#scrap gold montreal

[argentcomptant]

Argent comptant pour l'or Montréal

Besoin d'argent rapidement à partir de l'or ? Transformez votre vieil or en gain financier, libérez de l'espace et soutenez des pratiques écologiques.

[ajwritesworld]

Sell Unwanted Jewelry: Top Tips for Success

Key Highlights

Selling unwanted jewelry can be a profitable endeavor if you follow some key tips for success.

It's important to understand the market value of your jewelry and assess its quality before selling.

Choosing the right platform to sell your jewelry is crucial for getting the best price and ensuring a smooth transaction.

Silver and Gold for Cash is a reputable platform that offers competitive prices and has a team of experts to assist you.

By selling your jewelry with Silver and Gold for Cash, you can quickly convert your jewelry into cash and receive a fair price.

Introduction

Selling unwanted jewelry can be a great way to declutter your jewelry box and make some extra cash. Whether it's an old engagement ring, a necklace you no longer wear, or a bracelet that no longer suits your style, there are options available for selling your jewelry and getting a fair price.

In this article, we will discuss some top tips for successfully selling your unwanted jewelry. We will explore the key highlights of selling jewelry, including the importance of understanding the market value of your pieces and assessing their quality. We will also provide guidance on choosing the right platform to sell your jewelry and introduce Silver and Gold for Cash as a reputable option.

With Silver and Gold for Cash, you can sell your jewelry quickly and easily, while receiving competitive prices. Their team of experts will guide you through the process and ensure that you get the best value for your jewelry. So, if you have unwanted jewelry sitting in your jewelry box, it's time to turn it into cash and make the most of your pieces.

Understanding the Value of Your Jewelry

Before selling your jewelry, it's important to understand its value. The market value of your jewelry can be determined by factors such as the brand name, the current price of gold or silver, and the demand for certain types of jewelry. An appraisal by a reputable organization like the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) can also provide an accurate assessment of your jewelry's value. Additionally, understanding the quality of your jewelry, such as its diamond grading or purity of gold, can help determine its true value. So, take a look inside your jewelry box and assess the potential value of your pieces before selling them.

Factors That Affect Jewelry Prices

Several factors can affect the price of your jewelry. The brand name of your piece can significantly impact its value, with renowned brands commanding higher prices. The current price of gold or silver in the market also plays a role in determining the value of your jewelry, especially if it contains precious metals. Additionally, the rarity and collectability of certain types of jewelry, such as silver coins or gold coins, can increase their worth. By considering these factors, you can have a better understanding of the potential value of your jewelry and set a fair price when selling it.

How to Assess the Quality of Your Pieces

Assessing the quality of your jewelry is essential for determining its value. For pieces made of gold, it's important to know the purity of the gold, as pure gold is more valuable than gold alloys. Diamond jewelry should also be assessed based on its cut, color, clarity, and carat weight, as these factors can significantly impact its value. Fine jewelry, made with high-quality materials and craftsmanship, can also have higher value compared to mass-produced pieces. To assess the quality of your jewelry, consider getting it tested by a reputable jeweler or using a diamond testing process. Understanding the quality of your pieces will help you set a fair price when selling your jewelry.

Choosing the Right Platform to Sell Your Jewelry

Choosing the right platform to sell your jewelry is crucial for a successful and profitable sale. There are several options available, including consignment shops and online marketplaces like eBay. Consignment shops allow you to leave your jewelry with them and receive a percentage of the sale price once it's sold. However, be cautious about sharing personal information with these shops. Online marketplaces like eBay offer convenience, but they may not offer the best price for your jewelry. Consider platforms like Silver and Gold for Cash, where you can sell your jewelry quickly and securely, without compromising your personal information.

The Role of Silver and Gold for Cash in Selling Your Jewelry

Silver and Gold for Cash is a trusted scrap gold buyer in Montreal. They buy all kinds of gold, silver, palladium, platinum and also diamond items. These may be in the form of broken, stained, old jewellery such as necklaces, chains, bangles, bracelets, earrings, rings, watches, or cufflinks. We also buy scrap gold bits, coins, bars wires and dental gold. If you have precious metals with purity value ranging between 8 and 24 karats, they will offer the best value for you in terms of money. What sets Silver and Gold for Cash apart is their team of experts, who are experienced in evaluating jewelry and determining its true value. With their expertise, they can offer the most money and highest prices for your jewelry. So, if you're looking to sell your jewelry and get a fair price, Silver and Gold for Cash in Montreal is the place to go.

How Silver and Gold for Cash Stands Out

Silver and Gold for Cash stands out as a top platform for selling your jewelry due to several reasons:

They offer the most money and highest prices for your jewelry, ensuring that you get a fair deal.

Their team of experts is knowledgeable and experienced in evaluating jewelry, guaranteeing accurate assessments and fair offers.

They accept a wide range of items, including gold, silver, diamonds, and even coins from the Royal Canadian Mint.

They provide a secure and hassle-free selling process, ensuring that your personal information is protected and the transaction is smooth.

With these advantages, Silver and Gold for Cash is the ideal platform for selling your unwanted jewelry and getting the best price for your pieces.

Conclusion

To sum up, Cash for Gold in Montreal, can be a lucrative venture if approached with the appropriate knowledge. Essential steps include recognizing the value of your items, evaluating their quality, and selecting the suitable platform. Silver and Gold for Cash presents a trustworthy opportunity to swiftly and securely exchange your jewelry for cash. Utilizing their services allows you to sell your jewelry confidently, guaranteeing a fair price and peace of mind. If you're contemplating selling your jewelry, trust Silver and Gold for Cash for a smooth and dependable transaction.

[kennyfischerconsulting]

WAR STORIES - BENNY part 2

  Benny Fixman wrote his autobiography From the Ghetto to the Gold a few years ago if you want more details on him.  I read most of it and found it fairly accurate (as I knew it) and have to say that I am sure all autobiographies (like mine also) are usually slanted in a benevolent manner, with occasional amnesia, in favor of the writer. Whatever anyone says about Benny, who died at age 90 on November 7, 2015, he was the smartest and most forward-thinking scrap man of that era. DMC would go on to become a NYSE, Fortune 1,000 Company, and the largest recycler/trader of non-ferrous metals in the world.  We had 1,441 employees, trading offices in St, Louis, MO., New York, Beverly Hills, CA. Tokyo Japan, Seoul Korea, and Hamburg Germany, plus large recycling plants in Montreal, Canada, Cucamonga, CA. St. Louis, MO., and Tamaqua, PA.

 Benny took DMC public and bought around 33 other companies.  This was a brilliant idea, because we were buying bricks and mortar with stock (or as he called it “inflated toilet paper”) plus the smart Jewish owners who built those companies from the ground up.  That became a two-edged sword, since once these guys had all their stock and the stock was rapidly rising from the IPO price of $9 to an eventual $132, they then laid back and didn’t push too hard.  They all had 100k salaries, a company car, and not much oversight on their expense accounts.  There was really no motivation for them and when their monthly P&L  got hit with corporate overhead, they kind of lost interest. That is not a new phenomenon. What usually happens is the original owners leave or they buy their company back at 10 to 20 cents on the dollar, when the company who bought them realizes that it was the original owner who founded and built the company that made the company work. Diversified also went out of their genre and bought a pen company and thankfully failed to buy a printing company and ice cream chain. But what did Benny do that no one else had done?  Besides perfect a cold method for chopping and separating copper and aluminum from their insulation and taking his company public and buying 30 + other companies, he cornered the copper futures market.  What does that mean?  It means he owned or controlled enough copper futures to hold the “shorts” for ransom.  I am not equipped to give a seminar on futures trading, so Google it or watch a few YouTube videos on commodity trading.  I am not proud to say he did it on Yom Kippur, when he knew the Jewish traders wouldn’t be present, but he did what he did and they were stunned, amazed, confused, flummoxed, and pissed off. Here some uneducated junk dealer just showed them how smart they really weren’t.  Professional New York commodities speculators and traders were done in by a brash Midwest Jewish junk dealer.

Back to going public, which is an incredible wealth creator but also a pain in the ass having to deal with CPAs, stockholders, and the SEC.

[iraempirecom]

Bart Kitner Kitco

Kitco's president and founder, Bart Kitner, has been purchasing and selling genuine precious metals for over 30 years, earning a reputation as one of the most reputable names in the bullion industry. In the late 1970s, a motivated young guy with an eye for chances made his initial forays into the corporate world.

Bart Kitner was a college student with a modest $700 loan at the time, but his vision was anything from little. His story is the driving force behind Kitco, one of the most trusted names in the precious metals market today. For detailed information, check out: Kitco Reviews

Bart Kitner: Early Days

Kitner’s journey began with a simple but overlooked business niche. He began by buying scrap gold from various jewellers across Eastern Canada. After refining the gold, he sold the pure gold grain to larger industry players. This business model, though modest, was the foundation upon which Kitner built his empire. Upon graduating from McGill University, Kitner decided to venture full-time into his business. He soon expanded his operations into other industrial areas. By the late 1990s, Kitner had successfully ventured into the precious metals products market.

Bart Kitner: Launch of Kitco.com

1995 marked a significant turn in Kitner's business journey. He launched Kitco.com, taking his business online during the early years of the Internet.

This move democratized market information such as prices, trends, and news, which were previously guarded by a few big players. Kitco.com soon became the go-to source for precious metals market information. Today, Kitco has grown from a small apartment-based business into a global enterprise. The company now boasts offices in Montreal, New York, and Hong Kong. The entrepreneurial spirit that marked Kitner's early years continues to drive the company forward.

Kitco News: A Trusted Source for Market Insights

Kitco News, the journalistic division of Kitco, provides in-depth articles and videos on market trends and news. It was one of the first organizations to cover the Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee's (GATA) lawsuit against the Federal Reserve. It also focuses on issues such as conflict minerals in the Congo. Bart Kitner: Business Model One of Kitco’s main business lines is the purchase of scrap precious metals. The company pays its supplier's sales taxes on these purchases and receives tax credits for the corresponding amounts. However, the company has faced challenges with some suppliers failing to repay the taxes owed, leading to legal disputes. Kitco’s Creditor Protection Journey In 2011, following a raid by Revenue Quebec, Kitco was granted CCAA creditor protection by the courts, similar to U.S. Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The company has since paid most of its creditors in full, with others receiving partial payments. The company continues to contest allegations by ARQ.

Kitco Pool: An Innovative Approach to Precious Metals Investment

Kitco offers unallocated precious metals accounts, known as "Kitco Pool." These accounts, backed by the "general stock" of the dealer, function like IOUs. In the event of bankruptcy, a pool holder would become an unsecured creditor of the company. However, Kitco has addressed these concerns by stating that the Kitco Pool is 100% backed by physical precious metals, segregated from Kitco's own assets and entirely belonging to Kitco Pool customers.

Why Are Investors Diversifying Their Portfolio?

Experts agree that the financial market is now even more fragile than pre-2008. Will your retirement portfolio weather the imminent financial crisis? Threats are many. Pick your poison..

The financial system would be in great peril if one or more big banks fail. "When we get to a downturn, banks won't have the cushion to absorb the losses. Without a cushion, we will have 2008 and 2009 again."

Student debt, which has been on a steep rise for years, could figure greatly in the next credit downturn. "There are parallels to 2008: There are massive amounts of unaffordable loans being made to people who can't pay them"

The US national debt has spiked $1 trillion in less than 6 months! "If we keep throwing gas on flames with deficit spending, I worry about how severe the next downturn is going to be--and whether we have enough bullets left ,"

Total household debt rose to an all-time high of $13.67 trillion at year-end 2019. "Any type of secured lending backed by an asset that is overvalued should be a concern… that is what happened with housing." Get in touch with an expert using the button down below: The Future of Kitco: Continuing the Legacy Kitco's journey from a small college startup to a global precious metals enterprise is a testament to Bart Kitner's entrepreneurial spirit and vision. Despite challenges and market changes, Kitco continues to stand as a reliable name in the industry. With its commitment to transparency, innovation, and customer service, Kitco continues to shape the future of the precious metals market.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Bart Kitner's Kitco is a shining example of how a simple idea, backed by hard work and a keen eye for opportunities, can revolutionize an industry. Today, Kitco stands tall as a trusted source of precious metals market information and a reliable platform for precious metals trading. Despite the challenges it has faced, Kitco's commitment to its customers and its innovative approach has ensured its continued success in the ever-evolving financial market. Opening a precious metals IRA is a major decision. That's why I suggest checking out our top gold IRA providers list. There, you can find the best precious metals dealer in your state and choose accordingly. Also, the list will help you understand what the industry's best has to offer. Furthermore, it helps with what you might miss out on. Find the best Gold IRA company in your state Read the full article

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

"MOTHER ACCUSES SON OF STEALING JEWELRY,” Toronto Star. February 27, 1933. Page 2.  ---- Youth Admits He Took Her Watches and Bracelet and Sold Them ---- Mrs. Nellie Baldwin, mother of Ed. Baldwin, complained in police court to-day that her son, 17 years of age, had taken two watches and a gold bracelet and disposed of them unlawfully. When asked by Magistrate Browne what he did with the jewelry, the accused lad replied: "I sold them on Yonge St." 

