Film ranked #12 in opening weekend

Also: The Great Queen Victoria Winner Ostwen Has Arrived! launches in English

David Wald claims Crunchyroll opened his private mail, threw away letters, gave away contents to staff

Gender bender comedy launched in March 2023

Crunchyroll began screening film in North America on November 8

Hinata, Veldora, Milim join cast of game

Keito Kimura, Makoto Hasegawa, Taiga Tsubaki, more join mixed martial arts story

Studio based in Osaka, Tokyo to focus on AAA action games

Matsuena launches Kichijōji Shōnen manga on December 12

Posthumous documentary film of same name, directed by his son Neo Sora, shows Sakamoto performing 20 compositions

Both anime screen N. American premieres at Anime Frontier on December 7

Manga by Yonemura, Fudeno Saki launches in English on January 29, 2025

Archaeologists have uncovered more of the monumental Temple of Poseidon in Greece’s Peloponnese, revealing rare artifacts and unique architectural features that shed light on ancient religious practices .

Continue reading Temple of Poseidon at Samikon is larger than expected at The Wild Hunt.

"You pile up enough tomorrows and you'll be left with nothing but a bunch of empty yesterdays. I don't know about you, but I'd like to make today worth remembering."

In a new installment on computer history, [Bradford Morgan White] takes us through the sordid history of Cyrix, as this plucky little company created the best math co-processors (FasMath) and …read more

Once upon a time a man named Barry Goldwater appeared on the political scene. And the radical cried, “Danger! A fascist!” And the people came running, but they saw that, actually, he was just a right-wing authoritarian, and he was making no effort to build a mass movement based on violence and terror in order … Continue reading A Totally Original Parable Not Derived From Anything Else Really

This is a term I’ve heard often, as one of the goals of art, without really understanding it. I think I’ve figured out at least some of it now. Stay with me. I think I was 22 or so when my daughter, Carolyn, became seriously ill (and thank you Dr. Edlavitch!). My wife and I … Continue reading Generalized Human Experience

Even though my kids are not yet on summer break and even though I, as an adult, do not have a thing called a summer break, I’ve apparently helped myself to one. I’m sneaking off to the beach on weekdays (oops), reading novels, gorging myself on cherries and crisp-from-the-market cucumbers, playing midday tennis like a lady who lunches, and getting vexed when I receive work-related emails and texts. [“Alex, why are they texting me on a Sunday?” “Deb, it’s Tuesday.”]

Read more »

Last summer, when my younger child joined my older child at sleepaway camp for a month for the first time, leaving us unmoored and a little restless, we made a list of restaurants we’d been meaning to try and friends we don’t see enough and took this task on like it was our job. I barely cooked once. By the end of the third week, everything hurt and we realized our template for a child-free life (going out late, cocktails on weeknights, and generally behaving despicably) was based on our age and energy level when we were last child-free, which (I’m sorry as this fact seems to upset you guys as much as it does his actual parents) was almost 15 years ago.

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Consider this the summer flip of one of my favorite recipes in my third cookbook, Smitten Kitchen Keepers — the apple butterscotch crisp.

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If you were to make a multi-part Venn diagram combining my favorite salad things, you could nestle this right in the center. It’s one part wedge salad, the fork and steak knife kind, something I am so into I talked my podcast co-host Kenji (okay, it wasn’t hard) into dedicating a whole episode to it. And it contains cabbage, and not just cabbage but Napa cabbage, which I think deserves more credit as a salad green. [This can be convenient to know as it often comes in heads large enough to feed a small family for a week.] Napa cabbage is a little leafy, a little crunchy, and yet kind of juicy too and I’ve used it, sliced thin, in everything from this Italian-style salad to a classic Caesar.
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“I was looking for a simple roasted carrot recipe on your site and couldn’t find one,” a friend told me a month ago and I immediately put “simple roasted carrot recipe” on my sprawling, decades-long To Cook list because sometimes I forget myself, too. Spoiler: I was never going to write a simple recipe for roasted carrots.

