Broken by Celine, on Kensington Palace's Kate guidance, celebrity podcasts worth a listen, Kylie Jenner and the cost of beauty, British actors and Hollywood, starting with K-Dramas, and more
No, I randomly saw him in Solvang, CA. He looked embarrassed but pleased when I recognized him. :) He's so freaking funny. We quote 55 BURGERS every single time we go through a drive through.
"If you’re 25 you look 35+. If you’re 60 you look 40. Everyone just looks 40! At least in North America."
I turned actual 40 a couple of months ago and I have not been able to figure out if I "look like" I'm 40 and now I know why. What the hell does 40 even look like?
Part of this conversation is also that Gen x was the first cohort to grow up not completely surrounded by lead, and millennials are the first generation that had sunscreen from childhood. 40 is never going to look like 40 used to look. You know what I mean?
I also think that a lot of us 40+ somethings look younger because we are all waiting longer to have kids! I just had my first at 41 and I always get told that I look way younger than I am. Stress adds years!
The sunscreen thing is so huge. My mom is in her early 70s and she looks SO much younger than her peers cause she was a sunscreen early adopter in the 80s. Plus we are from Gulf coast Texas and its so humid it keeps people looking younger (plus, as a general rule no one's going outside cause it's too hot lol)
There is an epidemic of aesthetic sameness, and it's weird and jarring as a middle aged lady who contemplates my own changes and how I might handle them down the road. It's not only the fillers and trout pouts that make the kids look substantially older. It's also their tragically fake eyebrows and the super-beat contoured faces.
I feel like the overwhelming emphasis on painted-on artificiality takes away all youthful dewiness. But I'm just an Old over here with a sidepart and skinny jeans, and I'm also apparently wearing the wrong socks now, too.
Re. British actors: I feel like there was a gigantic wave of Brits in Hollywood in the mid-nineties or so, led mostly by Kenneth and Emma and Helena and Antony. I remember a lot of stuffy dramas taking place in grand houses with lots of mannered, sexual tension. Did that ever go away? Downton Abbey does NOT count.
But I really just wanted to come here and thank the LG writers for their cat content this week. The Quiet Place: Day One spoiler was much appreciated, and I love Halle Berry even more for saving her backyard kitties. That post made me so happy. Bless her. <3
Super relieved to finally be able to post about the Celine documentary. I work in post-production, so saw this a few months ago. It absolutely destroyed me. Been thinking about it ever since. One of my biggest takeaways from the last 15 minutes is that if Celine didn't have the kind of wealth she has... she would have died already. So part of me feels that by including the last part, she is doing a service to others in showing just what this disease is, and only one person who has it has the resources of Celine Dion. Here in Quebec, she's always been a huge advocate for cystic fibrosis, and it's wonderful to see her carrying on the tradition of speaking out.
Side note: Also went to NYC recently, also got COVID for the first time from that trip. I'm the most vaccinated person I know. Mask up and be safe out there, Squawkers! (And take the best of care, Lainey!) There are new variants spreading like wildfire. <3
Ok here are my feelings after watching the Celine doc: a) the woman is fucking fearless; b) it seems like she has a good team around her but I hope she also has friends. That big empty house in Vegas seemed like a gilded prison; c) I know she’s beloved but is it possible she doesn’t get the credit and respect she deserves? I loved seeing her show her work, to use Lainey’s words; d) I feel like I’m more aware of her grief over Rene’s death. It hit me of how much she’s had to face alone after losing him
I’m a big fan of Anderson Cooper’s podcast “All There Is.” He’s exploring grief, sharing his own experience unpacking his decades of emotions over the deaths of his parents and brother, but also talking with people dealing with their own major losses. Most guests are non-famous but he’s also featured people like Ashley Judd, Stephen Colbert, and Molly Shannon. It can be incredibly raw and vulnerable. I realize this isn’t “fun” celebrity talk, but I love that he’s normalizing grief.
I could talk forever about beauty standards and how they are so malleable based on geographic location, social class (or desired social class), religion, peer group, etc.
I live in CT but work in NY and London and there are such small but instantly perceived differences among those groups. I don't see much filler here, but lasers are VERY popular. The 'resting rich face' aesthetic I see (term stolen from a makeup artist on tiktok) is the goal. That generally translates to an even skin tone (no hyperpigmentation), freckles/light tan as signs of outdoor hobbies, movement around the eyes/mouth (not the forehead!), and natural looking lips. Eyebrow shaping/tinting, lash lifts, and even 'lip blushing' are regular appointments all in service of not wearing much, if any, makeup on a daily basis. I'm always slightly surprised by how much makeup people wear in NYC - the older I get the more it ages me!
I just watched the beauty videos Lainey posted, and I can't figure out what the nose paper strings are doing. Also that Ethan Hunt face removal has me curious because this was a face nothing like the original all from temporary materials. Everything was removable. Intriguing.
