#ionic theme

[cuppajj]

oh did crk drop eternal sugar while I was asleep oh damn anyway I KNEW IT WAS GONNA BE HELLENISTIC THEMED I KNEW IT I KNEW HOLYLBERRY WAS GONNA DEAL WITH CLASSICAL ERA TOMFOOLERY LOOK AT THE PUTTO AND THE GARDEN OF HESPIREDES INSPIRED BACKGROUND. LOOK THAT IONIC COLUMN. LOOK AT THAT IONIC COLUMN. THATS AN IONIC COLUMN MADE IN GREECE!! Elementary school Greece unit did NOT let me down on that ionic column 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

[artemlegere]

Anacreon Sacrificing to the Three Graces

Artist: Antonio Zucchi, RA (Italian, 1726-1796)

Date: 1767

Medium: Oil on canvas

Collection: National Trust Collections, United Kingdom

Description

The Greek lyric poet Anacreon lifts a garland up to a marble statue of the Three Graces whilst a child attendant, draped in a red ribbon, stands behind him, on the right holding a golden tazza on a tray. Two more children sit at the urn base of the statue, on the left, holding more flowers.

Anacreon

Anacreon (c. 573 – c. 495 BC) was a Greek lyric poet, notable for his drinking songs and erotic poems. Later Greeks included him in the canonical list of Nine Lyric Poets. Anacreon wrote all of his poetry in the ancient Ionic dialect. Like all early lyric poetry, it was composed to be sung or recited to the accompaniment of music, usually the lyre. Anacreon's poetry touched on universal themes of love, infatuation, disappointment, revelry, parties, festivals, and the observations of everyday people and life.

[thegoldenphantom]

Ghostbusters haunted house review! (Spoiler for the house!)

I have some down time so here’s my review on the ghostbusters house at Halloween horror nights! It’s very well themed and more for the story than scares but it is incredible!

Garraka is on stilts I think as all of his scare actors are very tall. Loved the masks for him! For you Lars fans, he shows up covered in mini pufts and poor Phoebe is dead in the ionic separator beside him. Podcast and Ray are in occult books! Podcast did jump me as I wasn’t looking behind me.

PHOEBE SPENGLER.

I screamed and said hi to her as she was shooting next to Nadeem. Will be going through the house again later tonight!!!

[frozenwolftemplar]

Flash Fiction Friday 1/17

Under the wire this @flashfictionfridayofficial! Thought I'd continue on the themes from last week's piece, albeit with a different POV.

Prompt: Loud Lies, Quiet Truth

Fandom: Tangled: the Series

Rating: G

Warnings: None

Word Count: 846

Early morning sun laughed the praises of the day as it gamboled and frolicked, like so many fresh-legged fawns, through the windows of Castle Corona. It sprang off the panes, pranced blithely enough to almost coax a smile from the stern ever-frowning portrait of Queen Helge the Sixth (a notorious sourpuss, in no small part from the fact of being the sixth queen to suffer answering to ‘Helge’), cavorted with a maypole’s gaiety around a quartet of vases on ionic pedestals, before tumbling, in dizzying joy, at Queen Arianna's feet.

The grin Helge refused burst across her own face as her skirts rippled violet giggles through the tickling sunbeams, and she just barely kept the urge to launch into a girlish skip for a few paces reined. A sun sparrow alighted on a window ledge, butter-yellow chest puffed out with pride, trilling a merry morning song, and with sparkling eyes Arianna pursed her lips and whistled along with the lilting tune. Admittedly, it was below the dignity of a queen, but after eighteen years of aching and praying and missing and at times struggling to keep the flicker of hope alive, her heart’s fondest wish came true.

Rapunzel was home.

It...wasn’t exactly how she had pictured it. She came with a beau (a nice man, despite a...questionable past) and a story that hurt to hear (a part of her almost wished the witch still lived; she would have enjoyed weighing in on her sentencing), and was as naive and overwhelmed by life as a crown princess as she had been as a babe. But, Arianna had told herself before clouds could roll in to darken her glorious sun, it was nothing that couldn’t be overcome. The beau was proving worthy of her daughter’s heart, the past was put further behind both of them every day, and as for castle life...well, she had found the perfect solution.

As though summoned by her thoughts, Cassandra, clad in the freshly-made powder blue gown of a handmaid to the ladies of the royal family, appeared around a corner.

Cassandra, who had grown up in the castle, whose knowledge of the Court rivaled any crown princess’, who was staunch and loyal and true as an oath, and who she had determined was the perfect choice of handmaid for Rapunzel.