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Confession time! As someone with more opinions than I can fit in three cookbooks, one audiobook, and even 18 years of archives on this website, sometimes when I want to grumble about something food-related but it’s not the time or place, I tuck it in a little document called “rants” that is so full of cringe, you only have my permission to publish posthumously. But I can’t write a headnote for this particular cake without first owning up to #23 on the list in advance: “Apple cider cakes are lies.” Which begs the questions: Who hurt you, Deb? What gives? Essentially, my quibble is that you can put all of the wonderful fresh-pressed apple cider you want in a cake, but it rarely comes through to actually taste like apple cider. The flavor is not robust enough. I’m not saying it can’t be wildly delicious with all of the cinnamon spice we also put in these cakes, but it rarely, to me, tastes like an accurate representation of its name.

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Ever heard of Stanley Stinkbug? 

 Yeah, me neither. 

 Apparently he's a children's character who looks like this:

As far as anthropomorphic bugs go, I guess he's not TOO terrifying. I'd put him somewhere between Heimlich the caterpillar and Hopper the evil grasshopper: Not a bug you'd want to cuddle, exactly, but that probably wouldn't make you run screaming from the room, either. Plus the neckerchief is fun.

Anyhoo, of course - of course - bakers have been asked to make cake versions of Stanley, and of course some of those bakers have done so... poorly.

The good news is today's baker was only asked to do a flat illustration on a cupcake cake (patooie!), which is a running head start, right? No molding or sculpting, just a picture. Heck, they could even print one out!

So what do you think, did they make Stanley's eyes all wonky? Is his scarf the wrong color, is he missing some legs? Oh! I know! I bet... you just want me to just show you the cake, don't you.

 Fine.

 BEHOLD!

Actual footage of my reaction:

Also now this gif is blocking my view of the cake, so... BONUS.

Now, before I nope right out of here, I'd like to point out that the baker CLEARLY thought management wanted an actual stinkbug cake for the display case, but never thought to ask A) WHY DEAR LORD WHY, or B) why it was named Stanley. 

 I mean, c'mon, you get told to draw a random bug named Stanley, tell me you wouldn't add some glasses and a sweater vest. That's just common sense.

Also, is this the sort of bakery where random horrific requests are this common? Was the baker asked to make a "Tiffany Tapeworm" last week, so Mr. Stinkbug was par for the course?

::dares to scroll up briefly to see the cake again::

K, last question: Did the baker think putting the giant semi-realistic stinkbug on a bed of lettuce... was helping??

Aaaaand I'M OUT.

Thank you(?), Emily S. I do not approve.
*****

P.S. After my crack about cuddle-worthy bugs, naturally I had to go see if I could find some. And I gotta say, the ant? ADORABLE:

Plush Bugs
*****

And from my other blog, Epbot:

Welcome, foolish mortals, to the Haunted Bakery. I am your host, your ghost host.

Hey, ghosts of tennis rackets make awesome servers.

Ahem.

Our tour begins here, in this grocery, where you see pictures of some of our residents in their corruptible, mortal display cases.

Pilgrim ogres...

Zitty zombies...

... and beatniks.

Your cadaverous pallor betrays an aura of foreboding, almost as though you sense a disquieting metamorphosis. 

Is Frank's nose actually shrinking?

Or is it just cold in here, hmm?

And consider this dismaying observation:

This is a cupcake cake.

Patooie!

Also it's supposed to be a BAT.

::bloodcurdling scream::

I'm sorry, I didn’t mean to frighten you prematurely. After all we have 999 happy bakers here — but there’s room for 1,000. So please...

Hairy baaa-aaack.

Thanks to Jodee R., Marianne S., Janet R., Lauren M., M. D., Jeannie W., Lauren E., Rae L., & Anony M. for having our backs. Or at least this guy's.
*****

P.S. Here's something for your own mansion with hot and cold running chills:

Haunted Mansion Shower Curtain

Aww yeeeeah.

*****

And from my other blog, Epbot:

It may not be rain on your wedding day, but these cakes are still a little too ironic.

[grabbing microphone]

HIT IT!

 

It's like loving journalism

... but not kerning!

It's a "good job"

that needs some learning.

It's the winner's cake

that SHOULD be burning!

And who would have thought? It figures!

It's calling someone "dumb"

When you can't spell the word

It's trying to show you care

While giving a beautiful turd

Heh.

And isn't it ironic, don't you think?

