#a much lower quality photo paper than last time. but it was a good learning experience and i wanted to post it anyway. happy mcr week. i am

[nixonmackay2]

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[garagnon-gallery]

Guide to Food photography

from culinary nutrition----

by Anna Pelzer

The Best Food Photography Settings Ever

Awesome Cookery Recipes for Your Next Project

Do you want to photograph your recipes but aren’t sure where to begin? Food photography opens the door to so many possibilities, such as Instagramming, writing e-books, product photography and more! It’s also a creative outlet and a fun way to work with color and express your own style. As a food photographer, I’m often asked for tips about how to take great photos. Let’s get started with this introduction to food photography!

Camera

First up, you need a camera! If you are just starting out, you may want to begin with a point-and-shoot because of its low cost and its ease of use. You can learn the basic functions of a point-and-shoot in a few minutes. (Like the name says, you just point and shoot.)

A DSLR is steeper both in price and in learning curve. I won’t get too technical, but DSLR stands for ‘digital single lens reflex’. This means when you take a picture, the camera opens up its shutter, the image reflects on to the camera’s internal mirror, and then on to the sensor. I started out using a point-and-shoot, but switching to a DSLR made a world of difference in clarity and color representation. A DSLR also gives you much more control in different light situations. For me, the price difference was worth it. If you have someone in your life who is really good at finding deals online, this may be a great way to find a used DSLR.

However, whether you are using a point-and-shoot, DSLR, or a phone camera, the basic principles of composition are the same.

Creating Bright Images

Shutter speed, aperture, and ISO are the three elements that affect the brightness of your images. Let’s talk about them in a little more detail.

Shutter Speed

The speed at which the shutter opens can be slowed down to allow more light to hit the sensor in low light situations. I do this on dark, gloomy days or in the fall when it gets dark early. However, with the shutter being open longer, there can be more blur and therefore you might need a tripod. As a rule of thumb, I shoot handheld at 1/125th of a second – you may have a steadier hand than I, but below 1/100th of a second, I use a tripod to avoid camera shake (this results in blurry images).

Aperture

Aperture refers to the width of the opening of your lens. Opening up the aperture lets in more light and also creates a shallow depth of field, resulting in more background blur. This effect allows you to draw the viewer’s eye to where the camera focus is. The lower the number, the wider the aperture. Thus, if you want a sharp focus in one area with a lot of background blur, you may choose a lower number such as 3.2 or 3.5. If you want background objects to be more in focus – a wider depth of field – you may choose a higher number, for example, 11 or 14 (remembering that this won’t let in as much light and you will need to adjust shutter speed or ISO).

ISO

ISO refers to your camera’s sensitivity to light. It is the element I would adjust last, after shutter speed and aperture, because having a high ISO can affect the quality of your image, creating “noise” especially in the darker areas of the photo. I try to keep ISO below 500, but in a dark situation, if I don’t have a tripod and my aperture is already wide open, I will go higher.

Using Light in Food Photography

My preference is to use natural light whenever possible. Professional lights are available however, I would recommend getting familiar with your camera and using natural light before making that investment.

The most important thing is to avoid, as far as lighting goes, indoor kitchen lighting as it casts a yellow glow on your food. If, however, you have food that you want to photograph and it’s 5 pm on a rainy day in November, and you have no choice but to use your indoor lighting, turn your white balance to the Tungsten setting. This will add more blue to your shot and neutralize the yellow.

Another thing to consider is which direction you want the light to come from. Back lighting is the technique I use most. I usually prefer to stand facing my subject on a table with a window on the other side of the table. I find the way the light hits the subject to be the most pleasing to my eye. But try letting the light hit from the front and the side and see what you prefer most! Depending on the weather and the type of dish I am photographing, my preference will sometimes change.

On a dark day, if using back lighting, you may need to bounce some light back at your subject to reduce shadows on your food. You can purchase reflectors designed for this purpose from photography stores. You could also use foam core, poster board, or anything on hand that is white. In a pinch, I have even used napkins and a roll of paper towel!

Composition

If you were to draw two vertical lines and two horizontal lines evenly across your image, dividing it into nine squares, then having the point of focus at one of the intersections adds compositional interest to the photo. This is known as the rule of thirds and is why you may see this on your camera or photo editing software.

One possibility would be to place your main subject near the front and have other blurred out subjects behind, to lead the viewer’s eye through the photo.

Vertical or Horizontal Photos?

Try getting one good shot of each. Vertical works well for Instagram and Pinterest, while horizontal is ideal for blogs, banners and Facebook.

Angles

There are a few common angles you can use to successfully photograph food:

A 45 degree angle shows food as if you were sitting down to eat it. This is one of my favorite angles, as it shows a beautiful texture. There will usually be more focus towards the front of the dish.

Shooting from top down (directly overhead) can show the entire dish in even focus (if everything is the same height), but you lose some of the texture.

A straight on angle can be used to show height if, for example, you are showing a stacked sandwich or a drink.

Styling

A crucial point to food photography is to have your food looking its best. I like to add some raw vegetables or herbs alongside cooked foods to add more freshness to the dish, especially if the meal is brown, such as chili. I soak herbs and greens in cold water for about 30 minutes before using and remove any wilted ones. I add garnishes for color and interest, preferably ones that show something that went into the dish – such as a basil leaf in a pesto.

Plating

If you are making steaks and one is perfectly browned and looks better than the others, put that one in front or on top and make it your camera focus.

In food photography, full bowls are desirable. Even if your normal serving of soup only fills up half the bowl, fill it up for the photo! I stop before it reaches the point of overflowing, although you may want to experiment with drips – many people make that part of their style. It can be helpful to use smaller plates, bowls and other serving pieces in food photography, as large ones can overwhelm the food and make it more difficult to make those full bowls. sauces can soak into the food

When you are setting up your shot, reserve some sauce to add once you figure out your perfect angle. I always take a few shots before adding dressing to a salad because the leaves can start to wilt quickly from the oil and acid.

Best Food Photography Props

Use neutral props that keep the focus on the food. Avoid busy, distracting patterns on plates as the food can become lost in the photo. My favorite dishes are gray or white and matte, so there is no glare shining back at the camera and the food is what stands out.

Another thing I highly recommend using is a wooden background board, which you can purchase from Etsy, My favorite board was made from an old barn door! With wooden boards, I again look for a matte finish to reduce glare, as well as interesting textures.

I prefer to use clean backgrounds so the focus is entirely on my dish. However, you may want to display some of the ingredients around the food to show part of the cooking process. Other options for adding interest include colorful napkins, flowers or unique serving utensils. Check out secondhand shops for some great vintage finds.

Also try using a hand model to show interaction with the food!

5 Suggested Props for Beginners

Wood background board or large cutting board

Monotone plate and bowl

Vintage cutlery (check out thrift shops)

Cloth napkin or a dish towel

Stemless wine glass or Mason jars for smoothies or parfaits

Do not let a lack of props or a hand-me-down camera stop you from creating. You can create amazing art on a plate just by having fresh and colorful food displayed in your own unique style. Remember that good food photography takes time to master and it’s OK if you don’t love your photos right away. Practice as much as you can and enjoy the process!

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#comfort food #best food photography #food photography cameras #how to photograph food

[mcrmadness]

Madness draws: Behind the Scenes of the latest Farin&Bela pencil drawing.

Aka the one that’s also my icon, even when that was a big risk to take because normally I start hating the photos I have once drawn, especially if I have failed miserably. This is how the drawing itself turned out:

ATTENTION: The original post about that drawing, with better image, behind this link.

This post is solely about the process itself with lots of pictures and also plenty of gifs, because I promised to do one if people would like to see that and I got some comments saying that they’re looking forward for that. So, here’s now that post!

For starters I have to apologize for the terrible quality that is the photos. I used my phone camera only and never thought about posting them, I just took them as a reference for myself and to show the progress to a friend and only after finishing the drawing I noticed that the angle of the camera causes a huge impact on the perspective of the drawing, so I sometimes might have done useless work when I thought some perspective was wrong when it was actually the photo that was wrong and not my work! I mean, take a look at these photos of the finished piece:

You see that? I realized this when I took maybe the second photo of the Farin sheet and looked at it and couldn’t believe my eyes because I didn’t remember drawing his torsto THAT small! And then I looked at the drawing and was like “wtf???” because it looked nothing like in the photo and then it hit me...

Also, another thing that I learn was that I might need to pay more attention to the perspective of the whole thing also because when I draw, I sit at the table so I am constantly seeing the drawing from my perspective instead of looking at it from above so that’s probably also going to affect the way I draw. I try to keep that in mind in the future so I can avoid redrawing things again and again just because my perspective is different than the reference photo’s.

Also the giant forehead of Farin’s in the photo on the right might have caused me to laugh a bit too much but anyway, let’s continue~ Or more like: let’s start for real this time.

Here’s the reference photo to y’all:

What I did in photoshop was to draw a line between them to see how I can divide the photo on two A4 papers. I had been thinking about this photo for some time already because it’s one of my favorites (but now I just feel cringy looking at it after I have drawn it... goddamnit!), and I got this idea that I could try drawing it on two papers in case I fuck up so I can start over or try again without having to do twice the work! Which was actually a good decision because this was the first version of Farin:

And it was awful. I also realized I had never drawn Farin’s face from he front. I have drawn him before from the side a few times but maybe once it came out actually good so that was why I decided to do the 2 paper method - because I knew it was not going to be an easy job! Bela is relatively easy to draw so I knew already that I would not have too many problems with that one.

I struggled with Farin’s eyes the most, at first.

It took me a while to figure out how to do that white line in his lower lid. Keep in mind that this was my first face portrait in over 10 years so I was very, very rusty and I just didn’t remember how to draw like anything anymore. (The photo is tilted because Bela’s face is a bit tilted and my hand can’t draw anything that is not straight [lol] so I have to rotate the photo in order to even draw the sketch of Bela’s eyes.)

So I took my sketchbook and tried to do some eyes...

I was still struggling so much here until I remembered about blending. And I didn’t have my hopes high but grabbed the eyeshadow applicators (my fave tool for blending) anyway, and switched to my other sketchbook in case the paper was the issue and:

Blending. It was all about blending! So with that in mind, I realized I can continue and I don’t need to do these in my old way, everything doesn’t have to have a lineart done but some of the job is done not with the pencils but with the eraser.

Anyhow, the previous Farin looked really bad and was too big as well so I just discarded that and started a new sheet because the old lines were not coming off properly anymore. I don’t remember if this is the old face or new but I think this might still be the old one:

Yes it definitely is the old because look at those lines! This is the new sheet:

And in the photo you can see one of my pencils - I use Derwent Graphic pencils, it’s a 12 pencil set with very soft pencils, starting with H, F and HB and ending to 9B. With this one I used F, HB, B, 2B, 5B, 7B and 9B. The white pencil is actually my new love aka the eraser pencil Koh-I-Noor Hardmuth. It’s amazing, I recommend! I just didn’t order 10 new ones this other day. I actually used about 1,5 full eraser pencils on this drawing alone so that’s why 10.

Here’s a “little” gif of the process on Farin:

I felt crazy when I went for the shirt, and I felt like I was going crazy MEANWHILE drawing it but in the end I did it and I’m super proud of it!

Below is the reference photo, it was pain in the ass to follow all those lines with my eyes and try to find what was I drawing and where was I but I think I did good. That was a fun challenge.

Okay so, when I was done with the new lineart, I decided to go for the shading and blending because that’s what really makes the drawings to pop. I started with the left (his right, my left) side of Farin’s face because I’m right-handed, and in the first photo I had done just the left (right) eye and mouth and nose, but in the second there’s also the other eye done already:

Keep in mind this was not the last time I drew the eyes. Not even close.

Something was off with the right (left) eye so I had to do that one again and I noticed that when you blend but haven’t erased and cleaned it yet, it looks like a black eye :DDD So here’s the before and after images of that cleaning. (Cleaning = I draw, blend, erase, draw and blend more when needed and then erase again, and repeat this as many times as I need until it starts to look ready to my eye.)

So here Farin was “finished” but if you still remember the final piece or compare it to it, you might notice it looks quite different. And you’re right. But more about that later, because at this point I started to work on Bela.

It actually started really well - I also had to do the whole lineart again because it did not match the size of “finished” Farin. I don’t remember if this is the first or second eye but when I had drawn his eye for the first time, I noticed it was not in line with Farin so I had to redraw it. A gif of the progress:

What’s that brown paper I’m using, you may ask? Well I noticed that people have some sort of paper on top of their art to keep it from smudging and I have no clue what that is so here’s my poor artist recommendation: baking paper! I tested it and it works (if you just remember to keep it under your hand, that is...) so that is, in fact, baking paper! :DD

I have drawn Bela’s face a few times before and he’s just so much easier to draw. In fact I used 4-5 days on Farin but I managed to start and finish (this version of) Bela just in one day. And that means that out of 12 hours (because I literally used the whole day for drawing) I used maybe like... 5h or something on Bela. That’s how much easier he really is to draw.

I don’t know wtf is wrong with Farin’s face but he’s extremely difficult to draw and I’m not the only one who has been saying this. I guess he just looks so regular but still unique enough to be difficult to draw. Bela then again has features that are very unique and very... caricature-like? I mean that just by drawing his nose or chin you can make a comic book Bela look exactly like himself, and with more realistic style his eyes already do a lot, but Farin’s really the opposite. My comic book version of Farin is literally the most basic version I can draw, it’s how I draw those characters and the only thing that makes him look himself is the hair, and his nose in a side profile. So I think that’s why it’s so difficult to draw him because he doesn’t look too regular but still regular enough to make is a very challenging task to do properly.

So yeah, the same day as I started working on Bela, I was also “finished” with the drawing:

Also look at how different it looks like from this perspective:

With the reference photo open in photoshop and I don’t understand how Bela looks more like himself in my drawing than in the photo. Also when I showed the WIP to my brother, he said that I somehow had succeeded at making Farin look more like Farin than what he does in the photo even. It’s weird.

But we were still far from finished. I was going to use the fixative on this soon but it just kept snowing the whole week so I couldn’t so every time I walked past the drawings, I stopped to fix this and that. For days I kept telling myself “I’m done, I can’t do more than this, I can’t do better than this.” and considered the drawing finished but still kept fixing things. Every time I was “done” with the other drawing, I saw something to fix in the other one and once that was done, I felt like the first one wasn’t as good and had to fix something from it too. And that led to a cycle where the other drawing was always better than the other and the worse one needed to be fixed. In the end I was hating the whole process and myself and my skills and I was already ready to abandon this whole thing and call it a day and never ever show it to anyone “because I cannot draw”. The photo above, here’s a list of things I redrew after that:

Bela’s eyes, the right (left) one at least twice.

Bela’s nose.

Bela’s mouth a couple of times.

Farin’s eyes x588045028520

And a list of things I kept fixing and fixing:

Bela’s chin.

Bela’s neck shadows.

Bela’s hairline.

Farin’s whole face was tilted so I tried to fix that.

Farin’s face was too wide, which meant also partially redrawing the ear.

Farin’s hair was too long and wide too.

Farin’s nose.

Farin’s mouth might be the only thing I drew only once and I’m actually still extremely proud of how it came to be. I did the lips solely with blending so that was super exciting to notice how I can use it for drawing and don’t need the pencils for everything!

During Bela’s eyes and nose and mouth especially I was hating myself so much and I felt like I was taking the risk of ruining the whole thing and a few times I was certain that was what I had just done too, until I somehow was able to save it again. But because of that, I wasn’t able to make Bela’s mouth any lighter anymore, the color wasn’t just coming off the paper so had to use what was there and make it look like it’s how it’s supposed to be, too.

Here’s a gif about those changes on Bela - the first one has the old eyes and nose, the others have minor changed on the nose and mouth:

(The blacks probably don’t get any blacker in reality, I did add more color to it all the time but mainly it’s just the lighting and my phone camera changing the brightness.)

I did the final details on his nose without even using the reference photo anymore. The photo didn’t seem to make any sense anymore at all so I was just using my mechanical pencil and the blending tool and eraser to make is look better. To my eye it looked more like a very flat nose with a big tip of the nose and he doesn’t have a flat nose and I tried to get rid of that illusion. I still feel like it makes him look bit weird but I’m not entirely sure how. Maybe it was because of my improvisation, idk...