”Good morning, Cassandra!” Arianna hailed, pausing in her walk through the halls.

"Good morning, Your Majesty." Cassandra kept her eyes respectfully downcast as she dipped into a curtsy, the sweep of her veil wisping demurely with the motion. "I hope this day finds you well."

"It very much does," Arianna replied genuinely (not something she had done often these past eighteen years). "And I trust it finds you similarly?"

"Yes, thank you Your Majesty." The sparrow trilled again, and Cassandra glanced towards it, a grin ticking the corner of her lips. "He seems to agree."

A purring, satisfied feeling welled up in Arianna's chest. Beautifully polished court manners, but still grounded enough to appreciate the world around her; just the sort of companion Rapunzel needed. Yes, yes she had chosen well. Her grin glowed brighter as she indicated the dress with a nod. “I see the dress fits you nicely."

Cass looked away from the bird. She didn't answer right away, and in that instant Arianna felt a cloud roll in.

"...Thank you, Your Majesty."

And Arianna noticed that wasn't agreement.

As queen consort, Arianna had mastered the art of listening to silences, hearing the truth beneath the lies. The disappointment behind Countess Bismark's smiling congratulations when her daughter announced her engagement to a penniless scholar, the tint of delight in a younger son's expression of dismay upon hearing his brother was freshly disinherited for running away to sea, the grief that lurked behind her husband's anger for eighteen interminable years, all found her ears and her compassion.

So this pause of Cassandra's, this hesitation before her answer, though filled with the silence of an empty castle corridor, shouted.

She hated the dress, and everything it stood for.

And it was her who had forced it on her.

Arianna almost said something. An apology, a rationale, an offer of an out that would keep her honor and dignity intact; all touched her tongue, but none stayed long enough for speech.

Something fetid and slick slithered through her. Guilt.

But it was ignored as thoroughly as if it had never breathed.

Nodding a dismissal at Cassandra, she continued on her way, head high and steps light as before.

Cassandra may be unhappy now, but it was only her first week on the job; she simply needed time to settle into this new role. True, she was not a Guard like she'd dreamed, but the honor and prestige associated with it were no doubt a solace. 

As would being on close terms with Rapunzel.

Cassandra's dissatisfaction was temporary; it would not last. By the end of a few months time they would be more lie than truth, and she'd be happy as Rapunzel's handmaid.

She was certain.

And it really was a beautiful day.

[brokedirt]

My friend and I went to a theme park and they now have a reverse harem going on with three characters from one of the rides and Wyll from Baldur’s Gate 3. Ionic really.

[finalgirlguy]

alien franchise themes:

1. capitalism & rape & pregnancy and the horror of your body not belonging to you

2. BUTCHEZ <3

3. ionic imagery

[notsosecret-slgarden]

Not So Secret - Petals & Pretzels

Sponsored by ionic

ionic - Garden Sidewalk @Equal10 ionic - Garden Walls @Equal10 ionic - Gazebo ionic - Park Bench ionic - Pretzel Cart

Savour the simple pleasure of a pretzel and natures beauty on a warm summer day. A stunning collection of items from ionic in today's post. Super versatile and adaptable wall collection and pathways @equal10, absolute essentials which could be used in any themed setting.

[tulipcolouredwriter]

WIP INTRO | BITE THE HAND

BITE THE HAND: A FAMILY TRAGEDY

Genre: Erotic Horror, Gothic, Dystopian Fiction, Extreme Horror 

Status: Drafting 

Setting: The Bunker, an underground community of the last remaining human beings. Think neoclassical architecture, a lot of plush velvet and ionic columns. On top of it is the Viewing Room, a glass dome with a lounge inside; it’s the last place in the world where people can see the sun. 

Summary: 

Eleanor Bohannon-Lennox, daughter of the President of the Bunker, has a problem: her Father is a politically illiterate moron. He has just made the most destabilising decision of his entire career, and now the Bunker is developing a system of politics that he won’t be able to control. Instead of seeing the collapse of society as she knows it as a disaster, Eleanor sees it as an opportunity. She’s smarter than her father, better than him, and with some political savvy, bad morals, a subtle amount of violence, and some extreme blackmail, she’ll be able to rise to the top. Maybe, she’ll finally be able to see the sun, after being denied it so long. 

Her twin brother, Alexander ‘Sasha’ Bohannon-Lennox, doesn’t have a problem. He’s at the peak, used as a PR piece for his father - he’s in the lap of power, and he wants for nothing. At least, that’s what he’s pretty sure is his life. There’ve been whispers, about guns, and about executions, and about people starving; he doesn’t believe them, of course. His Father would never let things get so bad. 