My algorithms started feeding me some beauty content recently and I was dumbfounded by the staff at a plastic surgeon's office, all counting off how many injections of Botox they each had. From ages 25 to 60, they all had Botox and I was shocked by the ones in their 20s because 1) I didn't think women that young needed Botox and 2) they looked WAY older than 20s because of the fillers. Some still looked pretty natural, but others had that really fake, plastic look (I guess what we're calling an IG face) and it just made me sad. What's wrong with aging naturally? I feel like maybe I'm the stupid one for not feeling like I need it. As I get further into my 40s, I feel like I should be doing more but when I see women like that, I'm terrified of what it'll do to my face.
There's a male nurse that is beautiful, but one of his friends should pump the brakes. Not so much a need as it's popular, and someone I know is friends with someone that owns a spa and this proprietor goes around giving unsolicited pressure to people in her social group formerly okay with their faces. There's one convert that was attractive and now looks unreal and puffy. The proprietor has her own look as well.
One of my favorite starter pack KDrama recommendations is HEALER!
Ji Chang Wook & Park Min Young. He's a mysterious night courier. She is a spunky tabloid reporter. Of course their paths cross, when she is targeted as his next assignment...and the angsty goodness just flows from there. You will never view handholding the same again! It's available on Prime (with an added Kocowa subscription) and Viki.
I wonder if McDonalds is like cotton candy or s’mores - I have a theory that you have to start as a child or everything is ruined. I was raised strictly Waldorf forest nymph, with no tv, plastic toys, or processed foods (also no fluoride or iodine - fun!). I started eating fast food in my late 20s and genuinely enjoy InNOut and Habit Burger, am okay with Carl’s Jr and a couple others, but I cannot abide McDonalds or Burger King. Did I start too late??
I didn't eat McDonald's for a period of several years. No real reason, just didn't eat McDonald's for a while, and then I tried to have some and it made me sick. Havent had McDonald's since. I think you have to build up some kind of bacteria in your gut to digest it, if you don't do that, it will never be good.
I never ate McDonald's regularly--we were so poor in my teenage years that fast food was a treat and we usually got that treat elsewhere. (I still remember those Burger King international chicken sandwiches fondly and do Rally's still exist?) But nowadays, every couple of years, I would get an egg McMuffin at an airport and it is so good.
Ditto - was never allowed Maccas when I was young so of course my first part time job in high school was at Maccas where I gorged like a crazy person. Favourite order is two cheeseburgers with mayonnaise (a game changer if you’ve never tried it), six pack nuggets with sweet n sour sauce and barbecue, large fries with ketchup and a sundae with chocolate sauce on the bottom and caramel sauce with a Flake bar added on top. If you want your burger fresh then ask for no onion (or some other condiment removed) as that’ll guarantee it’s made fresh!
Indigestible if I eat more than a plain cheeseburger and small fries. Anything more and it just sits in my stomach like a rock for 24 hours. Indigestible. I can’t understand how Lainey and Jacek can eat two sandwiches apiece plus fries! Insanity!!
I hate them too, and particularly in s'mores, because if there's anything I hate more than marshmallows, it's graham crackers. Graham crackers are just cardboard shaped to look like food. Don't waste good chocolate on these abominations!
I don't think McDonald's is for a solid delicious meal (except the fries... those are lab perfect. Some might say the searing fried pies). It's consistent, but not setting off flavor parties. Is Habit a west coast thing? InNOut is one place that I feel like could improve their fries (I never want to pretend animal style is a good choice again). Shake Shack has my burger vote. Five Guys has decent fries. I don't think of McD's when I think about burgers. Thank your parents for good judgement.
We could discuss Whataburger, but they've been sold to some other folks, and I don't want to talk about bad things.
Totally. If we want to do proper burgers we'll do something like Burger's Priest or No Bull, but McDonalds hits a certain spot when you need something fast and greasy. Like if you know you're in between lunch and dinner and can't quite make it cause your stomach is already talking to you and you need a little something in there to hold you over. Definitely not solid. I'm usually hungry again 2 hours later.
I’m all about the McNuggets on route home after the airport. It’s a long-standing tradition for me too. I truly have ZERO urge to eat it at any other time. But for some reason it just hits the right spot coming home tired from a long day of travel.
Habit might be west coast, I’m in CA. The only actually functional and fun to eat lettuce wrap I’ve ever had. I like InNOut fries, but I think I’m just a sucker for someone cutting up a potato and frying it instead of using the reconstituted mush. Not that the mush isn’t good, it is objectively better.
A crispy fried real potato fry is preferred. InNOut hasn't reached crispy to me. Five Guys does most of the times I've been. The non decaying mush is lab perfect, but not exactly good for people. Just soothing.
It's probably more of a regional news story. So far, they've only made small edits. Someone is smart enough not to move too fast with bad changes. Small ones.
Oh no! I missed that Whataburger news too! Growing up in Austin in the 80s and 90s our family never ate at McDonalds, just Whataburger for burgers. I don't think it was for any specific reason, that's just what we did. Whataburger back in the day was fantastic. Now days I don't eat burgers so can't comment on their quality or any other chain. Not that I have some high falutin taste, it's just a preference for more vegetarian options, some of which I know are garbage like the Taco Bell bean burrito 😝
That bean burrito is inexplicably perfect for eliminating hunger and bad vibes.