Thanks to Tracey, Julie, Dorothy S., Tony W., & Stacey, who really DO think.

 *****

Hang on, you know what ELSE has delicious irony? A fully armed and operational battle station with an exposed exhaust port.

Death Star Waffle Iron

Thanks to this waffle iron, you can recreate the Death Star's catastrophic destruction every morning with butter and syrup. Nomz. Just remember: Use the forks.

Technically Veterans Day was yesterday here in the U.S., but since a lot of us get today off to celebrate, CELEBRATE WE SHALL.

Veterans Day is all about honoring those who have and are serving in our country's military. There are lots of great ways to do this:

This is not one of them.

Now, I happen to know that a fair number of military personnel read this blog - a fact I find both humbling and just a teensy bit alarming, since I'm not sure those who share my twisted sense of humor should have access to heavy artillery. (Holy Hand Grenade, anyone?) 

On the other hand, I do so enjoy all the e-mails with the giant "DECLASSIFIED" stamps on them.  Makes me feel all James Bond-ish, only in an American, hermit-girl-blogger kind of way.

So in your honor, my dear veterans, here are some patriotic cake designs that will surely bring a tear to your eyes.

 Tissue?

The underline is what really sells it.

Of course today is about you, the troops:

And as "Owl Troops" you deserve "Supott."

Because you are all "Hero's."

 And so we "honer" you, our "vetr ans."

Kind of like how we honor the flag, the symbol of this great nation:

Stirring.

No wait, I take that back: this Wreck leaves me shaken, not stirred. [ba dum bump!]

Some bakeries pipe their greetings on clear plastic sheets, which they then lay on top of the finished cakes. It's cheating, sure, but this way bakers can trace their messages or start over if they make a mistake.

Or just slap the plastic on anyway and call it a "Vetrans" day.

So remember, everyone: it is thanks to our veterans that we have the freedom to live in this great country, the United States...

 ...of Amercia?

Hang on, that doesn't sound right. Can we try that one again?

Muuuch better. 

(But who stole the corner piece?!)

Thanks to Eric H., Dave K., Sara B., Nikki G., Adria P., Tory L., Michael H., Christina R., Tara L., & Allyson H. for fully vetting today's wrecks.

This guest review comes from Lisa! A longtime romance aficionado and frequent commenter to SBTB, Lisa is a queer Latine critic with a sharp tongue and lots of opinions. She frequently reviews at All About Romance and Women Write About Comics, where she’s on staff, and you can catch her at @thatbouviergirl on Twitter. There, she shares good reviews, bracing industry opinions and thoughtful commentary when she’s not on her grind looking for the next good freelance … Continue reading If I Stopped Haunting You by Colby Wilkens →

This HaBO comes from Kiruthika, who is trying to find this Mills & Boon romance. Content warning for mentions of abuse and rape: It’s a 70s or 80s Mills and Boon that my mom had that I sneakily read as a 12 year old! The cover was white with a couple embracing, fair haired woman and darker haired man. He’s described to be lion like in movement and has tawny eyes. I remember that part … Continue reading HaBO: He’s Described as a Lion with Tawny Eyes →

There is a huge list of amazing Kindle Daily Deals, so I decided to just go overboard in listing some highlights. 

The Gift Guides officially start on Wednesday, but I wanted to post this ASAP so – quick and early gift guide! NB: some links in this and future gift guides include affiliate links which send a portion of your purchase back to us at no extra cost to you. You’re not required to use our links, and thank you in advance if you do. There is a gift with purchase from now until 11/11 at … Continue reading I Need to Tell Y’all About this Lego Set →

This HaBO is from Krysty, who wants to find this romance: Hi, I stumbled upon your website yesterday hoping someone will help me find this book. It’s been in my head for over 10 years and I’m beginning to forget. So the book is about a heroine – Marianne or Mary – can’t quite remember, falls in love with a brooding, standoffish hero with a scarred face who stays in the dark in a big … Continue reading HaBO: Yet Another Scarred Hero, Virgin Heroine →

Tolerability

mmm spaghettification

NO MORE CLUBBING

It's good to know the floating black slab emitting a low hum is a regular customer

wait, who's funding this research anyway

Anh no

PERVERTS

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