#aalto library

[tea-tuesday]

travel tales: alvar aalto's house, helsinki, finland

[nadziejacher]

Alvar Aalto library in Vyborg

@nadziejaestel

[guy60660]

Viipuri Library | Alvar Aalto | studio_magga

[sovietpostcards]

What are your favorite cities that you've traveled to?

St Peterbsurg hands down. Other than that, I really like Sochi (sea, mountains, Soviet-era neoclassical architecture), Samara (wide river Volga, an endless beach line, Art Nouveau architecture and so much history), Vyborg (European vibes, Northern nature, and the Alvar Aalto library). There's still a lot I haven't seen in Russia!

Some small towns I thoroughly enjoyed are Kolomna, Suzdal and Izborsk.

Kolomna is in Moscow oblast, lots of tourists these days. There's an ancient Kremlin and lots of small museums and shops and cafes. It had one of the nicest cafes I've ever visited, there are small tables scattered across the farden. I sat under a blossoming apple tree and had tea out of a porcelain cup. It was divine.

Suzdal is in Vladimir oblast, part of the Golden Ring. It's like you're back in the 15th century or something. There's nothing higher than 2 floors. There are dozens of churches. I was there a number of years ago, we rented a real wooden house. Our host supplied bliny for breakfast every day, and fresh crunchy cucumbers were in unlimited supply.

Izborsk is in Pskov oblast near the Estonian border. It has ruins of a 14th century stone fortress and some even earlier remains (dating back to the 7th century). (SEVENTH.) It also has many lovely museums and shops and cafes—all things that I love. :D

I want to explore more of those, I love the feeling that you went back in history!

[germanpostwarmodern]

The Dutch architect Piet Tauber (1927-2017) a man of the public sector: with his town halls, archive buildings, libraries, housing estates, bungalows but also the Dutch embassy in Washington D.C. he contributed to and benefited from the booming postwar building activity in the Netherlands. The basis of his successful practice often were public competitions. At the age of only 27 Tauber in 1954 won the competition for a housing development in Delft comprising over 500 apartments and six shops. Five years later he won the pathbreaking competition for the regional library in Leeuwarden, a project that obviously qualified Tauber for many more public commissions, as show the different town halls, archive and court buildings he designed well into the late 1990s. 

Tauber’s architecture is rooted in the artisanal tradition of his father Hendricus, an architect who masterfully worked with brick as primary building material. Piet followed in this tradition and used brick for most of his buildings. At the same time he possessed a great sense for adapting his designs to the particular local contexts: rather low-slung than dominant buildings like the Alkmaar Post Office (1960-64) or the Dutch Embassy (1960-63) blend in the new in an existing urban, respectively scenic context. Borrowings from Scandinavian modernism represented by e.g. Alvar Aalto or Kay Fisker can’t be denied in these cases as David Keuning underscores in his book „Piet Tauber 1927 - Bouwen naar opdracht“: published by Stichting Bonas in 2012 it is the only comprehensive publication on Tauber and contains a complete work catalogue as well as a very insightful work overview and analysis by the author. The latter walks the reader through Tauber’s upbringing in Alkmaar, his student days at TH Delft and into his career of over four decades. In the further course of his text Keuning also sheds light on his many single-family homes/bungalows, again low-slung structures anchored in their respective plots and adapted to the particular lighting conditions. Like all Bonas monographs the book is comprehensively illustrated with photos, drawings and plans and again deserves being called an exemplary publication!

[violentvalerian]

The Best Bad News (WuWa AU Rover x Calcharo) // Part 1/3 // A Little Calamity

“This day fucking sucks!”

Aalto walked to the door of the living room and peeked around the corner into the hallway. There stood his roommate, drenched from head to toe and dripping water onto the hardwood floor. And looking massively annoyed.

“Lemme guess,” Aalto said, throwing his pale hair back, “You got into a fight with a sprinkler and lost.”

“Yes, Aalto, that’s exactly what happened,” the dark-haired man in the hall grumbled with an eyeroll and peeled his soaked black denim jacket off his slender form, hanging it up to dry, “It’s raining cats and dogs outside.”

His words were accentuated by a clap of thunder that made both young men jump.

“Oh really?” Aalto asked with a grin, “Thanks for letting me know, Ro. Wouldn’t have guessed.”

“I’m gonna go take a shower,” Ro said, kicking off his sneakers that hit the ground with a wet splat. A flash of lightning lit up the otherwise dim apartment.

“You hungry or something?” Aalto asked, “I could order us something.”

“I can’t afford to get takeout every day,” Ro complained, “Don��t we have anything to pop into the oven or something?”

“Don’t worry about it,” Aalto graciously said and placed his hand on his chest, “It’s on me tonight.”

“Really?” Ro asked and looked at him with wide eyes, “You’re actually serious? Never thought I’d ever see you so generous.”

“What?” Aalto exclaimed, “I’m always generous! Just not when it comes to monetary things. Whatever! What do you want?”

“I don’t care, you decide,” Ro said and quickly disappeared into the bathroom to avoid any further questions. He was notoriously bad at making decisions, no matter the subject.

