waydowntown
Mar. 1st, 2026 08:30 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
calzephyrBoy, my Evernote movie folder is dusty! I forgot to LJ this. Originally, I was going to post the trailer, but someone uploaded the whole movie to YouTube.
February 10, 2025
We did something fun yesterday and went downtown for a free screening of a Calgary-made indie film called waydowntown, directed by a local filmmaker, Gary Burns. I'd watched his other movies, such as Kitchen Party and Radiant City, but somehow waydowntown always escaped me. I always thought it was a movie about people living in Calgary's Plus 15 skywalk system, which is similar to the Minneapolis covered walkway system.
Instead, it's more about office culture, which the late 90s loved skewering. It's a little bit Fight Club, little bit Office Space, a little bit this and a little bit that, and it all seems to come together and works really well. It's basically about four co-workers who work in a downtown office building.
Although Calgary is never explicitly identified as the city, the narrator, Tom, says the co-workers all live in apartments that connect to this building or to the Plus 15, which wasn't which wasn't quite true at the time. Some of the humor is a little juvenile, and I would have been so in love with this movie if I watched it when it was released. In some ways it is amazing--it was shot for $750k using local talent and was filmed a bit on the fly in some areas where they didn't have permission to film. This results in a neat voyeuristic effect, and it was a total trip down memory lane--the old skylines, old buildings, old colours, lots of warm tones, and pink granite. The movie is also Caucasian as heck (Calgary has been a top three destination for New Canadians for some time). There are things I'd forgotten, like how magazines used to have perfume ad inserts in them. One of the odd things that emerges is that a lack of fresh air causes the main characters to fatigue. The color grading in the film was a little hard to watch as it was very blue and orange, which was kind of the style at the time. Instead of looking beautiful or healthy, all the characters take on this sickly look that perhaps reflects their inner turmoil and anxiety.
The film's title actually takes its name from the idea of going "way downtown", which is to eject yourself from a building. The film is a critique so many things--interpersonal relationships, the built environment, corporate culture, etc. At the after-show panel, Gary Burns said he actually never worked in an office, but knew enough about it to make it feel authentic (TBH it's quite a broke ass office). It was quite a treat to spend time with a very engaged audience that wanted to see the film and ask urbanism questions. The audience could have stayed there asking questions all day! Bonus--we also saw our friend Lone Howler and Mom, so we sat with them and caught up!
February 10, 2025
We did something fun yesterday and went downtown for a free screening of a Calgary-made indie film called waydowntown, directed by a local filmmaker, Gary Burns. I'd watched his other movies, such as Kitchen Party and Radiant City, but somehow waydowntown always escaped me. I always thought it was a movie about people living in Calgary's Plus 15 skywalk system, which is similar to the Minneapolis covered walkway system.
Instead, it's more about office culture, which the late 90s loved skewering. It's a little bit Fight Club, little bit Office Space, a little bit this and a little bit that, and it all seems to come together and works really well. It's basically about four co-workers who work in a downtown office building.
Although Calgary is never explicitly identified as the city, the narrator, Tom, says the co-workers all live in apartments that connect to this building or to the Plus 15, which wasn't which wasn't quite true at the time. Some of the humor is a little juvenile, and I would have been so in love with this movie if I watched it when it was released. In some ways it is amazing--it was shot for $750k using local talent and was filmed a bit on the fly in some areas where they didn't have permission to film. This results in a neat voyeuristic effect, and it was a total trip down memory lane--the old skylines, old buildings, old colours, lots of warm tones, and pink granite. The movie is also Caucasian as heck (Calgary has been a top three destination for New Canadians for some time). There are things I'd forgotten, like how magazines used to have perfume ad inserts in them. One of the odd things that emerges is that a lack of fresh air causes the main characters to fatigue. The color grading in the film was a little hard to watch as it was very blue and orange, which was kind of the style at the time. Instead of looking beautiful or healthy, all the characters take on this sickly look that perhaps reflects their inner turmoil and anxiety.
The film's title actually takes its name from the idea of going "way downtown", which is to eject yourself from a building. The film is a critique so many things--interpersonal relationships, the built environment, corporate culture, etc. At the after-show panel, Gary Burns said he actually never worked in an office, but knew enough about it to make it feel authentic (TBH it's quite a broke ass office). It was quite a treat to spend time with a very engaged audience that wanted to see the film and ask urbanism questions. The audience could have stayed there asking questions all day! Bonus--we also saw our friend Lone Howler and Mom, so we sat with them and caught up!
