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sanstropfremir · 3 years

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episode 9 baby!!! dear lord that was a lot!!

frankly, i'm still in shock that i full on manifested an opera stage, AND it was a rock opera stage at that! plus i got a jazz stage AND a taemin stage??? if they’re pulling out all my favourites now then what on earth are they gonna do in the finale??? this was a very overwhelming crop of stages, i thought i was going to be prepared, but oh no i was not prepared. i'm just going to get right into it because this one is gonna be long and i have many words. i'll discuss in airing order first, and then put my personal rankings for this round at the end.

btob

costume

changsub, you absolute king. spectacular. stunning. incredible. zoot suit riot playing in my brain on repeat. will i finally get the zoot suit revival of my fucking dreams instead of this current drab ill-fitting suit trend? for those who are wondering why in the fuck changsub is dressed like that and what on earth i’m talking about, the specific cut of suit that he’s wearing is called a zoot suit, which were popular in mexican, black and italian american communities in the 30s and 40s, until they were outlawed by the united states war production board as a fabric rationing method as part of the war effort in 1942. there was a huge amount of mob violence surrrounding the wearing of them (there were actual zoot suit riots) as they were direct counter culture fashion to the predominant drab trends of white americans at the time. i'm actually very impressed they got a proper (modernized) cut of zoot suit instead of just putting him in an oversized one; there are actually specific structural differences. the pegged trouser legs, large should pads, and knee length single breasted jacket are key features, and they were often in much more flashy fabrics than a pinstripe, but they get points for effort. i wish they had put all of them in zoot suits but he’s playing the ‘lead’ actor so i will begrudgingly forgive them.

eunkwang those are the stupidest sleeve garters ive ever seen i love them never take them off. they’re like someone decided to repurpose a suspender in the worst way. excellent. i do love that they’ve got three of them in oxford saddle shoes, another great touch.

love the three piece and the fedora* on peniel. it's also in a relatively close period cut; waistcoasts (vests) were generally cut much higher in the neck pre-war, we only start seeing the neckline slide down in the 60s (i think? i don’t remember when exactly). also love to see a proper sleeve and jacket length, it's good practice to have at least a finger’s width of sleeve cuff visible ahead of the jacket sleeve when hanging at rest. also looks like there’s french cuffs on everyone, which is also great.

minhyuk in his slutty lowneck shirt....thank you. in addition to the zoot suit revival i would also like a revival of those ultra low necklines on mens’ shirts from like 2010-2011. i don’t think those are the same boots from the backdoor stage but those are some beautifully cut boots. i also loved the little details of his crewmember look, especially the chunky watch and the string bracelets; those are super realistic, i know so many crew with them and i had several for many years. and who doesn’t love a visible button fly?

none of any of the other costumes are period in any way shape or form but i’m forgiving it because there’s several layers of meta in this stage, and they explicitly based it on la la land, even though we don’t respect la la land in this house. do i wish they had gone more strictly period with at least the jazz club ‘actors’ a little more? absolutely, but i'm not mad about it.

set

again we’ve got a good delineation of the two different ‘stages,’ there’s the club itself in the smaller stage and the soundstage set in the larger space. you can pretty clearly see all the ‘pieces’ of the set on the soundstage, especially the obvious set painting techniques on false prosc frame and the window facade from that first little scene. also the you can see the castors (wheels) on all the setpieces too, which is another nice little versimilitudinous** (triple word score!) touch, as old hollywood movies were made still using theatre stagecraft techniques.

i love how the visual shorthand for ‘this is a set wink wonk’ is just...leaving a ladder on stage. i see it all the time and it's so funny. it doesn’t always make sense because as soon as there’s actors on set the ladders are the first thing cleared because actors cannot be trusted, but yes there are always ladders, so. also psa ladder safety is no joke, please be careful on ladders.

nice streamline of the mnet deco into the club. i’m consistently surprised at how well the designers have been able to mask it or use it to their advantage, because in the normal kingdom stage lighting it is SO obvious and stylistic that it always sticks out.

i'm going to ignore the fact that they implied changsub and miyeon were drinking wine out of martini glasses.

lighting

no complaints, it does its job. everything is visible and super clear. love that the ‘scene’ changes are made through the lighting, it's a really simple and effective device to change atmosphere. purple/blue/amber are the most flattering colours on human skin and that’s why you see it so commonly in stage lighting. also blue/lavendar is the best way to show nighttime/moonlight.

really nice and subtle projection work, especially with the billboard bit and the blue moon sign in the club. despite being obviously meta/’world breaking’ it’s actually very seamless and fits well into the flow of the stage.

sound

i love love love the big band feel in the intro, combined with the piano lead. very duke ellington, as all things should be.

no complaints. i love big band. i love eunkwang’s voice. i have nothing else to say.

staging

i LOVE this movie within a movie within a performance meta nonsense! it's such a fun concept and it is exactly what i wanted ikon’s first round stage to be! i also love to see btob consistently coming up with concepts that are inventive and fun and allow them to showcase their technical performance skills without the aerobics the younger groups are putting themselves through. it provides a really lovely variety and it just goes to show that you can make impressive, dramatic stages without having to be serious or ‘dark.’

i do wish they had leaned into the band director/lead singer with eunkwang a bit more; this could have been a really excellent place for a tap number a la the nicholas brothers or an homage to cab calloway. i know i know this was meant to be la la land themed but la la land is a cheap and whitewashed version of jazz and look me right in the eyes and tell me this isn’t the greatest tap routine of all time. i know i’ve typed this out somewhere before but la la land is just a conglomeration of old hollywood tropes and so stylistically cheap that this would have such a better visual core if they had actually looked back at the real old hollywood musicals like stormy weather. even singing in the rain and an american in paris have such phenomenal visuals and are really beautiful examples of the scope you can pull off with a limited technical capacity and sticking to these old techniques.

now that i'm thinking about it, oh my GOD i would DIE for a lindy hop routine in kpop PLEASE. i know it would never happen because kpop doesn’t like partner dancing and not a single kpop boy has the chops but oh you think fourth gen has too many acrobatics?

this got off track but i think you see my point.

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ateez

costume

these are really sharply cut suits. and the detail work on the beading??? so beautiful. i'm disappointed that they gave me a rock opera stage without the true ridiculousness of rock opera costuming, because they could have pushed this a lot farther if they really wanted. a tragic lack of gay little outfits, seonghwa’s lace choker is just not enough! two favourite suits: hongjoong’s and yunho’s.

that being said i do actually really like these. this stage is actually very modern opera with a kpop twist and i'm a little surprised by that? i continue to be impressed by the ateez team who are clearly doing their research.

i'm absolutely not going back through their stages to check all the choreography but i wonder if you can track all the ‘wound’ placements to places they’ve been ‘hit.’ i wouldn’t put it past them to have put that thought in but also i’m not expecting that much either.

who is this white grim reaper bdsm executioner chain arm man. where did he come from. i have no idea and i love it.

why is honjoong blindfolded. it was such a fast beat, if youre gonna blindfold someone give it a little longer and some more obvious narrative weight!

seonghwa does that quickchange, runs across that massive stage to the smaller set, and gets into places in like 45 seconds. it's not the hardest quickchange in the world but still, under a minute is fast for any quickchange, especially when there’s travel time involved. i think the fastest, most complex quickchange i ever did was in university which was a 50s cocktail dress into a flannel and culottes with a shoe, hair, and jewelry change in 35 seconds. and that took three dressers. quickchanges are always impressive. the added bonus of this review being later is that i can specifically reference that you can see him book it the fuck off stage in the full cam!

cute moment with the backup dancers dressed in costumes from the previous stages. i'm assuming this is a time travel reference? i'll get more into my thoughts on this in the staging section. regardless, love to see that iconic seonghwa moment again.

set

this is such a restricted space! they really pared down their dancing space with those staircases and ....arms? honestly i have NO clue what these are supposed to be. the only thing i can maybe think of is flying buttresses??? but why?? i mean, i'm 90% sure theyre just there for drama and i agree but i do still have questions.

there’s a lot of moving parts in this set? the buttresses, and the upstage centre staircase. i don’t think the staircase is totally automated because i spotted some dancers securing it in place, but it’s still a moving part. i do really like that we get that expanding upwards energy, because it's really tough to get functional level movement in this kind of a performance, mostly because of its length and because it moves so quickly. so seeing the downward vertical movement and then the upward movement was actually a really nice visual contrast that made use of how tall those fucking ceilings are, and the fact that they had less horizontal space. in sort of similar way to sf9’s jealousy stage, using long, narrow vertical lines really makes it feel like a castle space. the interiors of castles, especially the really old ones, are a lot smaller than you think they would be.

i’ve actually seen that type of small house/tent/thing several times in various types of performances before, but i think this is the first time i’ve seen it used as a time travel device (other than in the say my name mv). aesthetically it's a bit incongruent but i dont really mind because i'm used to watching rock operas that look a lot weirder than this.

lighting

there is so much happening. i have NO clue what the projections are doing. i dont hate it though, so that’s a plus? there’s a clear-ish colour arc even if it does get a bit funky in the middle, which is why the projections dont feel as insanely distracting as some of the other stages we’ve seen.

the climax is a perfect example of how to light a busy stage with primarily red but still maintain clarity on the performers. a little bit of red goes a long way; the spark stage from last week would have looked so much better if they had done what the ateez designers did here.

sound

i know it's only ode to joy, but answer already gets my motor running and then i get so gassed by the guitars and then by the time those vocals come in i'm inconsolable. i don’t know why i wasn’t expecting a rock opera stage but i'm so glad i got that surprise because i genuinely love rock operas so much. it's two of the most dramatic genres in music, what more could you possibly want?

staging

the choreo for answer is so goofy that I'm kinda glad this was mostly terrible mnet boom shots. i love it, but you can't deny that it's goofy. i spotted a couple of moves from their other choreos as well?

choreographing dance fights is just as difficult as choreographing real fights and i think they did a fairly good job here. i think it was a solid mix of dance and conflict that erred on the side of dramatic rather than accurate and i prefer that over trying to be ‘realistic.’ i’ve only ever seen one truly realistic fight scene on stage and that was for a deeply naturalist play (boring and a waste of the medium), but the best fight scene i’ve ever seen was in the prague national ballet’s adaptation of kafka’s the trial where three ballet dancers beat the absolute snot out of the main character with the most beautiful leg extensions. that whole show was probably one of the best pieces of dance i’ve ever seen, holy fuck it was so good.

despite how insane the music and the visuals were going, i actually really liked how sedate this was, on the part of ateez’s performance. there was a really sophisticated and resigned energy from them that is very different from what we’ve previously seen and i think that was a pretty admirable risk to take. reaching the top and then throwing away the crown? especially in a competition where every other stage has involved stealing crowns or royalty and there’s a group competing that got here through that very concept? that shows a real maturity, peace of mind, and foresight that i did not at all expect from a bunch of 22 year olds.

here we come to a very interesting comparison. both ateez and tbz are very heavily leaning on previously established group lore. we all know my thoughts on why it isn’t working for tbz, but here’s why i think it is working for ateez: it's because it doesn’t matter to the audience’s understanding of the stage. i had absolutely no fucking clue what was going on the first time i watched this, but that didn’t stop me from enjoying the music and all the weird shit they were doing. i totally believed that they understood what was going on. there’s a loose enough established conflict right at the beginning that draws us in, and really it doesn’t matter who they're fighting because they win in the end. the key here is that they’re so earnest. they believe 100% in every move they make on that stage. there’s no winks to camera, there’s not a drop of irony. they really deeply care about the ridiculousness of it all and that’s what makes it work. i sure as fuck dont know what’s going on, but i can see that they do, and i trust that. this is what i meant when i talked about convincing the audience you belong on stage in my stage presence post. i’ve never once believed that juyeon was anything other than an idol. he’s talented and very beautiful and he may occasionally stand on that stage like he owns it but it's always as juyeon. as an idol. but when hongjoong flaps around in that gigantic fur coat i 100% believe he’s a pirate captain. I believe he’s a punk rebel leader. i believe him a resigned king. there’s always a level of irony you have to fight as a performer because we all start from a place of disbelief. acting is not just lying to the audience, it's lying to yourself too. and if you succeed in convincing yourself? well, you’re already halfway to convincing us.

i checked it out because i wanted to see if they did the blindfold how i expected them to and was genuinely surprised by hongjoong’s fancam. the boy is EMOTING even when he knew the camera wasn’t on him; that’s a real dedication to craft.

ok i'm finished talking about this stage, this is over two pages in my document, there’s so many things i have not covered here but that’s fine, i'm quite sure any further thoughts will end up out there at some point.