Crown-Attorney Malone declared that Baldwin had left school three years ago, and that at the present time his parents had but small control over the boy's actions. 

The case was adjourned for further Investigation, to March 2, bail of $200 being accepted. 

Held on $5,000 Bail John McGregor, charged with criminal negligence, was remanded on bail of $5,000 till March 27. It was stated by the crown that the injured party would be unable to appear until about that time. Goldie Klyman was the person alleged to have been struck by an auto driven by McGregor, at Euclid Ave., about 12.20 a.m.. Feb. 19. 

Charged with conspiracy with intent to defraud the Workmen's Compensation Board, Lazo Baitch was ordered remanded to March 6 on $5,000 bail. 

Alfred G. Hall, and Fred Hastings. charged with theft in the amount of $1.500 and $33.90 were remanded until March 6. 

Heavy Bail Demanded Solomon Ruckenstein was remanded to March 6, under bail of $20,000. on charges of theft and conspiracy, involving $100,000. Crown-Attorney Gibson requested that the bail be set at the figure named, since the amount. of $15,000 had failed to hold a man named Lewis, allegedly implicated in the case. Detective Glasscock brought Ruckenstein here from Montreal. 

 W. J. Webber was remanded. to March 6 on a charge involving $560 worth of stock, preferred by Rosa Neital of Walmsley Blvd. Bail of $5,000 was set.

Looking For Lottery Man Benjamin Cutler pleaded guilty to having lottery tickets to sell and was remanded till March 6. 

 "Cutler tells me that a man comes. every Monday and hands over about two dozen of the tickets which are sold at 25 cents each," stated Arthur Roebuck, defense counsel, in reply to Magistrate Browne's question as to where the tickets came from. 

 "Yes-yes," commented the bench, quickly, "and accused has told me that same tale before-but I'm not going to be fooled with much longer. I'll either find out who the man is higher up, of know why. I'm going to remand Cutler from week to week, if necessary, until his memory re- rives sufficiently to give the court the answer required. And I don't believe him when he says he doesn't know the name of that ticket supplying man." 

Fined 77 Celestials William Douglas. superintendent of the Orphans' Homies of Scotland, Bridge of Weir, was a visitor who sat on the bench beside Magistrate Tinker in early city police court to-day. 

Fines aggregating $154 and costs were assessed against Cheng Yu and 76 others, guilty of "gambling on the Lord's Day." Two dollars and costs each was the penalty imposed.

Edward Wicherley was fined $10 or five days for fighting in front of a theatre on Saturday night. Martin Wrobel, said by police to have been the aggressor in the scrap with Wicherley, was ordered to pay $10 or go to jail for seven days. Wrobel was given permission to go out and get money to pay the fine. 

Joe Kearns was fined $30 or 30 days for being drunk, 

Fred Falconer, said to have spent three months in jail over drunkenness charges, was to-day ordered to pay $10 and costs or serve ten days. Mick 

Mackerly was sent to jail for 60 drys for stealing aluminum bars from the Aluminum Company of Canada. 

It Was Wing's Birthday Low Wing was charged in the liquor and traffic court with having liquor in his restaurant on Elizabeth St. 

"Some of the businessmen on Eliza- beth St. were putting on a little party, testified P. C. Sheer, 29, who visited Wing's cafe at 4 a.m. and found a bottle.

"That day is my birthday." said Wing, through Interpreter Chin Wey, "and I invited in a few friends." 

"Don't have any more birthdays for a year at any rate," said Magistrate Jones as he assessed the Chinese $50 and costs or one month.

Jack Ryder was cutting in and out of traffic in Bloor St., when P.C. Hainer (457) saw him late on Friday night. To-day he was convicted of reckless driving and was fined $10 and costs. 

Jail for One Week On Bathurst St. at 5.45 a.m. February 13th. Louis McConnell's car bumped into a parked car, doing $55 damages, and "kept on going." 

"I drove 50 or 55 miles an hour to overtake him." testified P.C. Cooper, 607. McConnell was fined $10 and costs or seven days and seven days. 

Ned Popov pleaded guilty to having a gallon of spirits of "unlawful manufacture." He was fined $200 and costs or six months and one month in jail. 

George Dezing has a charge of reckless driving to answer here as soon as he gets out of custody at Cobalt. 

Herbert Cox's car ran into a car on Logan Ave. Cox told Sergeant Hobson he had had a drink of wine. but he showed no indication of it the officer stated. The damage had been, repaired. Cox was fined $10 and costs or 10 days and his driving permit was cancelled for 30 days. 

When Edna Masey's car stopped. on the tracks at Sherbourne and Wellesley Sts., P.C. Jackson (736) investigated. "She was absolutely Intoxicated," testified the officer. "She couldn't stand or answer any questions." Edna was committed to jail for seven days. 

Told What to Expect Joseph Keeling charged with reckless driving at Jarvis and Maitland Sts., asked for a remand till March 6 to give him time to finish a painting job. It was granted and he was told to "expect the worst" on that date. 

Stephen Zrebruk charged with having alcohol illegally, pleaded not guilty and was remanded for a week. 

Edward Sopher, charged with reckless driving and Arnold Lawrence, facing a charge of breach of the Excise Act, will appear March 6. Bail in each case was set at $500. 

Alex Zilento and Nick Baker will return on March 7 to answer separate charges of having alcohol il- legally. Both were placed on $500 bail. 

Two alleged reckless drivers were remanded till March 3. John W. Dunlop is on $200 bail and James Gray on $500. on

[virtchandmoir]

Ice dance star Tessa Virtue happily out of her comfort zone in Queens EMBA program

November 30, 2020

Canadian Olympic athlete Tessa Virtue poses for a photo at the Olympic Summit in Calgary, Alta., Saturday, June 3, 2017.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

TORONTO -- Tessa Virtue doesn't feel the same sense of exhilaration or rush of adrenaline as she did standing at centre-ice after a gold-medal performance.

At least not on that scale or of that magnitude. And that's okay.

"There are so many things that are making me really content and joyful that were just impossible to experience as an athlete in training," Virtue said. "So, there's sort of something offsetting that where I might not be getting that adrenaline rush, there's so much that I feel passionate about and new goals that I'm striving for - which is both scary and exhilarating."

Virtue and Scott Moir were among the 114 athletes, artists, scholars and community leaders named to the Order of Canada on Friday. They're the most decorated ice dancers in history, capturing five Olympic medals, including a pair of ice dance gold in 2010 and 2018.

Virtue is swamped with school work these days as part of Queens University's Executive MBA program - one of the new pursuits that's pushed her out of her comfort zone.

She's typed out frantic text messages to retired Paralympic swimmer Ben Huot - who graduated from Queens' EMBA program - saying, "Have I made a mistake? What am I doing?" she laughed. "(Huot) been so wonderfully supportive.

"But I am so happy I did it. And it's an extraordinary cohort, everyone is so impressive and has accomplished such wonderful things and in such diverse spheres, and so the conversations are so exhilarating, and especially right now, I'm so grateful to have the chance to sort of expand my mind."

Virtue spent the first few months of the pandemic living in North Vancouver with boyfriend and Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman Morgan Rielly. The power couple joined Arkells frontman on an Instagram live stream back in March. They appeared virtually on the Great Kitchen Party: Home Edition a month later.

The couple is back living in Toronto now, and recently purchased a puppy they named Zoe.

Virtue and Moir's captivating free dance to music from "Moulin Rouge" in Pyeongchang will endure as one of the greatest Olympic figure skating performances ever. Just one of the numerous YouTube streams has over 1.3 million views.

But Virtue has barely watched it.

"I've seen parts of it here and there. And I love the feeling that it evokes in me," she said. "I'm still so proud of that moment of course. But I can't decide if it feels like it was yesterday or honestly if I feel just a few lifetimes away from it. So, it's like that disconnect, right, where I kind of hold onto the feeling that we had when the program ended.

"And when we reflect together, so much of our sporting life just seems so fresh that I'm sure there hasn't been enough time for perspective, right?"

Virtue and Moir, from Ilderton, Ont., competed for two decades. Earning Order of Canada honours, she said, was an honour that had her reflecting on their early days.

"This is not something we would have ever known to even dream for. We weren't seven and nine (years old) cruising around the ice together talking about this, it seemed unfathomable," she said. "And yet, we watched so many of our friends and peers along the way receive this incredible honour. I just feel humbled, and just so, so honoured."

Virtue talked by telephone Sunday before appearing virtually on Hayley Wickenheiser's "WickFest: Female Hockey Festival," calling a few minutes early to ensure she wouldn't have to duck out too soon.

Olympic athletes, both active and retired, have been front and centre in the battle against the global pandemic. Wickenheiser, of course, teamed up with actor Ryan Reynolds and others for "Conquer COVID-19," an initiative that delivered much-needed personal protective equipment to hospitals. Numerous other athletes have hosted virtual practices, information sessions, etc. for Canadian kids.

"It can be underestimated, I guess, what that kind of mentorship or connection with an athlete does," Virtue said. "I think about those kids watching the next Olympics and how invested they'll be and it's pretty neat to share that."

The international figure skating schedule has been a bust since last March when COVID-19 forced cancellation of the world championships in Montreal.

Keegan Messing is the only Canadian to have competed so far this season (Skate America). Skate Canada International was scrapped, and if Stockholm, Sweden does manage to host the world championships in March - organizers want to host it in a "bubble" - there's no guarantee Canada will even go because of lack of preparation, quarantine restrictions, etc.

"I think there's a caveat to everything in that it offers great perspective. You realize just how seemingly insignificant ice dance can be or skating," Virtue said. "But at the same time, in their relative spheres, and as far as their goals and pursuits go, it's huge to miss out on one competition, let alone a season.

"I think just changing that benchmark of knowing when to prepare for something, how a peak, how to maximize your time, the unknown, the uncertainty, like so many people are facing, must be really challenging. And my heart goes out to (the skaters)."

—The Canadian Press

[kaaramel]

Of course, not every archon is perfect. Sometimes they stumble and fall from the path they’ve chosen; sometimes they choose to reject the ways of archons; and sometimes they are ejected from the celestial ranks by their brethren... Since archons are naturally forgiving creatures, it takes some incredible foolishness for an archon to fall completely from the grace of Mount Celestia, never to return.

-- AD&D Monstrous Manual

uhhhhh time to run with it and be melodramatic i guess,

could not always organically work in narration explaining the ostensible pov char’s bizarre anatomy so i guess i’ll just remind you up front he has entire snakes for arms

tw: nonhuman/unconventional self harm

The shop is in its usual state when Chuubo steps through the door: empty of customers and full of magical odds and ends. There's more inventory than there is space to hold it, and all of it meticulously organized to some standard only the proprietor knows. Jasper is flitting and bobbing restless spirals around the crumbling stone lantern that she rests in to pretend she's a more ordinary magical lamp in front of customers; Chuubo's best friend is behind the reinforced sales counter, where their host usually sits, looking nervous and withdrawn.

"Everything okay?" Chuubo asks. Sometimes people mistake Seizhi for human, but Chuubo knows them better than that; knows them well enough to see they’re pale under the scatter of dark, scaly 'freckles' across their cheeks.

They shrug unhappily. "I dunno. Leonardo's upstairs."

"Did something happen?" Chuubo passes the neatly-wrapped parcel in his arms over the counter, tongues flicking out involuntarily after it at the scent of raw meat inside (three carnivores in one household meant a lot of trips to the butcher's). 

Jasper bobs closer and volunteers, "He looked upset, coming in, but he didn't say anything. I didn't want to pry."

"I can go talk to him," Chuubo says, and Seizhi looks relieved, and perhaps a little guilty about being relieved.

"He listens to you more than us," they say, and, "Good luck." 

There are three levels to the shop. The cramped front room is only a portion of the ground floor, with the rest given over to storage space for extra inventory, including the stranger and more valuable items Leonardo doesn't allow ordinary customers to see. Upstairs is mostly dominated by a sort of workshop for alchemy, crafting, and ritual, now with two cots intruding haphazardly into the tangle of devices and components and wards. Leonardo's own room is a cramped and spartan little attic, which Chuubo has only been permitted to see once or twice. With no other choice at the moment, he picks his way carefully through the workshop level, studiously careful where he places his long tail, and knocks. There's no response, but no lock, either; after a long moment, he pushes the door open and steps through.

His first impression is of a gently shifting ball of fire, and then the sight resolves into Leonardo's wings, a blaze of sunset colors that somehow catch the weak light of the barred windows so perfectly they're nearly glowing. He's curled up inside them somewhere, making soft little noises, almost birdlike, nothing a humanoid throat should produce. When Chuubo's tongues flick out nervously, he tastes something metallic and sharp in the air.

"Leonardo..?" Chuubo ventures closer, a step, and then dashes forward to grab clumsily at the devil’s hands. Leonardo snarls and recoils, tugs easily out of his grip - Chuubo hadn't wanted to bite down - but at least it's stopped him from methodically pulling out his own feathers, for the moment. Scraps of orange and yellow and red are littered carelessly over the floorboards, like dying embers.

