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Posted by Leslie Felperin

New spin on the venerable opera survives the translation from 1890s Paris to 21st-century London well, with only a few details damaged in the crossing

Theatre director Robin Norton-Hale transfers her free-ish stage adaptation of Puccini’s opera to film with mostly good results. This version of La Bohème, set in modern east London, uses the camera adeptly to create a sense of intimacy and naturalism that’s very user friendly for viewers not accustomed to opera and its ways. Mind you, any novices will still have to get over the fundamental weirdness of sung-through dialogue, a non-negotiable convention of the format that feels even weirder when the cast is bellowing out the lines in classical fashion while wearing jeans and T-shirts, using slang and cuss words, and mentioning things such as Strictly Ballroom in the English libretto written by Norton-Hale herself (she won an Olivier award for the stage version). Paradoxically, Norton-Hale’s version is both more faithful to Puccini’s original 1890s work and yet seems less dated than Rent, the 1990s stage musical version set among Lower East Side artists in New York.

After some montage meanderings around Broadway market in Hackney, the action settles down in a flat that is less grotty than it might be given how impoverished these guys are meant to be. Would-be novelist Rodolfo (Matthew McKinney) is hanging out with his painter flatmate Marcello (Benson Wilson); soon they are joined by their roistering friends Shaunard (Mark Nathan) and Colline (Edward Jowle) on their way to the pub. Rodolfo, however, stays behind and meets neighbour Mimi (Lucy Hall), here a pretty if markedly frumpy cleaner who makes crochet flowers in her spare time and carries a nasty cough around the way a lady up west may cling to a chihuahua. Later, in the pub, we meet vampish Musetta (Julia Mariko), who catches Marcello’s eye, and the production sets up the live-fast-die-young philosophy and rampant sexual jealousy that are the opera’s key themes.

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beanside: (howdy)
[personal profile] beanside
We survived Monday! It wasn't a bad day for me. It was busy, but around 9am, UPS showed up with my brand new Macbook Air! It's so shiny and so big! I love it. I set it up while I was working, and copied my other computer to it, so that it has all my apps and documents. It even has my password vault, which was lovely. It auto logged me in everywhere, so all I had to do was turn it on. The keyboard is a bit larger than I'm used to, so please excuse any typos. I'm readjusting. It's going to be great for school in a month, I think.

Work was very busy, but not terrible. I ended up at 40 calls exactly, even though I had some people to call back. Apparently the new nurse who's doing the calls for the Cardiac CTAs is going to be sending us lists of people who want sooner appts so we can try to fit them in. Amanda forwarded the first email to me. So, being myself, I made a spreadsheet about it with all the information I need to keep track of it.

I added my managers to it, I should probably add the other team leads to it as well. I'll do that this morning.

Then I had my psych appt, which was a big nothing as usual. 15 minutes and it was done and my prescriptions were at the pharmacy. I'll probably pick them up tomorrow. I just put in an order for my blood pressure medicine, so once that's gone through, I'll head over.

Today, I have my virtual GYN appt, in order to be approved for the Teal Wand, so I can do an at home PAP smear. The last time I did one, I was in agony with cramps and stabbing pains every time I moved for three days. It sucked. I'm hoping that if I do it myself, it'll be a little bit gentler and less likely to piss of my cervix/uterus. I really wish I could just yeet both, but since I'm in menopause, it would be a little like closing the barn door after the horse has left.

I am trying to catch up on healthcare shit this year. I've been a bit lax. Hopefully, my doctor doesn't cancel the appt I have with her this month, so I can get my A1c checked and also request the seasickness patch for the cruise.

I continue to plan for our Hawaiian trip. Right now, I'm learning about local food and what hole in the wall restaurants/food trucks I should plan for. My plan is to patronize local businesses as much as possible. I don't want to be one of the ugly mainlanders who comes over and eats pizza. I want to be adventurous and try new things. Same for Alaska, but I've already figured out dining for the cruise.

So now I work on Hawaii. I found a youtube channel set in Oahu, two locals show you all the local places you can go in Honolulu. Some might require an Uber to get to, but I'm okay with that. And a lot of them are in Waikiki where we're staying. The hotel does vow renewal ceremonies on the beach, and I'm trying to convince Jess that we should do a vow renewal on each vacation. I'm not sure they're buying what I'm laying down. I got a flowy shirt, just in case so I'll look pretty. Hopefully it fits. If we don't do the vow renewal, we'll probably go for a fancy dinner or luau one night, so I'll still get to wear it.

I continue to research Hawaiian owned businesses, so I know where to go. It seems like our hotel is pretty centrally located, so we should be able to walk to a lot of them, and if not, there's Uber. I expect that we'll be using that a lot. We're going to stay from Sunday afternoon, leaving on Saturday and arriving home on Sunday thanks to time zones. It's a long flight, but we'll manage. We're going to do our layover in LA, so there'll be a break between legs. I don't think I could handle a 13 hour flight direct. I need to get off and walk around a bit. I think LA is about 5 hours, and then Honolulu will be about 7, which is a lot, but that's the only way to get there shy of a long cruise. One day, maybe I'll take the 17day cruise out of San Diego to Hawaii and Tahiti, but for now, a plane is far more efficient.