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sf9

costume

let’s get it out of the way......crop top. crop top? crop top. crop top.

ok, besides the crop top, i think i might actually like the backup dancer outfits more...? i find mannequin adjacent looks really fascinating and i thought there was a lot more they could have done here in connecting the two thematically. i actually think a change of costume on the boys would have been very interesting, especially because there was a lot of inference and direct reference to changes of colour.

ALL the backup dancers are wearing the same wig and i LOVE that.

special mention zuho’s.....jacket? the right idea but it absolutely should have been one of those extreme french cut bodysuits, you COWARDS. don’t come at me with this ‘male version of venus’ if you don’t have your whole torso out! come on!

set

not sure if this is meant to be a department store, a factory, or a white cube gallery. honestly you could make the case that they’re all the same place anyways. more on this later.

i loved the movator and wish they had used it more! that sequence was so good and they could have done some more interesting repetition sequences to further highlight the ‘sameness’/the breaking of that sameness.

i feel like the set could have been used more as a whole? i would have loved to see some mannequin interactions with those boxes, because all they did was dump colour everywhere.

....why did they feel the need to include the rain bit? i know it's likely because it's in the mv and at the 2018 dream concert taemin does perform move in the rain, but with the standing still and the box walls with the words it just looks like a department store ad. which i...dont think is what they were intending?

lighting

nothing really to say here. it has a similar feel to the mayfly rap stage, which is fine because the lighting for that was good. i could tell what was going on all the time and that’s the most important part. notable standouts are the lips sequence, that's fun use of pop iconography and very effective, and the scanning lasers at the beginning.

the repeating sequence in the edm dance break is actually done pretty simply, it's just what happens when you point a camera that’s livestreaming to a monitor directly at that monitor. it's a very cool effect and it was neat to see it used intentionally, especially with the handheld leds.

actually i also really liked the lightbox tables, those were cool.

sound

the remix was fine for the most part, it was about what i expected it to sound like. i did however greatly dislike that unnecessary edm break in the middle. what was the point of that? it didn’t add anything to the overall sound or arc of the stage because it was SO out of place. there was no connective tissue around it.

oh i was also not a fan of the effect on zuho’s mic. no one else had a discernible vocal effect so it felt a little out of place. also for some reason his cadence and tone right at the end made me think of some of the voices that bo burnam uses for his vocal masque sketches/songs, especially repeat stuff, weirdly? took me right the fuck out of it. i listened to it again after i slept and i’m still getting it, so maybe i’m just going insane so best ignore this part.

staging

loved the mannequin tree, not a clue why it was there.

do actually think this is a successful cover because it does what i was hoping it would, which is take move completely out of the taemin context and put it into an entirely new one. however, i’m really struggling to figure out what exactly that new context is? and what theyre trying to say with it?

obviously they went for a ‘show your own colours/individuality’ vibe, like i said in the set section, where exactly is this supposed to be? from the start i get factory/mechanized environment, which is fine and grand because mannequins and making repetitive motions and products and all that, makes sense. but then there’s stacked shelving type units happening and curtains and that combined with the mannequins give me pretty big department store vibes, which is also fine, because that’s still a comment on commercialization and the mass production of product. but then we get to the movator and the repetitive movements of the dancers say pretty clearly factory, but the lighting and projections are very pop art referential, plus combining that with the white set, just makes me think of an art gallery. so now is this a comment on the commercialization and commidification of contemporary art? are they making a statement about being ‘real’ artists among the others who have lost the critical understanding of why pop art was even a thing in the first place? and then the rain bit at the end literally looks like a department store ad, so are they then making another statement that they still are that packaged product? maybe the episode has more clarity in it but i’m genuinely a bit baffled by what the underlying statement is here.

i suspect it is not as deep as i'm making it, but i did say that i was likely to be hyper critical of this stage AND i am a grad student, so here we are.

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tbz

costume

ok of all the ‘fourth gen’ style costumes we’ve seen, i actually like these ones more than most. i'm not entirely clear on the theme but i'm assuming it's meant to be post apocalyptic, and i'll take that.

backup dancers in black!!! we’re beyond this!!!

this will be a running theme with this stage, but i’m disappointed these don’t have more depth.

set

compared to every other stage, the set here seems especially plain. there’s so little set dec that it's disappointing. i do like the movement of the pieces themselves combined with the blocking; that first slide underneath the arches was slick and i would have liked to have seen more of that.

yea ok the big snake was cool and also a fairly complex build, but the transitions around it were a bit awkward for my tastes. especially the turn around, why did they even show that at all? you have control over what the audience sees, you can totally not show scenic transitions. skz were super smart about hiding theirs in last week’s episode.

also if you have a bigass puppet like that, i wanna see some more movement from it! it doesn’t have to be complex, we literally just saw a kraken balloon arm wave around aimlessly, but at least there was movement! that snake had a long ass body, why didn’t they at least take a pseudo dragon dance movement with it, that would have been such fun to watch with the iridescent scales. there was a lot of opportunity here!

lighting

i don’t hate it but also.... not a lot to say about it on the whole.

there were two really smart ideas here, the first being the front projection section, which i was SO glad to see! i explained in a previous review, but the projections in kingdom are not actually projections per se, because they’re actually massive led screens. there are two common types of projections in performance, rear projection and front projection. rear projection is when the projector is behind the screen, and front projection is ‘normal’ projection. rear projection can produce a crisper image because you have full control of the light values, because the projector is in a separate room from the performance space. but the downsides are that the projector has to be in a separate room from the performance space. so if you’re short on real estate, it's not ideal. front projection is much more common, because the tech is a lot cheaper and easier to access, especially now, and it requires less real estate because you can ceiling mount about the audience (you can move a projector wherever, this is just the most common spot in commercial theatres). but! in order to get an actually crisp image, you have to be really careful with your light bounce. it’s exactly the same principle as how you kinda can't see a projected screen when you have all the lights turned on, but when you turn them off it's a lot clearer. front projection works best in pitch dark, so when you use it in a theatre you gotta be smart about it. i use front projection a lot in my personal art practice as a singular light source, and that’s what tbz did here in that traveling/snake intro sequence. it’s a really fun technique that they used as a good gimmick because it’s not something we’ve seen before, and you get some great shadow effects because the projector is throwing light directionally at the performers (they have it set up close to the floor, it’s probably on a wheeled cart of some kind). however i did not like the snake intro. a bit too cheesy and out of place, especially because the asset quality didn’t match the rest of landscapes that we have been seeing.

the second smart idea, which is partially also a set and blocking thing but whatever, was that final image of the eclipse within the circle architecture with all the members standing in front of it. it was a great shot and a great ending pose, but it felt like a concept photo. like someone had that image as the idea that they then built the stage around, instead of a narrative first and then imagery after.

sound

this remix had SO much promise! those first two minutes were SO GOOD. i love that dirty discordant strings bit, it's gross and right up my alley. but it really fell off in the back half and i'm sad about that.

staging

i'm sorry tbz but.....what did you actually do differently than exo here? with the exception of the continual game of thrones references? nothing here felt transcendentally different from the original monster. and especially coming RIGHT after sf9’s move, which did go beyond its original context. this feels more like an awards show stage cover than a stage at the level of the others we’ve seen just this episode.

again like with the skz stage, there’s no conflict here. no tension. yes they do a great job covering the dance but it just isn’t enough! this is obviously personal preference and i'm sure lots of people liked the fact that it was uncomplicated, but even just a hint of narrative tension could have pushed this into more engaging territory. and if they didn’t want to do that, i would have loved to see them make up for that with extra visual spectacle. this is the no limits round! ikon is putting a full jungle on stage and these are grey cubes!

i think this is a perfect example of what i talked about at the end of my tbz section in my episode four review; this is a good performance, there are good elements at play and good ideas at their genesis, but the core of the issue is that nothing about this is transformative. all of the ideas here are just exaggerations of the original song. fuck, the snake was even IN the mv! and they didn’t even include the best part which is the lip chains! ive said before and i'll say it again; being a good artist has two steps, the first is understanding the material and its context, and the second is elevating the material from that context and synthesizing something new. tbz are really good at the first step, but terrible at the second.

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ranking

btob - the cleanest and the most fun of the round. everything i wanted.

sf9 - fun and a good cover, despite being conceptually baffling.

ateez - very extra dramatic nonsense with an unexpected dose of sincerity. and it’s rock opera, of course i love it.

skz - fun, with some good thematic devices but generally lacking in arc. also australian accents, that’s an automatic ding.

tbz - honestly the first two minutes of the remix and the costume are holding this above 6th. it just wasn’t fully formed.

ikon - aesthetically this is a great set design and although i do love the opening and closing moments, everything else scrapes me the wrong way. super personal preference here, i’m not expecting anyone else to agree with me.

i feel like my rankings were probably pretty easy to guess if you’ve been around reading the reviews for long enough. i do have very specific tastes after all. i know sf9 ranked first in the episode but i have no idea what the other slots are. i’ll find out when i watch the episode in a couple of days, but i think yea a first for sf9 is fair. i do think its mostly because it’s a taemin song and you have to do something horrendous in order to fuck up a taemin song, but there is a lot of thought and work that went into that stage.

ok i'm done now, sorry this was later than usual, but i was busier and there were four stages that i had to review. also technical difficulties because tumblr is a garbage platform and nothing works properly. comments/questions/opinions always welcome, i know i didn't expand on a couple of points that i could have so hopefully y'all have some thoughts too!

* the type of hat that ~society~ has told you is a fedora is actually a trilby. what peniel is wearing is a real fedora, i felt the need to correct this unjust hat malignment.

** meaning ‘the appearance of being true or real.’ you do sometimes hear it used by normal people, but it’s more commonly used as a descriptor in film and theatre. it’s also one of the five rules of neoclassical theatre, which are: versimilitude, purity of form, five act structure, decorum, and purpose. the most prominent playwrights from that era are moliere and racine if youre interested in what those look like in an actual text.

#kingdom #kingdom review #btob #ateez #stray kids #the boyz #sf9 #tumblr is so broken it would NOT let me save this as a draft #does my constant hyperlinking make you angry tumblr? too bad im gonna keep doing it #i played in a jazz band in school for seven years #which is another indicator as to why i am like this #one of the first songs i remember learning was zoot suit riot #i have very strong memories of yelling RIOT during performances #i will however forever question the logic of our band teacher making us learn a song written by 'the cherry poppin daddies'#christ on a bicycle this is TEN pages #and it took a full eight hours last night and then i did like two hours of editing after i woke up #maybe i should go back to bed #ah i forgot to tag ikon again lmao #ikon #kpop analysis #text #if there are any spelling errrors do not tell me im tired of reading this #im pretty sure this is my longest review so far i decided to hate myself and did a wordcount #its 5.2K you're welcome you better get a snack for this one #i hope this is an interesting read for people ive lost all objectivity at this point #pls enjoy my semi-comprehensible word vomit!

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piercebaron · 4 years

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episode 22 and adaptations

Actually, I do want to talk about it! I feel like episode 22 encapsulates my “weird” feelings towards the anime adaptation and how it has cut and reframed certain things. It’s not bad? Just weird.

Spoilers for the Plunderer anime and for the manga, up to chapter 36.

prefacing all of this with a general note: if you’ve only seen the anime, please read the manga. You’re valid, I’m so glad you’ve been enjoying the anime, but please read the manga because as horny as Minazuki is (and the man is . . . very, very much so), his art is also amazing and some of his panels deserve a second, third, or even a fourth look. The little details here and there actually crop up later and become important, and it’s just great. Chapters 46 - 53 are some of my favorite in media in a long, long time and I absolutely cannot wait until they’re released in an official capacity so I can fork over my money for them.

(seriously, you guys don’t know how hard I’ve tried to legally purchase volume 13. I want to give my money to this series so bad.)