Yup, they sold it and they've dropped some custom options. First Whole Foods sold to someone from Seattle, and now someone from Chicago owns Whataburger. Losing recipes, indeed.
I'm old, old enough to remember what the original McDonald's fries were like, and how the original Big Mac tasted. The modern versions pale in comparison. I will rarely eat a fish sandwich and fries if they're fresh, but it's not the same experience. The same is true for Steak and Shake, it's just not delicious like it once was.
Here in the midwest we have Culvers, and I like many things from there. Decent burgers, good fish, they have a potroast sandwich is quite tasty, and soup in the winter. The fries are okay, but the cheese curds are delicious when fresh. So that's my go-to when I'm in the city and need a fast food burger fix.
Malcolm Gladwell has a really cool podcast episode how McDonald's was pressured to stop frying in beef tallow and use vegetable oil instead by an influential nutritionist bent on eliminating cholesterol from our diets.
Come to find out, years later, that highly processed vegetable oils are unstable at high heats and, bonus: are less yummy.
A Mexican joint where I lived in cooked their fries in animal fat and they were the best I've ever tasted.
Oooh when I was in Crete big fat fries were a huge part of the diet (not too many crops possible) and they were fried in olive oil and animal fat and they were SO good.
Yes, the animal fats make the tastiest fried potatoes. All the places that sold fried foods used beef tallow when I was a kid, and it was always delicious. My grandma fried her potatoes in lard, and they were also delicious. I do love my animal fats.
CULVERS!! I’m in Illinois and the first time I went into one we were so confused by the custard options. We kept asking what flavors they had and the poor girl behind the counter was like “the flavor of the day is xyz” and we were like “hmm what else do you have?!” She clearly didn’t want to be rude but we were dumb. We figured it out eventually and they’ve upped their signage significantly since then!
Yes the custard is good but it can be confusing. I first encountered Culvers when I went to live with my sister and take care of her (she's somewhat disabled.) We lived in Aurora, and the Culvers were everywhere. Then when she retired we moved back to Missouri and the Culvers followed us here. I'm not mad about that. :D
I think so. My son has allergies and couldn't eat most mass prepared foods for years. He'll do Wendy's nuggets/Frosty's happily but hates just about any place else.
I haven't eaten at McDonald's in over a decade. (I caved when I was in China. There was one next to our hotel and I gave in in a moment of weakness. In my defense, I was pregnant.) I would commit illegal acts for an In-n-Out cheeseburger on the regular. I need them to come further east.
For those who want a slightly more literary--for the lack of a better word--take on K-drama, I would say TWENTY FIVE TWENTY ONE. I rarely rave about performances because I care more about story but omg, the female lead was a revelation and I actually knew her from other works and did not recognize her at all. I was like, where did they find this phenomenal kid and did they have labor laws that underage actors cannot be overworked only to find out that she was 30 when she made the show and wow, I'd never seen a more convincing teenager on the screen.
Another literally more literary one is IT'S OKAY NOT TO BE OKAY. Like with CRASH LANDING (yes, definitely persist), I wasn't completely sure about the show after the first episode, but it has actual bitter-tart children's books animated at the end of episode 1 and I watched the show for more of those children's book animations. There were only a few more of those, but I do not regret following the show at all. (In a way, OKAY is like the inverse of CRASH LANDING, the hero was poor at the beginning and no richer at the end, and he is this wonderful guy who takes care of everyone else yet you will find out, he has always been haunted by a secret, less-than-wonderful moment and the heroine knew about that moment all along, and that is like catnip to me.)
I started watching dramas a couple of years ago, both due to Lainey’s nagging, and because I gave up cable but couldn’t stand the anxiety of picking something to watch every day. They’re at least 16 hours long, so, that solves the selection stress for a good long while. I enjoy them because nothing happens, and then everything happens, there’s usually some sort of wild coincidence/mythology thing, and everyone is impossibly beautiful. And I acknowledge that I mostly watch the romantic/historical/mythology ones. I’m not up for a steady diet of gritty slice-of-life stories.
The plot and dialogue rhythms are different from North America, so that did take a bit of an adjustment. Some of the acting is incredibly mannered. I watch with subtitles on, with the original voices because I found the voice acting in the the dubbing never matched what was happening on screen. I’m pretty certain that the subtitles don’t actually match what they’re saying, but at least you get a better sense of tone than the dubbed versions.
There is a LOT of looking at each other. A lot. Even where they don’t drag out the enemies to lovers trope, the first kiss doesn’t come until at least episode 6.
A starting list would depend on what streamers someone has, and what they’re willing to pay for. Netflix has Crash Landing. And Extraordinary Attorney Woo (neurodivergent lawyer navigating relationships and office life, with a crime of the week). Oh, and Her Private Life (Art gallery curator by day, Kpop fan girl by night). Prime has Marry My Husband (lead is killed by her husband for the insurance money (yes. I know), and goes back in time where she sets about changing the future of herself and everyone she cares about). And Queen of Tears (so much crying).