The cruise is down to 65 days, which feels momentous. in just 6 days, we'll be at exactly two months til we leave. The cruise is technically 67 days, because we're leaving two days early, but I'm counting til we hop on that plane.

Weirdly, aside from a generalized overview of Vancouver, I've left that mostly unplanned. I know what I want to see, and how we're getting around (the Hop on Hop Off Bus), but as far as planning out things, not so much. I do know that if we're not exhausted, we may go see Mortal Kombat II the night before we get on the boat. I'm really looking forward to it, because I love me some stupid video game movies. And I love me some Karl Urban. They pushed the movie from the slums of October to May, so I'm thinking it might be better than it needs to be. Even if not, I'll enjoy it.

Seattle should also be fun, but I don't have as much that I want to see there. Pike's Place Market is my choice. The brother in law has a boner for the Space Needle, so we'll do that, too. If there's something else I come up with, we'll do that. We've got four hours to play, so I'm not thinking we'll be able to do a ton. If there's something else, we'll have half a day on the way back. I don't know how much I'll be doing that day. I may just curl up in the hotel room and eat complimentary icecream and relax before the flight the next day. We'll see.

I'm still a touch concerned about my PTO bank, but I think it'll be okay. I should have the time by the second week of April, which should be plenty of time. I just need things to be calm until then.

I was saying to Jess that it's funny. Because of the Rybelsus, I don't eat a lot, but I am all in when it comes to food. 80% of my planning for vacations is food-related. I mean, on the Alaska trip, it'll be more difficult, since the brother in law is a whitebread eater, so the places we go together will need to be tailored to a pickier palate. Hawaii will be a free for all, since Jess and I will try anything once.

Yoda has his vet visit today, which is good. Poor boy is SO itchy. We'll get him his cytopoint injection and maybe antibiotics, which should make him feel better.

He slept like a log last night. It was nice, because then I got some sleep. He's currently laying on the couch next to me, dozing like he didn't sleep all night.

Hopefully, work is a little quieter today. I dislike looking at the call queue and seeing 21 calls holding. It's just annoying.

Tomorrow, work, then Brindlewood Bay! It's been a long time since we played that particular game, so I'm looking forward to it.

And on that note, it is about time for me to go forth and start pulling myself together. Everyone have an outstanding Tuesday!
meridian_rose: Shadow and Bone's Sturmhond (Nikolai Lantsov) onboard ship drinking (nikolailantsov)
[personal profile] meridian_rose
Miscellany from [community profile] seasons_of_fandom round (season) one.
Tumblr grapics, 2 animated: (Nikolai Lantsov (Shadow and Bone); Han Solo (Star Wars); Dean Winchester (Supernatural); John Sheppard (Stargate: Atlantis), Magnum P.I. (1980 & 2018), stock
Icons - stock
Desktop wallpaper - stock
Other graphics: bounding (fandom inspired outfits The Ark, The Witcher, Relic Hunter), triptych (Star Wars movies, stock), Font name illustrations (stock), fanmix cover art (Venom movies, Buffy TV, stock), bookmark (stock), personalised trading card
Other - book title poetry
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Posted by Veronica Esposito

Oscar-winning director returns to his breakout 2000 hit for an exhibition seven years in the making, giving visitors a new experiential look at his debut film

Alejandro González Iñárritu, the Mexican director, has been widely celebrated for his innovative approach to storytelling. His 2000 debut, Amores Perros, was labeled a “hypertext film” for how its three main threads spiraled out of a central car crash, but were otherwise disconnected. In an interview where he discussed his new Lacma show, Sueño Perro – which sees Iñárritu return to hundreds of hours of footage that never made it into his debut movie – he shared that his father was the one who inspired his unique approach to film.

“My father was naturally a great storyteller,” Iñárritu told me via video from Los Angeles. “He always started with what was almost the end of the story, so he threw you a hook, but then he went back to the middle. He was a great storyteller, always finding ways to get new hooks here and there, to get you to listen to a long story.”