So, Bela was then finally finished for the last time. In the Farin piece his left (right) eye had been bugging me the whole time and I didn’t want to touch it but still I felt like I have to do something about it because it was bugging me way too much. I then figured I could draw the eye line by line and take a photo of it each time to see if it looks right already or not, maybe I could then avoid doing all the phases before I was sure what to think about it. I mean, now the only way to see if it was correct was to draw e.g. an eye from start to finish, I couldn’t see from just the lineart or unblended eye if it was in the right spot etc. And here’s that progress on a gif:

The gif about only the eye would look so nice if Tumblr didn’t make the gifs so HUGE - this one is actually only 300px or 400px or something:

Apparently I also wasn’t happy with the other eye because:

But good thing is: I really enjoy drawing eyes. I love seeing them to “come alive”, my favorite part was to eraser a bit of the color on the iris to make them look like they are actually shiny! It feels like something so small to do and yet it makes a huge impact on the drawing!

And here’s yet another gif of the whole Farin sheet with all of the changes, including the last changes that made his head narrower, and less tilted and more in line. Look at the left side of his head especially to see that:

I can also see his nose changing between the first few photos. I keep forgetting about that but yeah, I also fixed that a little at some point.

And last but not least, the whole drawing in some sort of a timelapse gif:

Last two are the same but just a photo and the scan of the finished drawing. I still keep seeing things I would do differently but no can do, I already used fixative on it, also to keep myself from obsessing with it any more :D And to use it as a study of some sort. I have never been able to draw a perfect pencil drawing and this isn’t one either. I probably never can draw perfect drawings from references.

I do enjoy the whole shading and blending process, so much so that when I was editing these photos, I just wanted to start drawing something so bad but I also figured that I start to lose motivation when I get to the point where everything should be finished but I just can’t make it perfect. Like the current WIP I have, all I should do is to get the proportions and perspective and the lines of their faces correctly and I would be ready but it feels more like a superpower some people possess and I’m not one of those. I don’t know what is it but I just feel that I cannot see. I don’t know how to explain it, but I can’t see what I try to do and somehow keep drawing everything the wrong way. Just like in this post’s drawing too. There’s still things that are wrong and I know what it is but I don’t know how to solve it. My hands just don’t listen to me and they can’t do what I think they should. I also think the reason I cannot draw perfect copies of photos is because you can always see my “handprint” in them. If I copy a photo, it will look like a photo and not like a drawing made by me. So I believe that in my drawing there’s always a part of me visible and I’m not entirely sure if it’s a good thing or not. On bad days it’s not a good thing, obviously. On good days? Well I guess it’s good then because it just means I have my own style which I really should appreciate. But I wish I had my style only when I want it to be visible, but I can’t control it. Just like I cannot write text by hand that would look like it was written with a computer, so I guess I should just try to get used to it, no matter how much it’d bug me sometimes.

#mcrmadness draws #mcrmadness draws: behind the scenes #dä fanart #die ärzte

[artistsemamartin-blog]

5 Artist Studio Must Haves

When it comes to the right studio space for any artist, some of us can be limited or find it hard to know what we need before we can sit down and draw. I have taken around 3 years to learn and build up the must have items I use every day for my commission work. In this blog I have laid out the 5 Artist Studio Must Haves I cannot live without including scanners and drawing board. There is a direct amazon link for a UK or US customer for each item I talk about. I hope this is useful to you. Let me know in the comments below.

Wooden Artist Draws

I search a while for these draws, and they were so hard to find. I ended up getting this 4 Drawer Wood Artist Supply Storage Box from the american amazon store since the UK one only sold two or three draw types which isnt really enough. They are the perfect size for pencils and stackable, so as your collections of pencils grow you can buy more draws to fit them all. These draws fit my 76 Caran D’Ache Luminance pencils box, 2x 24 set of Derwent Drawing Pencils and my set of 120 Faber Castell Polychromos Pencils. So they four draws is plenty!

They also come with handy dividers inside so you can separate your colours and have everything organised and easy to use. I highly recommend getting them as a must have studio tool.

Click the following buttons to buy from amazon if you are in the UK or US.

A0 Drawing Table

My A0 Drawing Board is definitely one of my favourite items I have bought for my studio. The UK link is the exact table I have bought but the USA link is the smaller version created by the same company. It’s worth spending more money on quality drawing table so it can last your entire artistic career. As a professional I use it all day every day and I am constantly tipping it backward and forward for drawing and photography of my work. It is really easy to use, and you can even adjust the height, so if you are a shorty like me you can have it lower than a normal table, or a lot higher than one. This A0 size gives me plenty of elbow room and the foot supports on the bottom are a great height for keeping your legs at a relaxed angel. I recommend buying this A0 Drawing Board if you have the room.

Click the following buttons to buy from amazon if you are in the UK or US.

Daylight Lamp

The right lamp is so important for drawing so you can trust you are seeing the right colours all the time and you are not dependent on a good sunny day. Since I live in a cottage in the middle of Wales, I don’t have the best lighting in my studio and therefore I am so happy I bought this lamp. The PHIVE LED Architect Lamp lights my work with a bright even light and you can hold down the power button as a dimmer switch. It secures well to my drawing board or a desk and has a long cable which is useful for plugging it in far from a socket. I would recommend getting this lamp to work on your latest creation, all hours in the day and night.

Click the following buttons to buy from amazon if you are in the UK or US.

Technology Must Haves

Technology wise I cannot complete a portrait without my Lenovo Tab E7 Tablet and my Canon LIDE 220 Scanner. I upload the reference picture to my tablet so I can zoom in on details and have a clear picture to work from. There are many tablets out there by this was the most affordable for me and does its one job perfectly. After I have completed a portrait, I use my Canon LIDE 220 Scanner to scan in my work at 600ppi. This means I have a high-quality image to use for prints and on my website whilst the customer keeps the original. This is an A4 size and larger sizes are available at a higher cost. But usually I scan the image in parts if it is larger than A4 and then put the picture together in photoshop which doesn’t take too much time. I will hopefully save up and get a large printer scanner but for now this one does the job perfectly for me.

Thank you for reading my blog about my 5 Artist Studio Must Haves. I hope it was helpful and if you have any questions then please do not hesitate to contact me or comment below. I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

Hello and welcome to my blog. My name is Sema Martin and I am a realism pet portrait artist based in Wales, UK.  I specialise in colour pencil as a medium and have created many pet portraits for customers in Wales drawing from their reference photo sent to me by email. The high-quality brand of colour pencils used is a mixture of Faber Castell Polychromos and Caran D'ache Luminance on extra smooth Bristol Board paper.

#art careers #artist help #artist tips for colour pencil #artist studio set up #5 Artist Studio Must Haves #proffessional artist help #wales portrait artist #artist #art help #art career help #art motivation #artist set up #studio set up #artist studio

[superchiefer]

Solid Desktop Computer Advice For The Masses

Computers are a necessity in life for many people. On the other hand, desktop computers do not last a lifetime. When it's time to get a new desktop, it's vital you get the best deal. This article is all about those things. These tips will help you get the best deal on a desktop.

Look around for individuals who give away desktop computers. This will help you to save a lot of money during the process. Typically, such a computer is going to be in fine shape, but it's still prudent to verify the functionality before you make an offer.

Take measurements for the sport where you will place your desktop. Desktops vary in size. Some have a smaller frame, and others are very tall. Be aware of your space limitations before you make your purchase.

Dust the interior of your computer weekly to have the most efficient computer. The case is easy to open, and you can use a compressed air can to spray dust. Doing so will enable the fan to rotate at its optimum speed, and also keep your computer clean on its interior.

Prior to making your computer purchase, examine various reviews on reputable tech sits. It might seem intimidating to sort through everything, but top pick lists can help immensely.

To determine what kind of computer you need, write down what you want to do on it. The kind of computer you require is based on the kind of tasks you plan to use it for. Gamers need different options on a computer than those who merely check email and surf the Internet.

You need to be diligent when purchasing a new desktop, seeing as manufacturers have minimized paper documents that come with computers. Be sure that you can find what you need online and that you have access to software and driver downloads.

Get a DVD drive if you're thinking about transferring large files. A simple CD drive is not always enough. A DVD optical drive will provide you with the space you'll need for larger multimedia files. It will cost you more, but you'll eventually be thankful you upgraded.

Does your computer have enough RAM? When it comes to desktops, memory is important. Do you plan on storing a lot of data on your computer? Do you have lots of MP3s or photos? Take these questions into consideration when searching for the computer you need.

Avoid getting wrapped up in thinking that the price will go lower. Some folks are constantly watching for deals. But they wait and wait because they assume they can get a much better discount with time. Computer deals aren't normally huge, so if you find something good, just buy it.

Take the peripherals into consideration when buying a computer. You need speakers, a keyboard, a mouse, and a monitor to start with. You will probably also need a modem and a good printer. Are there any other accessories that you will need, too?

If you are considering an upgrade to your new computer, check if it is available right from the start when you buy the computer. Many times you can get the computer a lot cheaper with the add-ons from the seller than you would if you bought each component separately at a later time.

While nearly every desktop these days has built-in WiFi, make sure that the most current standards are in there. WiFi without N levels will not be as fast. This makes all the difference in download and web surfing speed.

Many computers now come with SSD drives; these boot up much more quickly than others. SSD drives help that computer boot up much faster than a computer with an HDD drive. You should also have a large traditional HDD, so that your files are backed up on a separate drive.

Don't underestimate the importance of build quality when it comes to desktop computers. People can be hard on desktop computers, and this is especially true if they're sitting on any type of floor. Your desktop needs to be sturdy enough to cope. Do not buy a computer that looks cheap.

After reading the information above, you have the information to find a great desktop. Use the tips you've learned to find a computer that will work for you. You should be able to find the computer that fits your needs.

#Desktop Computer #technology

[smollandtoll]

HC: Science TA Geno History Student Sid

The second these photos came out we were like IT’S TIME. So HERE. WE. GO:

Imagine a universe in which Sid and Geno are separated by a few more years but not enough for it to be weird and Sid is a history major/gym addict (we just can’t picture him without the lower body) who has put off his science requirements for his degree until the very last possible time to do them. So there he is, 21/22 with a bunch of 18y/o freshmen in first year chem, looking mildly confused three times a week in lecture with his biceps threatening to burst through his intramural hockey tees, carefully seated 2/3 of the way up the lecture hall for maximum anonymity.

Sid does not like science very much. At least, not advanced science; he has no need for it beyond understanding the theory and the basics. He has no burning need to know the world’s innermost workings, and he thinks stoichiometry should go die in a fire.

But he’s also not going to let his GPA suffer because of this stupid class. He has a hard time focusing because he has so many other MORE IMPORTANT things he could be doing with his time so he gets lost easily and feels like he’s floundering and it’s ridiculous and embarrassing.

So, like a good and diligent student he goes to the TA office hours with his last quiz, bracing himself for an hour with some bored grad-school chem major to try and get a handle on the last module before it’s too far into the semester to catch up, and immediately has to squint at the name Evgeni Malkin on the door. He’s not even sure how to pronounce that. Eff-Jenny? Eve Genie? Veg-inni? He knows enough to parse out that it’s Russian and he immediately flashes to a nerdy Russian stereotype playing chess in his office behind thick glasses and a really tragic knit sweater. Sid is prepared to have the WORST time with a hardcore nerd who probably thinks a BA jock like Sid shouldn’t even be in his class - LET ALONE the fact Sid doesn’t want to be there and doesn’t get it and really doesn’t care.

Geno doesn’t make much better of a first impression. BUT to be fair:

The smell in his shared office is vinegary from the eco-friendly cleaning solution that he used to clean up an unfortunate sour cream incident in his small ancient TA office microwave. And it’s also a little like BO because...well because he smells like BO because he hasn’t been home for more than 20 minutes in weeks working on a breakthrough in his thesis. And let’s be fair, all the tiny shitty basements TAs get shoved into smell a little funky. He can’t be blamed!

Re: the point of hasn’t been home in weeks, his clothes are thoroughly dirty, we’re talking food stains, ink stains, lab stains of who knows what that soaked through his labcoat and smeared on his shirt cuffs. Also the clothes he’s wearing are his warmest and most comfortable. Oversized university sweatshirt (he’s so cold always), beanie (covering up greasy hair), his glasses because he hasn’t had time to order new contacts, extra cardigan over the back of his chair for when it gets particularly drafty after dark.

There are a LOT of mugs, and cups, and takeout containers where there aren’t stacks of papers upon papers upon textbooks. Listen, office hours are boring and any time he can get for his thesis is welcome. Cleaning isn’t high on his list of things to do currently.

So anyway, imagine Geno highly sleep deprived (who needs sleep when you have CHEMISTRY), and probably lacking a nutritionally balanced meal and hopped up on caffeine looking up at the knock to his door and seeing the most beautiful man possibly EVER standing in the doorway. He looks wary and faintly disgusted, but he also looks like he smells good, and his hair is a little damp, like he’d just come from the gym or something.

Geno legitimately thinks he's starting to hallucinate beautiful men. But then Sid opens his mouth and Geno recoils because no cute angels actually sound like that, so he must be a student.

And then Sid's asking about his quiz and he's so DETERMINED AND BRIGHT but clearly hating chem and just trying to like STRONG-ARM IT INTO OBEYING HIM. And you know what, this Geno legitimately loves chemistry; the way it underpins all of nature and all of biology, the way you can add one thing to another and get something totally surprising seemingly out of nowhere, the way equations balance out so beautifully when you get them right - the way it’s a whole language that makes perfect and total sense, unlike the confusing jumble of English he’s been putting up with since he moved here for school. He DOES want to help students learn to understand it - to love it like he does, ideally.

Geno probably pulls the test closer for a look and faintly remembers Sid seeing him up close. In class he’d never looked like much, usually wearing a ball cap that kept his beautiful face in shadow and from 40ft away in an auditorium he looked like every other university freshman, not this stacked slice of yum (on second thought, judging by the quality of his internal monologue, Geno is starting to think maybe he really does need to get some sleep).

Looking at the quiz is a little painful in some places though. Geno points out that Sid’s not dumb, but he’s careless with his work.

"This inattentiveness kill you in lab."

"I don't like science, I don't particularly want to be here, but I need this requirement and I'm not going to fly by with a C and let it tank my GPA. SO. we're going over every single one of these quiz questions."

"...You got most right though."

"Still, I could hear a repeat of the concepts, cramming doesn’t help anyone.”

So Sid sits gingerly in the moth-eaten chair in the cramped office while Geno (greasy, owlish with lack of sleep, a little too enthusiastic) tries to impress upon him the BEAUTY of Chemistry and Sid tries to dedicate himself to remembering anything at all while his brain keeps reflexively blanking out every time Geno mentions equilibriums. He’s doing better one on one, but he knew that, he always did better with a focused point for his attention.

Anyway so Sid walks out thinking the TA is like kind of a Russian Science Gremlin Nerd who chats on forums and has never eaten anything other than cheetos (judging by the contents of the wastebasket by the door). And Geno watches the door close probably thinking someone who wears as much athleisure wear and is as jacked as Sid, not to mention was only 70% successful in hiding his general disdain for THE GLORY OF STOICH, is kind of a meathead.

But Sid learned some things and Geno’s a patient if slightly judgy teacher, and Geno knows not everyone can truly understand his love of chem, so they both come out with not...100% accurate impressions of each other, but with a kind of alliance? An understanding? The usual academic relationship you might have with a TA. They're both students, the difference being one gives a shit about the topic and grades the other one’s work. Sid checks in a couple more times with questions and Geno clears up some desk space to help out if he can. 

SO THEN. The semester ends, Sid passes chem, Geno gives him a high five when he hands back his final exam, which has a sticker of a cat with pom-poms saying PURR-FECT on it. Geno loves weird animal stickers (Geno is the weirdest person Sid has ever met maybe).

The next time Geno sees Sid is in the library of all places. Geno would have never thought Sid would be caught dead in a uni library. Like that doesn’t actually make sense the more he thinks about it, but it’s true, he thought maybe Sid’s intensity about his GPA was sport-team related. But here he is stationed at a carrel that is just covered in organized stacks of books, meticulous notes, colour coded even! Sid is hyper-focused on what he’s doing, flipping through a book with one hand and jotting down notes with the other.

Geno: Oh shit I'm getting a competence boner, SID IS REALLY SMART OH NO, HE’S SO ORGANIZED AND DEDICATED. LOOK AT ALL THE TABS IN THAT TEXTBOOK.

He’s beautiful and brilliant RIP G. So then Geno kind of low-key follows Sid's academic career - sees/stalks/stares in the library if he has occasion to be there (SID IS THERE SO OFTEN OH NO), immediately ducking between a couple of shelves whenever Sid looks up or stretches. He finds too many reasons to hang out in the Russian history section, probably bothering Ovi who is actually taking history courses and has a reason to be there and actually knows Sid, much to his disgust with Zhenya when he finds out what’s happening (why not a good Russian history undergrad Zhenya??). Geno has studying to do too! The library is an ideal place to study! What’s that you say, the whole catalogue is even easier to navigate digitally? Shush, you.

