#should i share this “masterpiece” or should it remain in the drafts

[slavic-roots-western-mind]

Creative Shenanigans #1

Video editing is all fun and games until you're trying to figure out how to photoshop a blonde wig onto a dancing wolf using the tracking motion thing and having to improvise as you go along because this is not the sort of skill you ever thought you would need.

Because the wolf is in motion and is moving, you can't just photoshop it, you need to edit it to make sure that the wig moves along with the wolf.

Shoutout to Runwayml, this platform has been a lifesaver, and it turned out ok, despite the wig slightly flying off at one point. By that point and after trying out different platforms I was ready to call it a day, so the wolf will remain with a lightly skewed wig.

[spankingtheatre]

How to become an Erotic Writer

Ssh. Keep it quiet. But here's the secret pathway to becoming an erotic writer:

1. Write privately, dismiss own work as rubbish

2. Maybe not so bad, feel the yearning to share

3. Hit publish for first time with thumping heart and trembling fingers

4. Hey, this is fun!

5. Someone sends a message saying your writing made them come

6. Bliss 💕

The biggest requirement is to be passionate about what you write. Only passion will get you over that initial barrier of self-criticism and embarrassment, the one that stops most people from revealing themselves and posting their creations in public.

Choosing what to write on matters. My approach is to pick something I’m so desperate to have rendered into words, that I just can’t bear to let it go unwritten. This has always been how I've approached writing, if I don’t have any enthusiasm for an idea, it goes into a drafts folder and remains uncompleted.

You know that powerful urge you once felt when you yearned for a major crush? You should feel that way about what you write. Because great writing isn't about choosing the 'right' words, or constructing a complex enough plot, or coming up with an ingenious astonishing twist. Storytelling is the art of transforming passion into words.

Writing is never about choosing the right words, stories aren't crossword puzzles. It's not about obeying some obtuse Holy Rules Of Literature, the greatest masterpieces tend to break them anyway. Great writing is distinguished by one factor above all: how well you can capture your own passion.

Writing is like trapping lightning in a bottle. The best stories are made real by our most primal energies. Unless I feel erotically energised by a story, and a force akin to lust compelling me to finish it, I know it will be mediocre. You don't need to write novels. Or thirty page stories. Just write as much as your passion can fuel.

Once you connect yourself to your own internal passion you'll never need to force yourself to write. My motivation for writing isn't fame or money, it's to get into The Zone. No other experience brings me as much joy or feels so liberating. I let the words flow out of my mind, and as they glow on my screen, I feel the unique satisfaction that comes from being the creator of worlds.

And then, finally, I click the publish button. That can be scary at first, but it gets easier, as you appreciate the magic of what you're doing.

I just love knowing what I’ve crafted is flying all around the world, into the eager minds of distant strangers, it’s like casting a magic spell.

And who wouldn’t want to do an activity like that?

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Hi! If it’s not too late to ask, could I please request Vil, Jamil, and Cater with an s/o who is super talented at writing, but has no confidence in their stories because a relative destroyed their self-confidence? Btw, I love your blog! You’re my favourite TWST writer😊

***Mild spoilers for every character’s backstory!***

Curiouser and Curiouser...

As one who is constantly in the public eye, Vil knows that support (or lack thereof) can really impact morale and motivation. While his father has supported his involvement in the entertainment industry, Vil has gotten his fair share of negativity and hate, simply due to the reach of his stardom, so he knows firsthand it doesn’t feel good.

His best advice to you? “Enjoy yourself, and what you do. You won’t be able to please everyone--that’s simply a fact of life--but fixate on the naysayers, and you will no longer be able to find joy. There are many others who will appreciate and applaud your work, if only you would give them a chance.” Vil smiles, patting you encouragingly. “Come now, pen in hand, and best face forward.”

Vil has learned to grow thick skin and to not let ugly words get to him, but he knows this may not come as naturally to others, such as yourself. Just as one nasty comment alone doesn’t immediately breed low self-esteem, Vil is aware that one nicety won’t automatically “fix” you. A slow and steady diet of support is what you need to get back on your feet again, and Vil’s there to provide that for you.

He’s of the mindset that constant flattery holds little merit and breeds dependency rather than confidence. Because of this, Vil won’t blindly praise or compliment everything you make. You may be a talented writer, but to Vil, there’s always room for improvement, and you should never be satisfied with stagnation.

His eye for detail comes in handy when pointing out plot holes and continuity errors--but no matter what he catches, Vil remains kind and constrictive with his criticism. He aims to help you improve, not tear you down as your relative has.

When you’re stuck on writing certain parts, Vil reads your draft out loud to help you gauge the flow of the story. He makes for a great narrator, and his acting abilities really bring your characters’ dialogue come to life. It’s as though Vil is putting on a private performance, acting his heart out just for you.

You and Jamil are birds of a feather. He, too, was discouraged from showing off his abilities--and by his own parents, no less! He still feels quite resentful about that facet of his childhood, and that bitterness makes itself well known when he learns of your circumstances.

“Restraining talent, purposefully holding back... It’s a scenario I’m familiar with. If there is anything I have learned from it, it is that you must continue to hone that talent in spite of what others may say,” he advises. “And if scorn or ridicule should come your way, then do as I have and relegate your skill to the shadows. Keep it, guard it, polish it... like a fine jewel, and allow only your closest confidants near.”

Jamil encourages you to channel your frustration into your craft. According to him, you may as well put that energy to some use rather than sit on it and sulk. Let spite fuel you, he whispers--a snake’s forked tongue in your ear. Make a masterpiece. Prove them all wrong.

When he knows you’re planning to sit down and write, Jamil ensures the environment is a quiet and peaceful one for you. He lights incense to bring a pleasant aroma to the room (or, if it gives you a headache, opens the window to let fresh air in), and provides a small plate of fruit (speared on toothpicks) for a healthy and non-messy snack to keep your energy up.

With time, Jamil ends up being your proofreader and editor. As Kalim’s caretaker and party planner, Jamil is very pragmatic when it comes to details. He’ll let you know certain points are unrealistic or require further research to more accurately portray--in fact, he’ll accompany you to the library and help you look up reference materials!

He snidely jokes that now he’s finally able to demonstrate his abilities--and how fitting, he’s lending his power to help you, someone in a similar situation as him. Jamil doesn’t even see these tasks as work. Instead, they’re oddly liberating bonding experiences for the two of you.

Cater’s been on Magicam long enough to know about the toxicity and bullying that sometimes takes place online. From that alone, Cater can only imagine what it must be like to walk in your shoes--it can really harm someone mentally, especially when it’s coming from family!

“It’s best to not pay too much attention to that kind of stuff, (Y/N)-chan!” Cater reassures you with a sunny smile. “It’ll really bum you out and weigh you down. Let’s try to get your mind off of that and thinking happy thoughts again~ Just leave it to Cay-kun to make it all better, okay?”

He’ll do what he can to help inspire you and get your creative juices flowing! (Look at this moodboard he put together--doesn’t it just speak to your soul? And check out this cafe with the cute ambiance! You two should definitely go together and experience it for yourselves~)

To help you slowly rediscover your confidence, Cater decides to start off small and work your way to bigger pieces! He’ll give you random one word prompts and tell you to try writing something inspired by it. The twist? You’re only allowed a small number of characters or letters maximum for it--just long enough for a social media post. Next, Cater might send you a string of emojis and ask for a few posts’ worth of words, then maybe a photo with the challenge to write a short story inspired by that image... 

Of course, he always eagerly reads your work each and every time you’ve completed one. His comments may not be super in depth or analytical, but he can tell you’ve put your heart into everything you write, no matter the length or the inspiration, and Cater cheerily praises you for your efforts.

It’s difficult to get his façade to crumble, but there’s a few times when he genuinely comes close to tearing up from reading your works. The way you convey emotions in writing--whether with a few words or with many words--strikes a cord with him. As you gradually open up again to the world of writing, so, too, does Cater gradually open up about his own dark feelings that he so readily stashes away. You share your stories, and Cater shares his emotions--equal parts give and take.

[let-the-dream-begin]

When the World is Free

“There'll be love and laughter, And peace ever after, Tomorrow, When the world is free.” — The White Cliffs of Dover, Vera Lynn, 1942

The world is free again, the war has ended, life starting anew. But for Claire, it’s all over. Jamie’s plane was shot down, leaving her pregnant out of wedlock with nowhere to go. But John made Jamie a promise in their bleakest moments, and he intends to live up to it.

An Echo/MOBY retelling set post-World War II.

Chapter 1: Carry Me, Carry Me Now

Read on AO3

It was a marriage of convenience for them both.

John’s bride was quite well aware of his sensibilities, his preference for the non-female sex. And he was quite well aware of the precariousness of her situation. The tragedy of it as well.

Even if he could forget, it would have been impossible. She was constantly twisting the silver engagement ring she’d been given, constantly resting her hands on her stomach, whether she realized she was doing it or not.

Perhaps the bloke signing their marriage license at the courthouse noticed as well, because he smirked at John with a raised eyebrow when she stroked her flat abdomen for perhaps the millionth time since they’d arrived. John had pursed his lips together for an uncomfortable smile. His assumptions weren’t incorrect, of course, but there were many pieces missing.

The child, for one, still invisible and yet still so enormous in its mother’s heart already, was not John’s. And neither was the ring that lived on her right hand, something he would never ask her to remove. 

The wedding band on her left hand seemed to weigh her down, like a ball and chain pulling her deeper into the black depths of her sorrow.

He drove them home from the courthouse to his flat, or rather their flat. He should start referring to it as such. It was her home now, after all. Their home, the three of them.

Well…four of us, really.

He hung between them like a thick cloud of smoke, solid as a brick wall, at all times. They didn’t speak of it aloud; they didn’t need to. He lived in these rooms rent-free without even needing his name spoken into existence.

John knew that the man who was gone had been the love of her life, her one great love.

And John knew that he was his as well.

He’d confessed it in the black of night, half-buried by rubble when he was sure he would die. They’d gone through basic training together, becoming good friends almost instantly. He’d defended John’s honor when the teasing started; he told him that John was more manly than those other clotheids would ever be. John kept those words, and the gentle touch of his hand that came with them, close to his heart.

“I love you, James Fraser. I love you more than I’ve loved anyone in my life.”

Unfortunately, he hadn’t died.

John had recovered rather quickly from his injuries and proceeded to avoid Jamie at all costs. Jamie was angry as a bull when he’d finally confronted him.

“D’ye think I give a damn, John? D’ye think it’s ever made a difference to me before? I bloody knew before ye said something, ye damned fool.”

John hadn’t realized he’d been that obvious.

“I’m only sorry that I canna be what ye want me to be, a charaid.”

Jamie held him while he cried, and if he hadn’t been mad, he could have sworn he felt Jamie’s tears soak into his hair as well.

Sitting at the kitchen table in his flat across from his new bride, John teared up at the mere memory.

He’d been so ashamed…and Jamie hadn’t given a damn. He was actually sorry that he couldn't return his affection. Instead of John’s confession wrenching them apart as he’d been so terrified of, it brought them even closer.

He watched his bride stare into her teacup as the liquid inside quickly chilled in the November air.

“Are you cold? Should I put on a fire?”

Her hands remained fastened around the teacup and her eyes remained locked inside it as she nodded silently.

God, she had changed.

The first time he’d laid eyes on her was only in a photograph, and even then he’d been astonished by her beauty.

“This is her,” Jamie said as he produced the small photograph that he kept in an inside breast pocket at all times, his face melting into an adoring gaze that took John’s breath away. “My Sorcha.”

She was giving the camera a smirk, eyes sparkling even in black and white, wild dark curls blowing in the wind.

She looked so alive, and that was just a photograph.

When he’d finally seen her in person, he understood quite well why his friend was so drawn to her. She was exquisite, even in her combat nurse uniform. She was radiant, so full of love and life. Her eyes were liquid honey and solid amber all at once. When she laughed, she tossed her head back and smacked whoever was closest, usually Jamie.

If they were beautiful apart…they were a glorious masterpiece together.

Even in the dirt and smoky haze of the camp, when John looked at the pair of them, he could have been looking at a painting. The rest of the world fell away when Jamie had his Claire back in his arms.

It was the most beautiful thing John had ever seen.

A woman was a rare thing in camp, being that most men met their wives elsewhere when they were on leave. But Claire had to be on leave as well if she wanted to see Jamie, and being that they were not yet married, the army wouldn't be bothered lining up their leaves.

And so they’d followed each other. They’d travelled from one battlefield to another, from one hellscape to the next just to be with one another. Even during what was meant to be a reprieve, Claire could be found tending to all sorts of illness and injury around the camp, Jamie trailing beside her like a lost puppy.

Jamie had told John they’d been handfast the night he’d been drafted, an old Scottish tradition that allowed young couples to be married in every sense of the word except in the eyes of the law. There hadn’t been time for a wedding before he was to leave, so that was the best they could do. What mattered to Jamie most was their marriage being seen by the eyes of God, and handfasting accomplished that to his liking. And so for all intents and purposes, Jamie and Claire were married. John could hear it quite well when she was in camp; she was not exactly very quiet about it.

When John returned from starting a fire in the hearth with the intention of leading her into the room to warm herself, she’d replaced her teacup with a glass of whisky and was tossing the entire thing back. She topped her glass off again and then filled a second one. She handed it to him with a sardonic smile, her eyes hooded. There was no trace of that lively youth she’d had when he met her.

“Thank you, my dear,” he said warmly. “The fire is ready, if you’d like to move.”

“Thank you, John.” She stood up and made her way out of the kitchen, taking the bottle with her. Apparently, his bride did not intend to remain sober today. He wondered if she thought that he was going to force her to consummate this marriage, which was just about the last thing on his mind. She should know that he was more than capable of pretending for everyone else, but perhaps he should make himself clear.

“Claire,” he began as they settled into opposite armchairs in front of the fireplace. “You know that I don’t plan to — ”

“Jamie said he kissed you.”

John felt like he’d been smacked in the face with a frying pan. He cleared his throat.

“I beg your pardon?”

“He said that you shared a moment together, and that he kissed you.”

She was staring at him intently, but she didn’t look angry or accusatory. If anything, she seemed possessed by nothing more than morbid curiosity.

“Well…yes. That’s true.”

“We kept secrets, but we didn’t lie,” she said softly, taking a sip of her whisky. “I saw the way you looked at him from the very first time I met you.”

“I’m sorry — ”

“Please don’t be.” Her eyes held such sincerity that he almost wept as he had when Jamie had said just about the same thing. “I just…I wanted to know. That…that last night. The night that we…conceived.” Her hand rested absently on her abdomen again. “I asked him if anything had ever happened. And he told me you shared a kiss.”

“It…didn’t go any farther than that. I wouldn’t have let it, even if he wished it.”

“I know,” she said, taking another sip. “I wasn’t angry. I’m still not. I understand the need for that intimacy in such a hopeless place. And I understand that you…you were very close.” Her voice tightened, and she swallowed hard against the lump in her throat. “I was glad, really. I was grateful to you for being there for him when I couldn’t.”

John didn’t know what to say. He nodded curtly and took a long drag of his whisky.

“What did it feel like?”

He almost choked on the liquid.

“I know it sounds mad. But I…I want to hear you talk about it.” Her chin trembled, but she maintained her strong facade. “I want to hear because I…I want to remember with someone. What it was like to…to love him.”

John blinked back his own tears and ran a hand down the length of his face. He needed a bit more liquid courage before he dove into the details of how Jamie tasted and how he felt beneath his hands. Claire seemed to understand, because she allowed a long silence to pass between them before John finally spoke.

He poured his heart out to her, detailed the feel of Jamie’s lips like he was dictating poetry, described the way Jamie’s short-cut curls felt between his fingers, recalling the way he smelled.

“Like...silver from the gunpowder...but he also smelled vaguely of...aftershave. I remember wondering how on earth he’d come into possession of such a thing. I breathed it in so deeply it made me dizzy.” He closed his eyes and breathed in through his nose, and he could swear he smelt it again. 

“And then the rest of the world fell away...even the gunpowder and the smoke...and I just smelt...him.” Eyes still closed, his tongue farted out to lick his lips. He’d wanted so desperately to run his tongue over Jamie’s lips, but he’d been afraid, paralyzed with shock that it was even happening.

“I was so overwhelmed by the...the feeling of him. His lips were so warm and so solid and so timid...and it was over so quickly, but I...” He opened his eyes, blinking back tears. “I saw an...an entire lifetime between us in that kiss. I wanted to...to fold myself into him and stay there forever.” His voice broke, and he anxiously ran a hand through his hair.

He could almost see the man right in front of him again, could almost feel him warm and alive in his hands again; he could feel the shuddering whisper of whisky breath on his lips and chin and nose, and he brought trembling fingers to rest over his mouth, as if to trap the feeling there. He looked up, seeing the real world again for the first time in several breaths, and his heart leapt into his throat to see that Claire was shuddering with silent tears.

“Claire…” he choked out, leaning onto his knees with his elbows, terrified that he’d gone too far. “I’m…I’m sorry…”

She shook her head, putting down her whisky on the table beside her chair. “That’s…that’s exactly it.”