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Intimacy of Man (by M) (Explicit)

Mar. 3rd, 2026 10:36 pm
mific: John sheppard looking sad or worried against stone wall, half out of frame (Shep - sad)
[personal profile] mific posting in [community profile] stargateficrec
Shows: SGA
Rec Category: John Sheppard
Characters: John Sheppard/various OCs, John Sheppard/Atlantis, Rodney McKay, Teyla Emmagan, Ronon Dex, Carson Beckett, Elizabeth Weir, Caldwell
Categories: M/M, F/M, M/M/F, Other
Words: 6017
Warnings: In the first vignette John and the other boy are 14 or younger (kissing only), and it's possible the other boy's his brother. Some dubcon in the Atlantis story, and alien orgy performance art in the last one (humorously told).
Author on DW: n/a
Author's Website: M's old site on Wayback, and I previously saved Wayback links to all the still-available ones and listed them here.
Link: Intimacy of Man on Wayback
Why This Must Be Read: This is by "M", the author of Your Cowboy Days Are Over
whose work is now only on Wayback. It follows John from ages 14 to 40 through a series of encounters with varying degrees of intimacy. The writing's gorgeous, and they're all character studies of John to some degree, with other Atlantis characters occurring in the final two stories. It's extremely good.

snippet of the fic under here )

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Posted by Phil Hoad

Those not up to speed on the Miss Kobayashi manga may struggle with the full nuance of this dimension hopping anime, but the visuals are stunningly to look at

You know fantasy has a different constituency these days when, at a pivotal point in this candy-coloured, realm-hopping anime, the protagonist casts a spell that temporarily boosts local mobile-phone signal. During the climactic battle, it’s salarywoman Miss Kobayashi (voiced by Mutsumi Tamura) who is dialling up extra help from Kanna (Maria Naganawa), the moony, bobby-soxed poppet who’s one of the dragons in human guise that have invaded her life (and demanded a smartphone).

Kanna is very much sought after: with a big smackdown brewing between the forces of chaos and harmony in the dragon dimension, her father Kimun Kamui (Fumihiko Tachiki) turns up at Kobayashi’s flat to demand either his daughter return to fight, or give him the dragon orb into which she has loaded her manna. Offended by his saurian sangfroid, Kobayashi refuses to give Kanna up; when her posse start digging around in the other realm, it appears that human mage Azad (Nobunaga Shimazaki) has been stoking tensions between the two factions.

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Posted by Jude Cook

Minimalist but never austere, this mother-daughter portrait from the Danish author finds its power in everyday detail

The Danish author Helle Helle’s They, published in the UK in a pin-sharp translation by Martin Aitken, charts the subtle and shifting bond between a teenage daughter and an ailing mother in prose that is minimalist but never austere. It’s one of those novels where little is spoken but everything, by the end, gets said.

The unnamed mother and 16-year-old daughter live above a hairdresser’s in a Danish backwater on the island of Lolland, where nothing much goes on. They walk across the spring-awoken fields, they shop for groceries, they join an evening class. Details of their past are scanty, fugitive: a few house moves, but nothing about the daughter’s father, who exerts a vague apophatic presence. Mostly, they enjoy a frictionless, symbiotic closeness: “They sit by the window a lot, and on the settee, and with the free local weekly … They lift their mugs, sip synchronous mouthfuls.”

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cimorene: A very small cat peeking wide-eyed from behind the edge of a blanket (peek)
[personal profile] cimorene
The doctor team found a uti and adjusted the antibiotics he was on from his last visit, and he has been his normal self since waking up Monday (yesterday evening for me when I was notified). He should get to go home soon!

Japp has been uncaged all the time for a couple of days and is enjoying spending more time in his favorite spot next to a radiator under the sewing table by the west window. He seems normal and pretty active, although he still naps most of the time (as he should since he's 102 years old). We're thinking we should try to provide a bit more enrichment and interact with him more often, although he doesn't really want human interaction very much 😂. His reaction to being approached is frequently to thump and go hide, even though most of the time we talk to him it's just to give him treats! So his personality is unchanged. 😂 We do think he might be somewhat senile now. He shows some signs of forgetting what he was doing in the middle or getting confused about which way to go in his familiar space (Rowan was doing this too in the last couple years). But he always finds his way again, so far.

With cat divorce and Wax now leaving the house this means that one cat is alone the whole time she's gone. The cats like to nap almost the whole day, but they both also wake up a couple of times a day. When Wax was upstairs working Tristana often chose to ignore her in favor of sleeping in bed alone, but now she's started yowling her little complaints every day. 🫩 Sipuli naps a bit more than her in the morning but is fully capable of waking up and complaining any time I'm out in the other part of the house.
siderea: (Default)
[personal profile] siderea
I have been kicking around a post idea for something like a year or a year and a half, but I've been torn between wanting to write it as a post (and tell you things) and wanting to ask for solutions.

Mr. Bostoniensis and I have been trying to consolidate our household, and the Brave New World of the Internet is... not facilitating this. Vendor after vendor, platform after platform, is organized around the concept of a single user account. Even when company accounts nominally allow multiple user accounts, typically one user account is the real user account and the other has restricted access.

For instance, when setting up joint financial instruments, we split up the work: I would set up the joint bank accounts, he would set up the joint credit cards. We subsequently discovered that he can't access the statements and tax documents in our nominally-joint bank account's online portal, and I can't have an independent login at all for our allegedly joint credit cards that show up on my credit report.

