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So I've been working on "Exes, Hexes ... and Justice". It's a fanfic crossover of Psych and Hot Fuzz. After doing some research, I'm pretty sure I ran into an error in the movie Hot Fuzz. Nothing major, and it might be that I'm completely wrong. But still. That's funny to me... The same thing happened when I wrote "To Get Ice Cream". I ran into a fault in the layout of Grimmauld Place. My curiosity leads me to research, the research leads to this stuff... It's not like I'm trying to be too serious or anything. But I like facts.

Yet it made me feel very much like this:

I won't be able to update any fanfic due to the excessive heat.... and because I don't want to!
Just to explain: stories are on a computer that I don't want to have on right now because it's in a non-air-conditioned environment. For those who might think that's a little strange, I've already had one computer hurt by heat.

Besides, under layers of sweat... who can think of editing anything?

Updates will resume sometime in September. Which is only a few days away...

Current Mood: hot
Current Music: Extraordinary Ways, Conjure One

Chapters 9 & 10 had no notes.

Chapter 11 Notes

1. But Hank liked best the grooming. The horses made funny faces then...
Yes, horses really make funny faces when they're being curry-combed.

2. "Are we doing that Whose Line is it Anyway? game where we can only talk in questions?"
Yes, they are... It's called "Questions Only." (Appropriately.) Watch the real crew in action!

3. Shawn made a slash mark on the dry erase board they kept on the side of the refrigerator, tallying up the points of their games.
On a funny Antje's Production Mind note, Lassiter's houses in the show are consistently, annoyingly modern, with "stainless steel" everything and look like they were built from the specs of Kitchen & Bath magazine. In my head, their home in the book is nothing like that. They have an old-time refrigerator that's mustard yellow, that they just haven't replaced yet, which means it can have magnets stick on it, including a dry-erase board and Shawn's Swedish alphabet magnet letters.

Chapter 12 Notes

1. Wait, it was the second-to-last weekend, because Superman IV had just come out the day before.
This is true, because I live for research.

2. 'Whatever Saves Me' by The Mary Onettes.
Here are the lyrics from the Mary Onettes' site. Shawn was probably thinking about this song for a number of reasons, judging by the lyrics. Incidentally, The Mary Onettes are also Swedish. The brothers' other band is Det Vacrka Livet (The Beautiful Life). Both are equally good, and I recommend this ("Whatever Saves Me") and this (Det Vackra Livet, "Kristallen").

Current Music: Kristallen

Chapters Six and Seven didn't really require any notes... Just making a note of that. ;)

***

Platypus Park
I don't know where I came up with the idea for Platypus Park... The show had its own coffee shop, Coffee With Attitude (seen in a few episodes, I think, most notably "Death is in the Air"). But with Platypus Park, as Gus points out when he tells Sean Laramie about it, we're able to connect to some of the history of Santa Barbara, and understand that Gus and Shawn are *really* from there. That's what I liked about this cafe.

And I'm five-eleven, thank you.
It's just fun to point this out. Henry describes Shawn as being a "five foot ten psychic detective" in "Shawn Takes a Shot in the Dark." Like a lot of fanfic writers, my image of the people I write about are not always mirrored in the actors that played them. Sometimes Shawn looks like Topher Grace (which Shawn would probably appreciate), and sometimes Lassiter looks like Scott Foley (I... can't explain this)... and sometimes Gus looks like Bud from The Cosby Show.

One that makes me wear trousers so tight I feel like Tanner Cohen in Were the World Mine.
A favorite film, and one of those that you either love or hate. It's available on Hulu right now, and is also on Netflix. Please see this.

This is my associate, Plumes Del Zotto.
I had a list of Gus Aliases that Shawn was going to use. Unfortunately, I didn't get to use all of them! This is one of my all-time favorites (created by myself, I mean). Somehow, Gus pulls off having this name—and I don't know how he does it! Especially when you think about his "Denzel" uniform from the episode "Weekend Warriors."

Return to Chapter 8
or Return to Chapter 9 (no notes)

Brought to You by Murder - Chapter 5 Notes

-x-

"Hang on, sugar cake."

- I'm 99% sure the endearment "sugar cake" was stolen from Applejack of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.

Cafe Del Sol

- Originally mentioned in Apply Liberally at Sunrise, like, YEARS ago…

Sean/Shawn

- This was a fun thing to do in prose, but would've been kind of lost had it ever been in the show. Fanfic, FTW!

