u/potato-eater-

Slight spoiler:

How come some inverse bullets cause healing but the one caused a reversed gunshot wound? It’s the one thing I can’t understand.

Looking for engaging, interesting books about organized crime.

ELI5 how come people in twelve step substance abuse programs aren’t allowed to be on any addictive/intoxicating substances except tobacco/nicotine?

I’m in a bit of a July gloom as is my annual tradition and looking for a great read to keep my mind busy.

Recent faves from the last month:
- The Terror
- Annihilation
- Klara and the Sun
- Dreamcatcher

Looking for:
- Ideally fiction
- Engrossing prose, not overly hard to get into
- Limited POV switching (I find it hard to get back into even if it picks up steam as it goes)
- Something that might make me feel a little better than the above list but not shallow or easy

Thank you!!

What the mechanism or purpose there? Why can a song be so loud in my head that it actually keeps me up?

I was eating mulberries at a park and apparently got into full bear mode because next thing I know there’s something with a shell and a bitter taste filling my mouth. Spit and there she is, whole and getting her bearings.

I’m so glad ladybugs have this feature, it kept me from accidentally eating a friend. A few seconds later she was dry enough to fly away.

I really liked this show, despite having some issues with it, especially after the ending. Just some thoughts here, not very well organized maybe but hopefully this resonates for some people. All of my issues stem from a trend I’ve noticed, which is that murder-mystery limited series are so bankable that that their framework sometimes feels forced into shows that don’t work for it. And I did feel that was the case here.

Murder-mystery limited series like White Lotus require teasing a pre-defined death, then shifting the picture around it weekly to make it come into focus and reveal the true story, concealing enough to keep speculating fan forums guessing.

That also usually means some amount of subversion of expectation is needed to keep from the conclusion and how we reach it from being considered too obvious by fans of murder-mystery.

I felt a strong sense of White Lotus cultural impact on this show. The teasing of Niall’s death at the beginning, the mid-show reveal of Ruben’s death, the final reveal of both of their deaths, to me, felt like it drove the show more than that it was itself the natural result of the characters and story.

I think the reason a lot of people loved the show until it ended, then had all sorts of problems with how it got there, is that in the fashion of a murder-mystery it started with its end points then worked to arrive there. And that created problems for a story that was about trauma and its cascading consequences more than who got killed, how, and why.

On a rewatch I just noticed that Caroline (old money) consciously chooses to “marry down” class-wise, as does Shiv. Both of them end the show partnered with strivers.

Caroline delights in making fun of Peter’s tacky class aspirations. Before that she was with Rory who iirc seemed to be kind of a barnacle. And, before that, she married Logan, who was new money.

Shiv married Tom, a man “fathoms beneath her,” whom she later calls “striving and parochial. Striving and parochial is Peter Munion to a tee.

Shiv married Tom after a period of life where she was “all a mess,” her self-esteem lowered so that she married down to protect herself. Caroline seemed to move down each relationship, going from powerful, rich, new money Logan to Peter, as presumably her self-esteem took hits from Logan’s infidelity and her children choosing him over her (allegedly).

I find it interesting how Shiv’s choice of Tom seems to echo her mother’s choices of partner.

I always think about this so wanted to kick it to this sub!

Deleted scenes from this movie are so rich. They always make me wonder about the movie we got, an all-out classic that captured the moment and had such immense staying power, and the (at least 2 movies) that Titanic could easily have ended up as instead:

1. A straight-up period piece: Titanic minus the present-day finding Titanic plotline, and instead included all the deleted scenes that further flesh out the characters and romance (Rose visits 3rd class, Rose’s panic attack, the death of Cora, etc). A movie I feel would have been superb but far more niche, and not blown up or been remembered in the same way.

2. Core focus on the outside “finding the Titanic” plot, where the alternate filmed ending is used (present-day Rose is discovered with the heart of the ocean and throws it into the sea in front of the ship crew and her granddaughter, forcing them all to process that it’s gone rather than missing, and the discovery ship captain has a romance with her granddaughter). A movie that would have been truly just ok, with a total blunder ending that was only cut by the grace of test audiences hating it.

I think about this way too much, because when you watch deleted scenes you really realize how miraculous the movie we got was. And I wish these alternate cuts existed too.

Anyone else have thoughts on this, or a favorite deleted scene?

Hopefully this opinion isn’t too unpopular. I personally wish Hill would start trying to avoid the tic of frequent King references.

His work stands on its own strength and he uses his own name, but he references King’s work so often that it really draws a comparison where none is needed in my opinion. His style is completely different and he’s his own fully-adult person.

Just my opinion but it annoys me a fair bit and takes me out of his stories when I’m enjoying them.

Anyone else have an opinion on this? What do others think?