This is infuriating. What we want to happen is that he and I have equal full access to the accounts we share, such that either of us can do what needs to be done on them, which I thought was a pretty normal approach to, well, life. I did not think heterosexual marriage was some sort of weird counter-cultural edge-case, and it offends my software developer soul to be reduced to sharing usernames and passwords.

But that is exactly the case, and I would just hold my nose and do it, except for one thing.

Two-factor authentication.

If I want to be able to two-factor into an account that uses his phone number, I have to access his phone. Something best done while he is not asleep, which, unfortunately, is precisely when I am most likely to want to be paying bills or doing online shopping. Likewise, if he wants to two-factor into an account that uses my phone number, he'll need access to my phone. Which, honestly, he could probably slip into the room and grab off the charger while I'm asleep – which is precisely when he'll be wanting into those accounts – but that does him no good if say I were out of town or in the hospital or some such.

And more and more 2FA is becoming mandatory. You can't turn it off. (Or in the notable case of one of our credit cards, you can turn it off. It will two-factor you anyways, but the account settings assure you it's off.)

Two-factor authentication is stupid and awful for so many reasons, but it has only recently dawned on me that one of them is that 2FA is intended to keep anyone else from logging in to your account and I actually want someone else to log into my account. Legitimately, I think.

So.

Obviously, the Bostoniensis household requires some sort of telephony solution such that:

• text messages (SMS) sent to a single phone number propagate to two cell phones; *

• either of the two cell phones can originate text messages from that single phone number which is not the phone number of either of those phones; **

• and the phone that didn't send the reply gets a copy of it, so it can stay in sync with the convo; ***

• voice calls sent to that single phone number propagate to one, the other, or both simultaneously of the two cell phones, depending on a on-the-fly configurable schedule of when which call goes where; ****

• either cell phone can originate a voice call that will appear to come from the shared number; ****

• ideally, both cell phones could conference into the same call with a third party, but that's a bonus;

• must be compatible with Android phones, an probably needs to support iOS as well; we'd love a solution that also supports web and/or MacOS desktop access, but that's a bonus.

I am looking for recommendations for solutions that (are known to) meet this specification. There are lots of solutions for small businesses, but r/smallbusiness drags a lot of them for filth, and also we're cheap and don't want to pay a fortune, especially for a lot of businessy services we don't need like the ability to spam-SMS 10k prospective customers an hour or (all the rage right now) deploy an AI receptionist or surreptitiously surveil our customer service agents' work for quality and training purposes or integrate with Salesforce.

Also, crucially, a lot of these services seem to be based on a phone tree model, where each handset gets its own extension, and I'm really unclear how that would work with automated voice-call 2FA. Not well, I am guessing.

So what I am looking for is knowing recommendations that can answer from direct experience as to whether a solution will support our intended use case.

Has anybody else even tried to solve this problem? Or does everybody else just accept that financial instruments, online retail accounts, and virtual services can only really belong to one member of a couple at at time?

This seems like something there should be an obvious commercial service for, targetted at families, but the only one I found no longer is in the Play store and also may be wholly defunct.

As a side note, this isn't only relevant for couples. It's relevant to all sorts of multi-adult households, from polycules to multigenerational households. It is of particular relevance to people with aging elders who might want to be able to get into the elder's accounts to help them from afar. Especially adult siblings of aging parents, where no one sibling should be the only person stuck with all the administrative work. It's surprising that I haven't found a commercial solutions to this yet, and wonder if there already is one everybody else already knows about.

* Necessary to allow either member to receive a 2FA text message when either one initiates a log in.

** Necessary in the case we want to revoke texting permission to a third party by "text STOP to end".

*** Necessary not to engage in an inadvertent Abbot and Costello routine.

**** Necessary because every once in a while a 2FA system will barf on texting VOIP numbers, and only successfully get through with automated voice call 2FA. Also it would be nice for one of our other use cases – the "get Siderea's doctor's office to call back and make sure a human answers no matter when they do" use case – for there to be one number that rings through to both of us. But also necessary that we can schedule it not to ring when one or the other of us are asleep, while still ringing through to the other. I need to be able to 2FA at 2:00 A.M. and Mr. B very much needs my doing so not to cause his phone to ring.

***** Maybe not strictly necessary, but there's a lot of systems that react poorly, or at least with more scrutiny, to customer calls about accounts other than the ones associated with the number the call is coming from. It would be better if we just only ever called NStar from the number they have on record for us, but that means we need to be able to originate voice calls from the same number we'll be using with them for security purposes.
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Posted by Amanda

Welcome back and happy Tuesday!

Just a handful of books on our radar this week, but there are busier weeks ahead this month.

Which new releases are you excited for this week? Let us know in the comments!