The next time Sid sees Geno after the semester ends is in the biggest campus gym. One time he was running on the track for a cool-down and saw Geno swimming in the lane pool below through the windows.

Initially Sid was like "good for him, he doesn't go outside enough, lil russian potted plant/cheeto gremlin."

And then Geno grabs hold of the side of the pool and lifts himself out and Sid almost runs off the track, stumbling hard. Geno doesn't have the soft and furry pale body that Sid was expecting - he's all clean angles with an even tan and the shoulder-to-waist ratio OF A DORITO. He looks insanely long and lean, just legs for days. Sid tries to recollect if he’d ever seen Geno standing before and honestly can’t remember. But watching him wiping the water out of his eyes and walk over to joke and laugh with the lifeguard on her stand, he has to be over six feet, EASILY. He just looked so small hunched in his little office in his sweaters! His face is so angular without the glasses!

So then Sid kind of gets just as creepy as G is in the library and figures out when Geno frequents the gym and starts attending at the same time to creep. The track is raised! It overlooks the pool and he’s a frequent runner! It goes on like that for some time, some mutual creeping in the way you do when you’re on a campus with 20,000 (or w/e) people and you see a familiar face but it would be weird to say hi and so you just keep going about your day/occasionally creeping as one does.

It all comes to a head fortunately one Friday night in late January. Sid gets knocked on his ass yet again at the campus pub one night when he finds out that G doesn't always dress like a soviet grandpa or a mostly-nude glistening adonis. He’s all legs a mile long in jeans laughing with his Russian TA bros, gold chains and a bright graphic tee. He looks so at ease in his clothing the way that Sid never does, because Sid is so sold, blocky, muscular - he always looks like he's 5 seconds from hulking out in his clothing or like he's swimming in his dad's suit, there's no medium. The best he can usually manage is looking like he works in a sporting goods store with an unflattering polo shirt and some track pants. And here’s Geno all handsome and tall and easy confidence with his friends, and Sid KNOWS he’s brilliant too, like this is a disaster.

Meanwhile Geno is IN LOVE with how Sid always looks like he’s going to bust out of whatever he’s wearing but this is just because Sid is still young and hasn't grown into his face/lost some childhood fat and like learned how sleek he can look in well-tailored clothing.

(Brief moment of silent thanks for his current tailor)

G probably sees Sid at the bar as well, looking flushed pink from his drink and giggling atrociously/attractively with his friends. His lips are bright pink and the flush looks so good on those cheekbones and someone’s obviously convinced him to ditch the athleisure and dress like a normal guy for the night. And if Sid is old enough to get into the bar that's not creepy right? They're no longer teacher/student and Sid looks so so so pretty. Geno might be a little drunk and narrating all of this to a very unimpressed Gonch.

(Gonch is a PHD student who is like taking 800 years to do his work because like he's also working a day job because he has a wife and kids)

There are some glances back and forth for a bit, and eventually they can both tell the other is looking looking. Geno is just tipsy enough he plucks up the courage to go over to Sid. And Sid, seeing him approaching, catching his eye, distances himself from his history nerd friends (WE’RE LOOKING AT YOU JACK JOHNSON).

So they meet up in a little nook along the bar, and exchange smiles/greetings (Sid looking up, up, up at him and feeling his flush getting DEEPER). And then the awkwardness sets in HARD. The problem being it's kind of loud in the bar, because they always are, and Sid has trouble with accents most of the time and so does Geno, plus they've both had a few beers.

They end up 100% not understanding anything the other is saying and doing that weird smile-and-nod but not-knowing-what-to-say thing that keeps your convos stilted and awkward with a few “SORRY?”s thrown in for good measure.

They’re still both a little blushy and a little mortified about not understanding. Geno feels like he understood more the first day he came to America he's like "How have I regressed to literally zero English. I don’t remember ANY ENGLISH WORDS."

Meanwhile Sid has realized they can’t really understand each other and the beer has loosened his lips enough that he’s taking advantage of the situation and blurting a lot of awkward stuff he’s way too embarrassed to actually say.

Unfortunately there’s one of those LULLS in the bar where everyone stops talking and the music is between songs and Sid just yells "I DIDN'T REALIZE YOU WERE HOT AT FIRST."

Cue an few cackles from the wings and Sid’s instant mortification. Geno’s face is doing something between fighting a smirk of amusement and being confused/concerned.

Mostly Geno realizes that this is going to spiral out of control very quickly and tugs Sid’s elbow until they’re stepping outside together in the freezing night where their shouts will actually reach each other’s ears.

Basically they end up in a Denny’s at 2 am blushing at each other. Geno getting his flirt on, because once he feels like Sid’s into him he is all confident body language and jokes, getting into Sid’s personal space with his impossibly long limbs. Sid relaxes into being kinda snarky and snide, but so quick-witted and kind, the side of him that Geno had only briefly glimpsed during their office hour conversations. And that’s all it really takes, because they both are the type to go for what they want, and the interest is clearly mutual, and it turns out they already know a bit too much about each other’s schedules and they just make it work in the best ways.

They quickly turn into THAT COUPLE that makes all their friends roll their eyes, and Geno never stops chirping Sid for “I didn’t think you were hot at first.” both in front of other people and while Sid is trying desperately to wrestle G’s jeans off (“oh, I’m hot enough now, Sid?” “shut UP Geno and lift up your hips!!”).

Of course being the academic doorknobs they are, neither of them realize that this is an everlasting permanent kind of love, a LEGIT COLLEGE SWEETHEART KIND OF LOVE until like Sid meal preps Geno's entire week without asking whenever he knows that there's a big assignment coming up and he's never gonna get out of the lab, so he like keeps eating vegetables and not just cheetos and potato-based dishes.

Geno adopts all Sid's weird little rituals in his spaces because he respects that Sid has a system and is serious about his studies and has witnessed the meltdowns that can occur when too big a wrench gets thrown into Sid’s day. He never bothers Sid while he’s studying, but working out a system to ask unobtrusively if he wants a snack.

Geno willingly gets pranked by Flower because there’s HAZING when it comes to roommate’s significant others showering in their bathroom.

Sid has an intimidating family dinner with the Gonchars he was in no way prepared for, but gamely shows up with a bottle of wine and a button down shirt that is still creased from the packaging.

By the time Geno is cheering in the crowd at Sid’s graduation they’re maybe getting an inkling what their future looks like, full of too many bookshelves, messy stacks of papers and notebooks, missed anniversaries for papers and research but made up with good sex and take out, lumpy knit sweaters over the backs of chairs and ugly but charming antique furniture. Full of each other.

#sid/geno #sidgeno #hockey RPF #headcanons from the icy void #disclaimer: smollandtoll are unaware of the status of geno's relationship to cheetos

[studentsdeservearefund]

Draft Project Proposal

What is “The Perfect Escape”?

The “Perfect Escape” is the tag line for a VR product (yet to be named) that allows the user to experience the emotions of their virtual character such as love, fear and pain ect. The product allows the user to become fully immersed in the virtual world by with a HD screen built into the goggles and a neural-transmitter embedded in the arms of the goggles that taps into the central nervous system to allow for other sense to be affected by the in-game decisions/actions of your character. 

Creative Content

Themes and ideas I intend to explore…

Escapism - “the tendency to seek distraction and relief from unpleasant realities, especially by seeking entertainment or engaging in fantasy”.

Technophobia - “a fear or dislike of advanced technology or complex devices, especially computers”.

Dissociation/Dissociative Disorder - “If you dissociate, you may feel disconnected from yourself and the world around you. For example, you may feel detached from your body or feel as though the world around you is unreal”.

Method and Approach

What will I be making?

I will be making a product campaign which contains...

A series of posters/advertisements

A website for the product

A (looped) video of people using the product which will be testimonies

How will I make them?

I will make the advertisements (posters) by doing photoshoots with the goggles, using styles associated with product or commercial photography. 

Here are some examples;

I have not made a website before however I have inclined to use WIX.

WIX is a free web site designer that allows you to create your own website or use templates, this is a good way to start as I have no prior experience in this area. WIX also allows the users to buy their domain names which many sites do not offer or require you a subscription prior to designing the website.

Here are some example of websites created through WIX...

The third part of my work will be the (looped) video of my testimonies. The first obvious issue would be that the videos will vary in quality as not everyone will have access to professional recording equipment however, I favor this outcome as it will seem more authentic as opposed to all the videos being uniform and repetitive. If the videos look as though they were all recorded in the same studio with the same script then it loses the idea that it will be mass produced and mass bought.

How will I present them?

I have two ideas on how to present my work - depending on whether I will be able to have an exhibition or whether we will be told to present our work online. 

The two plans are very similar as they both feature the product as the centerpiece of the installation however one will feature a projector that will project my testimonies behind the product.

Please excuse the spelling error on the diagrams.

This is the first and will be my plan if we are to proceed with an online exhibition. This will feature my three best poster designs printed as A2 or A1 prints that can cover the back wall behind the goggles.

This is the second and will feature my two best posters as well as a looped audio/visual display of my testimonies that will be collected from various participants.

Facilities

What equipment will I need? What materials will I need? 

- Canon 5D Mark III (camera) - Photoshop (Photo Editing Suite) - Premier Pro (Video Editing Suite) - Projector (Exhibition/Installation) - “The Product”  - Ring Light/Lighting Equipment - WIX (Website Builder) - A2 Paper & Printing (Final Prints) - Podium (Exhibition/Installation)

How much will all this cost?

I have budgeted for both outcomes whether it be an online exhibition or an online exhibition. 

Online Exhibition - £105.83

In-person exhibition - £281.24

For obvious reasons, the online exhibition will be far cheaper budget wise as opposed to an in-person exhibition where everything will need to be printed, projected and sorted beforehand.

If I can’t access these, what is my back-up plan?

Most of the equipment and programs have already been purchased or will be purchased by myself however the difficulty will come from the items that I hope to borrow from the University such as; a projector and a camera. I do have my own camera to use however it is of a lower quality (Nikon D800) so I will still be able to create work however it will not be of the same standard. The projector, however, will not be used in the project in the University is closed as the assumption would be that if the University is not allowing the rent of equipment then an in-person exhibition will be out of the question.

Contextual research

Why am I doing this?

I need a project that can be done within my own home but would also benefit from the use of the Universities facilities, this project can be used in both scenarios. I also wanted a project that I could be more directly involved with as I found with last term, I was very removed from the subject and had no control over the outcomes which meant I was limited to what I could do with the subject matter in a short time scale. 

I am also doing this because the lockdown has had such an impact on my own mental state that I have found myself avoiding the reality of the situation by burying myself in fantasy world, games, costume building and other fiction based hobbies. I am curious to fins out whether it is the same for other people and make a project that point out the sinister undertone to what the avoidance strategy is doing as well as its repercussions. 

Does this affect me?

This does affect me as I find myself often drifting further and further from my interest in reality and the ‘real world’. The fantasy realms have excitement, adventure, development (and well dragons) as opposed the real world where I have been made to stay in the four walls of my room to avoid a deadly virus outside, I have not been able to see my loved ones (some have even been lost), my University course and experience has been a shambles compared to my first year. In other words, the ‘real world’ is dismal and depressing, the situation does not seem to be getting better so the temptation to disappear into a book or a game grows.

Does this affect anyone other than myself?

I will be researching into this matter however from brief look, I can determine that a rise is fiction sales and streaming services could mean that others are seeking an escape whether it be from boredom or to avoid the reality of the situation, I do not yet know.

Professional Development

Do I already have the skills for this?

I am familiar with most if not all of the software however I feel I will struggle with video editing as the workshop for this was cancelled last year. I also have not had previous experience with website building.

What skills do I not have and how/where can I learn them?

I will need to research website building techniques as well as what makes a website authentic, enticing and interesting to an audience. I will also look up tutorials online through YouTube to learn more about WIX.

I will also require workshops arranged with my tutors to refresh my skills with video editing.

Relevant Links

- Watch Advert

- Shoe Advert

- Wix website example (1)

- Wix website example (2)

- Televisual

- BBC

- Kinship Creative

- Vanity Fair

[stopthepress247]

How To Tell If A Diamond Is Real Or Fake

Whether you are in the market to buy a diamond ring for a loved one or you simply wish to check your loose gems, it is natural to know that you would need to learn the true identity of your precious stone. Fake diamonds, much like real ones, have several “twisted” versions that are very easy to mistaken for authentic gems. A good way to spot fake stones is by asking the retailer to describe the diamond in detail. An engagement ring that is described by the retailer as “a brilliant cut diamond” is most likely a fake diamond. “Sapphire-cut diamonds” are a more specific type of diamond which most jewelers tend to sell under this description.

How to tell if a diamond is real or fake depends upon how it is viewed by the viewer. When you hold the diamond in your hand and view it from its center, you should be able to clearly see that it is not “feeling” hot or cold. Real loose diamonds, whether they are engagement rings or otherwise, reflect light. This means that if a jeweler tries to sell you an imitation diamond, it will not reflect light – it simply appears as though it has been highlighted.

Another way to ensure that you are getting a real diamond is to examine its surface closely. If there is any sign of impurity on the surface, such as inclusions or cracks, then it is probably an imitation. Also, if you feel that the diamond’s color is slightly off-white or yellowish, then it is most likely a synthetic as well. On the other hand, if the surface of the stone is dull and does not appear like diamonds at all, then it is most likely a real diamond. It is important to examine the inside of the diamond carefully as well. There may be a slight texture to it, but it is very unlikely to be a natural texture.

The best way to determine the purity of a gemstone is with the help of a professional gemologist. If you want an idea of how the stone looks like, or you have one to test for yourself, then there are many places to go to find out. One of the ways to tell if the stone is real is to carry out a color and clarity test with water. A gemstone can only be tested for its color after it has been mounted in an unbiased environment, and if it comes back as clear and colorless as it came it is most likely a fake. Therefore, a water test is the most common way to determine the purity of a gemstone.

Most people that purchase fine jewelry don’t pay attention to the quality of the stone they are buying. In some cases the shopper may buy the stone, thinking it is real only to discover it is not when it arrives at the jewelers. A cubic zirconia can be almost identical to a natural diamond in its luster, so it is important to do your homework when shopping for jewelry. You can save money by buying items from reputable jewelers, however you will pay a significant price increase for a genuine diamond.

There are several at-home tests you can perform on your own to determine whether or not the stone is real. Most jewelers will have at-home experts test stones for you before you purchase them, but you should be able to find a jeweler who specializes in this field to do the testing for you. These professionals typically use an electronic tester or a mouse to determine the clarity and weight of a stone. You can purchase some at-home tests from the Internet, but it is important to be careful that the test is not from a laboratory and that the results are trustworthy. An at-home test that measures the color of a stone with a dye will not give you reliable results.

If you can’t find a jeweler who performs these tests, then you can try using a special device known as a reflective surface check. It works by shining a light on a stone and comparing its reflection with a photo. The majority of at-home testers cannot perform this test because it requires both a camera and light. Most stores sell colored samples of loose diamonds, so you can try the idea on them. A reflective surface check cannot measure the quality of the cut, clarity, color, or carat of a loose diamond.

A simple scratch test is also possible. A scratched surface will make the diamond appear smaller because it will be reflected light. This is not an accurate way to tell if a diamond is real because the best way to detect a real diamond is with a loupe. This device is used to look for imperfections in a diamond’s shape and size.

How to Tell If a Diamond Is Real – Five Ways to Determine If Your Jewelry is Fake or Real

What does it take to discover how to tell if a diamond is real? If the stone proves to be a fraudulent imitation, a woman’s world can literally come crashing down on her head. The knowledge of how to tell a fake diamond from the real thing seems like something only an expert jeweler or gemologist would ever have to know. But with today’s modern technology, being able to distinguish between an original and a replica diamond has never been easier.

Now that technology has advanced the ways in which we view diamonds, learning how to tell if they are real is now within reach for even the average person. It all boils down to seeing for yourself how real diamonds sparkle. To find out how to tell if a diamond is real requires you to obtain a gemological grading report from a reputable gemological lab. A gemological grading report is a summary of a lab’s findings when examining a diamond. The report provides detailed information about how diamonds vary when it comes to clarity, color, cut, carat, symmetry, shape, color intensity and clarity.

You can use these reports to determine the value of the diamond. There are some at home tests you can do yourself, using nothing more than a magnifying glass and a few sheets of paper to see how much light is given off from a particular area in the diamond. This will give you an idea of its translucency. Another useful tool you can use when learning how to tell if a diamond is real is a loupe. Used correctly, a loupe can not only give you a very good idea of the thickness of the diamond, but also reveal imperfections such as inclusions that would be visible to the untrained eye.

