Let me share this fabulous version of "Stairway to Heaven" as a last contribution to #DecRecs
Stairway to Heaven--done with/accompanied with gakaku instruments (Japanese classical court music instruments)--and all performed by one guy in Heian court dress. NICE. Also, some of the backing images show a stairway to something very Ise Jingu-esque.
ROCK ON, Heian courtiers, ROCK ON.
It's the penultimate day of #DecRecs and I'm reccing another old favorite "Points of Origin" By Marissa K. Lingen
This story features, found family (literal), a grumpy reluctant grandpa, and daily life on Mars. It's charming and cozy!
For #DecRecs 22 Dec, gotta be Mattafix, a band I discovered 10 years ago, not sure how. Here's Angel:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZaaMRiJePMU
"Tell 'im already but we tell 'im again
Tell 'im alreday but we tell 'im again
She left me and she gone her way
She left me and she gone her way..."
And....
#DecRecs 13
qué más quieres by the warning
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lfb-280MhU
my friend E turned me on to this band to me this year and I like them a lot
#DecRecs 12 (somehow a week went by)
The Anbernic RG35XXSP (sorry, that's a mouthful)
https://anbernic.com/products/rg35xxsp
Relatively inexpensive, very satisfying to hold.
I have used it to play so much Balatro and also Ace Attorney and also many other things.
It lives in my pocket/bag at all times. I play it on the bus a lot. Or at work (on breaks. mostly.)
I felt very silly when I bought it but it brings me so much joy.
#DecRecs and this rec also comes with a protip, which is, you don’t have to track down and buy golden syrup! you can make just the amount you need for the recipe
#DecRecs day 20 DONT WORRY ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED TO DAYS 16-19: my favorite christmas cookie (which doesnt really have to be a christmas cookie, it can really be an any time of year cookie): a ginger shortbread with a ginger powdered sugar icing 
https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/skibo-castle-ginger-crunch-102754
Today's DecRec is this article by @literalgrill@sakurajima.moe about VHS trading and fansubs in the modern era:
https://www.animeherald.com/2024/03/02/vhs-trading-and-fansubs-in-the-modern-era/
I really enjoyed reading the history of fansubs in North America, and the current status of things now!
#DecRecs
Day 16 - #DecRecs
I'm following the lead of other people on Fedi and reccing RSS feed readers! RSS feeds make following anything on the internet easy, and doesn't require making another account and being at the whims of whoever's running it.
As long as sites support RSS, that is. For ones that don't, I like to use sites like Open RSS that generate them. There's even Kill the Newsletter to convert newsletters to RSS feeds.
Open RSS: https://openrss.org/
Kill the Newsletter: https://kill-the-newsletter.com
For feed reader apps, I use both Feeder and Feed Flow! Feeder is sadly only on Android, but Feed Flow is more multi platform.
Feeder: https://github.com/spacecowboy/feeder
Feed Flow: https://github.com/prof18/feed-flow
#DecRecs day 15: i just realized that there is a (partial) cast recording from the west end production of #hadestown on spotify! i obvs listen most to the obcr though i have seen the show live (touring cast, in toledo) and my coworker has offered me access to her vault of bootlegs but it’s neat to have official recordings of another cast. trinidadian hermes absolutely whips ass, probably the highligh for me
https://open.spotify.com/album/2CggytMzFmVTrJavX5Nbus?si=gMz05Z9BQie2ixDrCeHLGw
For #DecRecs 15 December, I'd like to recommend the Netflix series El secreto del Río, a series from Mexico dealing with third genders, transgender, macho culture, friendship, and love. It's **so beautifully done**--the actors are just GREAT, both the child actors and the adult ones. Content warning for anti LGBTQ bigotry, but the series wholeheartedly condemns this; the cis characters work through their issues, and the main character is glorious. #transgender https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUim709t5WE
#DecRecs day 13: i already knew what my day 13 was going to be when i started december, it’s “12 days to christmas” from the musical she loves me
full disclosure i have never seen this musical (though i have seen shop around the corner) BUT a former coworker linked a clip of this song & i felt very seen. this one goes out to all the homies working retail or retail-adjacent jobs this holiday season 
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=UB-NjDicZmI&pp=ygUhc2hlIGxvdmVzIG1lIDEyIGRheXMgdG8gY2hyaXN0bWFz
#DecRecs 10
howlongtobeat.com
how long is a video game? seriously it could be any length. 2 hours? 15 hours? 90 hours? 200 hours? value does not correlate to length we know but please I'm just trying to set my expectations here.
I'm a really ̶b̶a̶d̶ slow gamer, so I assume any game I actually manage to finish will take me slightly longer than their 'completionist' time, but it's such a useful starting point.
#DecRecs 9 (I have a running list of things I want to rec, but haven't managed to put together words about them in a few days)
RSS readers (in general. I'm currently using feeder which is fine.)
I've been trying to follow more local news, get fewer emails, and not lose track of things on the internet. I like having a 'sit down and read the news at one specific time' routine and having everything in one place.
Way back on the first day of #DecRecs, @ljwrites recommended "The Font of Liberty" by @epbirdsall , and I can now wholeheartedly second that recommendation!
Milène has come from the countryside to Paris, where she works in a printshop owned by Sandrine's family--right on the verge of the 1830 Paris Revolution. She feels a little lost, a little rustic, in the face of all iconoclastic cultural and political ideas. "How do you know when you're going right?" she asks.(con't)
https://www.alpennia.com/blog/lesbian-historic-motif-podcast-episode-291-font-liberty-elizabeth-porter-birdsall
never mind what happened to #DecRecs days 6-11, day 12 is simply “all of susiecarter’s superbat fanfiction”
are you depressed during the holidays? coming off an 11 hour day at work?? never see the sun cause it’s winter in the northern hemisphere? for all your ails, i recommend “all of susiecarter’s superbat fanfiction”. you simply will not regret “all of susiecarter’s superbat fanfiction”!!
For #DecRecs this 12th of December, let me share this beautiful poem, "Local News," by Patrica Russo, with you.
"a snow tree has sprouted and grown overnight ....
And the neighborhood has promptly divided into two camps:
those who want to chop it down
and those who want to climb it
and they're milling around
some with axes, some with ropes....
How can I feel safe in a world
where things like this can happen?
But these things have always happened
everywhere...
Today is the 12th day of #DecRecs and I'm reccing Twig + Tale sewing patterns!
I just think that their patterns are so cute and comfy! I love their commitment to gender neutral language for their patterns, especially because some crafting spaces are very conservative. And I think all the different animal designs are just so much fun!
I haven't made all of their patterns but the ones I have made have been great, and I've made those repeatedly
Today's #DecRecs is The Women Who Ruled China: Buddhism, Multiculturalism, and Governance in the Sixth Century by Stephanie Balkwill
It is really fascinating book about Empress Dowager Ling of the Northern Wei, women and power during her lifetime and the ways traditional historiography has failed women.
It's open access and you can get an ebook for free here:
https://www.ucpress.edu/books/the-women-who-ruled-china/paper