A Ghastly Catastrophe

A Ghastly Catastrophe by Deanna Raybourn

Author: Deanna Raybourn
Released: March 3, 2026 by Berkley
Genre: , ,
Series: Veronica Speedwell Mysteries #10

Veronica and Stoker are practically dying for a new adventure, but when their wish is granted, they find themselves up against a secret society and a darkly seductive duo in this landmark historical mystery from beloved New York Times bestselling and Edgar® Award–nominated author Deanna Raybourn.

When the corpse of an entitled young man is found entirely drained of blood in a carriage next to Highgate Cemetery, Veronica’s interest is piqued. And then a second victim is found, his death made to look like a suicide—and Veronica and her intrepid beau Stoker know the hunt is on. The two men share one link: they were both members of a society so secretive that only a singular mention of it can be found anywhere.

Thirsty for more clues, Veronica and Stoker hear that a young Romany boy may know more about their first victim, and the only way to the boy is through an old acquaintance of Stoker’s, Lady Julia Brisbane. Lady Julia and her dashing husband, Nicholas, occasionally track down murderers and are only too happy to help. But as it becomes clear that the secret society is a dangerous sect looking to entice immortality seekers, Veronica and Stoker find themselves ensnared by a decidedly more sinister couple.

The professed leader of the society claims to be a creature of the night; his partner practices witchcraft and they both fancy themselves emissaries of the otherworldly. Just as Veronica and Stoker get closer to learning the true purpose of the society and unraveling this macabre mystery, another body turns up, and they quickly discover they’ve gone from being the hunters to the hunted. . . .

Sarah: I love this series. LOVE it. I am so ready to hang out with Veronica.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

In Her Own League

In Her Own League by Liz Tomforde

Author: Liz Tomforde
Released: March 3, 2026 by Golden Boy Publishing
Genre: ,

As the first female team owner in Major League Baseball, Reese Remington has spent her entire life preparing for this role. With a sharp mind and years of experience working behind the scenes, she’s more than qualified. But the public only sees a woman in a man’s world — not the person who’s earned their place on the field. Under constant scrutiny and pressure to prove herself, Reese can’t afford distractions.

Especially one that comes in the form of the team’s tempting field manager who questions her every decision.

Emmett Montgomery is a former All-Star turned coach who treats his players like family and the field like home. After years of running the team his way, the last thing he wants is a new boss, let alone one who seems ice-cold and laser-focused on business. But forced to spend long hours – and too many away games – side by side, he begins to see the fire beneath Reese’s control, the heart behind her ambition, and the unwavering determination to prove herself.

When heated banter turns into sizzling chemistry, professional boundaries blur and the spark between them becomes impossible to resist. But Reese is constantly reminded of how many people are waiting for her to fail, and the safest move is to keep Emmett at arm’s length – for the sake of the team, the season, and her career.

But keeping their distance is one game neither of them can seem to win.

The heroine is the first female team owner in Major League Baseball.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

The Library of Amorlin

The Library of Amorlin by Kalyn Josephson

Author: Kalyn Josephson
Released: March 3, 2026 by Erewhon Books
Genre: ,
Series: The Age of Beasts #1

A brilliant con artist and a secretive librarian collide in New York Times bestselling author Kalyn Josephson’s enchanting adult fantasy debut packed with twists, tricks, slowburn romantic tension, and magical creatures — perfect for fans of S.A. MacLean, Mai Corland, and K.A. Linde.

“Absolutely fantastic—I couldn’t put this book down! A stunning, absorbing, and timely tale about a wondrous library, magical beasts, and a conwoman with both everything and nothing to lose. I loved it!” —Sarah Beth Durst, New York Times bestselling author of The Spellshop

Kasira used to be a masterful con artist: choosing her target, building trust, judging the precise moment to make her move. Now, she’s working off a lengthy prison sentence by hunting dangerous magical creatures on behalf of the fanatical kingdom of Kalthos.

But Kasira’s past catches up to her when the ambassador from Kalthos arrives at her camp with a deal: her freedom in exchange for infiltrating and destabilizing the magical institution meant to protect all six kingdoms—the Library of Amorlin.

When Kasira assumes the role of the new Assistant Librarian, she enters an enchanting world brimming with books and beasts, tempting her with a life she can never have. But Kasira’s real future depends on her long con to bring down the Librarian. Unfortunately, Allaster is as prickly as he is handsome, and his monstrous secrets are about to catch up with them both . . .

Amanda: A former con artist and a librarian!

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

No Matter What

No Matter What by Cara Bastone

Author: Cara Bastone
Released: March 3, 2026 by The Dial Press
Genre: ,

Sometimes love sends you back to the drawing board.

After a traumatic accident threatens the foundations of their happy marriage, a couple tries to rebuild and find their way back to each other—and themselves—in this tender, slow-burn romance by the bestselling author of Ready or Not and Promise Me Sunshine.