He tore off all his clothes that were sodden with cold water. The rain had totally caught him off-guard on the way back from the library where he’d worked on some assignments for his history studies. First he’d been drowning in work, and then almost drowning in the literal sense with how heavy the storm was.

He stepped into the shower and turned on the water, cursing when the ice cold stream hit him, colder even than the rain. For some reason, Aalto liked to take freezing showers, and no matter how many times Ro begged him to at least turn the tap back into a neutral position, he never remembered to do so. At least it didn’t take forever to warm up today, and soon he was wrapped in a misty cocoon of warm steam and water that relaxed his tense shoulders and smoothed the goosebumps that had risen on his skin from the cold.

Feeling like a completely reborn person, Ro emerged from the bathroom and went into his room to change. It was small, barely large enough for his bed and his desk. Since he’d only moved in a few short months ago when he started studying in Jinzhou, the walls were still bare, and in a corner there was a tower of not unpacked moving boxes whose structural integrity seemed worryingly precarious.

Ro threw on a pair of sweatpants and an oversized t-shirt and  returned to the living room to see Aalto lounging on the couch in front of the TV, ignoring some sports game while scrolling on his phone, as he always did. Despite only knowing each other for two months, Ro and Aalto had already grown to be close friends, albeit with rather different interests and personalities.

“Feeling better?” Aalto asked, noticing Ro’s presence, “I ordered pizza by the way.”

“Much better,” Ro replied and pushed his legs off the couch to take a seat, “Hope you didn’t get tuna for me again.”

“Nah, you don’t like fish, I get it. There was a two for one deal on something with four cheeses.”

“So you’re not paying for me after all,” Ro grinned.

“Yes I am!” Aalto insisted, “I bought a pizza just for you and just so happened to get one for free myself.”

“Sure, sure,” Ro laughed and pulled out his phone. When he opened Echoline, the most popular social media in Huanglong and beyond, his face fell. “Oh… my… god,” he breathed, pronouncing every word as if it were a full sentence, “No fucking way!”

“What?” Aalto asked, “What is it now?”

“No way!” Ro repeated and flew to his feet, staring at his phone in disbelief.

“What?!” Aalto asked, pushing himself into a more upright position, “Tell me! The suspense is killing me.”

Ro furiously tapped and swiped on his phone. “My favorite band is going on tour for their second album, and they’re playing a show here! In Jinzhou! And… oh my god… It’s on my birthday! Oh my god, I have to be there!”

“Oh hell yeah, congrats,” Aalto said, but he’d lost interest. He knew Ro’s taste in music differed from his own greatly. Aalto liked all kinds of sounds that came out of computers, the less real instruments, the better, as long as the bassline was heavy enough to shake the ground. Ro, on the other hand, liked classic rock and alt punk. Music was one of the things they’d never agree on.

“Ah!” Ro now shrieked in horror, “No! No, that can’t be true!”

“What is it now?” Aalto sighed.

Ro sobbed. “It’s already sold out?! How is that possible? They only went on sale a few hours ago!”

“Damn, those guys must be pretty popular for that to happen.”

“Yeah,” Ro said sadly, “They’re from the New Fed, and this is their first international tour. Fans have been begging for one for years. And now they’re gonna be here, but I won’t be. I’m gonna cry. This is the worst day of my life!”

“From the New Federation?” Aalto asked, “Think I might know them?”

He’d moved to Huanglong from the New Federation a year ago to study business at Jinzhou’s Huaxu Academy that was famous for its excellent courses. And its insultingly low acceptance rate.

“Pfft!” Ro scoffed, “They don’t do your stinky robot music. They got real guitars and drums and vocals that haven’t been fried by ten different filters and overlays.”

“Stinky?!” Aalto asked in offense, “Don’t insult my modern taste like that just ‘cause you’re still stuck in the eighties!”

But Ro wasn’t even listening anymore. “Ahh, the lead singer…” He sighed, “He’s got a voice sent from the heavens, I swear, and he’s just dreamy. They’re all really good, but Cal is just on another level.”

Aalto perked up, grabbing his roommate by the shoulders. “What did you say?”

“That the lead singer is on another level?” Ro asked in confusion.

“No, what did you call him?” Aalto asked and almost shook him, “Cal?”

“Yes,” Ro slowly said, looking at Aalto like he was crazy, “Calcharo. He’s the lead singer of the Ghost Hounds, my favorite band.”

“Holy shit!” Aalto exclaimed and let out a hearty laugh, “Why didn’t you tell me you’re a Ghost Hounds fan sooner?!”

“You know them?” Ro asked in surprise and tilted his head, “Didn’t think that’d be something you’re into.”

Aalto laughed again. “Their music be damned, of course I know them!”

“Huh?” Ro was utterly confused.

Aalto beamed at him when he dropped the mother of all bombshells. “Calcharo is my brother!”

Ro’s jaw dropped and he coughed up an incomprehensible bouquet of word fragments, sputtering and gasping for air. “Wh- B- You… He… B- brother?!”

“Yeah, my big bro!” Aalto confirmed, nodding rapidly, “No way you like his stuff!”

“His stuff is the best stuff ever!” Ro called out, “Between Me and the Devil is my favorite song of all time! I can’t fucking believe you’re Calcharo’s brother! You are, right?! You’re not bullshitting me right now, right?!”