I will post about this again, but...
Feb. 28th, 2026 11:02 pmhafniaI signed up to do work for ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
fandomtrumpshate this year. So, er.
Two different auctions, one for writing (obvs) and one for fan labor.
Writing auction is here — 20-50k words, up to E rating, original work. There's more details at the link, but basically, if you want a bespoke romance novel, you get a bespoke romance novel. Or, you know, SFF action-adventure or whatnot, it's really up to you.
People who are familiar with The Road Through the Mountains or In the Lord's Manor: YEAH, YOU ALREADY KNOW WHAT I LIKE TO WRITE, AND IF THAT'S WHAT YOU WANT, I'M FUCKING THRILLED.
(People that liked the House Ilizana stuff in particular — you know who you are — I have a planned-but-not-written longfic about Jastira and her lady's maid and what they got up to prior to her marriage to Mal's dad that I have been itching for an excuse to write, so if you look at this and go, "man, $5, that's pretty reasonable, I wonder if she'd be willing to...", the answer is YES.)
Genuinely, though, if there's anything I've done that you've liked and wanted more of, bids start at $5! It goes to charity! I will write basically anything as long as it doesn't hit my DNWs!
Bidder's choice as to which charity stuff goes to, please bid on me? Ha ♥
The fan labor action is here, and it's the one I imagine more people will be interested in. Ever wanted to play one of my campaigns but not had a chance to because of timing, wanting to play solely with people you know, or similar? GOOD NEWS. I'm offering a bespoke ttrpg one-shot. Limited in system (D&D 5e, Monster of the Week, Blades in the Dark), but 3-4 hours depending on players and what people want, I will work with the bidder on what themes they want present, etc. Again, details are at the link, but if you've ever been like, "the games you run sound cool, I want to play with you", good news!
Bidding for that starts at $20, again bidder's choice as to which charity you donate to. ♥ Please note that $20 total for tabletop for up to 6 people is a fucking steal, for most DMs/GMs it's more like $15-20 per person at the table, on the low end, so!
Bidding will open on March 3rd (and you bet your sweet bippy that I'm going to advertise again, so!).
I really doubt there'll be much competition for bids, so! Keep an eye out, if you want to bid, please do so, or if you know someone who would be interested in what I'm offering, point 'em at the auctions, yeah? :D
fandomtrumpshate this year. So, er. Two different auctions, one for writing (obvs) and one for fan labor.
Writing auction is here — 20-50k words, up to E rating, original work. There's more details at the link, but basically, if you want a bespoke romance novel, you get a bespoke romance novel. Or, you know, SFF action-adventure or whatnot, it's really up to you.
People who are familiar with The Road Through the Mountains or In the Lord's Manor: YEAH, YOU ALREADY KNOW WHAT I LIKE TO WRITE, AND IF THAT'S WHAT YOU WANT, I'M FUCKING THRILLED.
(People that liked the House Ilizana stuff in particular — you know who you are — I have a planned-but-not-written longfic about Jastira and her lady's maid and what they got up to prior to her marriage to Mal's dad that I have been itching for an excuse to write, so if you look at this and go, "man, $5, that's pretty reasonable, I wonder if she'd be willing to...", the answer is YES.)
Genuinely, though, if there's anything I've done that you've liked and wanted more of, bids start at $5! It goes to charity! I will write basically anything as long as it doesn't hit my DNWs!
Bidder's choice as to which charity stuff goes to, please bid on me? Ha ♥
The fan labor action is here, and it's the one I imagine more people will be interested in. Ever wanted to play one of my campaigns but not had a chance to because of timing, wanting to play solely with people you know, or similar? GOOD NEWS. I'm offering a bespoke ttrpg one-shot. Limited in system (D&D 5e, Monster of the Week, Blades in the Dark), but 3-4 hours depending on players and what people want, I will work with the bidder on what themes they want present, etc. Again, details are at the link, but if you've ever been like, "the games you run sound cool, I want to play with you", good news!