He blinked dumbly at her, and she abruptly leaned forward with a tiny sob, clasping his hands in hers.

“That’s exactly what it felt like,” she said, something in her eyes that was almost desperate. “Thank you…thank you.”

She leaned forward and pressed her lips to their joined hands, hot and soft and wet. She kept her face atop their hands in John’s lap, and she fell apart. It wasn’t long before she slipped out of her own chair and was kneeling before him, sputtering hysterically into his lap, squeezing his hands until her knuckles were white.

John was stunned, but he did the only thing he could do: he gave her comfort. He stroked her hair as she wept, rubbed her back, squeezed back on her hands. Somehow, he ended up on the floor with her, leaning against the seat of the chair and holding her trembling form to his chest. His own tears dissolved into her curls, and soon he was holding onto her for dear life as well.

“We are the only two people in the world who share this pain,” Claire said against his neck, her voice thick with hours of tears. “This pain…of losing Jamie.”

John nodded fervently, tightening his grip on her tiny body yet again.

“We’ll carry it…together,” John whispered into her hair, and then pressed a kiss there. He felt her nod into the crook of his neck and nuzzled in closer.

More and more hours passed, and more and more whisky emptied from the bottle, and then a second bottle, and then a third. It was well past suppertime, but neither were capable of preparing anything to eat in the state they were in, and their empty stomachs only served to send the alcohol straight to their already muddled brains.

They spent hours going back and forth talking about the mutual love of their lives, weeping and clinging to each other, and then they would laugh their drunken heads off, Claire swatting at him as she howled.

John had loosened the top buttons of his shirt and removed his belt, and Claire had undone the top buttons of her dress as well.

“God…I’m melting…” Claire sighed, pulling her dress over her head and revealing the tiny white slip underneath. “You don’t mind?”

John burst into hysterical laughter, and Claire soon followed.

“Jesus H. Roosevelt Christ!” Claire sputtered. “Of course you don’t bloody mind. I could be stark naked and you wouldn’t bat an eye!”

They howled again, and she swatted at him.

“Not to mention I’m bloody married to you!”

They howled a bit more until Claire had spilled her whisky onto the rug and fell over into John’s lap.

“I think we should get you into bed, my dear.”

She giggled, biting her lip, and John was briefly mesmerized by the way a blush bloomed down her neck and into her chest. He heaved her to her feet, and they laughed together as they both swayed their way into the bedroom.

“You’re going to have quite the hangover tomorrow.” John was attempting to make more lighthearted conversation, but as he looked down at the woman in his arms, he was taken aback to see something he could only describe as hunger in her eyes.

“Would you…” He struggled to think through his drunken haze. “Would you like a nightgown, my dear?”

He made to pull away from her and go to the wardrobe, but she fisted his shirt in her hands, not ready to release him. She pressed her face into his neck and hummed, vibrating the skin there, and it gave him gooseflesh.

“Claire…” His tone could have been a warning, or pleading. He wasn’t at all sure.

Her small tongue darted out of her mouth and traced a line from the bottom of his neck all the way up to where his jawline began, and he shuddered violently. She giggled all the while her tongue was hanging out of her mouth, creating a lusty, wanton sound.

John gently took her face in his hands and pushed her away just enough to look in her eyes. They were hooded with drink and glassy as a porcelain doll’s. He thought he detected the slightest bit of fear, and it broke his heart.

“It’s alright. We don’t…we don’t have to.” He gently took her hands off of his chest and held them loosely between them. “I didn’t expect you to. We don’t have to.”

She gave a heartbreaking little whimper and began nuzzling her face into his chest, practically leaning her entire body weight on him. “Please.”

He didn’t think he’d heard her properly at first.

“Really, we can just…go to bed. On separate sides.”

“Please.”

It was almost a moan in its intensity. She began pawing at his clothing, pressing desperate kisses into his neck.

“I need you,” she groaned. “I need this. I need you, Jamie.”

His blood ran cold, and it would appear hers did as well by the way she froze completely. She practically went cool to the touch.

“Claire.”

He firmly took her chin between his fingers and forced her to look at him.

“I’m not Jamie.”

She could hardly stand on her own, could hardly focus her bleary eyes on him.

“I’m not Jamie,” he said again, more gently, moving his hand off her chin to cup the back of her head. “I can’t…I won’t have you like this. You’re drunk and…you’re not thinking clearly.”

She welled up with tears, looking very much like a wounded animal in response to his apparent rejection.

“I’m sorry, my dear. I know how much you’re hurting.”

God, did he know it.

“And you know that I…well…you know me.” He didn’t feel the need to speak it aloud again.

“You want to,” she sputtered. “I can feel it.”

She very suddenly and very firmly palmed him, causing him to jolt. And damn him, she was right. For some reason, some ungodly, horrific reason, he was aroused.

“It’s…it’s not you, Claire,” he said softly after regaining his composure, though he made no move to remove her hand. “It’s…it’s him. I’m standing here wishing it was his hand.”

“Good.” She tightened her grip, and he groaned involuntarily. “Because I’m standing here wishing it was his cock.”

She kissed him then, sloppily, heavily, lapping her tongue over him.

“Make love to Jamie, John,” she panted between kisses. “You make love to him, and so will I.”

“It’s not…it isn’t right.” He firmly seized her wrist and removed her grip from him, pinning her hands away from him.

Hands or no, Claire was never one to give up. When she wanted something, she would get it, consequences be damned.

She began gyrating her hips against him, and God help him if it didn’t make him even harder. It wasn’t long before he released her hands and finally surrendered to her, allowing her to pin him to the bed and have her way with him. He could have stopped her if he’d truly wanted. He could have tossed a bucket of water over her, given her a light but firm smack, shouted at her, gone to sleep in the living room. But, God…he wanted this, needed this as badly as she did.

He reached out and sought purchase in her skin as she rode him, soft in all the places where Jamie was solid. She was wild, a mad look in her eye as she tossed her head back in delicious ecstasy, and yet she was entirely lucid, he was sure of it. Perhaps the moments leading up to their joining were hazy, but now she was more than aware.

Her hands were all over him as well, small and yet hard and demanding. She even gripped his hands at one point and directed them exactly where she wanted to be touched.

She cried out for Jamie as she came around him, and God help him if he didn’t do the same as he spilled into her.

It was filthy, it was shameful, and he was disgusted and confused and terrified.

But when she collapsed onto his chest and wept like a broken child, everything faded but the need to comfort her, to protect her.

“I need ye to promise me something, John.”

“Anything.”

“If anything should happen to me…”

“God, Jamie, please don’t talk like this.”

“Ye said anything, man. I need ye to mean it.”

He looked into those steel blue eyes, his pupils shrunken to tiny pinpricks. John nodded, though his heart hammered with terrible foreboding.

“If anything should happen to me…I need…I need ye to promise me that ye’ll look after Claire.”

John took a moment to blink back his shock.

“I ken she’s strong as a stallion and stubborn as a mule. She’d have ye think that she doesna need any help. Truth be told, I ken she doesna. But just…fer my peace of mind. Will ye swear to me that ye’ll look after her?”

John swallowed thickly, unable to stop the rush of tears.

“She means more to me than anything in this world. And I’m entrusting her to ye, my dearest friend. And in return, if ye want…I would be willing to…”

John's eyes widened, unblinking.

“If ye want.”

John’s mouth hung agape, and he stammered incoherently for a moment.

“Are you actually offering your body to me in payment if I promise to look after Claire?”

Jamie’s jaw hardened, and he nodded once. “Aye.”

“Dear God…” John shook his head, and he actually started laughing. “That I should live to hear such an offer!”

Jamie blinked rapidly, and John could have sworn he saw tears gathering there. “Ye dinna want me then?”

“I shall probably want you ’til the day I die!” John exclaimed, and then lowered his voice to a whisper, remembering that tents were thin, flimsy things. “But tempted as I am…do you really think I’d accept? I should feel my honor most insulted, save that I know the depth of feeling that prompted it.”

Jamie wet his lips and nodded, averting his eyes and staring at a stain in the tent. “Aye. I’m…I’m sorry. I didna mean tae insult yer honor. I just…I thought to…to give ye something of what is most precious to ye in return for protecting that which is most precious to me.”

John placed a comforting hand on Jamie’s knee, desperate for his friend to not feel ashamed. “I understand.”

Jamie nodded again, and then forced himself to look at John. “Besides, I…I wouldnae ha’ offered if it wasna something I could bear.”

Despite how fiercely John blushed, how much he wanted to tear his eyes away, he didn’t. He held Jamie’s gaze as he whispered, almost inaudible: “You could…bear it?”

“Aye,” he said without hesitation. “I could.”

Then before John knew what was happening, Jamie’s lips were on his, and his soul ignited. It was sweet and chaste, and gentle and beautiful.

Jamie was beautiful.

He pulled away after about three seconds, and the two men maintained their intense eye contact.

“You have my word, Jamie,” John whispered fervently. “God forbid you are taken from us, I will keep safe what you love most. And I am…most grateful for such an honor.”

“Thank ye.” His steel blue eyes welled up with tears, and he clutched at the back of John’s neck. “Thank ye, John.”

John had sworn it with everything he had to give in his heart and soul. She was the most precious thing in the world to Jamie, and he’d left her to his care. It felt like an honor he was not worthy of. He was not worthy of the man as he lived, and he was certainly not worthy of the woman he’d loved and the child she would bear. Perhaps Jamie hadn’t meant for him to marry the woman if something should happen, but what else was he to do? Leave her unmarried and childless in a world so cruel?

No, he’d sworn on his honor that she’d be safe with him, forever and always.

And as he held her, naked, broken, and sobbing to his own naked form, trembling like a leaf with the force of her tears, John could feel her seeping into the cracks that Jamie had left in his heart. He could feel her already becoming as precious to him as she’d been to Jamie…as precious to him as Jamie had been to him.

Don’t fret, Jamie, love. I’ve got her.

I’ve got them both.

[ayatosmlktea]

𝑾𝑶𝑹𝑳𝑫𝑾𝑰𝑫𝑬

Pairings: Bokuto x Reader

Genre: Fluff, a lil tiny bit of angst

Word Count: 1.5k

A/N: Just a lil something I wrote for @soltserra​ one night! This song is based on Worldwide from Big Time Rush and I highly HIGHLY recommend listening to it while you read because 1) it’s a masterpiece and 2) it makes the fic 10x better

Also I literally know nothing about sports so pls...be kind :3

The news comes as a shock to Bokuto, he knew that eventually it was going to happen but he hadn’t expected it to come so soon. It was the opportunity of a lifetime, being drafted into one of the biggest volleyball teams in the world. Of course he was excited, he had been thrilled so much so that he could barely contain his excitement and had nearly grabbed the manager in for a hug before remembering to remain professional.

 His dreams were finally coming to fruition and the first person his mind thought of after hearing the offer was you. His rock through thick and thin, his highschool sweetheart. Unable to wait any until he got home he dialed your number, bouncing with excitement as he waited for you to pick up.

Frowning when his call went to voicemail he figured you must have been busy, it didn’t matter. That meant he’d get to share the news with you in person!

Rushing home, he stopped along the way to pick up your favourite takeout to celebrate. Their lives were about to change in the best way possible and there was no one else he wanted to go on this journey with.

Practically running home, he bounded up the steps to your shared apartment two at a time eager to tell you the good news.

Upon entering the apartment he found you fast asleep on the couch, placing the food on the kitchen counter Bokuto sat down next to you, gently stroking your hair.

“Hey love, I got dinner” he says softly, leaning down to kiss her forehead. Pulling the light blanket over your  head you groaned something incoherent into the cushions.

“I got your favourite! Sushi burritos” At the mention of food you poke you head out from under the blankets, suddenly wide awake.

“Food” Bokuto laughs loudly, wrapping his arms around you to plant wet kisses on your cheeks.

“So you’ll wake up for food but not me? That hurts” he sniffles before continuing his assault of kisses all over your face.

“Move, I’m hungry” Turning your head away from his face you struggle to slip out of his arms.

“Can I at least have a kiss for being the world’s best boyfriend and bringing my beautiful girlfriend her favourite dinner?” Bokuto pouted, you had gotten used to his childish temper after being together for so long but for some reason right now it was funnier than usual.

“If you wash the dishes too you might get one later” Flashing him a cheeky smile you shoved your hands against his chest, walking into the kitchen to inspect the food. Not even waiting to sit down, you lean on the kitchen island unwrapping your food and take a hasty first bite.

“So there’s something I wanted to tell you about!” Bokuto says abruptly. Your eyes leave your burrito, with a curious look on your face.

“I got an offer to play for that American team I was telling you about”

“Oh my God! That’s amazing! I’m so happy for you Bo” You knew how big of a deal it was for him to get drafted by this team, putting down your food you shuffled over to give him a hug.

“I know right! We have a few weeks to get settled into our new place. We should probably start packing tomorrow” The longer Bokuto rambled on, the bigger the pit of dread grew in your stomach.

“We?”

“Yeah, you and me babe.” His smile is so hopeful and full of excitement that it feels wrong to have to crush his spirits.

“I-I can’t go with you, I can’t just quit my job and move across the world with you”

Bokuto’s face fell instantly, he hadn’t expected this. He’d been so caught up in telling you the news, that he hadn’t even considered the possibility that you might not be able to come with him.

“I’ll come visit you! But for now, it’s not possible. I’m sorry”

“It’s fine! Like you said, you can come visit me” He was trying to brush off his disappointment for you, but you knew that he was upset. The rest of dinner was spent in an uncomfortable silence.

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It had been almost three months since Bokuto had seen you, the two of you tried to call as often as you could but it was difficult with the time difference. While you  were on your lunch break Bokuto was already fast asleep. The only time you really got to spend with each other was on the weekends, and even then it was never enough. 

The way your eyes would become glossy with tears never went unnoticed but he didn’t want to say anything that would make you cry. It ripped his heart into shreds knowing that you were crying and he couldn’t do anything about it. He sent you pictures everyday along with cute messages reminding you that he loved you. Bokuto spent most of his nights going through old pictures and videos of the two of you  together. 

On days where they weren’t able to call at all, he’d go through his voicemail until he found an old message from you. It didn’t matter what you were saying, the sound of your voice alone was enough to help ease his homesickness.

Volleyball took up a lot of his time and most of his energy but you were always on his mind. Everything he was doing was for your future. The sooner he became successful, the sooner you’d be able to come live with him in America.

Lately,you seemed more distant. You didn’t send him as many texts like you usually did and whenever he tried to make plans to call you, there was always something keeping you busy. Doubts of you falling out of love with him were putting him on edge, the rational side of him tried to convince himself that he was being paranoid for no reason. You were an honest person, and if you were falling out of love with him he trusted you to tell him.

Regardless, the thought of not having you in his life was enough to start affecting his playing. His serves were off, his spikes were not timed properly. He’d been yelled at by their coach more times in one week than he had in his entire time spent on his highschool team. It was beginning to irritate him, as much as he wanted to get his head in the game he couldn’t stop worrying about you. Thoughts of you dating another man, kissing someone who wasn’t him, holding someone else’s hand were all starting to drive him crazy.

When practice ends, Bokuto leaves feeling frustrated, he knows  he can play better than that. He knows what he needs to do, he knows how to time his jumps so why can’t he just focus on the game. Pulling out his phone, he scrolls through his notifications hoping that you had sent him something, anything to make his disappointing day a bit better.

But there’s nothing.

He doesn’t even want to eat, his mood is so sour that all he can think of is taking a shower and crawling into bed. His emo mode reaching new levels of pettiness. The walk back to his apartment is spent hoping that you would be able to call him. A week of bare minimum communication was making him crazy. He could only imagine what it would be like if you were to actually walk out of his life. The thought alone makes his throat constrict.

“Why do you look constipated?” A distinct chuckle instantly grabs his attention. His eyes dart up from the sidewalk to find you standing outside of his apartment complex. For a second Bokuto doesn’t know how to react, his mouth hangs open as he tries to determine whether or not he’s hallucinating.

“Are you gonna stand there all day or are you gonna let me in? I’m hung-” Bokuto races forward, grabbing you and enveloping you in a bone crushing hug.

“I missed you so much” he mumbles, suddenly finding it hard to get his words out. He’s so sure that he’s dreaming and any second his alarm will go off, waking up once again to an empty bed. But the smell of your shampoo is right under his nose and your arms are squeezing him back in a way that feels too real to be a dream.

“I missed you too”

“What are you doing here? Not that I’m complaining”

“I requested a transfer to our American branch, that’s why I’ve been distant this past week. I was so excited I didn’t want to give anything away” You confess shyly, averting your gaze from his face. Cupping your cheeks with both of his hands he leans down to kiss you passionately, the feeling of your lips against his after so long feels so good that it sets every nerve in his body on fire.

“I love you, so much” he says, tightening his arms around your  body. All the doubts he’d been having immediately disappeared. It was stupid to think that after all this time a little distance would come between you two. It didn’t matter where you were, as long as you were together Bokuto was complete.