“Hell no!” Aalto denied and pulled out his phone, quickly digging through his gallery and producing a photo he held under Ro’s nose. It was a capture of an older, physical photograph from an album. On it were two boys with the same light hair, both carrying large backpacks. One was significantly taller than the other and showed only a faint smile while his shorter counterpart grinned between both ears and revealed countless gaps in his teeth.  “Look, Dad sent this the other day because he was going through our family albums. It’s my first day of school! Here is me, and there’s Cal. He’s four years older than me.”

Ro’s jaw dropped again. Despite the kid in the picture looking far, far younger - around ten or eleven - it was undoubtedly Calcharo, lead singer of the Ghost Hounds, with his naturally white hair and those pale blue eyes. Looking at Aalto again, the resemblance suddenly hit him. It was almost uncanny. He had the same hair, even styled it similarly with the bangs hanging around the side of his face and the rest of it always combed back, and their face shape was really similar as well, only Aalto’s jaw wasn’t as pronounced as Calcharo’s. And their eyes were different. But despite that, Ro totally bought it.

“That’s crazy!” Ro screeched. “Crazy! Insane!”

“I’m gonna call him,” Aalto said, holding up his phone with his arm stretched out, “and ask him if he can do my bestie a favor and drop some tix.”

Ro gasped, nearly hyperventilating. “No way! You’d do that for me?!”

“Duh!” Aalto said and flicked his forehead, “Means I don’t have to worry about a birthday present for you. Easy win!”

“You rat!” Ro said with a grin, “I’ll love you for the rest of my days if you make that happen.”

“Leave it to me!” Aalto said eagerly, “I’ll call him right now.”

Unfortunately for him, right now was also the moment the doorbell rang incessantly.

“Ooh!” Aalto whistled, “Dinner time!”

He zipped into the hall to accept the food. Ro, meanwhile, held his hand against his mouth so Aalto wouldn’t hear his squeals of joy as he kicked his feet in excitement. This was the best day ever!

A couple days later, Aalto waltzed into Ro’s room unannounced, totally unnoticed by the aforementioned.

Ro was sitting at his desk over the fattest book Aalto had ever seen, headphones over his ears and bobbing his head in the rhythm of his song. Aalto hesitated for a moment and listened in, giggling when he very faintly made out his brother’s voice. Perfect timing.

He tapped Ro’s shoulder, making him let out a startled gasp and whip around.

“Jesus, Aalto!” Ro complained, “You scared me!”

“I got something for you!” Aalto said in a sing-song voice and revealed a nondescript envelope from behind his back.

“For me?” Ro asked and accepted the envelope, opening it as Aalto watched him eagerly.

“It’s something really special. A VIP ticket for the Ghost Hounds gig!”

Ro shrieked and launched himself out of his chair to throw himself into Aalto’s arms. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!” He said and hugged him so tightly that the other almost couldn’t breathe, “You’re the best friend ever, Aalto! I love you!”

Aalto let out a nervous chuckle and patted his back. “No problemo. Just played some of my connections. Easy peasy.”

Ro continued hugging and praising him to high heaven, almost making Aalto blush uncomfortably until he could free himself.

“I got a second ticket, actually,” Aalto revealed, “You can have it if there’s someone specific you want to go with, but if you don’t mind, I’ll go with you.”

“Sure! It’s gonna be a ton of fun!” Ro cheered and clasped his hands together but then realized, “Wait, you don’t like the music though.”

“It’s not like I hate it,” Aalto said with a shrug, “Besides, I rarely get to see Cal now that I moved away and he’s always on the road anyway. Gotta hunt him down for a second of his time. Besides…” He showed a sneaky grin. “If I'm there and Cal knows that I'm there, it's only right I introduce you to him and vice versa.”

Ro stared at him like he was a Messiah, then spun and jumped on the spot, cheering, “You are literally the best, Aalto!”

“Yeah, I get that a lot,” he laughed and watched Ron's victory dance. How endearing that sight was…

That same day, Ro went to his favorite neighborhood stationary store to buy an archaic paper calendar (with motivational quotes and pictures of kittens) for the explicit purpose to mark the date of the concert and his birthday. ‘Ghost Hounds!!!’ The calendar now proudly announced. He counted how many days he'd have to wait. Sixty-nine. Two months and three weeks and a few more days.

The calendar was the first thing to decorate the walls of his room, right next to the window under which his bed stood. A Ghost Hounds poster soon found its spot next to it, the cover art of A Little Calamity, the album his favorite song was on. A second poster followed, this one showing the three band members posing for the camera. Calcharo in front with his bass slung around his shoulders, Encore, who looked laughably short next to him, on his left with her signature red and pink electric guitar, and then a little bit behind them was Mortefi sitting by his drum set. Ro dared to hope that he'd get the poster signed by all three of them. It would be a dream come true.

Every day upon going to sleep, Ro crossed off another day, watching the concert come closer and closer. Two months became six weeks, then four, then two, one week, three days, and finally! The day was there.

It was a Saturday, and despite his immeasurable excitement, Ro had been able to sleep in in preparation for his long night. It was almost noon when Aalto knocked on his door.