This will also be a little scattershot and bounce around between other episodes, so apologies in advance. I’m trying to double-check chapters and whatnot as I go but if I get something wrong or miss something, please don’t hesitate to correct me in the replies! I’ve been watching the anime through Funimation’s site -- dubbed up through episode 11 and then subs from then on.

Adaptations! Adaptations. By their very nature, they are not a 1:1 sort of thing. A lot of times, you’ll hear people say “read the book” when a movie adaptation of said book comes out. This is because by its very nature, a movie adaptation simply can’t capture everything in the book -- nor should it. Little things will slip through the cracks. This doesn’t make the movie adaptation bad, necessarily, just that it loses something.

By the same token, if someone tried to do a direct 1:1 adaptation of a book where, say, the book is used as a script (which is an extremely bad idea for so many reasons, please have a script oh my goodness), chances are it’s not going to be a very good movie. There are musicals, for example, where when filmmakers try to make them into films, they flop because they’re not “cinematic.” The directors didn’t take into account the shift in mediums or, more likely, they sorely underestimated it. Understandable, since it’s two visual mediums, but still.

This is all leading up to me talking about Plunderer, I swear.

Manga to anime is a tricky, tricky thing. A manga has [X] amount of pages to work with, depending on if it’s a weekly or monthly series (or even some different increment!). The author, then, has to structure their chapters accordingly, moving things along to keep the reader interested while also controlling the ebb and flow of the story. Note how when the chapters end, they’re engineered to keep you wanting to read more!

Anime is similar in that respect, except the crew has 20-22 minutes to fill over the course of 12 to 24 episodes depending on the series order. Plunderer, ftr, had a 2 “cour” order from the get-go. They have to plan out the series as a whole, figuring out certain things like, where will the season end? What are the big beats, when will we hit them? Etc. It’s no coincidence that the “school” arc started right around episode 12, which is the halfway point of the series; note how there was that filler episode with Hina and Lynne cooking, after all.

When I started watching the anime after reading the manga, I assumed they’d end the season with, roughly, the end of chapter 36. It’s a nice “resolution” to a lot of things that had been building up over the series. Hina and Licht are finally together, Licht has resolved to keep his mask off and face the future, Jail has a new direction, Lynne -> Licht is basically resolved, and Pele’s layers finally get peeled back just a bit.

I saw some predictions online that they’d leave off at the cliffhanger in chapter 39 and while that’s a good guess, in terms of narrative ebb and flow for an anime, it doesn’t really line up. They’d really have to rush some stuff (Charles!! i love you, charles) to get there and in terms of a product that they want to be able to market in several territories, it makes more sense to give it some feeling of resolution. That said, what’s more likely along that vein is us potentially getting some sort of stinger at the end of episode 24 with one character talking to That Certain Character, and us getting a brief, shadowy shot of said character to make people go “ohhhhh shit, dude.”

but idk this anime has made some strange choices.

Going into that! I’ve mentioned this here and there and talked about it with a friend, but the choices the anime has made in terms of adaptation is, uh, pretty strange at times. When changes get made, my instinct is to try and think through why they were changed and, ultimately, if it really affects the story in any way. If I went through the entire anime, it would be an extremely dull read; please know, however, that I am forever sad we missed Jail’s computer antics and Pele being the ultimate shit when it comes to Nana’s video, even if I understand why they were cut.

That said, episode 22 is a perfect example of this, so uh. Let’s dive in, shall we?

The chapters that episode 22 covers are chapters 33 and 34. The events leading up to it are pretty much the same, but episode 22 contains some divergences. Going through them quickly:

We see more of Pele and Hina trying to stop Douan from going after Lynn.

Sonohara doesn’t show up during this confrontation. Hina gets her “the body was too clean” line instead.

Because Sonohara doesn’t show up, it’s Douan who attacks Lynn instead, causing her injuries with rocks. In the manga, Sonohara shows up, is drugged by Douan, and shoots a couple of bullets at Lynn.

Nana is just randomly lurking around?? In the manga, it’s clear she got caught at the same time. I’m really not sure what was up in the anime. Douan just yanks her out from behind a wall.

Douan sits with Nana, Hina, and Pele until morning, telling them he’ll kill them at dawn if Licht doesn’t show up. In the manga, he sits back and lets Sonohara terrorize them with a game of Russian Roulette, and Hina promptly (without words) calls Sonohara’s bluff.

Jail doesn’t show up in this episode at all. Instead, Hina gets his “did you check?” line.

We actually see Nana leave with Pele when he takes Lynn off. It looks like we’re going to actually see Doctor Pele in action, maybe? Hina is later sent off to help them.

Sonohara shows up towards the end, already drugged. Based on Douan’s line, it’s assumed that she was drugged off screen by the Secret Service. In the manga, he forcefully injects her.

The end of the episode sets up episode 23 to be Licht vs. Douan and Sonohara, with the preview showing Jail jumping into the fray.

whew, that’s a lot.

I actually get why most of these changes were made! Setting up the penultimate episode of the series to be this big battle is a necessary change for an anime. And narratively speaking, this is much cleaner than it was in the manga, where Sonohara shows up briefly at the beginning of chapter 33, is drugged, and then basically exists to be crazy and antagonize people. It’s less balls in the air for the staff to have to juggle and for the audience to follow.

Douan’s character also gets some more depth. It’s funny because I feel like in the anime, he’s much more cruel than he was in the manga originally -- which is a feat, let me tell you. The anime flipped that in this episode, though, by not having Douan force the drugs onto Sonohara.

The manga frames it as him doing it because he believes he knows what’s best for her, he’s trying to protect her in his own awful way, but it’s also, you know . . . nonconsensual as hell and gross on so many levels. This takes that off his shoulders which is a good change, honestly.

But we lose some little character moments for the others in terms of streamlining. I think the thing that bums me out the most is Jail’s stuff. In the manga, after the confrontation with Alan, Jail steps in, calls Sonohara out and snaps her out of her drugged stupor without much of a fight (”without conviction, your bullets can’t pierce me”) and then slaps down the iron throne, telling Douan to shut up because Licht is coming. Chapter 34 ends with him just dead-eye staring at Douan like yeah, it’s annoying, but look. You’re the one who calls him a cockroach. Jail saying “did you check?” is a major mic drop moment and it’s basically when, from then on, Jail does not give a single flying fuck about the barons / aces.

It definitely should be noted that some of these Jail moments will probably pop up in other ways in the next episode. I fully expect the bit about Sonohara’s bullets to come up, at least.

We lose out on Sonohara stuff too, though. She willingly throws herself into the lion’s den, shooting at Douan to distract him for long enough to allow Lynne to get away. It’s Sonohara who points out that Licht’s body was too clean -- something that makes more sense as someone who’s known him for 300+ years, knows what it means to be a baron / ace, and wasn’t immediately dragged off by the Secret Service. Her then terrorizing them while drugged is also a moment because when she forces Nana to play Russian Roulette, Hina immediately grabs the gun and points it at her head, firing all the “shots.” It’s empty, showing that despite the drugs, Sonohara didn’t want to kill them and Hina knew that all too well.

with all that said, I should note here that it’s entirely possible this scene will show up in some form next episode. Sonohara is still drugged and Hina, Nana, and Pele are all together in the bunker that is right nearby. I kind of doubt it given how the episode is framed and because narratively, it makes more sense to focus on the Licht vs. Douan and Sonohara -> Licht and Jail vs. Douan and Sonohara fight than to have Sonohara split off to randomly terrorize them, but. Like I said, this anime has made some strange choices.

Of course, character moments we get instead are Hina and even Pele being metal as hell. As much as I’m flapping my hands about losing the little character moments for Jail and Sonohara, it’s clear that they thought about how to utilize those moments while streamlining things, and they do work for Hina. And honestly, it’s really nice to see more stuff with her and Lynn? They get some cute panels later on in the manga (think chapter 55), but I like ladies and I like some lady solidarity. And Hina getting those little moments is on the same level as her straight up pointing a gun at her head all “you won’t kill me.”

and on a selfish note, I am actually really excited to see Pele tend to Lynn. The anime has been good about fleshing them out more and giving them little moments. My little shipper heart is delighted.

In the end, does it change much? Not really. These are small things, ultimately, just like how we didn’t lose much with the added filler and cut moments during the school arc. It’s all ultimately in the name of adaptation and while it’s weird, it’s not necessarily “bad.” It’s jarring for me as someone familiar with the manga (and having stared at some of these panels for so long, I’ve gotten really familiar with it), but thinking on it critically, yeah, I can see why.

they better damn well do the “how did you know I could do surgery?” scene in the last episode though or I will be super bummed, okay.

#plunderer #anime #long post #manga and anime differences

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animebw · 5 years

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Binge-Watching: Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid, Episodes 4-6

In which I consider how KyoAni adapts their work, humanity is observed from a distance, and I get diabetes.

Page to Screen

There’s a lot of different reasons why Kyoto Animation is my favorite anime studio, but one reason that I feel tends to be under-discussed when it comes to conversations about their work is how they adapt the source material they choose. With how much of anime nowadays is based on something else, you come to recognize a lot of repeated tropes in the way works are adapted depending on what they’re being adapted from. Manga-to-anime have certain kinds of pacing and framing depending on how the original panels were laid out, light-novel-to-anime have certain recognizable structures relating to their multi-volume storytelling, that sort of thing. That’s not necessarily a problem (though it absolutely can be), it just means that when you get as familiar with the medium as I am, you start to notice those patterns more frequently. You can recognize, “oh, this is how this scene would probably look in manga form,” and such. But Kyoto Animation is one studio where that’s never been the case. Whenever they adapt a work, they adapt it more heavily than any other studio, restructuring scenes, adding or subtracting characters, streamlining certain subplots, and just generally making the adapted story a wholly separate artifact from its source material. As a result, I can’t look at most KyoAni shows and see a manga adaptation, or a visual novel adaptation; I look at KyoAni shows and I see shows. No matter where they come from, they always feel like they were constructed from the ground up to fit the medium of serialized animated storytelling. And that’s true even of their bad shows: Haruhi and Phantom World feel like they could have easily been original projects, for how well they’ve been restructured to fit the storytelling demands of TV. It’s really goddamn impressive.

I bring this up because if there’s one area where Dragon Maid feels a little lacking in comparison to its fellow KyoAni shows, it’s that sense of adaptational pureness. It is very apparent that this show was based on a manga, and the pacing from scene-to-scene and episode-to-episode reflects its origins fairly obviously. The most obvious example of this it its use of title cards; the way they’re dropped as punctuation at the end of funny scenes has a very manga-esque quality. I can imagine reading these pages in a manga and seeing this title card below the panel, casting comedic reflection upon the events I just experienced much like the anime puts them at the end of scenes to cast comedic reflection on the events it just played for us. It structures jokes with moment-to-moment impact, it uses visual gags for punch that shift into reality-breaking absurdity, and it just overall carries itself with the air of a gag manga in the way it formats its bits. It’s still a very good execution of that structure, to be clear, and I’m being absurdly nitpicky in drawing attention to it. In any other show, this would be a negligible niggle, no even worth commenting upon. It’s only because KyoAni has given themselves such a ridiculously high bar to clear that it stands out in comparison to their previous work. But I hold KyoAni in such high regard in large part because of how usually I don’t get this feeling of source-material translation, so it’s notable that it actually makes an impression here.

Sweetness and Lightning

Still, again, that’s a ridiculous nitpick that doesn’t matter than much. What does matter is that the rest of KyoAni’s strengths are still on full display here, no compromises or half-measures taken at all. It’s still wonderfully animated without any dips in quality, it’s still warmly textured and nuanced in a way that brings the reality of this world to life (Kanna being so excited about her backpack that she tries to sleep with it on is such a kid move), and it’s still so goddamn sweet that I’m scared my cheeks are gonna fall off from overuse by the time the damn show’s over. And that’s trickier to pull off than it sounds. Sugar overload is a thing, and done poorly, a show that overdoses on fluff can come off like you’re being force-fed a gallon drum of cotton candy. The best sweet shows know that it’s not enough to be sweet all the way through; there needs to be texture to its warmth, something to provide contrast that makes the light shine that much brighter. Consider Ponyo, my gold standard for “make me happy” fiction. This film is pretty much nothing but sheer joy from start to finish, reckless and disobedient in how it revels in its own happiness. But it’s still set against the backdrop of a Biblical apocalypse, with a mother character who’s frazzled from overwork and annoyed at how long her husband’s taking to get home from a trip, and a house with genuine wear and tear, with dirt and scrapes and bruises aplenty. It’s not such a joyful film because it exists in a world without pain; it’s as joyful as it is because it laughs in the face of pain that it acknowledges exists. It takes place in an emotional context that resembles our own, which makes the extreme happiness it reaches for feel genuine, even amidst its fantastical leanings.