A third tool is a heat gun. A heat gun allows you to quickly and accurately “see” the surface of the diamond. Heat waves, unlike x-rays, are not absorbed by the diamond, so the heat they leave behind can be used to your advantage. Heat waves can help you detect imperfections or gaps between “stones.”

A fourth tool is something most people have already encountered: a diamond disc. Discs are often used to test the heat and/or fire resistance of diamonds. Although diamonds usually discolor after exposure to fire, discoloration can occur at any time, and discoloration will not cause a problem if the diamonds were placed in an unventilated area prior to being placed into a heat-controlled environment.

A fifth tool to use is a very practical one: an infrared spectroscopic camera. Using infrared light, which cannot be seen by the human eye, will not only allow you to locate the inside of a diamond, but will also allow you to determine the clarity, color, symmetry, and cut of a diamond. Although it may take more than one visit to a jeweler’s shop to find the perfect real diamond, using infrared technology will save you the hassle. It is a lot less expensive than other diamond testing methods such as carbon dating or irradiation.

One last great way to determine if the diamond you are buying is real or fake is with ultraviolet light. Although not known to be effective against all diamonds, the U.V. light from an authentic high-end lab is effective against a lot of lower quality diamonds. Be sure to ask the jeweler if he or she will use U.V. light to test the diamond; some will refuse.

As you can see, there are many different ways to test a stone, but they are all not foolproof. With so many factors that can skew the results of at-home tests, it is wise to leave the process to the expertise of a trained jeweler or diamond expert. It is a risk you are willing to take when you want to ensure the highest quality of investment for your future. To find the perfect ring for your loved one, trust your instincts and use an experienced jeweler or diamond expert.

How to Tell If a Diamond is Real

If you’re asking how to tell if a diamond is real, it’s more than likely because you’re not sure what to look for. After all, there are so many factors that can determine whether or not a diamond is real, like the clarity and color, carat weight, cut and symmetry, and the list goes on. So how do you know which factors are important? There’s no one way to tell if a diamond is real. Here are some tips for you to consider:

When testing diamond claims, do-it-yourselfers will often try to do it the “old school” way, which is by using a loupe or a light source with a colored tinge. This is how to tell if a diamond is real or fake because a diamond’s reflected light will show up as a colored area when the light source is changed from daylight to darkness. If the diamond is real, then the reflection of the light will appear as a spot. If the diamond is fake, then it will not appear as a spot. However, even if the light is changed back to daylight, the spot will still be there.

Some people ask how to tell if a diamond is real by buying a piece of jewelry at a store or online, and hoping for the best. While a jeweler cannot guarantee the quality of any gem he or she works with, most jewelers will give a detailed description of each gem they have, including clarity, cut, color, and clarity. It’s also a good idea to go to a few different stores before deciding and look closely at different gemstones and their settings. Most jewelers do not place gemstones in the same exact order. Go to several different stores and examine the stones carefully.

One thing you can do to find out how to tell if a diamond is real is to buy some jewelry at an at-home test center. There are a number of these available, but you should consider spending the extra money and hiring someone to come to your home to do the testing instead of doing it at an off-site center. Jewelers usually don’t do this because it takes time and costs more. At home tests are quick and easy, and do not require that the jeweler examine the stone as deeply as he or she would if doing the testing in a laboratory. The results can be compared side by side immediately, and then you will know instantly if the stone is real or a fake.

You can also test stones by exposing them to ultraviolet light. When the light is shone on a real diamond, its color will become yellowed or faded. But with cubic zirconia, the color will change into an electric blue, or greenish-blue. You can see this for yourself if you place one near your eye.

There are several other items that you can use to judge the quality of a diamond ring. The most important of these is how the stone is cut. You can tell if the diamond ring is real by examining how it is cut, particularly how the corners are oriented, and whether or not the band matches the edges perfectly. This is called clarity and is measured on a scale from the most highly polished to the least polished.

Another way to check for a real diamond is with a water test. You will need two different kinds of water: one with a small amount of chlorine in it, and another without any chlorine at all. Drop a small drop of the water onto a white cloth, and then watch how it reacts. If the cloth immediately floats on top of the water, it is almost certainly a synthetic diamond.

One more common way to test the purity of diamonds is with an infrared heat gun. An infrared heat gun looks like a huge gun and is usually held by a user. When the heat gun is pointed towards the diamonds, they will shimmer and appear to be glowing. However, since the diamonds do not reflect the infrared rays, their appearance is not as accurate. How to tell if a diamond is real can be difficult if you do not know what to look for. But if you do, with the aid of a guide such as this, you should be able to find the answer with relative ease.

The post How To Tell If A Diamond Is Real Or Fake appeared first on Stop The Press 247.

source https://www.stopthepress247.com/how-to-tell-if-a-diamond-is-real-or-fake/

[larksinging]

okay so i started this a while ago but decided to finish it up as a present for @rorykillmore ‘s birthday. she requested sara and black siren interacting with other people from the arrow cast at some point, so! this is also in deserves better au because it’s a nice au to write in. 

hopefully this doesn’t come across as too much just defending laurel, though every fiber of my being naturally wants to do this. anyway, hope you enjoy, and happy birthday

“You know what? Fine. I’ll go visit Star City.” Sara uncrosses her arms and gives Laurel a look. “But only if you come with me.”

“That sounds like a terrible--”

“We don’t have to see Ollie and the others. Just dad.”

The ship has stop sparking and making noises like it’s about to split in two, which is an improvement from about an hour ago. Now it’s almost peaceful on the Waverider, which is kind of a problem.

There’s something immensely frustrating being stuck just waiting for repairs. And it’s not even anywhere they can work on more anachronisms, or even have some fun. Nope, just Star City, and 2018 at that. In some ways, it feels more like being left adrift than idling in the timestream ever does.

Sara’s looking over a map of anachronisms in the library, except she’s not really doing that, because she’s not paying attention. She’s not really doing anything. None of them are doing anything. Ray, Kendra, Laurel are also all in the library, each one just finding an excuse to do nothing.

She can’t take this restless boredom anymore.

“Gideon, any updates?” Sara calls as she waves away the hologram map.

“Nothing since you asked fifteen minutes ago, Captain,” Gideon replies shortly.

“Somebody’s snippy,” Sara grumbles. There’s a muffled laugh behind her, and Sara gives them all of them a warning glare.

“Repairs will likely take more than a few hours,” Gideon says a bit more smoothly, “Perhaps you should find some entertainment. Would you like some suggestions--”

“Thank you, Gideon, but we’re fine,” Sara says. And she’d go back to not-planning, except Ray clears his throat.

“Actually, I have a suggestion,” Ray says, and Sara slowly turns to at least humor his idea. “We were thinking, since we’re stuck here for who knows how long, I’d - well, Kendra and I - we’d go visit some old friends. We are in Star City, though I know you do visit a lot--”

“To see Ava,” Laurel says dryly.

“Who is probably busy,” Kendra adds.  

“You don’t know she’s busy,” Sara interrupts, which is maybe a bit petulant, but she’s feeling kind of petty.

“If she wasn’t, you’d be talking to her right now instead of moping,” Laurel says without missing a beat.

Before Sara can defend herself because okay, yes, maybe she does know that Ava is busy because she already tried to call, but they shouldn’t assume that, Ray cuts her off.

“Anyway, I was going to go visit Felicity, and maybe call up everyone in Central City if Kendra wants, so - if you wanted to come and check up on Oliver...”

“Or your father,” Kendra adds diplomatically.

“I should probably stay and keep planning on how to fix time,” Sara says while crossing her arms, “But you two have fun.”

Ray exchanges a look Kendra, and they both glance at Laurel. Then Kendra nods at him a touch hurriedly and they both rise.

“Is that permission to depart?” Ray asks, a bit too good-naturedly.

“We won’t be too long,” Kendra reassures, and then shepherds Ray out of the room. There’s a moment of awkward and restless silence after they leave the room. It doesn’t last long.

“Well,” Laurel drawls, but there’s a certain careful quality to it, “I know why I don’t want to go. But why don’t you?”

“Are you saying I’m avoiding them? Because I’m not.” Sara leans against the table and Laurel leans back against her chair in kind. “There just hasn’t been... time.”

“But there was time to visit Ava, what... three times in the last month?”

“That’s different. And I don’t have to justify myself to you.”

Laurel’s quiet for a long moment. “Is that really your best excuse?”

“You know what? Fine. I’ll go visit Star City.” Sara uncrosses her arms and gives Laurel a look. “But only if you come with me.”

“That sounds like a terrible--”

“We don’t have to see Ollie and the others. Just dad.” She raises her eyebrows as Laurel struggles and fails to think up an argument.

“Fine.”

First, Sara gives Amaya and Mick - who are putting together what looks like a new enclosure for Axl, which begs the question of what Nate is up to, but whatever she can’t get too distracted - a heads up to keep an eye on everything while she’s out. She asks Kendra not to let Oliver know they’re visiting (it’d be too complicated, and even though she doesn’t say as much, Kendra seems to know. Then again, Kendra would know something about a history that’s too heavy), and to keep Ray in check. And when she’s done with all that, she goes to find Laurel.

It isn’t easy, which is weird. Even at her most skittish, Sara can usually track Laurel down without too much trouble. But this time she’s not in any of her usual haunts, or waiting in the cargo bay or the jump ship, or anywhere that would make sense.

So color her surprised when she checks the fabrication room and finds Laurel clearly trying to decide what to make.

“...Did you forget where we’re going?” Sara asks as she steps in. “It’s Star City. In 2018. Just throw on a jacket, you’ll be fine.”

Laurel gives her a look, which Sara just returns. Laurel rolls her eyes, and then sighs in annoyance.

“Laurel Lance is the most famous dead person in Star City,” She answers to a question Sara didn’t ask. “I can’t exactly just walk around out in the open. If we go anywhere public, I’d be recognized. So,” she turns back to the control panel, “Disguise.”

The moment suddenly feels fragile, because of course that’s what’s going on. And while she’d noticed Laurel’s tendency to get nervous anytime they went somewhere in the last five years, she’d always been too distracted to put the pieces together. Sara feels like she should’ve known better. Maybe it’s because it’s still hard for her to reconcile both Laurels, or how often she has to remind herself that this Laurel is different.

Or... is it progress that viewing them as separate is starting become normal enough that she didn’t realize other people wouldn’t?

“Here,” Sara nudges Laurel out of the way so she can access the control panel. A moment later, she grabs the baseball cap that Gideon’s fabricated and sticks it on Laurel’s head.

“Your regular style’s different enough, and this will obscure your face enough for anyone passing by.” She steps back to examine her handiwork, decides that Laurel looks like a disaster, but only as much as she normally does. “No big deal.”

“I think I would have preferred a wig,” Laurel grumbles.

It feels like it’s been a lifetime since the last time since Sara was at her dad’s apartment. And it very may literally have been. After all, she doesn’t visit nearly as much as she should. She could say that she’s busy, or that she’s not good at reunions, but those all feel like flimsy excuses.

Sara hesitates when she gets to the door. She lingers without knocking because this is feeling more and more like a bad idea. Laurel glancing up and down the hallway again and pulling the brim of her hat a little lower certainly doesn’t ease Sara’s worries. Though she’s less worried about dropping by with Laurel here than she would be at Oliver’s place.

She finally knocks on the door, and then turns to give Laurel a smile meant to reassure them both. “It’ll be fine.” Laurel just raises an eyebrow.

When Quentin opens the door, he practically does a double take. That’s probably what she gets for showing up without a word. To her credit, this is hardly the weirdest homecoming she’s had.

“Sara?” His gaze shifts. “And--”

“Hi!” Sara interrupts. “We were just in the city and had some time to kill, so...”

“Yeah, well, thanks for the heads up,” He says, though he doesn’t actually sound annoyed.

“Well--”

Laurel interrupts them both by clearing her throat. “Can we not do this in the hallway? Out in the open?”

“Right. Sure. Come on in.” Quentin steps out of the way, but Sara still notices the haunted way he watches Laurel. “Make yourselves at home.”

The apartment is almost unchanged from how she remembers it. Or maybe it’s just that she doesn’t remember it that well. There’s mugs strewn around, a few scattered papers on the table, and more than a few photos carefully set around the apartment. The one by the door catches her attention - it’s of her and Laurel.

The other Laurel. Or, no, her Laurel. No, that still doesn’t feel right. This world’s Laurel. There’s no way to put it that doesn’t feel strange.

Laurel’s picked a spot near the kitchen to just stand around and cross her arms. The awkwardness is punctuated by the pause before Quentin closes the door behind them.

“So,” He begins, “How’s, uh... time travel going?”

“Oh, come on,” Laurel snaps. “You don’t have to pretend to be happy to see me.”

“Laurel,” Sara says. It’s supposed to be chiding, but it sounds more pleading than anything. As captain of a timeship, Sara’s learned how to handle a lot of things. But family reunions? Those are still the greatest challenge. She doesn’t know how to smooth this one over.

And maybe a little bit of this reminds her of the way Laurel had snapped the last time there’d been a Lance gathering, when she’d shown up with Ollie all those years ago. The memory hurts for a different reason now.

“Look, I get it,” Quentin’s the first one to pull himself back together. Sara sighs in relief. “We weren’t exactly on good terms when you, uh... left. But you gotta believe me, I am happy to see you.” He glances between the two of them. “Both of you. You’re still my girls.”

Sara can’t help but smile at that. And from the corner of her eye, she thinks Laurel might just be smiling too.

It’s a tender moment, but it’s soured because Sara knows exactly why they don’t have moments like this more often. Everyone knows who caused the gaping hole in their lives.

“...Sorry for not visiting more,” Sara admits. “It’s just-- you know--”

Quentin interrupts her by just putting his hand on her shoulder. “I won’t lie, I miss you, but...” He struggles with the words for a moment. “This whole time travel thing is clearly helping you - both of you, really. So I can’t complain.”

“Next time, we’ll try to bring souvenirs,” Laurel offers.

For a moment, Sara feels like she doesn’t have to worry.

They settle into something that’s almost comfortable. Sara lets Laurel and dad do most of the talking, save for the occasional joke. It’s nice. And then someone else knocks on the door.

“I’ll get it,” She says, even when her dad protests. “C’mon, trained assassin here. Nothing surprises me.”

When Sara opens the door, she blinks in surprise.

“Oliver,” She finally replies. From the corner of her eye, she sees Quentin look over and Laurel straighten up. “Heeey.”

“Sara. Hey.” Oliver opens his mouth and then closes it. “I was just passing by, and thought I’d come say hello, so...”

That’s Ollie’s lying face. No doubt. If Sara were to guess, she’d say that he went off sulking to avoid Ray and Felicity’s reunion and noticed someone suspicious going up to Quentin’s apartment, and decided to interfere. Or he did recognize them, and still chose to interfere.

Sara glances back in and meets Laurel’s gaze, who seems just as skeptical. And more unhappy, so Sara gives her an apologetic look before she steps aside to let Oliver in.

Evidently he hadn’t recognized them before, because as soon as he steps in and sees who else was there, he turns around.

“Sara,” Oliver says through grit teeth, “Why is she here.”

“She can hear you,” Laurel snipes back.

“Sorry, it looks like you interrupted our little family visit,” Sara says with a not very amused smile. “Anyway. How’s your team? Did you see Ray?”

Oliver ignores her to give one of his frustrated sighs. “I didn’t say anything when you took her, but you-- you can’t just bring her back. She’s too dangerous.” He looks over Sara’s head at her father. “Quentin, you should know that.”

“C’mon, let’s not do this,” Quentin pleads.

“Wow, and I thought I was a buzzkill,” Laurel says. Sara glances back and see the sarcastic smile that means Laurel’s about one step away from angry. “This is why we didn’t visit you.”

Before anyone can escalate this anymore, Sara steps in front of Oliver.

“Ollie, can I have a word?” She matches his exasperated expression by raising her eyebrows. “Alone.”

He looks over Laurel and Quentin one more time before stepping back into the hallway. She turns to check on them and her father just nods. Truth be told, she’d been a little worried about leaving him and Laurel alone, but it’s better than… whatever was going to happen.

Sara closes the door carefully behind her and doesn’t give him the time to say anything.

“Look, Ollie, whatever problems you had, I need you to cut it out.” She crosses her arms. “Please, just, chill for a day.”

“I’m tired of having to deal with her, Sara,” He replies. “She’s a problem. I let her become your problem, but I don’t have time for her. Not right now, with everything that’s going on.”

Sara doesn’t admit that she doesn’t have a clue what’s going on in Star City. And she can’t really bring herself to care, because the same anger from when she first picked up Laurel is creeping back in. “She’s not doing anything. We just came to visit dad. That’s it.”

“Was that your idea, or her’s?”