“Rise and shine, birthday boy!” He said with a wide grin.

Ro tiredly lifted his head out of his sheets and blinked at him. His hair was a mess, the black strands thoroughly disheveled. He looked like he had about zero idea of where or who he was.

Aalto walked to the bed and crouched next to it to get on eye level with him.

“Gotcha something,” he said and presented a cupcake on his palm, “I didn’t know what you like so I went for red velvet, the classic.”

“Hm?” Ro groaned and rubbed the sleep from his eyes, “Cake? For me?”

“Of course!” Aalto said, “Again, it’s your birthday. You know what that means.”

“Birthday,” Ro muttered and turned over to look at his calendar. There were no more days left to cross off. Today was the day. The day marked in red and circled thrice over. ‘Ghost Hounds!!!’

“Holy fuck!” Ro suddenly exploded and pushed his blanket away, practically falling out of his bed, “It’s the day! The day is here! Ghost Hounds!”

“Easy there,” Aalto placated him, “Cake first. Everything else later.”

He presented his cupcake again and Ro smiled, accepting the small pastry. “You’re right. Let’s share.”

“I already had breakfast,” Aalto waved him off and sat in Ro’s desk chair, watching him peel away the paper from the cake and taking a hearty bite, “Good?”

“Sho good,” Ro said with a full mouth, closing his eyes in delight, “Thanks Aalto.”

“You’re welcome.” Aalto grinned and pulled out his phone. “Cal texted me earlier, they made it to Jinzhou and are setting up. What’s the location called again?”

“Dragon’s Nest,” Ro said without hesitation, “Small club downtown. Why did they pick such a small venue, anyway?”

“Cal said they didn’t expect that kinda interest,” Aalto said with a shrug, “Ghost Hounds are almost more famous in Huanglong than in the New Fed.”

“Huh,” Ro said in thought, “Who would’ve guessed.”

“Anything you wanna do on your special day?” Aalto asked, aimlessly spinning in circles on his chair.

Ro shook his head. “I have to mentally prepare. I still can’t believe I’m actually going to see the Ghost Hounds live.”

“Not just see,” Aalto corrected him, “Meet. Thanks to your super special best friend and his premium network.”

Ro squealed.

The two continued casually chatting while Ro answered some happy birthday texts.

“Hey, what are you wearing later?” Ro asked at some point.

Aalto looked down on himself. Blue jeans, plain white t-shirt. “This?” He asked.

“Fair.” Ro nodded and eyed his closet. “Can you help me pick something?”

Aalto sighed, “Sure.”

Ro sent him out of his room and went to shower, then picked out an outfit he always felt comfortable in. Dark blue suit pants and a white button-down. However, when he went into the living room to show off, Aalto only briefly looked up from his phone and said, “Too formal.”

Ro grumbled and went to change. Cargo pants and a way oversized shirt with a graphic print.

“Too casual,” Aalto judged.

“Bruh,” Ro complained, but went back to the drawing board regardless. Next on the list was a pair of shorts and a bright yellow crew neck long sleeve.

“Hmm,” Aalto hesitated for a moment, “That’s gonna make you stand out for sure, but don’t wear shorts to a concert.”

“Why not?” Ro asked, confused.

“I dunno,” Aalto said with a shrug, “Just don’t.”

“Fine,” Ro groaned, and this time he dug deep in his closet to find the clothes he rarely wore and wouldn’t show himself in anywhere. Either because he lacked an occasion or wasn’t comfortable enough to flaunt them. But if not today, then when would he ever?

He walked into the living room again, provocatively asking, “What do you have to say about this, huh?”

Aalto looked him up and down, blinked, looked some more, and finally said, “That’s the one. Damn, Ro.”

Ro did a little spin, smiling timidly. He was donning a sleeveless cotton top with a high collar, black and tight. Not obnoxiously so, but it did show off his figure flatteringly. As did his black jeans, ripped at the knees and thighs, washed out and a bit rugged.

“Glad that that’s settled,” Ro sighed, satisfied.

“Wanna head out?” Aalto asked, “It’s sill a bit early, but we could grab a bite before the show.”

“Sure,” Ro agreed. At this point he was glad for any distraction from the excitement churning his stomach. It felt like his intestines were a bunch of writhing knots and coils, and he felt so incredibly nervous. The only thing that helped was to not think about the gig later, but it was hard, no, impossible not to think about it. He was a mess. An excited, giddy mess.

Aalto tried to make some sort of sensible conversation, but there was no getting through to him. While they ate Panhua’s signature ramen, all Ro could talk about was the concert. What songs would they play? In which order? Aalto knew barely any of their songs so he couldn’t contribute much. Would he laugh at Ro if he sang along out of tune? He promised not to. Would he tell Calcharo how obsessed he was with him? No, of course not. Aalto didn’t want to embarrass his friend. What was Calcharo like, anyway? He’d see, Aalto told him, getting mildly annoyed.

Soon enough it was time to head to the venue. The Dragon’s Nest was a small club with only two floors and a bar in the corner. It often hosted concerts of lesser known bands that weren’t popular enough to fill stadiums, hence the vibe was more personal, intimate, almost.

