#who would buy a mystery box full of products from a brand that has had no new products in over a year

[20dollarlolita]

CuratedKawaii Lolita Fashion Mystery Bundle Review

So a while back, I was made aware of this etsy listing:

I love mystery packs and lucky bags. It doesn't matter to me if it's good or terrible. I love me a lucky mystery bag. This listing had just little enough information about it to be unable to tell if it's bad or good, so I went for it. The thing about having this blog is that if something's bad, it's still good blog content.

Ordering process was pretty simple. I believe I had to pick a substyle from a drop-down list and then had a fill-in box where I could list colors and motifs that I want. I picked brown and cream classic. I paid $75, shipping non-inclusive.

Finally got the order in the mail a couple months later, and I had a whole lot of fun with this.

The idea is that the items included would be a full coordinate (minus shoes and petticoat).

Quick little economics comment: buying this is buying a service and a product. I knew going into this that I'd be paying for the curation service as part of the cost, so I was expecting to get less than $50 worth of items. The etsy seller has to make money on this, and you have to know going in that the seller has to make money on this. Expecting every item in the bag to total up to $75 is kind of stupid. This isn't like a AP lucky pack where everything is being sold at cost.

Actually, the price was one of the things that made me so interested. A full lolita coordinate for like $50 of stuff? Color me interested.

So, what did we get in the bag?

Main piece: Love Nadia JSKOP by Bodyline, in brown.

So on baby me's second ever Bodyline order, which I received Dec 31, 2012, I bought Love Nadia in purple, and was immediately disappointed in it. I then cut it up to plan to make a skirt out of it, put it in a box that's now labeled "abandoned projects", and it's still here to this day.

In that time, I've really regretted cutting it up, because I figured it probably wasn't as bad as I remember it being, and I just had a lot of confusion about how I wanted my own body to look.

So the first thing that I checked was to see if the weird printing part was still there. It is. I'd like to let everyone know that, in the past ten years, Bodyline did not fix the weird printing part. However, they DID add a side seam pocket!

Anyway, this wasn't a review of Love Nadia. This is a mystery bag review. I was very excited that there was an actual identifiable brand in the mystery bag. It wasn't super clear from the listing exactly how much experience with lolita the curator had, so I was bracing myself for some quality sweat lolita.

Second item was a cute bolero from Liz Lisa. I did immediately have to put this in the wash because, speaking of sweat lolita, it was a used item and it had a little bit of smell adhesion. But it's a nice cream lace cardigan thingy with a front tie. Love Nadia is not sure if it's an OP or a JSK and so having a shoulder wrap helps me not have to decide if its' a JSK or an OP. I like the term JSKOP, pronounced j-s-ko-p.

All the rest of the accessories are offbrand.

The socks are cream net socks with a little loop opening in the back. I find these so cool because they would probably look like they were trying to be really sexy on me if they were black, but they look just lovely in cream. I could go on a rant about color contrast here, but that's not why we're here. I loved getting some nice and detailed socks that I didn't have to worry about not fitting my kitten-holders.

There were two hair accessories included. Since this was supposed to be a full coord, I decided to try to wear both of them at once. One is a cute little beret with rickrack and a bow. It's got wig clips to help it stay on. I wore this yesterday in my comfy casual coord.

The other hair accessory was a bow barrette with a little lace drape. I think this one was handmade. I don't know who made it, but I really love that there was a handmade accessory included.

Fitting both the beret and the barrette (and keeping track of how many r's are in each word) on my head was a challenge, but I did it.

There was also a tie-on headbow. Since I already had two hair accessories going on, I opted to wear this one as a belt in the context of this coord. I do love me a good head-eating bow, so the fact that I can use this for that is very fun to me.

And then there were some little stretchy pearl bracelets. I wear stretchy bracelets all the time, and so it's good to have some new ones!

Total coord:

I was going to take a better picture without the cat poop box and where I was looking vaguely interested in being there, but Carhartt was in this picture (having just thrown litter everywhere) so we used it instead.

As far as substyle goes, it's very sweet. It's definitely the sweet end of the classic spectrum, and I could even just say it's brown sweet. There are a lot of little details that want to push it over to the classic edge. It's definitely brown and cream.

Functionally, there's a little bit of an issue where too many things want to take up the same space. IDK if the coord was intended to wear the headbow on your waist (but I couldn't find a better way to include it), but that bow sits right where the tie-front of the bolero wants to tie. The beret and the barrette are competing for the same real estate on the head, so I can't wear the beret like a beret without covering up the barrette. I promise that I DO know how to actually wear a beret normally.

In terms of including all the necessary parts of the coord, yeah, we checked all those boxes. Color balance is pretty good. All the colors are incorporated into the coord without leaving any weird blocks of just cream or just brown. I feel like whoever curated this box knows how to wear lolita fashion.

We knew this going in to the idea of getting a coord for <$50 of items, but there is a concern about the overall quality of these pieces. One of the fun things about lolita fashion is that you can balance things into your look. You can use a less expensive or lower-detailed accessory if you put it in a coord with more detailed items. A lot of these items are going to be really useful for me in future coords. However, I've previously addressed the idea of the "faking it" card, where you can only use so many not-quite-right items before it starts overtaking the coord. The accessories are lovely on their own, but when they're all put together, you kind of start to feel it. But this is a solid case of getting what I paid for, and I'm very happy.

Who do I recommend this for? I'm not sure I can recommend this package for a beginner that has no other items. You can build a wardrobe that's more accurate to how you want to coord things with the same money, and get pieces you know you'll use. But I do think that, if you have established pieces to later work the accessories in, it's a really fun sort of surprise gift. If you already wear lolita fashion and you want to try a new color or a new substyle, this can be really good inspiration, and fill in some gaps that you're likely to have as you branch into another direction.

A couple of things that I'd potentially like to see changed about this listing in the future: I'd really appreciate if there were photos of mystery bundles that had already been sent. I get not wanting to spoil the mystery, but taking some good flatlays of the bundles and then adding those flatlay pictures after the buyer reviews the bundle would be a really good addition. There's nothing wrong with the collages as listed, but seeing real items people have been given would help buyers a lot. I think it'd also be nice to drop something like, "This mystery bundle may contain new and lightly used items from Japanese and Chinese lolita brands, nonbranded accessories, and handmade accessories." I bought this partly because if it was terrible, that'd be funny for the blog, but I don't think that the primary audience of this was "people who want to take a gamble on losing their money." These kind of notes would be really helpful for people who were making the decision of if they want to buy.

Another potential option that I would love: CuratedKawaii definitely has good resources for getting fun offbrand and nonbranded accessories. I love my little beret and I love the socks and I love the tie-on bow. I love how well everything worked together. I feel like the budget here is the major limiting factor. While I don't think I'd want to spend $300 on a mystery bundle, I do think there's an untapped market that's at about the same price point as the mystery bundle. Everyone who is reading this and who has a problem where they keep buying dresses and not buying acessories, please raise your hand. Since that's most of us, let me pitch my idea: A mystery accessory bundle, where instead of saying what color and substyle we want, we just tell CuratedKawaii what main piece we want accessories for. I can write, "Hi, I just impulse bought this OP, and have no accessories for it. Please help!" This would give our curator friend a bigger budget to work with, since they don't have to budget for a main piece. I would absolutely LOVE to trust buying accessories over to another person and seeing what they come up with.

So yeah, I had a TON of fun unboxing this. I picked brown and cream because I knew that I needed more of both of those colors, and I love the flexibility of the things that I got. I got a bunch of stuff that I normally wouldn't buy for myself, and I like that I now have a bunch of cool creative items to work with in my wardrobe. I DIY a ton of things, and so I'm already planning how I can change and use the pieces I got to be a little more like I'm used to working with. I asked CuratedKawaii if they planned on putting up a listing for this again in the future, and they said they were. If anyone else out there reads my experience and thinks that it's the kind of mystery surprise that they'd want, I definitely recommend checking them out.

[warpaintt]

ok I want to like jaclyn hill even tho she’s a pathological liar addicted to simp money but how the hell did her mystery boxes sell out???

[worldwidemochiguy]

Sweets (Soft Yandere! Jungkook)

You keep being visited by the most peculiar thief…

➵ in which jungkook steals your lip balm and perfume instead of talking to you, you leave a post-it note with your number on it for the strange thief who only seems to take the most inexplicable items and has a strange sense of responsibility for your wellbeing, and the cute boy in your photography class with the fluffy hair and the oversized sweater keeps getting more and more endearing…

➵ Warnings: Soft Yandere Jungkook, Breaking & Entering but without the Breaking, Reader is a bit of a ditz (lol sorry guys) 

➵ Word Count: 4.2K

➵ Masterlist

“Hello, uh, I’d like to… report a crime?” 

Your statement, which had always sounded suitably firm and assertive when you practised it in front of the bathroom mirror, ended with an unplanned upturn, making it sound more like a question than you would like. 

“Please state your name and address, ma’am.”

You did so, listening anxiously to the tap of a keyboard as your information was filed away. The undoubtedly over-worked police officer on the other end of the line sounded like he was two seconds from falling asleep, and you questioned yourself for the millionth time over whether you really needed to report this or not.

“What is the nature of the crime you are reporting, ma’am?”

“Um… well…” 

You twisted your hand into the fabric of your shirt self-consciously, trying to decide the best way to explain the strange little occurrences that had been surrounding your apartment over the last few months. You had not yet found a way to put it without sounding ridiculous, but you supposed there was a first time for everything. 

“I, uh, I think someone’s breaking into my apartment and stealing things.”

“You have an intruder?”

“Uh huh,”

“…Are they currently in your residence?”

“No, I think… they come and take things when I’m not here and then they’re gone by the time I get back.” 

“What items have been stolen?”

You bit your lip. 

“I know it sounds silly, but…”

“No crime is too small to report, ma’am. We are committed to making the lives of everyday citizens safer.”

“Well… they’ve stolen my lip balm like… several times. I keep buying new ones and they keep being stolen after a week or so. And my perfume. And my hairbrush one time, and-”

“Ma’am,” The officer cut you off with the impatience you had been both anticipating and dreading ever since you decided to call the police, “Listen, we don’t have the capacity to deal with prank callers-”

“It’s not a prank call!” You blurted, a momentary burst of desperation overtaking you, “I- um, sorry for interrupting, officer, but this isn’t a prank call. Things have been going missing. I can’t afford to keep replacing my lip balm.” 

A sigh crackled across the line, and you pictured the officer maybe taking off his glasses, pinching the bridge of his nose like those people in movies always seemed to do when they got frustrated. Personally, you had never found that it helped. 

“Are you sure you aren’t just… misplacing them?”

You gasped, offended that even a stranger could think you so stupid. “No! I remember exactly where I leave things and then they just vanish! I swear!”

“Has anything of value ever been taken from your apartment?”

“Yes!” You exclaimed, excited to be able to prove the officer wrong, “My bunny plushy! Mr Snuggles is extremely valuable to me!”

“…Monetary value, I meant. Has anything expensive ever been taken from your apartment?” 

There was an embarrassing silence. The officer sighed again, with a little more exasperation colouring his tone. 

“If anything significant is stolen, call us back. For now, just… be a bit more careful with your possessions.” 

He hung up. You pressed your forehead against the wall and wished your strange thief had taken your phone in one of his little visits. Maybe then you would’ve avoided making that agonising call. 

The next morning as you were leaving to go to class, you noticed a pile of discarded post-it notes on your desk — the remnants of a redbull-fuelled late night study session. Your newly purchased lip balm lay next to it. Impulsively, you grabbed a pen and scrawled a message on one of the post-its, sticking it horizontally to the curved surface of the lip balm tube. 

it reads: 

pls don’t take this i just bought it and this brand is actually v expensive and i am only a struggling college student with loans and chapped lips (。•́︿•̀。)

It might have been a little too polite considering it’s intended recipient was someone who had stolen multiple items from your apartment, but you figured there was no point in being rude. They probably wouldn’t even read it anyway. 

You strolled out of your apartment, planning to pick up a smoothie on the way to your lecture, and promptly forgot all about it.

 When you returned home to find a pile of newly bought lip balms on your desk — all embossed with the logo of your favourite brand — you were slightly puzzled. But, once you remembered the note you had left- well, the confusion didn’t exactly vanish, but at least you were given some context. 

The note had disappeared, along with the lip balm you had used a scant few times. But, you didn’t understand what the thief’s aim was. Why on earth would they steal small things like lip balm and perfume? And why would they buy you new copies of the product? Wasn’t that counterproductive?

you’re very bad at your job

Your next note read, stuck to your fridge as you left to grab coffee with your study group. It remained there for a few days, and you couldn’t ignore the way your heart sank a little each time you saw it hadn’t been taken. 

After six days, when it finally vanished, you felt an odd sense of happiness bubble up within you. Yes, there was someone routinely breaking into your apartment, but at least now you had an open channel of communication with them. They had left a brand new bottle of your preferred perfume — which had been stolen at least twice before you stopped bothering to buy it because perfume is pricy — resting on your kitchen counter, beside a box of your favourite chocolates. 

As you dug into the box later, snuggled in a blanket and having a Studio Ghibli film marathon, you didn’t even consider the fact that the sweets might be tampered with. If they wanted to kill me, they would’ve killed me already, you reasoned to yourself, sucking the icing sugar off your fingers. Nor did you question how they knew your favourite chocolate. If they broke into your apartment as much as you assumed they did, they probably knew you better than your own parents by now. 

You were the very definition of a broke college student. As far as you were concerned, if this random stranger wanted to buy you things and sometimes clean up your apartment — you had definitely come back to a home tidier than you had left it more than once — then you certainly weren’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth. Maybe it was a little naïve of you, but… you had already called the police, and they hadn’t cared.

thank you for the perfume and chocolate <3

You wrote next morning, hesitating slightly before putting the heart. Before you could convince yourself not to, you scribbled another line underneath. 

i wish you’d write back someday…

As you walked to class, you scolded yourself for the butterflies swooping in your stomach. They’re literally a criminal, you told yourself, Stop getting crushes on anyone who shows you the slightest bit of attention. You don’t even know their name. 

Despite the small amount of common sense that you did have mocking you all day, you sat in classes and daydreamed about your mystery home intruder. Would they read the note? Would they be happy about your appreciation? Would they — you bit your lip — would they write back? 

You felt like a dumb schoolgirl, excited by the prospect of a badly written love note shoved in her locker. And, like a school girl, you trudged back home with your arms weighed down by class work, a billion essays and quizzes that had to be completed overnight. Did your professors not realise you had a life outside of college? Not that you did, of course, but like… in principle. 

You were so preoccupied with the coursework that you didn’t even notice the note stuck to your bedroom door. After an hour of studying, you rose wearily to start fixing yourself something to eat, and your eyes snagged on a flash of yellow. 

You squeaked, almost falling over yourself in your rush to get to the door and read the note. 

i’m glad you liked them. i’m sorry i took your things, that was mean of me. i tried to only take things you wouldn’t miss, but i guess that backfired… i just wanted to feel close to you. and these notes… are the closest i’ve ever been. i know that must sound weird, but… well. i’m a weird guy, i guess. i just liked hearing from you. that’s all. 

~ koo <3

You didn’t stop freaking out for a full five minutes. After that, you poured over every detail of the letter, eager to extricate any fragment of knowledge possible. You ended up with a list which you scribbled down in your diary, above which you pasted the note. 

The list went as follows:

They want to feel close to you

They have not talked to you before, since the notes are the closest they’ve ever been, but they must have seen you in person at least once 

They are a he 

(you adamantly did not get flustered about that)

and

     4. He calls himself Koo

When you left your apartment the next morning, you placed your note on the exact same spot he had left his. An indirect touch. 

hi koo !!!!!!!!

i was so excited to see you had written something!! you know, if you want to talk to me more often, there is an easier way…

Underneath you had scrawled your phone number, hastily and not allowing for regret before you flounced out of the apartment. The reason why you were in such a rush was because you were about to go to your favourite class: Photography 101. 

You had taken it as an extra credit, something that interested you but not enough that you wanted to pursue it as a career. You had expected it to be fun, something artistic to break up the monotony of classes. What you had not expected was the dreamy boy who sat in the first row and had full possession of your heart. 

You didn’t even know his name, but you were pretty sure you were half in love with him. With fluffy brown hair that fell over his forehead whenever he leaned over to scribble down notes, and cute bunny teeth that stuck out in a flustered smile whenever the professor praised his work in class, he was perhaps the cutest boy you had ever seen. 

Though you were sure he had many girls sighing after him, he seemed to be really shy, only ever speaking in class when called on, and even then it was in a quiet, soft voice. He was kind of like you in that respect. But that was where your similarities ended. 

Yes, you thought, sighing as you watched him pay avid attention to the professor’s lecture on the composition of frames, his cute doe eyes wide and twinkling like stars were embedded in the pupils, He is way out of my league. 

It took three days for you to lose hope. You hadn’t received a text, nor had you found any notes left for you. You tried not to be disappointed, even as your traitorous sub-conscience mocked you for being able to scare away the one person who arguably paid you the most attention. 

You didn’t really have many friends, and the ones you did have preferred each other over you, and often left you out of activities because of your shy nature. You guessed this whole thing had just been a way to feel like you actually mattered to someone, like, for once, someone cared about you, but-

You were pulled out of your musings as your phone chimed. 

From: Unknown Number

[6:48 PM]

hi

this is koo

The two of you texted every day, and soon enough you were hiding your phone underneath your desk in order to chat to him, keeping your phone on your person at all times in case koo wanted to talk. Of course, the only class you didn’t do this in was Photography, so you could spend a blissful forty-five minutes staring at the boy who played the role of your husband in all of your favourite daydreams. 

Koo still broke into your house occasionally, and he still left you sweet, considerate gifts. Often, you would receive texts like this:

From: koo ✨

[3:24 PM]

sweets i’ve been checking your groceries and your vegetables are not being eaten as often as they should be 

i know you have a sweet tooth and that’s cute but please try to stay healthy

To: koo ✨

[3:25 PM]

but i can’t cook all i know how to make is microwaveable mac n cheese :///////

You came back home that day to discover a bunch of Tupperwares full of pre-made healthy meals and a note stuck to the top of them. 

try microwaving these :)

To: koo ✨

[3:01 AM]

koo are you awake?

From: koo ✨

[3:01 AM]

i am now

what’s wrong?

To: koo ✨

[3:02 AM]

i can’t sleep :////////

From: koo ✨

[3:02 AM]

sweets you need to go to bed

you have an early morning class

To: koo ✨

[3:02 AM]

i knowwwwww

i just… i can’t sleep without mr snuggles :((

From: koo ✨

[3:03 AM]

Mr Snuggles??