In short, you don’t need danger or despair to make happiness count for something, but you do need an acknowledgement of emotions that exist beyond it. And Dragon Maid’s operating with a fantastic understanding of that maxim. Like I said last time, Tohru and Kobayashi’s relationship isn’t a perfect, mushy, always-dreamy companionship; they’re capable of getting on each other’s nerves at times. But it’s in that slight imperfection that their sweetness towards each other becomes all the more believable. Hell, it doesn’t even have to be outright antagonism to make the point; it can be as simple as Kobayashi’s understated acknowledgement of Tohru’s eccentricities to sell the gruff weariness she sometimes bears towards her partner. They’re not a perfect lovey-dovey couple, and they’re not all over each other all the time. And because they’re not that saccharine, it makes the warmth of their bond feel so overwhelmingly genuine. It makes Tohru slapping a name tag on Kobayashi (at Kanna’s suggestion that it’s good to label your things) stupidly enjoyable. It makes Tohru accidentally fisting the table apart in lesbian anxiety an exercise in joyous laughter. It makes Kobayashi helping support Tohru’s desire to understand human interests so goddamn sweet that I could feel my heart start beating out of my chest. And oh my fucking god, everything, everything about Torhu’s visit to Kobayashi’s place of work was gold. The way she humiliated her mean boss without going overboard. Kobayashi not being sure if she was really there, but suspecting it regardless (and being a little surprised when it turned out she was right). That moment of insecurity as Kobayashi wonders how interesting her work could really be, cut off my Tohru’s mumbled assertion that she loved learning more about her. Sweet. Buttery. Jesus. I think I started banging the arms of my chair to keep from squealing out loud at that point. And then Kobayashi’s small realization that she’s already forgotten what life was like before Tohru came into it and her little smile of comfort at the thought and GOD.

And hey, if you’re a fan of super-saccharine sweetness regardless (which I absolutely am), then this show’s got just the think for you: Kanna’s budding relationship with her classmate Saikawa. Oh. My. LORD. I knew I was in for a good time the moment Saikawa introduced herself by pouting at Kanna, ”You’re so cute, it makes me angry and want to hug you!”, and I wasn’t mistaken in the least. This is the benefit of having both adult and child characters; you get to do the grown-up, mature, sentimental relationship and the sweet, mushy, puppy love relationship at the same time. It’s so weird that outside of FMA, I can’t think of any other anime that have really taken advantage of this opportunity. Royai and Edwin were both such iconic ships, and nobody thought to copy their genius? Where, here comes Dragon Maid to set them straight, and somebody dunk my face in ice water because I need to cool the fuck down from this much concentrated gay energy. I cannot handle how adorable Saikawa’s crush on Kanna is. I cannot handle how constantly her hearts burst into bloom at the slightest provocation. I cannot handle how close Kanna pushes her to the edge time and time again; I honestly can’t tell how aware she is of how deeply she’s messing with this girl’s heart (”This spot’s the most comfortable.”), but I can’t get enough of it. And Jesus wept, that entire exchange at the climax of their playdate: ”I want something like what Tohru and Kobayashi share.” “To be honest, I’d love to marry you!” “Let’s be even closer, Saikawa.” Somebody get me a defibrillator, because my heart just stopped from sheer, concentrated cute. It says a lot about how fucking sweet this show is that a gag about Saikawa seeing up Kanna’s skirt ends up being just as adorable as literally everything else. The lesbian energy is just too goddamn strong.

From the Outside

But of course, leave it to KyoAni to go the extra mile without provocation, because Dragon Maid isn’t just a ridiculously cute, fluffy time; it’s got a brain on top of that big, beating heart, and it’s got a mouth with something to say right alongside it. It would be kinda easy for another show to forget that Tohru and company are dragons from a parallel dimension, failing to utilize that gimmick beyond some cute sight gags and fetish pandering. But Dragon Maid doesn’t just keep in mind how its inhuman cast interacts with the human world, the interaction between them is kinda the whole point. Tohru came to this world to escape a life that no longer suited her, but she’s still experiencing a new way of living, as are all the dragons who follow her. They have an outsider’s perspective on humanity, observing their habits and tendencies from a distance as they work out how deeply they want to connect to that experience. And that cuts both ways in terms of objective analysis and ignorance. Tohru gets suckered into internet conspiracies from lack of context, but she’s also able to call out the foolishness of putting kids with vastly different skill levels in the same grade. She’s utterly baffled by how much paperwork is necessary to live in this society, but she’s also incredibly prescient about the flaws in Japan’s culture of conformity. As someone who’s been to Japan fairly recently, and can thus confirm how much invisible pressure there is to go with the flow there, it was fascinating to see her and Kobayashi converse about the thought process that goes into thinking everyone should be treated exactly the same, and the consequences that come from breaking that conformity. These dragons live among humans, but as Fafnir puts it at one point, living among them doesn’t necessarily mean living with them. They see things from different angles, and it’s not immediately clear if the best option really is to join their lives together so closely.

But of course, there was never any question for Tohru. As long as Kobayashi is an example of humanity, then she’s perfectly comfortable considering them her neighbors and equals. There’s a wonderful scene in episode 5 where Fafnir addresses the fact that Tohru’s gonna outlive Kobayashi by a lot, and she responds by accepting that difference and resolving to make the most of the time they have together. Humans are different, sure, but the time they spend together makes every second worth that connection. And even Fafnir is forced to accept this fact thanks to the bond he forges by living with Kobayashi’s co-worker (side note, I really love how interconnected this cast feels outside of the main duo: everyone has their own lives to live and their own connections with each other). Dragon Maid is the story of viewing humanity from a distance while slowly learning to accept its quirks, and it’s dramatized with enough sweetness to put the Hershey factory to shame. As Fafnir wisely recognizes, humans can be either hit or miss. The misses might be more common, and it’s certainly not worth putting that much effort into everyone you meet. But if you’re actually able to find that hit, then it’s absolutely worth keeping around. And when even an incidental side relationship is able to communicate the emotional truth of this show so well, you know you’ve got a good thing going. What can I say, that’s just the KyoAni touch.

Odds and Ends

-”I sense come collusion between school and the manufacturers.” Wouldn’t surprise me, honestly.

-”Why is everything shining before my eyes?” Because your kid is happy, that’s why.

-”Part of me wants to ask, and part of me doesn’t.” Of course unicorns are real in the other world.

-ohmigosh she put the charm back to make the cost less expensive hrrrg my heart

-”Too many different themes to tell.” ROASTED.

-Oh god dammit is that Daisuke Ono

-”Saiwaka’s not popular.” Fatality.

-”They’re the worst scum ever.” Kanna is stone-cold, dude.

-”Don’t destroy anything.” “Then there’s not much I can do.” aksdhaskjdhaskd

-”Maid in the box!” Freaking show off, I swear to god.

-Kobayashi is in Maid Heaven right now.

-”I wanted to...” why yes I am shipping two gay five-year-olds why do you ask

-I’d question how a five-year-old can cast a summoning spell, but honestly, I doubt I’d get a straight answer.

-Still not the biggest fan of Lucoa. There’s a fine line between fetish pandering and justified tropes, and she’s the one part of this show that crosses to the wrong side of it, in my opinion.

-”The fanservice episode, frankly.” Well, at least they’re not beating around the bush.

What a lovely show. See you next time!

#anime #the anime binge-watcher #tabw #miss kobayashi's dragon maid #kobayashi san chi no maid dragon #kyoani #kyoto animation

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easyfoodnetwork · 4 years

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From the Strategist: The Best Bartending Guides and Cocktail Books, According to Bartenders

Learn cocktail fundamentals, techniques, and history with these books, from the Strategist

The way you learn how to make craft cocktails isn’t by drinking a lot of them (though that experience doesn’t necessarily hurt). You need to memorize recipes, learn how different liquors are made, and even understand a bit of chemistry — that’s why most serious bartenders and booze connoisseurs are well-read folks, with libraries full of bartending guides and cocktail books that they still reference, even after years of experience under their belts.

To help you fill your own home with the best cocktail books for every type of drinker, we asked 18 experts — including bartenders, beverage directors, and cocktail-book authors — to share what’s on their shelves, from the classic guides that taught them the fundamentals to the modern books that help them get creative. As always, each title on this list has been recommended by at least two experts.

Best historical cocktail book

“Imbibe! Updated and Revised Edition” by David Wondrich

According to Kitty Amann, the co-author of Drinking Like Ladies and a brand ambassador for whiskey brand Uncle Nearest, this is a “must-read for anyone who likes cocktails and history.” She looks at Imbibe! like a textbook: “I learn something new each time I go back to it.” Both Holly Booth and Josh Novaski, co-lead bartenders at Utah-based High West Saloon, say that the book features “great storytelling and historical references to American craft cocktail creation.” New York City–based bartender and beverage consultant Lucinda Sterling says that it has “great stories and recipes,” and Jägermeister brand-meister Willy Shine and H. Joseph Ehrmann, the co-founder of Fresh Victor cocktail mixers and the owner of San Francisco’s Elixir, are also big fans. Alongside its included 100 recipes for cocktails, the author — who won a James Beard Award for this book in 2007 — includes detailed historical notes contextualizing each drink and providing a compelling portrait of Jerry Thomas, who is widely considered the father of the American bar.

Best fundamental cocktail book

“The Craft of the Cocktail: Everything You Need to Know to Be a Master Bartender” by Dale DeGroff

For learning about basic techniques, four of our experts recommend Dale DeGroff’s The Craft of the Cocktail. Craig Joseph, the bar manager at Ty Bar at the Four Seasons Hotel New York, calls it his “all-time favorite cocktail book,” adding that it’s “the only book every bartender, beginner or pro, needs in their life.” Jim Kearns, the beverage director and a partner at New York City’s the Happiest Hour, adds, “It has a lot of valuable information in it, as well as recipes, so it’s a good one to check out.” And Gareth Evans, the global brand ambassador for Absolut Elyx, told us that “DeGroff is rightly credited with the resurgence of fresh fruit and juice in modern cocktails, after the dark days of the ’70s and ’80s when sour mix and layered disco drinks reigned supreme.” Echoing Joseph, Evans says this is “a must-have for any aspiring bartender” for its “refreshing (pun intended) take on how to mix up simple, balanced drinks.” Ehrmann also recommends this title, and told us that DeGroff has a new edition coming out in the fall.

Best Tiki-style cocktail book

“TIKI: Modern Tropical Cocktails” by Shannon Mustipher

Four of our experts also raved about this recent collection of recipes from Shannon Mustipher, whom Kenneth McCoy, the chief creative officer of New York City–based bar The Rum House, calls “one of the coolest and most knowledgeable women in bartending.” According to Jon Dubin, a senior brand manager for Knappogue Castle Irish Whiskey, this is a “must-have” for your bookshelf or bar cart. Damon Boelte of Brooklyn-based Grand Army Bar says that it is “one of the most comprehensive and streamlined books about Tiki cocktails” out right now. And Amann told us that while she used to find Tiki-style cocktails “intriguing but intimidating,” this book full of “recipes, photos, engaging drink histories, and descriptive rum tasting notes” made them far more approachable.

Best book for learning how to create unique cocktail recipes of your own

“The Cocktail Codex” by Alex Day, Nick Fauchald & David Kaplan

In our list of essential gear for a home bar, Evans called this “one of the most invaluable cocktail books ever released,” as well as a “treasure trove like no other.” The Cocktail Codex includes explainers of six “root recipes” that the authors say serve as templates for all cocktails: the old-fashioned, martini, daiquiri, sidecar, whisky highball, and flip. According to Booth and Novaski, the James Beard Award–winning book “provides a road map to building” those and other cocktails because the “structure of the book breaks down drinks into their basic categories.” Evans adds that “it lays out a wide spectrum of techniques, flavor pairings, and spirits knowledge that really speak to the professional mixologist as effectively as the casual home bartender.” In addition to photography, the book utilizes easy-to-read infographics and charts to help illustrate the components of the different drinks and give you the tools you need to improvise and create your own recipes.

