What to know about 'true events' behind Netflix's 'Squid Game'
Jul. 8th, 2025 11:00 am![[syndicated profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/feed.png)
Notes: I am 5 years old at my grandma’s birthday party. They have a dance contest with prizes to entertain us. My 8 year old female cousin and a couple other kids participate. The song that they played was YMCA. Me: *Dances with the hand and arm motions.* Apparently my attempt was adorable enough. Grandma: […]
(My Mum used to be a bit of an old school feminist in her day and still has a passing belief in those tenets, though never bothers to enforce them. My Family is driving home after a meal, and my Dad breaks hard.) Mum:*Laughing* What are you doing?! Me: Driving like a tw*t apparently. Dad: […]
If you've ever dreamed of meeting Garfield in real life, brace yourself because the internet is full of feline floofs who look like they just walked out of a lasagna pan. These orange chonksters are serving up sass, side-eyes, and serious snack envy. With their big bellies, perpetually unimpressed faces, and a tendency to sprawl dramatically across any surface they deem nap-worthy, these cats are the purrfect real-life Garfield doppelgängers.
Much like their cartoon counterpart, they seem to live by three rules: hate Mondays, love carbs, and nap like it's a full-time job. Whether they're glaring at the dog, knocking over your coffee in protest of being awake, or plotting their next fridge raid, these ginger goofballs are feline icons in the making.
Some might say they're ameowzingly relatable, others might call them pawsitively lazy, but we call them purrfection. So grab some lasagna (or at least a snack), curl up on the couch, and enjoy these Garfield lookalikes living their best nine lives, one nap at a time.
Fluff. Chaos. Drama! Our weekly cat newsletter has it all - subscribe here.
Gooood meowrning, feline fam. We learned something new today, and it's not often that we learn something new about cats as someone who considers themselves an expurrt on all things feline-related. We love to write about unique cats because they're just so cool to look at (and awwdorable!), and today we found a new breed of cat that we had never heard of before - the Selkirk Rex! Actually, any cat breed with the name "Rex" in it should have some sort of curly-haired gene.
These cats are born with a rare genetic mutation that causes their fur to be curly, and it is literally the cutest thing on the internet. No, they didn't just get back from the hairdresser - they were born this way! They look so soft and cuddly that even just scrolling through pictures of them wraps our hearts in a wholesome feline embrace. Give yourself a nice scroll and turn your day into a wholesome tangle of purrs thanks to these kitty cuties!
Fluff. Chaos. Drama! Our weekly cat newsletter has it all - subscribe here.
Relationships can be difficult. Adding existing cats into those relationships can make them even more difficult. That's something that you have to think about in advance. If you have a cat and are looking for a partner, then you need to look for partners who are okay with you having a cat. Simple, right? Not always. Cats can cause drama in relationships. Bad drama. Like some people being jealous of their partner's affection for their cats, and some people thinking that their partners are unhygienic for kissing their cat's foreheads, even as far as some people telling their partners that it's them or the cats.
Cats can be the cause of drama in relationships for sure, but they can also be the cause of drama in friendships. And this story is like the culmination of both. Two best friends, and one of them, unfortunately, has an insufferable boyfriend who has an allergy to cats. And just like that… drama.
Fluff. Chaos. Drama! Our weekly cat newsletter has it all - subscribe here.
(My parents are keeping my toddler for the weekend and take him to visit my brother and his wife. When they arrive, my son sits on the floor, playing with the dog’s ball. A few minutes later, my brother’s large dog comes out of their bedroom, having just woke up from her nap. She spots […]
It’s halftime during the Super Bowl. This is when every disorganized watch party sends people out for top-ups of chips, beer, and last-minute party food. I’m on self-checkout, moving between stations like I’m on rollerblades.
(There was a time when my boyfriend and I would often be late for family gatherings. His family let us know that this annoyed them, which was completely justified, so we vowed to do better.) Boyfriend’s Sister: (Boyfriend), I’m planning on buying a new TV, and I’d like you and (My Name) to meet me […]
I was approaching the checkout carrying just a box of tampons. To anyone with a clue, a guy with just a box of tampons means only one thing: a woman is in distress somewhere. There were only 2 open cashiers and somewhat long lines and it was approaching the midnight closing time. A man at […]
Happy Tuesday, everyone!
Have I mentioned how many good releases are coming out this month? This week, we have more fantasy romances (they never end!), a mystery, contemporary romance, and a YA historical romance.
What’s on your TBR pile this week? Let us know in the comments!