With their VIP passes, Aalto and Ro could skip the long line in front of the entrance to the club, and they were corralled into an area right in front of the stage, literally the best seats in the house. Except there were no seats. It was standing only. The venue wasn’t packed, but it certainly was more comfortable in the VIP area where they didn’t have to stand shoulder to shoulder with their neighbors. Ro continuously shifted his weight from one foot to the other and kept telling Aalto how crazy this all was and that he couldn’t believe that they were here and it was less than half an hour before the concert was set to begin.

Having enough of his fangirling, Aalto excused himself under the guise of getting drinks for them both, which he actually did, but in reality he just wanted to catch a short break.

Aalto returned just as the lights in the room dimmed, and he almost didn’t find his way back if it weren’t for Ro squealing and raving.

“It’s starting!” He roared and absentmindedly chugged half of the whiskey coke Aalto handed him in one go, “It’s really starting!”

The room was fully dark now, and the crowd grew silent. Then, the first sounds of drums, a light on the left of the stage, and Mortefi, the drummer, under it, already giving his all. Another light, this one on the right-hand side, tracking Encore who gave the crowd a double thumbs up before strumming the first riff on her guitar, and it was one Ro would’ve recognized anywhere.

“That’s Between Me and the Devil!” Ro screamed, grabbing onto Aalto’s arm so hard it hurt, “That’s my favorite song!”

“Wow!” Aalto shouted back, “They’re opening with your favorite song? What a surprise!”

Ro was oblivious to his sarcasm, he was too busy biting on his lips, waiting for the vocals to kick in. Calcharo was still nowhere to be seen, though he already played the bassline, but then…

“Hey! I don’t know where I’m goin’...”

The first line. Ro heard his voice and was ready to faint.

“But you know where I’ve been…”

The central lights finally flared up, shining down on pure white hair and a shiny, ultra-violet bass played by nimble fingers belonging to the revered lead singer.

Aalto noticed Ro grow completely silent by his side and looked over to find him stare upwards, following every single one of Calcharo’s motions, utterly awestruck.

Calcharo finished the first verse, and into an instrumental break said, “Hello Jinzhou!”

The crowd roared.

“How are you doing?”

The crowd screamed.

“Hell yeah!” Calcharo called out, “I know you’ve been waiting for us, and we’re going to make this a night you won't forget! You ready?!”

The crowd thunderously sounded out their approval, and Calcharo took it as a sign to pick up his bass again and pour out his heart into the chorus, with Encore delivering powerful backup vocals and Mortefi going wild on his drums.

Ro’s eyes were swimming in tears of helpless euphoria, and his heart beat to the song that was so special to him. He was pulled into the rapture that was unlike anything he’d ever experienced as he watched the musicians perform their passion turned music. It was an eternity but just a blink at the same time, so much in so few minutes, but still the better part of two hours passed, filled with song after song. For some, Calcharo took a backseat and let Encore have the lead, and she shredded her guitar like no tomorrow, delivering vocals that were so powerful that no one could have guessed they’d come from this pink-haired girl with the small stature.

Mortefi had his chance to shine during the numerous drum solos, and Ro realized they were different from all the recordings he knew. Mortefi was improvising, freestyling live, whipping up new rhythms and tunes on the spot. The chemistry between the band members was impeccable, they complemented each other perfectly, an entirely new whole growing from them as parts.

After playing all songs from First Last Time, the album this tour was meant to honor, as well as many of their fan’s favorites, Calcharo signaled a break and leaned onto the stand of his microphone.

“I know it’s the last thing you want to hear,” he began, his voice slightly hoarse from his extortion, “but we’re through with our planned line-up.”

Sad crowd noises ensued.

“But!” Calcharo sparked hope, “There’s still one thing we gotta do.” He cast his eyes over his eager onlookers that hung to his every word. “A little birdie told me that we have a special guest tonight. Someone here has completed another trip ‘round the sun, and that deserves a celebration, don’t you think?”

Despite barely knowing what he was going on about, the crowd cheered. Ro raised his eyebrows and glanced at Aalto who was trying hard to keep his grinning in check.

“We wanted to keep it a secret for a while longer, but we’re already hard at work on our next album, and you’re the first ever people to get an exclusive first listen of our newest song, Bad News.” Calcharo found Aalto in the first row, then looked over, met Ro’s eyes and pointed at him. And everything else faded away when he said,  “Ro, this one’s for you!”

Ro stopped feeling the ground beneath his feet, stopped smelling the sweat of so many bodies moving as one, stopped hearing the crowd going absolutely wild for the last time. He  could only perceive the beat of Mortefi’s drums, the hum of Calcharo’s bass, and the tune Encore strummed on her guitar. And he only saw him.

“You’ve heard the rumors

I know they’re pretty bad

The only thing worse than the rumors

Are the cold heart facts

I ain’t no angel

But maybe you like it like that…”

Maybe Calcharo wasn’t an angel, but he looked like one, surrounded by the colorful flood lights reflecting off his hair, painting a halo around him. And Ro did like it like that. It was one of the best sights of his life.