Still, people seem to be hungry. The rich don’t like being denied their luxuries, when they’ve gotten used to it. Starvation is a killer. Deprivation is a killer. After a long enough time, even your friends start looking like meals. 

Themes: Cannibalism | Family | Fascism and Capitalism | Economic Class | Genderqueerness | Femininity as an Imposition | Consumption | Monstrousness | Abuse | Cycles of Violence | 

Inspiration: 

Ada, Or Ardor, Vladimir Nabokov (1959) 

Flowers In the Attic, V.C Andrews (1979)

Salo, or 120 Days of Sodom, Pier Paolo Pasolini (1975)

Game of Thrones, George R.R. Martin (1996 -) 

Venus in Furs, Leopold von Sacher-Masoch (1870)

Hannibal, Bryan Fuller (2013-2015)

The Menu, Mark Mylod (2022) 

Raw, Julia Ducornou (2016) 

Climax, Gaspar Noe (2018) 

Dinner and Diatribes, Hozier (2019) 

Succession, Jesse Armstrong (2018-2023)

Characters: 

Eleanor Bohannon-Lennox: The Daughter and the Successor 

Louis Palance: The Daughter’s Husband and burden 

Alexander Bohannon-Lennox: The Son and the Plaything 

Claudia Pelletier: The Cook and the Secretary 

The Vice President 

William Bohannon-Lennox: The President and the Father 

Content Warnings: Rape, incest, cannibalism, abuse, eating disorders. This is, in part, an extreme horror novel. 

[cuppajj]

PLEASE tell me you're as disappointed as I am that there are ZERO Greek mythology references in this episode. All we got was Pavlova being Eros, which was visible from a mile away (and Eternal Sugar sends him to do a lot of her dirty work, which is what Aphrodite often did to Eros, so that's cool ig). What else is there? The ionic columns? Sugar's and the NPC's Hellenistic attire? That's all they gave us? Her area of Beast-Yeast is more like Alice in Wonderland than it is Mount Olympus. Would it have killed them to give us sugar satyrs? Sugar nymphs? Taffy harpies? A jello cyclops? Apparently it would, so they gave us these silly little ice cream doodad looking guys and these dumb candy caterpillars and a fucking sugar rainbow merry-go-round. Not even the upcoming Beast raid boss looks Greek, it's just a weird heart thing! Why not a gorgon with licorice snakes for hair, with each strand being a different color and flavor? Why not a Nemean lion with an impenetrable chocolate hide, so Hollyberry can take the role of Heracles, which she fits into a lot anyway? (They could've fit that into the little window between their first departure from the garden back into Beast-Yeast proper and Wildberry's sacrifice or something idk.) They didn't even reference the Lotus Eaters really, everyone was mostly able and willing to get up and leave after eating and drinking and resting! Nor was there a Hades and Persephone moment, with Sugar offering Holly a magical fruit that she would take and eat, not knowing it would shackle her to Sugar and the realm permanently. Holly didn't accidentally allow herself to be tricked into damning herself in her moment of weakness and doubt, she just got her shield destroyed and herself shoved into a mimic chest. Once again Devsisters takes the path of least resistance. Mystic Flour's and Burning Spice's areas were so fun, they took us somewhere new and different ("China" and "India"), now we're back to Christianity Part 2. We already had Christian symbolism with Shadow Milk, I don't want it again, I wanted Ancient Greece goddamn it (and I know it's TECHNICALLY still accurate because Greece is Christian and has been for millennia, but when I say Ancient Greece I mean the Greece that tended to hearths inside of all of its homes in honor of Hestia and never laid a hand on eagles because they were a symbol of Zeus, ykwim?)

I think a couple other Greek mythology references were present: the labyrinth referenced Theseus, and Hollyberry being locked in the box referenced Sisyphus trapping Thanatos in a box too if I’m not mistaken?

Other than that yeah not much. I was hoping we’d have more references the whole way through, and the examples you gave are really cool ideas! Still unsure why we got ice cream and candy enemies on rainbows instead of leaning more into mythical creatures. I know it emphasizes the sugary sweet paradise Sugar has but they didn’t go all in on the Hellenistic references 🥹

I can roll w the christian themes here because of the loose garden of Eden references, and as a fan of renaissance art there were a lot of Christian themes (ie. Putto, angels being depicted in classical Greek myths, etc) in them. If anything that’s what ES’s aesthetic might be going for, less pure greek mythology and more renaissance depictions of it. I’m more ehhh about the lack of rep, I wanted more lmao

Overall the ep felt like a lot and nothing happened at the same time… but I would love to see if the next chapter does more. Not disappointed with what we got though, just would’ve loved to see them lean in further. But that’s what fanon is for lol

[aboutanancientenquiry]

“How Reliable is Herodotus’ Account of the Persian Wars?

