̷n̸e̸z̷ ̷P̷a̴t̶i̶s̸s̵e̷r̴i̴e̴ ̴f̷r̵a̸n̸c̸h̶i̷s̶e̷ ̵a̴s̵ ̷w̷e̶l̴l̸.̸"

The cake was velvety. Was that the right term to use? It tasted...well, sweet. Maybe not enough - an eyelid, unnoticed, twitched at that thought.

He hurriedly put the plate down.

"I̶ ̶p̶e̵r̸s̸o̵n̴a̴l̵l̶y̴ ̷d̵o̵n̷'̴t̸ ̷h̷a̶v̷e̸ ̵a̵ ̴m̸a̶r̸k̸e̵t̷a̸b̴l̵e̵ ̴n̶a̴m̴e̴;̸ ̵o̷u̶r̸ ̶s̸h̵a̶r̸e̴d̵ ̶t̸r̷a̷d̷e̸m̶a̶r̵k̷ ̴s̵e̵r̸v̷e̴s̷ ̵i̸t̷s̷ ̶p̵u̷r̸p̵o̵s̶e̷ ̴a̵ ̴b̸i̵t̶ ̷t̸o̵o̴ ̶w̴e̷l̶l̸.̴" he said, "B̴u̶t̴ ̶t̷h̷e̷y̶ ̴u̸s̵e̸d̸ ��t̴o̶ ̷s̸h̷o̴r̴t̷e̸n̸ ̶m̴y̸ ̶U̴R̶L̴ ̶a̴ ̵b̷i̶t̷.̸ N̴o̶t̵ ̷a̷ ̶g̴o̵o̶d̵ ̵l̴o̷o̷k̴ ̷w̷h̴e̴n̵ ̸y̷o̸u̴ ̴g̵r̸o̶w̷ ̵o̴l̷d̴e̵r̵,̴ ̸b̷u̷t̸ ̴l̶e̸t̷'̵s̴ ̶g̸o̵ ̸w̵i̶t̵h̸ ̶t̸h̶a̵t̷.̸"

And as for travel...

"It̷ ̴h̴a̵s̷ ̷b̵e̷e̷n̵ ̴a̷ ̴w̴h̴i̵l̷e̷.̴ ̵T̴h̵e̴ ̸l̷a̵s̸t̵ ̴I̴ ̸r̷e̷m̵e̸m̷b̵e̸r̵ ̸w̵a̶s̵ ̶d̴r̸i̸n̴k̸i̷n̸g̴ ̵q̵u̴i̶t̷e̸ ̶h̷e̷a̸v̸i̴l̴y̷ ̸t̸o̵ ̶e̶s̸c̴a̷p̶e̸ ̶s̸o̸m̵e̸ ̶q̵u̶e̶s̴t̷i̴o̶n̶s̵.̴" he said, rubbing his chin. Maybe he might have stocks of tea in his bag for this. "B̵u̶t̵ ̴a̸ ̶f̸e̷w̷ ̵j̸a̷u̴n̶t̵s̸.̸.̶.̵ ̶w̵e̸l̶l̵,̸ ̸C̵h̵i̴c̷a̴g̵o̸ ̴w̵i̶t̸h̸ ̴a̴ ̸c̴i̶t̸y̵w̵i̵d̴e̵ ̶A̶I̸ ̶s̶e̴e̷m̶s̷ ̶t̵o̵ ̶b̸e̸ ̸p̸o̵p̷p̸i̷n̸g̴ ̸u̷p̷ ̷q̵u̴i̶t̵e̴ ̶a̶ ̵b̶i̷t̷ ̸i̷n̸ ̸m̵y̷ ̴m̵e̸m̶o̴r̷i̷e̷s̸.̷ ̵O̷r̵ ̷t̸h̸a̷t̵ ̶p̴o̸s̴t̷-̸a̶p̶o̶c̵a̶l̷y̶p̸t̷i̴c̸ ̶e̸a̸r̷t̵h̷ ̷w̸h̶e̸r̴e̴ ̷i̶t̷ ̶w̷a̶s̷ ̶i̸n̵ ̴t̴h̶e̸ ̸g̷l̵a̴r̷i̶n̵g̴ ̷s̷u̴n̸ ̶p̸e̷r̵m̶a̴n̵e̷n̷t̴l̶y̴.̷.̶.̶"

[callmehopeless]

Do you ship reylo?

Back in 2015, if you had asked me this - I wouldve given you an unequivocal thumbs up. I was on that sauce 24/7. I was in that fandom so deep that I saw every "reylogate", that I got my fair share of antis angrily bashing my door. Good times

It changed a lot over time. TLJ juxtaposed me in this big way: suddenly, so many new people in the fandom. Huge swathes were absolute shitheads - not to me personally, but they just bowled through being arrogant and cocky about it. It felt less like a labour of love for me, and more like being dragged into fandom warfare that felt childish and pathetic

But TLJ also had an impact on me psychologically - there were parts of the Reylo canon I started to find unnerving, and a drop reminiscent of my abusive ex partner, who had the same ruthless ideology about romance being divide-and-conquer as Kylo did

Ultimately, I think in fandom, you have to know when to cut your losses. I found the romance lost its pizzaz, the community made me want to neck myself, and there was nothing really left for me to feel about it

I took tail and left in the post-TLJ haze, quietly and without any real announcement. Some people on this blog know me from those days, but honestly - my reader inserts started killing it around the time. X-Men was my jam anyway

I have no gripe with Reylo; but it has its own issues. The community has its own issues. C'est la vie, but it's not where I fit now

I hope that answers everyones question comprehensively, because I know Ive been sort of cagey about the fine details in the past

I think people want me to come down on one side or another to feel that I'll justify their emotions about it one way or another, which I can't give them. The simple truth is that any issues I have with fandoms are personal taste, and any I love are personal taste

I just don't care that much about what people enjoy or hate. So long as you're not being a fuck at my door, do what you will

[armsdealing]

/ LA VIE EN ROSE.

paris prefers you in pink. it will always prefer you in pink, champagne bubbling up in its glass, and rose-tinted glasses -- c'est lui pour moi. moi pour lui dans la vie. il me l'a dit, l'a jure pour la vie: honey words, lovely voice, sweet kisses to petal-soft lips. paris prefers you like this.