“I love you too Bo”

[lgbtqareads]

15 Books I Want To Read That are Releasing in the Next 6 Monthes

Every six monthes, I am excited to see the new LGBTQA+ YA books of the next monthes and while thos December, I was a little weirded out to not find them on B&N Teen previews, I was happy to see that Dahlia Adler posted her lists and opinions at lgbtqreads.com. So, of course I went through and narrowed the list from 72 to 34 to 15, only choosing books that I felt I really wanted to read and not just fall for all the amazing synopses and covers, which let's be honest, are all truly masterpieces.

But enough introduction. Let's get into my to be bought (and read) list of the first six monthes of 2020:

We Used to Be Friends by Amy Spalding - JANUARY 7TH

Goodreads Synopsis: Told in dual timelines—half of the chapters moving forward in time and half moving backward—We Used to Be Friends explores the most traumatic breakup of all: that of childhood besties. At the start of their senior year in high school, James (a girl with a boy’s name) and Kat are inseparable, but by graduation, they’re no longer friends. James prepares to head off to college as she reflects on the dissolution of her friendship with Kat while, in alternating chapters, Kat thinks about being newly in love with her first girlfriend and having a future that feels wide open. Over the course of senior year, Kat wants nothing more than James to continue to be her steady rock, as James worries that everything she believes about love and her future is a lie when her high-school sweetheart parents announce they’re getting a divorce. Funny, honest, and full of heart, We Used to Be Friends tells of the pains of growing up and growing apart.

Dahlia Adler's Synopsis: Relationship breakups may be heavily covered in YA, but friendship breakup stories are still few and far between. Enter the story of James and Kat, two girls who were once beyond close and now watch their friendship unravel as college nears. Things are complicated for both girls: James’s mother has left her and her father for another guy, and she doesn’t know how to talk about it, not even to Kat or her still-too-present ex, Logan. Kat’s discovering that her feelings for her new friend Quinn aren’t strictly “friendly,” and in fact, she’s realizing she’s bisexual and falling head over heels for a girl. It’s a bittersweet story to be sure, and while it definitely has its fun scenes, close moments, painful familial interactions, and tingly romance (what Spalding book doesn’t??), you’ll spend much of the book wishing you could push the characters together and say “Just talk already”…but isn’t that exactly how life goes?

My Opinion: As someone who has been through too many friendship breakups to count, this read is going to be devastating. But I put this book on my list for one reason: the synopsis made it feel so much like life that I couldn't help but feel that the story would pull me into James and Kat's universe and tear my heart into pieces. I absolutely cannot wait to have my heartbroken.

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The Gravity of Us by Phil Stamper - FEBRUARY 4TH

Goodreads Synopsis: As a successful social media journalist with half a million followers, seventeen-year-old Cal is used to sharing his life online. But when his pilot father is selected for a highly publicized NASA mission to Mars, Cal and his family relocate from Brooklyn to Houston and are thrust into a media circus.

Amidst the chaos, Cal meets sensitive and mysterious Leon, another “Astrokid,” and finds himself falling head over heels—fast. As the frenzy around the mission grows, so does their connection. But when secrets about the program are uncovered, Cal must find a way to reveal the truth without hurting the people who have become most important to him.

Expertly capturing the thrill of first love and the self-doubt all teens feel, debut author Phil Stamper is a new talent to watch.

Dahlia Adler's Synopsis: This is a lovely and bighearted debut chock full of space nerdery, big dreams, new beginnings, and social media scandal. Cal’s life is completely uprooted when his dad shocks them all by being chosen for a space mission, something his family had never taken seriously as a lifelong dream. Worst of all, he’s forbidden from documenting life in the new compound, forcing him to leave his massive social media following behind. On the bright side, there’s Leon, son of another astronaut on the program and immediate thief of Cal’s heart. But when things go awry in the program and secrets are revealed, Cal will have to decide exactly what he’s willing to do to get the truth out there, and who he’s willing to lose.

My Opinion: Social Media? Media circus? Texas? NASA? First loves? And a choice that could implode Cal's life from the inside? The name Cal? Other than Texas, a state which I hate, all of this adds up to something good, hopefully so good that I can forget that Texas is involved at all. So, basically, it has to reach Red, White, and Royal Blue levels, which is the only book so far that has made me like Texas at all. But I trust that it will do well. Plus it was reviewed by 4 of authors on my queer bookshelf - Becky Albertalli, Adam Silvera, Shaun David Hutchinson, and Caleb Roehrig. Bonus points for not being a graphic novel like I feared it was.

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Only Mostly Devastated by Sophie Gonzales -MARCH 3RD

Goodreads Synopsis: Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda meets Clueless, inspired by Grease.

When Ollie meets his dream guy, Will, over summer break, he thinks he’s found his Happily Ever After. But once summer’s ended, Will stops texting him back, and Ollie finds himself one prince short of a fairytale ending. To complicate the fairytale further, a family emergency sees Ollie uprooted and enrolled at a new school across the country—Will’s school—where Ollie finds that the sweet, affectionate and comfortably queer guy he knew from summer isn’t the same one attending Collinswood High. This Will is a class clown, closeted—and, to be honest, a bit of a jerk.

Ollie has no intention of pining after a guy who clearly isn’t ready for a relationship. But as Will starts ‘coincidentally’ popping up in every area of Ollie’s life, from music class to the lunch table, Ollie finds his resolve weakening. The last time he gave Will his heart, Will handed it back to him trampled and battered. Ollie would have to be an idiot to trust him with it again.

Right? Right.

Dahlia Adler's Synopsis: Grease goes gay YA in this rom-com about two boys whose dreamy summer fling comes crashing into a harsh reality when our lead, Oliver, transfers to Will’s school thanks to a family crisis-driven move, only to find out Will isn’t Out and isn’t about to be. As Ollie finds his own ways to settle in, he can’t seem to shake Will’s presence. But whether there’s a future for them remains to be seen. This sophomore novel is warmly delightful and delightfully warm, with some tears on the side for the aforementioned family crisis, and some hard-earned queer solidarity is the icing on the cake. 

My Opinion: The last musical-ly queer book I read was What If It's Us? so Ollie and Will have a lot to live up to, but it gets points for getting an Instagram shoutout from Becky Albertalli herself. From the synopses, it sounds like a case of strangers to lovers to strangers to maybe friends to maybe something more and hopefully a happy ending, but what I look forward to the most is rewriting Summer Nights as I read this book.

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Super Adjacent by Crystal Cestari - MARCH 17TH

Goodreads Synopsis: Claire has always wanted to work with superheroes, from collecting Warrior Nation cards as a kid to drafting "What to Say to a Hero" speeches in her diary. Now that she's landed a coveted internship with the Chicago branch of Warrior Nation, Claire is ready to prove she belongs, super or not. But complicating plans is the newest WarNat hero, Girl Power (aka Joy), who happens to be egotistical and self-important ... and pretty adorable.

Bridgette, meanwhile, wants out of WarNat. After years of dating the famous Vaporizer (aka Matt), she's sick of playing second, or third, or five-hundredth fiddle to all the people-in-peril in the city of Chicago. Of course, once Bridgette meets Claire-who's clearly in need of a mentor and wingman-giving up WarNat becomes slightly more complicated. It becomes a lot more complicated when Joy, Matt, and the rest of the heroes go missing, leaving only Claire and Bridgette to save the day.

In this fresh and funny take on the world of supers, author Crystal Cestari spotlights what it's like to be the seemingly non-super half of a dynamic duo with banter-filled romance and bold rescues perfect for readers seeking a great escape.

Dahlia Adler's Synopsis: Claire is a superhero fangirl, a card-carrying member of Warrior Nation. And when she finds an unexpected way (with some unexpected help) into winning an internship with the Chicago WarNat branch, it should be everything she’s ever dreamed of. But that unexpected help is proving very difficult to work with; it’s in the form of Girl Power (aka Joy), the newest hero and a pain in Claire’s butt. A very, very cute pain in Claire’s butt.  But distraction or no distraction, Claire’s determined to prove herself, especially when she and Bridgette, a WarNat, who’s tired of being “the girlfriend” to an even more famous hero, decides to mentor her and they end up having to be exactly the heroes Chicago needs. 

My Opinion: Two words. Super. Heroes.

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Music From Another World by Robin Talley - MARCH 31ST

Goodreads Synopsis: It’s summer 1977 and closeted lesbian Tammy Larson can’t be herself anywhere. Not at her strict Christian high school, not at her conservative Orange County church and certainly not at home, where her ultrareligious aunt relentlessly organizes antigay political campaigns. Tammy’s only outlet is writing secret letters in her diary to gay civil rights activist Harvey Milk…until she’s matched with a real-life pen pal who changes everything.

Sharon Hawkins bonds with Tammy over punk music and carefully shared secrets, and soon their letters become the one place she can be honest. The rest of her life in San Francisco is full of lies. The kind she tells for others—like helping her gay brother hide the truth from their mom—and the kind she tells herself. But as antigay fervor in America reaches a frightening new pitch, Sharon and Tammy must rely on their long-distance friendship to discover their deeply personal truths, what they’ll stand for…and who they’ll rise against.

Dahlia Adler's Synopsis: Talley is one of queer YA’s most prolific genre jumpers, but she seems to be making herself beautifully at home in historical with this follow-up to 2018’s Pulp, again set amid a context of vital queer American history. This time around, it’s 1977, and Tammy Larson would love more than anything to come out of the closet as a lesbian, but that’s a major no-go where she lives. Her only outlet is to write “letters” to the activist Harvey Milk, at least until she’s matched with a pen pal to whom she can write letters for real. Sharon makes for a much better companion than Tammy’s diary, and she can sympathize, given her brother is gay and feeling all the same misery in the wake of Anita Bryant’s leading to a successful repeal of their protections. Together they’ll find their own brand of activism and learn to fight back against a world of hate. 

My Opinion: Ever since reading Annie On My Mind by Nancy Garden, I have been craving more historical sapphic girls. With Pulp in my Kindle library and this in my future shopping cart + Casey McQuiston's time traveling book in 2021, I am bound to get a fix for that craving soon. Hopefully, it will also cure heartbreak.

Loveless by Alice Oseman - APRIL 2ND

Goodreads Synopsis: The fourth novel from the phenomenally talented Alice Oseman – one of the most authentic and talked-about voices in contemporary YA.

Georgia feels loveless – in the romantic sense, anyway. She’s eighteen, never been in a relationship, or even had a crush on a single person in her whole life. She thinks she's an anomaly, people call her weird, and she feels a little broken. But she still adores romance – weddings, fan fiction, and happily ever afters. She knows she’ll find her person one day … right?

After a disastrous summer, Georgia is now at university, hundreds of miles from home. She is more determined than ever to find love – and her annoying roommate, Rooney, is a bit of a love expert, so perhaps she can help.

But maybe Georgia just doesn’t feel that way about guys. Or girls. Or anyone at all. Maybe that's okay. Maybe she can find happiness without falling in love. And maybe Rooney is a little more loveless than she first appears.

LOVELESS is a journey of identity, self-acceptance, and finding out how many different types of love there really are. And that no one is really loveless after all.

Dahlia Adler's Synopsis: Oseman’s crossed the pond before with Radio Silence, so this American’s fingers are crossed she’ll do it again with her newest, about a girl named Georgia who’s struggling with the fact that she’s eighteen and has never had so much as a crush. She’s sick of people thinking she’s broken or weird, and it isn’t like she isn’t into romance; she’s just not into it for herself. When she gets to university, she thinks maybe she can “fix” things with her roommate’s help. But what if it turns out there’s nothing to fix, and Georgia’s great and perfectly capable of happiness just as she is?

My Opinion: Alice Oseman has written a-spec characters before, but it's possible that this seemingly aromantic character will be the one that I'll read first. Not to say Radio Silence wasn't amazing, I just wouldn't know. But I can't wait to find out when I read it after I read this one. And then maybe her other books too.

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Verona Comics by Jennifer Dugan - APRIL 21ST

Goodreads Synopsis: Jubilee has it all together. She’s an elite cellist, and when she’s not working in her stepmom’s indie comic shop, she’s prepping for the biggest audition of her life. Ridley is barely holding it together. His parents own the biggest comic-store chain in the country, and Ridley can’t stop disappointing them–that is, when they’re even paying attention. They meet one fateful night at a comic convention prom, and the two can’t help falling for each other. Too bad their parents are at each other’s throats every chance they get, making a relationship between them nearly impossible . . . unless they manage to keep it a secret. Then again, the feud between their families may be the least of their problems. As Ridley’s anxiety spirals, Jubilee tries to help but finds her focus torn between her fast-approaching audition and their intensifying relationship. What if love can’t conquer all? What if each of them needs more than the other can give?

Dahlia Adler's Synopsis: Dugan debuted with one of my absolute favorite queer YA rom-coms (seriously, if you haven’t yet read Hot Dog Girl, do yourself a favor), so I’m thrilled to see her returning with another one, this one an m/f pairing where both halves of the couple are bi (or, more accurately, one is bi and one is still figuring it out). [Jubilee] is an elite cellist with a major audition coming up and a side job working at her stepmom’s indie comic shop.  Ridley works at his parents’ comic shop too, only theirs is a big chain, and no friend to the little guy. Which makes it a little difficult when the two meet at a comic-con prom and immediately hit it off, despite their family feud. I’ll take Romeo & Juliet with a much happier ending and heaps of bisexuality any day, wouldn’t you?

My Opinion: Romeo and Juliet retelling + comic convention prom + bisexuality + indie comic shops = a recipe for me to like a book.

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When You Get the Chance by Tom Ryan and Robin Stevenson-MAY 5TH

Goodreads Synopsis: [Edited] Cousins Mark [from the East coast of Canada] and Talia [from the West coast of Canada] go on a road trip to Pride in Toronto as they search for love and adventure and uncover family secrets along the way.

Dahlia Adler's Synopsis: One of the things I’m often asked to recommend is books that feature mlm and wlw solidarity, and I especially love giving answers that show it not just in characters but in authorship. Here, two Canadian rock stars of queer YA come together with a story about cousins named Mark and Talia who are reunited from their respective Canadian coasts after a death in the family and decide to take a road trip together to Toronto so Talia can see her non-binary partner and Mark can get to Pride. The two don’t have much in common, and they’ll have to let Mark’s little sister tag along, but they both know some kind of magic awaits them in TO, and they can’t wait to get there. 

My Opinion: There is too much to love about this book. Canada! WLW or WLNB/MLM solidarity! Canadian road trip! Road trips in general! Canadian Pride! PRIDE IN GENERAL! A nonbinary s/o! TORONTO, CANADA! And family secrets! Plus it gives off You Know Me Well vibes, and that's one of my favorites.

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The Extraordinaries by T.J. Klune - MAY 5TH

Goodreads Synopsis:

Some people are extraordinary. Some are just extra.

Nick Bell? Not extraordinary. But being the most popular fanfiction writer in the Extraordinaries fandom is a superpower, right?

After a chance encounter with Shadow Star, Nova City’s mightiest hero (and Nick’s biggest crush), Nick sets out to make himself extraordinary. And he’ll do it with or without the reluctant help of Seth Gray, Nick’s best friend (and maybe the love of his life).

Dahlia Adler's Synopsis: Klune’s doing double duty this year (or maybe even more? Damn, it’s hard to keep up), following up an adult contemporary fantasy with his first entry into YA, about a boy named Nick who happens to be the Extraordinaries fandom’s most popular fanfic writer, and who aims to be even more extraordinary when he meets the hero he’s been crushing on. (But maybe he’s in love with his best friend, Seth? It’s complicated. It’s always complicated.) 

My Opinion: What can I say? I'm a sucker for books about fanfic writers. And for best friends to lovers stories, so hopefully this is one, and not a fan-dates-hero story.

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The Summer of Impossibilities by Rachel Allen - MAY 12TH

Goodreads Synopsis: Skyler, Ellie, Scarlett and Amelia Grace are forced to spend the summer at the lake house where their moms became best friends.

One can’t wait. One would rather gnaw off her own arm than hang out with a bunch of strangers just so their moms can drink too much wine and sing Journey two o’clock in the morning. Two are sisters. Three are currently feuding with their mothers.

One almost sets her crush on fire with a flaming marshmallow. Two steal the boat for a midnight joyride that goes horribly, awkwardly wrong. All of them are hiding something.

One falls in love with a boy she thought she despised. Two fall in love with each other. None of them are the same at the end of the summer. 

Dahlia Adler's Synopsis: Allen’s been a personal favorite of mine since her subversive feminist debut, 17 First Kisses, and I’m thrilled to see her releasing her first queer YA, which basically looks like a gay Traveling Pants except not all the girls actually wanna be spending the summer together at the lake house where their moms became besties. Most of them can’t even stand their moms right now. All of them have secrets. And two of them…well, two of them are in love with each other, so one way or another it’s gonna be a hell of a summer.

My Opinion: Look, I'm going to be honest, I saw that it was co.pared to Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and I immediately added it to my list. Plus, strangers to friends to lovers? I love.

Date Me, Bryson Keller! by Kevin van Whye - MAY 19TH

Goodreads Synopsis: What If It's Us meets To All the Boys I've Loved Before in this upbeat and heartfelt boy-meets-boy romance that feels like a modern twist on a '90s rom-com!