You need Viki if you want Lovely Runner. But then, you also get Guardian, the Great And Lonely God (900+ year old goblin who is looking for his Goblin Bride so that he can finally end his punishment and die). Is Guardian/Goblin problematic as all get out, what with a 900 year old man basically grooming his prospective wife? Yes. Is it also funny? Yes. And Gong Yoo. And Gong Yoo with Lee Dong-wook as roommates.
Thanks to you and Lainey for these recs! I too had trouble getting into Crash Landing, but by episode 3 I was HOOKED. I also love Attorney Woo. My issues with K Dramas are 1- there are so many, it’s overwhelming to find the next one! And 2- they are often (always?) limited series, so there’s such a huge letdown when it’s over.
The children's books in the show were so popular that they published them. The stories and illustrations were very different from anything I'd seen. I ordered them not thinking about how I don't speak or read Korean! I need to go back to the show to be able to translate them.
McDonald's Order: Filet of Fish meal with Diet Coke. McDonald's has great consistency with the quality of their fries. If I want a snack and not a meal, I'll get a hot fudge sundae with extra hot fudge. And their soda is better. My friend and I call it "Premium Soda". For real, it's actually better than everywhere else. https://www.rd.com/article/mcdonalds-coke/
Sarah - care to share more about your supreme disinterest in Pamela Adlon? I loved Better Thjngs and have watched the trailer for Babes on repeat. Do I need to curb my Pamela Adlon fandom?
We screened her film Babes at the film festival I'm a programmer for, and she was awful, jerking us around and making us pay for a lot of stuff that we never should be on the hook for. She really took advantage of us. 0/10 stars
I should add that we had already invited the film and the distributor approved it, so we were basically locked into scheduling it, and she really took advantage of the fact that we couldn't back out of the deal.
My McDonalds is McDouble and small fries and a Coke when I have to eat while driving/on the road. If I get to sit down, then a BigMac value meal is my pick. It’s not #1 for nothing!
I’m glad that KP’s work is less sloppy. I’m also feeling like I’m not very interested in the royals anymore (including Harry & Meghan) and I wonder if that’s because they were only fascinating when they were battling it out amongst each other…?
Now that both sides seem to have calmed down, perhaps this is actually not good in terms of the public’s interest. Also, that probably says a lot about how I like my gossip lol.
Anyway, I noticed not a single comment on the royals for this post so perhaps this is the beginning of the end of this antiquated circus.
I think BP stepped in and got KP to organize themselves. The Queen never ran a shit show in comms either especially after the blip with Diana. I think William was running stuff a bit too much until now and it shows. It is also more likely that Kate linked up with BP as she seemed to do with the bench video, which was the first decent response to all the mess before this.
And yes the time for this antiquated soap opera to end is now.
I’m still interested in the antiquated circus! But I’m not interested in sad smut so I stopped talking about a young mother with cancer, a grandpa with cancer, and a great-aunt hospitalized with a horse-related concussion. And I don’t engage with TS content so all I’ll say there is that it was really nice to see such genuine smiles.
Once the family is back at it full-time, I’m sure the public will go back to breathlessly analyzing every jewel and curtesy. Also, those kids are growing up and I’m already seeing people struggling to contain their eagerness to speculate about them
Celine doc: I posted yesterday about those last 15 minutes being ROUGH. I did read that Celine made the decision to keep that part, but it made me feel very intrusive and I already understood how very much she's been suffering without that scene.
McDonalds: Onions. They either have to be completely cooked (sauteed in butter or included in a sauce) or completely raw (slice on a burger). I cannot do a slimy onion with a bit of a crunch. McDonalds burgers came with the slimy crunch kind and, as they were premade and under a heating lamp in my day, you had to wait for a special order and my mom would not wait. Burger King you could "have it your way" but they were more expensive so that was also a no for my mom. I ate french fries instead.
My McDonald's order is
55 BURGERS 55 FRIES 55 TACOS 55 PIES 55 COKES 100 TATER TOTS 100 PIZZA 100 TENDERS 100 MEATBALLS 100 COFFEES 55 WINGS 55 SHAKES 55 PANCAKES 55 PASTAS 55 PASTAS AND 155 TATERS
Yes! Just came to post this! LOL. I met Tim Robinson a few months ago and almost yelled this out to him, but politely waved to him instead.
Did you go to the live show?
No, I randomly saw him in Solvang, CA. He looked embarrassed but pleased when I recognized him. :) He's so freaking funny. We quote 55 BURGERS every single time we go through a drive through.
"If you’re 25 you look 35+. If you’re 60 you look 40. Everyone just looks 40! At least in North America."
I turned actual 40 a couple of months ago and I have not been able to figure out if I "look like" I'm 40 and now I know why. What the hell does 40 even look like?
Part of this conversation is also that Gen x was the first cohort to grow up not completely surrounded by lead, and millennials are the first generation that had sunscreen from childhood. 40 is never going to look like 40 used to look. You know what I mean?