Answer by Paul Cartledge

Herodotus was not just any old historian but the founder of an entire intellectual discipline and practice, or craft, the one that I am honoured to try my hand at myself. Opinions differ today, as they always have done, on what exactly a historian’s chief task or aim should be, but Herodotus made a pretty good stab at adumbrating it in the famous Prooimion or Preface to his Histories (‘Researches’, ‘Enquiries’): he wished both to record for posterity and to celebrate ‘great and wonderful deeds or achievements (erga)’ and – above all, N.B. – to explain them. In his particular case what he wished to explain above all was why and how and thanks to whose responsibility Greeks and non-Greeks (principally Persians) had come to fight each other.

He had in mind as his subject what we today call the ‘Persian Wars’ or (more accurately) Helleno-Persian Wars, as those were fought out by land and sea on either side of the Aegean at the far eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea between 490 (Battle of Marathon) and 479 BC/BCE – or from 499 to 479, if one includes also the essential preliminary ‘Ionian Revolt’ (499-4), since this was the first occasion on which Greeks, then many of them subjects of the mighty Persian empire, had engaged in warfare with their ‘barbarian’ (non-Greek) masters in pursuit of the ideal of political freedom. That (unsuccessful) revolt gave Herodotus, himself an Eastern Greek from Asia Minor (Halicarnassus) and born c. 485 a Persian subject into a mixed Greek-barbarian family, his own dominant theme.

It was always clear to Herodotus where his linear chronological narrative would end – 479, with the final victory for those (few) Greek cities led by Sparta and Athens who had dared to resist the intended Persian conquest of all mainland Greece led by Emperor Xerxes. But where to begin? Herodotus boldly chose what we call the mid-6th century or c. 550 BCE for his starting point, but how could he possibly claim to know or at any rate confidently believe anything at all about events and processes ongoing some 70 years or two to three generations before his own birth? Given that he seems not to have been able to speak or read any language other than his own Greek (he wrote in the Ionic dialect but spoke in Doric), and given that the Hellenic world of the mid-6th century was not a world either of extensive official public documentation or of extensive prose-writing of a descriptive, factual nature, he had no choice but to become not only the world’s first historian but also the world’s first oral historian. That is to say, the chief type of evidence – not quite the only, since he does quote some documents and cite some physical monuments– that he gathered from about 450 to 430 was the oral testimony of either face-to-face or second-hand informants. Those informants moreover were either native Hellenophones or non-Greeks with a sufficient command of Greek.

It is hugely to his credit that Herodotus evolved a sophisticated hierarchy of value in interpreting such oral testimony, a hierarchy according to reliability. Top of the table was what he called opsis, or autopsy, meaning first-hand testimony whether of his own or of those of his informants who had actually viewed or participated in the events related, including evidence of physical monuments (another meaning of erga). After that, some way after, came what he called akoê or hearsay evidence, evidence that might reliably go back ultimately as far as two to three generations (but no farther) before his own time. Both types of evidence however were then further subjected to the reliability test: were his informants to be trusted – or might there perhaps be reasons why they would provide him knowingly or unknowingly (‘false memory syndrome’) with false testimony both as to facts and as to their interpretation?

At this point it’s necessary to state unequivocally that Herodotus was in no way an official historian, indeed his work has been characterised as the very denial of official history – that is, of the sort of records – or propaganda sheets – put out by middle eastern rulers or priestly castes. But even if he was not compiling and composing in the interests of any particular state or power-group, does that mean he was always himself disinterested either in what he chose to relate or in how he chose to relate it? Here Herodotus is vulnerable to two kinds of negative critique: first, that in interpreting the deeds of humans he nevertheless was too quick to invoke the notion of supernatural or divine intervention as an explanatory mode, that he was in short too theological; second, that he did not always sufficiently perceive the bias of his informants, whether they were members of an aristocratic Athenian family or members of a hereditary Egyptian priesthood. Both those critiques seem to me to have some force. And Herodotus himself was clearly very aware of the second: in response he claimed, somewhat speciously, that it was his job to ‘relate what he was told’ and that it shouldn’t be assumed he necessarily believed it. (I should probably here add that I do not myself believe the hyper-criticisms that have been levelled at Herodotus since antiquity, to the effect that he just made things up, or that, for example, he didn’t in fact view the monuments and cities abroad such as Babylon that he claimed or implied he had seen.)