“It was Ray’s. But that’s not the point. She’s on my team. I trust her. Even if she wasn’t my... you know.” Sara takes a deep breath, and then looks up at Oliver evenly. “If you can’t trust her, then trust me.”

Oliver doesn’t have a response to that, not at first. He looks away for a moment, and then his voice drops somewhere softer.

“She’s not Laurel,” He says, like it’s some heartbreaking revelation. “She never will be.”

“She is Laurel. Just not the one we knew.” And maybe there’s a revelation in all this, but it’s not the one Ollie intended. Sara shakes her head. “And Laurel would have understood that. You can’t keep using her as an excuse. She wouldn’t have wanted that.”

“What do you know about what she would have wanted!” And that’s it. That’s the line. Because she’s swallowed a lot of bitter pills in her life, but she won’t let Oliver lecture her about her dead sister.

“Get out,” Sara hisses.

“Sara--”

“Get out.”

Oliver stares her down a moment longer. Sara’s about two seconds from resorting to actual violence when he turns sharply and leaves the way he came.

Sara lets herself stew in the silence of the hallway for a moment. Now that he’s gone, she’s just stuck with all these emotions that are too much and threatening to overflow. And it doesn’t help when her father opens the door a moment later.

“I need some air,” She says before he can express concern. And she turns and heads up to the roof without another word.

It’s good that it’s getting dark. It’d be better if it actually was dark out, because that’s when Sara prefers to brood, but she’ll take the later end of a sunset. The view from up on this roof isn’t bad, either. You can almost see the whole city.

Sara’s pretty sure this should make her nostalgic. Watching the city from a rooftop used to be her favorite way to kill time, back in the day. This should feel like coming back home, something kind of comforting despite all the bad memories.

Instead, it just feels sort of hollow.

It’s hardly surprising that someone would come after her, so she doesn’t bother to look up. They don’t say anything, and just walk up to a spot beside Sara. She’s a little surprised to see that it’s Laurel, but maybe she shouldn’t be.

“It’s...” Laurel struggles for the words, “...pretty?”

“You’re leading with that? That’s a bit restrained, for you.”

Laurel shrugs. “Despite what everyone thinks, I do have some tact.”

They lapse into silence. Sara feels like she should say something, but she’s not entirely sure what she should. Probably something inspiring about how she’s sorry she dragged Laurel along here.

But Laurel beats her to the punch.

“You didn’t have to do that,” She says softly, “Not for my sake.”

“It wasn’t just for you,” Sara replies. Sure, it was a bit for herself, but it was also for Laurel. The one who isn’t around to defend herself anymore. “Don’t worry. This was hardly my first fight with Oliver.”

“Probably not your last,” Laurel teases.

“That’s more like you.”

Laurel bumps her shoulder lightly against Sara’s. It’s a little gesture, but it lightens up Sara’s mood a bit. If nothing else, it was nice to see her dad, and to go somewhere with just Laurel. Actually...

“Hey,” Sara begins, “Why’d you encourage me to come here in the first place?”

“I hardly encouraged you.” Laurel gives her a look, which Sara returns. After a moment, Laurel caves. “Alright, I might have encourage you a little.”

“And you agreed to come with me very easily,” Sara adds, “I thought you hated the idea of coming here.”

“I do,” she replies. “It’s just...”

When Laurel lapses into silence, Sara knows it’s serious. She turns to look at Laurel properly and sees that she looks sad - properly sad and almost haunted, the way Sara remembers feeling when she first came back to the city.

“My family-- my... version of my family is all gone.” Laurel takes a breath to steady herself. And then she looks over at Sara. “But yours isn’t. And you shouldn’t end up regretting that you didn’t visit them enough.”

Too late, Sara thinks. And even though she loves this Laurel for who she is, there are moments like this where looking at her just makes Sara miss the Laurel she grew up with.

“I already do,” Sara confesses.

“I know.” Laurel draws a little bit closer to her. “But dad’s still here. And mom, too.”

Then Laurel reaches and brushes a stray lock of hair out of Sara’s face. It’s not something Laurel hasn’t done before, but it’s not something that this Laurel has ever done. Sara feels more vulnerable than she has in a long time, but not quite in a bad way. Her sister just smiles sadly.

“What would Laurel have wanted you to do?”

Tears sting her eyes and Sara has to wipe them away before they threaten to fall. She can’t help but look away, but she somehow thinks Laurel will understand.

“Thanks,” She says between shaky breathes. “For this.”

“It wasn’t just for you,” Laurel says, though Sara can see she’s also holding back tears. After all. they may not all be family from this earth, but they’re still family.

Laurel shrugs before more emotion can overtake either of them. “Maybe next time we can invite dad onto the Waverider. Avoid any unwanted guests.”

“We could take him to Aruba.”

“What is with you people and Aruba,” Laurel shakes her head and tries to look exasperated, but she doesn’t manage very well. Her gaze slips to Sara. “But next time?”

Sara gets what she’s asking. She manages a smile. “Next time.”

#my writing #i tried to be a little restrained on how >_> i am at ollie #and tried a few new voices so i hope... that worked #also youd be surprised how much a change in pov can help writer's block #ray hears about this later and is just (grimace emoji)

[easyfoodnetwork]

From the Strategist: Everything You Need to Picnic, According to Picnic Professionals

Photo Media/ClassicStock/Getty Images

The best picnic baskets, coolers, blankets, and more, from the Strategist

While spending time outdoors — masked and at a distance — is a lower-risk way to socialize in person with others, replacing an air-conditioned restaurant brunch with a picnic takes a little more planning than rolling out of bed and hopping on the subway. “A picnic can teeter into being really unpleasant if you have too much stuff or don’t bring enough,” says Ali Rosen, the host of Potluck With Ali and author of the potluck cookbook Bring it!. And though she says it’s important to strike a balance between bringing too much and too little, most folks likely have on hand what they need to picnic.

Whether you’re picnicking at a city park, state beach, or your own backyard, we spoke to four picnicking professionals — including some who have been planning picnics for years — about the best picnic blankets, foldable chairs, and food, plus the bags (or wagons) for carrying it all. However, before you go ahead and gear up, all our experts recommended checking out your picnic destination’s rules and regulations — regarding where and what you sit on and how you prepare food — to make sure you’re staying above board. (Drinking alcohol is also a ticketable offense at parks citywide — but more on that below.)

Picnic baskets and coolers

Yeti Hopper M30 Portable Soft Cooler

While a wicker basket is aesthetically pleasing, it is often hard to store and carry and is not well insulated. All of the experts who we spoke to advised carrying something with a more comfortable strap, and most say an insulated tote is ideal, especially since it folds down. In order to keep things cold all day, Julie Lindenman, owner of an eponymous event-planning company, which pivoted to picnic planning during the pandemic, packs this easy-to-carry Yeti soft cooler with ice and says it still fits up to “a couple bottles of wine, lunch for two people, two water bottles, and a few other drinks.” Our colleagues at Grub Street call Yeti coolers “indestructible,” and we’ve named them as among the best gifts for beer lovers, who are always in the mood for a cold one.

L.L. Bean Insulated Tote

REI Co-op Pack-Away 12 Soft Cooler

One major (and recurring) complaint about Yeti coolers is the price, so if you want something a little more budget-friendly but with the same function, Lindenman recommends one of these insulated totes from L.L. Bean or REI, adding, “even your local corner store probably sells them at this point.”

Scout Cool Runnings Soft Cooler

“We do most of our picnics in reusable totes, just because you can flatten it and get on with your life,” echoes Wendy Weston, founder of Perfect Picnic, which has been organizing European-style artisanal picnics since 2011. Weston likes the insulated totes from Scout but says that putting frozen water bottles (or a frozen washcloth) at the bottom of any easy-to-carry tote is just as good as filling with ice cubes.

West Elm Modern Picnic Backpack 20 Piece Set

If you want to keep your hands free, Lindenman recommends West Elm’s less-insulated picnic backpack, which comes with a 20-piece set of plates and cutlery for four, plus salt and pepper shakers.

Bee & Willow Picnic Basket with 4 Place Settings

If you are going to go the route of a traditional-style wicker basket, three out of our four experts recommend buying one that comes with cutlery inside it. At Personal Attention, a New York City-based, French-inspired event service, which also plans picnics, project manager Laéthycia Simms vouches for the Bee & Willow wicker basket because “there’s an insulated section, so you just put ice inside and can keep everything cool.”

Foldable Shopping Cart Trolley Bag

With more stores than usual closed, Rosen notes that folks might need to bring more of their own gear to picnics this summer — because it’s a bit harder to stop by a bodega or supermarket for an extra thing or two. Packing a granny cart full of things, in lieu of an overflowing cooler, will help make transporting all of your stuff easier, especially if your picnic spot isn’t too far away. This trolley, which senior editor Katy Schneider likes the looks of, comes in a picnic-appropriate gingham pattern.

Mac Sports Collapsible Folding Outdoor Utility Wagon

“The biggest pain about a picnic is hauling all this stuff around the park,” says Weston. The solution is a wagon. She likes this one because it folds “completely flat, and they can carry a lot of weight.” Not only does this wagon fit all of her gear, it also fits her daughter.

Picnic blankets and chairs

Angemay Waterproof Outdoor & Picnic Blanket

When it comes to picnic blankets, all of our experts say the bigger, the better, though they all prefer different kinds of materials. Rosen loves her portable, waterproof picnic blanket so much that she says it’s the present she most often buys friends. Plus, “the blanket has taken on new meaning during coronavirus times, because it naturally allows you to give people space.”

DII Turkish Towel, 39x78”

“A lot of blankets that are branded picnic blankets are flannel or fleece, which I’m kind of confused by because it’s so hot in the summer,” says Lindenman, who prefers Turkish towels that are “lightweight and easy to machine-wash, so you’ll definitely feel like it’s clean after.”

Chicago Canvas & Supply All Purpose Canvas Cotton Drop Cloth

Weston also prefers lightweight blankets to thick, waterproof options and recommends putting painter’s tarp underneath to keep your area dry. “Canvas acts as a barrier, which doesn’t harm the grass like plastic, and it can be used to create a larger surface area for social distancing,” she explains.

Cliq Compact Outdoor Chair

Most of the experts we spoke to say that chairs are a must-have picnic accessory for those who have back issues or are uncomfortable sitting on the ground. Though any easy-to-carry, foldable chair is sufficient, two experts specifically named Qliq chairs which “basically fold up to the size of a Nalgene water bottle,” according to Lindenman.

WolfWise Large Pop Up Beach Tent

If you’re going to be out in the sun all day, Rosen recommends bringing this pop-up tent from Wolfwise, which has sandbags to stay grounded on the beach and stakes to set into the ground at a park. “You have to set up most bigger tents, but this unfolds in one move. It opens fully on the front and back and has screens that go up and down on the sides so you can sit under it to stay out of the sun or put your kids in there for a nap,” she says, adding that watching a video is the easiest way to learn how to fold it back up.

Picnic spread

Thin Bins Collapsible Containers

“My biggest advice with food is, store things separately and get rid of the idea that you want to build your meal beforehand” explains Rosen, who adds that lightweight containers are ideal — like this collapsible, silicone set from Amazon — but Ziploc bags will work in a pinch. And all of our experts advised bringing what Weston calls “fresh food made to travel” that will last during travel and heat, such as whole cured meats and cheeses, fresh baguettes, jarred vegetables and condiments, and salads (with dressing on the side). You can assemble them once you’ve arrived at and set up your picnic spot.

Stasher 100 Percent Silicone Reusable Sandwich Bag

Another highly recommended collapsible, silicone storage item is the Strategist-favorite Stasher bag. “I’ve used them for everything from sliced fruit to actual ice from the freezer, and they seal it all off really well,” says Lindenman.

Freshware Cutting Boards

Rosen and Weston both recommend bringing a lightweight board for preparing and serving whole foods, like this wooden set of three, which weighs a total of one pound.

West Elm Modern Melamine Dinnerware

You’ll also need something to eat your picnic on. If you’re willing to tote along real plates, Weston suggests the melamine wares from West Elm, which are both cute and very hard to break.

Ökabode Disposable Bamboo Utensils, 200 Pieces

For disposable plates and cutlery, Rosen likes bamboo, because “it’s recyclable and it also just looks really nice.”

Caspari Brushstroke Paper Napkins, Pack of 20

“If you’re trying to do something special, do one of those little things, like order patterned napkins, just to make it feel like something is happening,” encourages Rosen. Strategist senior editor Anthony Rotunno recommends a vibrant, “museum-quality” set from Caspari.

Vapur Eclipse Collapsible Water Bottle, 1 Liter

In addition to food, water is essential for making your picnic enjoyable — and according to the experts we spoke to, a frozen water bottle can not only help keep you hydrated as it melts, it doubles as an ice pack on your way there. Lindenman specifically recommends the bottles from Vapur, because they’re “flexible and rollable, so at the end of the day, it’s not like a massive empty water bottle rolling around in your bag.”

Corkcicle 60oz Water Bottle & Thermos

In New York City, public consumption of alcohol is usually a $25 ticketable offense, but to-go liquor licenses during the coronavirus have loosened the open-container laws, so our experts say that (with a little finesse) picnic drinking is likely easier than ever. Weston advises against bringing more conspicuously packaged bottles of wine and instead recommends filling a Corkcicle canteen with one (or two) bottles of wine, or a premixed cocktail, adding, “they actually work — you can put that bottle in the sun and it stays cold.” Plus, the canteen hides obvious alcohol labels.

BrüMate Hopsulator Trio 3-in-1 Stainless Steel Insulated Can Cooler, 12 oz and 16 oz

Koozies also help obscure alcohol labels on cans, says Lindenman. Strategist writer Dominique Pariso recommends the triple-insulated koozies from BrüMate, which keep everything from slim, 12-ounce White Claws to 24-ounce tall boys as ice-cold as when you “first cracked it open straight from the cooler.”

EatOkra

“One thing that a picnic can be now, that it isn’t necessarily at other times, is, it’s a great way to support restaurants, especially Black-owned restaurants,” says Rosen, who recommends using the app EatOkra to find Black-owned restaurants and food trucks near you (the app is free, but food is not). All of our other experts agree that this summer more than ever, picnics can be a way to support local businesses and take a break from cooking, especially since restaurants across the city are beginning to offer prepackaged picnic spreads — many of which are detailed in this list, compiled by our colleagues at Eater.

Clean Cubes 13 Gallon Disposable Sanitary Trash Cans

Once you’re done eating, you’ll want some way to clean up your site. While personal-hygiene basics, like hand sanitizer and wipes, are must-haves for keeping yourself clean, all of the experts also recommend bringing trash bags to maintain your picnic area. “The last thing you want is to carry around a Whole Foods bag that’s overflowing with garbage while you look for a trash can,” says Weston, who notes that the Clean Cube trash bins have a cute paper, gingham exterior, and an interior trash bag so “you don’t have to deal with things falling out of it.”

Other nice-to-haves

Codenames

“People tend to forget, but it’s nice to have options of what to do at a picnic, especially if you’re in a group, and a board game helps keep people engaged,” says Simms, who is one of a couple of experts to recommend bringing games along to your picnic. Though there are many board games for couples and families, if you’re looking for a socially distant group game, consider one where a single person can control all the pieces, like expert-approved word-deduction game Codenames.

Bar5F Empty Clear Spray Bottle 16 oz.

In addition to sunscreen and a hat, Simms brings a spray bottle to picnics, especially in parks with limited shade, like the Brooklyn Bridge Park. “When the sun is out, it’s nice to have a little spritz, and when you’re not using the bottle, you can put it in the basket with the ice to stay cold,” she says, adding that spray bottles are very popular in French picnicking.

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The best picnic baskets, coolers, blankets, and more, from the Strategist

While spending time outdoors — masked and at a distance — is a lower-risk way to socialize in person with others, replacing an air-conditioned restaurant brunch with a picnic takes a little more planning than rolling out of bed and hopping on the subway. “A picnic can teeter into being really unpleasant if you have too much stuff or don’t bring enough,” says Ali Rosen, the host of Potluck With Ali and author of the potluck cookbook Bring it!. And though she says it’s important to strike a balance between bringing too much and too little, most folks likely have on hand what they need to picnic.

Whether you’re picnicking at a city park, state beach, or your own backyard, we spoke to four picnicking professionals — including some who have been planning picnics for years — about the best picnic blankets, foldable chairs, and food, plus the bags (or wagons) for carrying it all. However, before you go ahead and gear up, all our experts recommended checking out your picnic destination’s rules and regulations — regarding where and what you sit on and how you prepare food — to make sure you’re staying above board. (Drinking alcohol is also a ticketable offense at parks citywide — but more on that below.)