Oh, I never thought of that, but good point! I smoked for 15 years but my skin is still better than my mom's at the same age, I guess sunscreen works!
I also think that a lot of us 40+ somethings look younger because we are all waiting longer to have kids! I just had my first at 41 and I always get told that I look way younger than I am. Stress adds years!
The sunscreen thing is so huge. My mom is in her early 70s and she looks SO much younger than her peers cause she was a sunscreen early adopter in the 80s. Plus we are from Gulf coast Texas and its so humid it keeps people looking younger (plus, as a general rule no one's going outside cause it's too hot lol)
I turned 40 earlier this month and it is weird to imagine!
There is an epidemic of aesthetic sameness, and it's weird and jarring as a middle aged lady who contemplates my own changes and how I might handle them down the road. It's not only the fillers and trout pouts that make the kids look substantially older. It's also their tragically fake eyebrows and the super-beat contoured faces.
I feel like the overwhelming emphasis on painted-on artificiality takes away all youthful dewiness. But I'm just an Old over here with a sidepart and skinny jeans, and I'm also apparently wearing the wrong socks now, too.
Anyway, the best thing I have ever read on this topic is this Jia Tolentino article: https://www.newyorker.com/culture/decade-in-review/the-age-of-instagram-face
Re. British actors: I feel like there was a gigantic wave of Brits in Hollywood in the mid-nineties or so, led mostly by Kenneth and Emma and Helena and Antony. I remember a lot of stuffy dramas taking place in grand houses with lots of mannered, sexual tension. Did that ever go away? Downton Abbey does NOT count.
But I really just wanted to come here and thank the LG writers for their cat content this week. The Quiet Place: Day One spoiler was much appreciated, and I love Halle Berry even more for saving her backyard kitties. That post made me so happy. Bless her. <3
Super relieved to finally be able to post about the Celine documentary. I work in post-production, so saw this a few months ago. It absolutely destroyed me. Been thinking about it ever since. One of my biggest takeaways from the last 15 minutes is that if Celine didn't have the kind of wealth she has... she would have died already. So part of me feels that by including the last part, she is doing a service to others in showing just what this disease is, and only one person who has it has the resources of Celine Dion. Here in Quebec, she's always been a huge advocate for cystic fibrosis, and it's wonderful to see her carrying on the tradition of speaking out.
Side note: Also went to NYC recently, also got COVID for the first time from that trip. I'm the most vaccinated person I know. Mask up and be safe out there, Squawkers! (And take the best of care, Lainey!) There are new variants spreading like wildfire. <3
Ok here are my feelings after watching the Celine doc: a) the woman is fucking fearless; b) it seems like she has a good team around her but I hope she also has friends. That big empty house in Vegas seemed like a gilded prison; c) I know she’s beloved but is it possible she doesn’t get the credit and respect she deserves? I loved seeing her show her work, to use Lainey’s words; d) I feel like I’m more aware of her grief over Rene’s death. It hit me of how much she’s had to face alone after losing him
I’m a big fan of Anderson Cooper’s podcast “All There Is.” He’s exploring grief, sharing his own experience unpacking his decades of emotions over the deaths of his parents and brother, but also talking with people dealing with their own major losses. Most guests are non-famous but he’s also featured people like Ashley Judd, Stephen Colbert, and Molly Shannon. It can be incredibly raw and vulnerable. I realize this isn’t “fun” celebrity talk, but I love that he’s normalizing grief.
I agree. Binged it because it was just so good. Well worth listening to it again.
I could talk forever about beauty standards and how they are so malleable based on geographic location, social class (or desired social class), religion, peer group, etc.
I live in CT but work in NY and London and there are such small but instantly perceived differences among those groups. I don't see much filler here, but lasers are VERY popular. The 'resting rich face' aesthetic I see (term stolen from a makeup artist on tiktok) is the goal. That generally translates to an even skin tone (no hyperpigmentation), freckles/light tan as signs of outdoor hobbies, movement around the eyes/mouth (not the forehead!), and natural looking lips. Eyebrow shaping/tinting, lash lifts, and even 'lip blushing' are regular appointments all in service of not wearing much, if any, makeup on a daily basis. I'm always slightly surprised by how much makeup people wear in NYC - the older I get the more it ages me!
I just watched the beauty videos Lainey posted, and I can't figure out what the nose paper strings are doing. Also that Ethan Hunt face removal has me curious because this was a face nothing like the original all from temporary materials. Everything was removable. Intriguing.
Right? What the heck were those nose tapeworms? Can't figure that out either.
My algorithms started feeding me some beauty content recently and I was dumbfounded by the staff at a plastic surgeon's office, all counting off how many injections of Botox they each had. From ages 25 to 60, they all had Botox and I was shocked by the ones in their 20s because 1) I didn't think women that young needed Botox and 2) they looked WAY older than 20s because of the fillers. Some still looked pretty natural, but others had that really fake, plastic look (I guess what we're calling an IG face) and it just made me sad. What's wrong with aging naturally? I feel like maybe I'm the stupid one for not feeling like I need it. As I get further into my 40s, I feel like I should be doing more but when I see women like that, I'm terrified of what it'll do to my face.