???

To: koo ✨

[3:03 AM]

my cuddly bunny :((((

i think you took him a while ago

could i maybe have him back…?

From: koo ✨

[3:03 AM]

Shit

i didn’t know you couldn’t sleep without him 

[3:04 AM]

sweets im so sorry

To: koo ✨

[3:04 AM]

its okay koo

From: koo ✨

[3:04 AM]

no it isn’t

you’re loosing sleep because of me

fuck

i could… bring him to you?

To: koo ✨

[3:05 AM]

you’d do that?

…i could see you?

From: koo ✨

[3:05 AM]

no i’d leave him outside

you’d have to promise not to come out until i text you saying i’ve left

To: koo ✨

[3:06 AM]

but kooooo :(((((

From: koo ✨

[3:07 AM]

sweets 

To: koo ✨

[3:07 AM]

okay :((((((((((

but i expect you to leave a big box of chocolates on my pillow for me to come home to tomorrow evening!!

From: koo ✨

[3:08 AM]

of course sweets <3

im gonna get going now

don’t look outside your apartment

To: koo ✨

[3:08 AM]

okay

From: koo ✨

[3:34 AM]

im gone and mr snuggles is waiting outside for you

he might have a little gift with him

You trudged outside your apartment, rubbing your eyes blearily, and looked down to see your beloved plushie clutching a single rose in its paws. You gasped, leaning down to pick up the flower gently, and you noticed all the thorns had been taken off. Koo must’ve removed them so that you didn’t accidentally hurt yourself. 

You felt warmth flood you, drowning the butterflies in your stomach and replacing them with something much less fleeting, much less shallow. 

It sunk into your bones, into your heart, into your breath as you sighed, squeezing your long-lost Mr Snuggles close to your face. He carried the familiar scent of nostalgia, but also something different, something sharper. You realised with a jolt that you were smelling Koo’s cologne. 

You went back to bed, nuzzled your face into the plushy’s furry belly, and dreamed of fluffy brown hair and bunny smiles. 

Though with Mr Snuggles’ help you were able to sleep wonderfully, you were only able to do so for four hours before your alarm jolted you back into early reality. Honestly, you were sorely tempted to just ditch class, but it was Photography, and if you missed your regular dose of the cute boy in the front row then you thought you might just crumble into dust. 

You dragged yourself out of bed, pulling on your softest oversized hoodie — a gift from Koo which, now that you thought about it, smelled like the same cologne that Mr Snuggles did. You flushed at the thought of him giving you one of his hoodies to wear, though you couldn’t say exactly why that image charmed you. 

You stumbled into the lecture, arms full of textbooks because you knew you wouldn’t have the energy to return back to your apartment to retrieve the relevant materials for your next class later in the day. Your excellent plan was to crash in the library directly after this, have a two hour power-nap, and then make yourself get up in time for Calculus. 

You barely had the energy to listen to the professor droning on and on about… the perfect lense, or whatever. You allowed yourself the indulgence of tuning out, resting your chin on your palm and gazing dreamily at the boy in the front row. He was taking notes, as per usual. What a good student! You praised him in your head. I bet he has the best handwriting. 

Despite your best efforts, you fell asleep within ten minutes. You were woken as the class concluded by the clamour of students grabbing their materials and the scrape of chairs as your classmates stood up, leaving you behind — the only one half-splayed across the desk in front of you. 

You jerked upright, grabbing your stuff in one hand as you tried to tug on your bag, eventually succeeding with much struggle, only to drop it all again as soon as you stood up. You whimpered, watching helplessly as your textbooks fanned across the floor. You saw one of them split along the spine as it landed on an open page. 

That cost me two hundred dollars, you thought absently, and I just chucked it down like a bouncy ball.  

Suddenly, you glimpsed someone crouching down and gathering them all up into a sturdy pile. As he stood up, your vision was full of fluffy brown hair, errant strands falling into star-filled doe eyes. 

Oh. Oh no. 

“H-Here you are,” He murmured, passing you the pile gently, making sure you were able to take the weight before leaving them in your arms. When he leaned close to you, you breathed in a scent that was oddly familiar, and yet new at the same time. As his hands receded, his skin brushed against yours for a second and you swear your vision blanked out. 

“Thanks,” You whispered, your gaze so firmly focused on the floor that you didn’t notice his flushed cheeks. 

As soon as you got to the library, you whipped out your phone, all tiredness banished from your system by that momentous experience. You had talked to him. 

To: koo ✨

[8:47 AM]

koo i think im in love

From: koo ✨

[8:47 AM]

what

with who

To: koo ✨

[8:47 AM]

this boy in my photography class 

he’s just so- 

[8:48 AM]

i can’t even explain it

i dropped my textbooks and he picked them up for me and i stg i almost cried

From: koo ✨

[8:48 AM]

wait

seriously??

To: koo ✨

[8:49 AM]

yeah i cry at like the drop of a hat 

From: koo ✨

[8:49 AM]

no-

cute 

but i mean

that’s who you’re in love with?

To: koo ✨

[8:49 AM]

yeah?

From: koo ✨

[8:49 AM]

gray sweater

[8:50 AM]

big eyes

tall-ish

that’s him???

To: koo ✨

[8:50 AM]

OMG YOU’RE IN MY PHOTOGRAPHY CLASS AREN’T YOU

From: koo ✨

[8:50 AM]

WHAT

NO

IM NOT

To: koo ✨

[8:50 AM]

OMGGGGGGG

YOU SAW HIM HELP ME SO YOU MUST BE IN MY CLASSSS

[8:51]

okay!

are you the frat guy who always comes in hungover???

no judgement

From: koo ✨

[8:51 AM]

NO

To: koo ✨

[8:52 AM]

are you the guy who only ever wears knitwear???

From: koo ✨

[8:52 AM]

NO

To: koo ✨

[8:53 AM]

…are you the professor?

From: koo ✨

[8:53 AM]

NO!!!!!

oh my god lets just meet up or something before i explode

To: koo ✨

[8:53 AM]

WAIT

ARE YOU SERIOUS????

From: koo ✨

[8:54 AM]

…you’re that excited to meet me?

To: koo ✨

[8:54 AM]

OF COURSE I AM

OH MY GODDDD

WHEN?

From: koo ✨

[8:54 AM]

now?

i can meet you at the campus coffee shop in like five minutes?

To: koo ✨

[8:55 AM]

five minutes???

that’s not enough time koo i have to go home and pick out something pretty to wear !!

From: koo ✨

[8:55 AM]

it doesn’t matter what you wear, you’re always beautiful to me

To: koo ✨

[8:56 AM]

you

you think im

b-beautiful 

: ’ ))))))))))

From: koo ✨

[8:57 AM]

…

haha see you there!! 

To: koo ✨

[8:57 AM]

GET BACK HERE WE HAVE TO TALK ABOUT THIS-

You sat on an empty table, fiddling with the tea bag tag which hung over the side of your mug. You had bought Green Tea as an effort to calm yourself down so you weren’t too anxious to meet Koo, but it hadn’t worked because you were impatient and sipped it too soon so now you were sat there nursing a burnt tongue like an idiot. 

You knew it was irrational to be self-conscious. He already knew who you were, and seemed to like you, it was just you that was in the dark. You went over the possible people Koo could be, mentally cycling through the boys in your photography class. It was an annoyingly large class, which meant he would be anyone from the guy who smelled like Funyuns to-

Fluffy-haired boy strolled into the coffee shop and you let out an involuntary sigh. He seemed to be cheerful, a smile exposing his bunny teeth and making his cheeks bunch up adorably, with like,  five different sets of dimples poked into them. You had never agreed more with the saying that dimples were caused by an angel’s kiss. 

Well, at least I’ll have something nice to look at while I wait, you thought, just before all your thoughts suddenly tipped out of your head when you realised he was walking towards your table. 

“Is this seat taken?” He grinned, before sliding into the seat across from you. 

You whimpered, and his smile grew devastatingly wider.

“Hi,” He breathed, before his gaze flickered down to your mug of tea, clutched so tightly in your hands that you worried the ceramic might shatter. “You didn’t get hot chocolate? I thought you had a sweet tooth?”

“Uhm-” You choked, before forcing yourself to get a grip. How would Koo feel if he walked in here and saw you sitting with another guy? “I’m actually- I’m waiting for someone. Sorry.”

If it was possible — and it certainly seemed to be — the boy’s grin broadened even more, his eyes crinkling into adorable half-moons.

“Is that so? Is he your boyfriend?”

“No!” You blurted, before flushing profusely. The boy across from you seemed to be thoroughly enjoying the display. “I mean- uhm, I don’t know. Maybe? This is our- this is our first actual meeting.”

“Oh?” The boy tilted his head, “Really? How exciting.”

You hummed in agreement, eyes fixed on your slowly cooling beverage. You raised it to your mouth to take a hesitant sip and- nope,  still too hot. You whined quietly, rubbing your sore tongue against the inside of your cheek to try and soothe it. 

“Oh, sweets,” The boy murmured across from you, and you were too distracted to notice the nickname. He plucked the mug out of your hands and placed it on the other side of the table, as if he was trying to make sure it couldn’t hurt you anymore. “Are you okay? Do you want me to take you to the campus infirmary?”

“Wha- no, it’s okay,” You mumbled, lisping slightly on your burnt tongue and blushing when he cooed over you, “It’s- I’m waiting here for someone, and- I mean, I don’t even know your name-”

“It’s Jungkook,” He interrupted cheekily, deliberately ignoring the rest of your statement, “Some people call me Kookie, and really special people call me… Koo.” 

Oh. Oh.

Fuck.

“Really special people?” You asked, your voice small, and not because of the burn. 

“Well, people…” Jungkook- Koo paraphrased, tilting his head slightly, “I guess it would be more accurate to say… one really special person.”

“Really?” You breathed, and Jungkook leaned over the table, close enough that you could smell his cologne, the same scent embedded in the fabric of your hoodie- his hoodie. 

“The most special person.” He murmured, the fervent emotion packed in each word speaking louder than any increase of volume could.

You had never been anyone’s most special person before, but, as you looked into Jungkook’s chocolate eyes, you started to believe you could almost taste it, sticky sweet on your lips. And when Jungkook eventually, finally coaxed your lips in a gentle kiss, you let him in, and found out that happiness tastes reassuringly honey-sweet. 

[scottielambchop]

Tite Five Vol. 1

Here's the deal: Unemployment really sucks.

But it's important to keep "flexing my writing muscle." So, I decided to take the blog format I had with my old company and take it here. Which is rad because I can now write all the f-swears I want. But even better, I can rename this stupid fucking thing. So without further ado, I present to you my Tite Five.

Arby’s Subscription Box

Well, the more things change, the more they stay the same. I may not be writing blogs for an ad agency anymore, but that doesn't fuckin' mean I won't talk about fast food.

For those who don’t know me (and now that I’m writing on my own blog, I don’t know why the fuck you wouldn’t), I have sort of backed myself into a corner with Arby's. It all started innocently enough. I wrote a Facebook post asking if anyone wanted to go on a romantic date to Arby’s. Seemed like a funny-enough thing to say. But then I doubled down and asked the same question again a few weeks later. Then again. And again. Soon enough, I became the “Arby’s guy.” Which, to be honest, isn’t the worst thing to be known for. Especially since Arby’s is pretty good and their Pizza Slider is one of the most underrated QSR food items on the market.

Alright, now that I got that little nugget of useless bullshit out of the way, let’s get to this subscription box. For the past couple of years, Arby’s has been fucking killing it in the advertising game. Their hilarious Ving Rhames-voiced copy spots and subsequent transition to more visual stuff with H. Jon Benjamin, their delightfully nerdy paper-craft social posts, and now, their subscription box. That’s right, you fuckin’ heard (or read) me correctly, Arby’s now has a subscription box.

In early January, Arby’s tweeted out they would be sending a subscription box called Arby's of the Month. All you had to do was sign up for $25, and you would get six mystery boxes of seasonal gear from everyone’s favorite roast beef provider. Now, I’m sure you’re wondering, “Who the hell would want that?” Well, let me tell you, a lot of people the hell would want that. It sold out in less than an hour.

Minneapolis' Fallon (my dream agency) has done amazing work with Arby's. They've taken your grandparents’ favorite fast food joint and turned it into something for everyone. By simply getting weird with everything they do, the younger generations have latched on. Honestly, who the fuck would think about sending a subscription box full of roast beef swag, and how the fuck did it work so well? The answer is Fallon.

P.S. If anyone from Fallon is reading this, my portfolio is scottielantgen.com. Hire me, please.

Re-Watching South Park

One of the most beautiful things about unemployment in the digital age is the ability to hunt for jobs across the country while sitting on your couch and streaming a seemingly endless supply of shows. And that’s exactly what the fuck I’ve been doing with South Park.

Now before I begin, I just need to say that, yes, the show’s liberal use of the “f-word,” “r-word,” and countless racial stereotypes DO NOT hold up well to today’s standards. And honestly, I’m not going to defend it. It’s not my place.

Problematic dialogue aside, what I love about rewatching South Park from almost the very beginning (just skip the first three seasons. You're not missing much) is how it’s a perfect current event/pop culture time capsule. I seriously forgot about Elián González, Terri Schiavo, how the popularity of Paris Hilton made everyone fucking terrible for a while, and just the Passion of the Christ in general. But thanks to South Park, those headlines came rushing back in vivid detail.

South Park still holds up as some of the best satire ever created. It’s quick, funny, and often offensive. And I’m pretty sure that’s what Trey Parker and Matt Stone wanted it to be.

Also, Butters and Randy Marsh are two of my favorite fictional characters.

Skittles Commercial: The Broadway Musical

The “Big Game” (who has the money, amirite?) is tomorrow, and it’s like a goddamn advertising cotillion. It’s the day where the entire country gathers around a TV to eat a variety of sauced meats, drink one of three different beers, and watch the newest batch of commercials from some of the biggest brands in the country. I am told there’s also a football game.

This is the day companies spend millions of dollars for 30 seconds of air time. It’s absurd. But it’s the most viewed event of the entire year, so companies feel the need to get their air time. Except for Skittles. They've been doing something a little different.

Last year, Skittles was fed up with the high price of “Big Game” ad placement, and decided to ditch that mess and do their own thing. So, they did what any other rational company who wanted to advertise to millions of viewers would do. They made an ad for just one person (Check it out. It rules). This little stunt got them billions of media impressions, which, in a lot of ways, is just as good as paid placement.

Where does Skittles go after the major success of last year’s stunt? Broadway of course. During halftime, Skittles will present a one-time performance of Skittles Commercial: The Broadway Musical. Lead by Six Feet Under’s own Michael C. Hall (fuck Dexter), this 30-minute musical is slated to be very meta. Their website states, “Through song and dance, the show takes an absurdly self-reflective look at consumerism and the ever-increasing pervasiveness of brand advertising in our lives.”

It’s fucking brilliant, and I can’t wait to hear how it turns out.

Companies Taking a Stand

Other than writing as many “fucks” and “shits” as I want, one of the coolest things about writing this blog untied from any agency has to be freely expressing whatever dumb-fucking-shit opinion I have. Don’t get me wrong, my old company gave me a lot of freedom, but I always felt it best to stray away from any “controversial” or “political” opinions. Now I’m off the leash and ready to spread my leftist propaganda like a mother fucking virus!

There is a great divide in our country. I know it’s always been there, but it seems way worse ever since the 2016 campaign trail. Regardless, with this growing separation between liberals and conservatives/left and right/cool dudes and white people, companies are also taking sides. And I think it’s a really fucking smart idea.

As you’ve probably seen (and possibly burnt your own shoes about), Nike was one of the first major companies to take a stand for what they believed in. Hiring “controversial” athlete, Colin Kaepernick, to be the face of their newest campaign was a really bold move, but it paid off big time.

Yes, they faced a backlash. Fox News was all up their ass about “DiSrEsPeCtInG tHe FlAg,” and Twitter users shared a litany of videos of people destroying the products they already bought and paid for. But overall, the campaign was killer and showed that the company was willing to put themselves at risk for equality and doing what is right—though I’m sure they’re heartbroken your shitty uncle won’t buy their socks ever again.

Gillette was the next big company to pick a side. They took a stance on the truly controversial topic of “not being a shitty dude.” I really don’t know where the backlash for this came from, but apparently, men don’t like being told that it’s wrong to catcall and sexually assault women. For a bunch of “manly-men,” they’re really crying like little babies over a minute-long video. The ad is still pretty new, but it already seems to be resonating well with younger male audiences, but not so much with boomers. Weird, right?

And lastly, Patagonia just announced that they will donate all 10 million dollars they saved on tax cuts to environmental groups. I don’t know how people will find a way to be upset by this, but I don’t doubt for a single second that someone will. The world is a nightmare.

Listen, I know there are always going to counter-arguments.

“Oh, they’re just exploiting a current issue to make money.”

“Oh, you may think they’re doing the right thing, but their internal business model is totally fucked.”

“Oh, not all men.”

“Oh, that money could have gone to hard workers and not a stupid tree or whatever.”

It really doesn’t matter. This is advertising. They are spreading a message. You may not need a razor at this moment, but that spot can also serve as a reminder to be a better man. You may prefer a different brand of athletic wear, but that doesn’t mean you won’t be able to see how much a person has sacrificed to support a cause. You may not be a white Instagrammer, but now you know that some companies are doing honorable things. These companies aren't just selling products, they’re also selling ideals.

Gratitude

As I’ve alluded to throughout this post, I recently lost my job. I wanted to make light of it a little, but I also just wanted to get some things off my chest. The truth of the matter is this: I am forever grateful for the opportunity I was given and the people I befriended along the way. I was able to work with and learn from some of the most talented people I have ever met. I took a huge risk moving to a smaller, one-agency town to take this job—and I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I am forever thankful for this time in my life.

One of my biggest New Year’s resolutions was to express more gratitude. As I said before, the country is divided. I can’t seem to hop on any social media channel without seeing some kind of bullshit-fueled fight going on. Everyone seems to be focusing on the negative and no one really cares about the positive (I fully understand the irony of this sentence). But this could change by expressing more gratitude for the people in your life and amazing opportunities.

Listen, I could be really pissed about the current state of the world. And honestly, I am. But I’m trying to express more positivity. Everyone else can complain about our turd of a president 24 hours a day. Why not tell the important people in your life why you’re thankful to have them? It’s a really fucking simple thing to do—and it could possibly start a chain reaction.

Listen, I’m not going to tell you to not focus on the bad parts of your job or whatever because that shit is so much more easily said than done. And it also goes on a job-by-job basis (I couldn’t really think of a positive in working in corporate finance or some soul-sucking shit like that). But I will say this, I’m thankful I was able to work a job where I could see a bright side. I learned a lot and I’m looking forward to the next steps in my career.