Author: Elly Griffiths
Released: July 8, 2025 by Pamela Dorman Books
Genre: Mystery/Thriller, Time Travel
Series: Ali Dawson #1
Cold cases are a lot easier to solve when you can travel back in time to find new evidence—unless, that is, you get stuck in the nineteenth century.
Ali Dawson and her cold case team investigate crimes so old they’re frozen—or so their inside joke goes. Ali’s work seems like a safe desk job, but what her friends—and even her beloved son—don’t know is that her team has a secret: They can travel back in time to look for evidence.
So far Ali has made trips only to the recent past, so she’s surprised when she’s asked to investigate a murder that took place in 1850. The killing has been pinned on an aristocratic patron of the arts and antiquities, a member of a sinister group called “The Collectors.” She arrives in the Victorian era during a mini ice age to find another dead woman at her feet and far too many unanswered questions. But when her son is arrested, Ali attempts to return home only to find herself trapped in 1850.
Amanda: I haven’t been into mysteries lately, but this sounds interesting.
Author: S. Isabelle
Released: July 8, 2025 by Storytide
Genre: Historical: European, Romance, Young Adult
This wildly entertaining YA historical romance follows a young Black woman in 1860s England who yearns for a writing career and independence rather than love and marriage, but an unexpected inheritance forces her into London society and reunites her with the boy who broke her heart. Perfect for fans of The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue and The Davenports.
Eighteen-year-old Stella Sedgwick is a lost cause. While 1860s England offers little opportunity beyond marriage for a sharp-tongued, dark-skinned girl, Stella dreams of a writing career and independence.
When her late mother’s former employer—the wealthy Thomas Fitzroy—summons Stella to London, he bequeaths her one of the family’s great estates on his deathbed. But such an inheritance will precipitate a legal battle, one that would be much easier if Stella were married. Suddenly thrust into lily-white London society with the goal of finding a husband, Stella also reunites with the Fitzroy heir Nathaniel, her childhood best friend, now somewhat of a stranger.
But London presents other opportunities, like picking up her mother’s old advice column, where “Fiona Flippant” anonymously guided readers through upper-class perils. It turns out the dresses and balls aren’t so bad, though the stares and insults sometimes feel impossible to navigate. Things only grow more complicated with the attention of handsome suitors and Stella’s increasingly tempestuous relationship with Nathaniel. As new opportunities arise and old secrets are uncovered, Stella must decide when to play by the rules, when to break them, and when to let herself follow her heart.
Shana: This has one of the most beautiful covers I’ve seen all year and I can’t wait to read it.
Author: Brigitte Knightley
Released: July 8, 2025 by Ace
Genre: Fantasy/Fairy Tale Romance, Historical: European, Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy
Series: Dearly Beloathed #1
Loyalties are tested in this enemies-to-lovers romantasy set in an alternate England following an assassin and a healer forced to work together to cure a fatal disease, all while resisting the urge to kill each other—or worse, fall in love.
When Osric Mordaunt, member of the Fyren Order of assassins, falls ill, he realises he needs the expertise of a very specific healer. As fate would have it, that healer belongs to an enemy faction, the Haelan Order.
Aurienne Fairhrim and her fellow Haelan are inundated by sick children suffering from an outbreak of a long-forgotten Pox. Unable to get the funding needed to launch an immunisation programme, the Haelan Order is desperate for money – so desperate that, when Osric breaks into their headquarters to bribe Aurienne to heal him, she is forced to accept.
As Osric and Aurienne work together to solve not only his illness but the mysterious reoccurrence of the Pox, they find themselves ardently denying an attraction which only fuels the tension between them.
Amanda: Dramione book #1 this month. This is such a slow burn.
Author: Julie Soto
Released: July 8, 2025 by Forever
Genre: Fantasy/Fairy Tale Romance, Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy
Series: The Evermore Trilogy #1
New York Times bestselling author Julie Soto crafts a lush and dark romantic fantasy that’s filled with intrigue, magic, and an irresistible enemies-to-lovers romance.
The war is over, the dark forces have won, and the hero who was supposed to save them is dead.
Captured as her castle is overrun by the enemy, the world as Briony Rosewood knows it is changed forever. Evil has won, and her people face imminent servitude, imprisonment, or death.
Stripped of her Magic and her freedom, Briony and the other survivors are quickly sold off to the highest bidders in an auction—and as Evermore’s princess, she fetches the highest price. After a fierce bidding war, she’s sold to none other than Toven Hearst, scion of a family known for their cruelty.
Yet despite the horrors of her new world and the role she must learn to play within it, all is not lost. Help—and hope—may yet arise in the most unlikely of places…
Amanda: The second of two Dramione books coming out. I’m in heaven.
