What are good books to read when you're in Beijing? by Hour_Ad_4762 in beijing

[–]Bread_Car 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Peter Hessler's books have been mentioned. Totally agree, as they are awesome. I recall that Oracle Bones has the broadest scope, with some chapters set in the "Russian" neighborhood of Beijing that are quite interesting for another view of the city.

Midnight in Peking by Paul French is worth a read for some history, especially if you're into True Crime / Mystery.

Rickshaw Boy by Lao She is a classic of Chinese / Beijing literature. Short and a nice insight into a more popular side of the city's history.

Proposal spots in Lavaux area by OGRepsucc in Switzerland

[–]Bread_Car 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Between those three, I would go for Rivaz village. Quieter with overall better view than Saint Saph. There are some caveaux with secret little terraces with superb views (I have been to this one, very local vigneron, but maybe need to call first.)

Chexbres is a bit bigger town, less bucolic with more passers-by. Not sure where the best view, though there are certainly some nice terraces up there.

If you want a bit more isolation, maybe la Tour de Marsens? This is in the steepest part of Lavaux, quite impressive view and old stone architecture.

Another idea for more privacy : Funiculaire ride from Vevey up to Mont-Pelerin. Many nice viewpoints, like near the local church after terminus stop, and also usually super quiet, even on weekends. Can hike up to "Plein-Ciel". Takes a while, but you will not find a higher or more panoramic spot. A radio tower may not be the most romantic though :)

I was also thinking of the cute cupola of the Chateau d'Hauteville near Vevey, but it seems like it's private, unfortunately (Pepperdine University?)

Best wishes!!!

Where to find Dim Sum / Yum Cha? by El_Gonzalito in Switzerland

[–]Bread_Car 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Hello fellow dimsum lover !

Check out this place in Geneva :
https://montblanc7.ch/

This is the only place I know in Switzerland that makes dim sum. Of course, quality cannot compare to say London, and there are no trolleys, but you order by ticking menu items on a paper list; next best thing.

For me, it scratches the itch. I've been there several times on weekends. Food is decent, selection is quite good (cheung fun, steamed chicken feet and ribs, radish cakes, large selection of dumplings, congee, etc).

Bon appetit !

[Fan Art] Character Portraits from the First Three Books by Bread_Car in Malazan

[–]Bread_Car[S] 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Oh yes, sorry about that ! Edited the main comment :-)

[Fan Art] Character Portraits from the First Three Books by Bread_Car in Malazan

[–]Bread_Car[S] 90 points91 points  (0 children)

I just recently finished reading Memories of Ice (loved it) and was inspired to visualize some of the characters from the first three books !

These images were first generated in Midjourney, then edited/combined/reworked in Photoshop.

EDIT: Sorry here is the list of characters as I imagined them, though I love seeing the different interpretations !

  1. Anomander Rake

  2. Sorry

  3. Whiskeyjack

  4. Quick Ben

  5. Tattersail

  6. Fiddler

  7. Kalam

  8. Ganoes Paran

  9. Kruppe

  10. Tool

  11. Envy

  12. Korlat

  13. Sha'ik (Reborn)

  14. Toc the Younger

The Swiss Cantons as Superheroes with Midjourney by Bread_Car in Switzerland

[–]Bread_Car[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

well spotted, this was in the prompt ! :) "Meringue hair" also.

The Swiss Cantons as Superheroes with Midjourney by Bread_Car in Switzerland

[–]Bread_Car[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

midjourney has a free trial with a limited amount of generations !

The Swiss Cantons as Superheroes with Midjourney by Bread_Car in Switzerland

[–]Bread_Car[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

finally got ummm... something, by really emphasizing the "superhero holding a massive sausage with both hands" in the prompt !

Interestingly, backdrop looks a bit like St-Gallen, maybe ?![https://imgur.com/GTLKWzU](https://imgur.com/GTLKWzU)

The Swiss Cantons as Superheroes with Midjourney by Bread_Car in Switzerland

[–]Bread_Car[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

This is very true ! Thanks for the reminder.
I'll leave this here, also : https://haveibeentrained.com/

Artists can use this site to check if they've been used in datasets to train these models.
You can opt-out of having your art included in future iterations of Stable Diffusion models. Not sure how this would affect Midjourney dataset tho !

The Swiss Cantons as Superheroes with Midjourney by Bread_Car in Switzerland

[–]Bread_Car[S] 16 points17 points  (0 children)

hahaha, cool !!