"Go away," he chokes out, in a raspy contralto, and Chuubo is startled to realize he isn't wearing any of his usual faces. Rather than the shorter jet-black hair he favors, pale-gold locks fall over features too smooth and perfect to be mortal, and he's crying, gasping little chirps and trills of distress as tears flow down those lovely cheeks.

"You're hurting yourself," Chuubo says, plaintive, and coils his arms around Leonardo's wrists more gently, holds them in place. "Please, did something happen?"

He takes a deep breath; flexes his hands, but doesn't pull away. "A-archon," he manages, and then dissolves back into wordless keening.

"Jasper?" Chuubo asks, anxiously. His tail curls gently around the shaking erinyes, not tightly, not pulling him closer, just supporting.

"No - " frustrated, insistent, almost a shout, and then quieter - "In, in the market. A messenger. A..." He says a word in some lilting, melodic Celestial dialect, halting and uncertain from disuse. The sense of it arrives in Chuubo’s mind anyway, and the word he understands it as is trumpet.

"And... they said something to you?" Chuubo guesses, uncertain.

Leonardo leans in, unexpectedly, takes Chuubo into the circle of his wings, buries his face against the yuan-ti's chest. His tears are almost unbearably hot. 

"The message was for me," he whispers, and not aloud; Chuubo's heard that baatezu have a form of telepathy, but de Montreal has never used it around him. His audible voice is still letting out soft, warbling birdsong-sobs against Chuubo's scales as he continues, "If I'm willing to apologize, seek penance and atonement -" a long, high note, that trails off into more ordinary weeping - "The gates of Mount Celestia could open for me again. They'd take me back."

Chuubo coils a little closer, holds him with arms and tail, lets him chirp and wail for a few moments longer. "Are you crying because... because you want to go? Or because you don't want that?"

Leonardo makes a choked noise that might be laughter, if laughter had no humor behind it. "Y-you - didn't - see," he tries, aloud, and then resorts to telepathy again: "You didn't see how she looked at me, at Sigil, at everything. You didn't see how quickly she left. Couldn't stand to be here, talking to me."

He pushes Chuubo away again, tries to reach for a frayed patch on one wing, almost convulsively. Chuubo holds him firm, and sweeps up one of the discarded feathers from the floor with a dexterous flick of his tailtip; holds that out instead, insistently, until Leonardo takes it. It's longer than his palm, rich golden-yellow shading to orange, and when Chuubo cautiously releases his hands, he runs his fingertips over the soft vanes with repetitive, mechanical focus. 

"I wanted to ask if there had been troubles with the lanterns," he continues, in a more even tone, emotion more tightly controlled. "If other petitioners had gone missing, or if Jasper was unique, or if Celestia knew she was missing at all. But she recited the message and was gone."

"So she was in a hurry," Chuubo says, gently. "Now you know they've forgiven you, you can go there and ask directly. You could escort Jasper home yourself!"

"Not without giving myself to them." He scrubs the back of one hand across his face, harshly, mental voice full of bitterness. "Not without begging for absolution, accepting demotion, slotting back into their pretty little hierarchy, thanking the holy tomes for their mercy. I'd be down to a lantern again myself, probably, until they finally decide they can trust me again..."

"Shh, shh." Chuubo rocks back and forth, tries to soothe away the pain and agitation practically radiating off Leonardo’s words. "How do you know? It's paradise, isn't it? They'd want you to be happy. Maybe if you explained -"

"They can't imagine I'd be happy any other way," he says, flat. Plucks at the feather in his hands, trying to pull it apart. "I know because I know Celestia. Everything has a place and a purpose and a reason. It's beautiful. It's perfect. I don't want it back."

"You deserve it, though, you know. Even if you don't think so."

Leonardo lets the feather drop, rests his head against Chuubo's shoulder. "I've done terrible things. I've been terrible to you."

"You've been kind. In ways that count. And you're already trying to make things up." He nudges the brass amulet around Leonardo's neck with the snout of one hand. 

"I don't want to give up this body," Leonardo admits. Draws his wings tighter around himself and Chuubo. "Looking how I want to look. Vain. I'd be confined to the mountain. Selfish." A long, shuddering breath, and then, aloud, "I'd be leaving you."

Chuubo has no response for a long moment, just holds Leonardo close, tongues flicking to take in the dry, sulfuric, Baatorian smell of him, the acid of his tears.

"Not just you," he continues. His voice is thick and clumsy but he persists. Maybe he’s afraid to give too much away. It’s harder to read his emotional tone now than it was when coming straight from his mind. “You, Seizhi, everyone I’ve met. All the places. All the planes. I’d be giving that up for some - some narrow little ideal of paradise. Where I know I wouldn’t be happy. I already tried that. I don’t want to bounce back and forth between the h-heavens and hells for eternity. I just want Sigil. I want -”

He squeezes his eyes shut and leans into Chuubo's arms, in a boneless, exhausted slump.

"...Then you should have that." Chuubo nuzzles against his forehead, light and brief. "Are the archons going to be upset if you turn them down?"

"Probably be glad," Leonardo mumbles.

“Then stay. They don’t know what they’re losing.”

He sniffs, makes a show out of pointedly rolling his eyes, but the sarcasm loses a lot of sting when he’s still cuddled close, his wings warm and soft against Chuubo’s back. 

“I need to clean up,” he says, eventually, reluctantly. “Go back downstairs and tell Seizhi I’m not kicking you out, before they fret themself to pieces.”

“Aw, we know better by now.” Chuubo disentangles himself slowly, lets Leonardo sit up, pull away, resettle his wings behind his back. “You haven’t kicked us out yet, you’re never gonna.”

[axiomsofice]

21/22 Power Rankings: Atlantic

TAMPA BAY

What more can be said of the back to back champs? Without many questions at any position, the Lightning are an easy choice to put first here. Although, like last season, we might see them finish somewhere after first in their division as they prioritize health into the playoffs, as the look to increase their strong chances at defending their title successfully. Sure, Johnson and Gourde are elsewhere, but Tampa has great depth with many underutilized forwards vying for playing time, not to mention Kucherov returning to regular season play. Up front, Mathieu Joseph, Ross Colton, and Alex Barre-Boulet will be looking to run with the openings before them, and in truth all 3 have already proven effective in their time filling in last season. Meanwhile a pair of veteran depth pieces come into fold as well. Pierre-Edouard Bellemare is the archetypal 4th line centre, and has been the gold standard for years across many teams, IMO truly a joy. Corey Perry will join him and Patrick Maroon on what looks to be a line that will be a handful the longer the season goes.

On the back end not much needs to be said, as the likes of Hedman, McDonagh,Sergachev, Cernak, and Rutta have proven to be a force. Enter Zach Bogosian, who represents an upgrade in the spot once filled by Luke Schenn or Brayden Coburn, and potentially an appearance by Cal Foote. Of course, Vasilevskiy is the top goalie in the world, so there’s not much else one could desire in the crease.

BOSTON

Another longstanding contender who may coast thru the regular season a little, we shouldn’t expect anything less than the usual strong results for the Bruins. Some change in recent years, notably Krejci, Halak, and Miller’s departures, seem to give a different look to the roster, but the show will roll on. Taylor Hall signing at a nice AAV ensures some scoring will be present beyond The Perfection Line, but alongside Debrusk, Smith, Coyle, Haula, and Nick Foligno fills out the Bruins’ middle 6 forwards with a lot of size, speed, and skill. I know Trent Frederic will be a great Bruin because I “hate” (in a good way) him already. The sun is getting lower for Jack Studnicka’s time as a prospect, but some fans are expecting/hoping he’s ready to make a splash this season.

Charlie McAvoy gets comically little recognition as one of the league’s premier defencemen, and fits the Bruins’ historical stereotype perfectly. The good news for him is that the better part of the next decade should see him playing at a Norris Trophy level, so there’s no way that lack of appreciation can continue, right? Forbort will bring a lot of what left with Kevan Miller. Do not underestimate Connor Clifton, and especially Matt Grzelcyk, as the former BU Captain has been a crucial piece for B’s the past 4 seasons. Mike Reilly really came into his own over the past 2 seasons, and his offensive abilities are a welcome fit with the rest of the group. Perhaps we see Urho Vaakanainen force his way into a regular spot this year, but with another year before waiver eligibility it might be another season in the AHL.

Rask might return at some point, but Linus Ullmark will be looking to take off now free from Buffalo. He’s shown good results considering the team in front of him, but Boston’s strong defensive play has made it easier for all of their goalies to perform well, including the young backup Jeremy Swayman.

TORONTO

The Leafs have a lot to prove, and I’m not referencing the playoffs. Their status as a true cup contender has been us getting way ahead of ourselves, although they have the talent to get there at some point. In truth, last season was the first time the Buds paced their division, clinched a playoff spot early, or even posted top 10 goals against numbers. Obviously, last season was short and strange, so proving these things in a full season *is* the next step facing this group. They have a lot more to prove in the regular season than Tampa or Boston, so this group should be focused and ruthless in their pursuit of putting together a dominant and consistent regular season.

Admittedly as a Leafs fan, I have too many thoughts to post here regarding the specifics of the team here, so I’ll stick to some big picture analysis. If this group loses to Boston or Tampa in the first round it the year a waste or a failure? Should the coach, GM, core 4, president, be moved on from automatically? Simply put, no. I understand and appreciate the passion these thoughts come from but it’s important to maintain perspective. This team is good, the players are good, the lineup on paper is good, the prospect pool is good, the depth is intriguing, but not yet great. They have performed like a good team over the past 5 seasons, which isn’t nothing, but not like a great one. I’d argue they’ve done a good job living up to that and that we’ve misdiagnosed them as a team that is already great. Yes I’d love to win a cup or even a round here, but the standard of success and belief this organization has built for itself in the Matthews era should not be unappreciated.

FLORIDA

Like Toronto, the Panthers will be hungry to prove that winning their division last year was no fluke. Personally, I would have voted GM Zito for the Jim Gregory Trophy last season, as he managed to infuse the Panthers’ skilled lineup with some of the toughness Columbus iced during his time there. Even more important is adding such pieces that are in phase with the team’s existing age. Duclair, Bennett, and Verhaeghe are primed to show their performances last season are repeatable, while Sam Reinhardt will look to flourish in a new role on a respectable team. Tippett and Lundell give the Panthers’ lineup a tantalizing potential and could easily form into the league’s best 3rd line, and help the offence as as whole rise to the top group in the league. Perhaps we see Denisenko join them in the Panthers’ ranks at some point this season.

The defence group is really fun, especially if Aaron Ekblad can get back to full health paired alongside Mackenzie Weegar, and resume their elite play. Brandon Montour went from blue-chip to scrap heap in Buffalo, but I like his skillset a lot, especially since it compliments the ruggedness of Forsling, Gudas, and Nutivaara quite well.

The goaltending situation is talented and volatile, perhaps more so than any other team in the NHL. Sure, Bobrovsky is overpaid (contracts have disappeared before) and has struggled during his time in Florida, but stranger things have happened than the idea of him rediscovering his game. Meanwhile backup Spencer Knight has quickly risen to the NHL and has performed exceptionally at every level along the way, and on a rookie deal is underpaid, meaning for the next 3 years Bob’s contract is much more manageable. That being said, a goalie’s path especially is rarely a straight line (see Carter Hart), so it’s not unexpected or too concerning if Knight goes through a rough patch at some point. Of course, it will be on the team in front of them to help put them in a good position for success.

MONTREAL

Wow, what to make of this group. A roller coaster set of years where the Habs dredged through a regular season before a playoff glow-up, thrown in with some key injuries to Price and Weber, a rotation at centre (losing Danault and Kotkaniemi while adding Dvorak), and a full season of the dynamic Cole Caulfield, it’s hard what to make of this group. The strength of the team is along the wings, as Caulfield, Gallagher, Toffoli, Hoffman, Anderson, Drouin, Armia, Byron, and Lekhonen is a strong and deep group with a good blend of skills. Suzuki and Dvorak is a good start down the middle, and both their lines should perform well thanks to their multi-faceted games and strong linemates. Evans is valued by the organization and his responsible play fits what Montreal clearly looks for from their centres, meaning Mathieu Perrault will be well insulted as an offensively oriented bottom 6 centre.

Petry will continue to be the Habs best defenceman, while Edmundson, Chiarot, and Savard will see to it that the Habs have a defensively minded beast of an athlete on each pair. Romanov is ready for a bigger role, and is equal parts feisty and skilled. There are some wildcards as Chris Wideman returns to the NHL, after the 31 year old spent a few seasons out of the league. His offensive skillset might be a great fit. I like Kulak as a 3rd pair option, but there is a chance either Mattias Norlinder or Josh Brook factor into the mix at some point. Seeing how long it took for Romanov to (hopefully) work his way into the lineup, it seems more likely Montreal will take their time on that idea.