Picnic baskets and coolers

Yeti Hopper M30 Portable Soft Cooler

While a wicker basket is aesthetically pleasing, it is often hard to store and carry and is not well insulated. All of the experts who we spoke to advised carrying something with a more comfortable strap, and most say an insulated tote is ideal, especially since it folds down. In order to keep things cold all day, Julie Lindenman, owner of an eponymous event-planning company, which pivoted to picnic planning during the pandemic, packs this easy-to-carry Yeti soft cooler with ice and says it still fits up to “a couple bottles of wine, lunch for two people, two water bottles, and a few other drinks.” Our colleagues at Grub Street call Yeti coolers “indestructible,” and we’ve named them as among the best gifts for beer lovers, who are always in the mood for a cold one.

L.L. Bean Insulated Tote

REI Co-op Pack-Away 12 Soft Cooler

One major (and recurring) complaint about Yeti coolers is the price, so if you want something a little more budget-friendly but with the same function, Lindenman recommends one of these insulated totes from L.L. Bean or REI, adding, “even your local corner store probably sells them at this point.”

Scout Cool Runnings Soft Cooler

“We do most of our picnics in reusable totes, just because you can flatten it and get on with your life,” echoes Wendy Weston, founder of Perfect Picnic, which has been organizing European-style artisanal picnics since 2011. Weston likes the insulated totes from Scout but says that putting frozen water bottles (or a frozen washcloth) at the bottom of any easy-to-carry tote is just as good as filling with ice cubes.

West Elm Modern Picnic Backpack 20 Piece Set

If you want to keep your hands free, Lindenman recommends West Elm’s less-insulated picnic backpack, which comes with a 20-piece set of plates and cutlery for four, plus salt and pepper shakers.

Bee & Willow Picnic Basket with 4 Place Settings

If you are going to go the route of a traditional-style wicker basket, three out of our four experts recommend buying one that comes with cutlery inside it. At Personal Attention, a New York City-based, French-inspired event service, which also plans picnics, project manager Laéthycia Simms vouches for the Bee & Willow wicker basket because “there’s an insulated section, so you just put ice inside and can keep everything cool.”

Foldable Shopping Cart Trolley Bag

With more stores than usual closed, Rosen notes that folks might need to bring more of their own gear to picnics this summer — because it’s a bit harder to stop by a bodega or supermarket for an extra thing or two. Packing a granny cart full of things, in lieu of an overflowing cooler, will help make transporting all of your stuff easier, especially if your picnic spot isn’t too far away. This trolley, which senior editor Katy Schneider likes the looks of, comes in a picnic-appropriate gingham pattern.

Mac Sports Collapsible Folding Outdoor Utility Wagon

“The biggest pain about a picnic is hauling all this stuff around the park,” says Weston. The solution is a wagon. She likes this one because it folds “completely flat, and they can carry a lot of weight.” Not only does this wagon fit all of her gear, it also fits her daughter.

Picnic blankets and chairs

Angemay Waterproof Outdoor & Picnic Blanket

When it comes to picnic blankets, all of our experts say the bigger, the better, though they all prefer different kinds of materials. Rosen loves her portable, waterproof picnic blanket so much that she says it’s the present she most often buys friends. Plus, “the blanket has taken on new meaning during coronavirus times, because it naturally allows you to give people space.”

DII Turkish Towel, 39x78”

“A lot of blankets that are branded picnic blankets are flannel or fleece, which I’m kind of confused by because it’s so hot in the summer,” says Lindenman, who prefers Turkish towels that are “lightweight and easy to machine-wash, so you’ll definitely feel like it’s clean after.”

Chicago Canvas & Supply All Purpose Canvas Cotton Drop Cloth

Weston also prefers lightweight blankets to thick, waterproof options and recommends putting painter’s tarp underneath to keep your area dry. “Canvas acts as a barrier, which doesn’t harm the grass like plastic, and it can be used to create a larger surface area for social distancing,” she explains.

Cliq Compact Outdoor Chair

Most of the experts we spoke to say that chairs are a must-have picnic accessory for those who have back issues or are uncomfortable sitting on the ground. Though any easy-to-carry, foldable chair is sufficient, two experts specifically named Qliq chairs which “basically fold up to the size of a Nalgene water bottle,” according to Lindenman.

WolfWise Large Pop Up Beach Tent

If you’re going to be out in the sun all day, Rosen recommends bringing this pop-up tent from Wolfwise, which has sandbags to stay grounded on the beach and stakes to set into the ground at a park. “You have to set up most bigger tents, but this unfolds in one move. It opens fully on the front and back and has screens that go up and down on the sides so you can sit under it to stay out of the sun or put your kids in there for a nap,” she says, adding that watching a video is the easiest way to learn how to fold it back up.

Picnic spread

Thin Bins Collapsible Containers

“My biggest advice with food is, store things separately and get rid of the idea that you want to build your meal beforehand” explains Rosen, who adds that lightweight containers are ideal — like this collapsible, silicone set from Amazon — but Ziploc bags will work in a pinch. And all of our experts advised bringing what Weston calls “fresh food made to travel” that will last during travel and heat, such as whole cured meats and cheeses, fresh baguettes, jarred vegetables and condiments, and salads (with dressing on the side). You can assemble them once you’ve arrived at and set up your picnic spot.

Stasher 100 Percent Silicone Reusable Sandwich Bag

Another highly recommended collapsible, silicone storage item is the Strategist-favorite Stasher bag. “I’ve used them for everything from sliced fruit to actual ice from the freezer, and they seal it all off really well,” says Lindenman.

Freshware Cutting Boards

Rosen and Weston both recommend bringing a lightweight board for preparing and serving whole foods, like this wooden set of three, which weighs a total of one pound.

West Elm Modern Melamine Dinnerware

You’ll also need something to eat your picnic on. If you’re willing to tote along real plates, Weston suggests the melamine wares from West Elm, which are both cute and very hard to break.

Ökabode Disposable Bamboo Utensils, 200 Pieces

For disposable plates and cutlery, Rosen likes bamboo, because “it’s recyclable and it also just looks really nice.”

Caspari Brushstroke Paper Napkins, Pack of 20

“If you’re trying to do something special, do one of those little things, like order patterned napkins, just to make it feel like something is happening,” encourages Rosen. Strategist senior editor Anthony Rotunno recommends a vibrant, “museum-quality” set from Caspari.

Vapur Eclipse Collapsible Water Bottle, 1 Liter

In addition to food, water is essential for making your picnic enjoyable — and according to the experts we spoke to, a frozen water bottle can not only help keep you hydrated as it melts, it doubles as an ice pack on your way there. Lindenman specifically recommends the bottles from Vapur, because they’re “flexible and rollable, so at the end of the day, it’s not like a massive empty water bottle rolling around in your bag.”

Corkcicle 60oz Water Bottle & Thermos

In New York City, public consumption of alcohol is usually a $25 ticketable offense, but to-go liquor licenses during the coronavirus have loosened the open-container laws, so our experts say that (with a little finesse) picnic drinking is likely easier than ever. Weston advises against bringing more conspicuously packaged bottles of wine and instead recommends filling a Corkcicle canteen with one (or two) bottles of wine, or a premixed cocktail, adding, “they actually work — you can put that bottle in the sun and it stays cold.” Plus, the canteen hides obvious alcohol labels.

BrüMate Hopsulator Trio 3-in-1 Stainless Steel Insulated Can Cooler, 12 oz and 16 oz

Koozies also help obscure alcohol labels on cans, says Lindenman. Strategist writer Dominique Pariso recommends the triple-insulated koozies from BrüMate, which keep everything from slim, 12-ounce White Claws to 24-ounce tall boys as ice-cold as when you “first cracked it open straight from the cooler.”

EatOkra

“One thing that a picnic can be now, that it isn’t necessarily at other times, is, it’s a great way to support restaurants, especially Black-owned restaurants,” says Rosen, who recommends using the app EatOkra to find Black-owned restaurants and food trucks near you (the app is free, but food is not). All of our other experts agree that this summer more than ever, picnics can be a way to support local businesses and take a break from cooking, especially since restaurants across the city are beginning to offer prepackaged picnic spreads — many of which are detailed in this list, compiled by our colleagues at Eater.

Clean Cubes 13 Gallon Disposable Sanitary Trash Cans

Once you’re done eating, you’ll want some way to clean up your site. While personal-hygiene basics, like hand sanitizer and wipes, are must-haves for keeping yourself clean, all of the experts also recommend bringing trash bags to maintain your picnic area. “The last thing you want is to carry around a Whole Foods bag that’s overflowing with garbage while you look for a trash can,” says Weston, who notes that the Clean Cube trash bins have a cute paper, gingham exterior, and an interior trash bag so “you don’t have to deal with things falling out of it.”

Other nice-to-haves

Codenames

“People tend to forget, but it’s nice to have options of what to do at a picnic, especially if you’re in a group, and a board game helps keep people engaged,” says Simms, who is one of a couple of experts to recommend bringing games along to your picnic. Though there are many board games for couples and families, if you’re looking for a socially distant group game, consider one where a single person can control all the pieces, like expert-approved word-deduction game Codenames.

Bar5F Empty Clear Spray Bottle 16 oz.

In addition to sunscreen and a hat, Simms brings a spray bottle to picnics, especially in parks with limited shade, like the Brooklyn Bridge Park. “When the sun is out, it’s nice to have a little spritz, and when you’re not using the bottle, you can put it in the basket with the ice to stay cold,” she says, adding that spray bottles are very popular in French picnicking.

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[vallenchen]

Fantastic Journey in Iceland

Introduction

My name is Yuren Chen who is an international student from China. My classmates like to call me Vallen. I am twenty two years old who like street dancing and fashion. I am interested into travel and deal with different people from different counties with diversity culture. I will get many experience of tourism industry with this module.  Iceland is a fantastic country to visit. We are going to go Iceland as hospitality management students for visiting project of module TL2121. This fabulous journey that is five days and four nights is to the Reykjavík. As a matter of fact, it will be my first time to go to Reykjavík in Iceland. I am so excited about this journey. I did several researches about food and drinks of Reykjavík. I am extremely curiousness the culture of food of Iceland. Everyone likes delicious food which can make happiness. To learn culture of food and drink is a good start to know Reykjavík. It is my first blog in Tumblr and I will share what I learned about Iceland and my happy moments with it.

Before we go to Iceland, I have to prepare a lot for this journey. First of all, SCHENGEN Visa is necessary for passing customs as an international student. SCHENGEN Visa is limited every year which is not 100% success rate. So I made appointment for applying SCHENGEN Visa 4 months ago. Fortunately I got SCHENGEN Visa. Second comes with local currency. I did some researches of spending level of destination. According to data from the internet I prepared 4600 ISK which value 250 pounds. In case I will bring the credit card with me. Next to it is weather. Reykjavík is extremely cold which might be colder than UK. Weather forecast shows Reykjavík will be snowing and raining which might be lower than minus one degree centigrade. Therefore enough clothing and warm shoes should be considered. I prepared two sets of warm clothes and towel for this journey. I also did numbers of research about the city we will go. I made a list of restaurant and bar which I would like to go in Reykjavík. I watched some video about history of Reykjavík for better understanding of this city. Last things I prepared myself with a good mood. I am ready to learn more about this fantastic country. By the way, setting the alarm clock is also important.

Tour Guiding Script

Welcome to join the wonderful Iceland tour, we will spend five days and four nights in the beautiful Reykjavík. Reykjavík is capital city of Iceland where is located in southwestern of the Iceland. There are 128,800 people live in Reykjavík. Before we visiting this amazing city, here are some historical stories and legends about Reykjavík. Reykjavik is believed to be the site of Iceland’s first permanent settlement. According to Landnamabok, it was founded by Ingolfr Arnarson in 874 AD. This city did not get good develop until the 19th century. However with the development of the city for decades, it has gradually become an environmentally safe city. You will enter a whole new realm of experience in Iceland. You will find the original natural beauty is the ancient tradition and the modern way of life in harmony.

Everyone is interested into food and drinks. So to know more interesting things about Reykjavik, Food and drinks is a good way to go. There is big number of delicious food and drinks in Reykjavik. I will share details and give recommendations of fantastic restaurants and traditional fare, specialties in Reykjavik. I promise you will be feeing hungry after my recommendations. When people think of Reykjavik, they think of seafood. Reykjavik’s seafood is a must-see. So first recommend restaurant is called Kaffi Loki where located right in front of Hallgrímskirkja church. Kaffi Loki only serves tradition Iceland food. You can find their homemade rye bread comes in a variety of toppings, including herring, trout and lamb. Hot meals and very Icelandic foods such as fish stew or traditional broth are served throughout the day. There are even sell traditional Icelandic food Hákarl (rotten shark) and Harðfiskur (dried fish). If you would like to try tradition seafood of Reykjavik, you won’t want to miss it.

Second comes with old school restaurant of Iceland which is called Lækjarbrekka. Lækjarbrekka located at heart of Reykjavik where is in one of the city’s oldest buildings. If you like meat, this restaurant will be your paradise. The restaurant’s main dishes are lamb and lobster which are very popular. Delicious coffee and cake can be enjoyed in a comfortable traditional range in Lækjarbrekka.

Next to it is called Höfnin which is a new style restaurant integrating tradition and new style. Their signature dishes are seafood soup and lamb chops. The restaurant features beautiful scenery and low prices. If you want to take some nice photos of food, Höfnin is the best chose.

Last recommend food is the cod-head which is delicious despite its unappetizing look. We can find it at Matur og drykkur. The restaurant is largely inspired by old-school Icelandic cuisine. I believe they can bring different feeing on your Taste buds. There are plenty of delicious foods for you to explore, and when you’re full, you’ll have the energy to see more beautiful scenery of Reykjavik. Welcome to Iceland.

Travel diary

That was an impressive trip of five day four nights which was a worthy chance to know more about Iceland. This paper will share what happened in these five days as a hospitality management student’s perspective. There is a video of the trip at the bottom of the diary to show what I experienced in Iceland.

Tuesday 3rd March

The first day of the trip we were asked to meet at Victory building in Preston for taking bus to Manchester airport. It took 50 minutes to get Manchester airport. Because of cold weather in Iceland, everyone prepared quite enough clothing. Flight was departing at 4 o’clock PM. I bought a nice pair of swimming trunks for the hot spring in Iceland before we got on the plane. It took us two hours by plane and an hour by bus to get to the hotel in Reykjavik. The hotel was located at Reykjavik Hotel Centre which is quite clean. We have to share bathroom which wasn’t problem for us. Fortunately there was a kitchen in hotel. However local food is more attractive than kitchen. So we planned to dine out at local restaurants. Because of long time transfer from UK, we felt tired. Therefore we just found a fast food restaurant in first day. After dinner we went to bad very early for preparing second day’s journey.

Wednesday 4th March

In second day, we have to get up early for getting on bus at 8.45 AM. The plan of this day is to visit South Shore which is natural waterfall. This is the first scenic spot we visited in Reykjavik. This is a beautiful world of ice and snow. I was excited by the white and holy landscape. The only thing I regret is not wearing sunglasses, because of the dazzling white. The waterfall attracted many visitors from different countries. As a tourism industry developed country, Iceland vastly protected the nature. This is because the Visa for Iceland is limited every year. In scenic spots, dangerous places and environmental protection areas are banned though setting iron chain. Good policies of protecting nature are important to tourism industry.

Thursday 5th March

Finally, we planned to go Blue Lagoon for popular outdoor hot spring bath. I was feeling so excited and couldn’t wait anymore. Before we go to Blue Lagoon, I research many videos and Blog in the internet. The water in blue lagoon was heated by the local natural geothermal heat to become the geothermal hot  springs. The water temperature of blue lake is maintained at 37 ℃ -39 ℃ 365 days a year. To be honest, I didn’t sleep well because of excited feeling. However I still made it to wake up before the time we go. After one hour of bus we arrived at Blue lagoon and we got two hours to stay here which is not enough time for me, because I love here so much. The scenery here is so beautiful that every picture I take is a masterpiece. We drank delicious drinks while bathing in the hot spring in the sun. As a visitor, I would like to say it was a precious and unforgettable experience for my life. As a hospitality student I think Iceland has successfully used its natural characteristics to attract tourists. In terms of publicity, Iceland advertises in the media and clearly conveys Iceland’s advantages, such as that its water can cure some skin diseases.

Thursday 5th March

On the fourth day we planned to see the aurora. Because of the characteristic story promoted, to visit aurora has become a must-see for tourists from all over the world. We started at nine O’clock PM and back to hotel at one O’clock AM. Unfortunately, the weather on Thursday was not good. We didn’t see aurora even we tried to go different places of light hunt station. Although we didn’t see the aurora during this trip, we ate at a local Fancy restaurant before going to see the aurora. This restaurant called Forrettabarinn which offer local Iceland food. It was 7000 ISK per person in this restaurant which is acceptable. I tried the lobster and lamb which are fantastic. The food is also one of the reasons why Iceland attracts so many tourists. Therefore to prepare high quality of food is significant for tourism industry.