                                                           ***

la vie en rose is a verse subservient to elements already established in the otherworld verse and the nulliverse. it is an au with focus on crime and -- as you might’ve guessed -- centered around europe as setting, particularly france. general trigger warnings apply: violence, gang violence/crime, murder, drug and alcohol usage. it will have supernatural and non-supernatural variants (in the non-supernatural case, simply ignore the fantastical bits), as well as a period variant upon-request.

continue if you wish to read more about this verse, and the characters involved in it.

FUNDAMENTALS.

so this is a verse that’s actually been present for quite a while, but not on the level that i’m working it right now. its main focus is very simple: it explores the what if of marcelo having grown up in sicily with the marconi family as opposed to the reyes in either colombia or the states. 

both of his parents died exactly as did in canon, and at age 19, he officially assumed his father’s moniker, dents de sabre. at age 24, he put that name to good use as he went about ruthlessly yet methodically wiping out every single presumed and not-so-presumed enemy of his parents, really anyone that could’ve played a role in ysmael reyes��� disappearance and death. nobody was spared in the process, which immediately put his name out there in the criminal landscape. 

marcelo has been aged up to become 31 years old. he went about working in contract killing capacity for the marconi family between ages 18 and 30. he was very good at his job regardless of range and regardless of difficulty. he’s become known for his tenacity, especially when it comes to killing other supernatural creatures -- fae, demons, vampires, werewolves, witches. he’s had no shortage of powerful victims. at age 26 he also picked up enhanced interrogation.  

the job took him to france, which is currently where he lives. he resides in the quartier latin of paris, and though he continues to pick up contracts, he no longer affiliates himself with the marconi. that means that he will no longer exclusively work for them and is now independent. 

his front job is to work at a bar owned by bulgarian fae, le six tireurs. it is notable for being neutral grounds as far as business is concerned. 

speaking of the marconi family, their power comes into full swing in this verse. they have complete control of sicily and southern parts of italy, and influence throughout europe, and still in the united states. though marcelo has chosen to disconnect from the family, he is still biologically related to the family’s padrone, giancarlo marconi. marcelo’s his grandchild. as a result he will really never be not associated with them. 

OTHER CHARACTERS INVOLVED WITH THIS VERSE.

though marcelo is my main focus in this verse there’s many characters that can be interacted with, that also exists in this au since it’s basically just the european otherworld. for more information on them, click their names.

MIKHAIL REZANOV: owner of bibliothèque d'encre dorée, a library in paris known to store very special books that humans tend to consider odd or just useless. a lot of these books talk are about forbidden magic but are written in code, or talk about innocuous things like history or biology but happen to be from different dimensions or different timelines of the earth, there’s also poetry in various dead languages, et al. on top of this, mikhail is also a very well-respected member of the eurocouncil and the high priest of the old god zhaogd'endir, also known as janus. he’s a good source of information when it comes to old gods and monsters in general, as he’s tasked with overseeing a few of them. he’s always happy to share a cup of tea with you. 

LORENZO SCARLATTI: fashion designer, member of the marconi family, tailor of clothes known to be impervious to magic and resist both a normal bullet and a werewolf bite. open to commissions if you’ve been referred by someone. a laestrygonian that has been alive for at least one century who was not born with the face he currently wears. 

RENAUD: a cosmic anomaly that gave himself a name and also a purpose: cult leading. malignant entity that feeds off people’s fear and sexual energy. known to visit people in dreams to elicit these emotions. will visit you looking like your biggest object of desire, and will possibly try to rope you into the aforementioned cult, or simply possess you for a day or two. occasional council asset.

VITALE: the king of vampires, nearly old as the condition. presumed son of a goddess. does not live in france but will frequently travel anywhere he pleases, other than that his focus is on either italy or egypt. a council member. will kill u if you so much as sneeze in his general direction -- jk, he’s too affable for that. 

THE EUROPEAN COUNCIL.

the organization tasked with overseeing supernatural activity in europe, with key representatives from every single country. mikhail is part of the council, as are several members of the marconi family (with giancarlo leading the charge). their concern is politics and control over the information regarding magic. there are other, shadier objectives, depending on who you ask, but overall this organization is shrouded in mystery and this is by design.

they count with a large number of assets that do a variety of jobs for them, from killing irresponsible magic-wielders to stealing objects of great importance from the wrong hands. they’re not a criminal institution, but they don’t care about the criminal affairs of their members.

also, as the name might suggest -- there are other councils for other parts of the world. america’s equivalents would be the CPA or the council for protection of the arts (made up of 12 old magical families), also known simply as the twelve families council, and the mediation group, an interespecies association with representatives from witch, vampire, werewolf, and fae communities as well as other “fringe” species, like werepumas.

the american and european councils are run by different people and only associate themselves for the purposes of sorting out intercontinental affairs.

LE SIX TIREURS.

owned by the kallikantzaroi, it is the place to go to to find people in paris that will do your dirty work for you. it has been around since forever, tucked inconspicuously between other two nameless establishments in the quartier latin. the inside is bigger than the outside could ever hope to denote, and underneath there’s catacombs that are connected to other key spots of paris through tunnels, something useful for safe passage and discreet movilization from one location to another.

marcelo works as a bartender. he got the job as a favor, and everyone that frequents the place knows him very well. he, in turn, knows them as well, and hears each and every one of their conversations -- even if they try to conceal them through magical means. as of late marcelo has gotten into information brokering, and can give you any information you need about paris’ underbelly for a price.

