Category Archives: Eyes

Aesthetics, movies, sunsets, … all things photonic!

The Age of Aquarius

When I recently found this tiny and fabulous blue cocktail recipe booklet in mum’s kitchen in our countryside house, I had to “secure” it immediately 🙂 Not so much because of the recipes, which are obviously neither special nor unbiased, but rather an attempt of the brand to sell their average products, but much more because of the cute format and the lovely 50s/60s graphic design! Executed with much care, which is rarely seen today in similar tokens (Hendrick’s Gin was the producer of the only comparable booklet I’ve come across during recent years), it naturally does not satisfy 2018 standards of gender equality, although when looking at Sagittarius, the lady who blocks the arrow in a nonchalant way with her drink seems to think to herself: “Ah, fuck off!” and indulge in her own splendid ennui, superbly aided by her beverage (click to enlarge image).

Man sollte vermeiden den Stier zu ärgern … durch einen sanften Cocktail. Dem kann ich nur zustimmen!

Funnily enough, and as often is the case, a related item popped up around the same time independently, in the form of the formidable cocktail book by Tony Conigliaro’s 69 Colebrooke Row, one of our favourite London cocktail bars, which Björn brought me from a recent solo-trip to the town of funk (how DARE he drink those Hemingway Daiquiris without me!?). A fabulous book already by it’s stories and cocktail recipes, the drawings by Yasmin Sandytia it contains – although having a distinct contemporary touch – are very much reminiscent of the 50s/60s aesthetics as found in above shown Cinzano booklet in my opinion.

À la votre – to what we love!

Graphic art in cocktail books now and then …

Fukubana 2018

Die Frühlingsboten haben sich heuer lange Zeit gelassen, die Krokusse wurden mehrmals mit starkem Frost gehänselt und haben daher heuer auf’s Blühen verzichtet. Dafür hat sich Fukubana (die Kirsche) ins Zeug gelegt, und der Schachbrettblumen sind heuer 4. Auch die schwarze Johannisbeere (also die Ribisel) scheint guter Dinge zu sein, die Blüten blühen und die Blätter duften – man harrt einer guten Ernte!

Japanese cherry blossoms, Friedrichshainer Schachbrettblume and Treptower Schwarze Ribisel 🙂

Some like it … cold!

Zum Beispiel Orchideen der Sorte Masdevallia. Manche kann man aber auch auf “warm” züchten, dann sterben sie im winterlich warmen Wohnzimmer nicht sofort, wenn sie von ihrem kühlen Sommerbalkonurlaub zurückkommen (sie mögen’s wenn’s nachts abkühlt, ruhig auch auf einstellige Temperaturen). Wie z.B. diese Kreuzung (M. Angel Tang x princpes):

Bringt Farbe ins grau-winterliche Berlin.

Kimonomono

Christmas markets are not my thing usually. It so happened however, that Björn found a small korean-japanese one on Karl-Marx-Allee the other day. That sounded more intriguing than your average Glühwein&Co headache! There was also Glühwein there, I admit, but also cute stands of all kinds, with rare&bizarre objects, as was hoped for! For example tiny retro soy sauce flasks in blue glass B-) But the real deal was the last area we explored (there was an indoors), which hosted Berlin based Kimonomono. She had a fabulous choice of kimonos and yakutas, and there was no way to resist this 1910s-1920s long-sleeve kimono (long sleeves indicate the young woman is unmarried 🙂 )
Arigatō!

Maybe not for carrying down the trash, but a perfect fit for everything else from medium formal occasions to casual cocktail evenings!

Hammond C3 & Leslie 22H

If it wasn’t for the one and only Hansi, this would probably never have become possible, so: danke Hansi, ich bin unwürdig! 😉 La Principessa: Hammond C3 (ca.1959, das “Kirchenmodell” der B3) und dazu ein Leslie 22H. Grande gioia! Bench and Leslie were a bit trashed and had to undergo renovation, which meant Yeti fur! And the backside of the Leslie became the front, with a removable plexiglass cover, to be able to see the speakers, motors, and last but not least the tubes! New tubes have also been installed (russian ones – Gold Lion KT88 Genalex – and czech ones – SECC82-TESLA), for the sake of even more “dusty” (staubig, Hansi, staubig!!) 60s Bossa Nova Hammond sound! Ein großes Danke auch nochmal an alle, die geholfen haben, die Prinzessin in ihrem neuen Zuhause zu installieren: Gunter, Björn, Sva & Marc!

Haptik, Klang, Optik, Geruch, Herz … außer Geschmack ist einfach alles dabei!