I know it seems tough to remain positive in such dark times. But, fuck, this is your life. You’ve only got one of em. Don’t spend it worrying or complaining all the time. Find the positive and try and improve upon that… or don’t. It’s your fuckin’ life. Do whatever you want.

Well, guys, that’s it for my very first Tite Five (but also not, ya know?). I hope this was as enthralling as Chris made it out to be. I love you all. I’ll probably see you next week with another post of sorts. Take care and don’t drink and drive after the “Big Game.”

[ofqis-blog]

The 23 Most Popular Subscription Boxes of 2018 Consumers Love

I cherish getting bundles via the post office.

It doesn't make a difference what season it is, a bundle makes any day feel like Christmas morning.

Battling through air pocket wrap, taking stock of the products, perhaps spreading them out for an Instagram photograph.

I can't get enough of any of it, and with the flood in ubiquity (and benefit) of the 23 month to month membership confines this article, it's unmistakable I'm not alone.

As indicated by Forbes, Birchbox started the membership enclose development back 2010, conveying its month to month care bundle of excellence tests for just $10.

From that point forward, the magnificence and preparing organization has developed to offer a men's case, serve in excess of 800,000 endorsers around the world, and win over $96 Million in deals every year.

Today, there is more than 600 membership enclose administrations like Birchbox running the United States alone, and even retail monsters like Walmart, CVS Pharmacy, Amazon, and Lancome have entered the market.

With them ended up being a hot ticket occasion blessing, this year, we should pause for a moment to unpack the mysteries behind their prosperity and discuss 21 we can't help it.

How Do Subscription Boxes Work?

The procedure is straightforward. Another client agrees to accept a month to month charge (could run somewhere in the range of $10 to hundreds contingent upon the administration) and ordinarily finishes a short review about their tastes and inclinations. From that point onward, the endorser gets a container of actually chose treats naturally conveyed ideal to their doorstep.

They're the occasion blessing that continues giving - in any event for a couple of months.

For what reason would they say they are So Popular (and Profitable)?

Directed Buyer Personas

Regardless of whether you're a chocolate darling, a wine expert, or even a comic book nerd, there's a membership box for you.

Most memberships (with a couple of, uncommon exemptions) are provided food particularly to exceptionally unmistakable interests. These refinements enable brands to minister items and in addition make substance and in general encounters that will really reverberate and amuse their purchaser personas.

Interest

Besides furnishing the brand with their tastes and inclinations, endorsers have nothing to do with the items they get every month.

Each bundle turns into a riddle holding up to be settled. Mentally, the expectation and anticipation made by this "interest hole" makes accepting the case every month significantly more fulfilling.

Esteem and Convenience

While this relies upon the brand, a substantial piece of the buyer interest of membership boxes originates from esteem and comfort.

With a Birchbox membership, for instance, supporters get five top of the line magnificence tests for just $10 per month for ladies and $20 for men.

Not exclusively is this a small amount of the expense of buying every one of the items independently, yet individuals additionally get the opportunity to experiment with and look for items, all from the solace of their own home.

Enjoyment

Generally speaking, similar to each shopper business adventure, the key to membership box achievement is client enchant. In the event that you can wrap a typically conventional errand (like looking for your preparing items) in an extraordinary, simple, and in general "awesome" encounter, individuals won't pay for it, yet spread the news.

23 Subscription Boxes We Can't Resist

While the membership box showcase is extending each day (simply look at the determination on CrateJoy on the off chance that you don't trust me), there are not many that have truly grabbed our attention with their special offering and magnificent encounters.

1. Attempt The World

You may have seen this one spring up on Pinterest more than once.

For the foodies or jetsetters in your life, try the world is a God Send. Offering Snack Boxes for $19/month, Pantry Boxes for $29.99/month, and Signature Boxes for$39/month, this mouth-watering membership conveys gourmet bites, beverages, and fixings to your doorstep so you can really "find the world" through your taste buds.

2. Opportunity Japanese Market

Discussing worldwide treats, why not attempt an essence of Japan?

In this remarkable, family-made membership box (accessible for as meager as $14.99) you'll get a blend of genuine Japanese confections and tidbits conveyed ideal to your home.

Counting both an appetizing and sweet determination (also probably the most charming flavors we've ever observed, i.e. chicken curry and pizza) and in addition an English key, Freedom Japanese Market sends free worldwide and incorporates many restricted release assortments. I'd exceptionally prescribe it to anybody with a brave hunger!

3. Club W

In light of your Palate Profile, Club W conveys 3 containers of wine, beginning at $13 a jug ($39 add up to) in addition to a $6 level transportation rate. They work straightforwardly with winemakers to show signs of improvement quality at a lower cost and you can drop whenever.

Additionally, with fulfillment 100% ensured, you never need to pay for a jug you don't care for, and you can deal with your record from their helpful iPhone application.

4. NicelyNoted

NicelyNoted is an ideal counterpart for the substance author or snail mail sweetheart on your shopping list. For $20 every month, the stationary organization will convey three remarkable cards and stamps to their entryway, and who knows, possibly you can expect one back as a bless your heart.

5. FabFitFun

Dissimilar to the greater part of the others on out rundown, FabFitFun is a regular membership box conveyed four times each year - and is likely the one I wish I had most of the rundown!

For $50 each (or $180 for an entire year), FabFitFun conveys a blend of full-estimate magnificence, design, wellness, health, and home treats for supporters of appreciating and touts a $200 esteem!

6. Blue Apron

With this delectable box, Blue Apron ships you formulas and the crisp fixings expected to influence them to up to 4 times each week. Offered in either a 2-man or family-sized 4-man plan, more than 100,000 home culinary specialists are getting a charge out of Blue Apron consistently.

7. Birchbox

I can't go any further without saying the one that began everything! As we shared before, Birchbox offers both a month to month ladies' magnificence box (5 excellence tests) and additionally a men's case (4 tests and a way of life item) for a moderate $10 and $20 separately.

One of our previous Account Strategists, Erica Dube, is a tremendous fanatic of the organization and in addition, its way to deal with re-commitment, email promoting, and video showcasing. Look at her full tribute in this article.

8. MistoBox

With MistoBox, you get four examples of "the best espresso on the planet" sent to you, at whatever point you like (you can pick the timetable) and dependent on your customized tastes. The administration works with more than 30 of the nation's craftsman roasters and begins as low as $12.99 with free delivering.

9. Barkbox

Barkbox will dispatch you and your canine closest companion a month to month box of puppy treats including toys and solid regards for as meager as $19 every month. You should simply pick your pooch measure, plan (accessible in 1,3,6, and year), and it'll be conveyed to your doorstep on the fifteenth of the month.

10. Touch

For $11.99 each (the principal box is generally free), you'll get eight, "hand-picked" solid tidbits like nuts, dried natural products, chips, and bars conveyed to your home, in view of your tastes.

The bundling is 100% recyclable and manageable, and when you utilize a reward code, a part of the returns can go towards the Graze School of Farming in Uganda, which shows the network to develop, keep up, gather natural product from their plantations.

11. ChocoCurb

Know a self-proclaimed chocoholic? Chococurb guarantees to send them (or you) exceptional chocolate treats with any of its three membership boxes. Contingent upon the measure of your sweet tooth, boxes are accessible at $10, $20, or $35/month. Sign me up!

12. The Cravory

With a membership to The Cravory, the gourmet treat organization will send you an inspecting of their most up to date enhances once every month. Accessible as a 6-treat secret, dozen, or 2-dozen box, this liberal treat begins at just $9. Crisp heated treats, conveyed ideal to my entryway? Indeed, if it's not too much trouble

13. Taste Trunk

In light of your preferred classification (gourmet, sweet, sound culinary expert, BBQ, or the sampler), Taste Trunk will send you gourmet treats for $39.99 to $99.99 every month (shipping included.) If the sticker price appears somewhat heavy for a month to month cost, you can likewise buy an assortment of single trunks for as meager as $49.99.

14. Bespoke Post

Acquainted with me by our Creative Director, Vin, as a "respectable men's container," Bespoke Post sends supporters a mindful, themed, little group merchandise once every month for $45/month. Past inventive topics have included: Weekender, Brut, Churchill, and The Barber.

15. Plunder Crate

For as a little as $19.95 every month, Loot Crate will transport you an "epic carton" of popular culture nerd and gamer rigging including collectibles, garments, tech devices, and craftsmanship once per month. In their own words, "it resembles Comic-Con in a case" and you can drop whenever.

16. Sweet Club

Sweet Club is precisely what it sounds like. Accessible beginning at $19.99 every month, the club and itcandyofthemonthados will gather and send you an extraordinary determination of sweet treats from brands you adore like Haribo and Sour Power.

17. Macaron of the Month Club

Beginning at $30.00 for multi month-to-month membership, Dana's Bakery will deliver you a oneHaribo, month to month assortment pack Macaroni macarons that incorporate the majority of their unique flavors, in addition to the flamacaronshe month. Their french treats are sans gluten and made new day by day.

18. Kiwi Crate

Made in view of mothers, Kiwi Crate plans fun, inventive exercises for children ages 4-8. For as low as $16.95 per month, they'll dispatch all of you of the materials for 2-3 exercises revolved around workmanship, science, recreations, or creative ability.

19. Dollar Shave Club

Its a well-known fact that I'm a colossal devotee of Dollar Shave Club and their showcasing. Beginning at just $3 every month, DSC will dispatch you amazing razors and cutting edges (browse 3) alongside their eccentric month to month pamphlet and the intermittent item test. It's straightforward, fun, and incredibly moderate.

20. Sock Fancy

Having outlined more than 500 sets to date, your companion or adored one's feet will never be exhausted again with Sock Fancy!

Beginning at $11/month for men's or ladies' memberships, Sock Fancy will send you one, two, or six sets that you can swap whenever on the off chance that you don't care for the (As long as they haven't been worn or open, obviously.)

21. Tea Box

Not every person's an espresso press including your really. In case you're a tea fan like me, you'll adore having new and flavorful teas conveyed to specifically to you consistently compliments of Tea Box. In a fun turn, Tea Box has clients take a short test at that point sends a determination dependent on the client's inclinations. Plans begin at $19.99.

22. Ozone Socks

Sock extravagant, not you're extravagant? Mold forward Ozone socks are an extraordinary option having been included by Vogue, True Religion, Interview Magazine, and numerous other prominent brands. Accessible in half-year (7 sets for $75) an entire year memberships (13 sets for $150), their Sock of the Month club will transport a fun new plan to your doorstep to every month - and have attempted a couple myself, I guarantee you, they're worth agreeing to accept!

23. Ipsy

Last, however unquestionably not minimum, Ipsy sends supporters 4-5 top of the line magnificence tests in a collectible glitz sack for just $10 per month, shipping notwithstanding. By and large, the retail estimation of the combination is around $50 and each pack is custom-made to you.

Healthy food box subscriptions business is more profitable business idea which you can start in your home town with little investment. To learn more about healthy food box subscriptions visit Business Guide Blog.

[aion-rsa]

15 Rarest and Most Valuable SNES Games

https://ift.tt/3kxqzMv

While many of those who grew up with the Super Nintendo (arguably Nintendo’s greatest console) wouldn’t trade their memories of it away for anything, the 30 years since the console’s North American release have made it clear that the value of its incredible library of games goes well beyond nostalgia.

At a time when the market for collectible video games is going through an unbelievable boom period, retro gamers everywhere are taking mental and physical inventory of their classic game collections in the hopes (or horror) of discovering that one of the games they owned is secretly worth a fortune. At the risk of disappointing some, though, it turns out that many of the SNES’ most valuable games are only valuable because so few people owned them.

Yet, in the case of the SNES, we start to see the emergence of a few titles that may be considered all-time classics now but are actually somewhat rare and quite valuable simply because relatively fewer people gave them a chance at the time. Maybe there are some downsides to having one of the most diverse and incredible video game libraries in the history of the industry…

Before we dive into the list, though, here are a few points to consider regarding the selection process:

This list primarily focuses on genuinely rare titles rather than pristine versions of common titles that are prized solely for their condition. 

There are many SNES games that sell for the same basic prices, so consider this a sampling of the most desirable and rare SNES games on the market in various price ranges. 

The two numbers next to each game represent their “loose” price (meaning “cartridge only” in pretty much any condition) and the highest price they currently sell for if they are in pristine condition.

15. Chrono Trigger – $200 to $1,300

This certainly isn’t the rarest or most valuable SNES game in the world (clearly), but what makes this game’s relatively high market value so fascinating is that much of its current value can be attributed to the fact that it’s arguably the greatest RPG ever made. 

Chrono Trigger’s price has only gone up over the years as more people become aware of this RPG’s timeless quality. While fairly recent digital re-releases have reduced its market value somewhat, you’re still going to have to pay hundreds of dollars to get a boxed copy of this undeniable classic. 

14. Mega Man X3 – $300 to $1,100

While this game’s initially surprising status as one of the rarest and most valuable SNES games can partially be attributed to the sustained popularity of the Mega Man franchise over the years, it turns out that this is actually just a genuinely rare cartridge. 

See, Mega Man X3 utilized a special in-cartridge Cx4 graphics chip that made it much more visually impressive than many of the other games of its era but also reportedly made it more expensive/difficult to produce. While it’s true that X2 utilized similar technology, X3’s late release date (December 1995) is likely part of the reason why relatively few people owned it compared to previous franchise entries. 

13. Earthbound – $350 to $3,500

I highly recommend reading the full story of Earthbound’s bizarre release and subsequent rarity, but the gist of it is that this game was poorly promoted, expensive, and downright weird. Not a lot of people actually owned it, and fewer people still bothered to preserve their copy of it during the many years that Earthbound was denied the recognition it deserved.

Put it all together, and you’ve got one of the most coveted SNES games among collectors. While you can occasionally find a good deal on a “loose” copy in decent condition, don’t even think of trying to snag a “big box” copy of this one unless you’re willing to spend nearly $1,000.

12. Castlevania: Dracula X – $350 to $1,900

This is kind of a weird title so far as rare retro games go. While Castlevania: Dracula X appeared to be widely available to anyone who wanted it, the issue seems to have been that not many people wanted to buy this game. Some reports suggest that Dracula X sold less than 100,000 copies, which makes it one of the worst-selling Castlevania games ever.

However, as the Castlevania franchise grew in popularity and people more people came to appreciate Dracula X’s brand of maddeningly difficult retro gameplay, prices for these cartridges rose appropriately. 

11. Harvest Moon – $400 to $1,800

I remember reading about Harvest Moon in Nintendo Power and spending the next several months trying to find a copy of the game. I never did, and it seems a lot of other people never did either. A combination of low initial demand and eventual production shortages meant that Harvest Moon didn’t even find its way into the hands of those who actively looked for it. 

Years later, the growing popularity of this franchise and the many titles it helped inspire (most notably Stardew Valley) made Harvest Moon a true collector’s item. 

10. Rendering Ranger R2 – $600 to $4,000

If you’re anything like me, you’ve probably never heard of this SNES game until roughly this very moment. Well, it turns out there are a couple of very good reasons why this game lingered in obscurity for many years. Not only was it a Japan-only release, but some reports suggest that as few as 10,000 copies of this game were ever in circulation.

While that’s enough to make copies of Rendering Ranger R2 incredibly valuable, it doesn’t hurt that it also turns out that its strange blend of R-Type and Contra gameplay makes it one of the best SNES action games you’ve (obviously) probably never played. 

9. Batman Forever (Woolworth’s Box Set) – $600 to $4,200

I’m not sure why you would ever want to own Batman Forever for the SNES (even though I once did), but if you were a fan of the film and lived in the PAL region, then there’s a small chance you might have snagged a very special copy of this game from Woolworth’s that came with a VHS tape, stickers, diary, and an admittedly amazing box. 

If you were one of the few who bought the special edition of this game from Woolworth’s, then I hope you’ve held on to it over the years. It wasn’t until recently that copies of this game sold for less than $1,000, though it seems you might be able to theoretically grab one for closer to $600. 

8. Aero Fighters – $950 to $1,500

This is another strange case of an SNES game that’s actually very, very good but was so obscure and underproduced at the time of its release that few people ever even had the chance to buy and play it. 

Honestly, it seems like you might not even be able to get a loose copy of this game for less than $1,000 these days. While I wouldn’t advise going quite that far to play this largely underrated SNES game, it is another fascinating case of a game that probably deserved more love that’s certainly getting it now from video game collectors. 

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7. Hagane: The Final Conflict – $1,000 to $2,000

Hagane remains a bit of a mystery among many video game collectors. While some say that this action title was only ever available via Blockbusters, others claim that it was actually sold elsewhere in incredibly small quantities. 

Whatever the case, I can confidently say that this genuinely rare SNES title has certainly retained its value over the years. It certainly doesn’t hurt that it’s actually one of the most underrated action games of its era. 

6. MACS Multipurpose Arcade Combat Simulator – $1,350 to $3,500

So, it turns out that the U.S. Army once developed a game (no, not that one) designed to help train soldiers shoot an M16. Strangely, they decided to make the game playable on the Super Nintendo and even designed a gun accessory that looked and felt like an M16 (and even weighed about the same), but was based on the same technology that powered the NES Zapper. 

I’m not sure how effective that training technique actually was, but I can tell you that one of the very few copies of this game that were ever actually produced typically sells for well over $1,000. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to find out who approved and developed this game and how many of those military-grade SNES consoles were just used to play Mario Kart. 

5. Exertainment Mountain Bike Rally/Speed Racer – $1,350 to $4,000

Many of the games made exclusively for failed or generally unpopular accessories tend to be “rare,” but few tie-in games from this era are nearly as valuable as this double-feature exercise game bundle designed to work with Life Fitness bikes. 

While both of the games in this package are individually valuable, it’s the full bundle that commands absurd prices. Some people say that this game was never actually released via traditional retail outlets, but what we know for sure is that you’re going to have to pay a lot to buy a copy of it now.

4. Star Fox Super Weekened Cartridge – $1,400 to $2,200

In the ‘90s, Nintendo and Blockbuster joined forces to host a series of gaming tournaments and competitions. For the purposes of these events, Blockbuster rolled out a series of special SNES cartridges that usually featured special labels that reflected their association with the event. Some were eventually given to winners, some were given away by Nintendo Power, and some found their way into the homes of Blockbuster employees. 