Friday 6th March

This was last day of my Iceland trip that plan was to visit Golden Circle. On this day, as usual, we took the bus for some time to get first scenic spot which is Thingvellir National Park. Thingvellir National Park is a UNESCO world heritage site. It is the splitting of the North American and Eurasian plates has created a rift valley known as the most beautiful scar on earth. Second scenic spot comes with Geysir which took 50 minutes of bus from Thingvellir National Park. Geysir is Iceland’s largest geyser, which erupts every three to seven minutes at a height of 20 to 30 meters. As a matter of factor, it was a very interesting and splendid spectacle for me. Next to it was Gullfoss that is Iceland’s largest fault canyon waterfall. The whole waterfall is golden in the sunlight, so the name of the “golden waterfall”. Personally speaking, it is better to wear glove. Otherwise your hands might be hurt by cold weather if you want to take photos by phone. After visiting Golden Circle we went back to hotel for Packing up. It was too fast to finish the trip. Overall Golden Circle trip and Blue Lagoon was my favorite places to visit.

Saturday 7th March

We finished the trip and ready to go back to UK. It was a fabulous trip. I learned many things about Iceland. In this Blog I will share more things I learned in Reykjavik.

              Post visit evaluationand analysis

1. Introduction

Iceland is a developed country with developed well tourism which got more than 2,195,271 visitors every year.  Iceland has more than 21,600 people working in tourism-related industries which occupy nearly 12% of the whole workforce in Iceland and tourism's direct contribution more than 5% to GDP every year (Fontaine, 2018). After this travel project of Iceland trip, Iceland's hotel and tourism industries have much to discuss. The purpose of this Blog is to provide a reflective and considered review about hotel and tourism management according to my experience on the trip and researches.

 2.1 expectations differ from the reality

Before we go to Iceland, I did a number of researches about Iceland for better preparing on the trip which come out some problems I might meet during the trip. Some things happened in the Iceland are different with my expectations from reality. First problem I considered was language. Iceland has their language which is called íslenska. Therefore I was worrying that we might meet problems of language in hotel and restaurants. But in reality, all most of Icelanders we met can speak good English there. That is because big percentage of visitors who travel to Iceland can speak English. According to Iceland's tourist statistics, in 2014 forty-four percent of the visitors are from North America and 18 percent are from Britain during the summer (ÓLADÓTTIR, 2015). Hence the hotel of Iceland can offer service for foreign customers which is an advantage of attracting more English-speaking customers. Besides there was another thing which was quite big different with my expectations from reality is spending levels in Iceland. During our trips In Iceland, many restaurants which located in city center are 7000 ISK per person (￡50). Compared with most other countries, Iceland performs well on many measures of happiness. Iceland ranked high in employment and income, environmental quality and social relations. In Iceland, the average income of per household is $33,604 per year which is higher than many countries ((OECD Better Life Index, 2020)). That is why restaurants and services are more expensive than other countries.

 2.2 experience of service and relationship with local community

In these five days trip, I experienced many services from restaurants, hotel and scenic area. In hotel we lived in, the staffs who work in reception are quite friendly and hospitality. When we relax in the kitchen, the staff will be very warm to chat with us and we introduce the local culture. Also gave us a lot of recommended restaurants and local famous beer. Of course, they also check whether we are old enough to drink alcohol. Icelanders are able to provide quality services while strictly abiding by the law. In restaurants, staffs were friendly and professional. They can introduce dishes while keep smiling. As a matter of factor, the services quality in Iceland is higher than my expectation. In addition, many hotels, restaurants and shops is available to make payment of Alipay which is convenient for Chinese visitor. It is a effective method to attract Chinese. However, not all Icelander like tourism in Iceland. Some local communities think good tourism industry rising prices up in Iceland. That led to high spending levels for local people. Good tourism industry also makes hotels rising all over central Reykjavik, which led to many entertainment buildings be replaced. Therefore Reykjavík’s character and city life will be influence. Furthermore, too many visitors might lead to serious environmental pollution (Gunnarsdóttir, 2019). Personally speaking, most of Icelander I meet are kind. They like to share the story of Iceland. The relationship between host and tourist are more likely guest or friend.

 3.1 strategies

In 2019, there were many hotels building in Reykjavik which supply 520 new hotel rooms and 51 hotel apartments. Jóhannes Þór Skúlason, CEO of the Icelandic Travel Industry Association expects to increase quantity of hotels in Iceland (Hafstað, 2019). So the Icelandic government is very supportive of developing Iceland's tourism industry as major strategies. The Icelandic government has developed different strategies to attract more tourists according to different international situations. For example, uncertainty about Britain's economy and the government's austerity measures that have made britons cautious about spending. Hence, in March 2013 Iceland government starts new direct flights from Manchester, Edinburgh and London for attracting more visitor form UK (invest, 2013). During the trip, there were a big number of travelers in Reykjavik. As result of the destination needs to hold high-quality events to promote the cultural characters of Iceland to achieve the role of publicity. To develop organizations within the destination develop and host events are main strategy for Reykjavik. According to events report of Reykjavik in 2016, most of events in Reykjavik have been greatly developed such as Reykjavík Culture Night (Same night as city’s marathon), Winter Lights Festival (incorporates Museums Night and Swimming Pool nights) and Children's Festival. Government of Reykjavik rose funding and budget for supporting culture of Reykjavik to growth (BLUE SAIL, 2016). Hence to develop events is key strategy in Reykjavik.

 3.2 MICE market in Iceland

MICE market plays an important role of economy in Iceland, because MICE customers normally spend more in destination. Reykjavik has been named Europe's best MICE destination in 2017 by business destinations magazine (Bragadottir and Gudmundsson, 2017). Many business and organizations expect holding corporate meetings and incentive travel in Iceland. A good destination will help a company to improve the motivation and experience of staff. Iceland is a good MICE destination to go.

 4.1 Environment and facilities

During our five-day trip to Iceland, we visited many scenic spots where there were many tourists. It is striking that scenic spots with a high number of visitors can still keep its environment clean. I can't find any garbage anywhere. Nearly all scenic spots have banned drone photography. Because the drone may be due to the cold and wind caused by the fall and pollute the nature. Iceland has thus done a good job of protecting its natural environment. Although Iceland has many mountains and valleys, the signal of phone and internet was fast enough. Therefore visitors don’t need to worry about communication problems of phone. However I think some facilities were not safe enough for visitors. In South Shore of Reykjavik, there was a mountain which has stairs with iron chains for visitors walking. The stairs are extremely slippery because of the snow. That might led to people slip from the top area of this mountain which is quite dangerous. Therefore Iceland government should pay more attention to safety facilities around scenic spots. In addition, there are few cars on the roads in Iceland， which led to few traffic problems there. Almost every scenic spot has a supermarket, restaurant and toilet that are convenient for visitors. But according to some reviews from the Internet, many local communities are complaining that they got negative impact by noise and rubbish problems (Gunnarsdóttir, N., 2019). For reducing damage from tourism industry, effective visitor management techniques are necessary for hospitality and tourism industry. In Iceland, government tries to limit quantity of Visa every year for controlling sum of foreign visitor. In scenic spots, it is easy to find warning flags which reduced uncivilized behaviors from travelers.

 5.1 Hotels and services

We lived in a budget hotel which located in central of the Reykjavik. It was ￡50 per night which was a cheap price in Iceland. Because of convenient location, normally the target group of this hotel is a large tour group and people who care about price and location. The purpose of this hotel is to attract enough customers by good location to make a profit. The service of this hotel is good enough. Iceland has good hospitality industry which led to many types of hotel such as lodging-accommodation, Suites and Resorts. Different hotels offer different services. Lodging-accommodation is normally cheap hotel that only offering a lodges or rooms with simply services for traveler to stay. This type of customer group only needs a place to sleep. Hence cheap price is key factor for them. However some travelers who expect to live in luxury place with fantastic services will prefer to book suites in hotel. The price of suites is more expansive than lodging-accommodation. Resorts are a popular choice for visitor. Resorts bring people close to nature and give them a necessary break (JOBS, 2019). In Iceland, more people choose to live in lodging-accommodation, because many staff who works in lodging-accommodation is friendly and helpful. The services in Iceland are not worse than other destination.

 5.2 sustainable developments and future challenges for Reykjavik

The sustainability of tourism and hospitality is crucial to Iceland. It takes a lot of money to maintain good sustainability. Between 2013 and 2015, the government allocated ISK500m annually to tourism development to improve the infrastructure of the country and nature reserves. This is good for Iceland's sustainability. In the future, the government intends to allocate more money to tourism. At the same time, the government has made more policies to maintain sustainable development. Iceland will ease this by starting to charge for some scenic spots (invest, 2013). Thus it is obvious that government paid close attention to tourism and hospitality industry in Iceland. Furthermore, there are more and more useful information and application update in the internet everyday for visitors. People can easily find travel tips, map, and popular recommendations and so on. During our trip in Iceland, we download some app for helping us to find aurora. Therefore it is effective and convenient to get visitor information such as signage, information boards, tour guides by the internet. In many scenic spots, it is easy to find story machine which available for many languages. That is a convenient point for international visitors who interested with local story. Besides to protect environment and nature is also a significant point for sustainable developments of Iceland. Strict fines might be effective in protecting the environment. The Future challenges for Reykjavik is to improve safety of facilities in scenic spots and protect environment and nature. In 2020, because of the corona virus, the tourism and hospitality industry will be got negative impact. Iceland will face quite seriously problems. The number of visitor will be decreased in the future which lead to Iceland might get loss in tourism and hospitality industry. Iceland should stop running events or activities at the moment for reducing cost until the problems of virus be solved.  Overall Iceland is fabulous country to visit which have high quality of services and food. Although we didn’t find aurora I still love this country.

 Reference list:

BLUE SAIL, 2016. ABERDEEN 365 EVENTS STRATEGY. [online] Committees.aberdeencity.gov.uk. Available at: <https://committees.aberdeencity.gov.uk/documents/s64747/Events%20Strategy%20-%20Case%20Study%20Reykjavk.pdf> [Accessed 19 March 2020].

 Bragadottir, A. and Gudmundsson, T., 2017. Reykjavík Named Best MICE Destination In Europe. [online] En.harpa.is. Available at: <https://en.harpa.is/news/reykjavik-named-best-mice-destination-in-europe/> [Accessed 19 March 2020].

 Gunnarsdóttir, N., 2019. 7 Things Icelanders Hate About Tourism | Guide To Iceland. [online] Guide to Iceland. Available at: <https://guidetoiceland.is/history-culture/7-reasons-icelanders-hate-tourism-in-iceland> [Accessed 18 March 2020].

 Hafstað, V., 2019. Numerous New Hotels In Reykjavík. [online] Icelandmonitor.mbl.is. Available at: <https://icelandmonitor.mbl.is/news/news/2019/07/28/numerous_new_hotels_in_reykjavik/> [Accessed 19 March 2020].

 invest, 2013. Long-Term Strategy For The Icelandic Tourism Industry. [online] Invest.is. Available at: <https://www.invest.is/files/skjol/pdff/pkf_tourism_strategy_report_extract.pdf> [Accessed 19 March 2020].

 JOBS, S., 2019. What Are The 5 Different Sectors Of The Hospitality Industry?. [online] Global Hospitality Portal. Available at: <https://www.soegjobs.com/different-sectors-hospitality-industry/> [Accessed 20 March 2020].

 Fontaine, A., 2018. From Iceland — Number Of Tourists To Iceland Surpasses 2 Million In 2017. [online] The Reykjavik Grapevine. Available at: <https://grapevine.is/news/2018/01/16/number-of-tourists-to-iceland-surpasses-2-million-in-2017/> [Accessed 18 March 2020].

 ÓLADÓTTIR, O., 2015. TOURISM IN ICELAND IN FIGURES. [online] Ferdamalastofa.is. Available at: <https://www.ferdamalastofa.is/static/files/ferdamalastofa/Frettamyndir/2015/mai/tourism-in-iceland-in-figures_15.pdf> [Accessed 18 March 2020].

 Oecdbetterlifeindex.org. 2020. OECD Better Life Index. [online] Available at: <http://www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org/countries/iceland/> [Accessed 18 March 2020].

Visitreykjavik.is. 2020. Restaurants Serving Traditional Icelandic Food | Visit Reykjavik. [online] Available at: <https://visitreykjavik.is/restaurants-serving-traditional-icelandic-food> [Accessed 18 March 2020].

[hawkland]

Finding His Way

So this is my contribution to Sonny week for @svucharacterappreciation on Tumblr. It’s loosely based around the quote prompt (“I worked Homicide a couple of years. It’s…it’s the women who get you.”) It fits into the continuity of my Spaces In Between fic series, which you can find on AO3. 

It’s fairly long - over 4,000 words - and mostly about friendships, not romantic ships. Though of course, me being me, there is background Munch/Fin (and the tiniest hint of Rollisi). The story is mirrored on AO3 if you’d rather read it there.

Sonny pushed open the door with greater force than he’d intended, entering the squad room full of pent-up frustration and annoyance. He’d been doing his best to remain positive and upbeat since getting this new assignment to Manhattan SVU, but some days? That was proving far easier said than done.

Days like today. He’d wasted most of his morning trying to get somewhere with an uncooperative witness; he needed her to give a positive ID, if they were going to make a case. It had taken him days to simply locate her from surveillance footage, and a few people from the neighborhood who recognized her. But she was denying having seen anything, even when he showed her the images proving she had been on the scene.

She claimed she had no knowledge of what had occurred and couldn’t recognize anyone from the line-up photos. A woman was in a coma in the hospital, unable to speak about the man who had dragged her off the street to rape and beat her, and Sonny couldn’t get this one last piece in place that he needed before he could get an arrest warrant for their suspect.

So when he spotted someone unfamiliar hanging out at Fin’s desk—in fact sitting there as if it were somehow his own, scribbling away on a notepad—Sonny walked straight over asked, “Excuse me, sir. Can I help you with something?”

“That depends.” The man rose from where he had made himself at home in Fin’s chair. He was tall—about an inch taller than Sonny—considerably older, and well-dressed. He was also clearly sizing Sonny up in a way that did little to improve the detective’s mood. “Who exactly are you?” the man asked, lowering his head to peer at Sonny over the top of his glasses.

“Detective Dominick Carisi.” Whoever this guy was, in no way did he merit a “Call me Sonny” yet.

“Ah. The new guy,” the stranger said, as if that explained everything. “You can help if you might be able to tell me where Rollins and Fin are at currently. I need to speak with them as soon as possible.”

The assumed familiarity once again jarred him. “Detectives Tutuola and Rollins are out on a case right now. If I can be of assistance instead, I—.”

“No, never mind,” he cut Sonny off with a dismissive wave of the hand. “I was hoping to catch them here instead of making them come all the way down to Hogan Place. It’s regarding the Thompkins rape from last year that’s finally scheduled for trial next week. There’s a few discrepancies between their report and what the victim said on re-interview, during trial prep. We need to make sure everyone’s got their stories straight before the defense can rip any holes in the case.”

So this guy seemed to be someone from the DA’s office, Sonny gathered, realizing he hadn’t even gotten a name yet. “Well I’m sure our detectives wouldn’t lie in their reports. That’s not how things work around here.”

“Oh, I know all about how things work around here, kid. Anyway...I left Fin a message, including a reminder to stop letting his cell phone battery run down all the time, so I can reach him when I need him.”

And with that the man headed off, only stopping as Amaro strolled in. Nick was returning from his lunch break with a paper bag in hand, and seemed incredibly pleased by the surprise visitor.

“Nick! Great to see you out of uniform again.”

“Hey!” The two exchanged smiles and a friendly hug, chatting briefly until the stranger departed. When he did, Sonny went over to Nick and asked, “Who the heck was that?”

“Our former sergeant, John Munch. He’s working out of the DA’s office now.”

“I gathered the last bit. But what’s his deal?”

“Munch?” Nick shook his head and chuckled softly. “If you can ever figure that out, then you’re one up on the rest of us. Except maybe Fin.”

Amaro sat down to focus his attention on his sandwich. Sonny frowned and then shrugged the bizarre encounter off. He had more pressing concerns to address at the moment, including what he was going to say to Sergeant Benson when she returned from her lunch break.

Because Sonny wasn’t a slacker, and he wanted to be here. But he had the feeling his presence wasn’t exactly embraced with open arms just yet.