“Mama told me

I always was a problem child

But Lord knows I never had a problem getting wild

I know some back roads, baby

If you wanna get lost for a while…”

Ro did want to get lost. Or maybe he already was. Lost in the performance, lost in the rush of watching Calcharo and his band go all out for a final time this night. He almost forgot to take notice of the song that was fast-paced and energetic like all Ghost Hounds songs but still felt like a different flavor, a new spin on everything their fans loved most.

“I'm bad news

I bet you heard about that

Yeah, I'm bad news and bad news travels fast

Hey!”

The Chorus shook the ground, or maybe it was the jumps of the crowd moving in sync, encouraged by Calcharo who raised his arms and walked around on stage, hopping and dancing with way more energy than he should have had left over after two hours of exerting himself like that.

Ro stood still through it all, wholly in disbelief that this was supposedly for him, out of all these people. This global premiere was dedicated to him, and it made tears stream down his face while he grinned from ear to ear. This was the best night of his life. Period.

The Ghost Hounds delivered the rest of the song and ended it to thunderous applause.

“Thank you, Jinzhou!” Calcharo called and bowed, “You were fucking amazing! We’ll be back for sure, but for now, take care, get home safe, and always, always keep your fangs sharp!”

Under more cheers and roars, the stage went dark, and when the lights in the room came back on, Calcharo, Mortefi, and Encore were gone.

---

All lyrics and song titles are from the real life band Ghost Hounds. Go listen to them if you like what you read here.

AO3 link to the whole fic

[soffiisims]

Get to Know Me Tag Game

Thank you for the tag @zelenxa!

Last Song: Wait, I have to check this... *checks phone* Right! It was actually Dolly Parton's Jolene! 😂 What a banger thou!

Favorite Color: Green 🐢

Currently Watching: Avatar the Last Airbender 🌊🪨🔥🌪️! I'm on the last season now and I'm so excited! It's a millionth rewatch, but the last time has been a while ago, so why not, y know. Also I'm watching it with someone, that has never seen it, so it has been fun. Also I'm watching BBC's Hercule Poirot mysteries. Again, I have seen them all before, but nothing is better than watching Poirot solve some crimes while I'm comfortably under my blanket with a hot cocoa 😌

Last Movie: If I remember correctly it was Submarine by Richard Ayoade

Currently Reading: Oh no. I read so many books and I have so many going on at the same time. But well, here we go! Heather Fawchett's Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherlands, which is a second part in the Emily Wilde series. L. M. Montgomery's (another Emily actually) Emily Climbs, which is a second part in Emily of the New Moon -trilogy. This is a reread, I've loved the series since I was a child (I used to read the trilogy again every summer, oh, what a life that was!🥹). Jesse Q. Sutanto's Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers, which I'm also listening on audio while I run. Samantha Sotto Yambao's Water Moon, which I had to return to the library before I managed to finish it. And lastly (what I'm actively reading, I'm not going to bore you with all the books I'm in the middle of) of course Ilari Aalto and Elina Heikala's Vuosi keskiajan Suomessa (engl. (translated by me) A Year in the Medieval Finland (or something like that)). Going through that slowly, month by month. It has been a blast!

Sweet, Spicy or Savory: Savory, I guess

Current Obsession: Finnish middle ages obviously (I do have breaks from this occationally 😅). Also running! 🏃🏽‍♀️

Last Googled: It seems, I last googled Tove Jansson's home and home atelier 👀

Currently Working On: My UDC! Also working on my body (I want to get healthier) and my mind (not going too good atm, but hopefully improving soon 🫠)

I tag @blueshistorysims, @applesaucesims and @idletrait you haven't done this! Only if you want to 🫶🏻

[0fps]

okayyyy i finally finished the main wuwa story. thoughts (brain dump) below, obviously spoilers so read at your own risk

acts 5 and 6 definitely >>>>>>>>>>>>>> the others. idk if it's because i had digested the world building a bit more by then but they felt way more engaging than the previous acts

partly because all the interesting parties (for me) were finally here. the black shores, jiyan's whole deal. scar was the most interesting of the previous acts but honestly idrgaf about him aksdjflads

dude was not even RELEVANT in these acts they really meant it when they put his ass in jail

i am quite interested in the black shores, hope to see more of them

otherwise just having to do everything with the starter group was boring as hell especially since they all have extremely flat characterizations (yangyang particularly. WHY did she of all people have to be our token partner).

disclaimer, i don't exactly hate yangyang but in general it just feels so unrealistically forced how her and chixia immediately treat mc like their best friend. we barely know each other. i think this is the part that got last-minute rewritten to make them overbearingly nice and it really shows (?? correct me if i'm wrong. idk if it's specifically those two who got rewritten)

i play in the mandarin dub btw. because apparently that's critical for yangyang ajdflkjf

as for the other characters. aalto and encore are so funny together, absolutely loved them. just their characters alone doing their whole comedy routine made act 5 a lot of fun

act 6 was obviously the climax, and i enjoyed it for what it is, but i also felt like it dragged on? like. you'd THINK after we meet up with jiyan we'd immediately go confront the threnodian like asap? they keep spouting how "time is of the essence" but hold on we gotta do all these sidequests?? repair shit?? come on yall LMAO

like the part where we're coming up with our "battle strategy" (which lol. yeah the ranged units should probably attack from a range. only the greatest tactical minds could come up with this) HONESTLY they should have black screened that shit or summarized it in like a few sentences. that was so ?????????? why am i even here.