“Cara Bastone is an absolute master of tender, emotional, soul-charged love stories.”—B.K. Borison, New York Times bestselling author of First-Time Caller

Roz and Vin can’t look each other in the eyes anymore, let alone share a bed. It’s been a year since they survived a life-altering accident, and their marriage hasn’t been the same. But Roz has held out hope that they can fix things, until she discovers Vin has signed a new lease. So she does what any soon-to-be-divorced Manhattanite would do: sign up for a figure-drawing class.

Between Roz’s determined attempts to improve her artistic skills and her adventures with her best friend, Raffi, she can almost ignore Vin’s impending move-out date and his footsteps in their previously unoccupied guest room. But it would all be a lot easier if Vin wasn’t Raffi’s older brother, and if she didn’t still find him incredibly, debilitatingly attractive and kind.

So kind, in fact, that Vin offers to let Roz draw him. What is she supposed to say? It’s probably better than her original plan of finding some random male model online, and she needs all the practice she can get. Plus, that’s sure to make a separation easier, right? Focus on every detail of your estranged spouse’s body while drawing him in the nude? But after the year they’ve spent avoiding each other, it feels good to see and be seen by one another again.

As Roz works to capture the wholeness of the person she fell in love with, will they both be able to draw upon the feelings they buried deep inside to finally heal together?

The latest Cara Bastone, featuring a marriage in trouble!

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

Star Shipped

Star Shipped by Cat Sebastian

Author: Cat Sebastian
Released: March 3, 2026 by Avon
Genre: , ,

Cat Sebastian’s long-awaited foray into contemporary romance! A witty, emotional, and deliciously slow burn enemies-to-lovers romance between two costars on a popular sci-fi television series.

Simon and Charlie, actors on a long-running sci-fi show, can’t stand one another. Charlie is impetuous, outgoing, and basically feral, and Simon thinks he should have stayed in reality television where he belongs. They’ve spent the better part of a decade quarreling over the spotlight and pretty much everything else, and everybody in the industry knows it. Now that Simon’s contract is finally done, he can move to New York, start fresh with work he actually likes, and get away from Charlie.

Simon’s only problem is that people might assume he’s been pushed off the show due to being impossible to work with. And he is kind of difficult to work with. He doesn’t get along with people—unlike Charlie, who somehow tricked everyone on the show into adoring him despite some outrageously bad on-set behavior during the show’s first season. Simon would rather never have to see Charlie again, but reluctantly agrees to stage a very public friendship during the short time before he moves. When Charlie has to leave town to deal with a family emergency, this means Simon comes along. Their road trip brings Simon to places he would never have willingly chosen to visit—and he finds he’s actually not having a terrible time.

The more he gets to know Charlie, the more Simon suspects he’s underestimated his former coworker. Simon also realizes that after seven years, Charlie might know him better than anyone ever has. Even stranger, Charlie seems to be starting to actually like him, despite knowing him so well. Still, Simon is about to move three thousand miles away, so whatever’s starting between him and Charlie can’t really amount to anything… right?

Elyse: I loved Sebastian’s historicals, so I’m excited for this contemporary.

Lara: I adored this book! It lifted me out of my Heated Rivalry hangover.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

solo_knight: (Chomp)
[personal profile] solo_knight
Playthrough/Review: Significant Otters

Game Description )

There really isn’t much there there. You choose items from a 5x5 matrix (this is entirely flavour text), you roll the dice, you add up, you’re done. The game can be played in under a minute. It can possibly be stretched out if you want to imagine the life of an otter, but I don’t think I will pick this up again.

Mod Post: Off-Topic Tuesday

Mar. 3rd, 2026 08:12 am
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[personal profile] icon_uk posting in [community profile] scans_daily
In the comments to these weekly posts (and only these posts), it's your chance to go as off topic as you like.

Talk about non-comics stuff, thread derail, and just generally chat among yourselves.

The intent of these posts is to chat and have some fun and, sure, vent a little as required. Reasoned debate is fine, as always, but if you have to ask if something is going over the line, think carefully before posting please.

Normal board rules about conduct and behaviour still apply, of course.

It's been suggested that, if discussing spoilers for recent media events, it might be advisable to consider using the rot13 method to prevent other members seeing spoilers in passing.

The world situation is the world situation. If you're following the news, you know it as much as I do, if you're not, then there are better sources than scans_daily. But please, no doomscrolling, for your own sake.

Happy Lantern Festival, as the first Full Moon of the Chinese New Year dawns... or dusks... you know what II mean?

Those of us hoping for at least one month of the current US Presidemcy which wasn't an entire new verse of "We Didn't Start the Fire" were disappointed again when the US and Israel decided to bomb Iran. And those wondering "Why" have the disturbing benefit of multiple choices answers, as Trump, Vance, Rubio and Netenyahu all appear to have different explanations.

The fact folks were instantly able to point to a series of tweets from 2012 when Trump speculated that Obama would, because of plummetting popularity declare war on Iran as a distraction has not gone un-noticed.

Sigh...