The Star Fox Super Weekend cartridge isn’t the most valuable of its kind (more on that in a bit), but it is a genuinely rare game that commands incredibly high prices on the reseller market. It sounds like the only reason this one isn’t even more valuable is that Blockbuster/Nintendo never produced retail packaging for the special cartridge. However, that wasn’t always the case with these games…

3. Donkey Kong Country Competition Cartridge – $2,100 to $5,000

Much like the Star Fox cartridge, this special edition of Donkey Kong Country was used exclusively for Blockbuster competitions. However, it’s believed that even fewer copies of this game were ever produced, and, more importantly, Blockbuster and Nintendo made a special clamshell case for this game that is even rarer than the cartridge itself. 

So while this cartridge is valuable on its own in pretty much any condition, the real prize is finding a copy of the game that’s still in that clamshell case. It’s not known how many authentic copies of this game are still in their original cases, but we may be talking about just a handful of genuine articles.

2. Nintendo Campus Challenge 1992 – $4,000 to $10,000

Yes, just as they did for the NES, Nintendo once held a series of Super Nintendo-based gaming competitions across various U.S. colleges. They also once again created a special series of cartridges for the purposes of these competitions which contained modified versions of popular SNES games (Super Mario World, F-Zero, and Pilotwings). Those cartridges were supposed to be destroyed after the competition. 

However, it’s believed that at least three of the cartridges survived the hardware purge. This is one of those cases where the value of the game is probably being undersold for the simple fact that the few current owners haven’t decided to part with their copies in recent years, but this is undoubtedly one of the most valuable SNES cartridges in existence. 

1. Nintendo Powerfest 1994 – $18,000 to ?

In 1994, Nintendo decided to host a special event called Powerfest that was essentially the SNES version of the old Nintendo World Championships. Just as they did with that event (and for the Campus Challenges), Nintendo designed a special cartridge designed to run “competition” versions of Super Mario Kart, Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, and, strangely, Ken Griffey Jr. Presents Major League Baseball. Only about 30 of those cartridges were ever made, and the cartridge itself is more of a tech prototype than a “retail” SNES cartridge. 

Powerfest 1994 couldn’t quite replicate the success of the Nintendo World Championships, and the special cartridge used for Powerfest was considered to be less valuable at the time largely didn’t look as cool as that amazing Nintendo World Championship cartridge. Interestingly, the Powerfest cartridge is generally still considered to be less valuable than its NES equivalent, though it’s obviously still worth a ton of money. 

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This is another one of those cases where it’s difficult to say just how valuable this “cartridge” really is because the game is so incredibly rare. It’s believed that there are only two left in the world, but their owners have had a tough time selling them in the past. Given shifts in this market, though, it’s honestly not unreasonable to suspect that they could attract a six-figure price.

The post 15 Rarest and Most Valuable SNES Games appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[tyrustrash]

Summary of chapters 1-8: TK comes from an abusive home and struggles opening up to his roommates, Leon and Layla. He thinks Leon will be the typical straight guy he had to deal with in high school, but TK eventually comes out when he is proven wrong. During a Zumba class with Layla, TK learns to try new things because he’ll never know what he’ll enjoy. Along the way in his college experience, he meets Orion, Ricky, and Kyle, a group of friends that seem odd. After Orion and Ricky have a huge fight during Greek Week on campus, Orion moves into TK’s dorm to avoid sharing a room with Ricky. When the roommates get high, TK starts showing his feelings for Orion and the others pick up on his crush. TK learns that Orion was responsible for the car accident that gave Kyle severe brain damage. During their time together, TK starts thinking about his crush on him but doesn’t want to do anything about it because Orion is straight, and he just recently broke up with his girlfriend. He decides to step out of his comfort zone to impress Orion by getting a tattoo. Other information that might be useful: Regina and Kyle are dating, Layla and Regina are mortal enemies, TK is out to only Leon, Layla, and Orion.

 9. Dark Angel

           My first Halloween experience is something that I’m not prepared for. Growing up, my family never allowed me or Brighton to celebrate it because father didn’t want us to have any fun, or that it’s a Devil’s holiday, or whatever excuse he gave. To make up for it, Brighton would buy the two of us bags of candy and we would watch the Disney Channel Halloween movies because I was too young to watch the actual scary movies.

           We’re at this rich kid’s mansion and it’s already a mess. The night is dark with only the laser beams lighting up the outside. The music seems to be on a shuffle of the worst dance music, which probably doesn’t matter because most people will be focused on getting drunk or laid. There are piles of plastic cups and beer cans in the yard. There’s a girl being carried out by her friends because she’s passed out from drinking too much.

When we enter the house, there are more lights thanks to the disco balls and strobe lights. I notice that everyone from the campus is here, even Bubbles, who is dressed like Taylor Swift. I notice Ricky, in a terrible mafia boss outfit, trying to get girls. The only person I don’t see is Kyle, which is understandable. Orion can’t be here because he says he has assignments to do.

I turn to Leon and Layla and admire their costumes. Leon is in a skin-tight black latex catsuit, which includes a tail and a pair of cat ears. The suit fits him so well that it outlines all his features, including the parts of the lower half of his body. Layla is dressed as Harley Quinn from the Suicide Squad movie with the bat as a prop. She’s been using the bat as a dancing partner, which makes the others watch out.

My costume is an elegant white suit that has sparkles of glitter that shimmers when light hits it. I have a pair of angel wings attached to the jacket. The wings are made of the realistic prop feathers from the theatre department that are attached to plastic wiring. I’m also wearing a mask identical to the one Hilary Duff wears in A Cinderella Story, one of my favorite movies.

I walk around a bit before heading into the kitchen to get something to drink. Different brands of beer are covering the island and none of them seem good. I don’t care for the taste of beer and would rather enjoy a Seagram. I open the fridge and I’m not surprised to see that it’s mostly vodka and tequila.

“Looking for something?”

I turn around and see a guy wearing a black version of my costume. His entire suit looks like it’s made of the most expensive silk. It’s plain, yet charming. His wings appear to be a mix of angel and crow. His mask screams nothing but satisfaction from a BDSM night of fun. His slick back hair finishes the costume as a nice touch.

I shut the fridge and lean against the nearby counter. He has this aura that pulls me in. I can’t describe it, but I know I don’t have anything to worry about because I’m too busy swooning over him. I kind of think he’s sexy, even though a good bit of his face is covered.

“Just for something better to drink. I don’t like beer, or any hard stuff.”

“There’s wine in the top right cupboard, next to the oven.”

I open the cupboard and there’s an arrangement of different kinds of wine. My fingers graze the labels trying to find the right one, even though I’ve never had wine. I choose one of the last ones and show it to him.

“Is Pink Moscato any good?”

“How about we find out.” His voice and charisma are so striking that I can’t believe I’m about to drink with him. He grabs two wine glasses from under the island and takes the bottle and pours.

“Is that enough?” I ask while looking at my nearly full glass. I take it from him, along with grabbing the bottle, and go back to the counter and lean against it. “Don’t you think it’s too much?”

“You seem like you can handle it. Besides, it’s wine. You’ll need a lot to feel a buzz.”

I spin the glass a little before raising it to my lips. I hesitate for a second but start drinking when he gives me a comfortable head nod. It tastes semi-sweet as it goes down easily. I can’t stop drinking. I pick up the bottle and pour me some more.

“Woah,” he says while laughing. “Slow down, tiger.”

“I’m an angel,” I say childishly with a smirk.

“Sure as hell ain’t acting like one.”

He smiles as he comes towards me. The way he walks exudes swagger. His hips swerve in a motion that get me hypnotized and thinking what else he can do with his hips. He adjusts the cuffs of his jacket and I can only imagine what else he can do with his hands. When he gets barely inches away from me, I don’t know what’s going to happen. However, I do know that I want him to be closer.

He presses his chest on mine as he reaches over me to grab another bottle. I’m pleasured by taking in the scent of his Eternity by Calvin Klein cologne. He has taste, but I’ll forever prefer the American Eagle fragrances. His shirt lifts when he reaches, allowing me to see the waistband and some of his American Eagle Pride boxer briefs. My God. He just got even more attractive.

A guy in his underwear has always been my biggest turn on, but I never got this turned on, or turned on at all because I’ve never experienced anything other than when I was fourteen, and that’s still a confusing time. The closest that I’ve been was watching all the videos that I found online. Seeing that it’s Pride themed gives me reassurance. Everything about this sends blood rushing through my body.

My hand starts shaking and I accidentally grab his shirt and pull it down to cover up his underwear. I gasp when I realize what I did. “I’m sorry. I don’t know why I did that.”

“It’s alright,” he tells me as he slightly backs up, a new bottle of Pink Moscato in hand. “You can do whatever you want. It’s a party after all.”

I smirk. “But I barely know you. Hell, I just met you.”

“We can get to know each other.” He bites on his bottom lip and it’s enough to make me quiver. “There’s a room in the back that we can go to for some privacy. Only if you’re comfortable with that.”

I don’t know what’s coming over me. Maybe it’s the wine already taking its effect. Maybe it’s the thrill of our identities being a mystery that’s making this more exciting. But I take the risk of being bolder than I have ever been. Remembering Layla’s advice, I take the chance to venture out and do something that I have never done. I hope this plays out well.

I nod and say, “Only if we take things slow.”

He softly smiles as he grabs the first bottle and heads out. I follow him after chugging the rest of what is in the glass. When we go through the main room where people are, I glimpse at Leon and Layla on the dance floor. They see me going to the back with the guy and they both give different reactions. Leon gives me an approving thumbs up while Layla seems concerned.

The guy and I enter a dark room in the back of the mansion. He turns on the lights, which doesn’t help much given that the only light source are the rainbow LED lights scattered across the walls. For some reason there’s a pool table with a fish tank on top. There are some expensive looking fish swimming around. The only other thing in the room are assorted bean bag chairs arranged in a circle in a corner with what seems to be a box full of products pertaining to weed. I assume this room is used for nothing but a good time.

I go on one side of the pool table and rub my fingers across the velvet. The softness feels nice. I reach the fish tank and bend down to get a closer look. I see a little clownfish swimming around. I try waving to it, but it swims off. Looking forward, I see the guy on the other side looking straight at me. He smirks.

“You like fish, don’t you?” he asks while straightening up.

“I like a lot of things.” I walk to the edge of the pool table as he makes his way to the diagonal edge. I keep my expression and voice as seductive as I can be, which isn’t great, but I can tell he’s liking this. “I like exploring my interests.”

“How about we explore something together?” His voice is a little shaky. “We can possibly try something new.”

“What do you have in mind?”

I make my way over to him, strutting and making sure to use my hips. He bites his lip and some beads of sweat start forming on his forehead. I place my hand on his shoulder and I slowly make my way down his arm until I reach his hand. I hear a slightly audible moan that sounds so adorable. I then snatch the open bottle of wine from his hand and start drinking.

           I don’t know if it’s the wine, excitement, secrecy, or a combination of it all, but I’m in ecstasy right now and I don’t want it to stop. A mysterious man is making me feel wanted. Finally, a chance at a relationship if this goes somewhere. The only thing I’m worried about is messing it up by doing the wrong thing. That’s a later problem. Right now, I’m wanting to see how far I’m willing to go because I don’t know if I’ll ever see him again.

           He places the new bottle of wine on the pool table. “What do you want to do? I’m open for anything.”

           “Let’s just talk for a moment.” Even though I do like the idea of doing things with him, I’d rather know more about him. “First question. Why did you bring me to this room?”

           “I’ve been to a few parties here and this is typically one of the least used rooms because it doesn’t have a bed.”

           “So you don’t want to take me to bed?”

“I do!” he quickly shouts. I give a sarcastic expression and he reassembles his thoughts. “I mean, I do, but only if you want to. I figured you wanted to privately talk first.”

“I do want to talk.” I rub my fingers on part of his wings and appreciate the feeling of it. “Let’s talk about your wings for a second. They’re so big. Definitely bigger than mine. I was embarrassed to go with these because I thought they wouldn’t be big enough.”

“Size doesn’t matter to me,” he says in a reassuring voice. “It’s all about how they’re used.”

“The bigger the better they say,” I say teasingly. “I bet when you fly you soar long and forcefully.”

“I can slow down if I’m with somebody. Gotta make sure we’re on the same pace.”

“You might have to teach me how to fly, I’m still learning.”

“That can be arranged.” He takes a hand and caresses the side of my face. He places the other on my back. He pulls me in closer and says, “What do you want to do?”

I lean over to his ear and whisper, “Let’s talk some more.”

“How exciting.”

I walk back to the back edge of the pool table and drink some more. He smiles harder and straightens his jacket. I check him out a little more and my mouth drops when I see something. “Looks like you’re really excited.”

He looks down and notices the big tent in his pants. He chuckles. “Yeah, I am. It’s because of you.”

“How sweet. You’re not going to try hiding it in embarrassment?”

“There’s nothing to be embarrassed about. It’s just the two of us and you already noticed.”

“Moving on,” I say while wanting to change the subject. I know if we continue like this, I might do something I’ll regret. “What really made you come on to me? Like, half my face is covered, and I know we’ve never met before because I never go out.”

“Probably the same reason you agreed to come here with me. You have this aura about you that wants to make me get to know you more. Your smile is beautiful, along with your bright blue eyes that are like orbs of the ocean.”

“Poetic. Must be an English major.”

“Nah, just really cheesy.”

“I like cheese. It goes great with wine.” We laugh as I drink more.

“And I like your sense of humor.”

“Please. I’m awkward in these types of situations and I just say shit.”

“Why are you awkward?” he asks in a sincere tone. “Are you afraid?”

I chug the rest of the bottle and toss it to the side. The emotions from my past start coming back. All this wine in me isn’t helping to keep my emotions stable.

“Not of you, well, for the most part I’m not,” I say without looking at him. I turn my head to the side to keep him from seeing me getting emotional. “But it’s just that I’ve never had people care about me. I mean, I had one person, but it took me too long to realize it because of the mistreatment I received growing up. I’ve been outcasted, bullied, and I have no social skills. I’ve never had anyone show romantic interest in me and I don’t know what to do. I’m just trying to do what I see in movies in hopes of it working. I’m afraid I’m going to mess this up somehow and that you’ll end up hurting me.”

He rushes over to me and takes both my hands and looks me in the eyes. “I will never hurt you. I’m not that type of person.”

“You may not get the chance to since I doubt that we’ll meet again. Unless you’re willing to show me who you are.”

The silence in the room allows me to hear the fish swimming in their tank. He looks conflicted as he scratches the back of his head. I don’t know why I brought that up. I’m more than likely not going to reveal myself.

“I would love to,” he says, “but I prefer to keep the secrecy for now. I’ve been going through some stuff lately. I’ve been having fun, I have. I don’t want this to end. But I promise we’ll meet again.”

“How?”

“I know that the people over at student life are planning a huge party later in the semester. How about we show up in costumes to it. I’m sure I’ll be ready by then.”

I smile. “Sounds like a plan. So, what now?”

“I heard that the fireworks will be going off in a few minutes.”

“Fireworks? For a Halloween party?”

“The host is rich, they don’t care.”

“Makes sense.”

“Meet me on the balcony in five minutes.”

We make our way out of the room, but I make sure to take the new bottle of wine, open it, and start drinking. He takes the bottle from me and takes a sip. I tilt the bottle, resulting in some dripping down his chin and onto his outfit. I laugh as he tosses some of the wine at me and I get wet. He runs away while laughing as I meet up with Leon and Layla.

Layla comes to me and seems worried. “Are you alright? Did he do anything to you?”

“Yeah, he’s alright,” Leon says. “He looks like he enjoyed himself.”

“Oh, I did,” I tell them with the biggest smile on my face. “It was refreshing.”

“Nice. Let me know if you need the room later.”

Layla slaps his chest. “Leon, something could’ve happened.”

“And it seems like something did.”

“Guys,” I say. They stop and look at me. “Nothing like that happened. All we did was talk and it was great. I’m fine. He was a great conversation partner.”

“I’m glad you’re okay and enjoying yourself,” Layla says as she prepares to go back on the dance floor. She swings her bat around for a second. “But let me know if you need my help with anything.”

Leon places a hand on my shoulder. “Good for you for meeting someone. I’m proud of you.”

“Thanks.” I make my way upstairs. “I’m going to the balcony to watch the fireworks. See you guys afterwards so we can go back to the dorm.”

Ten minutes go by and I start to think if I’m being stood up. I’m afraid to leave because if I leave and he comes then he’ll think the same. The night breeze chills my face and all I want is to feel the warmth of his arms around my waist, his breath running down my neck.

As I’m thinking about him, I hear the door open. A person stands next to me and I know it’s him. I want to hug him, but don’t want to risk someone seeing. We don’t look at each other, we just keep staring forward as the fireworks begin.

“You know,” I start saying, “tonight has been the most fun that I’ve had ever.”

“Really?” he asks as if I’m lying. “It can’t be. You seem to be the type to have tons of fun times.”

“I wish that were the case, but my childhood was rough. My parents, mainly my father, wouldn’t let me do anything. And since I started college, I haven’t really had that many experiences.”

“Well, I’m glad I was able to make you have fun. I wish I could do more.”

“Me too,” I sigh. I know how hard it is to figure things out, so I don’t want to make him feel like we have to rush things. “And we will have more fun later. Right now, let’s just enjoy the moment.”

We watch the fireworks as they go off in sets of bright colors. From red, to blue, to even multicolored explosions. The spectacular is amazing. This is my first time seeing fireworks in real life since father never allowed us to have them.

In the corner of my eye, I see his hand slowly making its way across the railing and coming towards me. It’s like he’s hesitant, not wanting to do something big in case someone sees. I return the action and I start moving mine. My hand starts shaking as our fingers touch. There’s a spark of electricity running through my veins and I hope he feels it in him too.

He places his hand on top of mine and holds it. At this moment, I feel like I’m in heaven. Holding a boy’s hand in public has always seemed so far out of reach for me. I start thinking about where this could lead us. We could eventually hold hands out of costume, then start a relationship, then kiss, then hopefully move on to more exciting moments.

I’m getting too far ahead of myself. Not even an hour of knowing this guy and I’m having these thoughts. I wonder if Leon thinks like this whenever he meets a new girl, or if it’s just me since I don’t know what it’s like.

His hand is soft and secure. I want to stay like this the whole night, but it’s cut short when we hear someone stomping towards us. We quickly retract our hands and hope the person doesn’t notice.

Regina soon steps between us. She’s dressed like Regina George from Mean Girls. How fitting. She reeks of alcohol and she appears a little tipsy. She has a plastic cup in her hand that’s half empty. She gives me a nasty stare before acting thirsty for the guy. She uses her free hand to rub his arm.

“Hey, handsome,” she says. “Angels are supposed to be pure, but how about we get a little dirty.”