There's a male nurse that is beautiful, but one of his friends should pump the brakes. Not so much a need as it's popular, and someone I know is friends with someone that owns a spa and this proprietor goes around giving unsolicited pressure to people in her social group formerly okay with their faces. There's one convert that was attractive and now looks unreal and puffy. The proprietor has her own look as well.
One of my favorite starter pack KDrama recommendations is HEALER!
Ji Chang Wook & Park Min Young. He's a mysterious night courier. She is a spunky tabloid reporter. Of course their paths cross, when she is targeted as his next assignment...and the angsty goodness just flows from there. You will never view handholding the same again! It's available on Prime (with an added Kocowa subscription) and Viki.
I wonder if McDonalds is like cotton candy or s’mores - I have a theory that you have to start as a child or everything is ruined. I was raised strictly Waldorf forest nymph, with no tv, plastic toys, or processed foods (also no fluoride or iodine - fun!). I started eating fast food in my late 20s and genuinely enjoy InNOut and Habit Burger, am okay with Carl’s Jr and a couple others, but I cannot abide McDonalds or Burger King. Did I start too late??
I didn't eat McDonald's for a period of several years. No real reason, just didn't eat McDonald's for a while, and then I tried to have some and it made me sick. Havent had McDonald's since. I think you have to build up some kind of bacteria in your gut to digest it, if you don't do that, it will never be good.
I never ate McDonald's regularly--we were so poor in my teenage years that fast food was a treat and we usually got that treat elsewhere. (I still remember those Burger King international chicken sandwiches fondly and do Rally's still exist?) But nowadays, every couple of years, I would get an egg McMuffin at an airport and it is so good.
Ditto - was never allowed Maccas when I was young so of course my first part time job in high school was at Maccas where I gorged like a crazy person. Favourite order is two cheeseburgers with mayonnaise (a game changer if you’ve never tried it), six pack nuggets with sweet n sour sauce and barbecue, large fries with ketchup and a sundae with chocolate sauce on the bottom and caramel sauce with a Flake bar added on top. If you want your burger fresh then ask for no onion (or some other condiment removed) as that’ll guarantee it’s made fresh!
This is full beast mode, I cannot imagine the gut strength at work here.
A whopper in the before times was a good time. The fries...mehh.
Indigestible if I eat more than a plain cheeseburger and small fries. Anything more and it just sits in my stomach like a rock for 24 hours. Indigestible. I can’t understand how Lainey and Jacek can eat two sandwiches apiece plus fries! Insanity!!
I am the only person I know who hates marshmallows and I do think it’s because I never ate them as a child
I hate them too, and particularly in s'mores, because if there's anything I hate more than marshmallows, it's graham crackers. Graham crackers are just cardboard shaped to look like food. Don't waste good chocolate on these abominations!
Haha see I like graham crackers, but can’t stand Hersheys or marshmallows. A like a bit of cardboard with my cookie.
I LOATHE marshmallows. They’re sneaky. They find their way into many desserts.
I roasted them for other people when I was a kid. I still hate them.
PS - Habit Burger does tempura green beans as a fries option and why does everyone not do this??
Sounds like fair food. Yum!
I don't think McDonald's is for a solid delicious meal (except the fries... those are lab perfect. Some might say the searing fried pies). It's consistent, but not setting off flavor parties. Is Habit a west coast thing? InNOut is one place that I feel like could improve their fries (I never want to pretend animal style is a good choice again). Shake Shack has my burger vote. Five Guys has decent fries. I don't think of McD's when I think about burgers. Thank your parents for good judgement.
We could discuss Whataburger, but they've been sold to some other folks, and I don't want to talk about bad things.
Totally. If we want to do proper burgers we'll do something like Burger's Priest or No Bull, but McDonalds hits a certain spot when you need something fast and greasy. Like if you know you're in between lunch and dinner and can't quite make it cause your stomach is already talking to you and you need a little something in there to hold you over. Definitely not solid. I'm usually hungry again 2 hours later.
I’m all about the McNuggets on route home after the airport. It’s a long-standing tradition for me too. I truly have ZERO urge to eat it at any other time. But for some reason it just hits the right spot coming home tired from a long day of travel.
Habit might be west coast, I’m in CA. The only actually functional and fun to eat lettuce wrap I’ve ever had. I like InNOut fries, but I think I’m just a sucker for someone cutting up a potato and frying it instead of using the reconstituted mush. Not that the mush isn’t good, it is objectively better.
A crispy fried real potato fry is preferred. InNOut hasn't reached crispy to me. Five Guys does most of the times I've been. The non decaying mush is lab perfect, but not exactly good for people. Just soothing.
It's probably more of a regional news story. So far, they've only made small edits. Someone is smart enough not to move too fast with bad changes. Small ones.