ofc the cannon thing or whatever is out of power mortefi. of course it is.

i was enjoying act 6 pretty much until this part. then i was like really. REALLY we gotta do all this first I WANT TO GO FIGHT THE BOSS NOWWWWW

idk it just felt like they hyped us up almost immediately for a final battle but then edged us on for forever? the pacing felt weirdly backwards if you know what i mean

i was also just laughing at how concerned they were about the disrupter missing its target. like. you guys are aiming at a giant ball on the horizon you gotta be trying REALLY hard to miss this. the cutscene that showed how small the cannon was in comparison to the force field did not help adjksflasd. maybe if they were talking about the other 2 shots then sure.

once the cannon was repaired and that was over and our 4-man team was finally on their way i was back into it though

really really loved the pulling mechanic thing

however it was just another strike in which i've noticed that this game tends to overexplain some of the gameplay. that pulling mechanic was definitely one thing, the whole "battle strategy" part was another, and the one with the library in one of the previous acts was HORRENDOUS they may as well have reached out of the computer screen and held my hand

literally the only time i respected yangyang was when she decided to stay behind to hold off the enemies. bc istg if she was the one we had to do the final boss with. god. lord. hold me back from the violence i would have committed.

boss battle was a lot of fun. got my ass kicked by threnodian bc i couldn't read its moves but they made it easy to not die 👍

the little. pet thing. that eats the big echos. sooooooo unserious HAHAHAHA AJSDKLJFALD. i'm not going to think about it too hard.

was kind of weird to end that on a montage through a story teller. like i was expecting SOME sort of epilogue but it really went "yup. that's over! go play the rest of the game now"

anyways. despite my grievances i had fun with it HAHA 👍👍👍

i really enjoyed that it did cycle through a lot of story-relevant characters to trial with. it helps that i find all of them super fun to play and it helps keep things super immersive (although i did miss my girl danjin)

a similar thing i really loved was how involved almost every single playable character was

in general a detail i really like is that npcs/playable characters battle alongside you (even in the overworld) - it really makes it feel more immersive and you're part of a team, not just solo'ing everything by yourself

although it was also too early in the story for me to feel. much about everyone helping us out in the beginning. like i literally don't even know yuanwu??? the power ranger shot with everyone felt kinda silly as a result adjklajdfs

i also enjoyed the switching pov with jiyan. in the same vein as above it makes it feel more immersive and far less like the entire world revolves around the mc (although that's the plot device wuwa is desperately clinging onto here lol)

on that note. in general this whole story i'm just like. not really sold with the way literally everyone is so obsessed with mc its just like yeah you're PROBABLY that amazing resonator from way back when and i have a feeling a couple of these characters might have known them from before they lost their memories (esp scar?) but it just feels. very super ultra forced in a way i don't really like

but apparently that's what they're gonna use to drive the story and i can't expect them to rewrite all this (again? lol) so it is what it is i guess *shrugs*

the mc's fame will be less in your face as the story progresses and they actually DO more things. but right now its like. we just woke up and everyone is so obsessed with us lol can we have literally anybody who doesn't care or is like. this sure is fucking weird huh. for a world constantly in turmoil y'all sure are very trusting of this random person with amnesia

mc in general just feels really flat. yangyang being the token partner doesn't help because she is equally as flat. damn maybe we really do need paimon

oh also another detail that kind of bothered me. when we were talking with jinhsi early on there was a dialogue option to ask "have you found jue yet?" while EVERYONE is standing there. i thought this was a secret thing people aren't supposed to know about??? we're just talking about secrets out in the open like this?

what else. i liked the the jiyan and geshu lin phantom confrontation 👍 but it does feel like they're really leaning into the "yeah geshu lin was 99% in the wrong here and that 1% is gonna be jiyan's inner turmoil" and i was kind of hoping it'd be more complex than that

anyways if you read through all that props to you 👍

[ulfgbohlin]

: Library, 3rd Floor, 101 Spring Street, New York. © Judd Foundation | Image: Maurizio Alejo | Pictured: Alvar Aalto, Stool 60, Chairs 21, and Table 70 (all 1932–33); and Donald Judd, Library Shelves (1973).

[nikafilim]

Alvar Aalto Library

[alxgromova]

Alvar Aalto Library in Vyborg

[sustainablemountainarchitecture]

TALKING ARCHITECTURE @ DESIGN MUMBAI 2024

Last Friday, 8 November, saw a good crowd experiencing a multi-media STIR dia-log (-ue), put together by Samta Nadeem and Prof. Anne Feenstra. It was a mixture of a thought-provoking Q&A against a moving visual background with images of projects by architect Mona Doctor-Pingel and architect Shabbir Unwalla. Inspiring stories by Mona about the challenges and advantages of Auroville’s living architecture laboratory, her vaulted arch experiences and her magic gift of allowing daylight to deeply penetrate in her elegant architecture of levitation, occasionally using surface water reflections. While Mona works with heavy materials like stone, brick and earth, Shabbir is a gravity-defying architect. His lightweight structures almost seem to fly off the Lonavala hills, cling onto slopes, or hover above tree canopies and/or waterfalls in the northern part of the Western Ghats. His creations, inspired by the specifics of the context, the strengths of materiality and architect Nariman Ghandhi, touch the earth lightly and comfort comes from ample natural cross ventilation, he creates an architecture of levitation that challenges Newton!

