Citrus Service: Aesthetics

Showing posts with label Aesthetics. Show all posts

Sunday, August 30, 2026

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (2015)

"V has come to."

I played this when it came out on the Playstation 4 and even got the Platinum Trophy for it. Now, after 11 years I do the same but on PC. This is a 'solid' (pun intended) contender for a game that is infinitely replayable or at least worth revisiting on a semi-yearly bases.

I enjoy games about stealth. The Assassin's Creed series, Hitman, Tom Clancy's games, and the occasional Sniper Elite. However, none of these games managed to reach this height of stealth sandbox that MGS:V offers.

Me and a friend playing the Co-op mod.

While the story is incomplete due to the whole Kojima fiasco, when he left Konami on less than ideal terms. I'm glad they went ahead and released this game.

To me the story of the Metal Gear franchise is a mixed bag of real world conflicts and fictitious advanced technology. Having only played Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, 4: Guns Of The Patriots, and V: The Phantom Pain to completion. The main appeal to me is the stealth and military setting of the franchise. With the weakest thing to me in all of them, is whenever the Mechas are unveiled, aka the metal gears. Metal gears are always treated in the world of the games as the ultimate Dreadnaught; a weapon surpassing nuclear weapons, despite being a platform to launch them! Oh and I dislike Mechas in general.

I love the nerdy gun facts of MGS3 and it's setting. I love the actual gameplay of MGSV and freedom to complete your missions in any way you want. But man! Is the story so convoluted and complex for the sake of being complex and nothing else. My friends' group grew up on this series, unlike me. I don't have a favorite character or moments from these games. I'm here for the fun gameplay and cool setting. With that said I'd like to try and play Peace Walker, it released recently as a remaster and I might grab it during a sale. I'm hesitant due to the low graphics quality of the game, but I'm really curious about it.

Your base of operations: Mother Base, has some nicely designed signs and iconography, that always manage to catch my eye. In my head, these signs are made to be as clear as possible to account for the fact that the soldiers of Mother Base are from all around the world; and thusly speak different languages! So having a universally designed signs to break the language barrier—Same as the pictograms of the Munich Olympics of 1972 (Watch this video for context)—is a really cool touch.

In the end. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is The most definitive stealth game in the world, undisputed since 2015. Fun movement options and numerous available playstyles are valid and accounted for. In addition to a vast arsenal of toys, gadgets, and weapons for you to tinker around and experiment with.

Remember to press every button and have fun!

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Wednesday, August 12, 2026

Victorian dresses (1837 - 1901)

Pictures and illustrations of Cute and pretty Victorian era dresses

Auguste Toulmouche - Dans la Bibliothèque

Jan Frederik Pieter Portielje - The Love Letter

This one, I'm not so sure about it's source. Supposedly it's from the Illustrated Police News December 11, 1869.

A duel between two ladies - Illustrated Police News December 11, 1869

Auguste Toulmouche - Dolce far niente

I like this navy themed one a lot. It's so Cute! Sadly, I couldn't find the source for these ones too.

William John Charles Pitcher - H.M.S. Pinafore costume

Book recommendation: Victorian Fashions: A Pictorial Archive.

Now this here book is exactly what it says on the cover, 123 pages filled with many illustrations of Victorian fashion goodness, mainly dresses. The book only has illustrations and the year that the trend came out, and that's it! So, if you're actually looking for reading material this is not the right book to look up. However, if you're like me and just want to look at pictures then, this is the book for you.

Thursday, June 11, 2026

Jeeves and Wooster (1990)

A splendid British classic!

I got into this show through a weird roundabout way; I recently—at the time of writing—learnt that an old search engine called Ask Jeeves has been sadly terminated after many years of service. This marked the first time that I've heard of the name Jeeves.