He huffs. He’s annoyed by her and tries stepping back. “You have a boyfriend, Regina.”

“Please, Kyle’s so stupid that he’ll just think I was having a playdate if he finds out.” She doesn’t care about him at all, so it questions me why she’s still with him.

“Don’t call him that,” he angrily says. He’s hot when he’s passionately angry. “Besides, I would never want to do anything with you.”

“Don’t say that.” She reaches out and grabs his arm, squeezing his muscles. “I can give you things no other girl can.”

“No means no,” he says sternly. “Like I said, I don’t want to do anything with you. You’re not my type.”

She gasps as if it’s surprising a guy wouldn’t want to do her. “You come to my party and refuse me. You’re a bad guest.”

“And you’re a bad girlfriend. And a bad person.”

“How dare you say that to me.”

“How dare you think that I’m interested in you. How dare you continue stringing along Kyle making him think that you’re innocent. You’re nothing but a selfish bitch who doesn’t care about who you hurt as long as you get what you want.”

He storms off. Regina is left with me with her mouth hanging so low that her jaw could snap off. She then looks at me as if she’s considering lowering her standards. I don’t say anything to her, I just walk off.

When I go back inside the mansion, I don’t see the guy anywhere. I go check the room we were in and it’s the way we left it. I return to the main room and meet up with Leon and Layla. They see my worried expression and stop dancing.

“What’s wrong?” Layla asks.

“I’m sorry,” I say. “Can we go back now?”

“Don’t apologize,” Leon tells me. “It’s okay. We can leave if that’s what you want.”

I nod and we go to Layla’s car. On the drive back, all I can think about is why the guy got so intense with Regina. Do they know each other? They must if he said all that to her with such passion. Now I’m thinking if he’s okay and where he went. I hope he’s safe.

We enter our dorm with bags of Taco Bell that we picked up. Orion is sitting on the living room floor with his laptop on the table. His hair is wet, presumably he just got out of the shower. Leon tosses him a bag of burritos.

I take off my jacket with my wings and I remove my mask to throw them into my room. I plop on the couch and grab a burrito from the bag. I take a bite as I look at what Orion is doing. He has his email up and is writing something to Sora.

“What’ve you been doing tonight?” Layla asks.

“Mainly getting work done,” he quickly responds as if he’s ready to be asked. “Now I’m trying to figure out what I want to say to Sora, but I can’t think of the right words.”

“It’ll come to you,” Leon says as he begins taking off his costume. He brings the top part down to just below his waist. “Girls are complicated, that’s why I like to keep things simple.”

“Says the guy who’ll drop to his knees just for an ounce of attention from a girl and won’t stop crying until she notices you” Layla jokingly comments as she goes to her room.

Leon goes to our room and I remain on the couch next to Orion. He looks at me and shuts his laptop. “You had fun?”

“A blast,” I tell him. “Best night of my life.”

“Glad to hear. By the way, why did you go with the angel costume?”

“I was living my Violetta fantasy,” I say in slight embarrassment.

“What’s that?”

“Violetta is a Disney Channel show. It’s from Argentina, so you probably never heard of it. The main character dressed up as an angel and I wanted to resemble her because it’s one of my favorite shows.”

“Cool. How come you’ve never mentioned it before?”

I shrug my shoulders. “I always thought it was something to be embarrassed about. I always had to keep it hidden when I was at home because I knew my father wouldn’t approve of me watching a show in Spanish.”

“Well, you don’t have to be embarrassed about anything with us. We won’t judge you.”

“Thanks. Then I can tell you that I met this guy at the party. Now I’m really happy that I decided to dress up as the angel because the guy dressed up as a black angel. I think it’s a sign.”

“What happened between you two?”

“We just talked, but he made me feel special. We kinda flirted a bit, and I got turned on a little. He just knew how to draw me in and make me feel desired. Now I know what Leon must feel like with Stephanie, or what you had with Sora. Oh, sorry.”

“Nah, it’s fine,” he says as though it isn’t fine. “I need to learn to move on.”

“I hope you get the chance to. Even though I don’t know what it must feel like, I can listen anytime you want to talk. But I might not be the right person since, you know, I’m gay and all that.”

We chuckle a little as we eat our burritos. Orion scoots a little closer to me. He seems nervous to say something. He shakes his head as though he doesn’t want to say what’s on his mind. He doesn’t look at me as he says, “I have a question, and I don’t mean to sound offensive. I’m just curious.”

“What is it?” I ask while gaining concern for my friend.

“What’s it like being gay?”

That shakes up my brain. “What do you mean?”

“Like, when did you know you were gay?  What are the feelings?”

I shrug because I really don’t know. I never had to think about this. “I knew I was gay in the eighth grade, but I guess it’s the same feelings that you have for girls. It just so happened my feelings were with boys.”

“Were you ever confused?”

“Not really. Up until then, I never had any sort of feelings for anyone. It wasn’t until the end of middle school where it just clicked and my brain told me I was feeling things for a boy in my class. I did question why I had feelings for boys, but I never was confused. I just knew I liked them.”

“Ok, thanks.” He finishes up the burrito and grabs another.

“Why do you ask? I don’t mind answering, but is there a reason?” 

He shakes his head. “It’s just that I never knew any gay people before and I wanted to know more about them and what it’s like for them. There weren’t really any gay people back in my high school. There was one, but the moment he told people he was severely beaten up and sent to the hospital. He ended up being homeschooled for the rest of high school. When I heard the news that he was gay, I wanted to talk to him to ask why he was gay, just because I only knew what the media told me and I wanted the perspective of an actual gay person.”

“Well, you have me. I don’t mind answering any questions.”

“Thanks, man. I got one more question. Am I a bad person?”

“What? What makes you say that?”

“That gay guy in high school. When he was getting beat up, I just stood there and watched. I was afraid of stepping up because I thought people would think I was like him and then turn on me. I would’ve said or done something, I swear, but I was too scared. I felt like I had to choose a side: do the right thing or stick with my pack. I didn’t feel like I could do both. Does what I did in high school make me a bad person?”

I place a hand on his shoulder. “No, it doesn’t. I’m sure we all did things in high school we regret. What we did in high school doesn’t define who we are. It’s what we do as adults that matter.”

“Thanks for that.”

“No problem. Anything else on your mind?”

“Nah,” he says while shaking his head. “Everything else that’s on my mind I have to figure out myself.”

“Okay.” I grab the remote. “How about we watch TV to clear our minds.”

“Sounds perfect, but I pick what we watch.”

He takes the remote from my hand and pulls up YouTube. He quickly searches for Violetta videos and I get excited at the idea of him possibly liking something else that I like. He clicks the first video, which is one of the performances of “Underneath It All”, one of my favorite songs. It’s the performance where Violetta is singing as an apology to her boyfriend in hopes of him forgiving her.

Next, he chooses “Habla Si Puedes”, the one where it’s like a music video where Violetta is stuck between choosing two lovers and doesn’t know what to do. Orion knows how to get me in my feelings because these two songs are what I listen to the most as they’re what I imagine a future love interest of mine singing to me. I even want “Underneath It All” to be played at my wedding.

We end the night by putting on a playlist of the performances from the show as I explain the plot to him. Without realizing it, I get a blanket and cover us up as we settle for bed. I’m too tired to walk over to my room and I’m sure he won’t mind sharing the couch.

[kelmcdonald]

What went into last year's website change

New Post has been published on http://sorcery101.net/news/what-went-into-last-years-website-change/

What went into last year's website change

So last year I redesigned my website. I’d like to take you through the process of what I was thinking.

If you don’t remember what the old site looked like here are some old screen caps.

and

NOTES BEFORE GOING IN

The first step to the redesign was making a list of what I thought were problems with the old design. Here’s what I wrote down:

The navigation image was confusing people/not instantly  intuitive. It made it hard for people to get to parts of the site they didn’t always check like the store or to older comics. I tried giving it a small tweak about a year ago but over all the image nav wasn’t obvious enough. And clarity it key with these things.

The visual hierarchy wasn’t clear enough. With websites you want whatever is most important to be the biggest thing. So the image nav was too big and detracted from people paying attention to comics and new posts and really everything.

It wasn’t instantly clear which comics were updating or when. I had regular posts about when stuff did update but nothing that was instant. But there was no where to clearly show what was going on right now.

I am doing a lot of new stuff and it was hard to make space for it all. I had new comics, work for hire gigs, writer notes, podcasting, added a patreon, and planned to do more. With every new thing there was no clear place to put it, so it got slapped into that  sidebar with a tower ad. I wanted clear space for it.

The comic shelf was overly complicated and I had too much stuff. I like the visual of the comic shelf and displaying all my work. People rightfully complained that it had too many clicks to get to new comics. It was also hard to show which stories were connected. And if you clicked one of the finished comics at the bottom, you would have to scroll back up to the square to see what it was about.

Box ads (aka the 250 by 300 ads) are full of malware and autoplaying noise ads. More so that leaderboard and tower ad.

The please turn off adblocker message breaks which shows up when you come to my site with ad blocker was breaking the site.

Save my place marker which was under each comic page as you read it only worked on one comic at a time.

Then I wrote down my goals going into the new site design that you are currently looking at. They were:

I wanted a look that didn’t read as default webcomic site. One thing I’m not crazy about is there are a lot of webcomic sites that look the same. Comicpress and tumblr made it easier to get comics online, but it also made a lot of sites look very similar. That was something I always tried to fight against.

I needed a site that can handle multiple comics and make it easy for someone to read and find them all. I’ve always had more than one comic. Sure the first few were Sorcery 101 spin offs, but I always have wanted to do more. I quickly realized that getting a new domian name for a comic that will only end up 100 pages or so is too much work for something only running for a year.

Improve the comic shelf. I like the visual idea of the comic shelf so I didn’t want to scrap it completely.

Have the updating comic clearly marked.

Have the store be easy to find and mix my own ads into the general ads.

Get more people to pay attention to my Patreon since that will lead to getting rid of ads, which are always ugly.

Give the blog section easier navigation so someone can track down old posts.

Con appearances need to be immediately clear.

As I get more press from the print side of comics I needed a place to put those, a bio, and a headshot. I didn’t 100% need them on the site, but I thought having a press page would make it easier for someone to grab that info on their own.

I wanted the place where people read comics to be spars as possible so nothing would retract from reading the comic. I know folks like to comment on the page directly, BUT all I think comments really only add to discussion of a current page. If someone is marathon the comic I want them to focus on the comic.

No comic on the front page. I know this is unpopular in the land of reading webcomics, but I found that going this route leads to people not paying attention to the rest of the site. So comics that are finished end up ignored.

Make it clear which comics are connected. When Dracula Mystery Club started a few people thought it was the Sorcery 101 world, not a huge issue cause it didn’t get far. But this is more of a problem for with Fame and Misfortune and would be for future The City Between stories because they are close in tone and genre to Sorcery 101.

Branding is focused on me as an artist rather Sorcery 101. I’ve been slowly making this move I’ve been slowly making since Misfits of Avalon started and I knew Sorcery 101 would be wrapping up. With Sorcery 101 done, I visually wanted to make it completely clear. That only thing left in this is move is changing from sorcery101.net to kelmcdonald.com. But that is getting saved for when I don’t need ads companies to have approved my domain. Some of those are hard to get on to. 

Portfolio section just needs to look prettier.

Building the Site

So Kevin Wilson did the nuts and bolts of designing and building the site. After I went over the problems and goals with the site we also talked about websites I liked.

So first I told Kevin the colors I like and use for my branding. The blue, white, and black. He lightened the blue a little to make black text pop on it better after doing a few color blind tests (aka usability for people who are color blind). He then sent me a few fonts that he think for work. After those very basic things were decided, he moved forward.

He sent me two mock ups of the pages were the comic appears since that is the simplest page. For the wallpaper and Patreon button, he originally used Sorcery 101 art, but since that is no longer updating I told him to use art from Misfits of Avalon and Fame and Misfortune. I wrote my name a new times to give the site a nice header.

For the big this is currently updating picture, we briefly talked about using a slider, but apparently research shows that most people never make it past the 2nd slide. So a static image worked for now. The patreon ad being immediately to the right of that giant image makes it hard to ignore and all the social media is right there afterward. The sign up for my newsletter bar is also a new addition. So everything to keep someone up to date is right there when it first loads. And the big image would be easy to switch out as new books came out, kickstarters happen, or new comics end up updating.

Kevin, pointed out that my blog posts vary from giant writer notes posts to tiny here is a new page posts. This could result in a HUGE empty space in the sidebar. So small previews on the front page help it be more static and nicer looking.

Because I told Kevin I want my own ads in the mix and the big rectangle ads are a pain to place we decided next to them would be a good place for the personal store add. It would auto-fill with my newest product.

Navagation is pretty standard and resembles what people are used to on other sites. Easy and clear.

The blog itself was easier to design. I was mostly just a matter of adjusting the sidebar to have what I want on it and making it easier to navagate. We tried a tag cloud at first but that looked really ugly. So a list of links just seemed the nicest.

The press page, the portfolio, and various table of contents pages was just a matter of taking the blog page and only messing with the content part.  For the press page that was just a matter of posting some links and trying to get wordpress to make some columns so my headshot wasn’t just standing on it’s own. The portfolio was a matter of switching plugins. The one I was using was clunky, not very pretty, and also didn’t load very fast. The chapter list pages are a little bit of work. I was using a table before but those don’t resign nicely on phones or smaller browsers. Kevin did some custom coding to get the same result but resize nicer.

Then came the hard part, the comic shelf. Like I said I like the visual of the comic shelf but it was a problem to how complicated it was to figure out and how many clicks got you to the comic. After talking it over, the solution because making it look like a book store display, with an info card next to each book. This also solves the how to note which books go together. Each shelf can fit 6 books and two cards. I put Misfits of Avalon and The City Between up top because they were the ones updating at the time of launch. While Sorcery 101 is the longest, since it is done it needs to move aside to give newer comics the spotlight. I also made sure all my print only work is listed at the bottom because they don’t need to be accessed as much as the readable webcomics. They are also listed in the store, so they can be more prominent there rather than here.  To solve the too many clicks button I got an easy read for start button as well as a story list for each group.

Now for reading comics themselves, like I said that is the sparest. I left it to what needs to be there and ads. Which lead to some empty space here and there. So I gave each archive an in site ad to that comic’s book. So Misfits tells you to buy the newest Misfits books, Sorcery 101 tells you to buy Sorcery 101 vol 2, etc etc. Sadly we couldn’t get the save my spot comic marker to work. So it got scraped. Basically what would happen is if you were reading Sorcery 101 and saved a spot and then saved a spot on Misfits, the Sorcery 101 spot saver would be lost.

And all through out the site, I switched the 300 by 250 ads for Project wonderful ads. Those size ads were always the one that sneaks in sound even though I tell it not to and is usually the reason for malware problems. So giving that space to smaller webcomics advertising on Project Wonderful was a better bet.

Then the store is the final bit. I removed all the comixology listing cause there are 50 Sorcery 101 chapters on comixology and they were clutering up the store with something you can’t actually get from my website. So there is now a general Comixology ad to the side. I also put a gumroad ad to the sidebar too because the one thing my store can’t do is pay what you want. That means my dreaden files sketch book and any future art pdf’s I make can’t be in the store proper.

Over all I’m happy with this and it seems to suit the transition I’m making from Sorcery 101 to different work in the future. Even a year later I’m digging it, especially the comic shelf.

[fabulouspatsystone]

Better late than never right? Just a short little something for the @txf-prompt-box first challenge: Flukemen, shape-shifters and alien bounty hunters–these things are easy for Fox Mulder.  Buying tampons?  More of a challenge then he thought.

“Scully, it's me“ „Oh Mulder, I'm glad you called“ Well, that's new...”Why? What did you find?” “Nothing yet, it still looks like Mr. Harrington died from getting his head smashed in” “Ok so what's up doc?” “Are you planning on getting down here anytime soon?” It's late and he may be tired, but is she coming on to him right now? “Uhm yeah, I was gonna finish up some stuff here and then head down to the morgue.” “That's great...” What is happening? “Hey Scully, do you miss me already?” ”No, not particularly” Damn! “Mulder, could you do me a favor?” “Sure what do you need?” “Could you pick up a box of tampons for me?” “Uh yeah, no problem” “What did you want to tell me?” What did he want to tell her? “We'll talk when get there”

Now what? Mulder was staring at shelves full of female hygiene products for at least ten minutes already, none the wiser. She wasn't specific. Why wasn't she anymore specific? Maybe it doesn't matter. No, that can't be right, there are too many options and Scully surely has preferences. Normal sounds good,  no leaning to one direction. A happy medium. What could go wrong? Next decision to make is applicator or digital? That's a tough one...Scully probably wants to avoid unnecessary waste so digital it is?

“Foooox Muldeeer? Of all the dark and scary places on earth, I'd never expected to meet you in the well lit aisle of female hygiene” Of course, of all the stores in Washington at any time of day, he just had to be in exactly this one. Mulder's head already was swirling of tampon boxes and how Scully would verbally rip him a new one if he brought the wrong one and now him! Wayne Federman is grinning like the devil, obviously having the time of his life watching Mulder in his misery. “I didn't know you had a lady friend, I'm gonna have to put that in the movie. A little jealousy slash romantic triangle never hurts. What does she have to say about your very 'close' partnership with Agent Scully?” “Wayne, I'm so not discussing this with you” “Oh don't go all mysterious on me, Mulder. What's the story with tampon girl?” “There is no girl. What are you still doing here anyway?” “No girl? So who are the tampons for?” If there is ever a right time for that famous hole in the ground, this would be it. Mulder puffs audibly. “Oooh” Mulder can see the revelation in his eyes. “They're for Scully and you're completely overwhelmed with the task. Honestly, that is so cute” He hates the way Federman emphasizes her name. “Anyway, I was meeting up with the Skinman to have him sign some documents. You know, disclosure agreements and stuff. I'll call you about my actor choices for your character and you make sure to come to the premiere. And bring Agent Scully!” Finally, that bouncing ball of annoyance turns to leave. “Oh and Fox my boy...” Could this situation get any worse. “...take those. It's the most popular brand. I'll see you next year”

As he enters the examination room, Scully is elbow-deep in Mr. Harrington's intestines. “Mulder, it's weird. It's seems like his stomach slowly started digesting all his other organs. I don't know how...” Mulder puts the box down on the table, she turns around. “Oh thank you. Sorry you had to make a detour.” “It's ok, hope I got the right ones” “Yeah yeah, those are fine” Damn you, Federman. “So, who digested what?”