Author: Maggie Rapier
Released: July 8, 2025 by Ace
Genre: Fantasy/Fairy Tale Romance, Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy
Series: The Magpie and the Wolf Duology #1
Every legend has a beginning.
With their freedom on the line, a young woman and a rakish pirate take their fate into their own hands as they attempt to find a lost mythical isle with the power to save their entire world.
Saoirse yearns to be powerless. Cursed from childhood with a volatile magic, she’s managed to imprison it within, living under constant terror that one day it will break free. And it does, changing everything.
Horrified at her loss of control, Saoirse’s parents offer her hand to the cold and ruthless Stone King. Knowing she’ll never survive such a cruel man, Saoirse realizes there is only one path forward…she must break her curse.
On the eve of her wedding, Saoirse seeks out the legendary Wolf of the Wild—Faolan, a feral, silver-tongued pirate. He swears to help rid her of the deadly magic, if she’ll use it to locate a lost mythical isle first. Crafted by the slaughtered gods, it’s the only land that could absorb her power.
But Saoirse knows better than to trust a pirate’s word. With the wrath of her disgraced father and scorned betrothed chasing them, Saoirse adds one last condition to protect if Faolan wants her on his ship, he’ll have to marry her first.
“A tale rife with longing, extraordinary tenderness and delicious tension. A glorious escape for the heart and imagination.”—Roshani Chokshi, New York Times bestselling author of Last Tale of the Flower Bride
Elyse: Pirates!
Lara: I will read this book for that gorgeous cover alone. The pirates are a bonus.
Author: Scarlett St. Clair
Released: July 8, 2025 by Bloom Books
Genre: Fantasy/Fairy Tale Romance, Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy
Series: Blood of Lilith #1
Every legend has a beginning.
With their freedom on the line, a young woman and a rakish pirate take their fate into their own hands as they attempt to find a lost mythical isle with the power to save their entire world.
Saoirse yearns to be powerless. Cursed from childhood with a volatile magic, she’s managed to imprison it within, living under constant terror that one day it will break free. And it does, changing everything.
Horrified at her loss of control, Saoirse’s parents offer her hand to the cold and ruthless Stone King. Knowing she’ll never survive such a cruel man, Saoirse realizes there is only one path forward…she must break her curse.
On the eve of her wedding, Saoirse seeks out the legendary Wolf of the Wild—Faolan, a feral, silver-tongued pirate. He swears to help rid her of the deadly magic, if she’ll use it to locate a lost mythical isle first. Crafted by the slaughtered gods, it’s the only land that could absorb her power.
But Saoirse knows better than to trust a pirate’s word. With the wrath of her disgraced father and scorned betrothed chasing them, Saoirse adds one last condition to protect if Faolan wants her on his ship, he’ll have to marry her first.
“A tale rife with longing, extraordinary tenderness and delicious tension. A glorious escape for the heart and imagination.”—Roshani Chokshi, New York Times bestselling author of Last Tale of the Flower Bride
Amanda: Look at that cover!
Author: Sarah MacLean
Released: July 8, 2025 by Ballantine Books
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Literary Fiction, Romance
New York Times bestselling author Sarah MacLean’s first foray into contemporary fiction, with a sharp, sexy novel about a wealthy New England family’s long-overdue reckoning with hidden desires, destructive secrets…and one week that threatens to tear them apart
Alice isn’t like the other Storm siblings. While the rest stayed to battle for their parents’ approval, attention, and untold billions, she left, building her own life beyond the family’s name and influence. Nothing could induce her to come back, except the shocking death of her larger-than-life father. Now back on the family’s private island off the Rhode Island coast, she plans to keep her head down, pay the last of her respects, and leave the minute the funeral is over.
Unfortunately, her father had other plans. The eccentric, manipulative patriarch left his widow and their grown children a final challenge–an inheritance game designed to humiliate, devastate, and unravel the Storm family in ways both petty and life-altering. The rules of the game are clear: stay on the island for one week, complete the tasks, receive the inheritance.
One week on Storm Island is an impossible task for Alice. Every corner of the sprawling old house is bursting dysfunctional chaos: Her older sister’s secret love affair. Her brother’s incessant mansplaining. Her sister-in-law’s unapologetic greed. Her younger sister’s obsession with “vibes”. Her mother’s penchant for stirring up competition between her children. And all under the stern, watchful gaze of Jack Dean, her father’s enigmatic, unfairly good-looking, second-in-command. It will be a miracle if Alice manages to escape the week unscathed.
A story about the transformative power of grief, love, and family, this luscious novel is at once deliciously clever and surprisingly tender, exploring past secrets, present truths, and futures forged in the wake of wild summer storms.
Sarah MacLean’s contemporary fiction with a dose of romance.