Everyone knows about the dare: Each week, Bryson Keller must date someone new--the first person to ask him out on Monday morning. Few think Bryson can do it. He may be the king of Fairvale Academy, but he's never really dated before.

Until a boy asks him out, and everything changes.

Kai Sheridan didn't expect Bryson to say yes. So when Bryson agrees to secretly go out with him, Kai is thrown for a loop. But as the days go by, he discovers there's more to Bryson beneath the surface, and dating him begins to feel less like an act and more like the real thing. Kai knows how the story of a gay boy liking someone straight ends. With his heart on the line, he's awkwardly trying to navigate senior year at school, at home, and in the closet, all while grappling with the fact that this "relationship" will last only five days. After all, Bryson Keller is popular, good-looking, and straight . . . right?

Kevin van Whye delivers an uplifting and poignant coming-out love story that will have readers rooting for these two teens to share their hearts with the world--and with each other.

Dahlia Adler's Synopsis: If this book looks like the cutest, fluffiest, most make-you-melt kind of romance, it’s because it is…at least in the little romantic bubble that ensued when  when Kai took advantage of a dare that requires Bryson Keller to agree to date the first person to ask him out every Monday morning for that week. But outside the bubble, the world is still wondering who Bryson Keller’s mystery girlfriend is, the one person not to shout from the rooftops that she’s got the guy. And Kai isn’t gonna be the one to tell them it isn’t a girl at all; his spontaneous request made Bryson the first and only person he’s ever come out to. But when both the answer and Kai himself are forcibly outed, he and the boy he’s come to fall for, the boy who’s only just realized he himself is gay, will have to band together and put their relationship through the ultimate test.

My Opinion: A lot of these books are comparing themselves to Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, and this one's even comparing itself to To All the Boys I've Loved Before, so it's basically setting me up for disappointment, but I will admit, I am judging this book by it's cover, and that smile is too cute to resist.

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I Kissed Alice by Anna Birch - MAY 26TH

Goodreads Synopsis: For fans of Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda and Fangirl, I Kissed Alice is a romantic comedy about enemies, lovers, and everything in between.

Rhodes and Iliana couldn't be more different, but that's not why they hate each other. Hyper-gifted artist Rhodes has always excelled at Alabama's Conservatory of the Arts despite a secret bout of creator's block, while transfer student Iliana tries to outshine everyone with her intense, competitive work ethic. Since only one of them can get the coveted Capstone scholarship, the competition between them is fierce.

They both escape the pressure on a fanfic site where they are unknowingly collaborating on a graphic novel. And despite being worst enemies in real life, their anonymous online identities I-Kissed-Alice and Curious-in-Cheshire are starting to like each other...a lot. When the truth comes out, will they destroy each other's future?

Dahlia Adler's Synopsis: Sign me the hell up for literally every enemies-to-lovers f/f rom-com, but especially this one, where the girls who hate each other at Alabama’s Conservatory for the Arts have no idea they’re falling for each other online as they collaborate on a graphic novel for a fanfic site under their online identities. That’s…everything I love in book? Yep, pretty much!

My Opinion: This one is on my list because Alice is basically my favorite sapphic girl name ever after my rewrite of the song, All the Girls Love Alice. Unfortunately, neither girl is named Alice, but it does seem to involve something about Alice in Wonderland. Maybe the graphic novel they're creating is a queer retelling of the classic story? Can't wait to find out.

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Six Angry Girls by Adrienne Kisner - JUNE 2ND

Goodreads Synopsis: A story of mock trial, feminism, and the inherent power found in a pair of knitting needles.

Raina Petree is crushing her senior year, until her boyfriend dumps her, the drama club (basically) dumps her, the college of her dreams slips away, and her arch-nemesis triumphs.

Things aren’t much better for Millie Goodwin. Her father treats her like a servant, and the all-boy Mock Trial team votes her out, even after she spent the last three years helping to build its success.

But then, an advice columnist unexpectedly helps Raina find new purpose in a pair of knitting needles and a politically active local yarn store. This leads to an unlikely meeting in the girls’ bathroom, where Raina inspires Millie to start a rival team. The two join together and recruit four other angry girls to not only take on Mock Trial, but to smash the patriarchy in the process.

Dahlia Adler's Synopsis: Kisner is three for three in putting gloriously queer YA on shelves, and I am in love with the idea of this newest, which takes the famous “Twelve Angry Men” and situates it in Mock Trial with an ace lead. Raina’s killing it at life, until suddenly she isn’t. Millie’s in a similar spot, having just been ousted from the all-male Mock Trial team. When the two pair up to start a rival girls’ team, it isn’t just their opponents they’re gunning for—it’s the whole motherfluffin’ patriarchy.

My Opinion:

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The State of Us by Shaun David Hutchinson - JUNE 2ND

Goodreads Synopsis: The State of Us is the story of Dean and Dre—the 16-year-old sons of the Republican and Democratic candidates for President of the United States—who fall in love on the sidelines of their parents' presidential campaigns.

Dahlia Adler's Synopsis: Tis the year for political YAs, for obvious reasons, and this contemporary romance also does double duty of being a touching demisexual coming out story that happens to take place across the aisle. (The political aisle, that is.) When Dean, the son the of the Republican candidate, and Dre, son of the Democratic candidate, find themselves locked in close quarters, they’re surprised to find that they quite enjoy the company of someone else who knows what it’s like to be in the junior spotlight. Soon, romance sparks, which is a bit of problem considering the whole “opponents” thing, not to mention Dean still trying to figure out how to deal with and discuss the fact that he’s demisexual. But someone out there seems determined to make their problem much, much bigger, and they’ll have to figure out who wants their relationship outed, how they can make it work, and how they can reconcile a future.

My Opinion: While unfortunately this love story has no Prince from England or Wales, this book is definitely in the same genre as Red, White, and Royal Blue, though of course Dean and Dre will be more YA than our favorite international political couple. No matter what, I can tell I'm going to love the angst in this one.

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The Falling in Love Montage by Clara Smyth - JUNE 9TH

Goodreads Synopsis:

Saoirse doesn’t believe in love at first sight or happy endings. If they were real, her mother would still be able to remember her name and not in a care home with early onset dementia. A condition that Saoirse may one day turn out to have inherited.So she’s not looking for a relationship. She doesn’t see the point in igniting any romantic sparks if she’s bound to burn out.

But after a chance encounter at a house party, Saoirse is about to break her own rules. For a girl with one blue freckle, an irresistible sense of mischief, and a passion for rom-coms.

Unbothered by Saoirse’s rulebook, Ruby proposes a loophole: They don’t need true love to have one summer of fun, complete with every cliché, rom-com montage-worthy date they can dream up—and a binding agreement to end their romance come fall. It would be the perfect plan, if they weren’t forgetting one thing about the Falling in Love Montage: when it’s over, the characters actually fall in love… for real.

Dahlia Adler's Synopsis:

Love books that make you laugh, swoon, and cry? Then you are going to fall head over heels for Smyth’s debut, an Ireland-set romantic contemporary about a girl named Saiorse who’s losing her mother to early-onset dementia and is determined never to get involved with anyone as a result…until she meets Ruby, and all bets are off. The girls agree to a no-strings-attached summer of just the good parts of romance, the movie montage where the couple does all sorts of fun things as they fall in love. But when the end of the summer comes, will they be able to let go? 

My Opinion: The falling in love montage is my favorite part of love stories and I can't wait to read one set in Ireland! No strings attached? I don't think so Saiorse and Ruby. If they aren't together by the end of the book, I'll be tying the strings myself and writing fanfiction for days. I've only had one relationship that would qualify for a falling in love montage, most likely because I've only been in love once, and that's... ended, so I need something to fill my heart and this book just might be it.

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Check out @lgbtqreads for more recommendations and check out the link at the top of the post for the rest of the list!

[arecomicsevengood]

Is This How I See Jaime?

Objectively speaking, I am not that old. Still there’s no getting past the fact that I am getting older every day, like everybody else. I might not be at the point where my body betrays my age, where I ache all the time and grunt when I stand, but my mind still carries with it the weight of decades of lived experience, and this can at any moment make me want to lie down.

There are few artists that capture the feeling of aging quite like Jaime Hernandez. Partly this is because of his working method. No one else does what he does, making serialized comics for close to forty years, that tell stories with the same characters. These are not truly STORIES, utilizing flashbacks that provide crucial context to events and create literary effects, even as the overall narrative they tell moves forward in time and builds an attachment between reader and character comparable to long-running television series. Still, when broken up into serialized installments in issues of Love And Rockets, it can frequently feel like nothing is happening. Often, what you get in an individual issue is around fifteen pages, split between multiple pieces focused on different characters. These fragments are focused, compressed in a manner closer to cinema than television, but you’re still only getting what might amount to three to five minutes depicted on-screen. With a few exceptions, what you get in an issue is not a complete short story with a beginning, middle, and end. For all the influence the Hernandez Brothers have had on alternative comics, reading the people they’ve influenced will not prepare you for how much Love And Rockets is modeled off of serialized comics, and how much of its power it draws from continuity and extended engagement.

This pacing demands a certain level of expectation-free interaction, which is crucial to deep relationships. It’s worth noting Jaime’s strips run alongside his brother Gilbert’s work, which is similar in some ways, but by no means the same. Gilbert’s body of work is a lot more complicated, due in part to how prolific he is, the meta/self-referential/self-deconstructive elements of the stories he’s telling, and also how he draws tits like Mark Newgarden draws noses, that just keep getting larger. He deserves a deep critical reading, but I don’t have the energy, money, or time to keep up with him. Running the two brothers’ work side by side makes Love And Rockets implicitly about family, which then in turn becomes a subject each cartoonist explicitly makes work about. And not just “chosen” family, but the actual people who’ve known you your entire life. Which is, inherently, a concept which both means more the older you get, and remains somewhat alienating. As a reader, it helps to be prepared to extend to Love And Rockets the goodwill one would a family member, to begin to get on its level.

On a superficial level, making work about family seems somewhat conservative and nostalgic. That’s not to suggest it’s not valuable, or worth fighting for. There’s just a certain adjustment of values or attitudes a reader needs to make to get on board with the work, that might be at odds with the punk rock alternative comics reputation that precedes it. The comics themselves are built on a formal language of cartooning that’s older and out of fashion: Sixties Ditko comics, Lil Archie, Dennis The Menace Goes To Mexico. This adds to a feeling of being about aging in a way younger art cartoonists inspired by their same-age immediate peers can’t get to. For instance, I love Olivier Schrauwen, and I can see the influence Yuichi Yokoyama has on his work, and I view the two of them as peers in dialogue, creating the future of comics, which creates a totally different reading experience than I get reading work that feels more in dialogue with the past. The formal choices of the Hernandez brothers, including that their work appears for the first time in serialized comic book formats, calls conscious attention to history. Consciousness of the past hurts, and this truth is a huge element of the plots and themes of Jaime’s work.

It’s the sheer graphic strength of Jaime’s drawing that enables it to stick in the memory. He’s able to capture a tiny gesture and render it iconic through use of line and spotted blacks. The precision he brings his images gives them a certain ease of recall. This is the crux of a two-page spread at the climax of The Love Bunglers where, as a bunch of different stories and images are recalled, now rendered at different angles, they’re all there in your consciousness, in a mix of your memories of the comic and your memories of your own individual life. It’s a hugely cathartic climax.

However, both Gilbert and Jaime have this aspect to what they do that can easily frustrate a reader, and it is seemingly inextricable from the core of their power: Once a point is reached where you can easily follow along, and a satisfying conclusion to a story occurs, the next several issues will completely destabilize that and you will again not know what exactly is going on. For instance, if you read the Perla La Loca collection, collecting the “Wigwam Bam” and “Chester Square” graphic novels, by the end of it, you will have a very exciting experience that should convince you Jaime Hernandez is one of the greatest cartoonists in the world. Reading the Penny Century collection of the work that followed, plenty of stories will leave you feeling like he lost his touch, or is spinning his wheels. At the end of the book, and the “Everybody Loves Me Baby” story, you’re knocked flat on your ass again, but if you had read the original comic books as they came out, who knows if you would’ve stuck it out that long.

This, by the way, is one of the most realistic things there is. Life’s “things just keep happening” quality will fuck you up time and again. While I haven’t given up on life just yet, I have stopped reading Love And Rockets a few times. I’m not the sort of reader who sticks with a series out of inertia. I have always been hyper-aware of the value of my comic-book buying dollar, and therefore pretty fickle. If I read two issues straight of a comic that feels like it’s treading water, I would be done with it. I’ve gone back and picked up things after the fact and filled in gaps, or I’ve switched to reading trade collections checked out from the library. I bought the first two issues of the recently relaunched Love And Rockets volume 4 in one go, realized that it was continuing stories from Love And Rockets: New Stories, and didn’t go back for more, put off by the stories’ continuation from the previous volume.

It’s only now, with the release of Is This How You See Me and Tonta, that I am reading the stories that followed up The Love Bunglers in a complete form. They blew me away. The effects Jaime’s going for at any given moment may be subtle, but they accumulate, and this accumulation then becomes the true effect, and why I analogize it to aging: There’s this sheer weight that results from how things just continue to happen, and each time they hit you with what feels like more force, even as the moments themselves are minor ones. This is a true-to-life feeling that is very hard to capture. It’s present in the relentless pace of Charlie Kaufman’s masterpiece Synecdoche, New York, but that is a movie too intense to rewatch for many. Jaime’s work is built around you returning to it, which means it has to be somewhat inviting, and include levity.

Is This How You See Me focuses on the characters of Maggie and Hopey, introduced in 1981 as teenagers, now presumably in their mid-fifties, happily married to other people but still weighing the possibility of cheating with their ex. The characters return to a “punk rock reunion” in their hometown, to reminisce on the past with old friends, and old characters we haven’t seen in years appear, visibly older than when they were last drawn, but still recognizably themselves. This plot lends the comic some elements of nostalgic fan-service that I intellectually feel an aversion to. It feels almost like the plot is designed transparently for those purposes. Bringing back old characters would strike me as a crass project in the pages of X-Men or Legion Of Super-Heroes, but the naturalism of Jaime’s approach means that it allows him to show me things I legitimately haven’t seen in a comic book before. It’s probable they’ve been in movies or books, but I would argue they work better in comics.

For instance, there’s a scene where the reunited cast are showing each other photos on their phones.  This is a normal thing people do, and so surely it has been depicted in a film. But in a comic, there’s this weird meta element to it. Smartphones have text message conversations appear in little word balloons, right? The word balloon being a technique comics used to depict speech, as part of their normal communication system of images. Then, when interacting in physical space, people show pictures to each other, using this device they usually use for the mimesis of speech over distances, but they’re communicating using pictures to show what their life is like. Which is what the comic itself is doing more generally. So, there’s there’s this semiotic quality to the gesture of the outstretched hand with phone in it which feels really profound when depicted in comics, while it would feel sort of stupid and uncinematic in a movie, where the aging theater audience would have to squint and ask their neighbor what is being shown in the text message they’re seeing on screen.

Similarly, we see the married couple of Maggie and Ray, separated from each other for the length of the weekend, fretting over how much they should be in communication, drafting texts and deleting them. There’s an intimacy people who live with each other share, where much of what they encounter apart from the other person they want to talk to them about, because to be close to another person is to have them in some ways always present inside your head. Depicting the writing of a text, and then the decision to delete it, captures both the intimacy of a couple and the intimacy of one’s own private thoughts, in a way that only a form with the intimacy of a comic is able to depict effectively. Prose alone can’t capture the fluctuations of posture and self-presentation which is the heart of deleting a draft.

Concern for one’s image is depicted as well in the title pages to individual chapters, showing characters taking pictures of themselves in mirrors with their phones. These pages seem to depict not so much the cultivated selfie but the self-awareness of the drafting process, the titles above them taking on a certain poetry, built around the words spoken to oneself unconsciously that are the opposite of the language one chooses to send in a message to convey a precise thought.

This stuff really impressed me, and it all fits within a language of small gestures. While there are tons of books that are about how connection works in the digital age, it also always feels like that stuff is a commentary on how young people live. I’m not sure I’ve seen anything as interested in how people in middle age use these devices. Of course, it’s possible examples exist in work targeted to older audiences, and I just missed it because it wasn’t marketed to me.

It was actually Jaime’s other 2019 book, Tonta, that spoke to me more. Here, the aging the book is about is a coming-of-age thing about a high school student, and the book has this spirited youthful quality to it from the outset. While other, darker, plot elements unfold as it goes on, what was interesting to me is that the noir-like narrative that exists as a counterpoint in the finished book might not have even seemed part of the same story to a reader of Love And Rockets, where the character nicknamed Tonta just sort of suddenly emerged. There’s even a few pages in this collection given over to narration by Ray, who otherwise doesn’t appear in the book. These elements don’t seem dissonant or like they don’t belong. It just makes the book itself feel loose, like it feels as free and exploratory as a teenager looking for something to do. Placed together inside a book, the disparate threads become united by having a main character to pay attention to how developments of the plot affect her. The book has a real tonal arc as it unfolds, and the way the book gets you in its grip from such a goofy start seems to replicate how the stories about the Maggie character developed over time, here captured in miniature.