Price made me feel good in the playoff run, vindicating my years of support for him despite inconsistent years. He should be ready for the start of the season, and will settle into a strong groove. Allen will need to continue to play a significant amount of games. The Habs are a much stronger playoff team than regular season team, mostly due to how they defend. This is to say, these goalies will continue to have a much harder time in the regular season than they will in the post season. The hope is now that their increased firepower up front helps them clinch a playoff berth in a very competitive Eastern Conference.

OTTAWA

GM Dorion did the right thing in saying the time to compete is now in Ottawa. Although many have questioned some of their recent draft choices, the Senators clearly have a vision of what they want to be. The statement is a commitment not to tank (you might end up with a high pick anyway), to play Logan Brown, Shane Pinto, and Alex Formenton in the NHL instead of prioritizing further seasoning in the minors, to start committing to the group that you want to win with (sign Tkachuk!). Stutzle is the Ferrari, the pure offensive talent, contrasted against a group that is rugged and tenacious. That’s not to say Batherson, Norris, Pinto, White, and Logan Brown don’t have offensive tools, but with Nick Paul, Connor Brown, Austin Watson, and of course Brady Tkachuk in the fold, the forward group seems like they would take pleasure in being a thorn in opponents’ sides down to the last second of the game, no matter the score. We might even see an appearance from Yegor Sokolov, who uh, fits their personality.

Chabot leads the back end, although Artyom Zub was really good in his rookie season. We’ll be hoping to see more from Erik Brannstrom, although it seems like he may not fit what Ottawa is looking for from the blueline. Mete is a good pickup, especially considering the trading of Mike Reilly, which I did not exactly understand (see win now comments). I like Zaitsev, although at this point no one is suggesting he’s a strong top 4 option. Holden and Del Zotto are expensive depth options, perhaps Ottawa can bring out what they see in these players. Lassi Thomson and Jacob Bernard-Docker are good prospects, but should see more time in the minors. The best version of this defence is probably not achieved until Jake Sanderson is a strong contributor, which is a year or two away still.

Murray is interesting, maybe he can find a strong season, but it’s hard to say he’ll be getting a raise next contract. Anton Forsberg has shown signs of a decent backup amidst his bouncing around the league, but I’m a fan of young Filip Gustavsson out of the 3. He was great across 9 NHL games last season, and ideallly would start pushing Murray for the crease starting this season.

DETROIT

The Wings are poised to start peeking out of their long rebuild, as we should start to see the bones of their true team coming to the forefront. It wouldn’t be the worst to end up with a high pick (again, lottery), but I don’t think it’s end their best interest to be intentionally making their team worse at this point. Larkin, Vrana, and to an extent Bertuzzi are legitimate top 6 forwards, and there’s at least some hope (varying degrees) that Zadina, Suter, and Rasmussen can join them. The lineup up front is filled out respectably by Fabbri and Namestnikov while Gagner, Stephens, and Erne will look to cement similar roles. The real fun is in the prospects, particularly Berggren, Raymond, and Veleno have a chance to push for a spot. The most likely to make the team outright this season is Berggren, who was spectacular in the SHL last season. Some older prospects who could finally earn an NHL job are Hirose and Smith, both of whom deserve a shot at such an opportunity.

The much anticipated debut of Moritz Seider is upon us, and the Red Wings have acquired a good partner for him in veteran Nick Leddy. Although he’s not what he was at his peak, his style of play and experience make him an ideal partner to start the defenders career. Dekeyser and Hronek are a decent pair, albeit overmatched for the assignments they will no doubt receive atop the depth chart. Ideally this will help Hronek continue to improve his game. Staal brings a good veteran presence, while Stecher and Oesterle are pretty good depth options. Young Gustav Lindstrom saw 13 games of action last season, and could be a real bright spot if he’s able to play his way into a regular spot. The strengthen the organization is the glut of talented defence prospects en route, Edvinsson, Tuomisto, Johnsson, McIssac (get well!), Wallinder, Buium, Sebrango, Viro, it’s almost hard to keep track, and harder still to envision a future where Detroit’s blueline isn’t very strong. I could be wrong, but it seems intentional (and smart) to start a rebuild with a strong group of D prospects, as forwards develop faster, fall more often in the draft, and are easier to acquire than impactful defenders. It’s be great to end up with Shane Wright, but it’s more likely to add a really skilled forward between 10-20 in the first round than a bonafide defender.

Nedeljkovic isn’t the first Calder worthy goalie to get traded although a 3rd round pick is not as steep as say Tuukka Rask… He won’t have it as easy behind a much worse team this season, but has been playing well long enough that I like his chances of growing into the starter role. Griess is an accomplished tandem-backup, and will be counted on to help Nedeljkovic ease into the top role. Cossa over Wallstedt was bold, but Detroit fans should feel really good about Yzerman getting the player he liked more. The Wings have a bunch of goalies in the system born between 1997-2002, so it will be interesting to see how they all shake out in the coming years as they approach starters age.

BUFFALO

I almost feel bad about putting the Sabres last, and would encourage Leafs and Oilers fans to think about that. I do really like Coach Granato, and think that the team will show signs of a stronger direction this season. This mess with Eichel pushes this rebuild at least another year away, and reminds me of the end of Matt Duchene’s time in Colorado. It’s be hard to end up with a better haul than Girard, Byram, plus plus, but at this point it’s nothing but a negative cloud hanging above all involved. Remember, it wasn’t until Duchene was moved that MacKinnon really took off. Lofty comparison, but a new coach and atmosphere seemed to really help Dahlin, Cozens, Mittlestadt, and Jokiharju rejuvenate their careers. I like Hinostroza as a player, and with Bjork and Caggulia could help fill out the lineup with legitimate NHLers, especially considering Asplund, Ruotsalainen, and Tage Thompson are looking to carve out a role in the NHL. Quinn, Peterka, and Rosen are nice prospects but still at least a year away, so adding to this group in an Eichel deal is really important.

Pulling Dahlin out of his downward spiral is the most important step in this season. There’s really no reason, besides mismanagement, that he shouldn’t be among the league’s best young defenders at this point. Jokiharju is also still quite young, although his upside isn’t what Dahlin’s is, and it would be really encouraging to see positive growth. Colin Miller is one of the only other returning pieces on the backend, but could be serviceable with fellow NHL regulars Will Butcher and Mark Pysyk. Jacob Bryson played well in 38 games in his rookie season and figures to be in the mix once again. Further down the line, Mattias Samuelsson made an appearance in 12 NHL games last season, and will be pushing for a spot. Of course Owen Power is waiting in the wings, and another season with a strong Michigan team and a World Junior appearance, along with perhaps another World Cup appearance would go a long way towards setting the stage for an impactful rookie campaign in 22/23. Although it doesn’t look great now the Sabres’ blueline has interesting pieces in place for the coming years.

Perhaps the most underwhelming aspect of this roster is in net, where Anderson, Dell, and Tokarski are overmatched in their current slotting, as made evidence by all 3 making what is essentially league minimum. Although Luukkonen, Portillo, and Levi are interesting goalie prospects all 3 are years away at this point. It’s hard to imagine this team going anywhere given the current situation in net. No doubt making a significant upgrade here will be crucial whenever this team decides to win.

[justforbooks]

Rebirth Of A Legend

While the 1950s and 1960s produced many remarkable personalities, few public figures had the charisma and audacity of the late Aristotle Onassis, the Greek shipping magnate who converted a warship into the yacht Christina, one of the most glamourous private yachts ever built. Inseparable from his ocean-going palace, Onassis lived aboard for decades, reveling in a life of partying and pleasure that by turns made him hated, envied and admired while attracting the global celebrity set of the era to his jewel of the seas, now reborn as Christina O.

This is one yacht that cannot be fully appreciated without knowing a little about her larger-than-life owner, a man who created the boat as an extension of himself and his professional and personal ambitions. Ari Onassis was not the first yachtsman to understand that by pampering influential guests he could open doors that might otherwise remain closed. And life aboard Christina was an endless round of lavish self-indulgence. Ex-King Farouk of Egypt, a frequent visitor and a man whose appetite for the good life would eventually drive him into exile, referred to the yacht as “the height of opulence.” The actor Richard Burton said, “I do not believe that any man or woman in the world would resist the temptation and the pure narcissism shamelessly flaunted on this boat.”

Onassis was immensely proud of Christina and insisted on escorting his guests on guided tours from stem to stern and deck to dazzling deck. All the bathrooms were in marble, the fittings in gold. There was a fireplace encrusted with lapis lazuli at a cost of a dollar per square centimeter. The dining room included frescoes by Marcel Vertes representing the family throughout the seasons: Tina, Onassis’ first wife, skating, and Alexander and Christina picnicking in the grass.

Other artwork had less exalted origins, the two El Grecos, for instance. Onassis knew these were fakes, but as he once said, “If people want to believe they are authentic, why spoil their pleasure.”

The décor in the nine guest suites was inspired by the Greek islands after which they were named. Onassis’ children, Alexander and Christina, used to occupy the Chios suite and the Ithaca suite respectively, although Christina would give up her place when Greta Garbo, Maria Callas or Jackie Kennedy came aboard.

There were also the Santorini, Mykonos, Lesbos, Andros, Crete, Rhodes and Corfu suites. All contained wood and stone work that had been brought in from the Greek islands, the beauty of the materials chosen to enhance the guests’ pleasure.

The most beautiful suite was that of Onassis himself. Located on the pilothouse deck, where it remains today, it consisted of three rooms: the stateroom, an office containing a Louis XV desk, and an ostentatious bathroom. In addition to gold fittings, the bathtub in blue Syene marble was surrounded by a mosaic depicting fish scenes in the style of the lost palace of King Minos of Knossos.

His taste might, in our politically correct world, be regarded as intolerably crude, perhaps, but he was a man of his times, fabulously wealthy, unapologetic and unashamed of his virility. In Ari’s Bar on the main deck the stool seats were covered with the tanned foreskins of whales. The footrests were whales’ teeth and the ivory armrests were engraved with scenes from the Iliad and the Odyssey, Onassis’ favorite epics.

During one cruise, the famously aloof Greta Garbo was seated at one of the stools in Ari’s bar when her host entered and said, “Madam, do you realise you’re sitting on the biggest penis in the world?”

With two chefs, one French and one Greek, Christina’s galley offered the finest dishes and rarest wines, with Onassis fussing over the smallest details on the menu. Among the crew there were two hairdressers, a butler and a Swedish masseuse. There was an elevator, an operating theater with radiography equipment, a telex and a network of 42 telephone lines.

Whether it was in the harbor at Monte Carlo or cruising off Venice or in the Caribbean, Onassis sailed with the stars. The parade on Christina’s guest list included Marilyn Monroe, Liz Taylor and Richard Burton, Frank Sinatra, Liza Minelli and Rudolf Nureyev. Among the heads of state, industrialists and high ranking statesmen: John Kennedy and Sir Winston Churchill. Rockefellers, Rothschilds, Paul Getty, Prince Rainier and Princess Grace—all were there at one time or another. Britain’s wartime Prime Minister was such a revered guest that Onassis gave up his own suite whenever Churchill visited, an honor never conferred on anyone else. And Churchill, who was aboard for eight cruises between 1958 and 1965, must have enjoyed the company of his host, who could in turn be a public entertainer, a political or a cultural critic, all with surpassing intelligence, charm and insight.

Christina was also the stage for Ari’s endless amorous adventures, and in that respect the summer cruise of 1959 was a blend of high drama and bedroom farce, because this was when Onassis finally won over Maria Callas after she came aboard with her husband. In the course of a few days, the other guests witnessed the break up of two couples and the start of one of the more sensational love affairs of the era. Its notoriety was eclipsed only by his subsequent marriage to former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy.

Christina started life as a Canadian Navy River Class Frigate, HMCS Stormont, built in 1943 by Vickers of Montreal. After distinguishing herself in the Normandy landings, she became a surplus relic. Onassis bought her in 1952 as part of a block purchase of ten ships from a Baltimore scrap merchant, John Shapiro. His plan was to build a fleet of whalers in collaboration with the Greek government, and when this enterprise fizzled Onassis kept the Stormont for himself. Shapiro said later, “I sold her to him for the scrap value.”

Onassis had showed his sharp nose for business, paying $50,000 (some put the figure at $34,000) for a ship of 1,724 tons, propelled by steam engines developing 6,500 hp that gave her a top speed of 21 knots. There is no record of what happened to her four 20 mm Oerlikon machine guns, various cannons and 145 depth charges. What mattered to her new owner was that at 327’ LOA and 36’6” beam she could be converted into something quite exceptional. Onassis chose the Howaldt Werke shipyard in Germany for the conversion, pouring in a total of four million dollars; and he paid great attention to the work, intervening personally on many occasions during a project that lasted a year and a half.

He commissioned a German professor of architecture, Caesar Pinnau, who created harmonious, classic lines, characterized by a very high stern. All did not go smoothly with the work, however, as there were many complicated challenges to overcome. The stem, for example, had to be rebuilt in one piece and welded to the existing skeleton. But it was above all Onassis’ demands that posed seemingly insoluble problems.