Reliability, finally, operates on several levels – from a particular detail of his account of say the finally decisive Battle of Plataea all the way up to the alleged motivation of Xerxes in planning and effecting his simply massive expedition (though not as massive as Herodotus believed – here he was certainly guilty of considerable factual inaccuracy). If we make due allowance for an excess of theology, for a weakness for large numbers, and for an occasional prejudice in favour of or against a particular key player (for Athens at the Battle of Salamis, for instance, or against King Cleomenes I of Sparta and Themistocles, or – as Plutarch vehemently protested – medizing Thebes), then I think we may confidently say that Herodotus’ historical judgement is remarkably reliable given the conditions in which it had to be exercised.

I have left to the end a bit of a ‘stinger’. Almost all that I have written above applies to Herodotus the historian of the Helleno-Persian Wars conceived pretty much as we would frame that still vitally important topic today. Herodotus, however, deployed and depicted a far broader and richer canvas, since besides being that historian he was also what we would call today a pioneer ethnographer and comparative social anthropologist, interested to discover and compare the nomoi – laws and customs – of a multiplicity of non-Greek peoples living adjacent to the Hellenes, above all others the Egyptians (book 2) and a variety of what he called ‘Scythians’ (book 4). In this area Herodotus’s vulnerability to deception, disinformation or sheer ignorance was far greater, and his reliability correspondingly far smaller.

Further Reading suggestions: With apologies for apparent self-promotion, I develop the above discussion at greater length in my introduction to Tom Holland’s bold new Penguin Classics translation (London 2014). See also my 2017 (Chalke Valley History Festival) History Hub blogpost. An inventive way of re-reading Herodotus is William Shepherd’s The Persian War in Herodotus and Other Ancient Voices (Oxford 2019). A particularly good ‘very short introduction’ to Herodotus is Jennifer T. Roberts’ Herodotus (Oxford 2011). Roberts is also the editor of the excellent Norton Critical Edition of the Histories as translated by Walter Blanco and accompanied with a wide variety of supporting essays by Blanco (London 2013).’

Source:  the site of Herodotus Helpline ( https://herodotushelpline.org/how-reliable-is-herodotus-account-of-the-persian-wars/).

Very good text from a very important Classicist. My only criticism is that I think that Pr. Cartledge does not take sufficiently into account the fact that Herodotus’ ethnography, despite its inevitable flaws and errors, offers often accurate and important information on the customs of non-Greek peoples (and even in other cases in his ethnography, in which Herodotus is mostly wrong, there is a kernel of truth in what he relates or at least he preserves aspects of how some ancient peoples of his time showed themselves, their past, and their neighbors).

[glamplusstore]

Hair Styling Tools to Match Your Makeup Game

In today’s beauty-obsessed world, achieving a flawless look isn't just about the right foundation or lipstick. It's about perfect harmony—from head to toe. While makeup enhances your facial features, hair styling tools help shape your entire vibe. Whether you're creating a sleek, professional look for work or soft curls for a night out, your hair can either elevate or disrupt your makeup game.

Let’s explore how choosing the right hair styling tools can complement your makeup routine—and elevate your entire beauty look. From hair styling tools for women to options tailored for men, this guide helps you align your style, one strand at a time.

The Art of Matching Hair with Makeup

Before diving into the world of professional hair styling tools, let’s understand one core principle: balance. The right hairstyle can accentuate your jawline, frame your eyes, or highlight your cheekbones. Similarly, certain hair textures and shapes can either blend seamlessly with your makeup or clash with it.

For instance:

A bold smoky eye pairs well with sleek straight hair to avoid overpowering the look.

Soft curls beautifully complement a dewy, natural makeup style.

High ponytails and top buns allow your bold lip colors or dramatic lashes to take center stage.

Whether you're using natural cosmetic products or high-impact makeup from a brand cosmetic product, styling your hair right creates that finished, put-together look.

Must-Have Hair Styling Tools for Every Makeup Mood

1. Hair Dryers – For the Perfect Blowout

A quality hair dryer is more than a quick-fix tool—it’s the foundation of most hairstyles. For a smooth, voluminous finish, opt for a professional hair styling tool with multiple heat settings and ionic technology to reduce frizz.

Tip: Pair a bouncy blowout with subtle makeup and peach-toned blush for a radiant day look.