While moderating the session, Anne peppered the STIR dia-log (-ue), taking both architects into a deep reflection of their architectural journeys so far incl. devastatingly difficult moments. He shared how Mies van der Rohe never saw his beloved ‘Lemke Haus’ in Berlin again, after escaping the Nazis in 1937. The house disappeared behind the Iron Curtain (East Berlin) and it became a garage. Another architecture great, Alvar Aalto, had a similar horrible experience with the Viipuri Library. The first Functionalist library in Finland (see photo collage), ended up outside Finland after the brief 1940 war. It is still in Vyborg, Russia, today. The last image of the late-afternoon session in Mumbai, that STIR’s Jiggy and the local AV man projected, was Lina Bo Bardi on a staircase (see photo collage).

[mistypurplespark]

THRONE-chapter19

Lucien's hands trembled as he opened a book filled with strange characters, similar to the magic tomes he collected. He learned language pronunciation and spelling rules outside of class with Victor's help. Lucien's notes were in Chinese characters, which he related to his mother tongue, and his spirit library helped him retain knowledge. By concentrating and reviewing, Lucien's memory improved, but he knew he needed regular practice to maintain it. Victor's teaching and encouragement boosted Lucien's confidence, and he diligently learned to spell. Some students doubted his abilities, but Lucien remained focused on learning. Music was a common language in Aalto, but social status divided noble and common students. Lucien ignored the social barriers, absorbing knowledge like a sponge. The nobles tended to exclude others, but Lucien was determined to excel. Despite distractions, Lucien devoted himself to learning until the end of class. Some students stayed to practice music, while others left. Lucien reviewed his lessons diligently, determined to fulfill his musical dreams.

[jcmarchi]

How machine learning can support atmospheric compound discovery - Technology Org

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/how-machine-learning-can-support-atmospheric-compound-discovery-technology-org/

How machine learning can support atmospheric compound discovery - Technology Org

Identifying chemical compounds found in the atmosphere is challenging and tedious, currently relying on mass spectrometry measurements. A new perspective paper now discusses what promise machine learning holds to accelerate and improve the accuracy of ongoing studies to map new atmospheric compounds. Such compounds are worth studying as they contribute to atmospheric particle formation, directly impacting climate and air quality.

Illustration by Hilda Sandström

CEST researchers Hilda Sandström and Patrick Rinke, along with collaborators from Aalto University, the University of Helsinki and Tampere University, conducted a comprehensive review of the current state of data-driven compound identification in atmospheric mass spectrometry. This perspective article outlines crucial steps required from the atmospheric chemistry community to implement the identification of compounds using modern smart algorithms.

Despite the acknowledged complexity and sheer number of potential atmospheric organic compounds, detailed knowledge of their reaction mechanisms, intermediates, and products is lacking. Efforts to gain new fundamental knowledge about these atmospheric processes persist, primarily relying on mass spectrometry. However, existing experimental data libraries and manual identification methods struggle to cope with the shear number, large variability and complexity inherent in atmospheric compounds and processes.

While smart compound identification algorithms have demonstrated state-of-the-art performance in other chemical disciplines, their implementation in atmospheric chemistry has been hindered by the scarcity of training data from such atmospheric mass spectrometry studies. The researchers have provided examples of how these machine learning-based compound identification tools could be effectively utilized in conjunction with soft ionization techniques commonly employed in atmospheric mass spectrometry.

Establishing automated and improved identification methods for atmospheric compounds is pivotal to advance our basic understanding of atmospheric chemistry. Crucially, the paper proposes an action plan to create an infrastructure for development of data-driven compound identification in atmospheric mass spectrometry. Following this initial review, Sandström and collaborators now aim to initiate the development and testing of these future intelligent identification methods to help identify atmospheric compounds.

Source: Aalto University

You can offer your link to a page which is relevant to the topic of this post.

[energy-newsletter]

Plan to create Water from the Air - Free in the Library - Design Aalto U...

[upthewitchypunx]

When I was down at Mt. Angel with my sibling we had to check out the Aalto designed library at the Abbey, because that's what architects do. I wanted the check out the bookshop but we were a few minutes late and it was closed. I was totally going to buy a Augustine of Hippo prayer card or medal for my printer. I probably would have picked up a Hildegarde of Bingen one too because she's rad!

Just had another minor issue with Frater MFC but was able to figure it out. I told it it was a good printer and asked if it would like a treat like a sticker. Then I wondered who the patron saint of printers was and it's Saint Augustine of Hippo, which is not quite the same kind of printer, but not too far off. maybe I could get it a medallion?

Then I realized I have a Johannes Gutenberg award I won in high school Graphics class* so I think I'll give it an award.

*I spent a lot of time fucking around in class including printing the two colored letterhead for the high school on an offset press on very nice paper and gave a bunch of it to friends who could find mischief to make with official school paper.