THE COURNEUVE COMPLEX.

a complex of buildings in la courneuve (a commune very close to paris) that houses primarily immigrants and refugees and low class citizens. also renaud’s base of operations and the home of the courneuve group, a gang comprised of renaud’s vessels and people he has visited in dreams. in exchange for their loyalty and labor, renaud keeps them clothed and well-fed and needing for very little. it is a VERY dangerous place, and you’ll never feel safe entering it. they will know you are an outsider as soon as try to walk along the street near the buildings. 

LA CHÂTEAU DE RÊVE

a club in the french riviera that comes to be eventually owned by marcelo reyes and his wife, charmaine theroux. counting with a primary house and two secondary houses, it doubles as both a night club and a strip club, depending on the location, and it caters to clientele of any gender (with employees from any gender as well). it sits in the heart of cannes surrounded by expansive gardens, and much like the name suggests -- it could be considered a small castle all of its own, with every night being its own dream-themed fantasy. it is an expensive establishment, but this is not without reason; there’s an illusory quality to this place and an air of mystery and secretiveness that they actively work to maintain. marcelo cares a lot for it and goes at great lengths to look after his employees -- they are a very close-knit group. 

by the point marcelo becomes a manager of the place he’s 38, so the chateau’s existence comes into place at a different point of the verse’s timeline. though not officially retired, marcelo no longer takes contracts as frequently as he might have in the past. he’s very busy running the castle. 

PLOTTING NOTES.

the verse can simply be a simple aesthetic backdrop for interactions or you can choose to actively have your character involved within the verse. either works just as well. ideally, this verse is perfect for interactions with other supernatural characters that are set in europe, especially those with a criminal edge (but those that are simply civilian or crime-adjacent are welcome too). 

as previously noted, however, it can also be used for strict modern realism -- do not be afraid to approach me for this. everything is quite adaptable. if your character is a human and you’re more comfortable keeping things realistic, simply assume that the magical bits do not apply to our plotting. i’ve made it so it can go either way, easily. 

nothing is set in stone. i’m quite flexible and open minded if you’d like to play around in this verse. for example, with some talking, i can happily accept your characters as powerful enough to be part of the european council as well. and if you choose to work with marcelo’s older counterpart, your character can work as an employee of his in the chateau, or just an associate. basically, what i’m saying is there’s no need to keep your distance from all this worldbuilding -- i want the opposite! if the connection makes sense, i’d be happy to include it.

i’ve actually worked out a john wick variant of this verse in case any john wick canons or ocs want to interact with me, with the marconi family as a member of the high table, and le six tireurs as a group with similar aspects to the continental but smaller in scale and unaffiliated to it. if you’re more comfortable with this particular canon, we can go with it. 

[riotatthemovies]

Leprechaun Returns (2018)

Directed by SFX guy Steve Kostanski that rocked the world when he directed The Void. Well everybody needs a pay day right? 

The issue with the new Leprechaun film is ... it's not that bad.. infact it is pretty good.  When you are taking over an existing franchise you have to rock it off its ass or you have to be so bad that at least everyone will talk about it. After so many years of Warwick Davis playing the evil killer Leprechaun fans were pretty upset that he was being replaced due to SyFy network budgets. However honestly Linden Porco did a pretty good job. His witty banter was funny and well timed even if it did sound like they were tweaking his voice to sound like an impression of Warwick.  When the young people are getting killed the Leprechaun the film is also pretty dead on with creativity and good spills of blood. I cant say much for the teens as actors as some of them felt like victims of the time and maybe not the best script.

 Maybe the issue is people's expectations or maybe its going back to 80s/90s comedic horror is hard to go back to. It's not dick / shit and shock jokes like most comedies of now and it is also not dry and dark like most horror of now. So maybe the audience just doesn't get it ... OR maybe the negative reviews I read when it first aired on the SyFy network in December were just assholes on the internet. I am not sure. My fav of the franchise is part 4 in space  and it is honestly just stupid and ridiculous. Everyone these days talk about Leprechaun BACK 2 the Hood. I am sure people talk about that just because of the title and they never actually say it because Back 2 the Hood is much weaker than “In the Hood” and Warwick seems pretty tired by that movie. This new simpler sequel brings a lot more life and simple “just do it” attitude. It is pretty basic.. a bunch of teens go to fix up the old run down house from the first movie and reawaken the monster... etc etc.. you know how it goes. Yeah it feels more like a generic slasher sequel (which to me is a good thing). Some are drunks, some are bitches and some are jocks trying to get laid so your not morning too much when they are killed. About half the cast is pretty unlikeable and has some pretty weak ass dialogue but thats never stopped me from loving a comedic slasher before anyways.  Definitely some of the cast screams of trying too hard but the other half of the cast are not that bad ( however not good enough to make up for the annoying ones, I am not pointing fingers though). 

I guess people had so much love for the franchise... who knew? As in the long run this was a tv special spin off that to me just spends too much time referencing similar horror films (Army of Darkness jokes and Ghostbuster winks) . I really wish there was not a “film student character” I am super tired of those characters as only film geeks can relate or else you just gotta mock the guy. So it makes nerds like me self hate I guess ... c'est la vie... I am thinking waayyyy too deep into this movie. 

I like Steve the director. Met him a few times and even “borrowed” a prop from him for one of my DIY movies (I won’t say what it was though). So maybe I am bias but you can tell this was a easy job for fun and he made it fun for himself while still showing his talent of ripping out stomachs and squashing heads with a funny little green demon.  It just came out on DVD and well its worth owning cause it is usually really cheap, but I would say it was more of a rental. Its no pot of gold but it is a good cheap laugh and I would love to see more simple dumb fun movies getting funded like this more... but I am a sicko who really loves Pumpkinhead 2 Blood Wings, so what do I know. 