Bidding for that starts at $20, again bidder's choice as to which charity you donate to. ♥ Please note that $20 total for tabletop for up to 6 people is a fucking steal, for most DMs/GMs it's more like $15-20 per person at the table, on the low end, so!
Bidding will open on March 3rd (and you bet your sweet bippy that I'm going to advertise again, so!).
I really doubt there'll be much competition for bids, so! Keep an eye out, if you want to bid, please do so, or if you know someone who would be interested in what I'm offering, point 'em at the auctions, yeah? :D
Talking Meme Month - 27 and 28!
Feb. 28th, 2026 09:56 amhafnia27 is late, of course, because I saw friends last night and didn't get home til late :D
27: If I had unlimited resources (including time), what hobby would I pursue?
There are two!
1). I learned how to oil paint when I was a teenager, I loved it (I was not very good at it, but that's fine), and I miss it. Would love to do it again at some point!
2). Stained glass.
Both are specifically, "money/having a space to do it in"; would also love to learn to blow glass someday (there's a bunch of workshops for it out here, oddly enough), but that's something where it's like, "I fully expect that I will try doing this and go, 'hmm, cool, not for me!'", whereas the other two are things I know I like. :D
28: Best moment of the last month?
Oh, seeing that my fucking sourdough worked and being able to make myself a sandwich with it (which was very good), almost definitely! :D
27: If I had unlimited resources (including time), what hobby would I pursue?
There are two!
1). I learned how to oil paint when I was a teenager, I loved it (I was not very good at it, but that's fine), and I miss it. Would love to do it again at some point!
2). Stained glass.
Both are specifically, "money/having a space to do it in"; would also love to learn to blow glass someday (there's a bunch of workshops for it out here, oddly enough), but that's something where it's like, "I fully expect that I will try doing this and go, 'hmm, cool, not for me!'", whereas the other two are things I know I like. :D
28: Best moment of the last month?
Oh, seeing that my fucking sourdough worked and being able to make myself a sandwich with it (which was very good), almost definitely! :D
Talking Meme Month - day 26
Feb. 26th, 2026 07:51 pmhafniaif I could travel anywhere, where would I go/what would I do?
I mean, honestly? I'm kind of boring. I'd go back to Spain and spend a week or two doing nothing more important than eating good food and visiting all the historical sites, maybe hit up Portugal while out there.
Max wants to visit Japan, someday I would like to visit Chile, but like — for the most part, "go back to Europe now that I'm older and theoretically have money" is near the top of the list. :D
Anyway, er — the sourdough adventures continue! I made crackers from discard (very good, worth doing again), and today I experimented and did a weird loaf (this recipe).
It turned out pretty well, actually!
It's very high hydration, which means it stuck awfully to my brotforms, but I'm going to drop it for next time, I think, and try again. "Next time" as in, "I'm probably going to make more bread this weekend, because Why Not".
We are moving ever closer to the cranberry walnut loaf of my dreams, which is the Important part. :D
I mean, honestly? I'm kind of boring. I'd go back to Spain and spend a week or two doing nothing more important than eating good food and visiting all the historical sites, maybe hit up Portugal while out there.
Max wants to visit Japan, someday I would like to visit Chile, but like — for the most part, "go back to Europe now that I'm older and theoretically have money" is near the top of the list. :D
Anyway, er — the sourdough adventures continue! I made crackers from discard (very good, worth doing again), and today I experimented and did a weird loaf (this recipe).
It turned out pretty well, actually!
It's very high hydration, which means it stuck awfully to my brotforms, but I'm going to drop it for next time, I think, and try again. "Next time" as in, "I'm probably going to make more bread this weekend, because Why Not".
We are moving ever closer to the cranberry walnut loaf of my dreams, which is the Important part. :D
Talking Meme Month - day 25
Feb. 25th, 2026 08:57 pmhafniatalk about a TTRPG system other than Dungeons and Dragons
Easy — there's a number of them I like. Blades in the Dark and Monster of the Week/Thirsty Sword Lesbians/Apocalypse World/every other PbtA game out there come to mind, as do some lovely GMless indie ones (Stewpot! Rusalka! Fiasco! The Quiet Year!), BUT.
Honestly, okay, the top complaint I get about tabletop?