We bid a sad farewell to co-creator of Red Dwarf, Rob Grant, who passed away at the age of 70. "Smoke me a kipper, I'll be back for breakfast!"

I've not watched the new Monarch: Legacy of Monsters episode yet, but I have high hopes.

I did watch the latest Starfleet Academy which is a strange mix between working through grief via "Our Town" (a 1938 meta-textual play which, as far as I am aware, has no real pop culture relevance outside the US) and a rather beautiful subplot (Which was a lot stronger than the actual plot IMHO) with Robert Picardo's Doctor and SAM.

(no subject)

Mar. 3rd, 2026 07:31 pm
thawrecka: (Default)
[personal profile] thawrecka
In a surprise turn of events, this weekend I started watching the Prince of Tennis anime from the beginning. Honestly, it's charming and well paced! I can see why I was so into it... 20+ years ago. I wouldn't say it's particularly mature; it is definitely a story about a 12 year old beating almost everyone at tennis and everyone talking about how cool he is. The adolescents are very adolescent - Kaido hissing like a snake is classic awkward 13-year-old behaviour.

I mostly remembered the important parts: the tennis and the cat. I had forgotten everything about Echizen's sleazy dad, and I would happily forget that all over again. I also forgot how long they drew out not letting you see how Tezuka plays tennis - I've watched 24 episodes, and I don't think you actually see him play until episode 25. There is a ton of filler, but the filler is all one episode fillers IIRC, so in that matter is vastly superior to, say, the endless Bleach filler arcs.

Overall it's feeling like light nostalgic fun.
[syndicated profile] guardianfilm_feed

Posted by Ann Lee

Guillermo del Toro has overcome the Academy’s aversion to fantasy before and with this heartfelt telling of the monster classic he should do it again

Guillermo del Toro has spent his career humanising monsters, once calling them the “patron saints of our blissful imperfection”, so his adaptation of Frankenstein was always going to be a match made in heaven. The Mexican film-maker’s passion project turns Mary Shelley’s famous novel about the dangers of hubris and playing God into a touching tale about generational trauma, parental abandonment and the healing power of forgiveness. It’s a meticulously crafted, visually sumptuous and powerfully told story that deserves to take home that best picture Oscar.

But it’s not going to be easy. The gothic fantasy seamlessly blends horror, sci-fi and melodrama in its opulent retelling; here Oscar Isaac plays the eccentric scientist, Victor, who brings a hulking creature (Jacob Elordi) made up of dead body parts to life. Fantasy, horror and sci-fi, however, are genres that notoriously don’t do well at the Academy Awards, apart from in the technical categories. Yes, Del Toro is one of the few film-makers to get a best picture Oscar for a fantasy/sci-fi film in 2018 for his amphibian love story, The Shape of Water, but that win was an exception, not the rule.

Continue reading...
[syndicated profile] guardianfilm_feed

Posted by Phil Hoad

Director and star Albert Birney goes through the looking glass to tackle a Zelda-esque dog rescue quest inside his 80s gaming machine in endearingly imaginative fantasy

If David Lynch had been born 20 years later and fetishised 1980s home-computing tech, this is the kind of film he might have made: black-and-white analogue surrealism, with smudges of dot-matrix horror. Director Albert Birney stars as “Computer Conor”, a shut-in who makes a living from virtuosically tapping out ASCII reproductions of people’s favourite photos and, on his downtime, watching several VHSs simultaneously on his three-television-high stack.

Outside is Mary (Callie Hernandez), an unseen grocery-delivery girl, and the unsettling writhings of the biological world in the shape of an emerging cicada brood. But Conor is invaded from within when he subscribes to Obex, a mail-order sword-and-sorcery video game that allows you to personalise your own avatar. Initially disappointed, he becomes more enveloped when his printer of its own accord spits out a command: “Remove your skin.” And then the game’s radiant demon Ixaroth arrives in his apartment and spirits away Conor’s pooch, Sandy.

Continue reading...
[syndicated profile] guardianfilm_feed

Posted by Sian Cain

Actor and horror icon says he will need to withdraw from work to receive treatment, telling fans, ‘I’m sorry if that’s a shock – it was to me too’

Evil Dead star Bruce Campbell has revealed he has been diagnosed with a “‘treatable’ not ‘curable’” cancer, and will be withdrawing from work while he receives treatment.

The 67-year-old horror icon shared the news in a statement on social media on Monday night, writing to fans: “I’m sorry if that’s a shock – it was to me too.”

Continue reading...
[syndicated profile] guardianbooks_feed

Posted by Peter Bradshaw

An epic account of how three demigod directors, in pursuit of indie freedom, redefined American film-making

Here we are once more: back to the glory days of the New Hollywood that emerged from the ashes of the old studio system in the 1960s and 70s. Our cast is filled with brilliant hotshots and creative risk-takers, energised by the French New Wave, the American counterculture and the industry’s own amazing entrepreneurial past.