2. Hair Straighteners – Sleek, Sharp & Modern

Perfect for those who love structure, hair straighteners create a polished look. Ideal for formal events or power dressing, straight hair aligns beautifully with contoured makeup and a matte finish foundation.

Best suited for: Oval or round faces

Works well with: Neutral eyeshadow palettes and bold eyeliner

Look for ceramic plates and adjustable temperature settings when browsing hair styling tools in India to protect your hair and ensure lasting results.

3. Curling Wands & Tongs – Soft Glam, Always in Style

Loose waves or tight curls can change your entire aesthetic. Whether you’re heading for brunch or a romantic dinner, curls bring femininity and softness. They pair wonderfully with bronzed cheeks, highlighter, and glossy lips.

Hair styling tools for women should include at least one curling tool with barrel options to suit various curl types.

Pro Tip: For a “no-makeup makeup look,” use a thin-barrel curler and let your curls do the talking.

4. Hair Crimpers – Retro with a Modern Twist

Crimped hair is making a comeback! Paired with minimal makeup and nude tones, it makes a bold, textured statement. Crimpers add instant volume and dimension to thin or flat hair.

Ideal for parties, editorial looks, or retro-themed days

Complements: Winged eyeliner and metallic eye shadow

When buying hair styling tools in India, choose a lightweight crimper with heat protection features to reduce hair damage.

5. Hot Brushes & Stylers – Effortless Everyday Glam

Combining the ease of a brush with the power of heat, hot air brushes are great for daily styling. These tools allow you to dry, detangle, and style your hair in one go. Match with a fresh-faced makeup style using natural cosmetic products for an effortless finish.

Ideal for: Working professionals, busy moms, and students who want to look good with minimal effort.

Hair Styling Tools for Men: Grooming Meets Style

Gone are the days when hair styling tools for men were limited to combs and gel. Modern men are investing in tools to shape their hairstyle just as meticulously as their grooming routine.

Popular Hair Styling Tools for Men:

Beard straighteners for a neat, groomed look

Mini hair dryers for quick drying without frizz

Trimmers with precision blades for clean hairlines

Straighteners to manage thick or wavy hair for a clean-cut appearance

Pair these tools with beauty cosmetic products like matte moisturizers and subtle concealers to refine the look without overdoing it.

Natural Looks? Use Natural Cosmetic Products & Styling Tools Together

If your go-to aesthetic is all about clean beauty and minimalism, use natural cosmetic products with tools that don’t require extreme heat. Think low-temp hot brushes, air-drying tools, and curling tools with moisture-locking tech.

Brands are increasingly developing eco-conscious beauty cosmetic products that go hand-in-hand with low-damage tools. This pairing supports not only a gentler approach to beauty but also keeps your hair and skin healthier in the long run.

Best Practices to Maintain Hair Health While Styling

Even the best hair styling tools for women and men can damage hair if used incorrectly. Follow these practices to keep your hair healthy and your makeup pop:

Always use a heat protectant before styling

Avoid using maximum heat daily

Clean your styling tools regularly

Allow hair to cool down before brushing or setting

Pair your look with hydrating, brand cosmetic products to balance the overall glam

Final Thoughts: Style Smarter, Not Harder

Your makeup might define your face, but your hair sets the tone for your entire presence. By investing in quality hair styling tools—matched to your beauty style, hair type, and daily needs—you ensure every look feels cohesive and complete.

Whether you're drawn to classic, professional looks or you prefer experimental fashion moments, there’s a perfect tool (and cosmetic combo) out there for you. Explore the complete range of hair styling tools in India at GlamPlus Store and step up your beauty game—one fabulous hair flip at a time.

[news365times]

[ad_1] You must have tried the delicious Chicken 65 if you’re a non-vegetarian. The spiciness is packed with irresistible flavours that tingle your taste buds. The uniqueness of this ionic fried chicken dish from the South has bagged the No. 3 spot in the 10 Best Fried Chicken Dishes in the World, released by Taste Atlas.    View this post on Instagram   A post shared by TasteAtlas (@tasteatlas) Taste Atlas, the popular food and travel guide, has curated a list of the ‘Best Fried Chicken Dishes’ worldwide. On its website, Taste Atlas describes this dish as a “deep-fried chicken marinated in ginger, lemon, red chiles, and a variety of other spices.” It also explains several theories about its invention, clarifying that the most “popular” one traces Chicken 65’s origin to Tamil Nadu in the 1960s. This is not the first time this Indian dish has received recognition on a global scale. When Taste Atlas released the list on the same theme last year (in August 2023), it ranked Chicken 65 tenth overall.  Though Chicken 65 has climbed the ladder, it failed to beat Korean Fried Chicken (Chikin), which has topped the list, followed by Karaage from Japan. Ayam Goreng, which had topped the previous edition of the list, now occupies fifth place. Other Asian delicacies among the top 10 are Chinese Crispy fried chicken (Zhaziji), Taiwanese Popcorn Chicken, and Indonesian Ayam Penyet.   [ad_2] Source link