Best book for improving bartending technique

“The Bar Book: Elements of Cocktail Technique” by Jeffrey Morgenthaler

“This was the one book I would always have kicking around the office, and it was the unofficial training manual for bartenders and barbacks alike,” says bartender Gareth Howells, a North American brand ambassador for Dewar’s. Howells adds that he “learned a huge amount from this when I first started bartending, and it really helped me refine various aspects of my processes.” Novaski agrees and says it is “great for educating people on technique and what bar tools they need and why.” According to Sterling, “This book is able to present basic facts in a funny and simple way, allowing a first-time or at-home bartender to learn the basics, and impress.”

Best science-based cocktail book

“Liquid Intelligence: The Art and Science of the Perfect Cocktail” by Dave Arnold

Amanda Swanson, a tequila sommelier and the beverage director of Tribeca’s Anejo, recommends Liquid Intelligence for more experienced bartenders because “it covers the nitty-gritty chemistry of cocktails from the shape of the cubes of ice and the size of the bubbles in Champagne to the science of perfect dilution.” Ehrmann agrees that it’s a good choice if you want to get into the more “scientific” aspects of cocktails. “Once you think you know everything about how long to stir, shake or muddle, Arnold throws you a curveball,” adds Sterling.

Best book on punch-based cocktails

“Punch: The Delights (and Dangers) of the Flowing Bowl” by Dave Wondrich

In addition to Imbibe!, Wondrich also wrote Punch, which charts the punch bowl’s history alongside ideas to create your own bowl-based cocktail. Shine says a deep dive into both Imbibe! and Punch is “essential to the serious bar professional” or anyone “who is looking to further their knowledge of the history of where our incredible profession comes from.” Ehrmann also recommended both of Wondrich’s titles, calling them “definitive historical books” for bartending.

Best book for mixology nerds

“Meehan’s Bartender Manual” by Jim Meehan

“If you want to geek out a little more (and most cocktail lovers do), Meehan’s Manual includes in-depth sections on spirits, behind-the-scenes sections with distilleries and producers, as well as guides to classic and contemporary cocktails,” explains Jacob Briars, a global advocacy director of Bacardi Limited. “It’s a beautiful book, inside and out,” seconds McCoy.

Most fun to read historical cocktail book

“The Gentleman’s Companion: Being an Exotic Drinking Book or, Around the World With Jigger, Beaker and Flask” by Charles Henry Baker

“Like many bartenders, I love Charles H. Baker’s A Gentleman’s Companion: Around the World With Jigger, Beaker, and Flask,” says Briars. Baker was a writer for Esquire and Gourmet who traveled the world in the 1930s, “writing down recipes on cocktail napkins as he encountered them,” Briars explains. While Briars notes that some of the included recipes are often terrible, “meaning modern bartenders have had to tweak them to make them palatable,” he says it’s still a “great travelogue.” Jane Danger, the beverage director of New York City–based tiki cocktail bar Mother of Pearl and the author of The Bourbon Bartender, calls the book “an inspiration” for both writing and drink-making. “I feel the story behind the cocktail needs to be as good as the drink,” she notes, and this text fulfills both requirements.

Best book on the production of spirits

“The Drunken Botanist” by Amy Stewart

According to Nate Fishman, a bartender at Liquor Lab and a brand ambassador for Santera Tequila, this book “gives you the understanding of cocktails and spirits through gardening and horticulture,” which makes “pairing and creating cocktails” at home much more accessible. Swanson says Stewart “delves into every spirit before it was a spirit: the sugar canes of rum, the rice grains of sake, and the agave of tequila and mezcal, of course,” so it adds an additional “element of understanding” to your drinks.

Best book on contemporary cocktail-making

“Death & Co.: Modern Classic Cocktails” by Nick Fauchald & David Kaplan

“If a beginning bartender wants to learn technique and amazing recipes, Death & Co. is always my go-to cocktail book,” says Swanson. Published in 2014, the book’s authors (who also wrote The Cocktail Codex) are the team behind the cocktail bar of the same name, which now has locations in Denver and Los Angeles in addition to its flagship in New York City. Unlike The Cocktail Codex, this book focuses more on recipes and includes 500 of their favorite cocktails, many of which have been featured on their menu. Cara Maldonado, the beverage director at the Four Seasons Hotel New York, is also a fan of this book, telling us she keeps a copy on her bar cart.

Best encyclopedic cocktail book

“The Joy of Mixology” by Gary Regan

Both Ehrmann and Booth call The Joy of Mixology a “classic,” with more than 350 “simple and easy” recipes to thumb through. Regan groups this encyclopedia of cocktails into families based on the balance of ingredients, not by the base spirit, so you can master dozens of recipes quickly, and then learn how to create your own takes on the classics.

from Eater - All https://ift.tt/3dtYtvX https://ift.tt/3fYAMO1

Learn cocktail fundamentals, techniques, and history with these books, from the Strategist

Best historical cocktail book

“Imbibe! Updated and Revised Edition” by David Wondrich

Best fundamental cocktail book

“The Craft of the Cocktail: Everything You Need to Know to Be a Master Bartender” by Dale DeGroff

Best Tiki-style cocktail book

“TIKI: Modern Tropical Cocktails” by Shannon Mustipher

Best book for learning how to create unique cocktail recipes of your own

“The Cocktail Codex” by Alex Day, Nick Fauchald & David Kaplan

Best book for improving bartending technique

“The Bar Book: Elements of Cocktail Technique” by Jeffrey Morgenthaler

Best science-based cocktail book

“Liquid Intelligence: The Art and Science of the Perfect Cocktail” by Dave Arnold

Best book on punch-based cocktails

“Punch: The Delights (and Dangers) of the Flowing Bowl” by Dave Wondrich

Best book for mixology nerds

“Meehan’s Bartender Manual” by Jim Meehan

Most fun to read historical cocktail book

“The Gentleman’s Companion: Being an Exotic Drinking Book or, Around the World With Jigger, Beaker and Flask” by Charles Henry Baker

Best book on the production of spirits

“The Drunken Botanist” by Amy Stewart

Best book on contemporary cocktail-making

“Death & Co.: Modern Classic Cocktails” by Nick Fauchald & David Kaplan

Best encyclopedic cocktail book

“The Joy of Mixology” by Gary Regan

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#Blogger #cooking #Eater #food #recipes

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theseventhhex · 5 years

Text

Kelly Moran Interview

Kelly Moran

Photo by Timothy Saccenti

Composer, producer, keyboardist and multi-instrumentalist Kelly Moran made an early name for herself in New York collaborating with dance performance and composing for long-term John Cage collaborator Margaret Leng Tan. It was with the 2017 album Bloodroot that Kelly Moran began to reach wider attention. Now, on her Warp Records debut ‘Ultraviolet’ she continues to interpret these wealth of inspirations into a sound all her own and pulls off a nearly impossible feat: the annihilation of experimental music’s imposing, esoteric, über-academic status quo in the name of pure, unbridled intuition, of human joy. ‘Ultraviolet’ plays to a wide, arresting array of stylistic influences: dazzling inflections of jazz and dream pop, classical composition and black metal, darkness and light, encapsulated in a single, mystifying LP… We talk to the delightful Kelly Moran about overcoming anxiety, running daily and her beloved cat Wendy…

TSH: How valuable is it between projects for you to turn your brain off and reset with a new approach towards your music?

Kelly: I think it’s good for anyone who’s in a creative discipline to examine what their process is every couple of years. It’s key to revisit how you approach doing things just so you don’t get stuck in a rut and continue to make the same thing, which is a problem that I’ve had for years. I always had the same approach to everything and I felt like I wasn’t growing as an artist. However, when writing new music lately I’ve been finding that the methods I used for ‘Ultraviolet’ are not really working for me right now. I feel like I need to constantly defamiliarise myself with my musical habits and set to default again. It’s good to step outside of your comfort zone and see where it takes you.

TSH: Tell us more about your latest EP entitled ‘Origin’...

Kelly: With the exception of one track, all of the pieces on ‘Origin’ came before ‘Ultraviolet’, hence the name. This EP predates ‘Ultraviolet’ and almost all the songs are the actual demos that I improvised, recorded and had been working with. The versions of ‘Autowave’ and ‘Water Music’ that you hear on ‘Origin’ are the actual versions of those songs.

TSH: Is your music impacted much at all by the current affairs in America?

Kelly: Well, living in America, our politics have been shit for a long time. We had a bit of a break with Obama but things have been bad since Trump took office. People thought great art would arise out of the political turmoil with Trump in power, but it didn’t. I find that politics in general is distracting and overwhelming for me. I need to separate from the current political state - not in a way that I don’t know what’s going on - but I have to knowingly detach in a way because if I don’t, it can be really difficult to even exist because of how shit and terrible it can be out here. For me, when I pursue art and music, it’s mainly an escapism from the dregs of reality.

TSH: Does being immersed in music help you to overcome your anxiety and stress hurdles?

Kelly: At times, yes. A lot of my anxiety in the past was about performing or not reaching my potential and maybe not working hard enough, but I feel like I’m in a good place with all these factors now. I feel very confident as a composer and with my musical abilities. It is funny though because I suddenly have a much bigger platform after being signed to Warp. I do feel more exposed to the world in many ways than I wasn’t before. I am now dealing with new anxieties that I have to contend with...

TSH: What sort of issues have you been facing?

Kelly: Well, now that I’m a little more known I’ll get a lot more weird messages from people online. For example, during the recent Warp 30 announcement I got so many random DMs and rude Twitter messages. Also, sometimes if I read the YouTube comments for my music videos people say stuff like ‘Is this what Warp has become? It’s going so downhill.’ It’s weird because people never used to reach out to me to say random things like that but in the past year it’s happening more regularly. I’m dealing with these little new problems now.

TSH: It must still be so rewarding that individuals connect with the way that you communicate your music...

Kelly: Yeah, it’s a double edged sword I guess. It is nice when people connect to my music - it really is great. I mean I try to be an accessible person on social media. I try to be very open and speak with people directly when people tweet at me or send me messages, but sometimes I do feel very emotionally drained by it. There are messages I don’t want to have to respond to, in addition to the mean messages. The thing about the internet is you can get a thousand nice comments and one bad comment, but you’re gonna focus on the bad one, haha! I’ll have to just develop a thicker skin.

TSH: What do you recall about fleshing out the excellent track entitled ‘Helix’?

Kelly: Like all of the pieces on the album this one started out with improvisation. The original piece I created of ‘Helix’ was very exploratory because I had figured out how to play piano in a more percussive way where I was alternating between my hands. This discovery of me playing the instrument in this new way led to a very minimalist pattern that drives this song. The improvisation has similar patterns to what you hear on the original version and I ended up transcribing it trying to be as accurate as possible .When I recorded it I listened back to it and streamlined it a little bit. To me, figuring out the underlying chord progressions that I was implying in addition to figuring out a bass progression really gave this piece direction and drive - it was so crucial.

TSH: Did you select ‘Radiant’ as the album closer quite early on?

Kelly: I kind of knew it would be the closer because I like ending albums on a gentle note. I like for the last song to be the most simple and like its saying goodnight to people - sort of like sending them off with something delicate. ‘Ultraviolet’ was already an intense record and not many of the tracks are relaxed so I wanted to give the listener a break as the record was ending. It’s funny because the original of this track was more busy and hectic; it had more piano arpeggios and additional melodies.

TSH: How important is running to your daily life?

Kelly: It’s very beneficial. I’m one of those people that really strives off having a structured schedule. Unfortunately for me I picked a career that really does not enable this whatsoever, ha! For me, running is the one way that I can have this sort of consistency to my schedule. I strive for this factor, especially when I go on tour. I always bring my workout clothes and it’s an added bonus if I stay at a hotel with a gym. I just think the endorphin rush you get from running and also having a ritual a day helps me to get in the right mental space.

TSH: Are you still listening to a lot of hip-hop when you run?

Kelly: Haha! I haven’t actually been listening to much hip-hop whilst running recently. I’ve been listening to Aleksi Perälä, who is on Aphex Twin’s record label, as well as K-pop and even some Miley Cyrus from the Black Mirror soundtrack.