The sum of these two books will at some point only be a portion of a future volume of the Love And Rockets library, the formatting of the Perla La Loca and Penny Century books I mentioned earlier. There are portions from recent issues of Love And Rockets that are natural continuations and codas from these books, and what tapestries these fragments will be woven into is unknown to me. Another gutpunch could be just around the corner or years in the offing. There’s really no way to know what the future holds.

[isitokaytosayin561]

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[nadeemahmedmumbai22-blog]

Writing is not everyone’s cup of tea. It is not everyone’s forte to place some words in a sentence or page and then call it a masterpiece. While a person is not born a writer, he can definitely become one if he follows certain steps.

Ashwin Ranga, Author of Fourth Wave, shares that the road to becoming a writer is long but a rewarding one. However, the following aspects can help even better:

·         Set targets and hit them, every day

There has to be a goal set clear to wake up every day and work towards. Target helps us evaluate ourselves and helps us build our next plan to action.

·         Do not give in to self – doubt

Self-doubt does the greatest harm to human psychology and hence never ever let there be a day where you would doubt your talent or ambition

·         Never do it for the glory, do it for the joy of writing

Glory and fame fade away but the passion remains till the last breath and hence always remember why you started it all in the first place.

·         You must never be satisfied with your work.

Ask questions, ask for honest criticisms and always look for betterment in your work. Satisfaction stops you from giving your best and deters you from tapping your unexplored territories

 Nadeem Ahmed, the author of Doomed in Dubai, shares that having an inner voice always works when it comes to writing. Apart from this, having a disciplined life also contributes to becoming a better writer.

·         Develop an Inner Voice

Firstly, the most important thing is, to be honest with yourself and establish the fact that you have a good writing voice. You have to put yourself in the shoes of the reader and be confident that you will be able to portray the message across in a clear and concise manner.

·         Discipline and Dedication

Understand the fact that you will have to dedicate a lot of time to writing which means sacrificing your social life and time with family. Also, discipline and patience is a key element. Some days the words will fall out of your mouth with ease. Some days it will be impossible to string a sentence together.

·         Prepare Well

Do full extensive research on the subject you intend to write about. It’s paramount to get your facts right.

·         Appreciate Your Capabilities

Finally, give yourself the credit you deserve as an author. You get so immersed in writing and finishing the book that you forget what you have achieved. Everyone has a story but not everyone can write a book!

 Geetika Saigal, the author of Finding Your G-Spot in Life, believes that writing, just as any other creative art, is brutally draining yet crazily exhilarating. She also debunks the biggest myth of books being written while sitting in a café or while watching the sunset in the flawless Mediterranean waters nor sprawled on the lush green grass of rolling hills. Here are Saigal’s 4 tips, to help you ride this lion and not get eaten up in the process.

·         Play the Part

Writing a book requires discipline. I call it a daily rhythm instead of a routine, because unless its music to your ears, you won’t be able to do it day after day after day. Whether your creative juices flow at the set time or not, sit it out! Choose your time slot, pick your favourite spot, set realistic goals - follow it you must. Each day will not be equal, but together, they will equal success.

·         Don’t let your birdie fly before you give it wings

The worst thing for a writer is self-doubt. It’s important you keep your inspiration, your story, your message, your characters, your plots and your thoughts, all very close to your heart, till they fully take shape. Just as the oven door shouldn’t be needlessly opened before the cake is done, sharing your book-in-baking with even well-meaning close ones dishing out heartfelt feedback, can be traumatic. Let your voice be the only voice in your head so that you write the book you want to read.

·         Be your own worst critic

Attack, don’t defend. There are two distinct phases in writing a book - the draft and the final one. While the former is a bundle of emotions, the latter should be cold and objective. A true artist will always find flaws in his/her art. Rip it, tear it, trim it, delete it - make it worthy of your signature.

·         Keep your un-block potion ready

There’s no writer who’s not faced a writer’s block…and there’s no one potion that can cure all. You need to find your own - the one that gives you a sense of calm in the middle of frustration, unclogging the gutters of your brain and igniting your soul once again.

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  #Nadeemahmed 

[twocoursemeal-blog]

TCM Eats: Oppa Sushi

Oppa Sushi (Allston) 

It’s finally here! Our Oppa review has been a long time coming, with previous attempts leading us to bb.q chicken and Hopewell Bar and Kitchen. Dear readers, we’re excited to finally review one of our favorite restaurants in the area! Today on TCM, we bring you… Oppa!

We ate:

Miso Soup

California Maki

Salmon Avocado Maki

Tuna Avocado Maki

Shrimp Tempura Maki

Crazy Maki

Angela’s Thoughts

Oppa Sushi is one of our favorite restaurants in the Boston area and we’ve been referencing it and promising to review it for… quite a while. And we’ve finally reviewed it! We chose to go when it was open, and didn’t get distracted on the way by another restaurant this time, or anything!

Oppa is a small shop -- a short flight of stairs leads you downward into a tiny, cramped two-room eatery with a sushi bar. A number of Korean ads for soju and eclectic East Asian accoutrement decorate the walls. Since the place is so small and the food is delicious, it's often crowded, and can have a pretty substantial wait. With that said, it’s worth it!

We went for a pretty late dinner (after drafting Friday Night Magic at our friendly local game store). Since we arrived after the dinner rush, we were seated pretty promptly. As we were walking in, we saw a delicious plate of fried squid on another dining party’s table, and pretty much immediately upon being seated, we asked if we could order it too. Along with that, we ordered the Maki Combo for Two, and sake.

Our calamari, miso soup, and sake came out pretty promptly. The miso soup was good, with tender pieces of tofu and substantial pieces of wakame and sliced scallions. The sake was also quite good (though they didn’t give us a towel for the handle, making it hard to pour). The fried calamari had both good and bad elements. The dish was made up of large pieces of squid tentacle fried, and drizzled with a dark, reduced soy-based sauce. The squid itself was fried quite well, but a little on the greasy side. The sauce was pretty overwhelming for me; I couldn’t taste much else when I had a squid piece with lots of sauce on it. Overall, I’d call it more good than bad, but I’m not sure if I’d order it again soon.

All of the sushi on Maki Combo Part I were well-executed classics. The shrimp tempura had a lovely crunchy texture, the tobiko on the california roll added a nice pop of texture, and the salmon avo roll was fresh. The tuna was an absolute standout, however, and I usually prefer salmon to tuna in sushi; the fish was amazing quality, and melted in the mouth. Oppa’s fish is always excellent, but this tuna was fantastic!

Maki Combo Part II was the real showstopper -- after we finished Maki Combo Part I, we were brought a flaming dish, on which a crazy roll rested. The presentation was quite beautiful, and we waited for the fire to burn out before eating. The crazy roll itself (shrimp tempura, avocado, and cucumber inside, spicy mayo, tobiko, eel sauce and scallions outside) was tasty, but heavy, in my opinion. There was a lot of *stuff* on it. The flavors paired well, and I enjoyed eating it, but the dominant flavor was the spicy mayo (which is *actually* spicy at Oppa, yay!). I probably would have enjoyed it more if it had about half the spicy mayo on it.

Overall, Oppa does sushi *very* well, and isn’t too bad at the other stuff on their menu either. The owner and staff are lovely, and the food is always delicious. I’d probably eat there everyday, if I could, and I don’t think I’d get bored.

Matt’s Thoughts

Finally, Oppa is here! Man, it has been a long time coming. While our numerous attempts had led us to some serendipitous meals (<3 bb.q) we were always bummed to not be able to go. On this particular night, we were determined. Tonight we would eat sushi. We went in nervous - would Oppa fall prey to the TCM curse and actually suck? Nope. That late Friday night, Oppa was firing on all cylinders, and we were able to walk in, sit down, relax, and feast.

On our way in, we passed by a larger table of happy eaters (Oppa is a small shop with about 24 seats) and they had what looked to be a bowl of deep fried crispy squid tentacles coated with a dark sauce. My eyes went wide, and I made a mental note that we should order it once we sat down.

Oppa is a charming, unassuming restaurant down a short flight of stairs. Were it not for the often-clever sandwich board advertisements outside the door, it would be nearly camouflaged into the background of the Allston storefronts. As you walk down, you’re always greeted by an enthusiastic “Irasshaimase!!” and encouraged to find a seat you like. There are a lot of two tops, a few fours, and 2-4 seats at the sushi bar, depending on how much you value your personal space. The chef there works behind the counter, and often his family will be the ones waiting on you.

On a previous visit, my roommates had introduced me to the Maki Combo for Two - an incredible 40-piece set with miso soup for only $30. We ordered it, of course, alongside some of those amazing-looking fried squid tentacles, and Angela was kind enough to buy us some hot sake to enjoy as we waited for our food and discussed our recent successes and (mostly) failures at a recent Friday Night Magic draft at a local store (I scrubbed out in Round 1, it was awful :( ).

The sake was standard (as expected), and we definitely missed the small towel tied around the carafe, as the bottle was a bit too hot for us to reasonably hold once it had been delivered to our table. Not a huge deal, but it was definitely out of the ordinary hospitality we’ve come to expect from Oppa. I’m sure if we’d mentioned it they would have gotten us one, but we didn’t quite care enough for that and as such I wouldn’t knock them for it.

The squid arrived first, and it was everything I had hoped for. Perhaps because the head chef is Korean, they used much larger squid in their preparations (not mad about it). The pieces were wonderfully chewy and savory, and the sauce was surprisingly darkly flavored. Not quite sure how else to describe it - it wasn’t quite a caramelized flavor, and wasn’t quite smokey. I loved them, and happily ate the remaining pieces after Angela decided she had had her fill. This is something I’d happily order again with some squid-loving friends.

Miso soup came next, and just to get this out of the way, I love Oppa’s miso soup. It’s not too salty, and has a great mix of tofu, seaweed, and plenty of scallions to add some bite to the otherwise rich and delicate flavors of miso, tofu, and seaweed. I should probably order a bigger bowl when I go again, but I usually forget.

Three of our four maki rolls came out at once - salmon avocado, tuna avocado, and shrimp tempura. Oppa does the thing I love with sushi where it cuts rolls into 8 pieces instead of 6, which for me makes the meal last longer and gives me more of an opportunity to savor small bites and share as appropriate.

The salmon avocado was wonderful. Salmon is by far my favorite raw fish, and the quality of Oppa’s fish is just excellent. One time I overheard a server provide in response to the question “Where do you get your fish?” the answer “We go around to different markets, but sometimes we go out fishing and bring it back.” Was this salmon freshly caught? No idea. Does it matter? Nope. It was clean and rich, and well matched by the ripe avocado. To be honest, I tend to prefer contrast in my sushi and don’t often go for avocado+fish rolls, as I feel the textures and general flavors are too similar, but Oppa is one of the few places that I don’t mind it.

As you may know, tuna is not my favorite, but Oppas is again an exception. Just look at the color! It was pleasantly firm and actually paired better with the avocado than I expected. I was happy to eat it, but also happy to leave a few extra pieces for Ange. The California roll performed much the same, excellent fresh ingredients, and the cucumber provided a welcome textural contrast from the two previous fish+avocado rolls.

The shrimp tempura roll may have been the best one I’ve ever had. This shrimp was just cooked *perfectly*, with a perfect sweet and delicate shrimp flavor, tender texture without being rubbery, and a textbook tempura coating. I LOVED this roll and would have happily eaten several, it was so good, which is why I was so excited when the crazy roll came out.

This roll is hot. Literally. It comes out in a small boat of tin foil surrounded by live flames, and you’re instructed to let the flames go out on their own before eating. It’s a whimsical little display, but the whimsy turns to wonder when you eat the maki. The slightly-warmed bottoms but cool tops make for a play on thermal sense I don’t often experience in sushi restaurants. Oppa also displays one of its many small but impactful quirks: a spicy mayo that is actually spicy. While the mayo was warmed slightly by the fire, it also carried a sharp, addictive burn. It makes me wish all other sushi restaurants offered spicy mayo like this. WIth the tobiko, scallion slices, and shrimp tempura interior (swoon) this roll was a masterpiece of harmonious contrasts. What a wonderful way to end our meal.

To have a meal of this quality and size is unusual in my experience, and combined with the exceptionally warm and friendly staff, it makes Oppa a place that I more or less always want to go to. I personally think it’s worth a trip, is affordable enough to take the role of “neighborhood staple”, and accommodating enough I’d be happy to go with a larger group (but be prepared to wait a few minutes for a table). This recent trip just reaffirms my love for this restaurant - make sure you try it!

Overall:

What a relief that Oppa managed to best the TCM curse! It was just as good as always, and we’re glad that we finally get to tell you about one of our favorite restaurants in the area. With surprisingly low prices and surprisingly high quality fish, we both think it’s a place you should visit at least once (but really, more than once). Also, invite us, if you go... We live right down the street.

We give Oppa 5 high-quality maki rolls out of 5.

IMPORTANT SIDE NOTE: Oppa is currently “kickstarting” an order of their shirts (the ones the servers wear), and if you go, you should absolutely ask about getting on that signup list before spots run out. We did, and we can’t wait to get the notice that they’ve reached their goal.

[vegas-glitz]

How Publishers Decide on Manuscripts

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How Publishers Pick out Fiction Manuscripts For Print And Gain

Anyone has a tale to convey to, and common desire is to publish a e book. This desire arrives from several dreams no matter whether financially or level of popularity driven. The advent of the private personal computer supplies just more than enough inspiration to get amateurs started on their means to creating. The simplicity of computer system word processing revolutionized the ease of composing, letting for more would be writers.

With the avalanche of manuscript submissions the rules for getting books had to adjust. The publishing businesses had to create tips and redefine. To remedy the trouble, we have to discover out how publishers select fiction manuscripts for print and revenue. Background

With motivation to produce currently being the driving force, it wasn’t unheard of fifteen yrs ago for potential authors to bang out manuscripts on word processors or electrical typewriters. The Authors would go by way of a rewrite changing as numerous web pages as needed. This rewrite may possibly demand working through full chapters given that a improve to a person paragraph would disrupt the numbering of sequential webpages. Once finished, the creator then experienced reedit quite a few occasions prior to he experienced the best draft of the “globe’s best novel”. A likely novelist may well be thwarted by this kind of as a complicated process, his story hardly ever place to paper.

To remedy the present-day demand, around 5,000 publishing companies start out up each calendar year, and with that hopes of great money and literary achievement as they contend to fill shelf and cyberspace. In accordance to R.R. Bowker Organization (Cox 2000), 53,000 new book titles roll of the presses. The cold hard reality is that only 3 out of ten books basically make dollars for the publisher. The analyze of all publishers and how they will need to do business to realize success would be exhausting and not condensed enough to suit into this presentation.

Publishing residences print generally two varieties of publications: fiction, non-fiction. Non-fiction textbooks go over biographies, self-assistance, how to, journey, and myriad genres as well a lot of to record. Likewise, fiction books deal with thriller, faith, historical, horror, criminal offense, and/or a combination of the over. I will report how fiction publishers compete for accomplishment in a fiction manufacturing industry. Technique

Publishers seek out a selected form of reader dependent on the style they focus in. For instance, William D. Watkins, acquisitions editor of Broadman & Holman Publishing, described in a 1998 author’s meeting that publishers of religious fiction seek out their examining audience 35-calendar year-outdated girls viewers. On the other hand, not only does a publisher these kinds of as Bethany Textbooks contend with publishers of the similar style, they have to entice this exact viewers out of the at any time-well known self-help segment of the bookstore.

Nonetheless, right before the printing, fiction writers ship their earth shattering manuscripts to publishers. They want to be printed to fulfill their egos, generate dollars, acquire notoriety, be a part product, or contribute to the literary treasury (McHugh, 1999). These authors contend towards astronomical figures of other manuscripts sent to the really identical acquisitions editor. Assortment Requirements

The Acquisitions Editor has the big work of getting proactive in the composing sector area. Authors find many publishers mainly because they are authorities in the subject which they publish. These specialists/publishers split down the business into departments of fiction and non-fiction, and then by style. An acquisitions editor may well uncover himself functioning in a office or style and will be proactive in locating new authors, exploring the market, negotiating contracts and producing publications.

Cox also relates that the acquisitions editor is active working with unsolicited manuscripts. This is a sensitive spot considering that not way too many publishers want to hazard the $10,000 to $18,000 it normally takes to publish book on an unfamiliar or unpublished creator. Even so, the extremely manuscripts they reject one more firm may well accept and publish a finest seller.

Movie star utilized to offer books (Marks, 1998) now the development has changed. Marks explained that among 1995 and 1998 the profits of hardback books have lessened 7.5 percent. The big e book publishing firms who utilized to award million greenback contracts can no for a longer period pay for to do so. Smarter acquisitions are essential.

The acquisitions editor must have a normal for picking manuscripts and adhere to that demanding set of procedures. The manuscript have to have plausible people and the writing should not be grammatically or technically flawed. The story requires to be excellent as the editor has small time to invest on sloppy crafting. Eventually, the manuscript ought to meet up with the specifications of the publishing company. For instance, Broadman and Holman Publishing Firm does not want erotica or profanity and the Wilshire Publishing Organization only needs tales that have figures conquering insurmountable odds (Young 2000). Furthermore, numerous Christian Publishers do not want angels to miraculously descend and rescue a heroine. Salesmanship

The moment he selects a manuscript, the acquisitions editor will have to be ready to both of those provide his corporation to a very likely creator and offer an author to his company. According to McHugh, he could possibly pitch author credentials, issue of reserve, the description of the function, advertising and marketing to qualified audience, finances and editorial progress. This is the person most very likely to make or break the results of his company.