He wanted Christina to carry a fleet of tenders, a normal requirement aboard large modern yachts today but unheard of in postwar Europe in the early 1950s—as indeed were large private yachts themselves. In addition to two lifeboats, Christina was to house five fast launches, a glass bottomed boat for underwater observations, a small dinghy, two kayaks, a Fiat 500, and a five-seater seaplane, the famous Piaggio. This armada meant that the engineers had to resolve many stability calculations. Part of that problem was settled when Christina became one of the first yachts fitted with Vosper stabilizers.

For the comfort of the passengers there was an electronic climate control system that also regulated the temperature of the swimming pool; the pool could be transformed into a dance floor, and this raised the question of providing enough electricity to the ship’s systems. Demand was so great that Christina’s four generators had to run almost continuously and so required special soundproofing.

Onassis took delivery of his jewel in October, 1954. By then, Christina had little in common with Stormont. Her hull had been lengthened by 29’ and only her engines and forecastle had survived the extensive conversion.

As fabulous as the life of the Christina was, her decline was just as spectacular. After Onassis died in 1975 the boat became the property of his daughter, Christina. Jackie Kennedy Onassis owned 12.5 percent, the same share she had in the private island of Skorpios, but she abandoned her rights after bitter negotiations in which Christina Onassis tried to compel Ari’s widow to renounce all claims to the inheritance. The dispute was settled for $26 million. Christina kept the yacht that bore her name and continued to maintain it as her father had, and in 1978 she made a gift of the boat to the Greek government. An unfortunate move, as it turned out, because after using her for state functions in the early days, the government abandoned her and the looters took over. Among the greatest losses was the famous Syene marble bathtub.

Christina continued to rot until 1991 when one Alexander Blastos came into the picture and said he wanted to buy the boat and bring her back to life. Blastos was a self-described financial genius; he had the paperwork to prove it, and his offer of $2.2 million at public auction was immediately accepted. Sadly, his deposit check for $220,000 bounced. Investigation showed that Blastos had over-stated his credentials. He was actually a waiter from Keene, New Hampshire, and it was in New Hampshire that he was eventually charged with fraud. At his trial the court learned that between 1991 and 1995, in addition to swindling various people out of money and airline tickets, he had also commissioned a complete and reportedly superb redesign of Christina from the Luigi Sturchio studio. That project went nowhere. Ex-waiter Blastos got five years and was fined $250,000.

Serious buyers appeared, among them Peter Tauck, whose company bought the yacht in 1998, only to sell her again to John Paul Papanicolaou, a ship owner and friend of the Onassis family. With a group of investors, Papanicolaou and Tauck organized a refit with the intention of offering the yacht for charter, either for a private party or by the cabin, as on a cruise ship. From the outset, their avowed objective was to restore Christina to her former glory.

Considerable design work was required beforehand, and this was undertaken by the Greek naval architect Costas Carabelas. The refit contract went to Viktor Lenac, a Croatian shipyard, and work began in January, 1999 with the removal and storage of interior fittings. At the Lenac yard one of the first tasks was to clean the hull with high-pressure water jets, the force of which opened up two enormous cavities in the steel.

When ultrasonic measurements were made to test the rest of the plating it was found that 65 per cent of the hull needed replacing, not the 20 per cent originally predicted, which meant that instead of drydocking the boat for 60 days, as anticipated, she spent 345 days in it.

Christina O was delivered to her new owners last July 24 after 16 months of intensive work requiring a total of 1.2 million man hours and an estimated cost of $50 million. In all, 560 tons of new steel had to be added. It is now half an inch thick (12 mm), in compliance with the exacting SOLAS (Safety of Life at Sea) regulations governing a charter yacht.

The SOLAS standards highlighted other major problems. The sun deck or compass deck where the Galaxy Bar occupied an area of about 1,600 square feet, could not, for stability reasons, be decked in teak. This extra weight of several tons 33’ above the keel would indeed upset the stability of the boat which, incidentally, is now fitted with two sets of Vosper stabilizer fins.

Because the vessel is very low on the water, most of the lower deck portholes were eliminated, leaving only those installed in staterooms at the aft end of the ship. The fire control system was redesigned and prop shafts aligned, a vastly complicated operation because of their length. Cold rooms, an incineration chamber and garbage compactor were installed to serve the new, professional galley on the lower deck.

The three original steam engines extended through three decks, occupying a huge volume amidships. Their replacement by two MAN diesels of 2,775 hp each has greatly increased space in this area. The MANs are placed farther aft, rendering the funnel duct redundant.

Additional space has also been gained on the main deck, which now has a 1,000 sq. ft. dining room. This is flanked on each side by relaxation areas with sofas, a gaming table and a piano. On this same mid- or promenade deck, there is a new gym and a lounge decorated in the style of an English clubroom.

The staterooms on the main deck have hardly changed, but in order to house more passengers a new accommodation area has been created at the aft end of the lower deck in the crew’s former quarters. Now there are eight guest staterooms, which increases the guest capacity to 36 people, without counting the famous Onassis suite. This remains one of the most beautiful apartments on the boat, with the main changes in the furnishing of the bathroom, which has an immense shower stall and a marble bathtub.The funnel has been retained, along with its trademark yellow color, but it is now a dummy, housing an air conditioning system and a back-up generator set, again complying with SOLAS standards. The new engine exhaust has been created in the form of an aft mast and takes up a lot less room than that of the old system. Similarly, the arrangement for stowing the ship’s tenders has opened up extra space. There are less of them and they are smaller than in Onassis’ time, but positioning them around the funnel and on the foredeck has created new exterior layout possibilities.

Among some of the elements preserved from the Onassis era are the wall lights, the leather settees in his suite, and the onyx and silver handrail of the monumental stairway. Ari’s Bar has been preserved largely intact, though the famous stools have been recovered with leather but retain their whale teeth footrests. The Atlas on the wall, which incidentally was in a very good state of preservation, has also been kept. The Lapis Lounge abaft the bar retains much of its former ambiance even if, for safety reasons, the fireplace decorated with lapis lazuli is no longer functional—and works by Renoir, Le Corbusier and Chirico can now be found here. The fake Grecos are gone.

For the rest, the classical decoration reflects Mediterranean inspiration with light-colored tones strengthening an abundant luminosity. The best fabrics from Mulberry and JR Scott have been used, with elegant furniture by Giorgetti.

In short she has regained much of what she had before, class and beauty, two of her late owner’s most cherished ideals.

In her time the old Christina became the epitome of opulence, a shrine for celebrity worship and a dockside paradise for tabloid paparazzi. Above all she may be remembered as an object of desire created by the forceful personality of the man who married Jacqueline Kennedy.

Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at http://justforbooks.tumblr.com

[rmalite]

This is what happens when you give me a new plasma cutter and scrap metal.... made a cool sign for my workshop 😁😁😁😁😁 can also use it as a stencil 😁😁😁😁 one of my multiple projects I'm working on!!! Stay tune for more.... #rmalite #welding #plasma #metal #metalworking #metalwork #sculpture #artist #art #montreal #recycling #gold #steel #artsculpture #metalsculpture #streetartwork #stencilart (at Canada Montreal) https://www.instagram.com/p/B_mgDI3piX8/?igshid=opjtpf7yod5z

[mitchbeck]

CANTLON: PACK HIT THE ROAD FOR THREE-IN-THREE

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings CROMWELL, CT - The Hartford Wolf Pack have passed the halfway mark on the 2019-20 season and they do so sitting atop the Atlantic Division with a 19-8-2-5 (45 points) record. It's hard to imagine that back in September anyone would have picked this group to be heading into the second half of the season in first place in the Atlantic Division and among the best teams in the AHL. One of the factors for the Pack resurgence and current position in the race to the Calder Cup is their persistence and growth as a team-unit. It cannot be overlooked. “The biggest thing is, we have won so many one-goal games and a big factor is a mature team wins a majority of those games. We have handled leads well late (in games) and have had very strong third periods." Pack head coach Kris Knoblauch said. The Pack are unbeaten with the lead after two periods with a 15-0-1-2 record. Hartford has also scored their share of miraculous goals late in games and did that twice to send it to overtime. "The other big reason (for the turnaround) is our goaltending of Igor (Shesterkin) and Adam (Huska). They have made stop-after-stop and our defense has done such a good job with blocks like we did Tuesday (a 3-2 win over Bridgeport). Right now we're a little fortunate,” Knoblauch stated. Knoblauch is enthusiastic about his team, but does not want to be over-confident. Because the Pack are in first place, Knoblauch was honored by being named one of the AHL All-Star game's coaches. The game will be played at the end of January in Ontario, CA. Before that though, the Wolf Pack have a lot of work to do starting Friday when they head to Providence to take on the Bruins. The game will be their seventh of the season, and they won’t see the Baby Bruins, who they've been trading first place with back-and-forth for the past month, until March 1st. Shesterkin will start Friday night, making it his first three-consecutive-game-starts for the Wolf Pack as he transitions and adjusts to North American rinks. “We're going to enjoy Igor for as long as we have him, because he will be in the NHL at some point. Providence is a very good team, well-coached and they have very good structure. Our records are similar, but Shesterkin has been the difference in several games.  We also have capitalized in key situations against them, and that has been the difference.” After the trip to the Dunkin Donuts Arena in Providence, the Wolf Pack travel to Utica to play the red-hot Comets who are 7-2-1-0 in their last 10. The Comets are in second place in AHL North Division percentage points behind the Rochester Americans. Each team has 44 points. Next Wednesday, the Wolf Pack complete this road game grouping with a drive down to Hershey to face the Bears before they return home on January 10th against the Charlotte Checkers where they will seek to improve on their home record of 14-1-0-2. NOTES: Knoblauch would neither confirm nor deny that defenseman Libor Hajak would be making a rehabilitation assignment in Hartford. The Rangers are on a four-game Canadian road trip. “We haven’t received any notifications or instructions at this point," is all the head coach would say on the subject. So far, Hajak has missed 13 games with a right knee injury he suffered on December 5th after playing the first 27 games. When Hajak does eventually come to Hartford on his rehab assignment, as is being highly speculated among beat writers in New York, somebody will either sit in Hartford or a player will head to New York. The Rangers have dropped three games, including last night’s 4-3 loss to Calgary to ex-Wolf Pack and Ranger goalie Cam Talbot. The team completes the Canadian trip in Vancouver on Saturday night. The Rangers did make two transactions from the Wolf Pack. They recalled center, Ryan Dmowski (Old Lyme/Gunnery Prep) from their ECHL affiliate, the Maine Mariners. In return, after two games, forward, Dillan Fox, was released from his PTO deal and returned to the Mariners. Forward, Patrick Newell, will return to the lineup after a three-game absence the result of an upper-body injury he suffered against Providence. Wolf Pack’s leading scorer, Vinni Lettieri, (11 goals and 24 points in 34 games) and defensemen Joey Keane, and Yegor Rykov, spent nearly a half-hour post-practice working on their shooting techniques. Lettieri has one point, an assist, in his last five games. Former Qunnipiac Bobcat, Brogan Rafferty, was named CCM/AHL Rookie of the Month with three goals and 16 points in 13 games. Rafferty signed as a free agent by the Vancouver Canucks after his junior season. He's third in assists with 25 and leads all defensemen in scoring with 30 points in 34 games, He's also sporting a healthy plus-17 so far. Forward Kieffer Bellows of Bridgeport was named the AHL Forward of the Month with 10 goals in 11 games. Bridgeport sent defenseman, Mike Cormell, and right-wing, Ben Thomson, who's coming off an injury suffered early in the season, to the Worcester Railers (ECHL). Providence got defenseman Jeremy Lauzon back from his recall to the Boston Bruins. Mason Marchment, the son of former Hartford Whaler, Bryan Marchment, was recalled from the Toronto Marlies by the Maple Leafs. Ex-Sound Tiger, Aaron Ness, was returned to the Tucson Roadrunners by the Arizona Coyotes. Goalie, Parker Milner, (Avon Old Farms) was sent to the South Carolina Stingrays (ECHL) by Hershey. Dalton Smith, the nephew of former Whaler, Keith Primeau, was released by Rochester. Ex-Wolf Pack/Ranger, Dale Weise, was recalled from the Laval Rocket by the Montreal Canadiens and got into a first period scrap against the Tampa Bay Lightning’s Patrick Maroon. Rangers President, and one-time New Haven Nighthawk, John Davidson, was selected to enter the Alberta Sports Hall-of-Fame along with six other inductees. The ceremony will be held on July 19th in Canmore, Alberta. The only other CT connection is former Whaler and Ranger, Mike Rogers, who was inducted last year. The WJC semifinals are set, and the US will not be in it. Finland upset the US 1-0 despite a strong game from goalie Spencer Knight (Darien/Avon Old Farms) who made 26 saves. The Canadians took care of business on the Slovaks winning 6-1. Sweden's team saw Rangers prospect, Nils Lundkvist, get an assist and have the second best ice time of 19:30. He shutout and knocked out the host Czech Republic, 5-0 and then Russia upended Switzerland 3-1. The Russians play Sweden in the first semi-final at 3:00 PM local time. The Finns play the Canadians in the other semifinal on Saturday. Finland is coached by ex-Ranger and New Haven Nighthawk, Raimo Helminen, who was in a record-setting six Olympics. He led Finland to a silver as a player in the 1984 WJC, and was the tournament's top scorer. He could gain gold by the end of the weekend. Read the full article

[kennyfischerconsulting]

YOU WANTED WAR STORIES?