TSH: Is it hard to leave your cat Wendy behind when you go on tour?

Kelly: It really is! It’s definitely one of the most challenging parts for me because I’m very attached to her and she’s my little daughter. Unfortunately, I have a high maintenance cat who doesn’t like many people - she only likes me. So I feel really guilty when I leave for my travels as I think she’s not getting the right attention. She’ll stay with my mom and she’s been warming up to people but she’s not a friendly cat at all. I’ve had her for 5 years and only been travelling for the last year or so, therefore she must be wondering what’s going on. I never used to leave my apartment and now I’m out of the country every month. I guess I have to earn that money if Wendy’s gonna keep eating those fancy feasts!

TSH: Being a huge figure skating fan, how proud were you to witness the great Yuzuru Hanyu win Olympic gold on your birthday?

Kelly: Yes, he won his second Olympic medal on my birthday. I remember watching him win and being like ‘Holy fuck! This is absolutely incredible’. It’s funny because for my birthday party the next day I had a bunch of friends over and we were drinking and listening to the new Oneothrix Point Never record whilst also watching recaps of the figure skating.

TSH: What factors do you mostly consider exploring when it comes to collaboration?

Kelly: Well, there are so many artists that I look up to and respect that I would sell my right arm to collaborate with someday. When I first got signed to Warp the first thing I thought was if I ever have an opportunity to collaborate with someone else from the label that would be so cool. I basically worship everyone on this label. The kinds of collaboration that are important for me is to work with people that I’ve looked up to and who are respected. I’m also really interested in working with people who are just completely different from me and can push me outside of my comfort zone. For my next record I want to have a few collaborators from totally different genres to enable interesting results.

TSH: What matters most with your musical endeavours as you look ahead?

Kelly: I think my biggest drive is to keep improving and to keep surpassing myself. I always try to hold myself to what my own standard is. My goal is for my next album to be even better than what I’ve put out before - I want to push myself to reach new places musically. A lot of people describe me as a pianist who does prepared piano but in the actual timeline of my musical activity prepared piano actually occupies a very small part of that timeline. It’s really only been 3 years in my entire career that I’ve worked with prepared piano. There’s this part of me that wants to show people that I can do a lot more than that. As a pianist I feel really free because there are so many ways that I can translate what I do to other genres, it would be very easy for me to do techno, hip-hop or even black metal. I feel that my biggest strength is my malleability as a performer and as a composer, so I just want to show people that I have many different sides as an artist and not just one thing as people know me as now.

Kelly Moran - “In Parallel”

Kelly Moran - “Water Music��

Ultraviolet

#Interview #Kelly Moran

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lev1than · 5 years

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What to do before the movers arrive?

Purge your house

Figure out your personal belongings as well as declutter your home before your relocate order to streamline it. Offer or donate all the products you will no longer need in your new surroundings to conserve the time needed for packing them as well as the money for shipping them.

Know what cannot be relocated

It is very vital to request a checklist of all the items that your movers will not deliver for you as well as make the required setups:

Discover specialty movers or strategy to move your pets and/or plants yourself as they can not be loaded on the moving truck;

Use up or distribute to good friends and also next-door neighbors any perishable food and harmful materials you might have (motor oils, antifreeze, paint, charcoal, gas containers, plant foods, pesticides, chemicals, car batteries, cleaning supplies and other combustible, explosive or destructive products).

Obtain insurance coverage

Select an appropriate appraisal security plan and acquire additional insurance coverage if necessary (it's very recommendable in situation you plan to move items of great financial or nostalgic worth). Make sure you recognize all your choices as well as recognize all the differences and certain conditions of the different kinds of liability security used by your picked moving companies.

Create a stock

Produce a comprehensive stock of all the items you are about to relocate. It will certainly be really helpful when arranging your stuff and will work as proof of the materials of your household shipment must something go missing or obtain damaged. It is an excellent concept to provide the serial numbers of all of your electronic devices and also appliances, in addition to their brand names and types.

Tidy and organize

Make certain all the items that will be crammed in boxes and also required to your brand-new location are tidy as well as in good condition. You don't desire broken gadgets as well as furnishings items, tarnished textile or unclean home appliances, and so on to find in contact with fragile or brand-new items as well as ruin them. Don't forget to do the noticeable:

Disconnect, empty as well as tidy all the electric appliances (fridge, the dishwashing machine, etc.). Get rid of the batteries from whatever tools will certainly be transported in the moving truck;

Vacant drawers, cupboards, bookshelves, etc.;

Drain pipes the gas out of your lawn mower, snow blower, or one more fuel-powered device you are taking with you;

Strip the beds and also all various other furnishings pieces of covers, decorative pillows, linen, etc. and also load the bedding separately.

Pre-pack tiny items

Keep small things clean-- placed them in sealable bags, so that they don't get shed or spread during the transportation. In fact, any souvenirs, tiny decorations, work desk organizers and also a variety of various other bric-a-brac will just postpone your moving companies as well as enter their means. If you have actually employed professional packers, load them yourself even.

Label

Put tags, color-codes, and details guidelines to every product or pre-packed box or anything else you wish to be managed with special treatment or to find its rightful location quickly.

Separate items

Keep the products that your moving companies must not pack as well as the load on the relocating vehicle separately. You are encouraged to mark a no-pack/no-entry area in your home where to store every little thing that you will certainly not turn over to the movers. These products consist of but are not limited to:

Personal papers;

Valuables-- antiques, fashion jewelry, artwork, collector items;

Fundamentals box;

Little digital gadgets of essential value-- laptop computer, phone, camera, tablet computer.

Action doors as well as prepare furnishings

Strategy a proper retreat path out of your residence-- gauge the doors and see if your bigger furniture will certainly fit via them and along slim passages, doglegs, as well as steep staircases. When you have discovered the easiest way to take your stuff out, ensure the course is free from any kind of obstacles and as secure as possible. You can even disassemble large furniture items that might create trouble (keep the separated components as well as the small equipment components along with the item they come from) as well as cover them in coverings or cling wrap for additional defense. If you are unqualified the job, at least you will certainly be able to guide your movers regarding what pieces should be taken down beforehand and also just how to press them out as easy as possible.

Arrange to be present on Relocating day

All the above-described prep work will certainly come very convenient on Moving day, however, what matters one of the most is whether you will certainly be present to supervise the process and supply relevant info, correct instructions as well as a very useful support to your movers. Arrange to be at your house when the moving companies arrive.

Prepare for kids and pets

It is recommended to leave your children and also pet dogs with a loved one or a buddy till all the relocating procedures in your old residential property more than. Away from all the tension as well as the chaos, they will be risk-free and you will certainly have the ability to concentrate on the immediate matters at hand. If this is not feasible, locate a babysitter to look after your kids in a different room where they will certainly not be disrupted and also area family pets in a kennel or cage, or in a fenced area for the day.

Mind the climate

Take precautionary measures according to the existing atmospheric conditions-- put on suitable clothing, make certain your youngsters, as well as family pets, are within on cold or stormy days, cover the floorings with paper or old carpets to secure the floorings from mud as well as dirt, cover all your items in plastic wrap to maintain them from getting wet, etc

Also, check out: Miami Movers

Prepare residence for movers

Do your ideal to stop damages to your old building which needs to be in excellent condition, so that you can sell it under desirable problems or receive your security deposit without troubles in situation you are leaving a rental:

Safeguard floors and also carpetings with efficient treatments as well as area mats to avoid some of the dust;

Secure wall surfaces as well as edges with the assistance of old materials as well as corner guards, cover banisters in moving blankets, or bubble wrap, or old sheets, and so on, and cover the stairs with safety anti-slippery coating;

If essential, Use foam paddings to secure your door structures and remove doors from their hinges;

Get rid of paints, mirrors, as well as clocks from the walls to prevent damaging them.

Take images

Take lots of pictures before the moving companies arrive. They will certainly not just be a proof of the good problem of your household items and also your property yet will certainly likewise assist you to remember your old place well and organize your new one in the same way if you intend to.

Safe individual information

Ensure neither the moving companies nor any individual else has access to your personal info-- maintain bank card as well as financial institution information firmly secured, shield your computer with a password, shred any kind of old papers as well as do whatever is essential to secure your privacy and also avoid identity burglary.

Check whatever

Before the moving company gets here, undergo every edge of your old residence one last time to make certain absolutely nothing is left. Inspect the attic room, the basement, the garage, inside the restroom or under the kitchen countertops-- just check the whole area one last time.

Have bags as well as additional supplies

See to it there are some added bags and also boxes, packing tape and also bubble cover for last-minute packing emergencies!

Give drinks and snacks

Charge your movers' energy degrees to protect a rapid and efficient task. Deal mineral water and also some snacks to the moving crew and also mark a restroom they can utilize (it needs to be equipped with fluid soap and disposable hand towels).

Have cash for tips

Get some cash money all set to tip your movers if you are pleased with their job. Add some extra dollars for extremely hefty products, slim passages, as well as stairs, etc

Preserve a funny bone

Embrace a positive approach and also find a way around unexpected problems. A pleasant comment and also a great joke will certainly help reduce the tension and also if you don't allow tension to accumulate, your moving experience will be absolutely nothing except gratifying success.

So, just how to get ready for expert moving companies? Prepare your household items, prepare your home and prepare your mind for an exciting and also advantageous relocating adventure!

In fact, any souvenirs, little designs, work desk organizers as well as a number of other bric-a-brac will just postpone your movers and also get in their means. Maintain the things that your movers need to not pack and also load on the moving vehicle independently. You are encouraged to mark a no-pack/no-entry area in your home were to keep every little thing that you will not turn over to the movers. If you are not up to the job, at least you will be able to guide your movers as to what pieces must be dismantled ahead of time and how to squeeze them out as easy as feasible.

#movers #miami #tips #home #organizers

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dothewrite · 8 years

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The suits headcannons are 😩😩🙌🙌WOBDERFUL!! LLIKE SERIOUSLY, THE WAY YOU DESCRIBED THEM WITH SUITS IS JUST 🙏praissee. Please do continue them!!! Possibly terushima, futakuchi, noya, and tanaka?? THANK YOU SOM MUCH

Sure! And I see you have a type. ;3 Bonus Ushijima and Tendou for you.

[The original suits headcanon here]

Terushima.

Three-piece, a brown so impossibly dark that under the wrong lighting it’s almost certainly black. Notch lapel and two buttoned, his jacket’s loose and open on top of a pristine white shirt. The kickers are his tie and accessories- a rich, metallic dark gold with matching watch chain and pocket square, highlighting his bronzed skin and blonde undercut. A pair of simple cap toe derbies finish the look.

You see, he knows, that you’d expect him to wear something flashy to match his personality and his wicked tongue piercing, but he also knows that he looks like an oasis in a desert in black and gold.

He does indulge his flashy side with his surprisingly smart-casual array of clothes- another formal favourite of his is a black and white checkered jacket on top of a simple black turtleneck with black pants and shoes.

He’s a naturally slim person, but his suits are structured to give him the confidence to match his smirk. Pants slim fitted to shape around his sleek calves, it makes him look miles tall.

His hair, when he actually tries, is slicked back firmer than usual, and there are absolutely no wisps of hair blocking the sinful expression he shoots at you.

Playing with his cuffs when he’s bored just doesn’t kick it for him. He prefers to rest his weight on one leg and slide the tips of his fingers into his pant pockets cockily.

He’s always the first one to get asked to dance, with his rough undercut and slick outfit, and boy are they all surprised because this man, despite looking like a million dollars, dances like he’s earning his keep dollar by dollar.

Give him a pole. Give him a fucking pole, and you’ll be going home a few items of clothing short tonight.

Futakuchi.

A deep metallic blue two-buttoned jacket and matching slim-fit pants. Hugging his shoulders and waist that gives him a streamline appeal, it’s matched with a light blue/almost white shirt with a gradient, metallic charcoal tie. A pair of one piece oxfords with a slight split toe completes this.

This metallic combo makes him look effortlessly slim, and flashy enough that it brings out his wide, closed-eyed smile. Just the right balance of guy-next-door with I’m-going-to-snatch-your-attention.

Sure, he could have gone with something that makes him look older, but honestly, this is his selling point. His youth gravitates.

