#Tag · BT Free Social

I commute every day by #bicycle and I decided to buy a new #bike.

In the past I would have gone online and read some #reviews and comparisons and made a choice. Now that is nearly impossible, because so many of the "reviews" are #AI #LLM #slop summaries of, I dunno, forum posts about a completely different bike or something.

Instead I have e-mailed a list of my requirements to my #local #bikeshop and asked them what's available. Should have done that first.

#deadinternet #deadinternettheory

Strange Quark

@strangequark@dice.camp · 9 hours ago

I commute every day by #bicycle and I decided to buy a new #bike.

Instead I have e-mailed a list of my requirements to my #local #bikeshop and asked them what's available. Should have done that first.

#deadinternet #deadinternettheory

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Dining & Cooking

@dnc@vive.im · 20 hours ago

Asian French bakery set to open in downtown Menomonee Falls in spring

Dining and Cooking

Asian French bakery set to open in downtown Menomonee Falls in spring

An Asian French bakery is slated to open in downtown Menomonee Falls.

Dining & Cooking

@dnc@vive.im · 20 hours ago

Dining and Cooking

Asian French bakery set to open in downtown Menomonee Falls in spring

An Asian French bakery is slated to open in downtown Menomonee Falls.

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Sophia Jane Hayden, Author

@sophiajanehayden_author@indieauthors.social · 3 days ago

It's difficult to get any reviews. Editorial reviews are impossible. Kirkus Reviews is the editorial reviewer I'd been inclined to pay for, and I did so for The Fifth Seduction, but they've become terrible. Is it worth being able to pull a few positive quotes from a Kirkus Reviews review? This one doesn't even have correct grammar. They pay their reviewers almost nothing and charge independent authors hundreds. At least require a reviewer to invest in Grammarly. #reviews #bookreviews #review #kirkusreviews #indieAuthor #independent #author #authors #mastodon #bookReview #novels #novel #bookstodon #books #book #writers #writer #writersCoffeeClub

Grumbling about Kirkus Reviews, one of the most easily accessible companies for editorial reviews.

Sophia Jane Hayden, Author

@sophiajanehayden_author@indieauthors.social · 3 days ago

Life on the Wicked Stage: Act 3

@warnercrocker.com@warnercrocker.com · 4 days ago

The Roses: A Mini-Review

I often don’t find remakes of films to be worthwhile. That’s not the case with Jay Roach’s reimagining of the 1989 film The War of The Roses, based on Warren Adler’s book of the same name. Titled simply and tellingly, The Roses, this remake worked for me.

I enjoyed this version better than the much beloved original. Perhaps it’s the time or the timing, but the fact that the remake focuses more on the comedy and less on the black comedy is what won me over. Don’t get me wrong. I love black comedy and this film is still in that genre, but the brightness of the comedy is what makes it work.

The star pairing of Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Colman is sublime. As a couple who seem to have it all before they start tearing everything to shreds, Cumberbatch and Colman deliver as delicious a repartee as the dishes Colman’s character whips up with her cooking. Roach plants the moments for the payoffs perfectly, and even pays homage to the original with a few clever winks. Everything makes sense in the story’s update to our current era including a delightful spin on the perils of having a new home designed from the ground up with smart technology.

Fans of the original know where the story is going, but this time around I found myself almost rooting for a different ending, just to keep the banter going. Scathing wit hasn’t been this much fun since Hepburn and Tracy.

The supporting cast that includes among others Andy Samberg, Allison Janney, and Kate McKinnon is superb though a bit underutilized. Even so, they do deliver a delightful ensemble turn as Americans enjoying and being seduced by their own growing, yet completely naive awareness of the lead couple’s Britishness.

The Roses was released late in the summer of 2025 and I just caught up with it on streaming (Disney+) and I’m glad I did. Whether you’re a fan of the original or not, this remake is a good and funny diversion amidst all of the bad times we’re living through. To top it off, Colman and Cumberbatch deliver a master class in comedy.

You can also find more of my writings on a variety of topics on Medium at this link, including in the publications Ellemeno and Rome. I can also be found on social media under my name as above.

#AndySamberg #BenedictCumberbatch #Comedy #Disney #Film #films #JayRoach #movieReview #Movies #OlivaColman #reviews #TheRoses #TV