#pierre blot

[daniiwrites]

Ties That Bind - Chapter 1

Pairing: Aaron Pierre and OC, Jade Laurent

Warnings: Minors DNI. Language.

Summary: One night stand gone wrong.

Rebuilding my tag list, so please let me know if you'd like to be added.

Chapter 1: Surprise

Her whole world boiled down to a tiny pink plus sign. Jade Laurent stared at the pregnancy test her in her hand, feeling like everything was collapsing around her. She couldn't be pregnant. Not now. Not like this. She leaned heavily against her bathroom counter, running a hand through her thick hair. 

"Fuck."

Her cell phone vibrated on the counter and she sighed when she saw that it was her father, the absolute last person she wanted to talk to right now. She grabbed the phone and muted the call. Jade took a look at herself in the mirror, trying her hardest not to freak out. Thanks to her career as an ad executive, she made great money and could afford to give a baby everything it would ever need or want. But she didn't want to do this alone... that had never been her plan. But clearly plans were out the window now. She'd been told at 25 that she would most likely never conceive naturally. So she'd frozen some of her eggs in the hopes that one day, she'd meet the right man and they'd be able to try artificial insemination. But this baby, the result of a one night stand with a devastatingly beautiful man, was nothing less than a miracle. Jade sighed, covering her face with her hands. They hadn't exchanged numbers at any time before or after their night of passion, so she'd have to reach out to the friend who'd invited her to the party where she'd met him. 

"Jade? Josh is asking for you."

Jade wiped her damp cheek and tucked the test away in her purse. She'd deal with this later. The face that stared back at her in the mirror looked shaken, not the confident Jade she was used to seeing. Her deep brown skin lacked its usual glow.

"I'll be right out, Chloe!"

She schooled her face and ran her fingers through her dark hair, fluffing the soft curls to perfection. Time to get back to boss mode. Her face was almost doll like and the makeup she wore delicately emphasized her best feature, her big brown eyes framed with thick black lashes. She blotted her lips one quick time and stepped out of her private bathroom, smiling when she saw her assistant Chloe waiting to accompany her. 

"Everything ok?"

"I'm fine. Still fighting that cold, that's all."

Chloe handed Jade her MacBook and the two women headed towards the conference room. This was going to be their second pitch meeting for a new fitness supplement product. They'd finalized everything except their celebrity endorsements. The ad agency she worked for recently partnered with DC Comics, so Jade was expecting a handful of actors for the commercial and accompanying ad campaign. She pasted a smile on her face as she made her way into the conference room, greeting a few of her coworkers as she slid into an empty seat.

Honestly, she zoned the majority of the meeting out, offering input only when it was directly asked of her. Her mind was on a million other things, most importantly, the baby in her belly. Jade cleared her throat when they began going over the men they wanted for the ad campaign. She felt the breath leave her body when HIS face appeared on the large screen in front of her. They'd chosen a still from Rebel Ridge and his blue-green gaze seemed to stripped her bare through the screen. She hadn't been prepared for the reminder of just how incredibly beautiful the father of her child was. Aaron Pierre, or just Aaron as he'd introduced himself to her that night, seemed to stare into her soul from the screen and she cleared her throat, glancing away. 

"This guy is my pick. I mean just look at him. Women love him. And men hate him because they want to be him. If he weren't an actor, I could totally see him being a male model. People would eat up anything he sold," Josh said, a smirk on his face when he saw quite a few people in the room nodding in agreement. 

"I think it's between him and Jason Ritter. Ritter does have a more mainstream appeal."

Josh scoffed as he glanced over at one of his co-workers.

"What? Because he's white? He's no more mainstream that Aaron. Trust me, I've done my research on this guy. He went viral because of a damn dance down a hallway. This is the guy. Bring them both in for a screen test, but I guarantee that the bosses are going to want to go with this guy. Jade, what do you think?"

Jade cleared her throat as she found the attention on her again.

"I agree with Josh. I read over this guy's background and he's one of the top guys as far as who people are talking about right now. Rebel Ridge really put him on the map, especially with the female demographic. Considering this supplement is marketed to both men and women, I think he's our best bet. But by all means, bring them both in for screen tests and we can let the bosses decide. I can reach out and see if we can get them in here next week."

"Sounds great."

The meeting ended and Jade headed back to her office with Chloe at her side.

"Those two are hooooooot. Can I please come to the shoot?"

Jade chuckled as she glanced over at the younger woman. Honestly, she couldn't blame her one bit. Both men were deliciously attractive. 

"Of course you can come, Chloe. We're gonna need the help. Just don't drool where anyone can see you," she said with a soft laugh. "Can you take care of sending out the screen test info to their people?"

"You got it. When do you want them here?"

"If possible, I'd like to see if they're available at the end of next week. I want to get the ball rolling on this as soon as possible."

Chloe nodded as she quickly took notes.

"Crew?"

"I'll call Javi and see if he's free for the test shoots. He knows how I work."

"Which guy do you want for the campaign?"

Jade pursed her lips as she thought about what she was going to say, not wanting Chloe to look too far into her answer.

"Jason seems like a sweetheart and all, but... you know I like them big. Plus there's that accent. I'd buy anything that man tried to sell me. My vote is for Aaron."

Chloe snickered as she glanced over at her boss.

"I agree. Something about those eyes of his. He looks like... like a real man, you know?"

"Oh, I know. Trust me. I'm going to go grab a coffee. You want anything?"

"Umm... one of those cookie things please?"

"Ok, I'll be right back," she said as she handed her laptop to Chloe.

Jade was in desperate need of some fresh air. She took a deep breath as she pushed the building's heavy glass doors open and stepped out into the sunlight. Her mind was moving in a million directions all at once, still struggling to process the news of her pregnancy. She still had no idea how she was going to tell Aaron. What if he didn't want a baby? What if he asked her to get an abortion? She didn't even know if he lived in Los Angeles. Jade was more than open to co-parenting this baby, but what happened if he lived eight hours away? Or across the country. She pulled the heavy Starbucks door open and headed inside, ordering her usual latte and her assistant's cookie. As she waited for her drink, her mind drifted back to that incredible night. Mind blowing didn't even begin to describe how good in bed the man was. He was an astonishingly giving lover, making her orgasm over and over before he was even completely naked. And once she'd managed to get him stripped out of the expensive suit he'd been wearing, his body had become her own private playground. He was just so damn big, muscle on muscle, and strong enough to do whatever he'd wanted to do to her. After they'd made love, he didn't leave. He held her in his arms, cradling her close as they fell asleep together. Jade had never felt safer or more content than she had that night in his arms. 

And she'd left him before sunrise. 

Snuck out like she was ashamed of the incredible passion she'd shared with a man she'd only known for a few hours. 

Jade shook her head as she thought about the cowardly way she'd ended their one night stand. True be told, she was more than a little ashamed. He hadn't even had to work every hard to get into her panties. For a woman like Jade, one who prided herself on being a little hard to get for the average man, it was a bit of a blow to her ego the way she'd so easily succumbed to the handsome Brit. She'd tried to rationalize with herself that she deserved to cut loose sometimes. It had been forever since she'd had sex before him. And hell, she'd never had sex that good in her entire life. She hadn't even left the man her number. He had no way to contact her, even if he'd wanted to. Maybe this pregnancy was a punishment for the way she'd treated him after. Jade already knew that when she first reached out to him, there was a good chance that he would't be too receptive to anything she had to say. But she also knew that she had to swallow her pride and call him. He deserved to know about his child. She headed back up to the office with coffee and treats in tow. Once she made it back upstairs, Chloe greeted her with the news that she'd booked both test shoots for the following Thursday. That gave her less than a week to gather the nerve to come face to face with Aaron Pierre. 

-

It was the day of the test shoots and Jade couldn't shake the nausea that had been in the pit of her belly all damn day. It was going to the first time she was seeing Aaron in almost two months and she was absolutely terrified. Both actors were due to arrive shortly and Jade was trying desperately to quell the terror in her belly. She was wearing her favorite peach colored shirt and a skirt that clung nicely to her softly rounded hips. After checking to make sure that her makeup was perfect, she took a deep breath and walked out of the bathroom. It was just her luck that he was standing out in the hallway, waiting to go into the small studio space. He hadn't seen her just yet and she took a moment to just drink his broad shouldered form in. Aaron Pierre was a truly incredible specimen. He had to be at least a solid 225 and was the kind of man who would always made her feel incredibly safe. He must have sensed her behind him and turned to face her. Jade's breath quickened and she felt her nipples peak. Damn... the father of her child was one beautiful man. His skin was the richest shade of caramel brown and all she could focus on was the memory of the way his sweat tasted on her tongue. Goddamn hormones!