His usual split-side hairstyle is turned into something completely different- a messy set of bangs framing his oval face and mousse whipping his hair into soft, organized chaos.

It makes him look a year or two older, and at least a few degrees more chill. He’s the guy you bring home and even your parents fall in love with his easy going grin.

It’s not entirely a lie, but all that softness goes away the moment he takes the suit off, and it’s all rough play from there on.

Strangely enough, for someone who actually knows his way around the bespoke section quite well, he’s only got two sets of formal clothing. He likes looking a hundred, but events and parties aren’t really his thing.

(It’s a bit weird to wear suits at a goukon, he thinks.)

Undoubtedly, though, when he really tries, he’s got the wickedest sense of fashion out of them all.

Nishinoya.

Jet black, velvet suit. Jacket and pants both incredibly well fitted against his small figure, it prevents the potential bulkiness that the texture of velvet brings, making him look at least half a foot taller than he actually is. Underneath is a gently striped, grey shirt and a regular black tie with a slight reflective tinge to balance out the matte. Finished with a medium heel, reflective black, double monk strap shoes.

The thing about Noya is that he has absolutely no chill. Always original, always true to himself- this goes one step beyond. He doesn’t just settle for something that represents his character, he chooses something exceptional because that’s what he does.

Nobody expects velvet, especially not on someone his height, but one look at him and you know there’s nobody else in the room with enough confidence to pull this level of sophistication off.

The taper and the single, thin jacket vent at the back brings him to godly levels of ease and slimness. Pushing his muscled corners and edges into one smooth shape, the slim cut of this entire piece crystallizes the aura around him.

You’re also in luck, because his hair, usually at defiant peaks, is let down loose. There’s barely any product in his hair, and it’s left soft and framing his face however it wants to.

It settles for curling a little around his ears but otherwise straight, and it cuts a streamline picture of him.

Surprisingly, he doesn’t dance much. He does tap his heel to the beat when he feels particularly in the mood, but he spends most of his time catching up with his friends and occasionally, giving his fangirls a cocky grin.

Tanaka.

A soft, smooth charcoal/black jacket and matching pants, they’re both structured and giving him and edge to his build, which makes him slightly larger. The jacket is lined with a medium grey that peeks out the inner edge of his lapels, and the matching waistcoat is a thin-striped black and grey with a white shirt underneath. A slightly silver tie highlights the set, and a pair of traditional cap toe derbies in black completes this.

When he’s not busy pretending to be his own girlfriend, this man is a class act. Slightly flashier than Daichi’s traditional, this look elevates his gentle nature to new heights.

He’s by no means more inclined to use his inside voice with a suit on, but all people get sucked in when he smiles, and he honestly looks like a saint.

Why a three-piece? He actually has no idea, because Tanaka has never checked out fashion in his life. However, Saeko had gone shopping with him, and because this is probably the one and only set of formal clothes he’ll ever have, they splurged big time on a tailored set.

The funny thing is that this guy doesn’t even really know what effect he has on people after wearing this stuff. Everybody gets shocked stiff seeing him walk into the room with such calm, and he just goes ‘what???’

At least he doesn’t have to style his hair.

This guy is literally the opposite of Noya when it comes to social parties. He’s utterly, entirely himself and he’s the first one on the dance floor (regardless of whether or not someone asks him) and the last one off, bobbing to the beat and fist pumping all night.

He tried jumping onto the DJ stage once to take over, and that did not go well when he refused to stop after the third song.

Bonus!

Ushijima.

White, two-button jacket on white shirt. Pristine black slacks loose enough to give him the balance he needs for his upper body but tight enough to hug him well are part three of this timeless tuxedo look. With only the first button done up and a full black bow-tie, a pair of cap toe chelsea boots finish the look.

Not a particularly fashion-adventurous man, he sticks to what he knows, and boy does this suit him well. Firm and eye-catching, the white gives him the illusion of bulk (which he’s got plenty of from exercise), and put together with his formidable height, he looks like a towering noble with his stern expression.

He’s actually the only one in the room to try out this timeless look, and he’s alike a man fresh from an evening of fine dining and stepping into a casino.

His hair, with assistance, is slicked back tightly against his scalp, with the exception of a few licks of hair that escape and graze his eyebrows, giving him a slightly less austere feel.

This also, is his only set of formal clothes, as he usually prefers to wear things that are practical for volleyball or jogging.

This suit was pretty much a team effort on Shiratorizawa’s part because of how little he cared about finding something that fitted him.

He paints a more foreboding image when he takes large, striding steps rather than multiple, smaller ones across the room, and there’s a soft gust of wind when he passes.

There aren’t many people who ask him to dance, so he situates a small drink in his hand and drifts around greeting old friends.

It’s not that nobody’s interested in him, but he’s really not aware that he looks so impossibly untouchable with that impenetrable aura. All the girls just huddle and watch him from afar.

Tendou.

He’s sporting a single-button, black and purple geometric squared jacket. The solid black lapel is perched low, matching the strips of black around the cuff of the jacket. Paired with slim black slacks and a regular white shirt underneath, he’s at least opted for a slim fitting bow-tie that complements the flat geometric pattern. Plain toe chelsea boots round up the suit.

You gotta hand it to him, he controlled his urge to actually blind everyone out of amusement and chose something that flattered his body within the realms of reason.

He was thiiis close to picking something either bright green, or bright purple. Then someone pointed out to him that looking like the Joker at a party would not be a good thing.

This combination makes him look extremely well put together, tall and endlessly confident to pull off such a proud print with a rare colour.

Although slim fitting, it’s not the most shapely hue, but the dips of his waist creates enough shadows that it slims his waist down so that he’s an impressive slight hourglass streamline.

His long, spiked hair is left down, and most certainly not slicked back. It lies softly against his neck, with the longer sections to either side of his head tied up in a small pony-tail/bun at the back of his head.

Nobody has ever seen this hair on him before. Nobody expected to either, so it was a lot of dropped jaws.

As crazy as he can be sometimes, he’s remarkably calm and well behaved being surrounded by a lot of people, and although he prefers not to dance, he does spend most of the evening entertaining as many small chit-chats with the ladies that approach him.

#terushima yuuji #futakuchi kenji #nishinoya yuu #tanaka ryuunosuke #ushijima wakatoshi #tendou satori #headcanon #sfw #suits #haikyuu scenarios #haikyuu!!#haikyuu imagines #haikyuu #i writes the haikyuu

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atypical60 · 8 years

Text

I know. I’m late to the party. But the sad truth is, I’ve been sick since Sunday evening with the worst stomach bug of all time. Ugh. I only got to watch some of the Grammy’s because I was in the bathroom most of the night.

The only thing getting cuddled in Chateau Bonaparte was my stomach and the ceramic throne in the bathroom!

Honestly, it felt so good to kneel on the tiled floor and hug the cold ceramic of my toilet bowl when I wasn’t sitting on it. That outta give you an idea of how I spent the past couple of days!

Anyway, I just got back from the doctor. Bonaparte literally forced me to go. I think it was because he was tired of hearing me moan “Ohhhhhh. My stomach. I hope this isn’t serious!”

I mean that literally and figuratively!

Honest to God. The thought of eating is making me more ill thank I am, but the good doctor gave me a prescription to ward off the nausea so that I could keep something in my gut. And the only food item I want right now is Campbell’s Chicken Noodle Soup. It’s been my “sick” comfort food since I was a child.

I’m eating this as I write..

I’m getting off track here.

This is about Grammy. And not my Grammy.

My real-life Grammy. In her wedding dress. Beyonce could have worn my grandmother’s wedding headpiece and would have looked much better!

It’s about the Grammy Awards, which, in my opinion, could very well be the reason I was so sick!

Ugh. I believe that watching E!’s “On the Red Carpet” made me ill from the get go. Kriss Jenner and that dumb butch hairdo of hers! And that dress–it is absolutely awful! Why does Ryan Seacrest insist on having this doyenne of bad taste hosting a red carpet event? Brad Goreski–I’m appalled that you would wear such a hideous jacket. And Kristin Cavallari–one false move and your girls are going to escape big time!

OK—so the music industry has a bit more creativity than, say the film or TV industries. And I guess that’s why people who attend feel as though they have to dress a bit more eccentric or differently.

I get that. I really do. But there is a fine line between dressing differently or more creatively and coming off as looking downright silly. It’s about fit. It’s about what looks good or even great on you.

So, let’s just take a look at some of the fashions I happened to see when I wasn’t in the bathroom!

I had just exited the bathroom and Bonaparte was cleaning my glasses when Beyonce was doing her number. I swear from far away I thought I was watching a Novena to the Blessed Mother. I knelt down before the TV and started chanting “Oh Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee”. Then Bonaparte gave me my glasses and I realized Queen Bee just wanted to look like the old-school Christmas tree toppers we had when we were kids! Who wore it best? Why the cute little pug on the right! And speaking of JLo…

…she needs to come up with a new signature pose. I’m sick and tired of that dopey “come hither” look her face makes in every single pose. And you may want to change it up from the Angelina Jolie pose. I swear JLo will be a wrinkly 80 year old with lips that sag down to her chest and she’ll still pose with that dopey face!

Shoes notwithstanding, Heidi Klum gets my vote for best dressed. Had two inches been added to the hem, and had she worn silver pointy-toed stilettos with toe cleavage, this would be my favorite red carpet look of all time! I love the simple cut of the dress and I LOVE the length of the sleeves.Her earrings and makeup! She rocked it!

Laverne Cox almost got it right! The dress is a weird length. It should have been shorter. Just at the knees. She has great legs! And the cut-out sides give the dress a very rocker type vibe while still maintaining fashionable taste! Her eye makeup is great too! I love Laverne!

I was born in 1955. In the early to mid-1960’s we practically lived on these Funny Face drinks. That’s probably one of the reasons I lost most of my hair. Anyway, all I could think of when I saw Taraji P. Henson in that getup was Goofy Grape! Henson is cute as a button and she could have gone with something a little edgy without looking ridiculous. The dress doesn’t even fit! The fabric looks sloppy. When will these celebrities ever learn?

Rihanna. RiRi. You are one of the most beautiful women in the world. You can wear just about anything. So then, can you explain just why you put on something that wore YOU? I’ll admit, the black and orange put me in a very sentimental mood for those wax whistles that we used to get at Halloweeen time! That skirt looks like the umbrella you sang about!

I actually loved the simple and streamlined cut of the suit that Chance the Rapper wore. But–did your mother ever tell you it was not proper to wear a hat indoors? Well, I’m telling you now. Get rid of the hat when you are inside a building!!!

I have no idea who this young woman is. But she has my vote as one of the Grammy Best Dressed! Her gown is fresh and youthful and the color is gorgeous on her. In fact, if she was cross-eyed, she would remind me of a young ME! I can’t get enough of this dress! The dropped waist is so flattering! And she’s a bit modest on top without looking fundie! Most of the celebrities at the Grammy’s could take a lesson from her! Absolutely perfect!

Why did Beyonce and Jay Z take their daughter to the Grammy Awards! I KNOW! I KNOW! They didn’t want Solange to be their plus-one at the after parties so by bringing Blue Ivy, they had a great excuse for Solange to babysit! Poor Blue Ivy! Mommy and Daddy should have dressed you in a blue suit..that pink looks like Pepto Bismol! Props to Mr. Carter for the way he looks so lovingly at his daughter! It’s so sweet!

…speaking of Solange…she looked like….

The Golden Ticket from Willie Wonka!

Carrie Underwood needs a new stylist. NOW! It was bad enough she looked like chewed up bubble gum at the Golden Globes, but now she has a dress that not only looks like a newly used tampon, it is an old lady bar mitzvah dress. I don’t even think Joan Rivers would have worn it…

This is red done right! Faith Hill nailed another “Best Dressed”. It is a beautiful shade of red. The lines are simple and even with the little cut out, it was discreet. And the shoes! Oh God–I can’t even! I WANT those shoes! Well done Ms. Hill!

She may be “zuh gret-ess singuhr” but Ms. Dion is far from the greatest dresser. She’s only 48. She’s young. She looks older than me–and I’m old! She needs to wear her hair down and layered to soften her angular structure. The dress. It’s too low-cut for a flat-chested woman. What is WITH these low cut dresses anyway? And while I’m at it–what’s with the ankle strap shoes. Faith Hill is the only one to rock those ankle straps..Celine Dion looks more like a…

…glittery St. Patrick’s Day hat! Save that shade o’ green for March 17th!