Time passed. Today, Sonny couldn’t be happier. Proud of himself, though he tried not to be smug about it. They’d made it to the end of a hard week on the job with several tricky cases closed out, and no immediately pressing business for the weekend. He’d even earned the sergeant’s praise for finding a connection between several recent assaults that had ended up bringing in a serial rapist before he could strike again.

And, to further Sonny’s triumphant mood, he’d finally been invited out with his coworkers for a celebratory after-hours drink.

He knew they went out pretty regularly as a group. Maybe not every Friday, but a lot of them. Whenever the week had ended on an “up” instead of “down” note and they had good cause to let off some steam. However it had taken until this particular Friday night for Amanda to ask him, as she grabbed her coat, “Carisi, wanna come with? We’re getting a round or two down the street. And you certainly deserve one for today’s work.”

“Thanks, Rollins. Sure! Let me just...I’ll be right behind you.” He quickly shut down his computer and cleaned up his desk for the weekend. And, he tried not to grin too much as they headed out to the bar together, starting to feel like he might be welcome here after all.

Fin was texting on his phone as they walked along, and Benson asked him, “John joining us?”

“Yeah, on his way.”

“Good.”

Sonny didn’t connect the “John” whom Benson mentioned to the former sergeant he’d met some weeks before. Not until they had settled into their table at the bar and were already one round in, and a voice behind Sonny’s shoulder asked, “Is this seat taken?”

Sonny turned and saw it was none other than that Munch guy again. “No, help yourself,” he replied.

“Thanks.” Munch eased into the empty chair, between Sonny and Fin, and asked, “So who’s buying tonight?”

“I’ll get this round,” Amaro offered, getting up to go to the bar. “Same for everyone?”

“Gin and tonic for me.” After he left, John sighed and said, “I need to have a talk with Nick about how he doesn’t owe me for the rest of his life.”

“Owe you for what?” Sonny asked, curious.

Amanda jumped in with the explanation. “When Nick had some...trouble...before you transferred in, John paid his not insignificant bail.”

“Wow. That was generous.”

“You know what they say about a fool and his money.” John shrugged. “Then again, if he’d high-tailed it out of town on my life savings, at least my exes wouldn’t have been able to milk another dime from me.”

“No, but some of us might’ve kicked your ass for bein’ so gullible,” Fin said.

“I was merely looking out for a friend. Right, ’Liv?”

She smiled. “It’s what you’ve always done, John.”

They enjoyed their second round, after which Olivia announced she needed to head home to relieve Lucy of babysitting duties and spend some quality time with Noah. Amanda and Nick had wandered off to play a round of pool in the other room, leaving Sonny at the table with Munch and Fin.

He’d so far learned that the two of them had been partners at SVU, for quite a few years, before and after Munch had make sergeant. Beyond that, Munch was the one asking the most questions about Sonny and his life experiences. Fin, as usual, remained quiet save the occasional pointed remark.

“So how’d you end up in SVU?” Munch asked.

“Ah, y’know...moving around, trying out different divisions in the force once I got my shield. I worked Homicide for a few years...”

“Ah, Homicide! My old unit.”

“Oh yeah?”

Munch nodded. “In my Baltimore days, before I moved to New York. Years and years ago.”

“Ancient history,” Fin put in for good measure, “which I’ve heard about more times than I care to remember.”

Munch chose to ignore Fin and continued to Sonny, “Homicide’s usually the prestige assignment everyone wants in on. Why’d you leave?”

It wasn’t the first time Sonny had heard that question, because Munch was right. Most detectives fought to get into the “murder police” and were in no rush to leave. Not unless they couldn’t cut it. “I dunno...guess I just decided it wasn’t for me. Always dealing with the dead, it seemed...I mean we get our share of murders in SVU, too, of course. But at least here...sometimes, we get to help the living as well.” He paused, reflecting back. Even from those few years in Homicide, there were cases that plagued his thoughts. Images that haunted him in the early hours of the morning when sleep proved elusive. “The women get to you, there, you know?”

“Oh, believe me, I know. But don’t think the living victims won’t some day get to you even worse.” John finished his drink as Amanda and Nick returned to the table, Rollins declaring victory. Munch turned his attention to Fin and asked, “I’m starting to feel about ready to turn into a pumpkin. Are you good?”

“Yeah, I’m good.” Fin eased out of his stool and said, “See you guys on Monday?”

“Let’s hope not until then,” came Amanda’s reply. She gave Munch a hug, and Nick waved good-bye as the two older men departed.

“Nice seeing old partners stay friends like that,” Sonny said. He hadn’t grown that close with any of his previous partners, he supposed thanks to not sticking around once place all that long. He hoped that might change, here at last. Especially, maybe, with Amanda. He liked her. Maybe a little more than he should like a co-worker, but he wasn’t going to push that.

Amanda and Nick shared a secretive look, causing Sonny to knit his brows in concern. “What, am I missing something?”

“You’re a smart detective, you’ll figure it out,” Nick said. That only left Sonny more puzzled than previously—and acutely aware he was still the “new guy”, not trusted with things the others all knew about each other.

It kind of sucked. But he’d keep working at it. He was nothing if not persistent.

Sonny wasn’t completely dense, so it didn’t take him that long to connect the dots.

That John almost always joined them for end-of-the-week drinks, and when he did he never departed without Fin at his side.

The picture on Fin’s desk of the two of them on vacation somewhere, looking a lot more chummy than simply “old partners”.

That Fin wore what looked like a wedding band, despite never mentioning a wife.

And one evening at the bar, Sonny noticed John’s wedding band was an identical match to Fin’s.

“Hey Rollins, can I ask you something?”

It was Monday again. They were walking back from lunch break, coffees in hand. She didn’t raise any objection, so he continued, “Fin and John...John Munch...They’re together, right? Like...married, together?”

She gave him a measured glance, then confirmed, “Uh huh. You heard it from someone?”

“No, figured it out on my own. But I wanted to be sure.”

“They’re not closeted about it, if you’re wondering. Just...quiet.”

“I get that. ‘Don’t ask, don’t tell’?”

“More like don’t tell Fin you think they make a cute couple. Not unless you want to get the death scowl or worse from him for at least week,” she warned, finishing her words with a laugh.

“Okay, my lips are sealed. Until or unless Fin mentions it himself.”

Amanda nodded in approval. “You have to understand, Carisi, it’s still tough to be in an openly gay relationship on the force. Fin told me it was especially difficult when they were partners. Our old captain had to work hard sometimes to keep that from becoming an issue with any of the higher-ups.” Amanda talked about their old captain, Don Cragen, quite a bit. Sonny frequently wished he’d known all these people he heard about from the others. There was a lot of history in this unit of SVU, a lot of people who’d seen out their careers here instead of making it a short-term assignment like most did.

“I can appreciate all that. And I’ve certainly gotten the feeling Fin’s a private guy to begin with.”

Amanda chuckled. “No kidding. John told me once that it took them being partners almost two years before Fin even told him he had a son.”

“Fin has a kid?!”

“You see what I mean? By the time I transferred to New York and partnered with him, he was a little more open than that. But not by much.”

“Okay, I only wanted to know, so I didn’t, y’know, say something stupid, some time.”

“You? Say something stupid?” she teased. “It wouldn’t be the first time.”

“Hey!”

She ribbed him with her elbow. “C’mon. The sarge texted me that Arden came in voluntarily a few minutes ago, so we’ve got a suspect to put on the hot seat. Let’s go light a fire under his ass.”

“I can’t wait.”

“I hate this sitting around. Doing nothing.” Sonny fidgeted, adjusting his tie for the umpteenth time that morning. He understood the legal reasons for it, of course. Since they were both testifying they couldn’t sit in the gallery and hear the proceedings leading up to their appearance. But it felt like a waste of time when they had a full load of cases to be working on at the precinct.

Fin snorted in response. “Do this job long enough, you’ll come to appreciate havin’ some quiet time.”

Sonny glanced over his shoulder at the closed courtroom door. “How d’you think it’s going in there?”

Fin shrugged. “Barba’s no doubt doing everything he can to send those bastards away as long as possible. Hard to deny the evidence, and we got a clean confession from the accomplice who flipped on these two losers. If that jury’s got any common sense it should be a unanimous verdict. A fast one at that.”

“Hope so.” It had been an ugly case, a brutal assault which Barba had managed to convince the grand jury deserved hate crime charges, along with first degree rape. A young man and his boyfriend had been targeted by a group of teens after coming out of a gay bar in the Village. The boyfriend managed to get away and run for help, but not before their victim, Joey Hynes, was dragged off in a van, beaten and sodomized, and then dumped in an abandoned lot near the waterfront. “The way they went at Joey, he’s lucky to be alive. But I don’t know how he’s gonna be able to move on from what happened.”

“It’s gonna take time, like for any other vic. And things won’t ever be the same for him. They’ll get better, but...it’ll always be there, in the back of his mind. Scars that are more than physical.” Sonny looked to Fin, picking up a hint from the sound of his voice. There was something personal about this case for him, more than it being an attack based on the victim being gay. He said nothing, though, knowing Fin well enough by now that he would only open up when he was ready, and at his own pace.

“My son’s husband was attacked, few years ago,” he finally explained. “Situation a lot like this case, part of a gang initiation. It was...he got it real bad. Even worse than Joey. Almost didn’t make it and he’s got some health issues as a result that are gonna be with him for life.”

“Damn. I’m sorry.” Sonny hadn’t known, of course. He thought things over for a moment, and then asked cautiously, “You don’t think Buchanan might try to bring that up? Say you have a bias, an axe to grind?”

“He might. Buchanan is scum, he’ll try his best to dirty you up,” Fin said. “He’ll probably even bring up me bein’ in a gay relationship myself. At this point? It’s not like I care. I might want to kick his ass when I get out of that courtroom, but the best way to deal with that son of a bitch is keepin’ your cool on the stand. Never let him see you sweat. So don’t forget that, Carisi.”

“I won’t.” And Sonny wouldn’t forget this moment of openness from Fin, either. Knowing that Fin trusted him enough to share these details of his life gave him heart, and more determination than ever to do his best today when the bailiff called his name.

Late evening and the corridors of One Hogan Place were dark. Almost as dark as Sonny’s mood, as he headed to the elevators from Barba’s office. Benson had sent him off to deliver files—their continued findings of negligence within the Department of Child Services—so that the ADA could use them in wrapping up this case in court tomorrow. Grayson would be on the stand and Barba wanted to hit her with everything he could to illustrate her complete negligence.

And yet, somehow, it didn’t seem to be enough. Not the evidence—they had plenty of that, more than Sonny wanted to think about—but the potential outcome. Jail time, needed reform within the system... Sure, that would be all good and well. But it wouldn’t bring Keisha Ozuna back to life. It wouldn’t change the fact that she’d been locked in a dog cage, left to starve to death while her mother only cared about getting high.

Finding Keisha in that cage...that would be another one of those images that would never leave Sonny’s mind. It made his soul hurt to think about her, to wonder how many other children out there had or still suffered similar neglect and abuse.

Was Sonny doing all he could to stop that, he wondered? Or was there some other calling where he could do more?

As he walked along, lost in these deep thoughts, he spotted a light on in one room along the way. The squad room for the DA’s Special Investigations Unit. He glanced inside, out of curiosity, and was surprised to recognize the lone man there at work. Sonny stopped and knocked lightly on the open door, catching John Munch’s attention immediately.

“Hey, Sonny!” he said, which made the detective smile. John was the one person who actually did call him that now, without fail. “What has you lurking about at this forsaken hour?”

“Just delivering some files to Barba before heading home.” He stepped into the large room full of empty desks, save John’s. The squad room wasn’t as fancy or modern as the one at the 16th, but it had a comfortable, familiar feeling. An old-fashioned police bullpen, straight out of some gritty crime show on tv. Munch seemed right at home here. “Why are you workin’ so late? I thought cops retired to stop pulling all-nighters.”

“Hmph. I thought so, too. But occasionally there are deadlines that wait for no man’s rest. Judges who won’t hear of another continuance. Besides,” John checked his phone, stretched his neck and rolled his shoulders, “Fin’s stuck in an interrogation that could last most of the night, or so he told me. And on occasion being alone at work is better than being alone at home. But a little company either way is far better.” He indicated to the chair next to his desk and Sonny took it without hesitation.

“Fin tell you about our case that Barba’s trying now?”

“Of course. Plus it’s been all over the news—and the gossip network here at the DA’s. Not easy taking on institutional corruption in this city. But when children are dying? People will finally demand answers—and change.”

“I sure hope so.” Sonny paused, trying to gather his thoughts. Munch was easy to talk to. He’d started to understand why no one at SVU seemed to want to let him go, move on. He was kind of like a priest who would hear your confessions without making you do penance afterwards—though he’d always leave you with something to think about. “Y’know, a while back you told me it’s the living victims who get to you. Now I think they all do, to be honest. The living, the dead...the ones you wonder about, think maybe you could’ve saved them if you’d only gotten there a little sooner. The ones who were crying out for help, but...no one could hear them. Or people pretended they couldn’t hear, so they didn’t have to take any responsibility.”

John nodded, his expression suitably pensive. He then opened the bottom drawer of his desk, and out came two glass tumblers and a bottle of amber liquid.

Sonny grinned. “I thought only lawyers kept a secret stash of Scotch in their desks.”

“You’re not wrong—Scotch is a seemingly natural proclivity of the legal profession which I’ve never had a taste for. This is bourbon.” He poured them both a finger’s worth, then handed Sonny his glass.

“Thanks.”

“Drinking alone is no more fun than sitting at home alone,” John said, raising his glass in a toast, then taking a sip. “Are you debating if SVU is where you should be, Sonny? Because there’s no shame in that; I’ve known some excellent detectives in the past who found it too troubling, too hard on the heart. They went on to do fine work in other departments. Vice, Arson, Major Case...”

“Yeah, no...I don’t know,” he confessed. “If anything...I’m actually studying to take the bar exam. So if I did move somewhere, it wouldn’t be another division of the police. It’d be somewhere else, where maybe I could make more of a difference.”

“I see.”

“I guess the thing I wonder is, do I want to keep trying to catch the bad guys and then leave it up to someone else to bring them to justice? Or do I want to be the one to try to make sure they get what they deserve? Maybe even try to improve the justice system itself, where it seems to keep falling short.”

“Well you know, prosecutors and police...they’re both just different parts of the same whole. Although prosecuting attorneys and law makers don’t have to walk onto fresh crime scenes and stare at bloated bodies, mangled corpses. They don’t need to come face-to-face with a dead baby in a cooler, fished out of the Hudson River. Or look down on the still-beautiful face of an old high school crush, found strangled to death in a parking garage in the middle of winter.” John paused to take a sip of his drink, and Sonny noticed his hand tremble—just a little. And then it passed, John collecting his own thoughts before continuing on. “But they still need to deal with the haunted victims, mourning relatives. Figure out how to tell them when you fail to get an indictment, or lose what seemed like an open-and-shut case in court. There are always going to be faces and voices to haunt you, unless you get out of this kind of work completely. And that’s a lot easier said than done—I mean, look at me,” John finished with a grimace.

Sonny nodded in understanding. He could have sat there talking and drinking with John a lot longer, but he was feeling in need of rest. And he didn’t want to miss court tomorrow. As he contemplated departing, his eyes traveled over the many items on John’s cluttered desk. He recognized the same photo that was on Fin’s of the two of them, a bust of President Kennedy, and a line-up of books which seemed to follow on the JFK theme. “Kennedy must be a big hero of yours?”

“Ah, he was an inspiration to my generation. We genuinely believed, back then, that we could do anything if we put our minds to it. Especially if we worked with—not against—each other. It’s a message too often forgotten today.” He pulled out a book from the stack, then presented it to Sonny. “Have you read this?”

“‘Profiles in Courage.’ Sounds familiar, but no.”

“Give it a read. Then come around again and we’ll talk about it—over another round of bourbon.”

“Thanks—for the drink, and the book. I will.” Sonny stood up to leave, but there was one last question on his mind now. “Hey, since you’re a big fan and all, I’ve always wondered... What do you think happened with his assassination? ’Cause I remember, even back in high school when I read about it, somethin’ didn’t add up to me.”

John practically beamed with pride and excitement. “I knew I liked you, kid. We’ll talk about that next time for sure.” He lowered his gaze and added, conspiratorially, “Don’t mention it to Fin, though. Or else I’ll be banished to sleeping on the sofa and that’s terrible on my lower back.”

“I won’t. Have a good night, John.”

“You do the same.”

And Sonny thought maybe—just maybe—he actually would.

#svucharacterappreciation #sonny carisi #odafin tutuola #john munch #svu #svu fic #my fic #munchfin