"Jade."

Damn. Even the way he said her name was sexy.

"Aaron... it's good to see you."

"Is it?"

Jade frowned, glancing away. She deserved that one. 

"I had that coming."

"I heard you recommended me for this."

She glanced back up at him, nodding slowly.

"I did. Thought you'd be great for our campaign."

"That the only reason?" 

His green eyes held her captive, a mix of anger and passion swirling in their depths. Seeing her again did something to him, set him off kilter in a way he wasn't used to. As he glared down at her, the scent of her perfume, a mix of vanilla, bergamot and amber, drifted up to him. Images of her writhing beneath him, her fiery dark eyes meeting his as she took every fat inch of him inside her came to mind and he could feel his traitorous dick swelling in his pants. Aaron vividly remembered every single moment of their night together and it often replayed like the world's cruelest sex tape in his mind.

"No. That wasn't the only reason. I needed to see you again."

"Oh, so you can leave me alone in a hotel room again?"

"Aaron... I'm sorry," she whispered, glancing around before looking up at him. "I've never-"

"You know what? Save it. Spare me the 'never done the one night stand' line."

"I'm not lying," she hissed.

His dark eyes narrowed on her gorgeous face before he leaned down and whispered in her ear.

"I hope it was worth it, Jade. Cause no one is ever going to fuck you like I did."

The words hit her like a blow to the gut and she watched as he turned on his heel and stalked back towards set. Jade glanced around, making sure no one was paying attention to their interaction. She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, trying to mentally prepared to deal with this shoot. Today was going to be a hell of a day. She took a couple of deep, calming breaths before steeling herself. As she stepped on set, her eyes were immediately drawn to where Aaron was standing on his mark. He was talking with her camera guy, Javi, about what they were going to shoot next. The whole purpose of test shoots like this was to see how someone looked on camera and to see if their charisma translated through the screen. She focused her eyes on the monitors, noticing right away how good he looked on camera. Too damn good. Her eyes eagerly drink in his tall, broad shouldered form. Her teeth worried her lush bottom lip as she remembered the way his full lips kissed over every part of her body, those massive hands of his holding her down and making her take all of him. 

"Fuck..."

"What'd you say, Jade?"

Jade cleared her throat, glancing over at her assistant.

"Oh, nothing. Just thinking out loud."

"That is one fine ass man."

Jade snickered softly when she looked over and saw the look on Chloe's face.

"And he looks great on camera. I know they're gonna want to go with him."

Both women focused their attention on Aaron as they ran through a few more poses. Jade tucked a thick chunk of dark hair behind her ear as she walked closer to the action. She fanned herself with the folded script that she had in her hand, suddenly feeling the heat from all of the lights on set. Aaron glanced up, making eye contact with her and holding the stare. Those incredible eyes of his held her captive and she was frozen in place. The corner of his mouth turned up in a cocky smirk as he let his eyes drift down to her breasts before back up to meet her gaze. The man knew exactly what he was doing to her. She looked away, blinking rapidly as she felt a bout of dizziness overwhelm her. Panic gripped her body in a cold fist and she raised her gaze back to Aaron's, seeing the way his cocky smirk quickly changed into a look of worry. Him rushing towards her was the last thing she saw before everything went black.

Seeing Jade go from rosy cheeked and turned on to watching her body sway unsteadily had Aaron's heart clenching in his chest. He made it to her just in time to keep her head from hitting the hard floor and he cradled her limp body in his arms. Aaron quickly checked her pulse, relieved to find it strong and steady. The young woman he'd seen standing at Jade's side knelt next to them, panic written all over her face. 

"Oh my god! Is she ok?"

"She didn't hit her head and her pulse is strong. Has she ever fainted before?" Aaron asked.

"Not that I know of," Chloe murmured, biting her bottom lip. "Jade doesn't get sick...We should take her to the hospital. But she'll kill me if I cause a scene with an ambulance and it turns out that she's fine."

"My truck's out back. I can drive her."

Chloe glanced up at the handsome Brit for a moment before giving him a quick nod. Better safe than sorry. 

"Let's go."

Jade's head lolled against his powerful chest as he carried her slight body out to his truck. As much as his ego was bruised after she'd abandoned him in his hotel room, that didn't mean a thing to his traitorous heart. He gently laid her in the backseat, resting her head against Chloe's lap. Her assistant gently brushed her hair out of her face, letting Aaron know that their relationship went a bit deeper than just work. After programming the nearest hospital into the SUV's GPS, they were on their way to the emergency room. He glanced in the rearview mirror, frowning when he noticed that Jade hadn't stirred at all and her beautiful dark skin looked clammy. They pulled up to the emergency entrance of the hospital and Aaron carefully gathered the unconscious woman in his arms, her head heavy on his chest as he carried her inside. 

"She collapsed a few minutes ago," he said urgently to the nurse who rushed over to them.

"Does she have a history of fainting?"

"No," Chloe said with a shake of her head. "But she did get sick at work a few days ago."

The nurse nodded, motioning for Aaron and Chloe to follow her. They were led to a curtained off area and Aaron gently laid Jade's limp body on the bed. He held her hand in his, his forehead creased with worry. Her color was slowly coming back, but she hadn't stirred much since she'd fainted. A doctor walked in, immediately going to prop her legs up and check her blood pressure.

"How long ago did she faint?" The doctor asked, his gaze flicking between Aaron and Chloe.

"Maybe 5 minutes or so. Why hasn't she woken up yet?"

"That's what we're working on," he murmured, asking a nurse to set her up with an IV.

Jade stirred, a little frown appearing between her dark eyebrows. She groaned softly before her eyes fluttered, wincing against the harsh florescent lights.

"Where am I?"

"You're at Cedars-Sinai, Miss. Can you tell me how you're feeling?"

Her eyes flicked down to her hand, which was still being held tight in Aaron's big paw. She met his worried gaze before looking away.

"I-I... I feel a little woozy."

"Alright. I'm going to run some tests on you and we're gonna get you right as rain."

Jade nodded and she swallowed softly. The doctor quickly drew her blood, leaving her along in the observation room with Aaron and Chloe. When they ran blood tests on her, they'd discover her pregnancy. She needed Aaron to hear it from her before he overheard it from them. 

"Um... Chloe, can we have a minute alone please?"

"Of course," Chloe murmured. "I'll be outside. I'll cancel your 3 o'clock."

Aaron's cat-like green eyes met hers, his stare a bit unnerving. 

"I need to talk to you."

Jade braced herself against the bed, trying to push herself into a sitting position. Aaron tucked a pillow behind her before dragging a small chair over and cramming his big body into it. He leaned forward, bracing his elbows on his massive thighs as he looked over at her. 

"Are you sick?" He asked softly. "Is that why you left the way you did?"

"I left because I was ashamed," she murmured, her dark eyes focused on the pulse in his throat. "I really never have done anything like that before. I...I was scared you'd think less of me in the morning. I thought I'd save myself the embarrassment and just leave before you could kick me out of your room."

"Jade, I don't think any less of you because of what we both chose to do that night."

"You don't?" she whispered before meeting his gaze again. 

"Of course not. You're a beautiful woman... I had to shoot my shot with you. I was more than ready to earn you."

She scoffed softly.

"Looks like you don't have to worry about that. Didn't make you work hard to get me at all."

Aaron shook his head as he reached out, taking her small hand in his. His thumb rubbed back and forth across her satin soft skin.

"Stop that. Let me earn you this time. Let me do what I'd planned to do that morning. I wanted to take you out to breakfast... get to know the pretty girl with the most beautiful brown eyes I've ever seen."

"Aaron..."

"Why are you so hesitant?"

"Because... there's something I need to tell you. I didn't- I never thought something like this could happen to me. I was told a long time ago that it would be damn near impossible."

"Jade-"

"I'm pregnant. It's yours."

Jade felt all the air go out of her body with a big whoosh. Her eyes flicked to his face, immediately clocking the shock etched into his handsome features. His big hand tightened on hers and his green gaze dropped to her belly.

"I found out last week. I didn't know how to contact you and then you just fell into my lap like this. I swear... Aaron, I didn't think this was possible for me."

"What do you mean "didn't think this was possible?""

"I was told that a natural pregnancy wasn't in the cards for me. I guess you've got magical sperm or something." She let out a small, slightly hysterical laugh. Her heart felt like it was about to pound out of her chest.

Aaron reached out, gently cradling her cheek with his free hand and Jade couldn't help the way her eyes closed and she tilted her face into his touch. There was something so calming, so grounding about his touch.