I got several emails recently asking for “War Stories” about business.  Here is the one from my first scrap metal job.

BENNY the FIX.     Ben Fixman Diversified Metals Corporation -   Part 0ne

I came back from 6 months of hitch hiking around Europe and Israel in April 1964. I was 22, broke, living at home and driving a $300 Chevy that my dad had brought from Laclede Gas Company. I needed a job, so I went to an interview with Benny Fixman, my dad’s ex- partner at Fischer Fixman Metals.  Dad, 15 years older than Benny, was the only one in St. Louis willing to take Benny as a partner, due to his rather rough, brash, and aggressive attitude. 

So, they formed Fischer-Fixman Metal Company in 1954. Irv said Benny was at the office an hour before him, left 2 hours after him and sucked 15 years of Irv’s knowledge and experience in scrap metals out of his brain in a little over a year.  So, they parted friends in the late 50’s and when I went to see Ben in 1964 the company was then called Diversified Metals Corporation. Unlike most junk dealers, Diversified dealt only in industrial non-ferrous metals. There was no over-the-scale retail trade. DMC occupied a maze of stuck together buildings, including 2 zinc and lead melting pots, on Duncan Ave. in mid-town St. Louis.

 What really separated DMC from the other dealers was that they had two insulated wire chopping lines. The normal way to remove the insulation from copper wire was to burn it out in the country or a furnace of some sorts, but Benny was a very bright visionary and saw that soon the toxics and pollution from burning would not be long tolerated in the US.  I remember that when DMC went on a campaign to get the major wire manufacturers to ship us their scrap and over runs, Ben took out the full-page back cover of the Wall Street Journal showing a big polluting smokestack and a caption about the pollution from their metal going up in smoke.

To make a long story short, Ben hired me at $100 a week as an assistant foreman to Kenny Cherry, his scale man. I supervised the laborers as they unloaded the industrial scrap metal and wire from 40 foot over the road trailers. Ben made sure that I did the physical work with the laborers.  He wanted me to know what it was like, so no one could BS me as a foreman and I would appreciate what is what like to freeze or sweat your butt of in the plant.  Unknown to me, he also had big plans for me and wanted to make sure I got a full education.  He had me rotated to the foundry, loading, and unloading rail cars, and eventually running one of the 2- 12-hour shifts on the chopping lines.  After about a year he moved me into the office where I became a settlement clerk.  I would take the receiving documents, which I used to fill out in the plant, and create a settlement for the accounting department so they could pay the industrial account. BTW:  Benny Fixman wrote his autobiography From the Ghetto to the Gold a few years ago if you want more details on him.  I read most of it and found it fairly accurate (as I knew it) and have to say that I am sure all autobiographies (like mine also) are usually slanted in a benevolent manner, with occasional amnesia, in favor of the writer.

Whatever anyone says about Benny, who died at age 90 on November 7, 2015, he was the smartest and most forward-thinking scrap man of that era. DMC would go on to become a NYSE, Fortune 1,000 Company, and the largest recycler/trader of non-ferrous metals in the world.  We had 1,441 employees, trading offices in St, Louis, MO., New York, Beverly Hills, CA. Tokyo Japan, Seoul Korea, and Hamburg Germany, plus large recycling plants in Montreal, Canada, Cucamonga, CA. St. Louis, MO., and Tamaqua, PA.

[hazel3017]

I was recently listening to "Thunder" by the Imagine Dragons and one of the lyrics was "I was lightning before the thunder" and I'm wondering if that's where you got inspired for the title of the fic you're currently working on? ( also, just curious, when do you think you'll be done? I'm really excited for it!)

Yes, it is! I’d say I’m about halfway done. My plan was to have it finished by today or tomorrow, but then July turned out kinda crazy for me and I didn’t really get the chance to write the way I had planned. So currently it’s delayed by a month, and I’m hoping I’ll be done writing by the end of August so I can edit it before posting. By then I reckon it’ll be somewhere around 60k unless I completely scrap my plans. In the meantime, here is another extract:

Once they’ve finished eating, Mama clears their plates and Evgeni nudges Sidney to his feet. He thanks Mama for the food, and Sidney rushes to add his own thanks, but she just smiles at them and shoos them out of the kitchen, telling Evgeni to get Sidney to bed. It’s late.

Evgeni takes Sidney’s hand in his. “Come on,” he says. They make a brief stop out in the hall to pick up Sidney’s backpack where they’d left it earlier before Evgeni starts herding Sidney towards his bedroom. Theirs now.

“Sorry,” Sidney says again as they are walking up the stairs to the second floor. He must be so tired he’s beyond what little Russian he knows. He says in English, “I wanted to tell you, you know, before. When we talked on the phone.” He glances at Evgeni, smiling shyly. “I wanted to make sure it was okay with you, to come here and play for Metallurg. I’m sorry I didn’t say anything. Brisson said I couldn’t, and I didn’t think it’d be a good idea, just in case something happened before we could work out a deal with the team.”

“Of course is okay!” Evgeni exclaims. “You here, Sidka. Is best!”

Sidney smiles at him, pleased, and ducks his head. “Best,” he echoes dreamily. “We’re gonna do great.”

Evgeni beams back. He reaches over to ruffle Sidney’s hair, grinning when Sidney scowls at him in annoyance and tries to bat Evgeni’s hands away. Sidney isn’t particularly small, but it feels as if he is when Evgeni is standing next to him, almost a head taller. Evgeni just wants to squeeze him tight.

“Is okay to sleep in my bed tonight?” Evgeni asks him when they reach his room. “I want buy you bed, but Mama say wait for you. Let you try so we know is good bed for you before we buy.”

Sidney flushes. “Oh, no! Anything would have been fine, really! I’m sorry, I didn’t realise you would have to buy a bed; I’ll pay for it myself when we—”

Evgeni snorts and pats Sidney on the shoulder kindly. “I buy,” he stresses, and tries for a severe enough look to keep Sidney from protesting.

Sidney looks mulish, but he keeps his mouth shut. Evgeni takes it as a win.

“So, okay to share tonight?” Evgeni asks again, and Sidney nods hastily.

“Of course,” he says. He’s looking around Evgeni’s room curiously, eyeing the different knick-knacks and the posters on the wall. Evgeni feels jittery, worried Sidney might not like it. The room is going to be his too for the next eight months and Evgeni wants him desperately to feel at home here.

Sidney doesn’t seem put out at all, though. He is smiling at one of the posters, the one of Pavel Datsyuk in a Detroit jersey.

“You like?” Evgeni asks curiously, because mostly when they talk about their favourite players and their favourite teams, Sidney is waxing poetics about the Montreal Canadiens—because of his father, Evgeni knows—or his love affair with Steve Yzerman—partly because Sidney had once seen him play live and had likened it akin to a religious experience, but also because, “He’s just so good, Geno! I want to be just like him.”

Sidney can be very intense sometimes. Evgeni learned this early on into their acquaintance.

“Of course!” Sidney says enthusiastically. “Datsyuk is amazing. He plays with Yzerman.”

Evgeni rolls his eyes, but thinks better of chirping Sidney about his massive crush right now. It’s more important to get Sidney to bed for some sleep; he’s swaying gently on his feet.

“Have shirt to sleep in? Need borrow?”

Sidney blinks at him. He looks helplessly at his backpack before glancing back at Evgeni. He shakes his head. “It was all in my luggage. I don’t even have my toiletries. No toothbrush,” he says mournfully.

Evgeni laughs. “Can borrow mine,” he offers, but Sidney is already wrinkling his nose and shaking his head no.

“I’ll just use my finger. It’s fine. I—” He looks down at the shirt he’s wearing, tugging at the hem and staring at it dubiously. “I wouldn’t mind borrowing a shirt, though.”  

“Is no problem. Want shower first before bed?”

Sidney bites his lip, looking at the bed longingly. A glance back at his shirt has him nodding, though. “Yes, please. I smell like sweat and travel.”

Evgeni laughs but doesn’t disagree. “Okay. I show you shower and find towel and shirt for you.”

“Thank you.” Sidney smiles at him, tired and soft, and when Evgeni smiles back and moves to walk past him, Sidney stops him for a hug. He’s small enough that he has to stand on his toes to wrap his arms around Evgeni’s shoulders.

Evgeni hugs him back, his hands settling on Sidney’s waist. He holds him tight and buries his nose in Sidney’s hair. They’ve known each other for two years, but this is only the second time they get to see each other in person; Evgeni has only gotten to hug Sidney a few times, but it’s quickly becoming one of his favourite things.

Sidney is a good hugger.

“I’m really happy to see you again,” Sidney whispers into Evgeni’s shoulder. “When Pat told me about the Q, all I could think about was that I had to play. Then I thought, well, if I couldn’t play for Rimouski, maybe, maybe I could play with you, in Russia.”

Sidney looks up at Evgeni. His eyes look impossibly big so close. Evgeni can see small specks of gold in between the green; he’s never noticed that before.

“Am happy, Sidka. Happy you come.”

“Me too. I’m so glad Pat made it work. I was worried he couldn’t, or that my parents would say no, or that Metallurg would say no. It’s partly why I didn’t tell you before. I didn’t want to jinx anything.”

Evgeni smiles at that. “Superstitious,” he teases, and that’s a word he only knows because of Sidney, because he’s listened to Sidney explain his lengthy and baffling list of routines several times before.

Evgeni has his own set of routines, but Sidney’s are excessive. Some of them aren’t even hockey related—Sidney won’t talk to him at all if it’s a Friday the thirteenth. He won’t email and he won’t accept Evgeni’s calls. “It’s bad luck, Geno,” he’ll insist, before inevitably go on a tangent about black cats and how unlucky they are and how this is a problem because, “They are just so cute, Geno.”

Next to hockey, superstitious is one of the few words Evgeni thinks of as synonymous with Sidney.

(Stubborn is another.)

[stardustblader]

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#newprojectalert !!! Tsuba for Kuro-puu massive katana is #done ! Can you believe it's mostly made of scrap #worblablackarts !? using the #heatandmash technique 😻 Sanded and ready to be painted with my fave color #gold @otakuthonmontreal 2019 check out @anniechiedesigns , @maegwyncosplay , and @symphonyandsilk for thier cosplay progress 😸 Stay tuned for more updates! Worbla Black Art from @ardawigscanada aslo available @ardawigs YOU can also follow US on our other social links for more UPDATES, COSPLAY WIP, VLOG, Anything OTAKU: https://linktr.ee/tsukinostardust #tsukinostardust #worblawip #worbla #newproject #otakuthon #otakuthon2019 #canada #otakulife #otakulifestyle #cosplaygoals #malecosplay #malecosplayer #cosplay #cosplayer #costume #cosplayerofinstagram #cosplayerofcanada #canadiancosplayer #love #instalike (at Montreal, Quebec) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bz-lYcMjUkU/?igshid=i234r0zos7uo

[229greenkill]

We are very pleased to announce that Frank Vitale will be on hand for the screening of his film classic Montreal Main (1974) at Green Kill on  Sunday, April 28 at 6 PM.  Frank will host a Q & A after the screen and also present a preview of Triptych, a new film in production. Seating is limited to 45. $8 at the door or on eventbrite.com. Soft drinks and snacks are available at Ozubar in the White Room.

About Triptych

Triptych is a lively and witty take on 3 kinds of love, when one loves another more, when one is loved more by another, and when we try to go for it mutually. What is a bit shocking is that all this passion goes on with people who are quite a bit older and should have figured all this out.  They haven’t.  All of them are pretty smart, accomplished but, it turns out, all of us are outliers in love.

Teaser: One successful writer, one eccentric Wall Streeter,  one feeling ex con turned businessman, a witty literary agent and a sensitive woman – all of a certain age and then some — try to figure out this thing called love.

About Montreal Main

Directed by  Frank Vitale.

Written by  Frank Vitale, Stephen Lack and Alan Moyle. 

Starring Frank Vitale, Steven Lack, Allan Moyle, and John Sutherland.

Montreal Main is a film which clashes two very different worlds in a setting that is as realistic as the corner bar. Frank is the inarticulate, self-proclaimed artist; the faded tail of the youth comet of the sixties. Johnny is thirteen, just ready to emerge from the swaddlings of the suburbs. He is the innocence we look for in young girls and find only in young boys. They meet in a strange moment of mutual need only to be separated by all those forces which keep society neat, clean-cut and in its place.

But the film is more than a non affair that didn’t and couldn’t take place because Frank and Johnny bring with them the worlds from which they come. Their meeting is a spark that unmasks the thin veil of tolerance that covers our differences. Johnny’s father is a typical protective and ineffectual parent who can flirt with bohemia – a long as it stays out of the family. Frank’s world is the anarchistic, noisy, dirty, loose mob that we were all warned to stay away from when we were young. They are the neon crowd, the homosexuals, exhibitionists and gadflies who represent everything that the weekend groovies from the suburbs fear the most.