"I don't want to play online, I don't want to play with strangers, and I don't know anyone offline that wants to play with me, where do I even start?"
The answer for that is:
SOLO GAMES.
There's a bunch. I'm not talking about the weird D&D hacks, either, though those do exist (and I don't recommend them!). Solo tabletop as a genre has expanded a lot and there's a bunch of wonderful stuff out there now. I've played a few, but my favorite, by and large, is Thousand Year Old Vampire.
In TYOV, you play as a vampire made sometime in history. You pick when, give yourself a handful of possessions, and then roll dice and respond to prompts to figure out what happens to you. Do you survive and thrive, or do you die? What do you remember, what do you forget, and how do you adapt to being a vampire? It's extraordinarily well-done, and unlike a lot of journaling games, which can feel like writing prompts, it manages to capture the experience of roleplay extremely well. I played it for the first time a couple of years ago, and ended up documenting what happened to a Roman peasant girl as she lived through the collapse of the empire and into the Middle Ages. Some of the choices I was faced with and things that my character had to do were among the hardest I've ever made as a player, and it required a great amount of consideration and thought to move from point A to point B. The game broke my heart (in a good way), and I highly recommend it. It is, to this day, one of my favorite games. ♥
In non-Talking Meme Month news: reveals happened for the January round of a remix exchange I'm involved in, so I now have something new on AO3 that is (surprise!) not rated E.
And I Awoke on the Cold Hill's Side (rated T, 7.5k words) is a love letter to growing up queer in Salt Lake. It's set around the time that I would have been in undergrad. It's not perfect (what is?), but I hit the mark for what I set out to do, and, well, yeah. People familiar with the valley can probably pinpoint exactly which warehouse I'm talking about for where the party toward the middle of the piece takes place.
...I also have another piece up that is, uh, rated E. Slaying the Dragon (E, 14k words) is about grief and how we recover from it and come back to ourselves. It's set in the same universe as The Road Through the Mountains, though it's obviously not the same characters or set-up, and no familiarity with it is required. ♥
Not much happening. Have thus far been ghosted or rejected by every job I've applied to. I feel mostly okay about that. I have some freelance work lined up for the fall (we're drawing up contracts), so I am perhaps less worried about money coming in than I should be. Still noodling on various and sundry stuff; been dealing with some pretty awful chronic pain things lately so that's taken most of my focus, and I'm trying to like, gently remind myself that I can in fact take this time to simply Be and not worry about, you know. Everything.
( talking about FOSS/software stuff, probably not interesting to most people. )
Easy — there's a number of them I like. Blades in the Dark and Monster of the Week/Thirsty Sword Lesbians/Apocalypse World/every other PbtA game out there come to mind, as do some lovely GMless indie ones (Stewpot! Rusalka! Fiasco! The Quiet Year!), BUT.
Honestly, okay, the top complaint I get about tabletop?
"I don't want to play online, I don't want to play with strangers, and I don't know anyone offline that wants to play with me, where do I even start?"
The answer for that is:
SOLO GAMES.
There's a bunch. I'm not talking about the weird D&D hacks, either, though those do exist (and I don't recommend them!). Solo tabletop as a genre has expanded a lot and there's a bunch of wonderful stuff out there now. I've played a few, but my favorite, by and large, is Thousand Year Old Vampire.
In TYOV, you play as a vampire made sometime in history. You pick when, give yourself a handful of possessions, and then roll dice and respond to prompts to figure out what happens to you. Do you survive and thrive, or do you die? What do you remember, what do you forget, and how do you adapt to being a vampire? It's extraordinarily well-done, and unlike a lot of journaling games, which can feel like writing prompts, it manages to capture the experience of roleplay extremely well. I played it for the first time a couple of years ago, and ended up documenting what happened to a Roman peasant girl as she lived through the collapse of the empire and into the Middle Ages. Some of the choices I was faced with and things that my character had to do were among the hardest I've ever made as a player, and it required a great amount of consideration and thought to move from point A to point B. The game broke my heart (in a good way), and I highly recommend it. It is, to this day, one of my favorite games. ♥
In non-Talking Meme Month news: reveals happened for the January round of a remix exchange I'm involved in, so I now have something new on AO3 that is (surprise!) not rated E.