He threw together (literally) a cassoulet with diced ham, green onions and broccoli

- Taken from the Betty Crocker Cookbook, except I think it's under "Swiss Cheese(?) Bake" - the modified instructions are for a ham and cheddar breakfast bake. It's kind of like this - except without the crust, the mozzarella & swiss cheese, the rosemary and thyme. Had I been on top of things, I might've used this instead.

Mrs. Glass is a good, old-fashioned Cougar. ;)

Gotham Splendor

- Another show made up for these stories that I wish was real! I had fun naming a soap opera, though.

"Do you suppose Edward Scissorhands is at home?"

- The Hayworth house seems like Edward's spooky old mansion…

If I see Danny Elfman anywhere around here playing a violin and looking creepy, I'm leaving.

- Elfman played the creepy violinist that shows up (for about two seconds) in the film The Gift.

Harry Cox

- I had a list of four Associate Monikers for Shawn to use on Gus. Harry Cox was at the bottom of the list, for obvious reasons. But I thought Shawn might like to exhibit some juvenile behavior in front of Sean Laramie.

Wanna be greater than Chester Copperpot?

- Another reference to The Goonies.

-x-

Back to Chapter 5

- polo ponies

Equines used in polo are usually referred to as ponies. Frankly, I think they're just fans of alliteration. The best polo ponies come from Argentina.

- incidentally, the largest field in outdoor sports

I discovered this in my polo research.

- One little oversight could lead to someone getting hurt.

Most of the rules in polo are there to keep the players safe.

- Rubbing soft noses is a cure for what ails you.

I'm a big believer in this. It probably works with other animals, too, like llamas, alpacas, a camel if you happen to have one of those...

- Hugo Brennaman's son is on the Malibu team

Knowing me, I probably chose the name Brennaman after Marty and Thom Brennaman, renowned baseball play-by-play announcers. Father and son, respectfully. Marty does the Cincinnati Reds games on the radio (WLW 700, Cincinnati), and Thom does a lot of the Reds games for television, and also a lot of nationally broadcasted games on Fox. Marty Brennaman is in the Baseball Hall of Fame as an announcer.

- Wednesday
Had a hard time figuring out what day of the week it was. After comparing it to the large portion of the story that I have written, finally decided it was Wednesday. Hope that was correct.

- Gus, don't be the Poky Little Puppy.

A famous kids' book published by Little Golden Books. [link]

- Hey, what's the word on that, grammar swami?

Everything I write about the Glass' vs Glass's is true. Neither is right and neither is wrong.

- …even the detritus of dirty laundry as he tossed aside his "sloppies" in the middle of his study

"Sloppies" are button-up, usually long-sleeves shirts with collars that Shawn wears over t-shirts. Think Josh Radnor's character, Ted, in How I Met Your Mother. Pretty decent example (one in the middle). Or there's this one of Shawn.

- Or had gotten himself killed. He'd stopped breathing. His heart had quit beating. By the grace and willpower of some otherworldly being, he'd breathed again and his heart had started again. He'd believed in ghosts ever since.

This isn't part of The Vintage Crimes of Christopher Sly that I ever got around to writing… but it was supposed to happen, would've happened if I'd kept writing it.

oOo

Return to Chapter 4

Brought to You by Murder, Chapter 3 Notes

- S.S. Van Dine

… decided that he had 20 Rules of Writing Mystery Novels that would change the world!!! He also gets extra points for 1) using one of the awesomest aliases ever; 2) having his first two initials match up with our Socratic hero, Shawn Spencer (S.S.). When I write out notes for stories, I use the character's initials. "SS then tells CL that JO and BG are…" See, like that. Anyway, off-topic… [link to the 20 rules because I know you're now super curious]

- Michael Alwin (Dobson's Mike) first appeared in The Vintage Crimes of Christopher Sly, although I believe he was mentioned in Apply Liberally at Sunrise.

- traditional paper books

How funny is it that books now have descriptors like this, "traditional" and "paper"? What a world!

"Did you butter that huge Scottish cranium of yours before you put this on or what?"

- A slight acknowledgement of the film So I Married an Axe Murder…

Where'd you get all of this, anyway, Ye Olde Don Quixote Shoppe?

- Don Quixote, fake knight of Cervantes literature fame. Let Canadian Gordon Lightfoot sing it to you.