This is a film that deals with growing up in the seventies; not with the dewy eyed simplicities of right and wrong, nice and not nice but in the amoral, nasty world that the actual young must actually face.

Uncertain Identities a discussion of Montreal Main (1974)

by Peter Harcourt

In the 1960s, during the incipient years of the classic Canadian cinema, filmmaking was a cottage industry. Even at the National Film Board, the nation’s only source of continuous production throughout the 1950s, filmmakers worked at the level of craft.  Although series such as “Faces of Canada” (1952-53) and “Candid Eye” (1958-59) were designed specifically for television, many films were made in more speculative ways. Corral (1954), City of Gold (1957), and Lonely Boy (1962) all sprang from the passions of individual filmmakers, creating a reflective documentary that is virtually without equal anywhere in the world.

In the early 1960s, films grew out of personal enthusiasms. Canadians wanted to make movies about their owns lives and they wanted to make feature films. At the Film Board, both Le Chat dans le sac (1964) and Nobody Waved Goodbye (1964) emerged from intended shorts; while outside the Board, films such as Seul ou avec d’autres (1962), The Bitter Ash (1963), À tout prendre (1963) and Winter Kept Us Warm (1965) were stitched together from whatever scraps of financing the filmmakers could assemble.

The establishment of the Canadian Film Development Corporation in 1968 raised the production of films to a more professional level: filmmakers could now be paid! But since the CFDC had no mandate for distribution or exhibition, the films were rarely projected. This situation led to what I have called our Invisible Cinema—films which existed but were seldom seen. Nevertheless, films such as Valérie (1969), A Married Couple (1969), Il ne faut pas mourir pour ça (1969), Goin’ Down the Road (1970), The Only Thing You Know (1971), Mon Oncle Antoine(1971), The Rowdyman (1972) and Paperback Hero(1973) began to define a classic Canadian cinema.

These were the days of cultural idealism. With little reflection concerning race or gender bias, this concern with what kind of film would be truly Canadian inflected the cultural attitudes of the time. Indeed, the nationalist enthusiasms of the 1970s even led me to describe The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz (1974), somewhat mischievously, as the best American film made in Canada that year! And, indeed, the film did suggest a template for later films to come.

Nowadays, many American films are made in Canada and an even greater number of Americanized television programs. In 1984 when the CFDC morphed into Telefilm Canada, film production became not only more professional but also more industrial. Careers were now possible within film—not just avocations. And from this industry, substantial figures have emerged—David Cronenberg, Denys Arcand, Léa Pool, Atom Egoyan, Jean-Claude Lauzon, William D. MacGillivray,  Patricia Rozema and many others.

And yet, in spite of inflationary funding policies, there is still an underground Canadian cinema—little films made on small budgets out of individual passions, in English Canada often outside the major production centres.  For example in 2000, Red Deer appeared from the prairies, Parsley Days from the Maritimes and La Moitié gauche du frigo from Quebec. These films have received limited exposure, carrying on the tradition of a distinguished but invisible cinema—an artisan cinema always searching for self-definition.

I offer this synoptic preface because in 1974,  Montreal Main grew out of this cottage industry tradition.  With a grant of $17,000 from the CFDC at a time when Canadian features were costing about $250,000, Montreal Main was shot on 16mm for $20,000. Conceived by Frank Vitale but collectively directed, scripted and enacted, the film takes us into areas where we had never been before and where, to this day, some of us may not wish to go. Furthermore, as in the foundation films of the 1960s as if to valorize their true-to-life dimension, the names of the characters retain the names of the actors.

Montreal Main explores the growing friendship between Frank (Vitale), in his late twenties, and Johnny (Sutherland), a twelve-year-old boy. This friendship comes increasingly to trouble Johnny’s liberal but conventional parents, Ann and Dave (Sutherland). It even troubles the gay community on the Main where Frank hangs out.  A parallel story explores the troubled courtship between Bozo (Allan Moyle), Frank’s best friend, and Jackie (Holden)—a young woman visiting the Sutherlands. 

These intertwining narratives gravitate around two opposing worlds, two competitive philosophical attitudes. The existentialist position represented by Bozo and his gay friends, Stephen (Lack) and Peter (Brawley), doesn’t assume it knows the emotional priorities of existence. These characters discover their emotions through experience, by acting out different roles—in Bozo’s case, often with sadistic insistence. 

The essentialist position, on the other hand, represented by Jackie and the Sutherlands, assumes that the emotional priorities of human nature are a given. One simply has to mature into them.  Caught between these life assumptions are both Johnny and Frank—Johnny because, at twelve years of age, he is not yet an independent agent, and Frank, because he is so afraid of who he is and of what he might become. These two attitudes are cross-cut throughout the film, often with ironic effect. 

The film opens with a sense of personal relationships as a battle ground. As the camera moves in on the outside of Frank’s loft on St. Lawrence Boulevard—the Montreal Main of the title—we hear Frank and Pammy (Marchant), shouting at one another. He is trying to get her to leave. When we move inside, we see Frank exchanging money with someone (does it concern drugs?) because we recognize that Pammy is a distressed junkie—obviously into the hard stuff. Pammy represents a limit beyond which Frank wont go. He wants her out. 

This scene is followed by Ann Sutherland on the telephone, her groceries on the counter, as if to suggest that each group has its preferred means of communication and its need for a particular kind of supplies. Similarly, when in a later scene we watch Peter and Stephen making up as queens, dressing up for a night out on the Main; in a previous one we had seen the Sutherlands getting ready for their party—dressing down by washing and grooming and by Ann shaving her legs.

The Sullivan party brings about the encounter between Frank and Johnny. Bozo is having a good time, coming on to Jackie; but Frank is gloomy and alone, wanting to go home. When he drifts upstairs simply to look around, he peers through a door to see a creature with long hair reading about Call Girls in a magazine. Is this creature a girl or a boy? Frank dons an African mask that is hanging nearby and approaches from behind. When Johnny looks around, their eventual encounter startles them both as it startles spectators. Silent close-ups abruptly end the scene.

Since all their friends are gay, Frank and Bozo feel that they too should be gay; but their attempts to be gay with one another lead only to embarrassment. During a night scene in Frank’s beat-up Volkswagen van when they are trying, unsuccessfully, to masturbate one another, there is a decontextualized cut-away to Bozo talking about Frank: “What he’d really like,” Bozo declares, “is the rush of what it must be like to be a homo for an hour.” With Bozo, apparently, nothing is serious. With Frank, on the other hand, everything is.

Because Frank is a photographer, he arranges to take Johnny up on the mountain for a photographic session. In the style of the 1970s, Johnny is very feminine. With his long hair and gaunt face, he looks more like his mother than his father. 

Up on the mountain with Frank, at first Johnny is shy—resistant to the camera. But they start to play games. They build a citadel of wooden matches—in this as in later scenes literally playing with fire. They then spin coins in a café and generally, hang out together, becoming friends. The scene ends with Frank and his camera again, the film’s camera moving in on a BCU of Johnny’s face, this time relaxed by the acceptance of trust. 

Whatever one’s value system, this extended scene between Frank and Johnny depicts a beautiful exploration of a friendship. The nuances between them are delicately handled and for non-professional actors, the performances are extraordinary. If the relationship between Frank and Johnny provides the moral centre of the film, the ethical centre could be located in three pivotal scenes between Jackie and Bozo.

The first occurs in a department store. The two of them are still close, as they kibitz about amongst the consumer goods. He wants to buy her something silly, like the lapel flowers they exchange later on. She wants to know how long they will be together.  He wants to play, she wants to be serious. As elsewhere in the film, Bozo favours the improvisational, Jackie the predictable. At this stage, the way spectators react to these issues will affect the way they react to the characters.

The second scene occurs in a shopping mall. Stephen has been baiting Jackie in a way she doesn’t understand. She stomps off and Bozo runs after her. He tries to persuade her that they were just having fun. Jackie still feels humiliated and annoyed.

The third scene takes place on a wintry roof top. There is now indeed a chill in the air. “You’re a big joke, Jackie,” he shouts at her. “You’re like the Sullivans—all hip on the outside , scared and nervous on the inside.” She in turn can no longer stand what she calls “his supercilious smirk,”  and he can’t stand the “high-pitched righteous tone” she thrusts at him. The scene ends with Bozo screaming that she will never understand “what’s happening in the emotional lives around you.”

By this stage in the film, Bozo is not likable. His improvisational style perpetually migrates into a personalized theatre of cruelty. He can be as hurtful with Frank as he was with a couple of teenage girls in the van that he set out to humiliate. He is, indeed, as Bill Kuhns once observed, an “impresario of scorn.”

Nevertheless, what he says to Jackie strikes home.  Hurtful in intent, his comments register an integrity—at least to his own feelings. Jackie, on the other hand, might seem to be living in a classic Sartrian way in “bad faith,” in emotional inauthenticity. Whether or not we like the way they occur, Bozo’s accusations are hard to dismiss.

Full of equivocal relationships, Montreal Main constructs a world of moral ambivalence. On one level, it is a love story, exploring, as Natalie Edwards wrote at the time, ” the diversity of sexuality, the shades and shifts lying inherent and unacknowledged in all people.” On another level, it extends outwards towards allegory—towards a philosophical investigation of the world. Fragmented in style, swish-panning its way from close-up to close-up, Erich Bloch’s camerawork creates a sense of hysterical excitement.  Re-enforcing the improvisational nature of the action, the grab-shot technique suggests a world in which attention is uncertain and perception unclear.  Lacking parsable narrative sequences,  the style perfectly parallels the feelings of isolation that a clutch of gays might have felt at the time in a straight world or that anglophones might have felt within a culture that was becoming insistently francophone. 

Even the rap patter of Stephen Lack suggests a world in which words have lost their social efficacy; and the uncertain sexual preferences of Bozo and Frank might convey the sense of an existential terror—especially for Frank. Unlike Bozo who, in his opportunistic way, preys upon whatever happens to be around, Frank is a timid idealist, always looking for something different from his day-to-day life, perhaps something impossible—like an intimacy with Johnny.  He is frightened by loneliness—a fear re-enforced by the many cut-aways in this film to aging faces in isolation, suggesting the desolation of unattached old age.

If the film begins with domestic violence between Frank and Pammy, towards the end we have two additional scenes of violence intercut with one another. Frank and Bozo have an angry quarrel in a deli, while Dave and Johnny have one in the car—both of these scenes suggesting the hurtful undertow of an unrealizable love. 

Having been discouraged by his friends and forbidden by Dave, Frank agrees to stop seeing Johnny. But Johnny is more courageous. He slips away and visits Frank’s loft, declaring he wants to live there. They go for a walk and, when Frank sends Johnny into a restaurant to buy cokes, Frank abandons him.

The scene ends with Johnny running through the streets and back lots of east-end Montreal, at one point dropping the bottles of coke while the music of Beverly Glenn-Copeland, as it had once before, moralizes the theme of the film—even acknowledging its gender uncertainty:

And up and up the streets we roam,

We are lookin’, growin’ and a-lookin’,

And up and up the hills we run,

We are lookin’, climbin’ and a-lookin’ 

For something to get us there, 

Anywhere …

Brother, Sister—

Who do you think you are?

The  film itself ends with Bozo comforting Frank and then with a return to a games arcade. It is full of old men who also are a-lookin’, without comprehension, at nothing at all. The camera then picks up Johnny, also by himself, shooting away his hurt at electronic targets, his future uncertain.

Montreal Main is an extraordinary film. Naturalistic in appearance, it has the air of making itself up as it goes along. Yet every image in the film and every element of its style possess the resonance of metaphor. Everything is what it is and yet, like the classic Film Board documentaries of the 1950s, suggests other things. 

A “shooting star” within English-Canadian production in Montreal at that time, as Michel Euvrard has described it, appearing “with neither ancestors nor progeny,” made by actual people at least in part about the realities of their lives, finally Montreal Main enacts a philosophy of uncertainty.  Within this uncertainty, Frank yearns for the consolations of a forbidden love. He doesn’t want to become one of the old men in the arcade. What Johnny offered him was unquestioning trust. Not certain himself whether his love for Johnny was erotic or big brotherly, Frank had to betray that trust. The relationship was not to be. 

The film confirms the uncertainty that most of the characters feel and that Jackie and the Sutherlands are too afraid to acknowledge. As the credits roll, Beverly Glenn-Copeland sings out again her final refrain:

Brother, Sister—

Who do you think you are?

  Montreal Main Screening, April 28 We are very pleased to announce that Frank Vitale will be on hand for the screening of his film classic 

[365footballorg-blog]

Armchair Analyst: Your complete guide to the Week 31 MLS slate

September 28, 201812:42PM EDT

The final weekend of September is here. The season’s almost done.

