laurajv | Network

My parents have a lot of issues, but they always send me a care package every year with various Southern foods in it that I can't easily get up here. One of them is country ham. It's delicious but very difficult to cook because it smokes so much, so I ended up giving away the ham they sent me last year because I couldn't make it without setting off the smoke alarm in the hotel.

I tried something new thing this year, though, and apparently cooking country ham in the air fryer works pretty damn well.

Current Mood: impressed

the_mary_sue_feed

Posted by Sarah Fimm

https://www.themarysue.com/10-movies-that-are-better-than-the-book/

https://www.themarysue.com/?p=905061

Buttercup cowers behind Westley in The Princess Bride

Sick of watching movies with someone who always reads the book? Tired of listening to them complain about how the novel did it better? Lucky for you, here’s a list of ten movies that are better than the literary original, so you can rub the cinematic improvements in your friend’s well read face. Get ready to feel superior, because these masterpieces outdo the works of literature that inspired them – letting your tear a page out of your condescending friend’s book for a change.

Stand By Me

two boys sitting on a log — (Columbia Pictures)

While many people point to It or The Dark Tower as Stephen King’s magnum opus, I personally think his best work is a little short story known as The Body – which was adapted into Rob Reiner’s Stand By Me. It’s the story of four boys who hear a rumor about a kid who was struck dead by a train, so they set out down the railroad tracks to find the body. Stand By Me is the ultimate coming of age story, one that teaches a terrible lesson that every child must learn: this world doesn’t care if you’re a kid, if you’re not careful, it will kill you all the same. While the film is only marginally better than the masterpiece original, it features some notable improvements. The summertime cinematography, the heartstring-tugging score, and the infamous one-liner “no Ace, just you” – none of these are in the book. The film is better for it.

https://www.themarysue.com/10-movies-that-are-better-than-the-book/

https://www.themarysue.com/?p=905061

the_mary_sue_feed

Posted by Melody Heald

https://www.themarysue.com/wedding-dress-transport-italy/

https://www.themarysue.com/?p=905568

wedding dress (l) woman shares wedding dress issue (c) plane on the air (r)

Wedding planning is notoriously stressful. A destination wedding outside of the country? It’s probably the cherry on top of the wedding cake. Beyond the financial strain, sending invitations months in advance and searching for the ideal venue, nothing compares to mapping out how the perfect wedding dress arrives at the destination. For this Illinois-based bride-to-be, she turned to TikTok for advice on how to transport her dress to Italy.

Wedding dress quandary

As she stands in her house, bride Sydney Sauerwein (@sydneylayne2) holds up her white wedding dress, its packaging towering over her through a six-second clip. Since her venue is in Tuscany, Italy, she is in a dilemma. So, she is seeking answers from other brides.

https://www.themarysue.com/wedding-dress-transport-italy/

https://www.themarysue.com/?p=905568

the_mary_sue_feed

Posted by Rachel Thomas

https://www.themarysue.com/lululemon-pilling-issue/

https://www.themarysue.com/?p=905295

woman shares lululemon jacket and store experience (l) lululemon front entrance (r)

A woman noticed some issues with her Lululemon jacket the moment after she washed it for the first time. Confused, she took it to the Lululemon store, where they gave her advice that she never would have realized unless she had asked.

In a video with over 1.1 million views, Caitlin Tran (@catlintran) explained how different Lululemon fabrics need special care. Unfortunately, she learned through personal experience, as her brand-new oversized jacket from the company pilled almost instantly.

https://www.themarysue.com/lululemon-pilling-issue/

https://www.themarysue.com/?p=905295

ysabetwordsmith

Christmas Lockbox

If there is anything you need to get off your chest, to let go so that you can get on, you can safely do it here. This post will be open for anyone, all day--but then tomorrow, it goes away. No judgement, no recrimination. Just a free space for anyone who needs to vent. And if no one does, nothing is lost!

Basically, this is someone's "Hard Things" post for holiday stress. Brilliant.

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

This Conversation...

Bokeh is that creamy blur of color and light at the forefront and background of an image. It's that Out of Focus area, which draws your eye to the crisp subject... a car or face.