[celestialmazer]

That mysterious font is Festive, not Stymie

By Ray Newman - April 22, 2024

Source: https://precastreinforced.co.uk/2024/04/22/that-mysterious-font-is-festive-not-stymie/

What is that font? You know, THAT font? The chunky italic lettering you see on launderettes and council blocks, on post-war churches and new town butcher’s shops, across the UK.

The font you’re thinking of might well be ‘Festive’, a lettering style designed by Maurice Ward of Ward & Co, a sign-making company in Bristol, founded in 1952.

Launched in the early 1960s, Ward’s ‘Inter-signs’ product, manufactured under the Lettercast brand, used injection moulding.

Lettersigns was available in two styles, Festive and Block, and made it possible for anyone to mount their own custom signs with professional-looking 3D lettering.

Or, of course, the specific sign you’re thinking of might be in one of any number of similar lettering styles in the broader category of ‘Egyptian italic’.

Samples of lettering styles similar to Festive cobbled together by me from various sources including The Studio Book of Alphabets, 1963.

Those include:

Egyptian Italic (an earlier Ward & Co style)

Festival Egyptian (an official style of the Festival of Britain)

Stymie Bold Italic

Clarendon Bold Italic

Profil

Amigo No. 1

First, then, let’s pin down how to spot Festive in particular.

How to spot Festive

Trade catalogues from Wards of Bristol include samples of Festive in print.

From this, we can see the most distinctive features of Festive, which can help us distinguish it from similar lettering styles in the wild.

A sample of Festive from a Ward’s catalogue from, I think, 1971.

A shop sign in Bristol in Festive, author’s own photo.

First, there’s the unexpected serif at the apex of the capital A.

Then there’s the relative flatness of the round letters, like C and G.

And, of course, there’s the built-in beading – that outer line that traces the edge of each letter.

The origins of Festive

There’s a clue right there in the name: like almost every bit of flair in Britain’s mid-20th century public spaces, it came indirectly from the 1951 Festival of Britain.

One of its official lettering styles was ‘Festival Egyptian’, as depicted in the typographic handbook for designers.

A page from A Specimen of Display Letters Designed for the Festival of Britain 1951 via Chris Mullen at The Visual Telling of Stories.

But why Egyptian? In around 1817, London type founder Vincent Figgins created a typeface he referred to as ‘Antique’.

An 1834 sample of an italic variation of Antique. SOURCE: archive.org

It was fat, bold and easy to read from a distance.

Earlier examples of this style have been found but Figgins commercialised it and prompted imitations from other foundries worldwide.

These days, they’re known as slab serif fonts but in the 19th century, they were usually referred to as antique, after Figgins; or as either Ionic or Egyptian, in variations on the theme.

You can certainly see in Antique, especially when italicised, the seeds of the 20th century launderette signs and tower block titling.

But these in-your-face, ungainly display typefaces went out of fashion, like everything associated with the Victorians. They spoke of slums, music halls and Gothic mausoleums. They weren’t fit for the world of motor cars, aeroplanes and Streamline Moderne.

Then, in the 1930s, a revival began, achieving its full flowering with the 1951 Festival of Britain. This is documented in detail by Paul Rennie in this 2001 essay (PDF) but here are the key points.

First, the cover of John Betjeman’s first book Ghastly Good Taste, published in 1933 when he was still in his twenties, showcased a jumble of Victorian typefaces.

Then, in 1938, came Nicolette Gray’s book Nineteenth Century Ornamented Typefaces, celebrating Victorian lettering styles.

And in the same year, the architect and townscape designer Gordon Cullen personally produced (non-italic) slab serif lettering for the starkly modern Finsbury Health Centre. It is clearly ahead of its time and wouldn’t look out of place on a municipal building erected 20 years later.

The Finsbury Health Centre in 1979. SOURCE: Gillfoto, via Wikimedia Commons, under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported licence

Though the British Government generally clung to clean, uncluttered sans serif typefaces such as Gill Sans for official posters (Keep Calm and Carry On, chaps) advertising designers and publishers dabbled in Victorian styles throughout the 1940s.