Oh no! I missed that Whataburger news too! Growing up in Austin in the 80s and 90s our family never ate at McDonalds, just Whataburger for burgers. I don't think it was for any specific reason, that's just what we did. Whataburger back in the day was fantastic. Now days I don't eat burgers so can't comment on their quality or any other chain. Not that I have some high falutin taste, it's just a preference for more vegetarian options, some of which I know are garbage like the Taco Bell bean burrito 😝
That bean burrito is inexplicably perfect for eliminating hunger and bad vibes.
Yup, they sold it and they've dropped some custom options. First Whole Foods sold to someone from Seattle, and now someone from Chicago owns Whataburger. Losing recipes, indeed.
I'm old, old enough to remember what the original McDonald's fries were like, and how the original Big Mac tasted. The modern versions pale in comparison. I will rarely eat a fish sandwich and fries if they're fresh, but it's not the same experience. The same is true for Steak and Shake, it's just not delicious like it once was.
Here in the midwest we have Culvers, and I like many things from there. Decent burgers, good fish, they have a potroast sandwich is quite tasty, and soup in the winter. The fries are okay, but the cheese curds are delicious when fresh. So that's my go-to when I'm in the city and need a fast food burger fix.
Malcolm Gladwell has a really cool podcast episode how McDonald's was pressured to stop frying in beef tallow and use vegetable oil instead by an influential nutritionist bent on eliminating cholesterol from our diets.
Come to find out, years later, that highly processed vegetable oils are unstable at high heats and, bonus: are less yummy.
A Mexican joint where I lived in cooked their fries in animal fat and they were the best I've ever tasted.
Oooh when I was in Crete big fat fries were a huge part of the diet (not too many crops possible) and they were fried in olive oil and animal fat and they were SO good.
Sounds divine!
Yes, the animal fats make the tastiest fried potatoes. All the places that sold fried foods used beef tallow when I was a kid, and it was always delicious. My grandma fried her potatoes in lard, and they were also delicious. I do love my animal fats.
CULVERS!! I’m in Illinois and the first time I went into one we were so confused by the custard options. We kept asking what flavors they had and the poor girl behind the counter was like “the flavor of the day is xyz” and we were like “hmm what else do you have?!” She clearly didn’t want to be rude but we were dumb. We figured it out eventually and they’ve upped their signage significantly since then!
Culvers indeed! I moved to the Twin Cities three years ago and found out about the delights of frozen custard, like wow.
Yes the custard is good but it can be confusing. I first encountered Culvers when I went to live with my sister and take care of her (she's somewhat disabled.) We lived in Aurora, and the Culvers were everywhere. Then when she retired we moved back to Missouri and the Culvers followed us here. I'm not mad about that. :D
I think so. My son has allergies and couldn't eat most mass prepared foods for years. He'll do Wendy's nuggets/Frosty's happily but hates just about any place else.
I will take Wendy’s nuggets and Frosty over anything at McDonald’s any day!!
Wendy's nuggets were such a perfect snack. The sweet and sour sauce. Siggghhh.
I haven't eaten at McDonald's in over a decade. (I caved when I was in China. There was one next to our hotel and I gave in in a moment of weakness. In my defense, I was pregnant.) I would commit illegal acts for an In-n-Out cheeseburger on the regular. I need them to come further east.
For those who want a slightly more literary--for the lack of a better word--take on K-drama, I would say TWENTY FIVE TWENTY ONE. I rarely rave about performances because I care more about story but omg, the female lead was a revelation and I actually knew her from other works and did not recognize her at all. I was like, where did they find this phenomenal kid and did they have labor laws that underage actors cannot be overworked only to find out that she was 30 when she made the show and wow, I'd never seen a more convincing teenager on the screen.
Another literally more literary one is IT'S OKAY NOT TO BE OKAY. Like with CRASH LANDING (yes, definitely persist), I wasn't completely sure about the show after the first episode, but it has actual bitter-tart children's books animated at the end of episode 1 and I watched the show for more of those children's book animations. There were only a few more of those, but I do not regret following the show at all. (In a way, OKAY is like the inverse of CRASH LANDING, the hero was poor at the beginning and no richer at the end, and he is this wonderful guy who takes care of everyone else yet you will find out, he has always been haunted by a secret, less-than-wonderful moment and the heroine knew about that moment all along, and that is like catnip to me.)
I started watching dramas a couple of years ago, both due to Lainey’s nagging, and because I gave up cable but couldn’t stand the anxiety of picking something to watch every day. They’re at least 16 hours long, so, that solves the selection stress for a good long while. I enjoy them because nothing happens, and then everything happens, there’s usually some sort of wild coincidence/mythology thing, and everyone is impossibly beautiful. And I acknowledge that I mostly watch the romantic/historical/mythology ones. I’m not up for a steady diet of gritty slice-of-life stories.
The plot and dialogue rhythms are different from North America, so that did take a bit of an adjustment. Some of the acting is incredibly mannered. I watch with subtitles on, with the original voices because I found the voice acting in the the dubbing never matched what was happening on screen. I’m pretty certain that the subtitles don’t actually match what they’re saying, but at least you get a better sense of tone than the dubbed versions.