[upshotre]

ODD NEWS: Chef ditches job to become 'dumpster diver' - and makes £16,000 in six months

A chef who quit her full-time job working in a busy kitchen to spend her days searching through people's old rubbish claims she has made £16,000 in just six months. April Smith, 35, says she has saved £3,250 on food bills and has acquired beauty products and household goodies worth another £16,250, by diving into giant supermarket dumpsters and turning other people's trash into treasure. Although she was nervous to give up work at first, she's now completely hooked and gets withdrawals and anxiety if she skips a day in case she has missed any interesting goodies. She said: "I’m lucky because I live close to a tonne of stores, so I rarely drive more than 10 miles for a dive. "At first, I was really nervous, then I gave it a go, thinking, 'What’s the worst thing that can happen to me?' "I was scared when I went out to do my first dive back in March, but I came home with £812 worth of beauty products, which had been marked down for clearance but not sold, so the store just chucked them out. I was hooked from that very first dive.” While dumpster diving is not illegal in April's home town of Illinois, the authorities do not encourage it but, so far, April has not encountered any problems. She said: "I think some people frown upon it, but I don't think I'm doing any harm and I haven't had any trouble, as I'm always discreet." April, who moved back in with her mum and dad after quitting her job, drives her haul home in a big truck but, to protect her territory, she is secretive about precisely where she dives and when. She said: “I tend to dive in the mornings, between 9.30am and 1pm - although Sunday night is also a good time to go out. Stores do their inventory on a Monday, so they often chuck a load of stuff out on a Sunday night.” Whereas some divers target IT stores, where they rummage for high end goods, like iPads, iPhones and even laptops, April sticks to household and beauty products. "These are the products I want," she said. "I have started to sell on some of the unspoilt beauty products I've rescued - packaging them up into a ‘mystery box’ of goodies. "But I usually give most of the stuff I get away. I donated a lot of the make-up from that first haul to a women’s shelter 20 miles away.  “It makes me angry that stores throw good stuff away instead of donating it, and I thought maybe the women at the shelter would appreciate having something nice.” With a degree in culinary arts, April is a whizz at creating delicious dishes from dumpster food she has recovered, and is expecting to increase the value of her food hauls over the winter, as food will stay fresher for longer. Still, despite fresh produce going off more quickly in the hotter summer months, she still thinks she has saved £3,250 in grocery bills since March. And her all-time favourite dumpster find is food related. She saved a huge amount on food She said: “My mum bought me a top-of-the-range kitchen mixer for my 18th birthday, so I couldn’t believe it when I found all the attachments for it just chucked in a dumpster. “They would have cost £650 brand new. I would never have spent that kind of money, but with my background in cooking, I will definitely be using all of them and so it’s my favourite find so far.” Raised in a family that never wasted anything, as both her parents had grown up in households which were cash poor, they passed on their values to April, who cannot stand seeing perfectly good produce being thrown away. “Growing up, nothing in our home ever went to waste,” she said. “It makes my soul sick when I see how much stuff people throw away, especially because I’ve visited countries where poverty is everywhere.” But April, who lives in a nice house, dresses well and drives a decent car, says she does not fit most people's preconceptions of a dumpster diver. She laughed: “People think you have to be homeless and look dishevelled to be a dumpster diver, but you don’t. “We’re not hoarders either. I donate everything that I am not keeping. I don’t like stuff lying about the place, so I have converted a small closet into a storage facility at my parents’ home, but if it’s not in there, then I’m giving it away.” Having noticed a number of followers from the Philippines on her social media channels, April is planning a trip there next month and, unless she can find one in a dumpster, she is buying a light-weight duffle bag to fill with goodies she has dived for to take with her and give away to people she meets. Read the full article

[allaboutfoodgwu]

The Mystery of Non-Dairy Milk: Is It Really a Milk?

Non-dairy milk is a plant-derived beverage product that people usually consume as a milk substitute. Non-dairy milk could be made from various types of plants such as traditional soy and almond, as well as from the more “hip” plants like hemp and macadamia nuts. People choose non-dairy milk over the traditional dairy milk for different reasons. Many people like myself, we don’t really have a choice since our body is incapable of digesting lactose. For many others, non-dairy milk is a good milk substitution because of its dietary and environmental benefits. In fact, non-dairy milk is making customers, investors and legislators raise their eyebrows recently because of its quick-gaining popularity.

Traditional milk consumption has a long history in the US. Stemming from the colonial period, the European immigrants carried with them the traditional milk diet to the US. Before then, the Native Americans consumed very little to no dairy milk. Over years of development, there is a normative notion of drinking milk that is hammered into the American’s mind. This norm comes from the avid advertisement from the US very own government. The FDA and FTC encourage citizens to consume milk daily because of its benefits to “fuel” physical activity and improve athletic ability, among all the other advantages that milk can give (Wiley 2014, 46.) However, this obsession with milk seems to have taken an unexpected turn.

Over the year of 2018, milk sales in the U.S. dropped $1.1 billion and non-dairy alternative sales are expected to rise from $12 billion to $34 billion in the next 5 years (Sitzer 2019.) This growing trend raises the question: what is making customers choose non-dairy products over milk?

Over the past few months, I visited 5 food stores in D.C. searching for non-dairy milk. These stores include Whole Foods at Foggy Bottom, Trader Joe’s on 14th , Safeway on 17th, CVS on 17th and Dean and DeLuca on M Street. With that question in mind, I’m hoping to find out how non-dairy milk rose to the scene so quickly through investigating my non-dairy experience in D.C.

Labeling Wars

Looking at the expected growth in non-dairy milk sales, the milk industry has begun their moves in this battle with the customer’s new favorite. A bill (SB 39) filed by state Sen. Francis Thompson is attempting to prohibit the labelling of non-dairy products as “milk” (Duchmann 2019.) According to Kleinpeter Farms Dairy, this bill is actually beneficial to the consumers as they believe most consumers don’t understand the health concerns that come with non-dairy. They claim that consumers would confuse the health benefits of dairy milk with plant-based beverages and this is hurting citizens’ rights as a consumer.

Throughout my non-dairy journey in D.C., I found out that only Trader Joe’s completely avoids labelling their non-dairy products as “milk”. Instead of saying soymilk or almond milk on their packaging, Trader Joe’s own brand non-dairy milk labels itself as a “beverage.” At Trader Joe’s, I was able to find an amazing selection of non-dairy products at a very fair price. The selection comes in new flavours that I’ve never seen before such as lavender blueberry or matcha almond milk. Though it was a busy day when I went, the shelves were still relatively well stocked. The wide selection and the beautiful display show that it is an important product at Trader Joe’s.

In comparison, Whole Foods also has a large variation of non-dairy milk and provides own-brand non-dairy products. The first picture shows a general view of the aisle where the non-dairy is at Whole Foods. On the left, the non-dairy milk occupied two full shelves and provided a wide array of products, ranging from soymilk to the more rare macadamia milk. At eye level, I found the Whole Foods brand non-dairy milk. Though the main product label still says “Soymilk” or “Rice Milk” in large and eye-catching font, there is a smaller label underneath it that clarifies the product as a “beverage.”

This strategy used by Whole Foods, and many other generic brands comparing to Trader Joe’s, could be because customers might be more inclined to buy products that they are more familiar with. We have been broadly using terms such as soymilk and though changing the label doesn’t change the products inside the package, people might still be more adapted to a certain “nostalgic” name like “milk”. So using the word “beverage” seems to only confuse the customers more and would only benefit the milk production companies.

New Craze over Non-Dairy Milk

In recent years, more and more people in the US are embracing the benefits and diet of non-dairy milk. Besides the extreme sales growth, the market is also coming up with a larger variation of products. In 2018, the new oat milk product Oatly came to market and led to a shortage so great that a case of oat milk was sold for $200 and more (Houck 2019.) I did manage to try this brand out before writing this review and I have to be honest, it was rich and flavourful. So viscous that it gives the same satisfying feeling of drinking milk, and so beautifully sweet that it goes with everything.

Other start-ups quickly followed this new growth in market and came up with new methods such as using fermented yeasts to make non-dairy milk. Before this blooming period of non-dairy sales, I remember only seeing the most generic brands such as Pacific or Almond Breeze in the non-dairy section in supermarkets. Now when I walk into the store, I always need to pause and think about which new products I want to choose. This wide range of products reflects the customer’s fast growing demand for non-dairy milk and that they are willing to pay to try the newest products. However, not all the stores I visited caught up with this trend quite as well as Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods.

In both Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods, I saw at least two floor to ceiling, well-stocked shelves of non-dairy milk neatly displayed around the breakfast food aisle. It was easy to find and encourages people who plan on buying some cereal for breakfast to opt for non-dairy products. These stores not only provided a wide array of products like mentioned above, they also gave a very good price, starting mostly at $1.5. This way, customers have more liberty to actually choose the items they want to buy instead of being limited by the store’s marketing strategies.

To my surprise, Safeway as one of the supermarket giants, had a  limited selection of non-dairy milk when I visited the store on 17th Street. As seen in the picture on the right, most of the products were from generic brands such as Almond Breeze and indeed most of the non-dairy milk Safeway carried was also almond milk. The display was a bit disheveled as well. Not only most of the products were out of stock, the non-dairy milk also shared the shelf with packaged milk. At eye level where products were most easily seen by customers, there were some of the most expensive non-dairy milk starting at $4.

Worse than Safeway, I had the most unpleasant time at CVS and Dean and DeLuca when I was looking for non-dairy milk. For CVS, I did not have any expectations when I went in given that it is afterall a pharmacy. However, I still only found 4 types of non-dairy milk from 2 different brands, Almond Breeze and Silk. Not only the display was miserable, mixing in with all kinds of beverages such as milk and orange juice, the price was also extremely unfriendly. Most of the products started at $4.99 for a carton of generic non-dairy milk. At the back of the store hidden away from all foot traffic, I found one single box of smaller sized almond milk, priced at $2.79 as well.

But for Dean and DeLuca, I had high hopes as it is known for its bougie products and fancy selections. To my disappointment, the selection at Dean and DeLuca was not any better than CVS. Though the shelf was well-stocked and nicely displayed, the variation at Dean and DeLuca consisted of only original soymilk and almond milk. The only advantage they had over CVS is that the price was more fair than that of CVS, starting at $3.5 for the exact same products that CVS had. However, as an actual food store, Dean and DeLuca fails to even compete with the standard that Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods set.

From this comparison of variations and pricing between stores, I found that Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods are more inclined to catch up with the growing trend of non-dairy milk. One of the reasons customers prefer non-dairy milk over regular milk is that more people become aware of the environmental impact that milk production carries (Sitzer 2019.) A study by University of Oxford found that producing a glass of milk emits 3 times more greenhouse gas than milk alternatives such as plant-based beverage (Sitzer 2019.) This might be one of the driving force for the rapidly growing non-dairy demand among customers.

Stores like Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods are known for their distinct brand strategies. Trader Joe’s is your hip, neighbourhood food store that takes into concern of customer’s needs and feelings. From the mural I saw right after I entered to the handwritten price tags, I felt that Trader Joe’s is customer-friendly and is willing to change based on customer’s interests. Likewise, Whole Foods brands itself as an organic market, providing the most peculiar organic products. Organic products are not only better for consumption (arguably), they are also associated with a better environment because of the elimination of pesticide use. For these particular reasons, Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods seem to be open to adapting the new trend of non-dairy diet in the US in order to better present themselves in the market.

In contrast, the traditional food giant Safeway and smaller stores such as CVS drive to provide a “traditional” shopping service for customers. They present a sufficient selection that people will conveniently need and can get quickly, but nothing more. Thus, there is not as much of a reason for them to expand their non-dairy selection as they already have the most regular ones that people might need in a quick second. Dean and DeLuca remains the one store that I could not figure out. Marketed as a luxurious food store, I would expect Dean and DeLuca to provide some exotic types of expensive non-dairy milk. Instead, I found only the most basic kinds. My only thought on that is that they really do not care about selling non-dairy products.

From my investigation of non-dairy milk (out of personal interest mostly), I find that the trend of non-dairy milk will inevitably continue to grow in the US in the future as customers see more and more products come to market. Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods’ steady expansion and endlessly long lines seem to prove their successful marketing strategies; and these stores happen to provide the largest selection of non-dairy milk.

American customers today are concerned about much more than convenience and low prices. Non-dairy milk appears to have found itself a niche that was not filled before in a “traditional” grocery shopping experience.

-- Monica Cheung

Reference:

Duchmann, H. (2019, April 10). Legislators could remove 'milk' labeling from non-dairy products. Retrieved from

https://www.businessreport.com/newsletters/legislators-could-remove-milk-labeling-from-non-dairy-products

Houck, B. (2019, March 26). America's Obsession With Oat Milk Is Hurting the Dairy Industry.Retrieved from 

https://www.eater.com/2019/3/26/18282831/milk-sales-fall-2018-plant-based-alternatives

Sitzer, C. (2019, March 26). Milk Sales Drop by More Than $1 Billion as Plant-Based Alternatives Take Off. Retrieved from 

https://www.greenmatters.com/p/milk-sales-down

Wiley, A. S. (2014). Cultures of Milk. Harvard University Press.

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Xiaomi Mi SoundBar Review: Cinematic Sound At a Bargain Price

Xiaomi’s onslaught on the Indian smart TV industry, which kicked off earlier last year, has proved to be a runaway success. The Mi TV lineup has only grown over the course of 2018 to help Xiaomi build a strong foothold over the home entertainment market. Well, the Chinese giant is now looking to enhance your TV viewing experience with the launch of their Mi Soundbar (Rs 4,999) in India and that too at a pretty tantalizing price tag.

Xiaomi sent over the huge Mi Soundbar to us for a review, and I have been using it over the past week. So, here’s how my experience with Xiaomi’s Mi Soundbar has been so far:

Mi Soundbar: Specifications

Calling the Mi Soundbar huge isn’t an understatement, it is 33 inches in length and holds eight speakers, but it’s still quite lightweight and weighs just under 2 kilograms. If you want to delve into the specifics of the speaker setup, well, Xiaomi has packed two 0.75-inch dome tweeters and two 2.5-inch woofers to bring the crisp audio experience to the table. This is coupled with four passive radiators that help boost the bass – which is a prime selling point for the Mi Soundbar. You can check some key specifications listed below: Dimensions83 x 7.2 x 8.7 cm Weight1.9 kgs Speakerstwo 65mm woofer units + two 20mm dome tweeters + four passive radiators Input Power> 14W X 2 @1 kHz Connectivity Options3.5 mm stereo AUX, fiber optic, coaxial S/PDIF, red and white line-in, and Bluetooth 4.2

Mi Soundbar: What’s in the Box

Xiaomi’s Mi Soundbar comes packed inside a brown cardboard box similar to its Mi TVs. You’ll get the following stuff in the Mi Soundbar box: Mi Soundbar (you cannot miss this one) Power adapter User manuals S/PDIF cable Wall mounting accessories The Mi Soundbar has a number of connectivity options and I would have much preferred if Xiaomi provided a 3.5mm AUX or optical cable in the box over the S/PDIF one.

Mi Soundbar: Design and Build

The Mi Soundbar is no different from several other Xiaomi products we have seen in the recent past. The classy design and minimal aesthetic of the Mi Soundbar, should make it attractive to the masses. The Mi Soundbar is a massive cuboid, and comes only in white (for the plastic body with a matte finish) with a grey fabric mesh on the front to cover the speaker unit. There’s a subtle “Mi” branding on the top right of the soundbar and I like that.

This color combo makes it look sophisticated, and I kind of like it, but it also makes me wary of handling the Mi Soundbar. It catches dust and grease pretty easily and that could ruin its look, which is why I’d have loved it if Xiaomi had a black variant of the soundbar as well. The buttons to switch between all available connectivity choices, along with the volume controls, are neatly placed at the top. It’s handy and functional (and the buttons sure are clicky) but there’s no way to see the volume level, which could have been fixed with a display. You have to keep pressing the buttons until you feel you cannot go down or up any further.

If not a display, Xiaomi could have at least provided a remote with the soundbar to allow users to adjust the volume from the comfort of their sofa set or bed. It’s one of the key ingredients missing from the recipe here and many of its competitors do have an edge here. Xiaomi has also kept the weight of the Mi Soundbar in check and it weighs just 1.9 kilograms but doesn’t feel like it when picked up. The weight distribution appears to be fairly even and everyone who checked out the Mi Soundbar was impressed with this one fact – in addition to the sound, which we’ll talk about in a bit. The Mi Soundbar can be installed in 2 different forms under your television set. You can either choose to just connect the power and input cables and then place the soundbar below your TV on a table,  or mount it on the wall – great if your TV is also mounted. Xiaomi even provides the accessories — screws and screw mounts — required to mount the Mi Soundbar within the box but you’d have to do the heavy lifting yourself.

If you decide to place the Mi Soundbar on a table top, the body will rest on three sturdy rubber feet which can be found at the bottom – two near the ends, and one sitting in the middle. They will not only keep your Mi Soundbar from directly touching the table but also makes it skid-proof and absorb the vibration from the speakers.

Overall, the build quality of the Mi Soundbar is pretty good and I don’t really have any major qualms with it — except the lack of the remote which would have solved a number of issues here.

Mi Soundbar: Connectivity

Xiaomi offers you a number of different options to connect the Mi Soundbar to your TVs, laptop or smartphone. Firstly, you can obviously turn to Bluetooth to connect any of the devices to the soundbar but the audio output won’t really be the best, well, because wireless audio streaming is still not there yet. It supports A2DP music playback, which is sweet, however, still not as good as its wired alternatives. The wired options include the familiar 3.5mm AUX port, the red and white Line-in ports, a black S/PDIF (co-ax) port, followed by the optical port. It means you’re not going to face any issues when connecting to your Mi TV as it has all of these ports. However, I was using the Mi Soundbar with one of the smart TVs at the Beebom office and it worked perfectly fine in my case.

The ports are arranged neatly on the rear, with buttons to switch between them laid out on top. These connectivity options can be switched between pretty quickly and easily, with just the press of a button. An LED indicator above the button tells you which source is playing. It requires you to have the necessary cable attached to the soundbar (which you might need to buy yourself) to get the output. You’ll have to flip the rocker switch to turn on the soundbar once you’ve connected it to the power source. While all this sound perfect, I know, the Mi Soundbar lacks a few of the most important ports in today’s age. It lacks the HDMI input and USB ports to round off the connectivity options and that’s a huge shortcoming. It would have made it easier to connect to a lot more devices or simply plugging in a USB drive to play songs directly. However, I won’t be too harsh on Xiaomi for the lack of these connectivity options because the company is giving users access a great audio experience at a pretty reasonable price.