After World War II, In the run up to the Festival, committees and working groups were put together to consider every small detail, including typography. Gordon Cullen and Nicolette Gray were both on the Festival of Britain Typographic Panel.

Once the Festival was over, Festival style lingered. Lettering catalogues from the 1950s and 60s include, for example, Egyptian Italic, Rockwell Italic and Ultra Bodoni Italic.

A sample of Egyptian Italic from a Ward’s catalogue of 1971.

Maurice Ward wrote this of his Egyptian Italic, the immediate precursor to Festive, in a catalogue from 1962:

[This] face, together with its vertical counterpart is a harmonious combination of the best features of the Egyptian family of characters and is perfectly suited as an architectural letter on buildings. The popularity of these Egyptians is unquestionably due to the Festival of Britain in 1951 and no face characterises more aptly the word ‘Festive’.

And when Ward & Co (Lettercast) launched Festive in around 1963 it was labelled as “based on Egyptian Italic”, which was in turn a take on Festival Egyptian.

The A from Egyptian Italic (left) and from Festive (right).

Feelings about fonts

What’s fascinating about Festive is how it moves people emotionally, and obsesses them.

The writer Jason Hazeley has been trying to identify it for years, for example, referring to it as “That Font” or “Everywhere Bold Italic”.

And he is not alone. For a generation of British people, it represents the vanishing landscape of their childhoods, tied into ideas of nostalgia and even hauntology.

Graphic designers have often resorted to Profil as a close match – and, of course, Festive was never really intended to be used in print.

On social media, including a popular Flickr group, Stymie Bold Italic has incorrectly been used to describe this entire category of lettering styles.

It’s only recently, however, that illustrator and designer Richard Littler of Scarfolk fame managed to unlock the mystery – or, at least, bring together all the threads.

When he put out a call on social media his significant reach across multiple platforms, with exactly the right kind of people, brought to light:

previously overlooked material at archive.org

detailed research into the British soap opera Crossroads (Wayback Machine)

The latter, a spectacular piece of work, has been sitting there for anyone to find since 2020, in a different domain of geekiness – if only type nerds had known to search ‘Inter-signs’ and ‘Lettercast’.

Personally, I’m a bit embarrassed not to have got there sooner. Back in 2020 I spent some time researching this seriously. I got in touch with Andy Ward, Maurice Ward’s son, who tipped me off to Egyptian Italic, and sent me photocopies of material he had at hand, at home, during lockdown.

And then Christine Daniel sent me photos of the back of some sign letters in her collection with ‘Inter-signs’ clearly marked on the back. But I couldn’t quite make those final links.

Together, though, we got there. The mystery has been solved. What a relief.

With thanks to Christine Daniel, Jason Hazeley, Richard Littler, Paul Rhodes and Andy Ward.

[lukeniklaspierce]

DADDY COOL

theme

In this series, daddy Pierce is turning the heat up while having a refreshing bath in the garden of his countryside house.

pitaya - farm bath ionic - wooden fence fundati - st.augustine grass set fundati - tree stump xiv fundati - plane tree set

medias

[sgokie2024]

F r i d a - K a h l o

The broken column

1944

Collection of Dolores Olmedo, Mexico City, Mexico

(*)This self-portrait is in sharp contrast to Frida's other self-portraits in that she is all alone... no monkeys, no cats, no parrots, and no background of protective leaves and plants. Instead, Frida stands all alone crying on a vast bare plain beneath a stormy sky. Perhaps it's her way of saying that she must deal with her physical and emotional pain on her own.

In 1944 when Frida painted this self-portrait, her health had deteriorated to the point where she had to wear a steel corset for five months. She described it as a "punishment". The straps of the corset seem to be all that is holding the artist's broken body together and upright. An Ionic column, broken in several pieces, symbolizes her damaged spine. The yawning cleft in her body is repeated in the furrows of the bleak fissured landscape. An even more powerful symbol of her pain are the nails piercing her face and body. The nails represent the physical pain she has endured since her accident. The larger nail piercing her heart represents the emotional pain caused by Diego.

Frida originally painted herself completely nude but then later decided that her total nudity distracted from the central theme and focus of the painting.

www.fridakahlofans.com/c0480.html

(*)https://www.flickr.com/…/28433765…/4308933656/in/photostream

[atiiram24]

Check out this listing I just added to my Poshmark closet: J GARCIA CHRISTMAS COLLECTION TIE MEN'S.