If the acquisitions editor manages to promote the manuscript, the organization will have to straight away start off a internet marketing plan. This shouldn’t be far too tricky at this stage because the acquisitions editor probably bundled a promoting technique shared by the proposing author or devised by himself. Early on, the publisher ought to fulfill thoughts of who is the supposed viewers, exactly where can we reach them, is the writer ready to vacation to sign the reserve, should really the creator vacation, how a lot need to the guide value, how lots of copies ought to we make? Cox also indicated that the deficiency of a great publicity will result in a literary masterpiece to fail. Dialogue

Even though these thoughts are probed, a choice committee is examining the manuscript to confirm the acquisitions editor’s hunch. They also search for validity of the tale and can the tale sell to the meant audience. This committee of reviewers will have as significantly pull as the acquisitions editor as they share obligation on reserve acceptance. This creator managed to have a manuscript recognized by an acquisitions editor pending on the result of the evaluation committee. The committee voted not to take the manuscript. In the course of the acquisitions system, the editor will not often make contact with the creator and may well reject the manuscript without the need of providing cause. This is because of to the higher quantity of submissions. Editorial Worries

An evaluation of the producing method may uncover an inexperienced creator with an concept just typing absent. Later, as he continuously researches his trade, he learns information about writing technicalities that drive him to reconstruct his story. One disheartening problems new authors make is Stage of Perspective (POV). This phrase describes who is speaking and what they are emotion. Abusing POV in a tale causes confusion for the reader.

Consider this case in point:

John and his occasion approached the leading of the crest, as they wove by the underbrush. Although continue to 20 yards from the clearing, John could make out Marta and a further male carrying a pot. He read threatening voices, but couldn’t discern what was mentioned.

He and his warriors approached the clearing bit by bit, methodically. He realized he had the benefit of include and concealment, but Angus experienced the large floor, and Marta. Small of a far better strategy, John dispersed his remaining 3 guys to advantageous positions and experienced them completely ready their fire. “You there, in the clearing. You are absolutely surrounded. Launch the lady, and you gained’t get damage” he yelled, sounding like a scene from bad film.

Marta’s eyes perked up and her coronary heart beat with new lifetime. “John!” she referred to as out excitedly prior to remaining pulled down. “You fellas are going to get it now.”

“Will you be sure to just shut up!” Angus put his hand about her mouth even though keeping his pistol to her head. “Hear out there, possibly we can make a offer,” he...explained slowly and gradually climbing, applying Marta for go over. John was fuming, hardly in command. His fists clenched and unclenched with unbridled fury. It experienced been also a great deal observing them thrust Marta close to, but now they hid guiding her. He motioned for two warriors to remain, as he took one particular with him. His thoughts was operating furiously, hoping to keep forward of Angus’s doable moves. He and his warrior would circle, flanking Angus. If his warriors have been fantastic sufficient, they may well have a clean shot. “What form of deal did you have in mind?” John shouted before transforming positions.

This POV is disconcerting due to the fact the reader is thrown close to from the ideas of a person character to the other. The subsequent is an illustration of superior POV:

John and his social gathering approached the leading of the crest as they wove through the underbrush a number of hours later. Even though nonetheless twenty yards from the clearing, John could make out Marta and one more male carrying a pot. He heard threatening voices, but couldn’t discern what was reported. He and his warriors approached the clearing bit by bit, methodically. He knew he had the edge of cover and concealment, but Angus experienced the large ground, and Marta. Limited of a much better approach, John dispersed his remaining three gentlemen to beneficial positions and experienced them completely ready their fire. “You there, in the clearing. You are fully surrounded. Release, Marta and you received’t get hurt,” John yelled, sounding like a scene from negative movie. He listened to Marta contact his title with a voice total of hope. Then he observed Angus knock her down. You fellas are likely to get it now, he considered.

“Pay attention out there, possibly we can make a offer,” reported Angus.

John was fuming, hardly in handle. His fists clenched and unclenched with unbridled fury. It experienced been as well a lot observing them push Marta all around, but now they hid at the rear of her. He motioned for two warriors to keep on being, as he took one with him. His intellect was working furiously, making an attempt to retain forward of Angus’ feasible moves. He and his warrior would circle, flanking Angus. If his warriors were being superior more than enough, they might have a clean shot. “What type of deal did you have in mind?” John shouted prior to modifying positions. With the latter POV, the reader lives the scene by means of one character’s eyes.

Author Duty

Just to fortify, reconstructing a tale both handwritten or typed was a terrible process only a number of decades ago. Much less authors basically submitted tales. Publishers could select and opt for as they sought out new authors. Now, the computer enables chopping and pasting, computerized web page numbering, tab setting and site formatting. Possessing much easier obtain to completing a novel brought on numerous extra submissions (Sally, 1999). The publishing firms experienced to adjust its eyesight of trying to get authors to filtering as a result of the piles of infinite manuscript submissions. Now, it is a lot easier to produce a guide but more challenging to publish it. The publishers have created strict submission rules that place the creator in a placement to be editor and publicist just to get a question letter read through.

Acquisition

These days, manuscripts end up in one particular of three piles review later, discard, and evaluate instantly. The acquisitions editor has to have a system of motion to filter via the avalanche of mail that comes his way. Some authors haphazardly send total manuscripts, wholly disregarding the publishers’ needs. Both they don’t know what to ship, or they are arrogant ample to assume their manuscript ought to get priority about all others. The editors have stringent policies they should adhere to, if not, the corporation could operate all-around acquiring manuscripts that are defective and not serving the demands of the audience.

The evaluation afterwards pile is in which an unidentified creator who has done his homework will most probable obtain himself. The authors have researched the name and mailing tackle of the acquisitions editor, they have submitted their manuscript in accordance with the publisher coverage. This generally implies a writer has despatched out a letter telling of their guide, and the editor wrote again inquiring for either a synopsis of the e-book or the full textual content manuscript. Most very likely the editor will able to get to and react to this pile inside 4 months.

The discard pile is not normally a heap of worthless manuscripts. This pile is composed of manuscripts that do not fulfill the demands of the publisher. Either the content is mistaken, the paper is grammatically incorrect, or is made up of other significant flaws that draw damaging awareness to by itself. At last this consists of authors who have carried out almost everything the right way, but for 1 motive or one more (hardly ever specified), the publisher received’t convert it into a e-book. These rejections would usually be returned to an writer if the creator prepaid return postage. The golden rule for remaining out of this pile is to have an understanding of the requirements of the business, ship a perfect draft, observe all submission guide traces, and include things like a self dealt with stamped envelope.

Oh to be in the evaluation promptly pile. This pile is reserved for many unique authors. One particular established of authors could have pitched the book at a author’s convention and gained the assurance of the editor soon after a face-to-deal with assembly. One more established of authors is properly acknowledged with whom the firm had either designed initial contact or by now experienced a performing romance.

Production

This course of action may possibly seem cruel and inhumane, leaving several authors operate screaming in aggravation. However, it is like any small business exactly where the workers grumble but do not have the stress of carrying their providers on their work opportunities and reputations. Think about this excerpt from an The united states Property Publishing Firm’s publishing deal. “This agreement is entered into by the two functions in good faith, with the mutual understanding that neither party has confirmed, or is to assurance, the sale of any distinct number of copies of the said literary work, it remaining unattainable to predict, before publication, what achievements any book might achieve”.

The previous paragraph assures that the publisher assumes the risk of manuscript variety. The manuscript is only as thriving as the advertising professionalism of a publishing company and the potential of the creator. Noneffective publicity is undoubtedly a person threat the two events get. Even so a loosely penned manuscript is likely to be torn aside by a knowlegable e book reviewer. Recalling the previously section on POV, take into consideration this paraphrase from a evaluate “the point of check out in this story switched often leaving the reader confused” (Military Instances, 2001). This sort of assertion will have viewers scurrying absent from the newstands. Not a effective ingredient to the success of a e book.

We can see how publication has adjusted above the previous two a long time. Income that had flowed freely to wine and dine authors and million greenback advancements no more time exist. New publishing businesses arise regular monthly to rival and steal business enterprise from corporate giants. The funds faucet is clogged leaving publishing houses acquiring ingenious ways to publish and make profit. Most of the reponsibility lies on the acquisitions editor who need to have foresight, instinct, a disciplined collection strategy, and a publicists coronary heart. Thier observe of avoidance and high quality handle function hand in hand towards productive e book publishing.

References

Cox, J. Self-Publishing: Recommendations, methods, & procedures. The book lovers’ haven 26 paragraphs. Retrieved February 6, 2001 from the World Broad World-wide-web: [http://www.execpc.com/~mbr/bookwatch/writepub/]

Marks, J. (1998, January 12). Publish and don’t perish. U.S. News five web pages Retrieved February 16, 2001 from the Globe Huge Web: [http://www.usnews.com/usnews/issue/980112/12publ.htm]

McHugh, J. Far more checklists of acquisitions strategies and procedures. The publishing law heart 2 internet pages Retrieved February 16, 2001 from the Entire world Vast Internet: http://publaw.com/test2.html

Stuart, S. E. (1998) Christian writers’ market place guideline. Illinois: Harold Shaw Publishers. Youthful, W. (2000) Christian e book writers’ marketing and advertising tutorial. California: Pleasure Publishing

Source by Jeffrey Bennett

[montemoutdoorgear1]

What You Need To Know About Down Jackets

Coats, Jackets and other corresponding attire archetypes are getting majestic material touches. The clothing shelters are speaking out aristocratic heralds from the day they’ve been introduced with special needlework specifications, craftsmanship pioneering unique designs and features, long-lasting outfit endurance, so on and so forth.

There are a lot of clad-on consolidations when it comes to upgrading fragile apparel (dress) with coverage of soft solid-state attire fabric fortitude (usually coats and jackets). But there are still other options that promote both versatility and vivacity to one’s personality. You will find tons of different types of coats and jackets that vary in shapes, have standard colors, undergo a different needlepoint scheme procedure, different materials with shipshape formations,

Since I’m myself when it comes to jackets (preferably made in leather), I cannot grasp any other garment than being fond of all-inclusive leather jackets. I have a huge collection and totally a separate closet to store my best rawhide masterpieces. Mostly I buy my jackets from local brand stores, get my Dubai-based Uncles to do this “garb job” for me, or getting some flashy real deal sales at Amazon. I don’t relish my clothing regalia from third parties, but still, Avengers Endgame Hoodie has sound authenticity when it comes to genuine leather endorsed garments. Got a few last and it erased all my doubt about ‘small fries’ trying to sell legit brands. MJ is a great platform from where you can go for your favorite jackets with spick-and-span quality branding.

Over the past few months, I’m being drawn into Down Jackets and I wanted to share my personal expertise and experience so far I’m having with a few downs I bought last year. So here’s what I’ve recollected so far for you guys.

Overview of Features and Formulas you need to know about Down Jackets

The name of this outfit says it all. Deep down under the polyester-satin materials or any other abridged fabric, duck and geese feathers are trapped on the inside of its sleek garment gleaming shell.

 Since feathers are naturally meant to protect big flying flappers from cold breezes since they swiftly reel in skies in big groups. Hence, down jackets are amazing for people looking to stay warm in cooler climates with low-density outfits gripping in a decent down jacket fill power.

 Fill Power is predominantly a down jacket feature and it’s one of the main specs buyers will look out for. The FP is basically the capacity of the fluffed up scoring made through feathers – higher the fill power, more the down jacket’s warmth and heat absorption.

 A down jacket has a puffer formation yet remains quite a unique wear for individuals looking for an exclusive attire selection. Down jackets are known for their insulation impressions and really offers something you want for an enduring ensemble to have.

Down Jackets have a generous roomy fitting space for obese people as well since it’s a dexterously built wobbly wearable downright from its construction?

Down Jackets are made solely from the aesthetics point of few and are permeated with vibrant colors to make them look absorbingly cooler and fashionable.

Down jackets are considerably lightweight yet has substantial heat retention to it.

The puffer/parka outfit themed down jackets offer exceptional styles and are conveniently repressed down to fit in your luggage i.e. taking less space in your baggage and making room for other necessitated traveling items.

3 Major Types of Down Jackets Constructions You Should Know

Before getting into the enlightening revelations for what you should observe to purchase the perfect down jacket. You must educate yourselves for the three major types of downs and the specified ways they’re weaved and formed.

The most basic and indeed the cheapest form of down jacket is the Sewn Through one. Not that it’s a warm see-through outfit that some people might confuse it while reading its supposed name. This distinctive down jacket is formed while keeping in cost-effective factors in mind. This one is a simpler, straightforwardly drafted with a less expensive material used in its construction. Not confuse this for a cheaper type, but it’s utterly made to keep its costs under budgets so that everyone could enjoy one of these.

Moviesjacket is simply the opposite of Sewn Through. It’s a thoroughly built down jacket and has maximizing fill power due to its lofty structure, deft handmade craftsmanship, and the dedicated deep-rooted sewing scheme. This one has great quality and Vectorptionally long-term suitability to it.

Down Jackets are also considered to be constructed on the following basis apart from considering its types:

        Elasticity and Durability

        Lightweight and comfortable to wear

        Warm Jacket for harsh cold weathers

        Waterproofing and breathability

Down Jackets are Time-proven to be Hilltop Hikers and Mountaineers Top Choice

Incontestably, enthusiast and summit conquering cliffhangers cherish their down jackets the most. They ease them in their adventures and keep them always in their backpacks when they’re treading of for the coarsely rugged rocky terrains. There are a lot of assorted attires you can buy when it comes to your next best down jacket having the best fortitude fill-up materialization. You can find a lot of blogs promoting the trendiest downs you can get.

A few names include:

        L.L.Bean Ultralight 850 Down Sweater

        Helly Hansen Odin Vero Jacket

        Mountain Hardware Ghost Whisperer

        Eddie Bauer MicroTherm 2.0 Storm Down Jacket

        Canada Goose Hybridge Lite Hoody

        REI Co-op Magma 850 down Hoodie

        Featherweight Down Jackets

        Henry II Down Jackets

        Aurora Women Down Jacket

Down Jackets Insulation Fabric Material has all the Magic

These outfits are ideally constructed and have plentiful fabric factors playing amidst down jackets. Some of the best fascinating aspects of it. First of it is the fill power factor that quills up the intensified plumage warmth of duck, geese or any other related flock bird feathers. The Fill Power can be measured and has somewhat standard scores ‘sanctioned to it. The FP ratings are as follows:

*FP – 400-450 (Medium), 500-550 (Good), 550-750 (Very Good), 750-900 (Excellent)*

Furthermore, down jackets are wheeze thickened with the best insulation materials. The fabric is nimble-fingered inculcated with seated stitchery scheming and you get ultimate warmth and a sound roomy fitting. Other amazing features to down jacket include attached hood collars, banded sleeves cuffs, and hemline for concealing the smallest of areas to keep in the heat. Lastly, you just cannot ignore the lined pockets secluded on the border insides of the jacket.

“Honest Flaws of a Down Jacket that should not be ignored”

Ø  The down jackets lose absorbing insulation when getting wet.

Ø  Down Jackets require special cleaning and care when you’re looking for its long-term maintenance.

Ø  Down Jackets are not decent for keeping them enfolded in your wardrobes. Also for most of the jackets that require hangers to keep them in organized in the closets.

Ø  These outfits take a lot of time when something spills over them. Also, they might take a day or two to get dry at room temperatures once they get wet.

Ø  Down Jackets are way too expensive compared to other outfits meant to keep you warm, so these should be your second best choice when it comes winter wears!

Author Bio:

I am Kathleen Swafford passionate of internet stuff such as blogging, affiliate marketing and most importantly, I like to trade domain and website. If you are inside digital marketing, let’s connect us for future opportunities. </span

The post What You Need To Know About Down Jackets appeared first on Montem Outdoor Gear.

from Montem Outdoor Gear https://montemlife.com/what-you-need-to-know-about-down-jackets/

[caveartfair]

6 Sculptures That Rattled Critics and Shook up Public Art

Everyone loves art, but not everyone has the time (or the cash) to visit art museums. For this reason, governments have a duty to their people to find the money—taxpayer money, if need be—to pay for free works of art. When these public artworks are at long last unveiled, everyone wins: the artists, for nabbing prestigious government contracts; the people, for gaining access to beautiful art; the governments, for sponsoring the kinds of noble aesthetic achievements that lie at the heart of civilization.

If only things were so simple. In the real world, public art projects are more likely to be Sisyphean ordeals, in which ideals of truth, beauty, and democracy are quickly squashed beneath mounds of controversy. Since at least 1504—the year Leonardo da Vinci tried to use his influence to confine his rival Michelangelo’s masterpiece David to a quiet corner of the Piazza della Signoria—the process of gifting sculpture to the general public has provided art historians with an opportunity to see how the sausage gets made: how power and politics, not just creativity, govern art-making.