[bookcoversalt]

2019 Debut YA Covers Megapost (part 1)

I’ve fallen off the wagon of keeping up with cover reveals even a little, and there were a whole bunch in the past few weeks, so to get back up, i’m gonna try to do quick and dirty rundowns of as many 19 debuts as have had cover reveals (that I haven’t already talked about) as I can this week! HERE WE GO (these are in no particular order):

1) BLOODLEAF by Crystal Smith

Oh Bloodleaf, you expensive little TOG rehash. What have you brought us. This is another Billelis creation, and I actually like the type! The hypercondensed slight serif feels appropriate but fresh for YA fantasy and the color scheme, the central flower image, and the silver thorns are all really working. BUT I have the exact same issue that I had with the updated Dark of the West cover; the “fancy border with illustrated story-relevant elements” thing doesn’t really work for me when it’s uneven and almost-random the way this is. The crown, moon and tree up top are so symmetrical and balanced that you expect the same thing in the opposite corners, and instead you get a castle with a lot more visual weight than the others, plus a raven and a bow that are just...... hanging out? This would have been a stronger cover with the additional symbols completely removed; the flower and thorns are plenty of visual interest alone.

2) THE PIONEER by Bridget Tyler 

I am obsessed with this one. I don’t know a damn thing about the book, haven’t seen it hyped on twitter or anywhere else, but this cover is gorgeous and perfect and evocative; there’s DEPTH and DRAMATIC COLOR and it’s got BISEXUAL LIGHTING and the outlined type is INTERESTING. It’s an aesthetic cousin to the UK Edition of THE DEVOURING GRAY that i talked about here and it looks like a movie poster and I want it on my wall. 

3) ENCHANTEE by Gita Trelease

Poor Enchantee has already had a cover redesign (old on the left, new one on the right, with the face). It was for the better, although they didn’t address my biggest issue with the original, which is that tYPE. The even-width, sort of chalkish calligraphy SCREAMS “art director’s instagram” and “cloyingly cute NEVERTHELESS, SHE PERSISTED posters you can buy on Etsy”, and “chalkboard signage your high school friend pinned to her WEDDING INSPO pinterest board”, rather than. Yknow. Sexy Magic Revolutionary France, which is the book. Where is the CONTRAST. where is the impression of ACTUAL INK. (Also: I didn’t crop these weird, the type being cut off/ a tangent on the edge there is Actually Like That.)

The Lipstick-ed face DOES say Sexy Magic Revolutionary France, so I appreciate its presence and also think it looks good (it def is victim to looking a little like a tumblr graphic, a phenomenon i have mentioned before, but that’s pretty harmless here); and the gold paint splotches and red-blue starry textures are pretty! They could have done a less halfassed job getting the vivid blue cropped around her chin, but. C'est la vie. I like it and I’m actually super hype for the book itself.

4) THE FEVER KING by Victoria Lee

This is......... a weird one. I love the colors! the blue and purple (veins?) lightning is really striking (LOL) and the texture is super visually interesting. I’m very curious to see the print choices eventually; I think matte vs glossy vs texture vs foil could make a big difference in how this one feels overall. I sort of wish SOMETHING was different, just to make this a little less symmetrical or abstract, whether that’s a different text layout or an additional focal point in the imagery or whatever, but I do think it fundamentally works as-is.

5) FOUR DEAD QUEENS by Astrid Scholte

Thanks, I hate it! this shares a lot of problems with the Burning Glass cover and everything I dislike about lazy object covers generally: the imagery is unclear at first glance (what a waste of all that detailed rendering) and not evocative of anything in particular in terms of mood, setting, or themes, and the type’s layout COULD NOT BE MORE BORING + is an ineffective use of the space and has a totally unnecessary glowy effect. The “spotlight” effect could generously be considered to be a visual signifier of the ~ murder mystery element but. oof. is a 90s crime drama aesthetic really what you want your secondary visual to be on what seems to be a pretty serious YA fantasy book?

(Okay, it could be worse, at least the hierarchy is clear and sensible. but that DNA crown, lmfao.)

6) AGAIN, BUT BETTER by Christine Riccio

I got a couple requests for this one, and I really like it!!! i think the illustration style is SO cute and the whole layout is simple but effective. The little touches like the birds in the corner and the placement of “a novel” are all perfectly balanced; it’s a more successful version of the illustration on WHAT IF IT’S US (and a few others, like HOT DOG GIRL by Jennifer Dugan; that general style + palette is a trend right now) and the concept of the line across and the girl coming into full color is a clever little representation of the coming-of-age story elements.

7) HOUSE OF SALT AND SORROWS by Erin Craig

I really! WANT! To like this cover! I think the layout and rendering of the text and the various nautical effects are sophisticated and pretty! HOWEVER COMMA! It’s just so low-contrast. This entire cover has the same single gray-green color and [lack of] depth; it’s like an intricately detailed dining room table. Nothing, not even the text, stands out immediately, so your eye wanders looking for a focal point; the title is readable, but not.... amazingly so. Kind of an unfortunate misfire despite having some of the most thoughtfully designed ~ fantasy ~ text I’ve seen in a while.

8) WE RULE THE NIGHT by Claire Eliza Bartlett

This is, quite obviously, another Billelis creation, so we’re back to talking about the various foibles and failings of art directors trying to integrate type with his illustrations. And this one. uH. IT’S ROUGH, although the bigger question here is why that gorgeous, intricately rendered phoenix (?) isn’t centered on the damn cover. (neither is the.... fortress? on the bottom.) It’s so symmetrical that it’s clearly meant to be! Perfect centering and a tighter crop would have done a lot towards offsetting...... whatever is happening with the type, which feels VERY awkward. I do think the sort of ~random placement of words could work with a little more thought but into it, but as it is. Woof. It’s cohesive enough that I still feel okay about it as a cover overall, but some sTRANGE choices happened there.