Mi Soundbar: Audio Quality

We already know what’s packed inside the Mi Soundbar, so let’s get down straight to the meat and gravy of this product – the audio quality. Xiaomi promises that the soundbar is designed to deliver a “thrilling cinematic” experience and well, I was astounded to see it make good on this promise the moment I plugged it into my MacBook Air. Yeah, it was my first taste of using a soundbar and I kicked off the testing with my daily drivers before moving to a smart TV.

Well, let me preface my experience by saying that you’re not going to be impressed with the Mi Soundbar in this scenario. While the soundbar gets loud and has a ton of treble and bass that a lot of people may approve of and like, but I have to warn you that the soundstage isn’t well-balanced in this case. The enhanced bass, as Xiaomi terms it, clearly takes control and this subdues the vocal performance and low frequencies in the process. There will certainly be times, such as during songs like Steven’s Crossfire, when the bass would be so overpowering that you won’t really catch the vocals and it’s distracting. Otherwise, the clean bass and treble are something EMD enthusiasts will appreciate with the Mi Soundbar. While the music listening experience isn’t particularly great here, you can’t overlook the movie and TV season-viewing aspect of the Mi Soundbar.

Over the past weekend, I spent all my time in bed binge-watching a new sci-fi mystery show called Travelers on Netflix. I realized that the true purpose of Mi Soundbar is to make it possible for you to appreciate your favorite movies and TV shows with a fuller and cinematic audio experience. The soundstage is pretty well-balanced here and one can not just distinctly hear the dialogues clearly, but also the sound effects with heavy bass, as well as higher frequencies. Movies sound fantastic on the soundbar. . Also, I have a medium-sized room at home and the Mi Soundbar was loud enough to give me an improved viewing experience as compared to just using the TV’s speakers. Placing the soundbar on a table under the TV was satisfactory in my case and also, I did notice that the rubber feet here are strong enough to hold the soundbar in place.

Xiaomi has certainly put in much effort to tune the sound of the Mi Soundbar for a better home entertainment experience and while it seems to work for binge-watching movies, it all boils down to preference when listening to music.

Mi Soundbar: Should You Buy One?

Finally, let us answer the one question that you’re here for, and it’s whether you should get Mi Soundbar for your home or not. Well, Xiaomi has designed a soundbar that extends a well-balanced and full output for binge-watching movies on Netflix or listening to music when you come home after yet another tough day at work. And if you’re a bass lover, well, your day will be made. So, Xiaomi has probably added another feather to its overflowing hat with the launch of Mi Soundbar in India and I think it justifies the Rs 4,999 price tag pretty well. There may be a few chinks in its armor such as the lack of a remote or a few I/O ports, however, the sound quality makes up for these imperfections. Mi Soundbar is perhaps one of the better options available on the market in its price range and there’s no denying it. But, there’s a possibility that you want to use a remote. Well, in that case, you can get the F&D T180X 2.0 TV Soundbar (Rs 5,490) which should offer you a similar soundstage due to its 3-inch drivers and 1-inch tweeters. You can also pick the Philips DSP-475 U Soundbar and subwoofer combo (Rs 4,500) if you want to add that extra thump to your experience. PROS: Elegant aesthetics Lightweight body Powerful bass and treble Amazing sound for movies and TV CONS: No Remote Control Lacks few I/O ports Not great for just music

SEE ALSO: Xiaomi Poco F1 Review: Flagship of the Masses!

Xiaomi Mi SoundBar Review: Cinematic Sound At a Bargain

After smartphones, Xiaomi now strives to dominate the home entertainment market and the Mi Soundbar is the perfect addition to their enormous portfolio in India. It serves as a perfect companion to their Mi TV lineup, that has been selling really well, and brings a lot of value to your viewing experience. It’s sleek, light and more importantly, affordable, to make you want to pull out your wallet and buy one almost immediately. Well, are you interested in buying the Mi Soundbar? If not, why and what other option do you have in mind? Let us know in the comments down below. !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s) if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function()n.callMethod? n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments); if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0'; n.queue=;t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0; t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e); s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)(window, document,'script', 'https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbevents.js'); fbq('init', '209002533014668'); fbq('track', 'PageView'); Source link Read the full article

[lovemesomesurveys]

5,000 Question Survey--Part twenty-two

Uh... so I found this in my drafts. Apparently, I went from part twenty-one to twenty-three, skipping right over this one. So... here it is. Out of order. I’m leaving what I had answered already, so the answers aren’t current until 2053. Not that it matters, but yeah.

2001. Can you believe that we have only gotten through two fifths of this survey so far? I’d probs be further along, but it’s taken me awhile. I forgot about it for a bit.

2002. What is your opinion of Dave Coulier? I don’t really have much of an opinion on him. I know him from Full House, but that’s it. Oh, and that he dated Alanis Morrisette, which her song, “Oughta Know” is about. 2003. If you were to a write a Choose Your Own Adventure book, what would it be about? I used to love those books as a kid! They were fun. I don’t know, what kind I would write. Probably a mystery one like the ones I used to read. 2004. What was your best find from a flea market, garage sale, ebay or thrift store? I haven’t gotten anything from any of those things/places.  2005. What do you not have enough money for right now? Anything. I’m broke at the moment.

2006. Do you believe that Teras for Fears were right when they said, "Everybody wants to rule the world?" Nah. I know I don’t want to rule the world.  2007. What is the design on your beach towel? I don’t have a beach towel.  2008. What stirs something deep and animalistic inside you? Uhh. I don’t know. 2009. Have you ever cross dressed (even as a joke)? Nope.

2010. Do you own anything with a rainbow on it? I don’t. 2011. What would be the worst object for a child to take on a long car ride with you? Anything that made a lot of annoying noises. Or played something repeatedly.  2012. What's the Best Beatles song in your opinion? I don’t have a favorite. I like a few, but that’s it. 2013. Why do you suppose that diary sites are more popular with females than males? I don’t know? 2014. What do these color combinations remind you of: orange and pink: Sherbet. pink and green: A pink flower. green and gold: Money.  purple and gold: I don’t know. gold and red: San Francisco 49ers. red and white: Candy canes. blue and grey: Not sure. 2015. What is one selfish thing you tend to do? I’ve been kind of selfish this past year dealing with my health stuff. Chronic illness can be very isolating. I’ve pushed people away. I’ve holed up at home. I haven’t been there for my friends. It hasn’t been good.  2016. When do you think technology will catch up with the Jetson's? I don’t know, man. It’s funny to think that people thought it would be that way by the year 2000. We’re a digital age for sure, but there’s still no flying cars. Though, I don’t even know how that work to be honest. Can you imagine all those cars in the sky? Everyone would have to take flying lessons. Learn the routes. It would be expensive as hell. Craaaazy. 2017. What made you laugh today? My brother. 2018. Do you ever stick your entries in any of the diary circles? I don’t use LiveJournal. 2019. Can you freestyle rap? Haha no.

2020. Are you: stylish? I don’t know. I wear what I like, so since I like it that means I think it looks cute/nice. I follow some trends, but not because it’s “in.” If I like it, I’ll wear it. There’s a lot of fashion trends that I’m like, ...no. 

shiek? Is this supposed to be chic? If so, isn’t that the same as stylish? smart? Meh. I guess. I mean, we all are in different ways. I always think of the Einstein quote that basically says don’t judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree. That’s not it’s area or its skill. But put it in its environment, and it knows what to do.  2021. Do you find you self only buying brand name products? Not always. With some things, yes. 2022. Would you ever want to buy an article of clothing or an acessory because you saw a celebrity wear it? If I saw it, and liked it. Not just because that celebrity wore it. Like I said, I wear what I like, not just what is “in.” 2023. What song do you feel the sexiest dancing to? I don’t feel sexy. 

2024. Who do you know who looks silly when they dance? Me. 2025. Sweaty sex or clean sex? Virgin. 2026. Which is more important to you: being kind or being right? Being kind. 2027. Can you do any special dances like swing, tap, or ballroom? Nope. 2028. Are you scared of monsters? No.  2029. Who would you like to remind people of? I don’t know. No one? 2030. Do you walk to school or do you bring your lunch? I’m no longer in school. 2031. Rate your skills from one to ten (10 = you are the best at it): socializing: making friends: working with computers: arts: crafts: dancing: skating: talking other people into things: writing: living life to the fullest each day: cooking: gardening: cleaning up after yourself: playing poker: surviving in the woods: managing your time: attracting the opposite sex (or same sex if you prefer)? 2032. Have you ever been to an indian reservation? No. 2033. What is going to happen tommorrow that you can celebrate, even if it's a little thing? I don’t have anything going on. 2034. Do you save things for special occassions or is everyday a special occassion? I certainly don’t feel like everyday is a special occasion.  2035. What is one thing you are terrible at: Just one thing? 2036. What's your favorite: rap song: country song: industrial song: cover song: punk song: odd song: 2037. What do you get your teacher or your boss for the holidays? I only got a few teachers something for the holidays, it wasn’t something I did every year. I probably did it more often in elementary school. It would be something a box of candy. 2038. Do you like to read books by Virgina Wolfe? I’m not familiar with that author.  2039. What is your favorite tv show from when you were a kid? When I was like 4 I was obsessed with Barney. Like obsessed. I’d be upset if I had to miss an episode, so my mom would record them lol. I’d re-watch episodes, and I was always singing the songs. I’m sure I was rather annoying. 2040. What is now proved was once only imagined. - William Blake. What do you imagine? I don’t know. 2041. What has been passed down through at least two generations to you? Like a physical item? Nothing. As for something genetic, there’s some health stuff. 2042. Do we live in a particularly bad age for romance? No? 2043. Have you ever cheated on someone? No. Do you believe that once someone is a cheater they can never be trusted? Not necessarily. But it would take a lot of work getting that trust back. 2044. Have you ever gone: christmas caroling? Yes. pumpkin picking? Yes. on a hay wagon ride? Yes. on a romantic valentine's day date? No. to a new year's eve party? Yes. to a memorial day parade? No. to the Macy's thanksgiving day parade? Nope. to search for gold coins on st patrick's day? Nope. 2045. Have you ever done any modeling? Ha, no. 2046. Would you consider yourself to be psychologically damaged? I got some issues.  2047. How aware are you of the reasons behind your actions and words? I don’t know how aware I am? Like I don’t know how to rate that. 2048. What is the sickest you ever drank or drugged yourself? I’ve gotten pretty sick from drinking. Not fun. 2049. Would you prefer it if clothing was optional? No. 2050. What is one interesting fact about you: I’m obsessed with giraffes. I don’t know if that’s interesting, but that’s what I got.

2051. Are more people depressed because they are alone, or are more people alone because they are depressed? It’s like a loop for some people.  2052. Have you ever gotten a mug, t-shirt, key chain, etc. that was personalized with your picture? Nope. 2053. What was the last thing that you experienced for the first time? Golden Double Stuffed Oreos dipped in coffee. I’ve talked about this a few times, but it’s SO good. 2054. If you were going to die tomorrow and you were leaving a postcard for someone to read after you were gone what would it say? I really don’t know. 2055. If you were about to be executed what would your last request be? I wouldn’t be concerned with that. I’d be scared about the fact I was being executed. 2056. What kinds of people do you find intimidating? The intimidating kind. 2057. How much conviction do you have in your feelings and beliefs? I don’t know how to put an amount on that. I truly believe what I believe and feel what I feel? Maybe my feelings aren’t always justified, or maybe they’re exaggerated, but I still feel them wholeheartedly. 2058. In your house where is the: crazy glue? We don’t have any. flashlight? My dad has big, bright one he keeps in his closet. 2059. Out of everyone you know who has the most personality? Hmm. My younger brother or my mom. 2060. If you could go back in time to experince a musical movement or era, which one would you choose to live through? I’m not sure. 2061. Do you suffocate people with your love? No, I don’t think so. 2062. Do you feel your life is charmed? No. 2063. What character do you identify the most with from Winnie the Pooh? Pooh Bear because he’s always hungry and thinking about honey, which same but instead of honey I’m always thinking about food and the next meal. I’m also like Piglet because I’m anxious and scared of everything. 2064. When do you do your best thinking? In the shower or while lying out on the beach. 2065. What motivates you? Nothing. :/ 2066. Look back at all the people you've dated. Has there been a pattern? There’s only been two, so. I can’t really make any patterns out of that. 2067. Things change but what will always remain the same for you? My love for my family. And to be a downer, I’ll always have my health issues. 2068. Is divorce something you would ever consider or do you feel that marriage is permanantly binding? If I ever got married, and things just weren’t working out after we tried working on our marriage and used the resources and help available to us, then divorce would be the next step. I believe in trying to work things out first, if possible. Unless it’s an extreme case and abuse is involved.  2069. What's the strangest movie you ever saw? Hmm. There’s been a few. A Clockwork Orange came to mind first. 2070. If you could go into virtual reality and set up your life there to be perfect and it would seem real but not be real would you trade your life now for the virtual life? I’d sure like to try it out at least. 2071. Does it seem like life is more difficult for you than for anyone else? We all have our struggles. Sometimes it might seem like other people have it all figured out and don’t have many problems, but truth is you just never really know what someone is going through. I guess; though, because we are the ones experiencing our life and the difficulties we face, it may seem more difficult in comparison sometimes just cause it’s your reality. That’s why I don’t like when people say you shouldn’t be upset because others have it worse. It doesn’t make what I’m experiencing any less or any better. It’s very real for me. 2072. What are you grateful for? My family first and foremost, a roof over my head, clothes to wear, and food to eat. 2073. What was a choice that you didn't want to make but you had to? Health related things. 2074. Have you ever had dental surgery? Yes. 2075. At what point exactly are you grown up? I don’t think there’s a certain point that everyone is automatically a grown up. Legally, you’re an adult by a certain age, but being “grown up” is different. 2076. If there was a weightloss procedure that would destroy your ability to taste food so you wouldn't be tempted by junk food, would you have it done? No. I don’t need a weight loss procedure. 2077. What is one thing that happened that you never expected? Again, some health related things. That’s the focus of my life if you haven’t noticed. It’s really the center of everything. 2078. If you called one of your friends and they said "It's nothing personal but I don't want to talk to anyone right now," would you take it personally? I would try and understand because that’s how I’ve been feeling. For quite awhile, actually. And yet, I probably would be bothered by it slightly. Ridiculous, I know. I definitely shouldn’t. 2079. What is your favorite girl's name? I don’t really have a favorite girl’s name. 2080. Do you ever feel guilty for being more fortunate then others? I feel fortunate, grateful, and appreciative. That’s why I try not to take things for granted. I feel sad others aren’t so fortunate, and I wish that wasn’t the case. It doesn’t make me a bad person or should feel guilty about because I am, though. 2081. If you had to wear a shirt with one word on it for a year, what word would you choose? Coffee. 2082. What is evian spelled backwards? Naive. Ha. 2083. You drop 10 pounds of feathers and a ten pound bowling ball off the top of the same building. Which will hit the ground first? Isn’t it the feathers? If I recall correctly. 2084. Even though you may never get what you want, are you happy because you're trying? I’m not happy. :/ I don’t give myself a lot of credit. I feel like I could be doing more than what I am. 2085. If you started a petition what would it be about? I have no idea. 2086. When was the last time you asked someone to do something and they said no? Hmm... not sure. 2087. Do bad things happen to you on friday the 13th? Something bad might happen, but not because it’s Friday the 13th. Bad things happen other days, too. So, I wouldn’t say any more so. 2088. What's your favorite: Madonna song? John Lennon song? Michael Jackson song? Doors song? Rolling Stones song? David Bowie song? Elvis song? 2089. If you had started a relationship with someone and they said that it would be best if no one knew about it just to see how it goes, would you be offended? Absolutely. I wouldn’t be okay with that. 2090. Do you know any self defence? I’d be kind of screwed. How about CPR? Nope. 2091. If you had to look into a mirror and see your naked soul stripped of all delusions and pretenses (Never ending Story style)could you handle it? Uhhh. 2092. Are you a genius? Haha nooo. Not even close. I’m very much average. 2093. How did you find out that Santa Clause wasn't real? I think I saw the presents were already put out or something like that. 2094. Which is your favorite tarot card? I don’t have one. I don’t believe in that. 2095. Does the internet seperate people or connect them? It can do both. 2096. Have you ever written a letter to a soldier? No. 2097. Does pain and fear make you feel alive? No. 2098. Are you: good looking? I don’t think I am. thin? Yes. happy? No.

successful? No. confident? Noo. 2099. Are you deciseive or wishy washy? I’m very indecisive. 2100. Do you feel pop stars should be morally responsible to set a good example for their fans? That’s not their responsibility, no. If they want to be, great, but it’s not their job.

[wineanddinosaur]

No Electricity, No Problem: This Oregon Grower Is Resurrecting Ancient Roman Winemaking Techniques

Brad Ford, the winemaker at Oregon’s Illahe Vineyards, is always tinkering with something interesting — a wine press rescued from a junkyard, a horse-drawn mower he engineered himself, amphorae he created from scratch. The need to make or restore his own tools has been driven out of financial necessity at times, as is the case for many small wineries. But it also fulfills his desire to explore every aspect of the art, science, and mystery of his profession.

In the lull provided by the Covid-19 outbreak, Ford has embarked on his biggest project yet: building a beam-style wine press similar to the one the Roman scholar Cato wrote about in “De Agri Cultura.” When finished, he expects the 1-ton, 60-foot press will be the longest in the United States.

Credit: Sophia McDonald Bennett

The 19th Century Reimagined

Ford’s father was a hobby grape grower who began operating a vineyard professionally in 2000. Ford became the winemaker at his dad’s company about six years into the new venture and now runs all the day-to-day operations. Although he attended the wine studies program at nearby Chemeketa Community College to learn the most modern information about winemaking, he felt himself drawn to the history of farming and enology. Early on, he began to experiment with more traditional approaches to creating wine.

To begin with, he bought two draft horses, Doc and Bea, to work on the property. The team cuts the vineyard’s cover crop and transports some of the fruit during harvest. Their role is limited by the fact that teamsters are in short supply today, so Ford is the only one who knows how to drive them. Even if horses aren’t the most efficient way to farm, Ford is committed to the method. “It is really enjoyable to be around horses,” he says. “It’s way more enjoyable to be working with animals than with tractors. You get a huge human benefit out of a lifestyle that’s more ancient and natural.”

Doc and Bea also play a crucial role in one of Ford’s signature wines, the 1899 Pinot Noir. Most years he makes eight to 12 barrels of wine without the aid of electricity, stainless steel, or other conveniences invented after 1900. The grapes for the wine come from a 1-acre block that is harvested exclusively with the horses. The fruit is de-stemmed with a bicycle-powered machine, pressed in a wooden basket press, fermented with natural yeast in a wooden vat, and pumped into barrels with a bicycle-powered pump.