"So... what do you want to do, Jade?"

"What do you mean "what do I wanna do"? This is the both of us."

"This isn't how I expected to be welcoming my first child. But... we did this together. If you wanna do this, I'm going to do it with you."

"How do you know I'm gonna be a good mom?"

"How do either of us know what kind of parents we're gonna be? All we can do is learn together. I meant what I said, Jade. If you want to have this baby... I take care of my responsibilities. I'll be here for you, however you need."

When her teary gaze met his, something tugged at his heart and the instinct to protect her was overwhelming. Aaron stood, gently pulling her into his arms. He softly stroked her hair, murmuring to her when she began to sob, her entire body shaking as she cried. His fingertips gently rubbed her scalp, his large hand cradling the back of her head.

"I-I'm so scared, Aaron."

"Shhh... It's ok, sweetheart. It's gonna be ok. You're not alone."

Aaron was quickly realizing that her tears were like kryptonite to him. Hearing the news that he was going to be a father was like a gut punch to him. It had felt like all the air was taken out of the room in that moment and all he could think about was her, big and pregnant with his baby in her belly. That thought unleashed something in him, something dark and fiery. She was pregnant. With his baby. Their baby. He was going to be a dad... Timing wise, this was absolutely the worst time in his career for something like this to be happening. His film Mufasa had just premiered and his PR team had been carefully crafting his image, hoping to set him up as one of Hollywood's next top leading men. For the sake of optics, it was best he appear to be a carefree bachelor. But this baby would be here in less than a year. Everything would change. Everything would HAVE to change. His parents had raised him to be a man who took care of his responsibilities and he wasn't about to disappoint them now. And she didn't get into this situation by herself. He wasn't about to let her deal with the consequences alone. Her sobs quieted down into soft sniffles. She sighed when Aaron pressed a tender kiss to her temple before pulling back to get a look at her.

"Do you want to keep the baby?"

Her eyes searched his face for a moment before nodding mutely.

"I've always wanted to be a mom. I feel... I feel like this baby is a blessing. I mean, I'm on birth control. We used condoms. And despite all that, it still happened... You really wanna be there?"

"I do. And I meant what I said earlier. I would love the opportunity to get to know you, to earn you. I guess now we just just have an added incentive, huh?"

"We definitely do..."

The way he gently cradled her face in his massive hands made her feel like a princess. Her long dark lashes fluttered shut when he leaned and and pressed his lips against hers. Her heartbeat thudded in her chest as he kissed her like she was something precious, his tongue tracing along the seam of her lips, asking to be let inside. Her moans went straight to his dick and he grunted against her full lips. Jade was hands down the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen and now he was irrevocably tied to her for the rest of his life. It was a heady sensation. A knock at the door had them breaking apart. Aaron retained his hold on her small hand as the doctor entered the room.

"So we got the results of your tests back and... Ms. Laurent, are you aware that you're pregnant?"

Jade's eyes flicked over to Aaron and he squeezed her hand reassuringly.

"I just found out last week."

"Is everything ok with the baby?" Aaron asked.

The doctor nodded, his eyes back down on her paperwork.

"Fainting isn't uncommon in early pregnancy. All your bloodwork came back just fine. You are dehydrated though, so I'm going to have you finish off this IV and then I'll get you a script for prenatal vitamins. You should make an appointment with your OB-GYN as soon as possible just to know exactly how far along you are. Congratulations... gonna be a beautiful baby."

Aaron took note of the way her pretty brown skin flushed and had to agree with the doctor. Their baby was going to be absolutely perfect.

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[sashiavi]

I know Sam isn't that mean, but a germophobic kitty hybrid farmer getting absolutely bullied by a Golden retriever hybrid Sam and Chocolate Lab hybrid Alex.

A kitty hybrid farmer who doesn't shake hands with anyone and always puts on hand sanitizer after visiting Pierre's. The kind of person to wear vinyl gloves when browsing the library, not for the sake of the books themselves, but rather for her own peace of mind.

One who can always be seen grooming her tail to be a perfectly kempt white, never a blot of dirt to be found despite her occupation

One who always hangs out with the "Cleaner" hybrids, like Chinchilla Abigail or rabbit Maru, but never once considers engaging with the two dogs, considering their lack of spatial awareness and hygiene in her humble opinion. Although I can't help but think that they might not appreciate her cleanliness as much as she does...

(smut ensues)

Omggg.. Something about those messy and clumsy puppies </3

warnings for sweat, body odor, threesomes and hybrids - 0.5k words

Both boys helping out on the farm for their strength and eagerness, chopping down trees, tilling the rich soil, dirty and muddy, sweat dripping down their bodies, staining the fabric of their shirts. Alex wipes his forehead with his arm, biceps raising to reveal the stain of sweat on his underarm, shirt riding up enough to reveal the brush of a happy trail disappearing into the waist of his pants, accentuated by the muscle of his abdomen.

Sam was in a similar predicament, skin tacky, laying his arm hairs flat to his forearms, sticky and uncomfortable, his brushy blonde tail tucked and wagging tentatively to reflect his mood. Both men pant, huffed as if they were dogs- Ears twitching to avoid the wrath of the sun, tails trying to cool off their bodies, a shirt discarded and thrown over Alex's shoulder.

Dirty and grubby mutts.

Messy and sloppy- Especially when they slobber all over your cunt, fighting each other with their tongues just to get a taste of your sweetness. So pretty and pristine, put together and seemingly untouchable! That's why it's all the more special to ruin your pussy with their tongues.

They whimper and growl, vibrations buzzing at your clit, lips suckling before the pop off and a tongue is fucking past the ring of your creamy hole, all while another sweaty mutt latches on to your sensitive kitty cunt.

You want to squirm- scold them for being so dirty in your home, want to tug painfully at their ears and have them yelp away. But Yoba, you can't stop the purrs that trill up your throat, mewly calls bordering on a meow as a set of pointed canines sink into the mound of your cunt, tongue thrashing abuse on your clit.

Their deep musky scents overwhelm your senses, two male hybrids falling victim to the pheromones twinging in the air.

You shouldn't be surprised when one of them mounts on your kitty cunt, Alex's fat and veiny puppy cock kissing against your hole, his thick knot already daring to show itself with his eagerness. You card your fingers through Sam's messy hair, cool and damp with sweat and Yoba knows what else. Your mind screams to let go, scrub away the stain on your fingers but you can't! Not when the pudgy tip of Alex's cock plugs up your pussy, making them kiss. Your hand tightens, threading through Sam's hair with a squeeze, the poor puppy whimpers, nose nuzzling into your tummy, lips kissing against the bulge of Alex's cock daring to bud below your belly button.

Plap, plap, plap goes Alex's hips against yours, throat letting out excited whimpery howls while he takes to your cunt. Sam's ears twitch against your tightening hand as his tongue laps at the sticky wet mess between you, sweet cream and sweat, hot musk of pre and spit dribbled from Alex and himself, making himself useful and cleaning up the gooey mess they were causing.

Rare pair that I need to think about more </3 tysm for sharing your yummy thoughts~

[delicto]

Pierre Blot

[fdelopera]

Welcome to the 63rd installment of 15 Weeks of Phantom, where I post all 68 sections of Le Fantôme de l’Opéra, as they were first printed in Le Gaulois newspaper 115 yeas ago.

In today’s installment, we have Part II of Chapter 27, “Faut-il tourner le scorpion ? Faut-il tourner la sauterelle ?” (Shall You Turn the Scorpion? Or Shall You Turn the Grasshopper?).

This section was first printed on Sunday, 2 January, 1910.

For anyone following along in David Coward's translation of the First Edition of Phantom of the Opera (either in paperback, or Kindle, or from another vendor -- the ISBN-13 is: 978-0199694570), the text starts in Chapter 27, “The discovery we had just made plunged us into a state of total shock which blotted out our past troubles and present sufferings,” and goes to the Persian’s line, “Don’t touch it!”

There are some differences between the Gaulois text and the First Edition. In this section, these include:

1) Chapter XXVII was printed as Chapter XXVIII. This numbering error was made in Chapter VII, and was not corrected, so it was propagated throughout the Gaulois publication.

2) Each chapter in the Gaulois publication is one number ahead of the chapters in the First Edition, due to the inclusion of “The Magic Envelope” chapter in the Gaulois.

3) Minor differences in punctuation.

NOTE: Leroux and the editors at Pierre Lafitte & Cie. must have been satisfied with this section, because there are no other textual changes that appear in the First Edition.