Also, having looked this up, it’s actually dieselpunk? IE vaguely fantasy WWII? And as with our last vaguely fantasy WWII book (RIP Dark of the West’s OG cover) that is..... not being expressed. Here, I would say that a different typeface, one that feels more militaristic/ modern as opposed to ~ high fantasy ~ might have been the play.

MORE 2 COME

[charlycade]

English version below

14 avril 2019, C'est maintenant officiel. Ces mots signent la fin de mon aventure chez Vans et sans vous mentir, c’est assez étrange comme sensation.

En ayant refermé derrière moi la porte du 1334 rue sainte-Catherine, je n'ai pas juste dit au revoir à un endroit: malgré les cinquantaines de paires qui s’empilent, d’aussi loin que je me souvienne, la seule chose qui a marqué mon image sont mes paires de Vans. C’était une évidence pour moi d’accepter un poste et d’y laisser mon empreinte. Ce n'est pas seulement une semelle, ça représente tout ce j’ai pu aimer, vivre, partager et tout ce que je suis, une partie de mon identité. Mais voilà, nous sommes à l'abri de rien et tout ce que j’étais n’est plus tout à fait ce que je suis. Bien sûr aucun souvenir, aucun endroit, ni personne ne me quittera vraiment. Cependant, avec le changement vient le besoin du renouveau, d'un nouveau départ. Suite à un arrêt de travail, j’ai décidé de quitter ma seconde famille. Une décision difficile mais voulue. De cette absence, je n’ai jamais pu dire au revoir à mes collègues, à cet endroit, à ces dernières années et surtout à mes amis. C’est la raison pour laquelle j’écris ces mots. Je garderai proche de mon cœur les personnes que j’ai rencontrées et elles se reconnaîtront. Sachez que Je pars fière de l’impact que j’ai pu laisser au sein notre équipe (8108): j’ai fait de mon mieux pour vous déléguer tout ce que je pouvais, tout en essayant de vous inspirer chaque jour. Et je suis persuadée que grâce à cela vous avez jamais abandonné. C'est maintenant à vous de montrer de quoi vous êtes capable. Si j'ai cru en vous, c'est qu'il y a une raison.

Quitter vans, c’est quitter la personne que j’étais.

Je me suis longtemps dit que le futur était tracé si on savait ce qu'on voulait, quand tout d'un coup tout est devenu imprévisible. Je ne savais plus ce que je voulais. Je me suis longtemps dit “je veux faire ça”, “je dois faire ça” et “je rêve de ça” pour finalement rien vouloir de tout “ça”. Tout a longtemps été idéalisé, puis tout à disparu. J’ai d’abord paniqué de voir tout se décomposer en mille morceaux, mais aujourd'hui j’essaye et m’efforce de ramasser ces morceaux, petits à petits, pour mieux les mettre à leur place. 

Peut-être faudrait-il toujours espérer le pire, pour mieux se reconstruire et en faire quelque chose mieux ? Mais la principale raison est que j'ai toujours pensé que j'étais forte mentalement (ma famille et mes amis vous le diront), mais j’ai aussi appris que rien ne nous évite l’éventuel épuisement psychologique. Je n'ai pas eu un parcours facile pour des raisons de santé et même si ça été un obstacle toute ma vie, j'ai quand même appris à grandir avec et à me dire que les choses arrivent pour une raison. Mais dernièrement j'ai réalisé que mon unique obstacle ne pouvait être que moi. D'aussi longtemps que je me souvienne, je n'ai jamais eu peur, peur des échecs, d'être blessé, d'abandonner ou d'être abandonné, mais vous savez quoi j'ai toujours ressenti cette boule de feu à l'intérieur de moi. Et J'ai merdé, elle était bien là pour une raison: je n'ai fait que taire la douleur, tout ce que j'ai pu ressentir, le bon comme le mauvais jusqu'à qu'il n'est plus rien. Sous une pierre, se cache de l’or.

Alors s’il vous plaît, si vous souffrez de dépression sachez que ça ne détermine pas qui vous êtes. Notre corps construit parfois des boucliers pour nous protéger du monde qui nous entoure. Il est important de prendre du temps pour vous et de ne jamais abandonné. On entend souvent « its okay not to be okay » mais la vérité c’est que ça ne l'est pas. Il ne faut pas avoir honte et parler, car même si certaines choses ne sont pas claires, c’est seulement en grattant votre roche que l’or scintillera à nouveau. Nous sommes tous importants et méritons plus qu’un simple « okay ». Le faux bonheur reste la pire des tristesses. Sachez que je n’oublierais jamais tous ces moments, ce qui ont cru en moi et tous ce que cela a pu m’apporter. Cependant, Il faut savoir construire sa carrière autour de votre vie, pas sa vie autour de sa carrière. Vous ne pouvez pas passer votre vie entière à tenir la porte aux autres et être en colère ou triste parce que personne ne vous en a remercié, parce que personne ne vous a demandé de tenir cette putain de porte. Alors, vivez votre passion, battez -vous pour vous-même, essayez-vous, trompez-vous et recommencer. Priorisez ces choses qui améliorent votre qualité de vie. Soyez fier de vous et n’oubliez jamais ce qui fait battre votre cœur.

Stay gold. 

April 14th, 2019, it is now official. Those words mean the end of my adventure at Vans and without lying, it is a very strange feeling.