Peter Biskind’s breezy, bleary, cynical book Easy Riders, Raging Bulls ranged freely across the 1970s, with controversial anecdotes about egos and drugs (though maybe the definitive book about the role of cocaine in film production has yet to be written). Mark Harris’s Scenes from a Revolution had the witty idea of looking at the five films Oscar-nominated for best picture in the transitional year of 1968, from the supercool Bonnie and Clyde to the squaresville Dr Doolittle, to see what they told us about America’s cinematic mind at the time.

Continue reading...

Recipe dessert

Mar. 3rd, 2026 12:15 am
pattrose: by Calico (1 Will Trent)
[personal profile] pattrose
Recipe Dessert
Lemon Heaven on Earth Cake


Ingredients:
1 (3.4oz.) box vanilla instant pudding mix unprepared
1½ cups cold whole milk
1 cup sour cream can substitute for vanilla Greek yogurt
14 ounce store bought angel food cake divided
1 (21 oz.) can lemon pie filling divided
8 ounces Cool Whip thawed
¼ cup almond slivers

Directions:
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together 1 (3.4oz.) box vanilla instant pudding mix, 1½ cups cold whole milk, and 1 cup sour cream until smooth, and the mixture begins to thicken. Set aside.
Cut the 14 ounce store bought angel food cake into 1-inch cubes and then evenly layer half of the cubes into the bottom of the baking pan.
Spread about ⅔ of the 1 (21 oz.) can lemon pie filling on top of the angel food cake, then layer the remaining angel food cake over the top of the lemon filling.
Evenly spread the vanilla pudding mixture over the top of the angel food cake layer.
Then top it with the thawed 8 ounces Cool Whip, spreading it out to fully and evenly cover the pan.
Using a spoon, drop spoonfuls of the remaining lemon pie filling over the cake and swirl it around a bit.
Chill in the refrigerator, uncovered, for 4 to 6 hours or even overnight for a more flavorful and moist cake. Refrigerating it will also help the layers to set. You can tent aluminum foil over the top of the cake if desired.
Right before serving, sprinkle with ¼ cup almond slivers.

Recipe for lunch or dinner

Mar. 3rd, 2026 12:12 am
pattrose: (White Kitten)
[personal profile] pattrose
Recipe
Fettuccine and Alfredo sauce

Ingredients
* 1 lb Fettuccine
* Salt, for the boiling water, about 1 tbsp
* 1 Stick (8 tbsp) Salted Butter
* 6-7 Garlic Cloves, minced
* 2 Cups Heavy Cream
* 1 tsp Italian Seasoning
* 1/2 tsp each Salt and Pepper adjust to taste if needed
* Pinch of Red Pepper Flakes optional
* 5 oz Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese
* 1/2 Cup Reserved Pasta Water may need more depending on how thick you want your sauce
* Chopped Fresh Parsley, for garnish optional
Instructions
* Begin by boiling a large pot of salted water. Add in the fettuccine and cook it just until al dente, following the package instructions. It’s essential not to drain the pasta, as you’ll need the starchy pasta water for the sauce later.

* While the pasta is cooking, melt the stick of butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Once the butter is melted, add in the minced garlic cloves. Cook the garlic for about 1 minute, being cautious not to let it burn, as burnt garlic can turn bitter and ruin the flavor of your sauce.

* Stir in the 2 cups of heavy cream. Season the mixture with the Italian seasoning, along with the salt and pepper and red pepper flakes. Continue stirring this mixture continuously for about 10 minutes, allowing it to thicken. This step eliminates the need for flour, resulting in a creamy, rich sauce.

* Once the sauce has thickened up nicely, add in the freshly grated Parmesan cheese. To prevent clumping, add in about half of the cheese at a time, making sure to turn the heat down to low while stirring until the cheese is completely melted and incorporated into the sauce.

* Add the cooked fettuccine directly into the sauce. Pour in about 1/2 cup of the reserved pasta water. Mix everything thoroughly, allowing it to simmer for a few additional minutes to let the flavors meld together and the sauce to thicken up. If it becomes too thick, feel free to add more pasta water until you reach your desired consistency. Season with more salt and pepper if needed and garnish with fresh parsley if desired. 


Not quite 365 questions March

Mar. 3rd, 2026 12:11 am
pattrose: (Default)
[personal profile] pattrose
Not quite 365 days questions, March

3. If you visit somewhere special, do you buy a small memento to bring home (such as a fridge magnet, keyring, ornament, or something else)?

Yup. T-shirts for hubby and me, we collect ball caps, and magnets. Half the time I don't even wear the shirts, and that's the truth. I should stick with magnets.

A friend on DW told me about a t-shirt she saw. It was perfect for me. It says we have romantic walks at our hardware store. It cracked me up because he and I do this at least twice a week. As we walk, we plan what we’re doing and in which room. It's a fun way to exercise.

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