Let’s jump in:

Saturday Slate

Chicago Fire vs. LAFC 3:30 pm ET | Match Preview | TV & streaming info

With all due respect to the Fire, this game’s much more about LAFC finding the right balance down the stretch and into the playoffs than it is about anything Chicago do. They’ve been a reactive blob of a team this year under Veljko Paunovic – they’ve just about entirely scrapped the “victory through possession” ethos that dragged them all the way to third place in last year’s table – so it’s tough to preview them week-to-week.

LAFC’s a little bit easier to pin down. And it should be noted that last weekend’s game, a pretty run-of-the-mill 2-0 win over the Quakes in which LAFC were very good defensively and kind of static in attack, featured a slight but significant formational shift.

Here’s what LAFC looked like in a recent 4-2 win at Toronto FC:

That’s a network passing graph made using Opta data. Each circle represents the location of the corresponding player’s aggregate touch, while the thickness of the lines connecting them represents the volume of passes exchanged.

This is a 4-3-3. Lee Nguyen (24) has more of a playmaker’s role than the other central midfielders, but he’s still very much a part of the midfield rather than a second forward, and the two wingers are playing high and relatively connected to the center forward.

Here’s last week against the Quakes:

This is much, much more of a 4-2-3-1 with Carlos Vela (10) playing as a pure second forward. The midfield was a true dual pivot as opposed to the free-flowing three-headed midfield monster we’ve seen at times from the Black-and-Gold this year. Neither fullback pushed as high as we’ve seen from them, supporting the attack rather than initiating it. And that attack was supposed to flow through Vela rather than to him, as Adama Diomande (9) led the line.

I understand the appeal of this more basic approach, if indeed that’s what we’re going to see from LAFC from here on out. There’s so much talent in that front four that “let’s throw them out there in their natural spots” should be an effective gameplan, and – more to the point – this does seem to provide a good dose of the defensive structure and rigidity that LAFC have, at times, been missing.

In terms of offense they are very clearly one of the best teams in the league, while defensively they have been clearly a step below the other elite tier sides. Sacrificing, say, 10 percent of your attacking fluidity for a 25 pecent increase in defensive effectiveness? I just made those numbers up, but still, the principle’s right and the gamble makes sense.

Or it did last week anyway. Let’s see what happens on Saturday.

Seattle Sounders vs. Colorado Rapids 4 pm ET | Match Preview | TV & streaming info

We’ve seen it a million times over the years: A team goes on a long winning (or unbeaten) streak, and then when it comes to an end, they immediately hit a lull. The question then becomes “do you have the mental fortitude to come back and find the formula that fueled the winning streak in the first place?”

That lull for Seattle happened last week, with a pair of dispiriting losses. Will it be three?

If it is, then yeah… time to panic for the Sounders, because you absolutely can not drop points at home to this Colorado team. Expect Seattle to come out in their standard 4-2-3-1 and to try to play into the gaps between the Rapids center backs and fullbacks. Everybody who’s tried this over the past month has succeeded, as Colorado have taken just one of the last 18 points available, and have conceded 17 goals in that time.

Also: I’m willing to concede that Harry Shipp was maybe a bigger loss for the Sounders than people realize:

In Harry Shipp’s last 13 starts, the Sounders were 11-0-2. In the last 13 games where Shipp didn’t start, the Sounders are 2-8-3.

The Sounders are currently losing 2-0 and Harry Shipp did not start.

— Sounder At Heart (@sounderatheart) September 24, 2018

He’s out with a long-term injury. It’s time for Victor Rodriguez to step toward a big opportunity.

D.C. United vs. Montreal Impact 7 pm ET | Match Preview | TV & streaming info

In terms of Eastern Conference playoff implications, this is the biggest game of the weekend, and probably the biggest remaining game of the regular season. If D.C. win, they’re probably heavy favorites to pass Montreal in the coming weeks and grab the sixth spot. If the Impact win, it’s hard to see how they don’t qualify. If it’s a draw … probably still advantage, Impact.

I enjoyed this from Tifo Football on how Wayne Rooney’s been drifting between true 9 and false 9 for United:

[embedded content]

In large part the goal of his movement is/has been to get opposing defenses to come with him up the pitch and toward midfield. Doing that opens space in behind for runners like Lucho Acosta, Yamil Asad and Paul Arriola. It’s like aikido – you use the defense’s momentum against them.

This very same strategy worked pretty great for TFC three weeks ago against this very same Montreal team, as the Reds’ forwards got between the lines, got Montreal’s defenders moving toward them, and then cut them up. It’s useful film that I’m sure both Remi Garde and Ben Olsen watched a bunch of this week.

On the flip side: How high to push Oniel Fisher (or Arriola if it’s him at RB)? D.C. attack best when their wingers dive inside in the final third, which means they have to get attacking width from their fullbacks. It’s worked great, but when your fullbacks are pushing that high, every turnover becomes an existential crisis.

And when your right back pushes that high, and it’s Ignacio Piatti lined up against him, you’re just asking to get countered into the grave.

Columbus Crew SC vs. Philadelphia Union 7:30 pm ET | Match Preview | TV & streaming info

Philly were pretty thoroughly beaten in the U.S. Open Cup final on Wednesday night, and while a bit of that likely comes down to that being their fourth game in 10 days, a bit more of it came down to Houston’s ability to sever the connection between Haris Medunjanin and the rest of the Union midfield.

Medunjanin is the organizing force to Philly’s possession-heavy approach, using that cultured left foot of his to 1) spray passes to the flanks, and 2) hit third-line passes between opposing midfielders to his teammates between the lines. That second function is the more important one, and it’s the one that Houston took away:

Those left-to right diagonals – red arrows indicate incomplete passes – are Medunjanin’s bread-and-butter. On Wednesday they were Houston counterattacks waiting to happen.

I’m not sure that Crew SC will sit on his left foot quite so much, but the effectiveness of that ploy will have been noticed by Gregg Berhalter & Co.

A win here pretty well guarantees Columbus will get a home game in the Knockout Round. I’m quite interested in seeing if Niko Hansen will get another start on the wing given his strong showing a week-and-a-half ago in Portland.

Toronto FC vs. New England Revolution 7:30 pm ET | Match Preview | TV & streaming info

TFC’s season essentially ended last week, with both Sebastian Giovinco and Jozy Altidore limping off injured during losses to Tigres and RBNY, so I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see them go a little bit experimental with their lineup, formation and tactical approach. Liam Fraser, maybe? Ayo Akinola? No reason not to see them, given the stakes are now very low.

The stakes for the Revs, of course, are very high, and there’s not a ton of reason to think they’re up to getting a win (which they desperately need) here. As noted by local blog TheBentMusket, their primary issues continue to be defensive, and newcomer Michael Mancienne – the highest-paid defender in the league – has not been up to the task of fixing the backline.

The former Nottingham Forest fullback does lead the team in both clearances and blocks per game after only five appearances, but his miscues on Saturday were glaring, especially considering the game’s magnitude. And New England has just one win since his arrival, the epic 1-0 victory in the Bronx over NYCFC. Their other impressive performance, a 1-1 draw at LAFC, occurred while the Chelsea youth product was in England for the birth of his first child. Overall, the Revs are just 1-2-2 when he’s been on the pitch.

That’s not great. It needs to change if the Revs are to keep their playoff hopes on life support for one more week.

Minnesota United FC vs. NYCFC 7:30 pm ET | Match Preview | TV & streaming info

NYCFC got a much-needed win on Wednesday at Yankee Stadium, riding a strong second half to a 2-0 result over the visiting Fire. Domè Torrent once again tinkered, though this time it was to good effect as a straight-up 4-3-3 (with Maxi Moralez on the wing) allowed them both a bit more defensive solidity through midfield, and a little bit more of the ball in dangerous areas.

It’s a different story at Minnesota United. The Loons have ranged from very good to excellent at home over the last few months, which includes a rampant first half last week against the Timbers. They’ve flipped between a 3-5-2 and a 4-2-3-1, but regardless the goal has remained the same: Get Darwin Quintero on the ball in areas where he can make plays.

So they haven’t so much defined a style (there’s way too much roster churn for that) as they have developed a guiding principle. Yet “Let your best player decide the game” hasn’t been enough to get them into the playoff hunt in any meaningful way, but it’s made them a tough out in front of their own fans.

Houston Dynamo vs. San Jose Earthquakes 8:30 pm ET | Match Preview | TV & streaming info

Unspoken in that Philly bit above: Houston were only able to execute that gameplan because defensive midfielder (and 2017 team MVP) Juan David Cabezas is back. He was excellent on Wednesday, but he went all 90 and given the injuries he’s battled all year, it would be foolish for Wilmer Cabrera to run him out there from the start again.

So there’s a midfield question for the Dynamo. There are the usual ones for the Quakes, who’ve played some good soccer under Steve Ralston but have yet to collect a point. Fun moments, though.

One note from last week: They actually did a better job of winning midfield duels against LAFC than they’ve normally done throughout the year. If they can win those duels, win the ball, and then play through the middle, they can start to develop a useful identity.

LA Galaxy vs. Vancouver Whitecaps 10 pm ET | Match Preview | TV & streaming info

LA won for the first time since July last weekend, dominating Seattle 3-0. They went up early, rode it out, and got a much-needed shutout.

And there’s no secret to how they did it: They just went back to the basics, played a bog-standard 4-4-2 and managed to not screw up all that much at the back. Up top, Romain Alessandrini tormented the right side of Seattle’s defense in 1-v-1 situations, which pulled defenders away from Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Ola Kamara. Ibrahimovic and Kamara then did what good forwards do when they have that kind of extra space.

There’s nothing fancy about this. It’s a training session:

And that’s good! That’s how you want things to be.

This game will come down to that at least in part. The other part will be winning the ball at central midfield in order to stop Vancouver’s vicious counterattack (I’m assuming they’ll still be a counterattacking team in the post-Carl Robinson era).

And that’s the downside of the 4-4-2: You lack an extra man in central midfield to control the game. If the ‘Caps start dominating those second balls and getting out on the run, one of the forwards will have to drop back to help, or Alessandrini will have to come in off the wing and into central midfield to help, and then suddenly you’re talking about a different team playing in a different shape.

Portland Timbers vs. FC Dallas 10:30 pm ET | Match Preview | TV & streaming info

Portland’s recent form, summed up:

Throughout the last 10 games they’ve been unable to figure out when they want to get pressure to service vs. when they want to play deep and track runners. Rarely have they been able to do both, and as that goal illustrates, sometimes they’re simply unable to do either.

Gio Savarese has tinkered with different formations quite a bit over the last two months, and in the second half of last weekend’s 3-2 loss at Minnesota the Timbers looked good in a 4-2-3-1. It would seem a smart bet to try to reprise that look in this game against an FC Dallas team that has no compunctions about sitting back and absorbing pressure.

They also have no compunctions about playing long balls over the top, just like the one seen above. FCD aren’t remotely a pretty team right now – not by a long shot – but if you let them play long and play on the run, you will lose.

Sunday Doubleheader

New York Red Bulls vs. Atlanta United 1 pm ET | Match Preview | TV & streaming info

You can read my colleague Bobby Warshaw’s tale of the tape for this game HERE.

What I will focus on – and what I think RBNY should focus on – is the play of Leandro Gonzalez Pirez. The last time these two teams met, the Red Bulls turned LGP into a turnover machine:

As Atlanta evolved away from the high pressing identity that defined them last year, more and more of the game has fallen to LGP’s foot and that is mostly smart and good. He’s one of the best CBs in the league at hitting third-line passes in transition, he pushes forward well, and he might be the very best in the league at big left-to-right switches (apologies to Matt Besler).

Back in May when these two teams met, he was a liability, and RBNY’s No. 1 pressing trigger. Any time the ball came anywhere near him, Red Bulls players closed down like maniacs and forced him into rushed passes.

Here’s the thing: Rushed passes are bad. But rushed passes when you’re attempting some of the most difficult, high-risk passes in the game? Those can be fatal. Throughout the last two seasons we’ve seen Houston and D.C. United use similar principles – though with those teams, it comes off the counter rather than the high press – when facing the Five Stripes.

LGP is definitely going to try those passes. Can you make that work to your favor?

Sporting KC vs. Real Salt Lake 5 pm ET | Match Preview | TV & streaming info

SKC’s version of LGP – the high-risk, high-reward gambit – is the positioning of right back Graham Zusi. He’s a converted midfielder, which means he’s very comfortable in the final third, which means he overlaps higher and harder than any other fullback in MLS. This is mostly a good thing for Sporting, who are second in the West on both points and points per game. They’ve also won six games already in August and September, which is more than their past two seasons combined.

But when Zusi goes, and it results in some kind of turnover (even via a blocked shot or clearance), that is the magic hour for teams facing SKC. And in Joao Plata, RSL have the exact kind of left winger who can punish those overlaps.

Watch Ike Opara’s positioning, as well as Roger Espinoza’s.

One More Thing to Ponder

Japan has landed two rovers on the asteroid Ryugu, the first time that’s ever been done.

Happy weekending, everybody.

Series: 

Topics: 

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Armchair Analyst: Your complete guide to the Week 31 MLS slate was originally published on 365 Football