- Imagine Me & You

Often considered to be one of the best lesbian movies ever made [link]

Lady Olga

- the real psychic Shawn, et al. know and love. First appearance: ALAS… Her brother (or cousin? didn't I tell you I failed at my own continuity?) is Jefferson Roberts, Shawn's boss and head of human resources at the SB Country Club. Shawn maintains a decent confusion about the pronoun to use with Lady Olga, because Lady Olga is a man living as a woman (who lives with another man).

- The food

I did a lot of fun research on Renaissance foods when I wrote this chapter. It was really interesting if you like culinary history.

- Co-manage

Shawn used to work at the country club stables in VCoCS, but how he became Co-manager (assistant manager) is revealed throughout the rest of the story

- Gosh, yeah, it'd be nice if I could just wear some kind of symbol to let other people know I'm taken.

Shawn's viewpoints on marriage also become more apparent throughout the story

- Must be those southern roots.

Lady Olga is originally from Georgia, USA

-But Shawn had gotten shot too many times, and it seemed he was still having trouble talking about it and facing it.

This is also talked about throughout the story… Well, I'm not big on dumping information into a story all at once! ;)

- Jason and Sean Laramie

See ALAS.

- I fully expect to call him Avery at least a half-dozen times, too.

Sean's alias in ALAS.

- You know how I feel about food metaphors.

Personally… this is one of my favorite lines of this fic so far, in context.

- You say peach, I say oh-raaange, so we'd better call the calling off—off.

Gershwin, "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off" Watch the wondrous Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire call it off… on roller skates. Extra trivia: Did you know that Ginger Rogers was so fond of roller skating that she actually had a rink in her house? With a real soda fountain, too.

- These are dangerous days in the kingdom, my lord.

A take off of the Progressive commercial. [link]

oOo

Return to Chapter 3

My Little Pony
- My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic airs on the Hub network

- Equestria
Name of world in MLP:FiM

- Alicorns
A pegasus/unicorn in MLP:FiM. Usually royalty of some kind.

- Octavia
Actually a name of a pony in MLP:FiM… She's a gray pony with black hair and tail, with a Clef-shaped Cutie Mark. Shawn's Octavia is a whitish horse with a whitish mane. She is actually horse-sized, but small enough to be qualified as a pony.

- Farewell, peasants!
Otherwise known as the time when Shawn channels James Marsden* from Enchanted.

Do you know how much J.M. Barrie I had to read to keep that accent fresh in my mind?
- J.M. Barrie, known best for penning Peter Pan, wrote many of the dialogues in his stories phonetically. See chapter 3 of Barrie's "The Little Minister" for an example. It's a fantastic time capsule of accents that might one day disappear.

- usquebah
a little-used word for Scottish whisky… or a little-used Scottish word for whisky

- Gerard Butler
Scottish film star… from Paisley, SCO (northwest of Glasgow IIRC) [imdb]

- Alan Cumming
Scottish man of awesomeness, recently noted for acting in the TV show The Good Wife [imdb]

- Desiderata
Written by Max Ehrmann. Quite famous. Suggest you read it if you never have, if you've got two minutes! [link]

oOo

That's it for Chapter 2 notes!

I have no words for how happy I am that someone made a gif of this!! I <3 the internet. It makes me feel like less of a freak. (Usually.)

Notes!

CHAPTER ONE

Little Shawn, Little Gus
I think I could write a whole series with the two of them...

One of these days, I'm going to be rich enough to buy that building and burn it down.
- The building of Shawn's hatred is the building that eventually houses their Psych office.

"Yeah, you know, like one of those humped-back sea chests we saw at your grandma's house that one time."
- I have an old steamer trunk that might've inspired this.

I think he's part porpoise, but I'm not really ready to align him with such a friendly species just yet.
- Killer whales are also considered porpoises. Dolphins are one of the few mammals that engage is social sex (for fun). Just thought you'd like some trivia.

Sounds like something the Goonies would investigate.
- If you haven't seen The Goonies, I dunno what to tell you. Here are some quotes from Chunk.

Officer Grayson
- Grayson goes back to my Batman fangirling days. Dick Grayson was Nightwing (Robin before that). Also, Devon Grayson is a DC comics writer (and a woman).