The past 200 years have provided any number of opportunities to understand the ins and outs of art made for that strange, possibly fictitious group known as “everyone.” Below, then, are six examples of controversial public sculpture, and with them, six different ways of thinking about art in general.

Auguste Rodin, Monument to Balzac (1897)

Auguste Rodin, Final Study for the Monument to Balzac, modeled 1897, cast 1972. Photo via The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Auguste Rodin, Final Study for the Monument to Balzac, modeled 1897, cast 1972. Photo via The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

What is the difference between public sculpture and sculpture in general? Auguste Rodin’s Monument to Balzac—a work that consumed the artist’s creativity for the better part of a decade—stands at a crossroads between the two terms. After the death of the great French novelist Honoré de Balzac in 1850, the Paris-based Société des Gens de Lettres began planning a statue to honor his legacy. It wasn’t until the early 1890s, however, that Rodin—who, at the time, was teetering on the verge of global fame—won a commission from the Société to sculpt the novelist’s likeness.

Rodin’s project was at once public and intensely private. The Société had envisioned a proud, majestic work that would be shared with all of Paris, a fitting monument to the author of the massive novel sequence The Human Comedy. As Rodin immersed himself in Balzac’s life and work, however, he became less and less concerned with literal representation, and instead sought to convey the man’s creative spirit, which he saw as a worthy model for his own. Title aside, the plaster study Rodin submitted to the Société in 1898 (more than five years after his original deadline had passed) included almost nothing to identify it as a likeness of Balzac, not even a telltale pen or pile of books.

The critical response was predictably harsh—so harsh that plans to cast Rodin’s work in bronze were rudely canceled. It wasn’t until 1939, more than 20 years after the artist’s death, that a full-size bronze Balzac was finally unveiled in the heart of Paris. As such, Rodin’s sculpture set a pattern for the reception of ambitious public sculptures; by offering an idiosyncratic, personal take on a famous figure, place, or event, artists can’t help but give offense.

Richard Serra, Tilted Arc (1981)

Aerial view of Richard Serra, Tilted Arc, 1981, at Federal Plaza, New York, 1985. Photo by Robert R. McElroy/Getty Images.

One of the hallmarks of public sculpture is its site-specificity: its ability to make elements of a location, and only that location, a crucial part of the viewers’ experience. The site-specificity of Richard Serra’s Tilted Arc—a 12-foot-tall, 120-foot-long, slightly tilted steel plate that ran through Manhattan’s Federal Plaza from 1981 to 1989—makes the work all the more cheekily brilliant—or, if you prefer, infuriating. For most of the 1980s, the sculpture forced passersby to take absurdly inconvenient routes to cross the plaza. By 1985, over 7,000 people—many of whom were employed in surrounding buildings—had signed a petition calling for Tilted Arc’s removal. Later that year, a jury sided with the petitioners.

The battle over Tilted Arc had just begun, however: The jury’s decision was only enforced after four more years of appeals. For Serra, the incident remains a symbol for courts’ insensitivity to artistic expression; for others, it’s a symbol for artists’ insensitivity to the tastes and practical needs of the public they claim to care about. In the near-decade-long debate over Tilted Arc, it was frequently pointed out that Serra’s piece had been funded with taxpayer dollars, via the United States General Services Administration.

Again and again, debates about public sculptures have come back to some version of this point: If the people pay for public art, even indirectly, then the people should have the final say in the form the art takes. It’s rather difficult to imagine a world in which public art projects actually functioned in this way, and that may be a good thing, lest all paintings look something likethis.

Gutzon Borglum, Mount Rushmore National Memorial (1927–41)

Gutzon Borglum, Mount Rushmore National Memorial, 1927-41. Photo via Wikimedia Commons.

Many of the most famous public sculptures are overtly concerned with mythologizing the past. Because they’re often funded by the government, and because they’re theoretically available to all, they can function as propaganda, offering a state-approved draft of history that every loyal citizen needs to know.

If this sounds harsh, consider sculptor Gutzon Borglum’s jingoistic masterpiece: the Mount Rushmore National Memorial. Begun shortly after the end of World War I and completed on the eve of America’s entry into its successor, the 60-foot-tall, four-headed sculpture was first authorized by Congress during the Coolidge administration, a mere six years after the death of one of the work’s eventual subjects, Theodore Roosevelt. Borglum selected Teddy, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Abraham Lincoln not simply because of their greatness, but because of their roles in the country’s expansion.

A franker way to put this: If all American presidents have either enabled or directly participated in the theft of Native American lands, these four were the kleptomaniacs of the bunch. Mount Rushmore itself was stolen at gunpoint from the Lakota tribe during the Great Sioux War of 1876, the same year the U.S. was busy celebrating its centennial. The Mouth Rushmore National Monument itself says nothing at all about these crimes, of course; instead, four (literally) granite-jawed men stare off into the distance, denying their country’s past as they seem to contemplate its glorious future. In 1970, Native American activists occupied the monument and gave it a new name, in honor of a general who gave his life to fight the U.S. Army: Crazy Horse Mountain.

David Černý, Pink Tank (Monument to Soviet Tank Crews) (1991)

David Černy, Pink Monument to Soviet Tank Crews, 1991. Photo by Debarshi Ray, via Flickr.

Not all public sculpture is so clumsily nationalistic, of course. In Prague, shortly after the end of World War II, Soviets left an infantry tank as a monument to its own Red Army, which had pulled the city out of the Fascist frying pan only to toss it into the Communist fire. The monument remained an icon of Cold War-era imperialism until the night of April 27, 1991, when a young art student named David Černý painted the tank a shocking pink color—and added a big middle finger to the turret.

Although the monument was repainted (and Černý promptly jailed), hundreds of people worked to recreate his handiwork in a show of solidarity, reapplying the pink paint after the government removed it. By the end of the year, the tank had been moved to storage in the Military Technical Museum in the Czech city of Lešany—a major symbolic victory in the liberalization of Eastern Europe following the collapse of the U.S.S.R.

Černý’s work wasn’t a literal sculpture so much as a brave act of political resistance doubling as art. But in other ways, it’s an example of public sculpture at its most incisive. Armed only with a can of paint, Černý reimagined the Soviet occupation as something grotesque and ridiculous. Think of his Pink Tank as a lens, refocusing and reimagining 50 years of European history at a time when the legacy of Communism was still up in the air.

Jeff Koons, Bouquet of Tulips (conceived in 2016; not yet realized)

Jeff Koons with Jeff Koons, Bouquet of Tulips, 2016. Photo by Stephane Cardinale/Corbis via Getty Images.

In the wake of a tragedy, well-wishers often send flowers as a quiet, tender showing of sympathy. After the 2016 terrorist attacks in Paris, Jeff Koons opted for a different approach. That November, he announced that he’d be gifting a public sculpture to France in hopes that it would stand near the Palais de Tokyo; the sculpture, to be paid for with private donations, would consist of an enormous hand clutching a bright bunch of tulips.

To say that Koons’s proposal proved controversial—dozens of prominent Parisian figures signed a letter calling the artwork “shocking,” “opportunistic,” and “cynical”—is almost superfluous. Koons is controversial in the same way that Kevin Durant is tall: Controversy underlies everything he’s ever achieved as an artist, good or bad. Even so, Bouquet of Tulips—which the French Ministry of Culture recently announced would not be installed at the Palais de Tokyo—could be considered his defining work: a public sculpture of such naked, cloying populism that one can’t help but wonder if it was an elitist practical joke all along.

Anish Kapoor, Cloud Gate (2004–06)

Anish Kapoor, Cloud Gate, 2004-06. Photo by Thomas Hawk, via Flickr

Since 2006, Anish Kapoor’s 110-ton reflective sculpture Cloud Gate (you probably know it as “The Bean”) has occasioned millions of photographs from visitors to Chicago’s Millennium Park. It’s also a clever metaphor for the way public art often works. The beauty of Kapoor’s sculpture can’t be confined to its form; rather, what’s truly remarkable about Cloud Gate is the way it interacts with its environment, distorting and magnifying the Chicago skyline and the faces of the tourists who come to see it. It is, fundamentally, a “public” work: unpredictable in its mirroring of urban life, democratic in its accessibility and neutrality.

Cloud Gate’s neutrality was put to the test earlier this year when Kapoor announced that he’d be suing the National Rifle Association for using unauthorized footage of his work in a video entitled “Freedom’s Safest Place,” which the artist characterized as “despicable” in its “call to armed violence.” One can certainly agree with Kapoor’s interpretation, and it is, of course, his right to sue the NRA—under American copyright law, commercial reproductions of the shiny sculpture can’t be used without the permission of either Kapoor or the municipal government.

Still, it’s worth taking a step back to recognize the irony here. Cloud Gate was supposed to be a mirror—is a mirror—held up to society. It was supposed to be photographed and visited and revisited endlessly. It was supposed to be for everyone. Opposing the sculpture’s inclusion in a video—even a vile, hateful one—would seem to undermine that mission.

That’s the strange thing about public sculpture: It’s never really for everyone, even if it seems to be. Sooner or later, the intentions of the artist, the public, and the government clash. You could argue that, when this clash occurs, the sculpture has failed—but in fact, that’s just when things start to get interesting. If these six artworks are any indication, success is overrated; it might be better that public sculptures achieve spectacular, thought-provoking failure.

from Artsy News

[thanhvietanhdavidvo]

Theory of Writing: Final

Hi Dr. Kt,

Since we usually do a reflection in the form of a letter, I’ve decided to use it again on this one. First of all, thank you for making this class as amazing as it was. Although there were times I was struggling and frustrated with the assignments, I think they taught me a lot about myself and my character. Again, I thank you for that. Anyway, let’s do our final reflection for this class. 

So, I have chosen my four topics that I would be focusing on presenting in this reflection, and here they are:

1.     Predict the future – based on readings, discussions, projects, and so on, what might the future look like for literacy practices?

2.     Based on the NCTE definition, please define 21st century literacies. You should revise your position statement that we’ve worked on a few times based on how you understand 21st century literacies. Please make sure to ground your definition in at least 2 theorists, 1 of which must come from this class.

3.     Define your theory of writing.

4.     How might your theory of writing transfer to other writing situations both inside the classroom and outside the classroom? 

Let’s begin:

      I.         What is the future for literacy going to look like?

I predict in the future, writing and reading will remain similar to today. We will still have physical books to read. The only main difference is that we will use new technology more. For instance, we will use e-books more often (or something equivalent), and we will use digital pens or keyboards to do writing. In a more distant future, I can imagine a case where technology will record people’s lines, meaning there might be a possibility where writing will go extinct; however, I’m not committed to that future, and therefore, I’m not going to talk about it. I think writing will remain, probably in different form compared to our generation.

In my post, “Reading is Inevitably Changing!,” I wrote (in the perspective of a Vietnamese elder): “When I was young, I used to be able to read all day without any struggle; however, my grandchildren seem to be incapable of doing so.” I believe our reading ability is currently becoming worse, but I think this is because we haven’t perfectly adapted to our situation yet. Hundreds of years ago, when humans first learned how to read, they were slow readers; however, through time people’s reading skills improved, till the point where our grandparents were/are. Computers and new technological devices have been around with us for less than a century. I think in the future, probably not in this century, people’s reading skill will become better again. Then, they will “be able to read all day without struggle.”

In “Orality and Literacy,” Ong mentions how Plato view writing as a harmful tool, one that messes with our brain and memory, and thus keeping our society from prosper. By now, we know that he was more incorrect than correct. Practice makes perfect. By relying on writing to keep our records, we practice memorizing less than people in Plato’s time; therefore, our memory is not as good as them. This Plato got right. However, he was wrong to believe writing would affect our society in a non-beneficial way. Writing has let us do our jobs (i.e. how many jobs are there that do not require writing?), store information for long-term use, communicate (e.g. King’s telepathy). Plato’s part in Ong’s book is an example of how history of literacy has shaped. Literacy did not stop spreading, nor did it become a bad thing; literacy has helped human civilization prosper, benefiting us in many aspects of life (i.e. jobs and pleasure). No matter how unpredictable the future is, unless humans go into extinct, literacy in the form of writing and reading will not be easy to get rid of.

    II.         Definition of 21st literacy practice

So how can we define literacy in general? The NCTE’s definition of 21st literacy practice (found on http://www.ncte.org/positions/statements/21stcentdefinition) can be summarize as that a literate person needs to be proficient in using new technology, to make cross-cultural connections and share information across global to solve problems, to analyze information, texts and give critques on them, and to take responsibilties for doing so. Based on this definition, I believe a good definition of 21st literacy is that a literacy person should be able to handle tasks connecting to communication issues, which includes analyzing and critiquing other people’s writing in a proper and accurate manner, communicating efficiently across cultures to either solve a problem or satisfy a need, and taking some kind of responsibility in handling the task.

In my “Literacy Statement #1,” one part of my definition of 21st literacy was: “Communicating at present through oral, and preserving and protecting (i.e. memories and history) through writing.” This I believe can be improved by saying that communication does not need to be grounded in oral alone, but also in writing. In fact, like King said in his “On Writing,” through the use of writing, “we’re not even in the same year together, let alone the same room… except we are together. We’re close. We’re having a meeting of the minds.” Writing is a great way to communicate through time. Oral is another great method of communication, especially when speaking in front of others since oral creates an inspiring environment when one knows how to speak persuasively. Literacy is about communicating effectively, about knowing and understanding the audience.

In my first project, I talked about how “literacy saves lives everyday.” One of my examples was that mothers who are more educated are better at raising their children since they are more knowledgeable on health care system, compared to mothers who are illiterate. Like in my definition above on 21st century literacy, a literate person is more likely to solve everyday problems through communicating with, e.g., doctors or medical personnel who can give them what they need.

In TEDxManchester “Creative writing, why bother,” late-20th, begining 21st century creative writing specialist Anthony Lishak says that writing is “to speak through your pen” and “to put your voice onto paper.” A literate person needs to be able to communicate indirectly through papers in a concise and accurate description, effectively expressing their beliefs, thoughts and opinions. Literacy is a form of expression, a part of communication; being able to communicate well does not mean only to provide accurate information and data, it is also to successfully give the audience a (new) perspective, and to give them the speaker’s or writer’s own personal opinion on those information and data.  

Literacy is also about power, in which one has to take a responsibility for it. In Lindquist’s “Literacy,” she asks about “whether the first responsibility of a writing teacher ‘should be to help students accumulate the things they need to gain entrance into cultures of power and access, or whether teachers should encourage these students to learn to exert some control over those cultures in the first place.’” We need to take some kind of responsibility, and in this case, it is the writing teachers who need to take responsibility when making the decision that affects the future of their students. In the past, a literate person is only found among rich and high social status families; however, in the 21st century, this is no longer the case. Education is about creating literate people, and in developed countries in this century, most people are now literate.

  III.         My Theory of Writing

Having said that, when talking about education and literacy, an interesting topic arises which is the “Theory of Writing.” When I first heard the term “Theory of Writing,” I got confused since even though I knew the meaning of each word within that term, I could not link them together to get a sense of what that term meant. That said, you must have heard the word “theory” in your science classes, e.g., Newton’s theory of Gravity, Einstein's theory of Relativity, and so on. But what exactly is a theory? In general, I say a theory is a well-tested and have-been-proven to be correct explanation of a phenomenon. A Theory of Writing, therefore, could function as a way to explain what or how one could write, and thus why one should write. My Theory of Writing is divided into three ideas, which are presented below:

For starter, what or how can one write? To say that one can write anything that he or she desires to write is a naive statement, a statement that does not tell us much. Personally, I think one can only write what he or she is taught to write. By taught, I mean in either taught by someone else or self-taught through books and observation, or both. A person can only write a poem if he or she knows what a poem is, i.e., what makes a poem a poem and not something else. This is important since one cannot write, e.g., a law book without the knowledge of what the format or the structure of a law book is. Same with a lab report in a science class, one cannot write a lab report without knowing the instructions on how to write them. I implied this in “My (seuss) Theory of Writing” when I wrote: “My planning is the creation, for doing things needs duration. Even if you have a perfect mentation, you ain’t gonna produce a masterpiece without a good preparation.” Preparation is basically the part where I ask myself: What am I writing? If so, what is my plan? “Proper planning and preparation prevents poor performance” (quote by Stephen Keague). It is about reconstructing the image/goal beforehand, and we do it in our writing all the time (e.g. writing a draft, writing out ideas, making a mind map). The first part of my Theory of Writing is therefore: Before writing something, one needs to know how to write it. 

So, why do we write? In my post “My Theory of Writing = “Why do We Write?” (WWW),” I gave a quite simple explanation and that was we write because we can. We, those who are capable to write, are blessed with having the ability to communicate through writing, compared to those who cannot do so due to illness or disease. Therefore, it is quite wasteful and disrespectful not to utilize such an important skill, especially since it helps one uses it as a memory tool (i.e. write it down to remember it) and/or as a general efficient communication device (i.e. emails and letters). The second part of my Theory of Writing is that: The particular reason why one writes is often different for each of us, except the fact that for those of us who are capable of writing, what should motivate us to write is simply because we can.