While closing the doors of the 1334 Saint-Catherine street behind me, I didn’t only say goodbye to a place; despite the 50 and more pairs that are piling up, as far as I can remember, the only thing that marked my image are my pair of Vans. It was evident for me to accept a position for this brand and to leave my mark. It is not only about the sole, it represented everything that I loved, lived, shared and everything that I am, a part of my identity. But alas, we are aren’t safe from everything and everything that I was isn’t exactly who I am anymore. With that said every memory, place and person will always be a part of me. However, with change comes the need to renew, to a new beginning. Following a sick leave, I decided to leave my second family. A wanted but difficult decision to take. And with that I never had the chance to say goodbye to my colleagues, to that place, to those last years and especially to my friends, which is the reason why I am writing these words. I’ll keep close to my heart the people that I’ve met along the way and they’ll recognize themselves. Be sure that I’m leaving proud of the impact that I left on our team (8108): I did my best to delegate everything I could, in the means to inspire you all everyday. And I am quite sure that thanks to it, none of you ever gave up. It is now to you to show what you are made of. If I believed in you, then there was a reason for it.

Leaving Vans, is leaving the person I was. I’ve always told myself that the future was written in stars if we knew what we wanted, when all of a sudden I didn’t know what I wanted, all became unforeseeable. For the longest time I was driven by the “I want to do that”, “I need to do that” and “ I dream of that” to finally not wanting to do none of “that”. Everything has, for so long, been idealized and then everything disappeared. First I panicked at the sight of it all, crumbling into a million pieces, but today I’m trying and fighting to pick the pieces up, little by little, to better fit them at their place. 

Maybe we should hope for the worst, to rebuild ourselves and make something better? But the main reason is that I always thought I was mentally strong (friends and family could attest to that), however I’ve also learned that nothing escapes the inevitable psychological weariness. I never really had the easiest path due to health reasons and even if it was an obstacle my whole life, I still managed to live and grow with it, and to tell myself that things happen for a reason. Recently I realized that my only obstacle in life, could only be me. As long as I can remember, I was never afraid of anything, afraid of failure, afraid of being hurt, of giving up or others giving up on me. But you know what? I’ve always felt I had this fire inside of me. And I messed up, it was there for a reason: all I did was suppress the pain, everything I could’ve felt, the good just like the bad until there was nothing left. Inside the rock lies gold. 

So please, if you ever suffer from depression know that it doesn’t make you who you are. Sometimes our body and soul creates these walls and barriers to protect us from the world that surrounds us. It is important to take time for yourself and to never give up. We always hear “it’s okay not to be okay” but the truth of the matter is that it’s not. We shouldn’t feel ashamed, on the contrary we should speak about it, because even though some things aren’t clear, it’s only by scratching that rock that the gold will shine through and sparkle again. We are all important and deserve more than a simple “okay”. The worst sadness is a false happiness. I will never forget all those moments, those that believed in me and everything that it has brought me. Yet, we need to start building our career around our life and not our life around our career. You can’t live your entire life holding the door open for others and be upset or sad when no one thanks you for it, because no one has asked you to hold that goddamn door. With all being said, live your passion, fight for yourself, take chances, make mistakes and try again. Prioritize those things that make your life that much better. Be proud of yourselves and never forget what keeps that heart beating.

Stay gold.

[affinitymoon-blog]

Blog City

Sign UP and Blog! Its easy! It’s an illusion of discomfort and stress with an infinite amount of steps and choices. Still waiting on my email for verification Tumblr? Good lord. Anyway, hello to my future blogger readers that find me. It’s been a long time since I have really done anything close to “blogging.” I wanted to find a place to reach my people and speak out for me and all woman. I wish to connect with office workers, fellow moonies (weather it be the children of the moon or sailor moon) and woman in general.

So who am I? I am a simple front desk receptionist living in San Francisco. Known as “the city” by northern Californians. Used to be known in the 1900’s as the “Paris of of the west.” She may be old and dirty. But still a crown jewel to anyone visiting.

Visited by millions a year as a top travel destination to see the famous “Golden Gate bridge” and other relics. Not only rich in history. We have museums, educational centers, trails, landmarks, and multi-cultures Cuisines.

I’m the new girl to this mysterious hidden city in the fog. “Fog city.” Learning its quirks and hidden gems as I get around by Muni, Bart, and foot. If anything, you can find me just by my natural blonde hair, blue eyes, and contagious smile. 

 Welcome to my blog ladies and gents. Hold on. This may be a perilous and exhilarating Journey. You always have access your cats near by litter box to pee. I know I can hardly hold my excitement too. Neither can the homeless down on union Square. Water? Most likely pee. Oh you see dog poop? Nope, its more likely human. The dog owners here seem to be more on it than our very own homeless. We even have maps to show their location. This is what we do in our free time... Map poop locations. <https://www.openthebooks.com/map/?Map=32504&MapType=Pin&Zip=94103

C'est la vie en ville

Kisses

[lesindispensablesparis]

Heimat - Review du pull U-boat

Texte : Marcos Eliades Photos : Thomas M.

Le mot allemand « Heimat » fait partie de ceux qui perdent leur puissance une fois traduit. Difficilement transposable, il désigne à la fois une patrie, un lieu familier, un sentiment d’appartenance ou de bien-être. Des éléments qui rassurent, en somme.

Pourquoi choisit-on de porter une marque de vêtements plutôt qu’une autre ? Cette question, je me la pose fréquemment. Je pense qu’un élément de réponse réside d’abord dans le vêtement intrinsèquement, sa fonctionnalité et son design. Vient ensuite l’histoire de la marque concernée. Lorsque j’ai parlé du sentiment d’Einfühlung, il était clair que ma quête d’un sentiment d’appartenance vestimentaire prenait racine.

La marque allemande Heimat prend le pari de transposer ce sentiment dans ses vêtements en maille d’inspiration marine. Chaussettes, écharpes mais surtout pulls, voici leur mythique « U-boat » col roulé couleur vert sapin.

Décryptage.