Click here to see the entire edition of Le Gaulois from 2 January, 1910. This link brings you to page 3 of the newspaper — Le Fantôme is at the bottom of the page in the feuilleton section. Click on the arrow buttons at the bottom of the screen to turn the pages of the newspaper, and click on the Zoom button at the bottom left to magnify the text.

[liviavanrouge]

"Why are you so protective...of her?"

Lilia: ....because she still doesn't know her worth...

---

Livia: *Sets up her Mianko doll by her Epel doll* What am I really? I still haven't found a proper role...I have so many titles, yet none feels right...

Livia: *Sits up and hugs her Leona doll* I envy everyone else..they're all cool and they shine bright

Livia: *Looks down, tears threatening to fall* Would things have turned out differently, if I tried to be more like everyone else?

Livia: *Sets Leona down beside a doll of Pierre, resting her head on her arms* Can I change things if I put more effort into being normal, would everyone.....would I...finally truly have a place...

Livia: *Sits up and grabs Carrots, tears falling down her cheeks* I'm so loved..and I get spoiled with gifts and affection....but I still feel so alone right now...

Livia: *Hugs Carrots, her tears turning into blot* It's lonely...

@anxious-twisted-vampire @yukii0nna @writing-heiress

[gogmstuff]

Some post Louis XIV fashion -

1715 Jeanne-Cecil Le Guay de Montgermon, three quarter length in a white satin robe with gold trimming and a ruby and pearl brooch by Nicolas de Largillière (Robilant & Voena, specific location ?). From their Web site; From their Web site; fixed spots in background with Photoshop and increased color saturation. 2721X3532.

1716 Mary Josephine Drummond, condesa de Castelblanco by Jean Baptiste Oudry (Museo del Prado - Madrid, Spain). From their Web site;fixed spots w Pshop 2045X2717.

ca. 1715 Louise Adélaïde de Bourbon by Pierre Gobert (Châteaux de Versailles et de Trianon - Versailles, Île-de-France, France) photo - Gérard Blot. From Réunion des Musées nationaux; enlarged by half 726X956.

ca. 1715 Sarah Lascelles (1656/1659–1743), Mrs Joshua Iremonger II, then Mrs Christopher Lethieullier by Michael Dahl I (Uppark House and Garden - South Harting, Petersfield, West Sussex, UK). From bbc.co (now artuk.org) 652X800.

ca. 1716 Friedrich Ludwig of Württemberg and his wife Henriette Marie of Brandenburg-Schwedt by Antoine Pesne (Staatliches Museum Schwerin - Schwerin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany). From Wikimedia; removed spots and linear and splotch flaws with. Photoshop 2078X2763.

ca. 1716 Marie Louise Adélaïde d'Orléans the future Abbess of Chelles, daughter of the Regent of France by Pierre Gobert (Domaine de Sceaux - Sceaux, Hauts-de-Seine, Île-de-France, France). From Wikimedia; fixed spots w Pshop 1069X1235.

ca. 1717 Madame de Ventadour by Pierre Mignard (Châteaux de Versailles et de Trianon - Versailles, Île-de-France, France). From Wikimedia 1516X2000.The abundant lace ruffles on her sleeves point to the future while the headdress looks back to Fontanges and cleft coiffures.

Lady, said to be Marie-Elisabeth Le Fèvre de Caumartin (d. 1717) by Nicolas de Largillière (Sotheby's - 13Jun07 auction Lot 56). From their Web site; fixed obvious spots & cracks w Pshop 2396X2866.

[thetwilightrepublic]

The Twilight Republic: 1

1. Twilight

The room was quiet, save for the faint hum of the ancient ventilation system struggling against a December chill. Pierre Duval, chief aide to the President, stared at the electronic map of France projected onto the wall. The blue, white, and red of the Republic’s regions were pockmarked with dark voids—areas where government control had ceased to exist. Corsica was already marked as “autonomous,” its own tricolor defaced with a crude emblem of independence. In the north, a coalition of far-right militias patrolled the streets of Lille, declaring their loyalty to an ultranationalist shadow regime. The south, meanwhile, had descended into chaos, with secessionist flags of Occitania and armed protests in Marseille blotting out Paris’s authority.

The Fifth Republic, forged in the crises of 1958 and weathered through decades of upheaval, had finally begun to crumble. This was no accident. Pierre knew because he had seen the fractures forming long before anyone else dared to speak of them.

It had started innocuously enough—if the fall of democracies could ever be called innocuous. The 2024 summer elections produced a parliament so divided it made governance impossible. President Matón, entering his twilight years of leadership, had appointed Micah Bernárd a compromise prime minister, but Pierre had suspected it was only a stopgap. The government’s use of Article 49.3 to push through austerity measures was not an act of strength but one of desperation, a gamble that detonated in December with Bernárd’s historic no-confidence vote.

What followed was chaos, more rapid than anyone had anticipated. First, the financial markets faltered, stripping the state of its ability to pay pensions and wages. Then, police strikes spread from Paris to Lyon. By March 2025, the military had been deployed to secure nuclear power plants from opportunistic saboteurs, but cracks were showing in the chain of command itself. “Loyalty to France,” Pierre muttered bitterly under his breath as he rubbed his temples, “means something very different depending on where you stand.”

Pierre adjusted his tie, though he had no intention of appearing before the press today. No, his war was fought in the Elysee’s labyrinthine corridors, amidst a skeleton crew of aides and technocrats who had not yet abandoned their posts. The President had locked himself in his study, delivering vague proclamations to an increasingly disillusioned population, while Pierre fielded calls from foreign ambassadors.

“Sir,” one aide interrupted, holding a tablet displaying grainy footage of an unruly crowd storming a prefecture in Bordeaux. The official seal of the Republic had been replaced with a haphazard flag, its center bearing the heraldry of a fictional “Southwestern Republic.” For a moment, Pierre could do nothing but stare.

He thought of the French Revolution, of the blood and fervor that had birthed the first Republic centuries ago. Now, history was not repeating itself—it was mutating. Where once citizens had risen for liberty and fraternity, now they fractured into tribes of grievance and ideology. Europe watched nervously as the fracturing of France cast shadows over its fragile unity.

As the aide left, Pierre reached for a dossier marked “Classified: International Options.” Contained within were pleas from NATO for clarity, from Brussels for restraint, and from Beijing offering “economic support” in exchange for a foothold in Europe. These were vultures circling a wounded beast. But the most chilling document, one he had refused to shred despite the temptation, was an intelligence report: whispers of mercenary forces en route to Brittany to “aid” its regional leaders in a bid for independence.

For all its theater of stability, the Republic was dying from within. The old France—centralized, defiant, and indivisible—was being carved into fiefdoms of ideology and desperation. Sitting at the heart of it, Pierre realized that he was not a savior but a witness. His fingers hovered over his phone. Somewhere, he needed to find a message of unity or fire a final salvo to stop the collapse.

And yet, deep down, he already knew. France would not fall with a bang, nor a single catastrophic moment. It would simply dissolve—region by region, law by law, institution by institution. All that would remain of its centuries-old nationhood would be memories, and Pierre wasn’t even sure those would last much longer.

[Any similarities to places or persons (both living or dead) is purely coincidental]

[photoklatsch]

Les Rencontres de la photographie documentaire, le programme 2024

En continuité avec ses engagements en faveur de l’éducation aux images, le Centre Le Lierre accueille du 25 septembre au 6 octobre 2024 la 3ème édition de ses Rencontres de la Photographie documentaire. Cette manifestation imaginée par le collectif Photoklatsch, Le Centre « Le Lierre » et son festival « Le Réel En Vue » fait la part belle à la photographie contemporaine qui ouvre de nouveaux chemins de créations et de réflexions.

Au menu, une exposition qui réunit les travaux de plus d’une dizaine de photographes qui ont choisi sous la houlette du photographe et historien Arnaud Pagnier de « documenter le territoire ». Une masterclass exceptionnelle avec la présence de Guillaume Blot qui viendra nous parler de ses Rades, son merveilleux hommage à ces lieux mythiques en voie de disparition. Claire Jolin nous parlera de son métier d’éditrice de livre photo et les photographes Alix Haefner, Amandine Turri Hoelken et Guillaume Chauvin seront invités à échanger à propos de la photographie documentaire. L’événement sera ponctué de projections du dernier film de Pierre Villemin « Comme une araignée » , une discussion avec le photographe Patrick Kuhn et le travail de la ville à la campagne d’Aymeric Swiatoka. Sans oublier des ateliers photographique pour petits et grands avec Victoria Kieffer, et pour la première fois cette année, une lecture de portfolio et un salon du livre photo.