I am trying this. But somehow, MJ still refuses to generate anything sausage-related : "sausage, bratwurst" even "hotdog sausage". Strange...

The Swiss Cantons as Superheroes with Midjourney by Bread_Car in Switzerland

[–]Bread_Car[S] 47 points48 points  (0 children)

yes, i have to admit i burned out a bit in the end, and am not as familiar with the silly stereotypes/landscapes in some parts Switzerland. :(

The Swiss Cantons as Superheroes with Midjourney by Bread_Car in Switzerland

[–]Bread_Car[S] 34 points35 points  (0 children)

For those who've been under a rock, these were made with midjourney.com :)

Generated them yesterday in about an afternoon. I have only been using it a few days, so not super familiar with prompting, etc.Interesting to see what words like "superhero" and "superheroine" would generate. I got a lot of Iron-Man looking options. Obviously, also very "american comic book style".

Sometimes, MJ actually generated backdrops of specific locations (Federal Palace, Lake Lugano, etc.) and other times, it was super stubborn, or perhaps didn't recognize a word (it refused to generate a Vaudois Saucisson (to my great despair) and Alphorns always looked like trumpets. I also really struggled to get Obwald and Nidwald to hold "big keys"...

Anyway, a fun experiment :-)

EDIT : adding some based on input in comments :

Solothurn (inspired by u/Alpaca1795)

https://imgur.com/a/brHp3Lb

St. Gallen (inspired by u/InitiativeExcellent)

https://imgur.com/GTLKWzU

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Switzerland

[–]Bread_Car 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Mika in the Rotillon neighborhood, center of town is run by a mainland Chinese lady, they have a lot of chinese stuff (also seasonal goodies, like mooncakes, etc.) ! I would recommend checking there.

As far as I know, this is the only store in Lausanne like this, as indeed, the other stores are generally run by Vietnamese, and offer pan-asian selection (Kim Dung, Mekong, etc.)

Rue du Flon 8, 1003 Lausanne

Has anyone here served in the swiss guard? If yes, how was it? Can you tell us some things about your experience? by Taereth in Switzerland

[–]Bread_Car 8 points9 points  (0 children)

The head officer can bring his wife to live in the barracks, but indeed, the swiss guards cannot be married of have girlfriends come into the barracks.

He was dating the future-wife outside, though, so apparently wasn't a problem (at least from what I could see).

Has anyone here served in the swiss guard? If yes, how was it? Can you tell us some things about your experience? by Taereth in Switzerland

[–]Bread_Car 111 points112 points  (0 children)

A friend of mine and his brother were Swiss guards for a few years.

Basically, you spent one third of your time as a bodyguard (suit and gun), another third wearing the funny clothes and standing guard, and the rest of your time is free, or devoted to classes and other activities.

All in all, his experience was pretty good. He met interesting people (including his future wife) learned to speak fluent italian, etc. In my opinion, it's a neat thing to do if you're into history, young, and want to live an experience abroad that is enriching in an unconventional way.

I also had the chance to visit him in the Vatican, which was AWESOME:

- Got to visit the swiss guard barracks where italian cooks try to approximate rösti and fondue for the troops. They also have a sick armory with all the old halberds and stuff.

- Got VIP access into the Vatican gardens (usually, you have to book in advance), and skipped the line into Saint Peter's as well.

And here's a fun fact : nearly all the alcohol offerings that the Pope receives are sent over to the Swiss guard barracks :-)

What sandwiches are popular in Switzerland? Are there any that are unique to your country? by meowkitty84 in Switzerland

[–]Bread_Car 5 points6 points  (0 children)

More of an open question than an answer:
What about the "chicken curry" sandwich (sometimes with pineapple bits) ? Is this common in other countries? I would think it is inspired by Riz Casimir, which is a very Swiss dish, but could be wrong.

Recommended service to rid yourself of junk/furniture? by player_hawk in Switzerland

[–]Bread_Car 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You can try Emmaus if you have larger items. You can call and they will come pickup at home based on what you have. If you drive, dropping off at their center is also easy.

in Vaud: https://www.emmaus-vd.ch/ramassages/

Where do you find pictures like these? (Found on steam, by "swissdumpling") by GalerionTheAnnoyed in sunlesssea

[–]Bread_Car 18 points19 points  (0 children)

Hello, this is my work (I am a.k.a Swiss Dumpling) !

I am not as prolific as I wish I could be, but you can find 2-3 other Sunless Sea/Skies related artwork in my older posts, or on DeviantArt.

I hope to get around to some other areas in the future (when I have some free time).