There is a LOT of looking at each other. A lot. Even where they don’t drag out the enemies to lovers trope, the first kiss doesn’t come until at least episode 6.
A starting list would depend on what streamers someone has, and what they’re willing to pay for. Netflix has Crash Landing. And Extraordinary Attorney Woo (neurodivergent lawyer navigating relationships and office life, with a crime of the week). Oh, and Her Private Life (Art gallery curator by day, Kpop fan girl by night). Prime has Marry My Husband (lead is killed by her husband for the insurance money (yes. I know), and goes back in time where she sets about changing the future of herself and everyone she cares about). And Queen of Tears (so much crying).
You need Viki if you want Lovely Runner. But then, you also get Guardian, the Great And Lonely God (900+ year old goblin who is looking for his Goblin Bride so that he can finally end his punishment and die). Is Guardian/Goblin problematic as all get out, what with a 900 year old man basically grooming his prospective wife? Yes. Is it also funny? Yes. And Gong Yoo. And Gong Yoo with Lee Dong-wook as roommates.
Thank you! Was wondering where to find the shows🙂
Thanks to you and Lainey for these recs! I too had trouble getting into Crash Landing, but by episode 3 I was HOOKED. I also love Attorney Woo. My issues with K Dramas are 1- there are so many, it’s overwhelming to find the next one! And 2- they are often (always?) limited series, so there’s such a huge letdown when it’s over.
The children's books in the show were so popular that they published them. The stories and illustrations were very different from anything I'd seen. I ordered them not thinking about how I don't speak or read Korean! I need to go back to the show to be able to translate them.
McDonald's Order: Filet of Fish meal with Diet Coke. McDonald's has great consistency with the quality of their fries. If I want a snack and not a meal, I'll get a hot fudge sundae with extra hot fudge. And their soda is better. My friend and I call it "Premium Soda". For real, it's actually better than everywhere else. https://www.rd.com/article/mcdonalds-coke/
Hot fudge with peanuts and a side of fries is another fave but often the ice cream machines are down so it's an unreliable order.
What the hell, Lainey. I had no idea about the makeup and "tech fuckery" with in Asia. How can they breathe with that stuff up their nose?
Same question.
Sarah - care to share more about your supreme disinterest in Pamela Adlon? I loved Better Thjngs and have watched the trailer for Babes on repeat. Do I need to curb my Pamela Adlon fandom?
We screened her film Babes at the film festival I'm a programmer for, and she was awful, jerking us around and making us pay for a lot of stuff that we never should be on the hook for. She really took advantage of us. 0/10 stars
I should add that we had already invited the film and the distributor approved it, so we were basically locked into scheduling it, and she really took advantage of the fact that we couldn't back out of the deal.
Oh wow - bummer! “They were right when they said we should never meet our heroes.” Thank you for the reply!
My McDonalds is McDouble and small fries and a Coke when I have to eat while driving/on the road. If I get to sit down, then a BigMac value meal is my pick. It’s not #1 for nothing!
Ya Big Mac is a total mess if you're doing anything else like driving.
I’m glad that KP’s work is less sloppy. I’m also feeling like I’m not very interested in the royals anymore (including Harry & Meghan) and I wonder if that’s because they were only fascinating when they were battling it out amongst each other…?
Now that both sides seem to have calmed down, perhaps this is actually not good in terms of the public’s interest. Also, that probably says a lot about how I like my gossip lol.
Anyway, I noticed not a single comment on the royals for this post so perhaps this is the beginning of the end of this antiquated circus.
I think BP stepped in and got KP to organize themselves. The Queen never ran a shit show in comms either especially after the blip with Diana. I think William was running stuff a bit too much until now and it shows. It is also more likely that Kate linked up with BP as she seemed to do with the bench video, which was the first decent response to all the mess before this.
And yes the time for this antiquated soap opera to end is now.
I’m still interested in the antiquated circus! But I’m not interested in sad smut so I stopped talking about a young mother with cancer, a grandpa with cancer, and a great-aunt hospitalized with a horse-related concussion. And I don’t engage with TS content so all I’ll say there is that it was really nice to see such genuine smiles.
Once the family is back at it full-time, I’m sure the public will go back to breathlessly analyzing every jewel and curtesy. Also, those kids are growing up and I’m already seeing people struggling to contain their eagerness to speculate about them
The kids are very cute and that Swiftie pic was beyond charming!
Celine doc: I posted yesterday about those last 15 minutes being ROUGH. I did read that Celine made the decision to keep that part, but it made me feel very intrusive and I already understood how very much she's been suffering without that scene.
McDonalds: Onions. They either have to be completely cooked (sauteed in butter or included in a sauce) or completely raw (slice on a burger). I cannot do a slimy onion with a bit of a crunch. McDonalds burgers came with the slimy crunch kind and, as they were premade and under a heating lamp in my day, you had to wait for a special order and my mom would not wait. Burger King you could "have it your way" but they were more expensive so that was also a no for my mom. I ate french fries instead.