Les Rencontres de la photographie documentaire ne se sont pas cantonnées au bel écrin que représente l’espace jeunesse et multimédia du Centre Le Lierre au sein. La manifestation est aussi présente dans les autres espaces du Centre social, (le secteur adultes et familles et sur la Place Roland) et d’autres lieux de la ville comme à Puzzle. Vous êtes les bienvenus dans tous les espaces et tous les moments de ce rendez-vous photographique à Thionville.

[ulkaralakbarova]

In the second episode of the trilogy Fantômas kidnaps distinguished scientist professor Marchand with the aim to develop a super weapon that will enable him to menace the world. Fantômas is also planning to abduct a second scientist, professor Lefebvre. Credits: TheMovieDb. Film Cast: Fantômas / Fandor / Professeur Lefèvre / Marquis de Rostelli: Jean Marais Commissaire Juve: Louis de Funès Hélène: Mylène Demongeot Inspecteur Bertrand: Jacques Dynam Directeur du journal: Robert Dalban Professeur Marchard: Albert Dagnant Inspecteur Pierre: Christian Toma Inspecteur Léon: Michel Duplaix Michou: Olivier de Funès La dame: Florence Blot Le ministre: Robert le Béal Président de l’assemblée: Pietro Tordi Homme de main de Fantômas: Henri Attal Homme de main de Fantômas: Dominique Zardi Agent de police ferroviaire: Jacques Marin Surveillant de l’institut: Max Montavon Directeur de la clinique psychiatrique: Jean Michaud Professeur suisse: Mino Doro Homme de main de Fantômas: Yvan Chiffre Faux huissier: Eric Vasberg Homme de main de Fantômas: Antoine Baud Homme de main de Fantômas: André Cagnard Professeur canadien: Arturo Dominici L’homme hypnotisé: Bob Morel Un inspecteur: Antoine Marin Un inspecteur: Bob Lerick Homme de main de Fantômas: Pierre Palfray Serveur du wagon-restaurant: Albert Daumergue …: Gérard Moisan Un inspecteur (uncredited): Philippe Castelli Un inspecteur (uncredited): Roger Lumont Fantômas (voix) (uncredited): Raymond Pellegrin Film Crew: Producer: Alain Poiré Director of Photography: Marcel Grignon Stunts: Jean Marais Set Decoration: Max Douy Makeup Artist: Anatole Paris Director: André Hunebelle Original Music Composer: Michel Magne Dialogue: Jean Halain Screenplay: Pierre Foucaud Novel: Marcel Allain Special Effects: Gil Delamare Special Effects: Gérard Cogan Assistant Art Director: Jacques Douy Second Unit Director: Jacques Besnard Novel: Pierre Souvestre Assistant Director: Michel Lang Sound: René-Christian Forget First Assistant Director: Jean-Pierre Desagnat Producer: Paul Cadéac First Assistant Director: Renzo Cerrato Production Manager: Cyril Grize Cinematography: Raymond Lemoigne Co-Director: Haroun Tazieff Assistant Editor: Colette Lambert Editor: Jean Feyte Assistant Director: Patrick Saglio Script Supervisor: Marie-Thérèse Cabon Makeup Artist: René Daudin Hairstylist: Denise Lemoigne Set Dresser: André Labussière Costume Design: Mireille Leydet Special Effects: François Suné Production Manager: Giorgio Riganti Assistant Art Director: Jean Forestier Unit Manager: Paule Pastier Sound Assistant: Jean Jak Script Supervisor: Charlotte Lefèvre Location Manager: Gille Schneider Production Manager: Luciano Pesciaroli Movie Reviews:

[writer59january13]

Daylight savings time more'n minute effect on me

In 2024, daylight savings time will begin at two o'clock ante meridiem on Sunday, March tenth. That will mean losing an hour of precious sleep and moving the clocks (around your house, and sundry frequented places) forward one hour, though your cell phone, computer, and television plus other electronic devices will likely automatically adjust. The sun will appear to rise and set an hour later.

Father time evinces spectacular robustness despite weathering setback of countless finagling representation viz Chronos (/ˈkroʊnɒs, -oʊs/; Greek: Χρόνος, [kʰrónos], "time"), also spelled Khronos or Chronus, is a personification of time in pre-Socratic philosophy and later literature. Chronos. Personification of time. Time Clipping Cupid's Wings (1694), by Pierre Mignard. Symbol.

Though crafted a few years back jet lag effect affects yours truly twice each year when schedules

within body electric

such as circadian rhythm

dislocate psyche

analogous to seismic shift

NOT attributed to global warming, nor aeronautically bound sky high,

but linkedin to hour hand

on analog clock set ahead or behind one hour.

Just about a bajillion moments ago

(from date/time

I wrote these words), a dawning realization

arose within this sol son begat

from ma late mother

and (initial commencement of this poem) while then octogenarian widower father, lived at Normandy Farms Senior Community

in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania

(he since passed away

October 7th, 2020)

oh... no nothing cat

tuss strophic, boot

merely the revelation,

how fist bumping dee clocks an hour hand ahead

remembered by dat

dog gone refrain spring ahead, and fall back,

this unemployed chap doth down play eclat attests that his quotidian rising schedule minimally affected

holed up here

in Highland Manor named flat

roomy enough for thyself, the Missus,

and buzzfeed ding fruit flies

each approximately the size of a gnat

a minor nuisance, though tolerable

within this appealing habitat,

where minor inconvenience experienced

by this Schwenksville, Pennsylvania resident cuz as a recipient

of social security disability

(social anxiety) this psyche didst get rent, which fixed (unearned) income budgeted

and predominantly costs of living money spent hence no need to arise

bright tailed and bushy black eyed,

pea yon sought freedom akin

to folks camped out in a tent, which exemption immunizes

this doodle ling middle aged

muddle brained chap subjected to ranting

courtesy early morning drivers,

who angrily, frenetically,

and splenetically rant and vent

thus, the tendency, piquancy, and lunacy

to twitter (for the Yardbirds), and keep company

with night owls, who went

a hooting for all the world wide web

to hear, whence dawgs Bach

the exact number of hours, yet oblivious

to the tight rigorous tenon mortised schedule

manned by Mister Clock,

essentially foisting on Bread Winners,

an abstract artificial construct spurring

madcap commuters

to scurry in the rat race,

lest tardiness could cost

more than paycheck

(to ap pier with permanent dock

hue ment aye shun),

an unwonted blot add hoc king worry about getting canned -

i.e. on permanent furlough,

perhaps forced into a life of crime,

yet if caught... wasting away in a jail cell

as warden turns the lock

one redeeming factor,

would offer opportunity to mock management, and more pertinently

mandate to rock and roll to the incessant muted, rhyme without reasonable schlock yet devastatingly loud tick tock

analogous to stir fries noisily prepared in wok.

[lukevburns]

I’m very excited to announce that a book I translated for NYRB’s comics imprint is hitting stores on March 12th, and is available to pre-order now!

It’s Masters of the Nefarious, a cult classic absurd comedy, and a satire of adventure and mystery stories, about twin paranormal investigators (and their best friend, Fongor).

The writer and artist, who goes by the pseudonym Pierre La Police, is a very cool guy. His real name is unknown, no pictures of him are publicly available, and in addition to his comics, he also does a lot of work for galleries and art exhibitions.

If you pick up a copy, drop me a line and let me know!

[maverickflyer1948]

The National Republican Movement (Mouvement national républicain or MNR) is a French nationalist political party, created by Bruno Mégret with former Club de l'Horloge members Yvan Blot (also a member of GRECE) and Jean-Yves Le Gallou, as a split from Jean-Marie Le Pen's National Front on 24 January 1999.

Initially, Bruno Mégret was the chairman, with Serge Martinez vice-chairman, Jean-Yves Le Gallou, executive director and Franck Timmermans secretary-general. Other notable members of the party included Jean Haudry, Pierre Vial, Jean-Claude Bardet, Xavier Guillemot, Christian Bouchet and Maxime Brunerie. In 2000, the party had fewer than 5000 members, while its youth movement, the Movement National de la Jeunesse, headed by Philippe Schleiter, nephew of Robert Faurisson, had 1500 members. The student union Renouveau Etudiant had close ties with the MNR thanks to Pierre Vial. The party was initially known as the Front National-Mouvement National, but was forced to change its name to Mouvement National Républicain on 2 October 1999 after being sued by Le Pen for trademark infringement.

