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Showing posts with label mid century modern. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mid century modern. Show all posts

Sunday, 2 August 2015










MAD MEN

According to Jon Hamm, the production's pursuit of historical accuracy is such that series researchers will insist on knowing weather conditions, news items, and popular culture for a particular period related to the script's time frame.

The actors do not smoke real cigarettes. They smoke Ecstacy herbal cigarettes, which are tobacco and nicotine free. Show creator Matthew Hoffman Weiner said in a New York Times article, "You don't want actors smoking real cigarettes. They get agitated and nervous. I've been on sets where people throw up, they've smoked so much." When asked what it's like to smoke herbal cigarettes, Jon Hamm (who plays Don Draper) told Vulture, "Terrible. They taste like a mixture between pot and soap."

About a year elapsed between the filming of the pilot, Mad Men: Smoke Gets in Your Eyes (2007) and the second episode, Mad Men: Ladies Room (2007).

At a 2013 Q&A session at the Paley Center for Media, Matthew Weiner said that he had already told his wife and a few writers about how he plans to end the whole series. He also said that "he's been told it's a disaster, but he's going with it [anyway]."


Jon Hamm is the only actor to appear in every episode.

Glen, the neighbor's young son who forms a connection with Betty, is portrayed by Marten Holden Weiner, the son of series creator Matthew Hoffman Weiner.

John Slattery auditioned for the role of Don Draper before being asked to play Roger Sterling.

In 2012, costume designer Janie Bryant told Slate magazine that she always repeats one of Peggy's costumes from the previous season during the next season's premiere. Bryant said that she "[loves] that tradition for Peggy because I think that this all is really based in reality. That's what we would do in real life: We repeat our clothes."

On March 23rd, 2015 Jon Hamm released a statement admitting that he, like his character of Don Draper, had developed an alcohol addiction, and he had just completed a 30 day rehabilitation.

Julia Ormond, who guest-stars as Marie Calvet, was such an ardent fan of the show that she once ended a long-term relationship with someone when he watched a new episode of Mad Men without her.

The little ball-shaped glasses often used by Draper and colleagues are a design known since at least the 1950s as "roly poly" tumblers. The band of metal plating along the rim, an innovative accent introduced by artist Dorothy Carpenter Thorpe, made the design even more popular (and much-copied) through the 1960s and beyond. Sets of these made ideal business gifts, as the bands (made of silver, chrome, platinum, or even gold) could be custom-stenciled with initials, company logos or other business-related graphics. Draper's glasses appear to have platinum bands.

Creator Matthew Weiner directed every season's finale, all the way up to the series finale.


Monday, 6 April 2015






Here are the cocktail reviews.
I have a few places to review going back over the year so I’m going to make my way backwards over the next few weeks.  Obviously the more recent reviews will be more detailed, mostly because I have a terrible memory but I will do my best.

Hopefully these reviews will help you decide which place to visit next time you’re in London.

1. SATAN’S WHISKERS, BETHNAL GREEN.
I really liked the atmosphere in this place, it wasn’t pretentious or unwelcoming like some small cocktail establishments and even though there were reserved tables we were welcomed to sit where we liked. 
The décor is eccentric, bones and taxidermy, as is the latest fashion it seems. I liked the touch of the vintage drink posters on the wall. The Dubonnet posters taking me back to my studies in Graphic Design.  The ice counter with brightly coloured fruits is a particularly nice touch. 
I had an East 8 Hold Up, which contained Vodka, Aperol, Pineapple and Lime.  It was deliciously refreshing, one of the best cocktails I’d had for a long time and at £7.50 ever so slightly cheaper than London prices.  I did not want it to end.

2. THE ALCHEMIST, ALDGATE
This bar is slightly bigger than we are used to.  It is beautifully decorated with a friendly and warm atmosphere.  There is somewhere to eat upstairs; I didn’t get a chance to look at the food though.  There is an extensive list of cocktails.  A lot of places claim to have a long list and you realize that a lot of them are very similar but this list is impressive.  They have classic favorites for those who are less adventurous and some very experimental ones designed by the bar staff, these ones have the drama.
I had a White Chocolate Raspberry Martini, it was heavenly.  A berry cocktail with raspberry vodka, raspberry liqueur, cranberry juice and a white chocolate foam on top sprinkled with an explosion of berry powder. At first taste, a bit like you’re drinking liquid jam but once the ingredients start to mix a little it is truly delicious and I have to confess to licking the white chocolate foam cream from the inside of the glass.
My friend had a Bubble Bath, which is gin based with Chambord, apple juice, sugar and what they call Alchemist magic.  The magic is truly impressive, they use dry ice to create a magnitude of bubbles that sit on your glass, and they keep multiplying!
The buys behind the bar are enthusiastic about their cocktails and make them with such spectacle.  If you can, try and watch a while till you see them warming a cocktail on a Bunsen burner and you’ll see sparkles coming from them sprinkling something into the flames, followed by a warm cinnamon smell, a wonderful experience!

3. LOUNGE BOHEMIA, SHOREDITCH
You should always book here.  We didn’t, although it seemed quiet, we did get told off by the waitress.  Plus it’s hard to find, we walked past it because it is just an open door with a staircase leading down.  It is a mid-century modern masterpiece in a basement. The first smell that hits you is the popcorn and the first sight is the magnitude of different flavor vodkas above the bar.

It is low ceilinged and cozy, the cocktail menus are stuck inside old books with graphic covers.  The list is quite long and interesting.  I have been to a lot of cocktail bars in my time but there were things on this list that I’d never heard of.  Drinks infused with leather, a cocktail called into the woods with literally every woody ingredient you could think of.  I went for a d&b float, which contained Vanilla Vodka, Ice cream, and dandelion and bergamot. It was lovely but I know how some people find it hard to drink spirits and ice cream together. It came with a metal straw that was also a spoon and a piece of ice cream cone.  It was a lovely relaxing atmosphere with music quiet enough to talk above, free popcorn, beautifully designed plastic jugs and comfortable seats and sofas.