thedeadlyhook

I'm posting because I can - Toys is at his night class, and I'm home alone, drinking a beer and thinking about Buffyfic. About reading it, and how I haven't written it in an age, although I've thought about it a lot. (In that context, the news about Writercon happening for reals next year struck me as kind of depressing - at this juncture, since I've been such a tardy author, overall lax presence online, and generally shitty Internet friend, I doubt anyone would even want to talk to me in the flesh.) But there are a couple of fic masterworks I feel I should point to. ( Why I Love Missmurchison's 'Pillow Talk' )

( Why I Also Love Nautibitz's 'Don't Stop' )

Can I keep going? It's a long night, and my spaghetti is cooking slowly.

This link in the vintage_ads community, of the Laugh-A-Lot doll, is a mind-blower. The comments are actually funnier than the video, which is actually not so much funny as kind of horrifying - yes, kids' toys used to be different! Really!

On that note, I followed one of those scrolling YouTube links and got this little item. It seems to be mislabeled in terms of era - the announcer says "1970" in the voiceover, so this is within my memory range as a bona fide target for their doll consumer demographic, and damned if I don't remember most of these playsets, although whether I actually owned them, my friends had them, or I just lusted after them in catalogs, I couldn't say. But I'm hugely digging that background music! Takes me back.



( Reminiscing About Dolls! )

I'm now watching Magnum Force on TV and avoiding the Presidential debates. (My heart, it can only take so much - this election can't be over fast enough, IMHO.) Dirty Harry and the perp du jour are driving around in the Potrero district, which is more or less where I work now, and ride the bus everyday, except that this is what it looked like the '70s, far less candy-colored and twee with yuppie redevelopment. Wow. When I moved to San Francisco at the tail end of the '80s, most of this landscape was still there, all faded industrial ruins and grass-choked sandlots. I forget if it's this particular Dirty Harry saga or another one, but there's one in the series with a chase scene through the remnants of the old train yards at the end of Fourth Street, all high grass and line shacks - I remember those. They're mostly gone now, just collapsed piles of hundred-year-old wood planks, slowly being reclaimed by nature.

I feel old.

Oops, I've been typing too long. The movie's over. On to Monster Quest.

( Stargate: Atlantis fans, this one's for you!! )

Okay, maybe I'll skip Monster Quest tonight. It seems to be a Dirty Harry marathon of sorts - AMC is proceeding on to The Enforcer - and I can't resist the siren call of '70s film.

God, these movies have a whole new vibe now that I've lived in SF for more than a decade. This is MY TOWN. Dude. And oh, Christ, is Eastwood actually driving a Chevy Impala? Holy hell.

OMG, he's on Fisherman's Wharf. I've totally eaten in that restaurant. It looks almost the same now.

Awwww... remember when they called cops "pigs" on a regular basis in film? Takes me back.

Time to stop. Apologies for the length.

First off, hello and thanks to all the new peeps who have stopped by my LJ over the last few days, and to new Friends - honestly, I never really expected to get such response to either that last little ramble or any of my recent fic efforts. That said, I can't say I hate the attention, so just a big thanks to everyone who took the time to drop a comment or get into a debate. You've really made my day. Or last few days, more like it.

New business: eurydice72 is running a William ficathon. I'm such a latecomer to these things that the whole concept of ficathons is still kinda novel to me, so I'm sorely tempted. As if I don't already have enough WIPs on my plate. (grumble, grumble) ( Thoughts About William )

Semi-related side note while I'm doing the William ponder: iTunes threw some Smiths at me this morning, reminding me of a theory I'd had back when I'd first heard that there was going to be a BtVS musical. I'd thought it likely the music would be covers instead of original pieces, and I'd predicted that surely Spike would sing "I Know It's Over" from The Queen is Dead album - pretty obvious from the lyrics why I thought so. (I'd also note the previous song on that record, "Frankly, Mr Shankly," has a line about "I didn't know you wrote such bloody awful poetry"... maybe somewhere in my head William ended up crosspolinated with Morrissey.) Anyway, I'd also guessed there might be something in there from The Music Man, and lo and behold, we did get a little name-check in the actual episode - "76 bloody trombones." But why The Music Man? For those not familiar... ( You Are What You Play )