[azlovesem]

Ha ha ha i told that Pierre that hes in ny book he could fuckn care less. Some people moght nlbe interested that theyre a character in a book but not that mother fucker. He wouldnt read it even after im done and its published if i gave him a signed copy. Hes not much of a reader he reafs in musicsl notes and chemicsl compounds or some shit. He cant see the skull in the trees on the cover. Says he cant see thise kinds of patters. He cant see Michael either. Ha ha ha. Hes like fuck patterns what are you my shrink showing my ink blots i dont like that either. I told them i dont see shit you can stuff uour test. Ok ok Pete this isnt a fuckn test bro. Forget it who cares youre in a book. If you dont care maybe someone else will. He just saw what i can do when we used to rob. I knew how to get away clean on a clear or cloudy night. If we werent all fucked up. But i never got caught with Pete we slways got away. Then it was luck if we got away some nights we alshpuld have gotten caught so bad. Pierre was mainly lookout im the one who can tear shit open. Id park a van next to a wall and take it apart. If youve put them together theyre easy to take apart. Hed be in they corvette sometimes that would be the getaway car. Other times what we were taking wouldnt fit in that. Safes we liked safes. No fuss pure cash. But wed take a half a teansport truck gor of whidkey too come on thats gold in alcoholicland. I sold booze to everyone thete isnt anyo e eho eont buy it ir take it as a gift.

The getaway car. This was the year before they put any safety features like air bags. Just an engine if you hit anything head on you are dead. The engine will come right through the dashboard and youll be eating it. Its a 1989 Corvette. Its faster than you think.

being interviewed by children | 2017

[brookston]

Holidays 10.3

Holidays

Brenda Lee Day (Lithonia, Georgia)

But British Day (UK)

California Clean Air Day

Dysgraphia Awareness Day

Francisco Morazan Day (Honduras)

Fullmetal Alchemist Day

Inflammatory Breast Cancer Awareness Day

International Musketeer Day

Leiden Day (Netherlands)

Look at the Leaves Day

Mean Girls Day

Mickey Mouse Club Day

Morazán Day (Soldier’s Day; Honduras)

National Boyfriend Day

National Butterfly and Hummingbird Day

National Day of Prayer for Mental Illness Recovery & Understanding

National Education Day (Kiribati)

National Family TV Show Day

National Kevin Day

National Techies Day

National Virus Appreciation Day

National Wide Awakes Day

Oktoberfest ends (Munich, Germany; began 9.16)

Oschophoria (Ancient Greece)

Relief of Leiden Day (Netherlands)

Scottish Museums Day (UK)

Semana Morazánica (Honduras)

Stevie Ray Vaughan Day (Texas)

Unity Day (Germany)

Universal Children's Day (UN)

Virus Appreciation Day

World Day of Medical Social Work

World Multiple System Atrophy Awareness Day

World Romance Scam Prevention Day

World Temperance Day

Food & Drink Celebrations

Dionysus’ Day

Global Smoothie Day

National Caramel Custard Day

National No Sugar Day

National Soft Taco Day

1st Tuesday in October

Customer Experience Day [1st Tuesday]

IEEE Day [1st Tuesday]

National Advising Day [1st Tuesday]

National Fruit at Work Day [1st Tuesday]

National Night Out (Alternative) [1st Tuesday]

News Engagement Day [1st Tuesday]

Independence Days

Dershowo Musograd (Declared; 1990) [unrecognized]

Iraq (from UK, 1932)

National Foundation Day (a.k.a. Gaecheonjeol or Kae Chun Jul; Korea)

Timo (Declared; 2019) [unrecognized]

Feast Days

Abd-al-Masih (Christian; Saint)

Adalgott (Christian; Saint)

A. Y. Jackson (Artology)

Dionysius the Areopagite (Christian; Saint)

Eccentricity Appreciation Day (Pastafarian)

Ewald the Black and Ewald the Fair (a.k.a. The Two Ewalds; Christian; Saint)

Feast of Free Spirits

Festival of Bacchus

Francis Borgia (Christian; Saint)

George Bell and John Raleigh Mott (Episcopal Church)

Gerard of Brogne (Christian; Saint)

Gluck (Positivist; Saint)

Gomer Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Henry Lerolle (Artology)

Hesychius of Sinai (Christian; Saint)

Maximian of Bagai (Christian; Saint)

Njord’s Blot (Pagan)

Penny Pig (Muppetism)

Pierre Bonnard (Artology)

Szilárd Bogdánffy (Christian; Blessed)

Théodore Guérin (Christian; Saint)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Dismal Day (Unlucky or Evil Day; Medieval Europe; 19 of 24)

Egyptian Day (Unlucky Day; Middle Ages Europe) [19 of 24]

Fatal Day (Pagan) [19 of 24]

Fortunate Day (Pagan) [40 of 53]

Tomobiki (友引 Japan) [Good luck all day, except at noon.]

Premieres

The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (TV Series; 1952)

The Andy Griffith Show (TV Series; 1960)

Black Lagoon (Anime Series; 2006)

Blood and Sand or Three for the Show (Rocky & Bullwinkle Cartoon, S3, Ep. 113; 1961)

Boston Legal (TV Series; 2004)

Bullwinkle’s Landing or Moosle Beach (Rocky & Bullwinkle Cartoon, S3, Ep. 114; 1961)

Can You Top This? (Radio Series; 1950)

Dark Angel (TV Series; 2000)

Death Note (Anime Series; 2006)

The Dick Van Dyke Show (TV Series; 1961)

Duck! Rabbit, Duck! (WB MM Cartoon; 1953)

The Elephant Man (Film; 1980)

Extraordinary Machine, by Fiona Apple (Album; 2005)

The Family Under the Bridge, by Natalie Savage Carlson (Children’s Books; 1958)

Father Knows Best (Radio Series; 1954)

Friday Night Lights (TV Series; 2006)

Genesis, by Genesis (Album; 1983)

Gone Girl (Film; 2014)

The House at Pooh Corner, by A.A. Milne (Children’s Book; 1929) [Winnie the Pooh #3]

Lend a Paw (Disney Cartoon; 1941)

Lost in Translation (Film; 2003)

The Maltese Falcon (Film; 1941)

The Mechanical Cow (Disney Cartoon; 1927)

The Mickey Mouse Club (TV Series; 1955)

Mickey’s Delayed Date (Disney Cartoon; 1947)

Milk and Money (WB LT Cartoon; 1936)

Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist (Film; 2008)

One More Time (WB MM Cartoon; 1931)

One-Trick Pony (Film; 1980)

Out of the Blue, by Electric Light Orchestra (Album; 1977)

Painted Rhythm, recorded by Stan Kenton (Song; 1945)

Peter Pan’s Flight (Disneyland Attraction; 1971)

Pushing Daisies (TV Series; 2007)

Real Gone, by Tom Waits (Album; 2004)

The Secret Commonwealth, by Philip Pullman (Novel; 2019) [The Book of Dust Trilogy #2]

School of Rock (Film; 2003)

She’s Not There, by The Zombies (Song; 1966)

The Stand, by Stephen King (Novel; 1979)

The Station Agent (Film; 2003)

Star Wars Rebels (Animated TV Series; 2014)

Star Wars: The Clone Wars (Animated TV Series; 2008)

The Temptress (Film; 1926)

Timeless (TV Series; 2016)

Underdog (Animated TV Series; 1964)

Underworld, by Don De Lillo (Novel; 1997)

Yeoman of the Guard, by Gilbert & Sullivan (Comic Opera; 1888)

Zenyatta Mondatta, by the Police (Album; 1980)

Today’s Name Days

Bianca, Ewald, Udo (Austria)

Dionizije, Kandida, Svjetlana (Croatia)

Bohumil (Czech Republic)

Mette (Denmark)

Eevald, Eevo, Evald, Evert (Estonia)

Raimo (Finland)

Gérard, Sybille (France)

Bianca, Ewald, Paulina, Udo (Germany)

Dionysis (Greece)

Helga (Hungary)

Gerardo (Italy)

Elza, Gudruna, Ilizana (Latvia)

Alanta, Evaldas, Kristina, Milgintas (Lithuania)

Evald, Evelyn (Norway)

Eustachiusz, Eustachy, Ewald, Gerard, Gerarda, Gerhard, Heliodor, Józefa, Kandyd, Sierosław, Teresa (Poland)

Dionisie (Romania)

Stela (Slovakia)

Francisco, Gerardo (Spain)

Evald, Osvald (Sweden)

Dennis, Denise (Ukraine)

Erskine, Esmond, India, Kali, Kallie, Kelvin (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 276 of 2024; 89 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 2 of week 40 of 2023

Celtic Tree Calendar: Gort (Ivy) [Day 21 of 28]

Chinese: Month 8 (Xin-You), Day 19 (Jia-Wu)

Chinese Year of the: Rabbit 4721 (until February 10, 2024)