Gus and I are going to go meet Dennis and Morgan
- Dennis was in the show (portrayed very well by Freddie Prinze, Jr.)… Morgan is the surname I chose to go with Dennis… as in Dennis Morgan, one of my favorite silver screen actors, known best for his crooning.

Who's the dude with Dobson?
- The dude with Dobson is Mike Alwin. He shows up in the next chapter. He was also in The Vintage Crimes of Christopher Sly. Mike's also one of the three Mikes Shawn knows: Mike B and Mike C run The Tanglevine Club. Somewhere in one of the two stories, I mention that Dobson and Mike have been together ten years. So I don't know if they were not dating for a decade, then got back together, or were together then weren't then were…

They are lovers in the night!
- I have to mention that I actually wrote this part of the story before I saw "Last Night Gus," the episode in which Shawn says something very similar to this ("They are lovers in the nighttime!") to two bartenders, one of whom is named Mike. (Did anyone else catch that coincidence to the Mikes at the Tanglevine Club? It was fun.)

the collar of his Oingo-Boingo t-shirt
- one of my favorite bands, fronted by renowned film music composer Danny Elfman.

"Sweet, the Breezeway Bakery!"
- Used in ALAS… not sure about VCoCS. But it's probably in there.

"Happy anniversary."
- Seriously had the worst time trying to figure out when SS and CL coupled in ALAS…. I think it was August but… Failing at my own continuity is hilarious to me…

-o-o-

I think that's it for Chapter One notes!

Last week, I decided to try writing another "trapped" fanfic. So in a few days I finished a 12,000+ word Psych fic. I'll be editing it, getting it ready to release.

The "trapped" stories are influenced by Emma Hewitt's song "Foolish Boy." [lyrics] [video]

I hope to do a couple more for other fandoms.

Current Mood: busy

VCOCS - Cultural References

-x-

1.

BIANCA: The taming school? What, is there such a place?

The Taming of the Shrew
Back when I started writing this, I'd planned to use only "Shrew" quotes.

supposedly an Aries
Carlton is an Aries, at least according to one episode of the show. Weirdest most anti-Aries Aries ever.

Gus isn't a Scorpio
I don't know what Gus's sign is.

"And drink Kool-aid."
"And eat pretzel sticks."
"Dipped in the Kool-aid," they said at the same time, and pointed at each other swiftly.
It might seem gross, but I did this when I was a kid.

I love you so much right now—as long as you say your favorite episode is not 'Rock the Cradle'. Because, seriously, babies in television shows that don't belong to the weekly cast really freak me out.
True episode of MacGyver, third season. Also, I agree with Shawn's opinion on babies in shows.

"Too late," Juliet said, smirking, and opened the passenger's door. "I already called it! Ha, ha!"
I <3 Jules sometimes.

Summer Preacher (real name: Tami Louise Kahn)
From Apply Liberally at Sunrise

Everything Mike and Shawn and Gus say about The Taming of the Shrew is true.

He was homesick.
Shawn's sense of homesickness was supposed to be a bigger part of the story, but there wound up being too many subplots; I got annoyed.

2.

"Call me if there's a dead body."
I think Shawn said this a couple of times in the show.

Do you own the whole state if Sinaloa—honorary governor?
Sinaloa is the state of Mexico wherein the city of Mazatlán is located.

"They'll have a nice fat file for you to sink your teeth into tomorrow. You know, Monday."
"I think I've heard of it. That's the day that rains a lot and gets me down. Yeah. We're familiar with one another."
Shawn's (second line) is paraphrasing "Rainy Days And Mondays" by the Carpenters.
Video

"If you turn into David Bromstad, Shawn, I'm out of here."
Host of HGTV's show Color Splash - here's a pic of his huge arms

I gotta think weird thoughts and I gotta move when the rhythm gets me. And the rhythm is going to get me, Gus. It's just a matter of time before Gloria Estefan and generous portions of the Miami Sound Machine crawl out of the woodwork and ensnare me in their rhythm. I'm coming out of the dark, and I see your smile.
- The rhythm is gonna get you.... line from one of the Miami Sound Machine's songs - here's the interesting 12" mix of that song
"I'm coming out of the dark..." and "I see your smile..." are lines/song titles from Estefan's solo work...

"Getting you out to the mall is like what's-his-name's quest into the Arctic."
Seriously, I couldn't, and still can't, remember that explorer's name.

It occurs to me that this story could've been shorter.