Now there's an obscure but super useful word for something we see quite often. :D

Current Mood: busy

cyberghostface posting in

scans_daily

"[Thanos in the movies] is a different character [from the comics] in some ways, but not that many. A lot of the gentler moments he had in the movies are right from the comics. He and Gamora have always had a very tight, unusual and complicated relationship." -- Jim Starlin

( Scans under the cut… )

catwranglerpin_feed

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/518476975871833165/

catwranglerpin_feed

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/518476975871833150/

james_davis_nicoll

Jólabókaflóðið 2025!

minoanmiss

( You're about to view content that the journal owner has advised should be viewed with discretion. )

Current Mood: amused

forestofglory

Day 22
Today for #DecRecs I want to talk about Saint Cavish a Chinese food youtube channel run by Christopher St. Cavish
https://www.youtube.com/@saintcavish
I'm always a little careful about media by white dudes about China but I was intrigued by the series of videos where Italian chefs visit "China's Noodle Homeland" -- which turned out to be really good! I've since watched a lot more of the channels videos
The videos are thoughtful, never treating the food as too weird or exotic and do a good job of putting stuff in context both historical and with regard to modern China

Day 23
Today for #DecRecs I want to rec fancy seam finishing for sewing projects! I mentioned in an earlier rec that this year I've been sewing a lot of garments for myself. For all of those I've used either french seams or flat felled seams and they are so nice to look at and so stratifying to make!

Day 24
I had PT this morning and it wore me out so for #DecRecs have a pretty picture

https://www.tumblr.com/hisiheyah/794758124462637056/as-the-leaves-on-the-trees-change-with-the

I guess I can link this to the whole year in review theme of this year's #DecRecs by saying that this year I started a tumblr account -- I still don't understand tumblr culture so I just follow people I know and reblog pretty pictures

Day 25
For today's #DecRecs I want to share some of my favorite songs so far form the Chinese reality show Crush of Music which I'm part way through watching having just finished episode 4

Crush of music is a show where songwriters demo original songs and then through a mildly gameifed process are matched with a singer (or two) who then preforms the song.
It's a really fun low stress show and features some of my favorite singers ! I can't really rec the show though because the subtitles are very very bad -- I'm just watching in anyways even though I can only understand about half of what people are saying
Anyways on to the songs! Here's Liu Yuning having the best time rocking his heart out

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThwZSs1MTqo

Zhou Shen singing with cute children!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBlR8iSsrTc

I am constantly so impressed with Xue Zhiqian's stage designs (also featuring cute children)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h29GaZroe4g

There's two version of this song and I can't decide which one I like better

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fkxr0uqhgHs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pO9kRZ3JsKw

the_mary_sue_feed

Posted by Gisselle Hernandez

https://www.themarysue.com/man-dips-on-olive-garden-date/

https://www.themarysue.com/?p=905924

woman shares olive garden date experience (l) olive garden front entrance (r)

First dates in 2025 are already a gamble, but no one expects their breadstick companion to pull a full Irish goodbye smack in the middle of eating. At an Olive Garden, of all places, one man “went to the bathroom” and instead exited the building. What stayed behind was his date, the dish of salad, and the entire main course. Luckily, while modern dating continues to spiral, the servers stepped in and proved that while chivalry may be dead for some men, it’s still alive in Olive Garden.

Lila’s Disastrous First Date

As the 2025 dating scene comes to a close, Lila (@48.lila) throws a new hat into the ring. Apparently, it can get worse before the year ends. Her short 11-second clip with 5.1 million views proves it. Even more telling, it has over 3,000 comments. The clip begins with Lila’s face overtaking most of the view until she switches the camera and shows her current status. In front of her shows a table in the midst of dining. Except, it also shows that the other side of the booth is completely empty.

https://www.themarysue.com/man-dips-on-olive-garden-date/

https://www.themarysue.com/?p=905924

deifire

My Yuletide gift is amazing! The Changeling by Zilpha Keatley Snyder was one of my favorite books and someone wrote me a perfect post-canon Martha/Ivy story:

The Doorway to Home (3677 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: The Changeling - Zilpha Keatley Snyder
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Martha Abbott/Ivy Carson
Characters: Josie Carson (The Changeling)
Additional Tags: it's pre-relationship but I very much intend it to be pre-, Post-Canon, theater kids having theater kid feelings, and friendship feelings and gay feelings
Summary:

The idea of college felt very large and overwhelming, and much farther away than Cath seemed to think it was. Cath continued, "I suppose you'll be looking mostly at New York or L.A., of course, since you love acting so much."

Martha’s mother said “Yes, it does seem likely, doesn’t it?” and her father said “New York is awfully far away, though,” and her mother said “But the drama schools are famous there,” and everybody chewed over the idea while Martha sat stock still and stared down at her plate. The entire world was rearranging itself inside her head.