Author: Elissa Sussman
Released: July 8, 2025 by Dell
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Romance
From the bestselling author of Funny You Should Ask comes an inspiring romance novel about honoring the past, living in the present, and loving for the future.
In her small Montana hometown, Lauren Parker has assumed a few different roles: teenage hellraiser; sister of superstar Gabe Parker; and most recently, tragically widowed single mother. She’s never cared much about labels or what people thought about her, but dealing with her grief has slowly revealed that she’s become adrift in her own life.
Then she meets the devilishly handsome actor Ben Walsh on the set of her brother’s new movie. They have instant chemistry, and Lauren realizes that it has been far too long since someone has really and truly seen her. Her rebellious spirit spurs her to dive headfirst into her desire, but when a sexy encounter becomes something more, Lauren finds herself balancing old roles and new possibilities.
There’s still plenty to contend with: small-town rumors, the complications of Ben’s fame, and her daughter’s unpredictable moods. An unexpected fling seemed simple at the time—so when did everything with Ben get so complicated? And is there enough room in her life for the woman Lauren wants to be? Alternating between Lauren’s past with Spencer and her present with Ben, Totally and Completely Fine illuminates what it means to find a life-changing love and be true to oneself in the process.
Elyse: These characters appeared in Funny You Should Ask which I absolutely loved.
Author: Megan Bannen
Released: July 8, 2025 by Orbit
Genre: Paranormal, Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy
Series: Hart and Mercy #3
From the author of The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy comes a new heartwarming fantasy rom-com with an opposites-attract twist set in the delightful, donut- and dragon-filled world of Tanria.
Immortal demigod Rosie Fox has been patrolling Tanria for decades, but lately, the job has been losing its luster. When Rosie dies (again) by electrocution (again) after poking around inside a portal choked with shadowy thorns, she feels stuck in the rut that is her unending life.
The portal’s uptight creator, Adam Lee, must come in person to repair the damage. But when all the portals break down at once, Rosie and Adam wind up trapped inside the Mist. And the reticent inventor in his bespoke menswear seems to know a lot more about what’s happening than he lets on.
Maybe two people who have found themselves stuck in this thorny, tangled life together can find a way to unstick each other … just when their time on this earth seems to be running out.
Book three in the much loved Hart and Mercy series.
Read Refunder Blunder: Ultimate Edition
Last year, they got a refund of about seven thousand dollars. This year, due to their low withholding, they’ve got to pay Uncle Sam about a hundred dollars.
They’re not pleased about this and keep asking me to explain why they didn’t get their refund.
Read Give Me My Window Or Aisle Make A Scene
I was travelling to Las Vegas to meet up with some friends and pre-booked my seat. With this airline, they charge extra for certain seats. I chose a window seat with extra leg room due to my disability, which cost me an additional $45.
When boarding, there was a man in my seat with another in the aisle seat.
And, hence, the Republican Party’s:
There have been 1,267 confirmed cases of measles in the U.S. this year, almost 4.5 times the total for all of last year and on track to pass the highest annual count since the disease was declared eliminated in 2000, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Why it matters: While the disease isn’t consistently spreading due to immunization campaigns, there have been outbreaks well beyond West Texas, where low immunization rates and high school exemptions stoked spread of the highly contagious virus early this year.
Driving the news: There have been 27 outbreaks reported in the U.S. so far this year, accounting for 88% percent of the cases. In comparison, there were 16 outbreaks across the entire year in 2024 and 69% of cases were associated with those outbreaks.
And we can’t even say that this is something Trump voters didn’t want.
The post RFK’s mass murder event appeared first on Lawyers, Guns & Money.
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 8, 2025 is:
exemplary \ig-ZEM-pluh-ree\ adjective
Something described as exemplary is extremely good and deserves to be admired and copied.
// Our research team was awarded for our exemplary work on the project.
Examples:
“[Director, Oliver] Hermanus again shows highly polished craftsmanship, adding the subtlest hint of sepia tones to evoke the period in the early sections, but never to the point where the characters compete with the settings. His direction of the actors is exemplary, even with characters seen only briefly ...” — David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 21 May 2025
Did you know?
It’s usually not a good thing if someone wants to make an example of you, unless, of course, it’s because you happen to be exemplary. Imitation being the sincerest form of flattery, someone or something may be deemed exemplary if they, by their example, are worthy of imitation. Like a few other English words beginning with ex—such as exceptional and extraordinary—exemplary describes that which is a cut above the rest. But though exemplary, which comes from the Latin noun exemplum (“example”), describes something “excellent,” it almost always carries the further suggestion that the thing described is an excellent model to follow.