Now, this wasn't the only thing that pushed me to look forward to watching the show, I was window shopping some old books on Amazon, there I spotted The Encyclopedia of Trivia by Worth, Fred L, published 1974 and what I usually like to do with any book that catches my attention, is that I look for the book on the Internet Archive to assess whether the book is worth acquiring or not. By complete chance, as I was skimming through the pages, I landed on the name Jeeves. The entry says:

"Butler of Bertie Wooster in P.G. Wodehouse novels".

At that moment my curiosity was at it's peak. I had to look it up. Through Wikipedia I learned about the existence of the show.

cool vintage cocktail suitcase!

I'm now in season two and I must confess: The two couples getting engaged and then unbetrothed multiple times for the silliest of reasons, is really getting quite dull and samey.

Cool picnic basket!

The main appeal for me is the character of Jeeves. A seemingly unassuming butler, who is mysteriously more classy than his employer and is cunning in a most underhanded way to achieve his, or his master's goals.

Cool breakfast tray!

Bonus: Looking up this type of silverware, I discovered the term Hukin & Heath. Which is a manufacturing firm for silversmiths and electroplating.

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Friday, May 15, 2026

La Domenica del Corriere (1899 - 1989)

Browsing the ol' Pinterest I came across this masterpiece of a newspaper.

La Domenica del Corriere (The Sunday Courier) was an Italian weekly newspaper which ran from 1899 to 1989. I really can't add anything more to this except, the art included in each edition is truly wonderful—that I decided to share a sliver of the ones that I liked; since they're all almost equally beautiful.

You can view an archived copy that I liked from 1958/7/20 on the Internet Archive.

The artist who drew many of these pieces—including an infamously historical one. Achille Beltrame, is credited with drawing the cover of this newspaper from the beginning of the twentieth century till World War II.

Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, cover of La Domenica del Corriere, 12 July 1914

I like these pieces, they provide a visual contemporary retelling of many events, some of which we view as changing the course of history.

I wish there was a book that comprised and archived all the artworks.

Achille Beltrame was succeeded by Walter Molino, an artist credited with many disturbing and detailed depiction of gruesome accidents.

La Domenica del Corriere No. 46 of 1949 Airplane Error Washington Crash.

There is a ton more, check the links below for more insight, references and, artworks.

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Sunday, April 12, 2026

Utopian Scholastic

I recently became aware of a term that describes an aesthetic that I like; Utopian Scholastic.

Blendo Atom - Cover for a 1991 issue of Verbum Magazine by Jack Davis scanned from Collage with Photoshop (1998)

According to the Consumer Aesthetic Research Institute (CARI):

"Utopian Scholastic Namesake: Refers to this style's use in encyclopedias and teaching materials, and the idealized, high-resolution photography of its subjects."

Image for NEC, by Steve Bronstein of RGA / PRINT scanned from New Media Showcase 3 (1993)

To me this style represent a hopeful look to the future, with the purpose of education and enticing children to learn and teach them the wonders of the world of non-fiction in media, by making it visually appealing and inspiring.

Globe Corner Bookstore, Boston, MA (1990s) designed by Bergmeyer Associates scanned from Lifestyle Stores by Martin Pegler (1997)

Short video with images in the Utopian Scholastic aesthetic, accompanied by the theme of 1995's Eyewitness:

The podcast enlightening me of the term—the Silent Generation podcast—is a pretty chill and informative podcast, by well spoken and educated hosts. I highly recommend giving them a listen;

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Saturday, March 7, 2026

HS Kimon's Welcome Party

The latest addition to the Hellenic navy.

HS Kimon is a multipurpose FDI (Defense and Intervention Frigate). This French-made vessel—named after a famed Athenian general who fought the Persian Empire during the Battle of Salamis in 480 BC— is the new flagship of Greece's navy.

I don't follow the news that closely however, when I saw how the Hellenic navy welcomed the Kimon; by sailing two of their most iconic ships side by side, creating one of the best naval images in recent history, I had to post about it. Enter Olympias a restored trireme (also commissioned by the navy):

Secondly, the Italian-built armored cruiser/battlecruiser from 1910 (now a museum ship), Georgios Averof:

Now, enjoy the trio that spans more than two millennia:

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