Even transporting the wine to Illahe’s Portland-based distributor is typically done without the aid of electricity. The boxes are moved off the property by horse and loaded into a stagecoach that delivers the wine to the nearby Willamette River. There, it’s placed in a canoe. Ford and two others spend three days paddling to Oregon City, where the boxes are transferred to a bicycle for the final leg of their journey.

While that final piece has more to do with Ford’s desire to be true to his experiment, he says he’s learned a tremendous amount about winemaking through the 1899 project, including how to work with the native yeast that he now uses exclusively in all of his reds.

“Science is one way to go about things and I love science,” Ford says. And he has no objection to using modern knowledge to help the vineyards stay healthy or remove flaws from wine. But the best foods aren’t the ones that are highly processed or made in a lab, and he believes the same is true for wine.

“Every experiment we’re doing is moving us forward to more historical winemaking than modern, scientific winemaking, and more natural winemaking,” he says. “It just produces the best wines.”

Credit: Sophia McDonald Bennett

Remaking Cato’s Wine Press

The extreme end of Ford’s desire to return to old-school winemaking is his latest project: a beam-style wine press that will be 60 feet long when it is finished. Millennia before today’s electric presses were invented, Cato and other winemakers juiced their grapes by lowering a heavy object such as a beam onto a wooden basket full of grapes. The next innovation was a screw press, which allowed people to twist one or more handles to apply force to the basket.

Ford had seen a hand-carved wooden screw press at Château du Clos de Vougeot in Burgundy. “It’s one of the things I really remember from that visit,” he said. “The wine is something I remember quite a bit, too, but coming to a place and seeing that press was an important experience for me. So if we can recreate a little bit of that experience, I’d like it.”

Despite his fascination with the Burgundian screw press, Ford decided that Cato’s beam press would be easier to build. He also knew it would be more authentic than what he was currently doing with the 1899: moving the pistons on a modern-day basket press with hydraulic auto jacks that two people had to pump by hand. (“They’re filled with hydraulic oil. Did the Romans have that? No. But are they electrical? No.”)

Ford’s closest friend is Erik Jensen, a physics instructor at Chemeketa Community College. Ford asked him how big a beam he would need to operate a basket press that could handle his current grape production. “He did his math and said it needed to be 60 feet long. He’s since retracted it but it’s too late because now I’m building the thing.”

To begin the press, he cut down a dying 130-foot Douglas fir tree on his property. He called a local lumber mill to see if they could transform it into the beam. The answer was a resounding no. Log trucks can only move trees up to 50 feet, and most mills can’t handle one longer than 24 feet. “I said, ‘What would you do if you were trying to build a big beam that’s 60 feet long?’ and they said, ‘I’d use a chainsaw,’” Ford said. His next stop was the local logging store.

It took a 7-ton excavator to stand the tree up on two smaller logs so he could cut it to size. Ford built a carriage for the chainsaw that runs along a 2-foot-by-8-foot length of timber attached to the top, and is using a string line to trim off the curved sides of the log. When finished, the beam will be 14 inches wide at the narrowest end and 2 feet on the opposite side. (The cut-offs from the log will likely go to the tasting room, where they’ll be finished and turned into tables.)

At some point, Ford will also build a wheel that can be connected to the beam with a rope, then cranked to lower or raise the beam manually. It will operate a press about 6 feet wide, which will give Ford about four times more pressing capacity than he has now. It will also work faster; given the beam’s incredible weight, the press cycle should only take about an hour.

The disruption caused by the Covid-19 outbreak has given Ford extra time to work on projects around the winery. He hopes to have the beam cut and moved to the exterior alcove where the presses are located later this year. It will take years to fully finish it. “If we really like it, we’ll build it a little house,” Ford says fondly, looking at the log. “It will be so fun for people to go outside and have a glass of wine and see the press.”

He acknowledged that building this modern wonder makes no economic sense. “You can easily buy something so much faster that already works and that’s controlled by a computer and that does a great job of pressing the wine,” he says. “But it’s so much less fun to just buy a brand new press.”

It also wouldn’t teach him anything about winemaking. As he stands in the clearing where the log is undergoing its transformation, Ford talks about the Japanese craftsmen who adopt an art form at a young age and spend the rest of their lives refining their skills and understanding their art. “They make their own tools,” he points out. “You make your own knife, you make your own saw, you make your own pots or whatever you’re going to use for your craft. You have your tools and you know those tools are always sharp and those tools are the ones you need for the job.”

A beam may be slightly bigger than a carving knife, but Ford believes it will help him further shape and hone the medium he’s dedicated his life to.

The article No Electricity, No Problem: This Oregon Grower Is Resurrecting Ancient Roman Winemaking Techniques appeared first on VinePair.

source https://vinepair.com/articles/oregon-grower-ancient-roman-winemaking/

[isaiahrippinus]

No Electricity, No Problem: This Oregon Grower Is Resurrecting Ancient Roman Winemaking Techniques

Brad Ford, the winemaker at Oregon’s Illahe Vineyards, is always tinkering with something interesting — a wine press rescued from a junkyard, a horse-drawn mower he engineered himself, amphorae he created from scratch. The need to make or restore his own tools has been driven out of financial necessity at times, as is the case for many small wineries. But it also fulfills his desire to explore every aspect of the art, science, and mystery of his profession.

In the lull provided by the Covid-19 outbreak, Ford has embarked on his biggest project yet: building a beam-style wine press similar to the one the Roman scholar Cato wrote about in “De Agri Cultura.” When finished, he expects the 1-ton, 60-foot press will be the longest in the United States.

Credit: Sophia McDonald Bennett

The 19th Century Reimagined

Ford’s father was a hobby grape grower who began operating a vineyard professionally in 2000. Ford became the winemaker at his dad’s company about six years into the new venture and now runs all the day-to-day operations. Although he attended the wine studies program at nearby Chemeketa Community College to learn the most modern information about winemaking, he felt himself drawn to the history of farming and enology. Early on, he began to experiment with more traditional approaches to creating wine.

To begin with, he bought two draft horses, Doc and Bea, to work on the property. The team cuts the vineyard’s cover crop and transports some of the fruit during harvest. Their role is limited by the fact that teamsters are in short supply today, so Ford is the only one who knows how to drive them. Even if horses aren’t the most efficient way to farm, Ford is committed to the method. “It is really enjoyable to be around horses,” he says. “It’s way more enjoyable to be working with animals than with tractors. You get a huge human benefit out of a lifestyle that’s more ancient and natural.”

Doc and Bea also play a crucial role in one of Ford’s signature wines, the 1899 Pinot Noir. Most years he makes eight to 12 barrels of wine without the aid of electricity, stainless steel, or other conveniences invented after 1900. The grapes for the wine come from a 1-acre block that is harvested exclusively with the horses. The fruit is de-stemmed with a bicycle-powered machine, pressed in a wooden basket press, fermented with natural yeast in a wooden vat, and pumped into barrels with a bicycle-powered pump.

Even transporting the wine to Illahe’s Portland-based distributor is typically done without the aid of electricity. The boxes are moved off the property by horse and loaded into a stagecoach that delivers the wine to the nearby Willamette River. There, it’s placed in a canoe. Ford and two others spend three days paddling to Oregon City, where the boxes are transferred to a bicycle for the final leg of their journey.

While that final piece has more to do with Ford’s desire to be true to his experiment, he says he’s learned a tremendous amount about winemaking through the 1899 project, including how to work with the native yeast that he now uses exclusively in all of his reds.

“Science is one way to go about things and I love science,” Ford says. And he has no objection to using modern knowledge to help the vineyards stay healthy or remove flaws from wine. But the best foods aren’t the ones that are highly processed or made in a lab, and he believes the same is true for wine.

“Every experiment we’re doing is moving us forward to more historical winemaking than modern, scientific winemaking, and more natural winemaking,” he says. “It just produces the best wines.”

Credit: Sophia McDonald Bennett

Remaking Cato’s Wine Press

The extreme end of Ford’s desire to return to old-school winemaking is his latest project: a beam-style wine press that will be 60 feet long when it is finished. Millennia before today’s electric presses were invented, Cato and other winemakers juiced their grapes by lowering a heavy object such as a beam onto a wooden basket full of grapes. The next innovation was a screw press, which allowed people to twist one or more handles to apply force to the basket.

Ford had seen a hand-carved wooden screw press at Château du Clos de Vougeot in Burgundy. “It’s one of the things I really remember from that visit,” he said. “The wine is something I remember quite a bit, too, but coming to a place and seeing that press was an important experience for me. So if we can recreate a little bit of that experience, I’d like it.”

Despite his fascination with the Burgundian screw press, Ford decided that Cato’s beam press would be easier to build. He also knew it would be more authentic than what he was currently doing with the 1899: moving the pistons on a modern-day basket press with hydraulic auto jacks that two people had to pump by hand. (“They’re filled with hydraulic oil. Did the Romans have that? No. But are they electrical? No.”)

Ford’s closest friend is Erik Jensen, a physics instructor at Chemeketa Community College. Ford asked him how big a beam he would need to operate a basket press that could handle his current grape production. “He did his math and said it needed to be 60 feet long. He’s since retracted it but it’s too late because now I’m building the thing.”

To begin the press, he cut down a dying 130-foot Douglas fir tree on his property. He called a local lumber mill to see if they could transform it into the beam. The answer was a resounding no. Log trucks can only move trees up to 50 feet, and most mills can’t handle one longer than 24 feet. “I said, ‘What would you do if you were trying to build a big beam that’s 60 feet long?’ and they said, ‘I’d use a chainsaw,’” Ford said. His next stop was the local logging store.

It took a 7-ton excavator to stand the tree up on two smaller logs so he could cut it to size. Ford built a carriage for the chainsaw that runs along a 2-foot-by-8-foot length of timber attached to the top, and is using a string line to trim off the curved sides of the log. When finished, the beam will be 14 inches wide at the narrowest end and 2 feet on the opposite side. (The cut-offs from the log will likely go to the tasting room, where they’ll be finished and turned into tables.)

At some point, Ford will also build a wheel that can be connected to the beam with a rope, then cranked to lower or raise the beam manually. It will operate a press about 6 feet wide, which will give Ford about four times more pressing capacity than he has now. It will also work faster; given the beam’s incredible weight, the press cycle should only take about an hour.

The disruption caused by the Covid-19 outbreak has given Ford extra time to work on projects around the winery. He hopes to have the beam cut and moved to the exterior alcove where the presses are located later this year. It will take years to fully finish it. “If we really like it, we’ll build it a little house,” Ford says fondly, looking at the log. “It will be so fun for people to go outside and have a glass of wine and see the press.”

He acknowledged that building this modern wonder makes no economic sense. “You can easily buy something so much faster that already works and that’s controlled by a computer and that does a great job of pressing the wine,” he says. “But it’s so much less fun to just buy a brand new press.”

It also wouldn’t teach him anything about winemaking. As he stands in the clearing where the log is undergoing its transformation, Ford talks about the Japanese craftsmen who adopt an art form at a young age and spend the rest of their lives refining their skills and understanding their art. “They make their own tools,” he points out. “You make your own knife, you make your own saw, you make your own pots or whatever you’re going to use for your craft. You have your tools and you know those tools are always sharp and those tools are the ones you need for the job.”

A beam may be slightly bigger than a carving knife, but Ford believes it will help him further shape and hone the medium he’s dedicated his life to.

The article No Electricity, No Problem: This Oregon Grower Is Resurrecting Ancient Roman Winemaking Techniques appeared first on VinePair.

source https://vinepair.com/articles/oregon-grower-ancient-roman-winemaking/ source https://vinology1.tumblr.com/post/624084776416100352

[johnboothus]

No Electricity No Problem: This Oregon Grower Is Resurrecting Ancient Roman Winemaking Techniques

Brad Ford, the winemaker at Oregon’s Illahe Vineyards, is always tinkering with something interesting — a wine press rescued from a junkyard, a horse-drawn mower he engineered himself, amphorae he created from scratch. The need to make or restore his own tools has been driven out of financial necessity at times, as is the case for many small wineries. But it also fulfills his desire to explore every aspect of the art, science, and mystery of his profession.

In the lull provided by the Covid-19 outbreak, Ford has embarked on his biggest project yet: building a beam-style wine press similar to the one the Roman scholar Cato wrote about in “De Agri Cultura.” When finished, he expects the 1-ton, 60-foot press will be the longest in the United States.

Credit: Sophia McDonald Bennett

The 19th Century Reimagined

Ford’s father was a hobby grape grower who began operating a vineyard professionally in 2000. Ford became the winemaker at his dad’s company about six years into the new venture and now runs all the day-to-day operations. Although he attended the wine studies program at nearby Chemeketa Community College to learn the most modern information about winemaking, he felt himself drawn to the history of farming and enology. Early on, he began to experiment with more traditional approaches to creating wine.

To begin with, he bought two draft horses, Doc and Bea, to work on the property. The team cuts the vineyard’s cover crop and transports some of the fruit during harvest. Their role is limited by the fact that teamsters are in short supply today, so Ford is the only one who knows how to drive them. Even if horses aren’t the most efficient way to farm, Ford is committed to the method. “It is really enjoyable to be around horses,” he says. “It’s way more enjoyable to be working with animals than with tractors. You get a huge human benefit out of a lifestyle that’s more ancient and natural.”

Doc and Bea also play a crucial role in one of Ford’s signature wines, the 1899 Pinot Noir. Most years he makes eight to 12 barrels of wine without the aid of electricity, stainless steel, or other conveniences invented after 1900. The grapes for the wine come from a 1-acre block that is harvested exclusively with the horses. The fruit is de-stemmed with a bicycle-powered machine, pressed in a wooden basket press, fermented with natural yeast in a wooden vat, and pumped into barrels with a bicycle-powered pump.

Even transporting the wine to Illahe’s Portland-based distributor is typically done without the aid of electricity. The boxes are moved off the property by horse and loaded into a stagecoach that delivers the wine to the nearby Willamette River. There, it’s placed in a canoe. Ford and two others spend three days paddling to Oregon City, where the boxes are transferred to a bicycle for the final leg of their journey.

While that final piece has more to do with Ford’s desire to be true to his experiment, he says he’s learned a tremendous amount about winemaking through the 1899 project, including how to work with the native yeast that he now uses exclusively in all of his reds.

“Science is one way to go about things and I love science,” Ford says. And he has no objection to using modern knowledge to help the vineyards stay healthy or remove flaws from wine. But the best foods aren’t the ones that are highly processed or made in a lab, and he believes the same is true for wine.

“Every experiment we’re doing is moving us forward to more historical winemaking than modern, scientific winemaking, and more natural winemaking,” he says. “It just produces the best wines.”

Credit: Sophia McDonald Bennett

Remaking Cato’s Wine Press

The extreme end of Ford’s desire to return to old-school winemaking is his latest project: a beam-style wine press that will be 60 feet long when it is finished. Millennia before today’s electric presses were invented, Cato and other winemakers juiced their grapes by lowering a heavy object such as a beam onto a wooden basket full of grapes. The next innovation was a screw press, which allowed people to twist one or more handles to apply force to the basket.

Ford had seen a hand-carved wooden screw press at Château du Clos de Vougeot in Burgundy. “It’s one of the things I really remember from that visit,” he said. “The wine is something I remember quite a bit, too, but coming to a place and seeing that press was an important experience for me. So if we can recreate a little bit of that experience, I’d like it.”

Despite his fascination with the Burgundian screw press, Ford decided that Cato’s beam press would be easier to build. He also knew it would be more authentic than what he was currently doing with the 1899: moving the pistons on a modern-day basket press with hydraulic auto jacks that two people had to pump by hand. (“They’re filled with hydraulic oil. Did the Romans have that? No. But are they electrical? No.”)

Ford’s closest friend is Erik Jensen, a physics instructor at Chemeketa Community College. Ford asked him how big a beam he would need to operate a basket press that could handle his current grape production. “He did his math and said it needed to be 60 feet long. He’s since retracted it but it’s too late because now I’m building the thing.”

To begin the press, he cut down a dying 130-foot Douglas fir tree on his property. He called a local lumber mill to see if they could transform it into the beam. The answer was a resounding no. Log trucks can only move trees up to 50 feet, and most mills can’t handle one longer than 24 feet. “I said, ‘What would you do if you were trying to build a big beam that’s 60 feet long?’ and they said, ‘I’d use a chainsaw,’” Ford said. His next stop was the local logging store.

It took a 7-ton excavator to stand the tree up on two smaller logs so he could cut it to size. Ford built a carriage for the chainsaw that runs along a 2-foot-by-8-foot length of timber attached to the top, and is using a string line to trim off the curved sides of the log. When finished, the beam will be 14 inches wide at the narrowest end and 2 feet on the opposite side. (The cut-offs from the log will likely go to the tasting room, where they’ll be finished and turned into tables.)

At some point, Ford will also build a wheel that can be connected to the beam with a rope, then cranked to lower or raise the beam manually. It will operate a press about 6 feet wide, which will give Ford about four times more pressing capacity than he has now. It will also work faster; given the beam’s incredible weight, the press cycle should only take about an hour.

The disruption caused by the Covid-19 outbreak has given Ford extra time to work on projects around the winery. He hopes to have the beam cut and moved to the exterior alcove where the presses are located later this year. It will take years to fully finish it. “If we really like it, we’ll build it a little house,” Ford says fondly, looking at the log. “It will be so fun for people to go outside and have a glass of wine and see the press.”

He acknowledged that building this modern wonder makes no economic sense. “You can easily buy something so much faster that already works and that’s controlled by a computer and that does a great job of pressing the wine,” he says. “But it’s so much less fun to just buy a brand new press.”

It also wouldn’t teach him anything about winemaking. As he stands in the clearing where the log is undergoing its transformation, Ford talks about the Japanese craftsmen who adopt an art form at a young age and spend the rest of their lives refining their skills and understanding their art. “They make their own tools,” he points out. “You make your own knife, you make your own saw, you make your own pots or whatever you’re going to use for your craft. You have your tools and you know those tools are always sharp and those tools are the ones you need for the job.”

A beam may be slightly bigger than a carving knife, but Ford believes it will help him further shape and hone the medium he’s dedicated his life to.

The article No Electricity, No Problem: This Oregon Grower Is Resurrecting Ancient Roman Winemaking Techniques appeared first on VinePair.

Via https://vinepair.com/articles/oregon-grower-ancient-roman-winemaking/

source https://vinology1.weebly.com/blog/no-electricity-no-problem-this-oregon-grower-is-resurrecting-ancient-roman-winemaking-techniques