I love Adele. And this pea-soup green frock did nothing to enhance her beautiful curves. That waistband makes her titties look supersized and saggy. She needs a princess cut. Slightly fitted. She needs boning in the chest area to hold those ta-ta’s up. The dress is too long–it looks sloppy. Adele was meant for black dresses. She needs a simple dress because that voice of her’s is what draws attention! I”m glad she swept the Grammys!

Chrissy Teigen. No. This isn’t working. SHE is someone who needs to show a bit more skin! But not the way this dress shows it. She looks like an extra from a vampire movie! I’m kind of surprised because she usually gets it right. Her makeup looks horrible too. What happened Chrissy? You better look more like your fashionable self at the Oscars!

I’m guessing Cee Lo was channeling his inner Pussy Galore from Goldfinger. And this one in the middle. Wearing 45’s slogan? WTF? THAT was what really made me sick. Who is this Girl Crush on the far right? That dress! How the hell did she sit down or go to the bathroom? Well, I can honestly say she has more balls than Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan!

What’s with the unbottoned shirt? What’s with the ill-fitting pj bottoms? What’s with the awful sleeves? I think this one was trying to channel her inner…

…..Sick Pense look! Same color of blue. Same lousy fit!

I need to say something about this Tom Ford dress that Katy Perry wore. I KNOW this dress did not get a lot of love. However, if you want to be edgy and different without looking clownish, THIS is the way to do it. Naturally, I have a bit of commentary on this dress. *Sigh* sometimes I wish gay designers would be more in touch with their feminine sides. Why? I’ll show you…

Katy Perry has the best set of Ta-ta’s on earth. In fact, if I ever hit it big in the lottery, I’m taking a photo of her in a low-cut dress to a plastic surgeon. I’m going to tell him that I want HER ta-tas! They are spectacular and they are real! Anyway, back to the dress. I would give her a ballet scooped neckline so that her cleavage would be a focal point. Then I would cut the sleeves to a long short sleeve. Tom–are you listening? Thank you! Might I also add, Katy Perry ALWAYS has THE best made-up face! Her makeup is never less than perfect!

This is NOT good cleavage. At all. Lady Gaga looks like she wore the wrong sized bra and reached up to a top shelf to grab something. Girls–hasn’t that happened to you? You know. You reach for something and your bra rides up in the front? Even for Lady Gaga who can basically get away with anything outrageous, the bottom tit look is just ugly!

Katy Perry sure knows how to show bosom! They are the envy of us all! Even though this suit DID remind me of piano keys!

That’s about it. I ended up falling asleep because I was so violently ill. I couldn’t even make it out of bed yesterday to write this so I know I’m getting much better!

Did you watch the Grammy Awards? Did you have a favorite look? Did you have a look that you thought was just awful. Tell me!!

And…. HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!!!

One of my favorite songs about love. John Mayer with Katy Perry “Who You Love”. (I hope they get back together!!!)

Atypical60 Takes a Look at Grammy Fashions! I know. I’m late to the party. But the sad truth is, I’ve been sick since Sunday evening with…

#Fashion #Grammy Awards #Humor

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Learn cocktail fundamentals, techniques, and history with these books, from the Strategist The way you learn how to make craft cocktails isn’t by drinking a lot of them (though that experience doesn’t necessarily hurt). You need to memorize recipes, learn how different liquors are made, and even understand a bit of chemistry — that’s why most serious bartenders and booze connoisseurs are well-read folks, with libraries full of bartending guides and cocktail books that they still reference, even after years of experience under their belts. To help you fill your own home with the best cocktail books for every type of drinker, we asked 18 experts — including bartenders, beverage directors, and cocktail-book authors — to share what’s on their shelves, from the classic guides that taught them the fundamentals to the modern books that help them get creative. As always, each title on this list has been recommended by at least two experts. Best historical cocktail book “Imbibe! Updated and Revised Edition” by David Wondrich According to Kitty Amann, the co-author of Drinking Like Ladies and a brand ambassador for whiskey brand Uncle Nearest, this is a “must-read for anyone who likes cocktails and history.” She looks at Imbibe! like a textbook: “I learn something new each time I go back to it.” Both Holly Booth and Josh Novaski, co-lead bartenders at Utah-based High West Saloon, say that the book features “great storytelling and historical references to American craft cocktail creation.” New York City–based bartender and beverage consultant Lucinda Sterling says that it has “great stories and recipes,” and Jägermeister brand-meister Willy Shine and H. Joseph Ehrmann, the co-founder of Fresh Victor cocktail mixers and the owner of San Francisco’s Elixir, are also big fans. Alongside its included 100 recipes for cocktails, the author — who won a James Beard Award for this book in 2007 — includes detailed historical notes contextualizing each drink and providing a compelling portrait of Jerry Thomas, who is widely considered the father of the American bar. Best fundamental cocktail book “The Craft of the Cocktail: Everything You Need to Know to Be a Master Bartender” by Dale DeGroff For learning about basic techniques, four of our experts recommend Dale DeGroff’s The Craft of the Cocktail. Craig Joseph, the bar manager at Ty Bar at the Four Seasons Hotel New York, calls it his “all-time favorite cocktail book,” adding that it’s “the only book every bartender, beginner or pro, needs in their life.” Jim Kearns, the beverage director and a partner at New York City’s the Happiest Hour, adds, “It has a lot of valuable information in it, as well as recipes, so it’s a good one to check out.” And Gareth Evans, the global brand ambassador for Absolut Elyx, told us that “DeGroff is rightly credited with the resurgence of fresh fruit and juice in modern cocktails, after the dark days of the ’70s and ’80s when sour mix and layered disco drinks reigned supreme.” Echoing Joseph, Evans says this is “a must-have for any aspiring bartender” for its “refreshing (pun intended) take on how to mix up simple, balanced drinks.” Ehrmann also recommends this title, and told us that DeGroff has a new edition coming out in the fall. Best Tiki-style cocktail book “TIKI: Modern Tropical Cocktails” by Shannon Mustipher Four of our experts also raved about this recent collection of recipes from Shannon Mustipher, whom Kenneth McCoy, the chief creative officer of New York City–based bar The Rum House, calls “one of the coolest and most knowledgeable women in bartending.” According to Jon Dubin, a senior brand manager for Knappogue Castle Irish Whiskey, this is a “must-have” for your bookshelf or bar cart. Damon Boelte of Brooklyn-based Grand Army Bar says that it is “one of the most comprehensive and streamlined books about Tiki cocktails” out right now. And Amann told us that while she used to find Tiki-style cocktails “intriguing but intimidating,” this book full of “recipes, photos, engaging drink histories, and descriptive rum tasting notes” made them far more approachable. Best book for learning how to create unique cocktail recipes of your own “The Cocktail Codex” by Alex Day, Nick Fauchald & David Kaplan In our list of essential gear for a home bar, Evans called this “one of the most invaluable cocktail books ever released,” as well as a “treasure trove like no other.” The Cocktail Codex includes explainers of six “root recipes” that the authors say serve as templates for all cocktails: the old-fashioned, martini, daiquiri, sidecar, whisky highball, and flip. According to Booth and Novaski, the James Beard Award–winning book “provides a road map to building” those and other cocktails because the “structure of the book breaks down drinks into their basic categories.” Evans adds that “it lays out a wide spectrum of techniques, flavor pairings, and spirits knowledge that really speak to the professional mixologist as effectively as the casual home bartender.” In addition to photography, the book utilizes easy-to-read infographics and charts to help illustrate the components of the different drinks and give you the tools you need to improvise and create your own recipes. Best book for improving bartending technique “The Bar Book: Elements of Cocktail Technique” by Jeffrey Morgenthaler “This was the one book I would always have kicking around the office, and it was the unofficial training manual for bartenders and barbacks alike,” says bartender Gareth Howells, a North American brand ambassador for Dewar’s. Howells adds that he “learned a huge amount from this when I first started bartending, and it really helped me refine various aspects of my processes.” Novaski agrees and says it is “great for educating people on technique and what bar tools they need and why.” According to Sterling, “This book is able to present basic facts in a funny and simple way, allowing a first-time or at-home bartender to learn the basics, and impress.” Best science-based cocktail book “Liquid Intelligence: The Art and Science of the Perfect Cocktail” by Dave Arnold Amanda Swanson, a tequila sommelier and the beverage director of Tribeca’s Anejo, recommends Liquid Intelligence for more experienced bartenders because “it covers the nitty-gritty chemistry of cocktails from the shape of the cubes of ice and the size of the bubbles in Champagne to the science of perfect dilution.” Ehrmann agrees that it’s a good choice if you want to get into the more “scientific” aspects of cocktails. “Once you think you know everything about how long to stir, shake or muddle, Arnold throws you a curveball,” adds Sterling. Best book on punch-based cocktails “Punch: The Delights (and Dangers) of the Flowing Bowl” by Dave Wondrich In addition to Imbibe!, Wondrich also wrote Punch, which charts the punch bowl’s history alongside ideas to create your own bowl-based cocktail. Shine says a deep dive into both Imbibe! and Punch is “essential to the serious bar professional” or anyone “who is looking to further their knowledge of the history of where our incredible profession comes from.” Ehrmann also recommended both of Wondrich’s titles, calling them “definitive historical books” for bartending. Best book for mixology nerds “Meehan’s Bartender Manual” by Jim Meehan “If you want to geek out a little more (and most cocktail lovers do), Meehan’s Manual includes in-depth sections on spirits, behind-the-scenes sections with distilleries and producers, as well as guides to classic and contemporary cocktails,” explains Jacob Briars, a global advocacy director of Bacardi Limited. “It’s a beautiful book, inside and out,” seconds McCoy. Most fun to read historical cocktail book “The Gentleman’s Companion: Being an Exotic Drinking Book or, Around the World With Jigger, Beaker and Flask” by Charles Henry Baker “Like many bartenders, I love Charles H. Baker’s A Gentleman’s Companion: Around the World With Jigger, Beaker, and Flask,” says Briars. Baker was a writer for Esquire and Gourmet who traveled the world in the 1930s, “writing down recipes on cocktail napkins as he encountered them,” Briars explains. While Briars notes that some of the included recipes are often terrible, “meaning modern bartenders have had to tweak them to make them palatable,” he says it’s still a “great travelogue.” Jane Danger, the beverage director of New York City–based tiki cocktail bar Mother of Pearl and the author of The Bourbon Bartender, calls the book “an inspiration” for both writing and drink-making. “I feel the story behind the cocktail needs to be as good as the drink,” she notes, and this text fulfills both requirements. Best book on the production of spirits “The Drunken Botanist” by Amy Stewart According to Nate Fishman, a bartender at Liquor Lab and a brand ambassador for Santera Tequila, this book “gives you the understanding of cocktails and spirits through gardening and horticulture,” which makes “pairing and creating cocktails” at home much more accessible. Swanson says Stewart “delves into every spirit before it was a spirit: the sugar canes of rum, the rice grains of sake, and the agave of tequila and mezcal, of course,” so it adds an additional “element of understanding” to your drinks. Best book on contemporary cocktail-making “Death & Co.: Modern Classic Cocktails” by Nick Fauchald & David Kaplan “If a beginning bartender wants to learn technique and amazing recipes, Death & Co. is always my go-to cocktail book,” says Swanson. Published in 2014, the book’s authors (who also wrote The Cocktail Codex) are the team behind the cocktail bar of the same name, which now has locations in Denver and Los Angeles in addition to its flagship in New York City. Unlike The Cocktail Codex, this book focuses more on recipes and includes 500 of their favorite cocktails, many of which have been featured on their menu. Cara Maldonado, the beverage director at the Four Seasons Hotel New York, is also a fan of this book, telling us she keeps a copy on her bar cart. Best encyclopedic cocktail book “The Joy of Mixology” by Gary Regan Both Ehrmann and Booth call The Joy of Mixology a “classic,” with more than 350 “simple and easy” recipes to thumb through. Regan groups this encyclopedia of cocktails into families based on the balance of ingredients, not by the base spirit, so you can master dozens of recipes quickly, and then learn how to create your own takes on the classics. from Eater - All https://ift.tt/3dtYtvX

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