The German word Heimat is one of those words that loses it's real meaning once translated. Even in German it is difficult to put its meaning into words. Heimat evokes the feeling of a homeland, a familiar place, a feeling of belonging or wellbeing in short comforting elements. Why does one chose to wear a brand of clothing rather than another? I frequently ask myself that question. I think that one element of the answer would be to first consider the garment intrinsically, its functionality and its design.

Then comes the history of the brand in question. When I wrote about the feeling of Einfuhlung in my Valstar piece, it was clear that my quest for my sense of clothing was taking root.

The German brand Heimat manages to transpose this feeling into its sailor inspired knitwear. Hats, Scarfs but especially Sweaters, here is our take on their now legendary "U Boat" Turtleneck in Forest Green.

Let’s have a closer look.

Une histoire de fils

Parfois, les mots valent mieux qu’un bon dessin. C’est pourquoi nous avons interrogé Christian Hofmann, le fondateur d’Heimat.

Comment et quand Heimat a-t-il vu le jour ?

Heimat a été créé en 2016 après une carrière de 11 ans chez Ralph Lauren où mon dernier poste était celui de directeur du merchandising Europe pour Polo et RRL.

Toute ma vie, j'ai voulu lancer ma propre marque de mode. Faire les choses comme je le souhaite et mettre mon empreinte sur un projet créatif.

Le mot Heimat est une expression allemande sans traduction. Heimat est un endroit où l'on se sent le plus à l'aise, un endroit qui évoque un sentiment d'appartenance ou de sécurité. Parfois, Heimat peut être simplement le sentiment déclenché par une odeur ou un moment de calme que vous ressentez en faisant ce que vous aimez faire. Par exemple, le sentiment qu'éprouve un surfeur lorsqu'il est dans l'océan ou un alpiniste lorsqu'il atteint le sommet. Le but de nos vêtements est de déclencher cette même sensation de Heimat. Nous voulons que les gens se sentent en sécurité dans nos vêtements et qu'ils se sentent chez eux où qu'ils aillent.

D'où tirez-vous votre inspiration ?

Nos vêtements sont universels, mais nous sommes fiers de l'héritage et du savoir-faire allemand. L'Allemagne est connue dans le monde entier pour son ingénierie de haut niveau et sa grande qualité, et c'est ce qui caractérise les produits Heimat.

J'aime les choses simples, faites dans un but précis et dépourvues de toute caractéristique inutile. C'est pourquoi beaucoup d'inspirations proviennent des vêtements de travail traditionnels ou des vêtements militaires.

Mes principales inspirations sont les sports en plein air ou le surf, la randonnée ou simplement la moto.

Que trouve-t-on dans un vêtement en tricot que l'on ne trouve pas ailleurs ?

Nous utilisons la meilleure laine, ce qui se répercute sur la qualité de nos produits. Vous pouvez porter nos pulls ou nos bonnets pendant des années et la laine ne bouloche pas et ne se troue pas, ce qui est un avantage par rapport aux autres matériaux utilisés traditionnellement.

La coupe est adaptée au tricot lourd. Elle est bien ajustée au corps lorsque vous la mettez pour la première fois, mais après quelques ports, elle s'assouplit et s'adapte parfaitement à la forme de votre corps, comme un jeans tout frais.

Regardez les détails de finition parfaits de nos vêtements, les poignets, l'ourlet ou la couronne de nos bonnets, qui garantie qu'ils ne collent pas à votre tête.

Grâce à notre chaîne d'approvisionnement, nous sommes une entreprise très durable. Le peu d'empreinte carbone que nous créons est compensé par des projets de CO2 au Brésil et en Afrique. Nous sommes une petite équipe et nos fournisseurs et clients B2B sont des partenaires/amis, pas seulement des clients, s'ils font bien, nous faisons bien. Nous voulons nous amuser et rester fidèles à nous-mêmes.

Quelle est la prochaine étape pour Heimat ?

Tout récemment, nous avons ajouté de nouvelles chaussettes (« Die Wandersocke ») faites de la même laine vierge que nos pulls. Nous avons quelques nouveaux articles en préparation et nous avons travaillé sur des mérinos de qualité fantastique qui complèteront vraiment notre assortiment. Nous ne voulons pas continuer à ajouter des catégories, sauf si nous pensons que cela convient à la marque et est conforme à notre philosophie.

Merci Christian !

A story about threads

Sometimes words are better than a well-drawn picture. This is why we interviewed Christian Hofmann, the founder of Heimat.

How and when did Heimat come to exist?

Heimat was started in 2016 after an 11-year career at Ralph Lauren where my last position held was Director of Merchandising Europe for Polo and RRL.

My whole life I wanted to start my own fashion brand. Do things the way I want them to be done and put my stamp on a creative project.

The Word Heimat is a German phrase with no translation. Heimat is a place where you feel the most comfortable, a place that evokes a sense of belonging or security. Sometimes Heimat can be just the feeling that's triggered by a smell or moment of calm you get whilst you do what you love doing. For example, the feeling a surfer has when he in the ocean or a mountaineer when he reaches the peak. The aim of our clothes is to trigger that same Heimat feeling. We want people to feel safe and secure in our garments and feel at home wherever they might be going.

Where do you draw your inspiration from?

Our clothes are universal but we are proud of the German heritage and craftmanship. Germany is known for high-level engineering and great quality all over the world and that’s what Heimat products are about.

I love things that are simple and made for a purpose and are stripped of any unnecessary design features. Hence why a lot of inspirations come from traditional workwear or military garments.

My main inspirations are the outdoors and lifestyle sports like surfing, hiking, or just riding your motorbike but in the end anything

What do you find in a knitwear garment you don't find elsewhere?

We use the best wool which pays back in the quality of our products. You can wear our sweaters or hats for years and the wool will not pill or rip, which is an advantage against other traditionally used materials.

The fit is tailored to the heavy knitting. It will fit tight to the body when you first put it on but after a couple of wear's it softens up and perfectly adjusts to your body shape, similar to a fresh pair of jeans.