Current Mood: happy

evilinsanemonkey

There are two Eerie fics in Yuletide this year, which pleases me immensely!

First is my gift, which deals with Simon and his weird relationship to technology in a fantastic way:

I Love When Technology Works for Me (2275 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Eerie Indiana
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Simon Holmes, Dash X (Eerie Indiana), Marshall Teller
Additional Tags: Future Fic, Technology, POV Third Person, lightly implied mdash, Mega Voodoo Eerie Weirdness (Eerie Indiana)
Summary:

Simon's work has recently implemented an AI assistant.

the other is Janet and Chisel having a Meeting:

Scene from a Chinese Restaurant (2009 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Eerie Indiana
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Janet Donner, Winston Chisel
Additional Tags: Future Fic, Eerie Indiana Local Politics, Implied Marshall Teller, Implied Mega Voodoo Eerie Weirdness, Chinese Food
Summary:

Several years after escaping the Lost Hour, Janet Donner meets Mayor Chisel for an important conversation.

They're both wonderful!

I'm off to read more yuletide fics and I'll probably make up a longer rec list later in the weekend!

profiterole_reads

This Ends in Embers by Kamilah Cole is the second tome in the Divine Traitors duology, about dragon riders and girls who can channel the power of the Gods.

I loved Book 1, but found that Book 2 didn't have enough focus on the relationships (of all types) because the characters were either in different locations or one of them was unconscious/possessed...

There's major f/f, as well as m/f where the girl is on the aroace spectrum.

glitteryv posting in

recthething

Every Thursday, we have a community post, just like this one, where you can drop a rec or five in the comments.

This works great if you only have one rec and don't want to make a whole post for it, or if you don't have a DW account, or if you're shy. ;)

(But don't forget: you can deffo make posts of your own seven days a week. ;D!)

So what cool fics/fanvids/podfics/fancrafts/fanart/other kinds of fanworks have we discovered this week? Drop it in the comments below. Anon comment is enabled.

BTW, AI fanworks are not eligible for reccing at recthething. If you aware that a fanwork is AI-generated, please do not rec it here.

Wishing everyone Merry Christmas (if you celebrate) and a Happy Thursday (if you don't.) 😉

the_mary_sue_feed

Posted by Ljeonida Mulabazi

https://www.themarysue.com/tj-maxx-le-creuset-29-dollar-mistake/

https://www.themarysue.com/?p=905711

dutch oven (l) woman shares tj maxx experience (c) Tj maxx store front (r)

A full-size Dutch oven from Le Creuset usually runs a few hundred dollars, even on a good day. So when one shopper spotted one at T.J. Maxx for $29, it felt like winning the lottery.

That’s exactly how TikToker Nicole (@nicoleandchuck) felt when she came across the bright blue Dutch oven while shopping at T.J. Maxx. In a clip with 72,500 views, Nicole shared how fast that excitement disappeared once she got to the register.

https://www.themarysue.com/tj-maxx-le-creuset-29-dollar-mistake/

https://www.themarysue.com/?p=905711

tinny

Mount TBR 2025 Book #08 Der Markisenmann

Der Markisenmann by Jan Weiler

i read book 7 before this but the draft is on my computer at home. i will post it once i'm home again.

For some reason, this book has not been translated to English. Considering it seems to be on the German school curriculum and is by far the author's most popular novel, that surprised me. Oh, well.

It's not like I liked it that much, so you're not missing out. ;)

Kim, 15 years old, and unhappy growing up with her mother, her stepdad and half-brother, has to spend the summer with her father, who she has never met before. Both of them carry a large guilt. Her father is trying to make up for his by selling unsellable old product door-to-door, and she starts helping him.

some thoughts, non-spoilery

* It took me three chapters to figure out that the main character is a girl - that was weird. I still don't quite trust the author to realistically write a 15-year-old girl, even after having read that book and being unable to put my finger on exactly why.

* From the very start, I had trouble identifying with the main character. I don't think I want to blame the author, I'm just not very interested in 15-year-old girls and their problems, even if those problems are relatable - although to be fair I don't remember having had similar problems, myself. (Except for the unrequited crushes, I do remember those. :D )

* I liked that there was never an answer for all the guilt. She feels guilty for setting her brother on fire - half accidentally, half not, she herself doesn't know - but there is no solution for it.

* Her father deals with his guilt in his own way, by setting himself an impossible task and doing penance for the rest of his life. I never quite managed to get how anone would do that. Yes, he ruined someone's life, yes he can never make up for that, and still. It just never clicked with me.