The last part of my Theory of Writing is that: One should write for content, but in a way that fits for the chosen readers. One of the facts which Brandt mentions in her book “The Rise of Writing” is that good writers think before they write. They think about the audience, the ones who is going to read their writings. This part of my Theory of Writing emphasizes on the importance of those who is going to read your work. Writing is a powerful tool for influencing others, one that can change people’s opinions; therefore, a writer must consider who her audience is. For instance, if her audience are children, the author needs to consider which words to use in accordance to social standard. A writer should think about the word choice, the content, and the aim of her writing in a way that “fits for the chosen readers.”

IV.         Application of my Theory of Writing

If one wish to, my Theory of Writing can be considered as an universal Theory of Writing. I personally find the theory fits in many cases both at school and in life. Below are the three parts in my theory of writing:

(T1) Before writing something, one needs to know how to write it.

(T2) The particular reason why one writes is often different for each of us, except the fact that for those of us who are capable of writing, what should motivate us to write is simply because we can.

(T3) One should write for content, but in a way that fits for the chosen readers.

Within a classroom such as literature or history class (where writing is required a lot), one usually applies T1, T2, and T3 most of the time in his or her writing. (T1) When we write lab reports in science classes such as in physics class, we have steps to follow, e.g., introduction, hypothesis, methods, data, and then conclusion. (T2) Students in physics class write for the purpose of showing what they have done and got from the experiment, and these students should be fully capable of writing it (using the instructions given before hand). (T3) It is obvious the content is about what they have done and the results they have acquired, and that the chosen reader will be their physics professor or TA. 

One of the first questions asked in this WRIT class was whether there is a job that does not require writing; the answer we could all agree on is that there is but not a lot. Most jobs require some type of writing. Even if those jobs are not specialized in writing, the individual who performs the job is required to be able to write in some ways. Especially in the 21st century, people from any social status should be given a chance to learn how to write (and read). T1, T2, and T3 can be applied in jobs outside of classroom. For instance, a secretary’s job requires a lot of writing. (T1) Before he could start being the secretary, he needs to learn how to do the job properly, including how to write in an acceptable way so that his boss does not fire him. (T2) The reasons for him to become a secretary varies, but no one can deny that all secretaries can and need to be able to write. (T3) Again, the content of his writing serves his boss, and his audience is no one but his boss or whom his boss refers to.

In addition, I did not mention this above, but preparation also implies revision. One needs to be able to know how to revise his/her paper if he or she wants to produce a well written paper. In Sommers’ “Revision Strategies of Student Writers and Experienced Adult Writers,” we have learned how students should revise their paper. Taken from T3, one not only write for content but also revise by looking at the content, and not just grammar and equivalent. In any type of writing, one should never consider revising a waste of time, since one cannot improve their writing without revising (a form grounded by T1). In “My (Seuss) Theory of Writing,” I wrote: “Rethink about what you have done, be cautious, be simple, don’t have things undone. Have fun, but don’t get stunned. Since your audience might be everyone.” Revising is not only for the writer to put/take information in/out, it is also to successfully give the audience a good presentation of what one wants to give.

I believe this is the end of my reflection. This is basically a summary of what I have learned through this WRIT class. Thank you for reading my reflection. I wish you a wonderful year ahead.

Best,

Thanh Viet Anh Vo (David Vo)

[oneyear-sixteenstrings-blog]

Ludwig van Beethoven: String Quartet nr. 13, Op. 130

Borodin Quartet

Ruben Aharonian, violin Andrei Abramenkov, violin Igor Naidin, viola Valentin Berlinsky, cello

Chandos CHAN 10268 Recording date: 2004 Duration: [42:11]

Beethoven's Op. 130 is one of the repertoire's most enigmatic works. Personally, I never really warmed to the late quartets. The middle-period quartets connected more recognisably to the symphonic Beethoven I grew up with. But I found this deeper exploration of the B flat major quartet very rewarding, and I feel it opens the door to a much more serious investigation of the composer's late chamber music.

Op. 130 has vexed commentators for almost two centuries. First, there is the enigma of the finale. In the composer's original design, the quartet concluded with a grand and complex fugue. Remarkably, Beethoven's publisher was able to convince him to supply a more approachable alternative finale. It was the very last piece of music that Beethoven completed before his death. The fugue, stretching over 35 pages of score, ended up as a separate work, the 'Grosse Fuge', Op. 133. Today many quartets still perform the work with the original finale. Most recordings offer both endings, leaving the choice to the listener. I've opted here for a version with the alternative finale, hoping to return to the Grosse Fugue at a later date.

A further point of debate has been the hard to decode architecture of the quartet. De Marliave, in a classical commentary on the quartets, refers to the work's overall ambience as "rhapsodical". Kerman qualifies it as "a mercurial, brilliant, paradoxical work, toying with the dissociation of its own sensibility and toying with the listener's limping powers of prediction." In his study of Beethoven's so-called Galitzin Quartets (Opp. 127, 132 and 130), Daniel Chua describes the work as follows: "This quartet represents Beethoven at his most extreme - even against the standard of Op. 132. If the sequence of movements in the A major Quartet disintegrates within a symmetry of contrasts, then the series of movements of the B flat major Quartet is in danger of falling apart altogether; the B flat major Quartet not only intensifies the collision of elements but also shuns a central focus in which its broken and dispersed structure can be symmetrically anchored. Op. 130 comprises only the fissured and perplexed forms of the first movement and the Grosse Fuge, with a string of miniatures caught in between - movements so tiny and convivial in their recollection of the past that they jar against the rebarbative rhetoric that frames them."

Clearly, Op. 130 stretches the classical form to a breaking point. Some commentators regarded the six-movement structure as a return to the looser Baroque suite form, with the original fugue playing the role of a gigue. Other analytic strategies focused on the myriads of thematic interdependencies that give the work a sense of unity. Carl Dahlhaus spoke in this regard of a Wagnerian 'Beziehungszauber' - the magic of association. But it shouldn't come as a surprise that as many motivic ground plans have been put forward as there are analysts.

Commentators have also been looking for clues to explain the work's fragmentary nature beyond strictly musical elements. Chua sees in the work's combined strategy of disintegration and historicism an attempt to "hoodwink the Viennese public into accepting a counterfeit of their own Biedermeier domesticity. (...) Thus these structures posit a type of Classicism that they simultaneously destroy in a kind of double image." An oblique social critique on Metternich's police state mirrors Beethoven's utopian outreach of the Ninth Symphony.

Barry Cooper sheds an interesting light on the genesis of the work based on a detailed study of the composer's sketchbooks. Beethoven made a great number of sketches after those for the second movement to find out what should follow it. Apparently, he planned the brief scherzo to segue into a slow movement, but progress on the latter was painfully slow. Eventually, what turned out to be the Cavatina ended up as the fifth movement. The switch to a new sketchbook also turned the composer's attention away from the slow movement. Instead, he quickly drafted the Andante that followed the second movement in the work's final version. Then Beethoven started to work on a finale, indicating that he was still projecting a four-movement work. Cooper: "By this time, however, he had two recent quartet movements that had been partially developed but remained unfinished: one was the D flat movement that became the Cavatina; the other was the one that became the Danza tedesca. The latter had originally been sketched in A major as a possible fourth movement for the A minor Quartet, Op. 132 but had been replaced there by the Alla marcia we know today. Thus the possibility existed for Beethoven to resurrect both of these movements in Op. 130 to form a six-movement work." Beethoven vacillated for a while between a four- and six-movement structure before finally settling on the latter. His correspondence with his nephew Carl reveals that the decision must have been made by the end of August 1825. But in the same letter he also mentions that the quartet would probably be finished in ten or twelve days, clearly indicating that he didn't expect the finale to cause him many problems. The Grosse Fuge was by no means Beethoven's first idea for the finale. Cooper: "Interspersed with sketches for the earlier movements are ideas for over a dozen possible finales for the work, all quite different and none resembling the themes of either the Grosse Fuge or the replacement finale." It is fascinating to see how organically the pieces of the fugal puzzle eventually coalesced: "In view of later developments to the Grosse Fugue it is quite astonishing that the fugue theme was introduced here not as the opening theme of the movement (...) or even as a fugue theme at all, but as a subsidiary motif, tucked away in the cello part with a countermelody above it. Once introduced into the movement, however, the motif kept growing gradually until it had taken over as the main theme, swamped the entire movement, and even overshadowed the rest of the quartet too." Eventually, the work would only be finished in December 1825.

Why was Beethoven willing to supply an alternative finale for the Op. 130 quartet?  Cooper concludes "... now that the Grosse Fugue can be seen as something of an intrusion into the quartet, rather than the germ from which the work sprang, Beethoven's decision to replace it with a different movement, more in line with the others and with the finale he had intended while writing them, must seem entirely justified."

All these fascinating insights kept me busy while listening to the quartet. As a listener, I don't share the perplexity of the musicologists. The overall six-movement form strikes me as rather successful: the weight of the opening movement, with its dramatic contrast between adagio and allegro sections, is mitigated by three lighter and short movements with a different pulse, in the manner of a divertimento. Follows the Cavatina. I don't want to downplay the exquisite beauty of this movement and the eery stillness that pervades the short 'beklemmt' section in the middle, but overall the movement strikes me as compact and disarmingly lyrical in tone rather than aiming for transcendence. The finale, breezy and robust, forms to my mind a fitting conclusion to a work that shows the ageing composer at his most genial. But it is a conviviality that in every bar is permeated with a humbling sagacity. In that sense, Beethoven's Op. 130 reminds me of Verdi's late, comic and melancholy masterpiece Falstaff rather than anything else. Altogether this work confirms the assessment that an essential trait of Beethoven's late quartets is that they can become "as difficult as one wishes or, miraculously, as direct, simple and obvious as one’s willingness to hear and feel."

I listened to an exquisitely rendered interpretation of the esteemed Borodin Quartet that includes only the alternative finale. The sweetness of Aharonian's violin is captivating as is the authority expressed by the cello of octogenarian Valentin Berlinsky. The ensemble playing is endearingly natural and fluid, without any sign of brinkmanship. It remains to be seen whether this cultured approach works across their complete survey of the Beethoven quartets but in this congenial Op. 130 it works wonders.

Sources:

Joseph de Marliave (1925) Beethoven's Quartets. Dover Publications. Joseph Kerman (1966) The Beethoven Quartets. Norton and Company. Barry Cooper (1990) Beethoven and the Creative Process. Clarendon Paperbacks. Carld Dahlhaus (1991) Ludwig Van Beethoven. Approaches to his Music. Clarendon Press Oxford. Daniel. K. L. Chua (1995) The Galitzin Quartets of Beethoven. Opp. 127, 132, 130. Princeton Legacy Library.

[montemoutdoorgear1]

What You Need To Know About Down Jackets

Coats, Jackets and other corresponding attire archetypes are getting majestic material touches. The clothing shelters are speaking out aristocratic heralds from the day they’ve been introduced with special needlework specifications, craftsmanship pioneering unique designs and features, long-lasting outfit endurance, so on and so forth.

There are a lot of clad-on consolidations when it comes to upgrading fragile apparel (dress) with coverage of soft solid-state attire fabric fortitude (usually coats and jackets). But there are still other options that promote both versatility and vivacity to one’s personality. You will find tons of different types of coats and jackets that vary in shapes, have standard colors, undergo a different needlepoint scheme procedure, different materials with shipshape formations,

Since I’m myself when it comes to jackets (preferably made in leather), I cannot grasp any other garment than being fond of all-inclusive leather jackets. I have a huge collection and totally a separate closet to store my best rawhide masterpieces. Mostly I buy my jackets from local brand stores, get my Dubai-based Uncles to do this “garb job” for me, or getting some flashy real deal sales at Amazon. I don’t relish my clothing regalia from third parties, but still, Avengers Endgame Hoodie has sound authenticity when it comes to genuine leather endorsed garments. Got a few last and it erased all my doubt about ‘small fries’ trying to sell legit brands. MJ is a great platform from where you can go for your favorite jackets with spick-and-span quality branding.

Over the past few months, I’m being drawn into Down Jackets and I wanted to share my personal expertise and experience so far I’m having with a few downs I bought last year. So here’s what I’ve recollected so far for you guys.

Overview of Features and Formulas you need to know about Down Jackets

The name of this outfit says it all. Deep down under the polyester-satin materials or any other abridged fabric, duck and geese feathers are trapped on the inside of its sleek garment gleaming shell.

 Since feathers are naturally meant to protect big flying flappers from cold breezes since they swiftly reel in skies in big groups. Hence, down jackets are amazing for people looking to stay warm in cooler climates with low-density outfits gripping in a decent down jacket fill power.

 Fill Power is predominantly a down jacket feature and it’s one of the main specs buyers will look out for. The FP is basically the capacity of the fluffed up scoring made through feathers – higher the fill power, more the down jacket’s warmth and heat absorption.

 A down jacket has a puffer formation yet remains quite a unique wear for individuals looking for an exclusive attire selection. Down jackets are known for their insulation impressions and really offers something you want for an enduring ensemble to have.

Down Jackets have a generous roomy fitting space for obese people as well since it’s a dexterously built wobbly wearable downright from its construction?

Down Jackets are made solely from the aesthetics point of few and are permeated with vibrant colors to make them look absorbingly cooler and fashionable.

Down jackets are considerably lightweight yet has substantial heat retention to it.

The puffer/parka outfit themed down jackets offer exceptional styles and are conveniently repressed down to fit in your luggage i.e. taking less space in your baggage and making room for other necessitated traveling items.

3 Major Types of Down Jackets Constructions You Should Know

Before getting into the enlightening revelations for what you should observe to purchase the perfect down jacket. You must educate yourselves for the three major types of downs and the specified ways they’re weaved and formed.

The most basic and indeed the cheapest form of down jacket is the Sewn Through one. Not that it’s a warm see-through outfit that some people might confuse it while reading its supposed name. This distinctive down jacket is formed while keeping in cost-effective factors in mind. This one is a simpler, straightforwardly drafted with a less expensive material used in its construction. Not confuse this for a cheaper type, but it’s utterly made to keep its costs under budgets so that everyone could enjoy one of these.

Moviesjacket is simply the opposite of Sewn Through. It’s a thoroughly built down jacket and has maximizing fill power due to its lofty structure, deft handmade craftsmanship, and the dedicated deep-rooted sewing scheme. This one has great quality and Vectorptionally long-term suitability to it.

Down Jackets are also considered to be constructed on the following basis apart from considering its types:

        Elasticity and Durability

        Lightweight and comfortable to wear

        Warm Jacket for harsh cold weathers

        Waterproofing and breathability

Down Jackets are Time-proven to be Hilltop Hikers and Mountaineers Top Choice

Incontestably, enthusiast and summit conquering cliffhangers cherish their down jackets the most. They ease them in their adventures and keep them always in their backpacks when they’re treading of for the coarsely rugged rocky terrains. There are a lot of assorted attires you can buy when it comes to your next best down jacket having the best fortitude fill-up materialization. You can find a lot of blogs promoting the trendiest downs you can get.

A few names include:

        L.L.Bean Ultralight 850 Down Sweater

        Helly Hansen Odin Vero Jacket

        Mountain Hardware Ghost Whisperer

        Eddie Bauer MicroTherm 2.0 Storm Down Jacket

        Canada Goose Hybridge Lite Hoody

        REI Co-op Magma 850 down Hoodie

        Featherweight Down Jackets

        Henry II Down Jackets

        Aurora Women Down Jacket

Down Jackets Insulation Fabric Material has all the Magic

These outfits are ideally constructed and have plentiful fabric factors playing amidst down jackets. Some of the best fascinating aspects of it. First of it is the fill power factor that quills up the intensified plumage warmth of duck, geese or any other related flock bird feathers. The Fill Power can be measured and has somewhat standard scores ‘sanctioned to it. The FP ratings are as follows:

*FP – 400-450 (Medium), 500-550 (Good), 550-750 (Very Good), 750-900 (Excellent)*

Furthermore, down jackets are wheeze thickened with the best insulation materials. The fabric is nimble-fingered inculcated with seated stitchery scheming and you get ultimate warmth and a sound roomy fitting. Other amazing features to down jacket include attached hood collars, banded sleeves cuffs, and hemline for concealing the smallest of areas to keep in the heat. Lastly, you just cannot ignore the lined pockets secluded on the border insides of the jacket.

“Honest Flaws of a Down Jacket that should not be ignored”

Ø  The down jackets lose absorbing insulation when getting wet.

Ø  Down Jackets require special cleaning and care when you’re looking for its long-term maintenance.

Ø  Down Jackets are not decent for keeping them enfolded in your wardrobes. Also for most of the jackets that require hangers to keep them in organized in the closets.

Ø  These outfits take a lot of time when something spills over them. Also, they might take a day or two to get dry at room temperatures once they get wet.

Ø  Down Jackets are way too expensive compared to other outfits meant to keep you warm, so these should be your second best choice when it comes winter wears!

Author Bio:

I am Kathleen Swafford passionate of internet stuff such as blogging, affiliate marketing and most importantly, I like to trade domain and website. If you are inside digital marketing, let’s connect us for future opportunities. </span

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