Hebrew: 18 Tishri 5784

Islamic: 18 Rabi I 1445

J Cal: 6 Shù; Sixday [6 of 30]

Julian: 20 September 2023

Moon: 79%: Waning Gibbous

Positivist: 24 Shakespeare (10th Month) [Gluck]

Runic Half Month: Gyfu (Gift) [Day 7 of 15]

Season: Autumn (Day 10 of 89)

Zodiac: Libra (Day 10 of 30)

Calendar Changes

Gort (Ivy) [Celtic Tree Calendar; Month 10 of 13]

[brookstonalmanac]

Holidays 10.3

Holidays

Brenda Lee Day (Lithonia, Georgia)

But British Day (UK)

California Clean Air Day

Dysgraphia Awareness Day

Francisco Morazan Day (Honduras)

Fullmetal Alchemist Day

Inflammatory Breast Cancer Awareness Day

International Musketeer Day

Leiden Day (Netherlands)

Look at the Leaves Day

Mean Girls Day

Mickey Mouse Club Day

Morazán Day (Soldier’s Day; Honduras)

National Boyfriend Day

National Butterfly and Hummingbird Day

National Day of Prayer for Mental Illness Recovery & Understanding

National Education Day (Kiribati)

National Family TV Show Day

National Kevin Day

National Techies Day

National Virus Appreciation Day

National Wide Awakes Day

Oktoberfest ends (Munich, Germany; began 9.16)

Oschophoria (Ancient Greece)

Relief of Leiden Day (Netherlands)

Scottish Museums Day (UK)

Semana Morazánica (Honduras)

Stevie Ray Vaughan Day (Texas)

Unity Day (Germany)

Universal Children's Day (UN)

Virus Appreciation Day

World Day of Medical Social Work

World Multiple System Atrophy Awareness Day

World Romance Scam Prevention Day

World Temperance Day

Food & Drink Celebrations

Dionysus’ Day

Global Smoothie Day

National Caramel Custard Day

National No Sugar Day

National Soft Taco Day

1st Tuesday in October

Customer Experience Day [1st Tuesday]

IEEE Day [1st Tuesday]

National Advising Day [1st Tuesday]

National Fruit at Work Day [1st Tuesday]

National Night Out (Alternative) [1st Tuesday]

News Engagement Day [1st Tuesday]

Independence Days

Dershowo Musograd (Declared; 1990) [unrecognized]

Iraq (from UK, 1932)

National Foundation Day (a.k.a. Gaecheonjeol or Kae Chun Jul; Korea)

Timo (Declared; 2019) [unrecognized]

Feast Days

Abd-al-Masih (Christian; Saint)

Adalgott (Christian; Saint)

A. Y. Jackson (Artology)

Dionysius the Areopagite (Christian; Saint)

Eccentricity Appreciation Day (Pastafarian)

Ewald the Black and Ewald the Fair (a.k.a. The Two Ewalds; Christian; Saint)

Feast of Free Spirits

Festival of Bacchus

Francis Borgia (Christian; Saint)

George Bell and John Raleigh Mott (Episcopal Church)

Gerard of Brogne (Christian; Saint)

Gluck (Positivist; Saint)

Gomer Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Henry Lerolle (Artology)

Hesychius of Sinai (Christian; Saint)

Maximian of Bagai (Christian; Saint)

Njord’s Blot (Pagan)

Penny Pig (Muppetism)

Pierre Bonnard (Artology)

Szilárd Bogdánffy (Christian; Blessed)

Théodore Guérin (Christian; Saint)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Dismal Day (Unlucky or Evil Day; Medieval Europe; 19 of 24)

Egyptian Day (Unlucky Day; Middle Ages Europe) [19 of 24]

Fatal Day (Pagan) [19 of 24]

Fortunate Day (Pagan) [40 of 53]

Tomobiki (友引 Japan) [Good luck all day, except at noon.]

Premieres

The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (TV Series; 1952)

The Andy Griffith Show (TV Series; 1960)

Black Lagoon (Anime Series; 2006)

Blood and Sand or Three for the Show (Rocky & Bullwinkle Cartoon, S3, Ep. 113; 1961)

Boston Legal (TV Series; 2004)

Bullwinkle’s Landing or Moosle Beach (Rocky & Bullwinkle Cartoon, S3, Ep. 114; 1961)

Can You Top This? (Radio Series; 1950)

Dark Angel (TV Series; 2000)

Death Note (Anime Series; 2006)

The Dick Van Dyke Show (TV Series; 1961)

Duck! Rabbit, Duck! (WB MM Cartoon; 1953)

The Elephant Man (Film; 1980)

Extraordinary Machine, by Fiona Apple (Album; 2005)

The Family Under the Bridge, by Natalie Savage Carlson (Children’s Books; 1958)

Father Knows Best (Radio Series; 1954)

Friday Night Lights (TV Series; 2006)

Genesis, by Genesis (Album; 1983)

Gone Girl (Film; 2014)

The House at Pooh Corner, by A.A. Milne (Children’s Book; 1929) [Winnie the Pooh #3]

Lend a Paw (Disney Cartoon; 1941)

Lost in Translation (Film; 2003)

The Maltese Falcon (Film; 1941)

The Mechanical Cow (Disney Cartoon; 1927)

The Mickey Mouse Club (TV Series; 1955)

Mickey’s Delayed Date (Disney Cartoon; 1947)

Milk and Money (WB LT Cartoon; 1936)

Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist (Film; 2008)

One More Time (WB MM Cartoon; 1931)

One-Trick Pony (Film; 1980)

Out of the Blue, by Electric Light Orchestra (Album; 1977)

Painted Rhythm, recorded by Stan Kenton (Song; 1945)

Peter Pan’s Flight (Disneyland Attraction; 1971)

Pushing Daisies (TV Series; 2007)

Real Gone, by Tom Waits (Album; 2004)

The Secret Commonwealth, by Philip Pullman (Novel; 2019) [The Book of Dust Trilogy #2]

School of Rock (Film; 2003)

She’s Not There, by The Zombies (Song; 1966)

The Stand, by Stephen King (Novel; 1979)

The Station Agent (Film; 2003)

Star Wars Rebels (Animated TV Series; 2014)

Star Wars: The Clone Wars (Animated TV Series; 2008)

The Temptress (Film; 1926)

Timeless (TV Series; 2016)

Underdog (Animated TV Series; 1964)

Underworld, by Don De Lillo (Novel; 1997)

Yeoman of the Guard, by Gilbert & Sullivan (Comic Opera; 1888)

Zenyatta Mondatta, by the Police (Album; 1980)

Today’s Name Days

Bianca, Ewald, Udo (Austria)

Dionizije, Kandida, Svjetlana (Croatia)

Bohumil (Czech Republic)

Mette (Denmark)

Eevald, Eevo, Evald, Evert (Estonia)

Raimo (Finland)

Gérard, Sybille (France)

Bianca, Ewald, Paulina, Udo (Germany)

Dionysis (Greece)

Helga (Hungary)

Gerardo (Italy)

Elza, Gudruna, Ilizana (Latvia)

Alanta, Evaldas, Kristina, Milgintas (Lithuania)

Evald, Evelyn (Norway)

Eustachiusz, Eustachy, Ewald, Gerard, Gerarda, Gerhard, Heliodor, Józefa, Kandyd, Sierosław, Teresa (Poland)

Dionisie (Romania)

Stela (Slovakia)

Francisco, Gerardo (Spain)

Evald, Osvald (Sweden)

Dennis, Denise (Ukraine)

Erskine, Esmond, India, Kali, Kallie, Kelvin (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 276 of 2024; 89 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 2 of week 40 of 2023

Celtic Tree Calendar: Gort (Ivy) [Day 21 of 28]

Chinese: Month 8 (Xin-You), Day 19 (Jia-Wu)

Chinese Year of the: Rabbit 4721 (until February 10, 2024)

Hebrew: 18 Tishri 5784

Islamic: 18 Rabi I 1445

J Cal: 6 Shù; Sixday [6 of 30]

Julian: 20 September 2023

Moon: 79%: Waning Gibbous

Positivist: 24 Shakespeare (10th Month) [Gluck]

Runic Half Month: Gyfu (Gift) [Day 7 of 15]

Season: Autumn (Day 10 of 89)

Zodiac: Libra (Day 10 of 30)

Calendar Changes

Gort (Ivy) [Celtic Tree Calendar; Month 10 of 13]

[autodidact-adventures]

Culinary Technology (Part 8): The Aristocracy

Petworth House (Sussex) is one of the grandest houses in England.  It belonged to the Egremonts from 1150 (it is now managed by the National Trust).  The current building is from the 1600′s.