* Nothing much happens in this book. She gets to know the people who live around her father, falls in love with a neighbor boy but doesn't make anything of it, goes door to door with her father selling ugly canvas blinds (which is where the name of the book comes from). It's quite unremarkable, but she grows up a lot. That's the point.

* The parts about the father's (and mother's and stepdad's) East German past were quite good, but too short in my opinion, and it took a bit long for her to find out what exactly happened. They're probably the reason why the book is on the school curriculum.

* The insights into different people were quite poignant, but overall nothing really gripped me. Maybe it's because the author wrote the book for his daughter, i.e. it's basically a YA book, and I felt like there was nothing new for me in it.

3 stars - Not bad, just not my type of book.

1 - 5 stars - Shards of Earth by Adrian Tchaikovsky The Final Architecture #1 [DW link]
2 - 2 stars - Miss Merkel: Mord auf dem Friedhof by David Safier Miss Merkel #2 [DW link]
3 - 4 stars - Once Broken Faith by Seanan McGuire Toby Daye #10 [DW link]
4 - 1 star - Three Body Problem by Liu Cixin [DW link]
5 - 5 stars - Murderbot Diaries 1-4 by Martha Wells [DW link]
6 - 4 stars - Die Neuerfindung der Diktatur/We Have Been Harmonized by Kai Strittmatter [DW link]
7 - tbd
8 - 3 stars - Der Markisenmann by Jan Weiler [DW link]

tyger

So, woke up this morning - before BOTH of the alarms I'd set, btw - feeling honestly pretty terrible. One of those 'hahaha you might be medicated but guess what that doesn't mean you're immune to your brain's bullshit, just more resistant' downswing days, ugh. (I'm thinking the problem is I haven't been making anything the past few days. I did a little bit of knitting this evening and I'm feeling a little better, so I think that between Strange House and Computer Not Doing Terraria my brain's been starved for Little Projects, sigh. Brain management, why so complicated.)

Anyway, it's nothing I don't know how to deal with, but it also meant my tolerance for social stuff was way lower than normal before I'd even got out of bed, and given it was Big Family Christmas Day... Bleh.

( Long rambles. )

Anyway, since I've been back I've mainly been reading, except for that bit of knitting and my stupid clicky games, so I'm still pretty pancakey but doing better. Scout is extremely adorable (and not shedding much, I should ask for their trick); she's currently doing the thing where they're using a blanket as a hammock and aren't actually supported by anything solid, which is extremely cute. :3

And now! Bed! It is annoyingly chilly, but I have found another blanket to put on top of the doona, so hopefully I'll warm up quicker and feel more snuggly tonight. (Also I brought home a stuffed animal to cuddle properly, since I forgot the first time. My tiny little bag eevee is extremely great, but it's too little for proper snuggling.)

Tomorrow I'll probably do some more poking at computer shit, too, so that'll be useful. Depending on how cold it is, anyway, the table I'm set up on is pretty nice for stuff like keyboard/monitor height etc., but the chair is a very basic wooden chair, so when it's cold like it is now my butt gets cold from the airflow. (I do have a lap blanket, but alas it isn't big enough to properly go around my back half.)

Hope all've yez that also had to do family gatherings were able to tolerate the people-ness of it better than I could! And if you didn't that you did something else fun!

Current Mood: drained
Current Location: Casa de Scout

etched in stone

Christmas Breakfast (Brunch, Lunch, Dinner...)

10 Movies That Are Better Than The Book

Stand By Me

Bride needs to transport dress for wedding in Italy and she refuses to check it. Then viewers weigh

Wedding dress quandary

California woman notices new Lululemon jacket showing wear after one wash. Then she learns something

Holiday Wishes

Vocabulary: Bokeh

Yule Memory

(no subject)

(no subject)

Jólabókaflóðið 2025!

Hallmark Movie in Graphic Novel Form

DecRecs 2025 days 22-25

‘I’m traumatized’: Man sneaks out mid-date at Olive Garden. Then the server does something unexpecte

Lila’s Disastrous First Date

Yuletide!

Yuletide!

This Ends in Embers by Kamilah Cole

Community Recs Post!

Woman finds Le Creuset Dutch Oven at T.J. Maxx for $29. Then the cashier rings it up: ‘Pretty sure t

Book #08 Der Markisenmann by Jan Weiler

Brains are Stupid, and my family is Loud

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