Have a look at the perfect finishing details of our garments, the cuffs, hem, or the crown of our hats, which ensures it does not stick up on your head.

Due to our supply chain we are a very sustainable business. The little carbon footprint we create is off set with CO2 projects in Brazil and Africa. We are a small team and our suppliers and B2B clients are partners/friends not just customers, if they do well we do well. We want to have fun and feel positive about what we are doing.

What is the next step for Heimat ?

Just recently we added some beautiful new socks (Die Wandersocke) made of the same virgin wool as our Sweaters. We have some great new items in the pipeline and we’ve worked on some fantastic quality merino which really will complement our assortment. We don't want to keep adding categories unless we feel it is right for the brand and is in line with our ethos.

Thanks Christian!

Un col roulé pour palier le froid mais pas l’allure

Chaque hiver, je pars à la recherche du pull parfait. Chaque hiver, le constat est le même : il n’existe de pull parfait que pour une situation donnée. J’ai découvert Heimat il y a un an, au détour d’une publication Instagram de Beige Habilleur. Je n’avais jamais vraiment vu ou touché un pull tricoté de cette manière* aussi serré et rugueux.

Le col roulé n’est pas pour tout le monde. Ou plutôt, il y a un col roulé pour tous les cous. Prenons celui d’Heimat : il est monté à la main, se roule et se déroule efficacement à la hauteur souhaitée. S’il fait trop froid : déroulage. S’il fait plus chaud : roulage. Même constat pour les poignets. Ce côté versatile m’a tout de suite plu.

Le pull est fabriqué en Allemagne, les manches et le col sont remaillés à la main. Composé de laine vierge à 100%, le pull pèse son poids, c’est une grosse maille. Il convient toutefois de prendre sa taille habituelle, sachant que le tricot se détendra au fil des ports successifs. Un pull qui vit !

Un col roulé qui me fait – à juste titre – penser aux submariners de l’armée américaine. La force d’Heimat est de proposer un classique du vestiaire masculin tout en adaptant le fit et en proposant différentes couleurs. Ce modèle est disponible en bleu, jaune, écru, noir ou orange.

Ce vert sapin prend magnifiquement la lumière et illumine une tenue. Un pull que j’ai pu tester en ville comme à la montagne et qui s’intègre parfaitement dans ces deux habitats.

Nous vous conseillons de porter ce pull avec des chukka boots en chromexcel comme ici – modèle de Crown Northampton, review à venir – un jeans selvedge Superstitch (lire notre article ici), et un pardessus polyvalent réversible comme celui proposé par L’Impermeabile disponible chez The Coolest Man You Know (lire notre article ici).

Un grand classique

Finalement, Heimat propose un grand classique du vestiaire masculin. Robuste et simple à la fois, le « U-boat » col roulé me durera certainement une vie et me fera sentir à la maison à chaque enfilage.

*point de tricot en côtes perlées

A turtleneck to cope with cold weather and remain stylish

Every winter, I go in search of the perfect sweater. Every winter, the I come to the same conclusion: there is a perfect sweater only for a given situation. I discovered Heimat a year ago, through an Instagram post by Beige Habilleur. I had never really seen or touched a turtleneck knitted this intricate way*, tight and rugged.

The turtleneck – or rollneck for our fellow English readers – is not for everyone. Or rather, there's a turtleneck for every neck. Take Heimat's: it is hand finished, rolls up and unrolls efficiently to the desired height. If it is too cold: unroll it. If it is warmer: roll it up. Same goes for the cuffs. I was conquered by this versatility right away.

The sweater is made in Germany. The sleeves and collar are attached by hand. Made of 100% virgin wool, the sweater is heavy. Nevertheless, it is advisable for you to choose your usual size, knowing the knitting will loosen a bit and make for a perfect fit along wears. A sweater that lives!

A turtleneck that makes me – fittingly – think of the submariners worn by American GIs. Heimat's strength is to offer a classic men's wardrobe while adapting the fit and offering different colors. This model is available in blue, yellow, ecru, black or orange.

This forest green beautifully illuminates an outfit. A sweater that I have been able to wear in the city as well as in the countryside, fitting perfectly in both habitats.

We recommend wearing this sweater with chromexcel chukka boots, fitted here – a Crown Northampton model, review coming soon – a selvedge pair of jeans from Superstitch and a reversible versatile overcoat like the one offered by L'Impermeabile and available at The Coolest Man You Know.

A great classic

Eventually, Heimat offers a wardrobe staple every man should own. One every man should own and care for. Robust and simple at the same time, the Heimat U-boat turtleneck will certainly last me a lifetime and make me feel at home every time I wear it.

*mostly with half cardigan stitch, in french we call it “côtes perlées”

[onehouratatime]

c'est la vie

Hi,

C'est la vie; a phrase that can pretty much sum up life. So simple and complex all at once. Such is life. 

It can be a hefty task--trying to separate yourself from your circumstances and simply accepting life for what it is. Accepting and dealing with whatever it throws at you...and most importantly, perhaps, is choosing to be happy despite all of it.

When people talk about love, we often hear the phrase unconditional love. The love between a mother and her child. It’s unconditional (or at least that is the presumption). It really got me thinking: what if we thought of happiness the same way?  

Unconditional happiness. Is there such a thing? Can the human mind even fathom this concept? 

The thing is, it doesn’t always have to be an upward slope. A consistent ball of sunshine even on the rainiest of days. Similar to the concept of unconditional love, it is possible to get annoyed at the person you love. It’s possible to want some space and love the person just as unconditionally as before. Do you see what I’m getting at? 

What if it’s the same with happiness? I mean, the ultimate goal is to be happy overall, and to accept the phrase c'est la vie in all of its glory. 

I do, however, realize that it’s easier said than done.

xoxo,

N