Today, it has an enormous array of kitchen utensils, over 100 pieces in total.  There are rows of saucepans and stewpans, with matching lids, lined up on dressers.  There are stockpots with taps at the bottom (like tea-urns), sauté pans and omelette pans, a large braising pan with an indented lid to hold embers (so the food could be cooked from above at the same time).

The Petworth batterie de cuisine.

Copper braising pan (front); small steaming kettle with handle cover (back).

Particulary impressive is the wide variety of fish pans.  In the old days, fish came from the Sussex coast.  The kitchen has fish kettles, with pierced draining-plates inside, so that the fish could be lifted from the water it was being poached in, without falling to pieces. There is a fish fryer (a round, open pan with a wire drainer), and a specialist turbot pan (diamond-shaped, the same shape as the fish). There are several smaller pans for cooking mackerel.

Victorian copper fish kettles.

A tin fish kettle (cheaper than copper).

Modern fish kettle, with a better view.

The fish fryer probably looked like this.

Turbot pan.

Of course, not all of these items would have been in use during every era.

In 1624 (during the Stuart era), Petworth didn't have any saucepans or stewpans.  For boiling/stewing, they had a large fixed “copper” (a giant vat of boiling water, which supplied hot water for the whole household as well as the kitchen); nine stockpots (cauldrons), an iron cockle pan, a few fish kettles, and five small brass skillets (3-legged, to stand in the fire).

Modern stockpots.

A brass skillet - not sure of the era.

The kitchen's focus was on roasting, not boiling.  They had 21 spits, 6 dripping pans, 3 basting ladles, and 5 gridirons.

Medieval spit.

Gridiron (not sure of the era).

Basting ladle (1745).

But by 1764 (in the Georgian Era), things were different.  Only 9/21 spits were left.  Petworth now had 24 large stewpans, 12 small stewpans, and 9 bain-maries & saucepans.

Modern stewpans.

Georgian saucepans.

This increase in pans (both number & variety) was because of a new style of cooking.  The old heavy medieval cuisine was on its way out, and a fresher, more “buttery” cuisine was on its way in. There were many new foods in the Georgian Era that the Stuart Era did not have.  For example: frothy chocolate; crisp biscuits; sharp, citrusy sauces; the truffly ragouts of French nouvelle cuisine.  And all of these new dishes needed new equipment to cook them in.

Hannah Glasse (1708-70) was one of the most well-known cookery writers of the 1700's.  She wrote that it was important to use the right pan when melting butter – a silver pan was best, she thought. (A type of thickened melted butter was beginning to be served as a universal sauce, to go with meat or fish.)

But by 1869 (in the Victorian Era), this was definitely not enough. The focus of the kitchen was finally moving away from spit-roasting – now the most important equipment was the copper pans, resting on steam-heated hotplates.

There were three steamers, for those foods that needed gentler cooking than boiling.  The number of stewpans & saucepans had risen from 45 to 96.  This was because of the huge variety of sauces, glazes and garnishes that were part of Victorian cuisine.

There isn't much difference between a saucepan and stewpan.  In the 1700's, saucepans were smaller (like the left-hand one further up), suitable for furiously whisking sauces and gravies, after they'd been made in a stewpan, and sieved.  Stewpans were bigger, and had lids.  They could hold a lot of food, and they were the main pan for cooking the meal.  However, the saucepan eventually overtook the stewpan.

In 1844, Thomas Webster wrote in An Encyclopaedia of Domestic Economy that saucepans were “smaller round vessels for boiling, made with a single handle”, and that stewpans were made with a double handle (one on the lid, and one on the pan).  The metal of stewpans was thicker, and they had a more rounded base, which made them easier to clean.

(Nowadays, we don't use the term “stewpan” – we say “saucepan” for pretty much every pan.)

The idea of the batterie de cuisine came out of the 1700's.  It was the opposite idea of the one-pot cooking – you should have a certain pan/vessel for each component of the meal.  You can't sauté in a slope-sided frying pan; you can't fry in a straight-side sauté pan.  You need a turbot kettle for poaching fish.  You need the right tool for every job. This was influenced by France, and by the new professionalism of cooking during the 1700's.

William Verrall (1715-61) was the chef & landlord of the White Hart Inn (Lewes, Sussex).  He disparaged cooks that tried to make do with “one poor solitary stewpan” and one frying-pan “black as my hat”.  He said that “a good dinner cannot be got up to look neat and pretty without proper utensils to work it in, such as neat stew-pans of several sizes” and various other things.  He tells of “half of a very grand dinner” being completely spoiled “by misplacing only one stew pan.”

This obsession with pans was partially because of the English copper industry. Prior to the 1700's, copper had been imported from Sweden.  But in 1689, their monopoly had ended, and England's production of copper increased greatly (especially from Bristol).  And of course, now it cost less – so cooks could have many copper pans.  The French word batterie actually means copper that has been battered into shape.  By the 1800′s, batterie de cuisine had become the universal term to refer to cooking equipment (excluding fixed objects such as the oven).

The Victorian copper batterie was the apogee of the history of pots and pans.  They were well-crafted, and made from high-quality metal; they were tailored to the specific requirements of cooking; and wealthy Victorians had huge kitchens, with many cooks.

Some have criticized the Victorians for boiling vegetables for too long, and reducing everything to a soupy mush.  Victorian and Regency-era recipes say to boil asparagus for 15-18min; broccoli for 20min; carrots for 45min to an hour!  But this actually made sense for the time, and didn't actually wreck the vegetables.

William Kitchiner (author of The Cook's Oracle) says to boil asparagus for 20-30min, which seems far too long to us. He also says, “Great care must be taken to watch the exact time of their becoming tender; take them up just at that instant, and they will have their true flavour and colour: a minute or two more boiling destroys both.”  We tend to boil asparagus as individual stalks, whereas he says to tie it in a bundle – which takes longer to cook. But there is a lot more to the long boiling times than that.

Recipe-writers in the 1800's were very keen on cooking scientifically.  And the most important thing about boiling, they said, was that no matter how long you boil water for, it'll never go above 100°C. This was noted by Robert Buchanan (an expert on fuel economy) in 1815, and cookbook-writers often quoted him on this.  What was the point of boiling things hard, when it doesn't raise the temperature any more?  It was just a waste of fuel/energy.

William Kitchiner experimented with putting a thermometer in water “in that state which cooks call gentle simmering”.  At simmering-level, the water was also 100°C – the same as if it was boiling.  Logically speaking, it would be better to cook at a simmer, rather than a boil – same temperature, less fuel.

In 1868, Pierre Blot (Professor of Gastronomy at the New York Cooking Academy) criticized cooks & housewives who boiled “fast instead of slowly”.  “Set a small ocean of water on a brisk fire and boil something in it as fast as you can, you make as much steam but do not cook faster; the degree of heat being the same as if you were boiling slowly.”

Simmering instead of boiling is good for meat.  Kitchiner said, “The slower it boils, the tenderer, the plumper and whiter it will be.”  But for vegetables (except for potatoes), it takes ages – especially because Victorian cooks liked to cook things in the smallest pan possible.

Kitchiner said that the size of the boiling-pot should be proportional to what it will contain.  The reason for that, he continued, was that the larger the pot, the more space it took up on the fire, and the more water & fire was needed.  This is true.

The Victorians were partially right, and partially wrong.  It is true that boiling water won't go above 100°C (unless under higher pressure, such as in a pressure cooker).  But temperature isn't the only important factor.  Another factor is ebullition – how much boiling water bubbles.  Heat transfer is determined by the temperature difference between the food and the heat source (water).  Boiling water moves more chaotically, and transfers heat to the foot several times faster than simmering.  Also, heat transfer is faster when there is more water in the pan (in proportion to the food).  So Kitchiner's small, simmering pot will take ages longer to cook than a modern-day large, boiling pot.

Another reason for the long cooking times was that Victorian vegetables were different from now – less tender.  Their asparagus was stalkier, and their carrots & greens were tougher.

Victorian pots and pans, despite their craftmanship and variety, had a big problem – their material.  Copper is a great heat conductor, second only to silver.  But when it comes into contact with food (particularly acidic foods) pure copper is poisonous.

Tin is neutral, and their copper pans were thinly lined with it.  Of course it wore down over time, exposing the copper beneath. Therefore, 1700's & 1800's recipe books often give the advice to “Let your pans be frequently retinned.”

But cooks probably put off retinning their pans as long as possible.  In fact, cooks who didn't realize that the copper was poisonous used its “greening” powers, using unlined copper pans to pickle green walnuts and green gherkins.