-x-

tbc

Apply Liberally at Sunrise - The Reference List of References

( Read more... )

Another short list of books I've read that I've never read before (since March, if I can think of any). Title - Author

Heat Wave - Richard Castle

Along the Shore - LM Montgomery

Among the Shadows - LM Montgomery

Road to Yesterday - LM Montgomery

The Blue Castle - LM Montgomery (I read it in one day)

Princess Casamassima - Henry James (it was amazing that this book was so good, and it really, really shouldn't have been - all the sudden I realized I was halfway through it with absolutely no idea how that happened… the copy I was reading was over 500 pages - also the most fantastic, haunting end of a novel that I've ever had the pleasure of reading)

The Fountain Overflows - Rebecca West

I Capture the Castle - Dodie Smith (I could NOT finish this - so frustrating. I hate it when the characters don't do what I want them to do! - and I think they're being idiots)

This might be all for books… I really can't think of any others. I don't think I've finished a new Dickens since then. Wait, yes I have.

Nicholas Nickleby - Charles Dickens

Ah, and one more…

Arrows of the Queen - Mercedes Lackey

***

Films…

Head Over Heels - Really cute, fun, and some of my favorite character actors are in it.

The Break-Up - Actually better than I expected, although I've never been in that place in my life and never will be, so its theme was sort of lost on me. But I appreciated pieces of the writing anyway.

Sherlock Holmes - Disappointing… But a nice soundtrack. Improved once I knew what I didn't like about it (the two female characters are so cringe-worthy, and the villain ridiculous)

Everything You Want - Will Friedle saved this movie for me.

I haven't spent a lot of time watching movies… I can't think of anything else new I've seen. So here are some of the television series I've been watching…

Castle
Road to Avonlea
Miami Vice
The Muppet Show

Current Mood: okay
Current Music: AH.FM

Listening to music from the 1970's today. It seems to suit me this morning.

List of accomplishments lately. Books I've read and films I've (newly) seen since 4 January 2010…

( Books and Films 4 Jan - 9 March )

Current Mood: calm
Current Music: Carl Douglas - Kung Fu Fighting

Dear musicians of the trance genre (and its kin),

Please stop using any samples from the Apollo 11 mission. It has been done to death, death, death. Thank you.

Exasperatedly yours,
the Elf

Current Mood: bored
Current Music: DI - Vocal Trance

I cannot even begin to tell you how accurately this describes me today.

Taking notes
Your mind will be very stimulated today. You are fascinated by every new phenomenon that you encounter and eager for more. If you are relatively flexible, this need for excitement means that you may get bored more easily than usual. If you are not flexible, this could be a very nerve-wrecking day, full of little surprises and upsets that overtax your nerves. The plans you have made for the day may not work out at all, and the more you are counting on precisely one set of conditions to be fulfilled, the more upsetting this influence will be. Either way, the day's tempo will be brisk. Thoughts will flash through your head at such an amazing speed that it will be difficult to keep track of them. Perhaps you should keep a tape recorder handy in order to record your ideas before they disappear.

*

Tis my horoscope from astro.ch - meep!

I had to check the moon to see its phase. It's only in First Quarter today! D: And I've been wondering why I'm going mad. Mercury square Uranus! It's always Uranus' fault.

A tape recorder … I wish I had one of those. I have a twitter account, which is almost the same.
But I might keep a little notebook handy, or the paper journal, and pool these brief reflections of life somewhere.

Current Mood: crazy
Current Music: Cosmic Gate ft. Denise Rivera - Body of Conflict

kirasha reminded me that Dreamwidth exists. *waves at Kirasha*

I might have to frolic about in its prettiness, and ignore other lands, for a while.

Current Mood: cold
Current Music: Andy Blueman - Neverland

the whole sky to follow

Recent Entries

Whoops, sorry about that...

Lack of updates.

Brought to You by Murder, Notes Chapters 11 & 12

Brought to You by Murder, Notes Chapter 8

Brought to You by Murder - Chapter 5 Notes

Brought to You by Murder, Chapter 4 Notes

Brought to You by Murder, Chapter 3 Notes

Brought to You by Murder - Notes Ch 2

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Brought to You by Murder - Notes

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Christopher Sly Reference List of References

Apply Liberally at Sunrise - The Reference List of References

Films and books - updatery

Books and Films 4 Jan - 9 March

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