And I Awoke on the Cold Hill's Side (rated T, 7.5k words) is a love letter to growing up queer in Salt Lake. It's set around the time that I would have been in undergrad. It's not perfect (what is?), but I hit the mark for what I set out to do, and, well, yeah. People familiar with the valley can probably pinpoint exactly which warehouse I'm talking about for where the party toward the middle of the piece takes place.
...I also have another piece up that is, uh, rated E. Slaying the Dragon (E, 14k words) is about grief and how we recover from it and come back to ourselves. It's set in the same universe as The Road Through the Mountains, though it's obviously not the same characters or set-up, and no familiarity with it is required. ♥
Not much happening. Have thus far been ghosted or rejected by every job I've applied to. I feel mostly okay about that. I have some freelance work lined up for the fall (we're drawing up contracts), so I am perhaps less worried about money coming in than I should be. Still noodling on various and sundry stuff; been dealing with some pretty awful chronic pain things lately so that's taken most of my focus, and I'm trying to like, gently remind myself that I can in fact take this time to simply Be and not worry about, you know. Everything.
( talking about FOSS/software stuff, probably not interesting to most people. )
Talking Meme Month - day 24
Feb. 24th, 2026 04:05 pmhafniawhat book(s) have you read only once that have stayed with you so long that you can never stop thinking about them? (Good and bad)
Ha, I'm a compulsive re-reader, so it's more like, "what have I read only once?"
Two come immediately to mind:
1). Atonement. If you know, you know. I don't know that it is possible to reread this book considering what the ending reveals — I mean, perhaps people do, but...lord.
2). A Fine Balance. It's a historical fiction novel about The Emergency declared in India in the 1970s. It's a brutal book. You end up caring for all the characters and, well. Given the time period and who they are socially, nothing good happens. It's not bleak per se (looking at you, A Little Life), but it's realistic in what was likely to have happened to each of them given considerations like caste, etc. It's a lot. I don't regret reading it, but I won't reread it. Once was enough.
I will say that for the most part, I don't finish stuff I'm not enjoying — life is short, there are many books, if I'm not into something I usually don't make it all the way through.
With that said, though, I absolutely loathed Blindsight by Peter Watts, and I am still annoyed that for a few years there it was held up as the piece of Science Fiction For Scientists.
(These days it seems to be stuff by Andy Weir, which I by and large haven't read, because The Martian was aggressively fine, and I could not get into Artemis.)
Ha, I'm a compulsive re-reader, so it's more like, "what have I read only once?"
Two come immediately to mind:
1). Atonement. If you know, you know. I don't know that it is possible to reread this book considering what the ending reveals — I mean, perhaps people do, but...lord.
2). A Fine Balance. It's a historical fiction novel about The Emergency declared in India in the 1970s. It's a brutal book. You end up caring for all the characters and, well. Given the time period and who they are socially, nothing good happens. It's not bleak per se (looking at you, A Little Life), but it's realistic in what was likely to have happened to each of them given considerations like caste, etc. It's a lot. I don't regret reading it, but I won't reread it. Once was enough.
I will say that for the most part, I don't finish stuff I'm not enjoying — life is short, there are many books, if I'm not into something I usually don't make it all the way through.
With that said, though, I absolutely loathed Blindsight by Peter Watts, and I am still annoyed that for a few years there it was held up as the piece of Science Fiction For Scientists.
(These days it seems to be stuff by Andy Weir, which I by and large haven't read, because The Martian was aggressively fine, and I could not get into Artemis.)
Talking Meme Month - day 23
Feb. 23rd, 2026 10:08 pmhafniafavorite tarot card (whether for art, meaning, or something else)?
(As per usual, I will do the writing ones when I get my shit together, preferably on a day when I'm not dealing with a migraine.)
I have a few favorite cards, less because of art, and more because of meaning. As per usual, in no particular order:
The Magician: The Magician represents ambition, manifestation, resourcefulness and inspired action. I have a lot of fondness for this one simply because it was one of the major arcana I used to pull most frequently when doing readings for myself. One of the potential interpretations of the Magician is that it represents balance and having the ability to do things because you have all the resources at your disposal — and, yeah, I liked that. Ha. In my favorite (goblin) deck, he's a juggler and it's quite pretty art, but it doesn't appear to be online (boo), so I suppose you'll have to take my word for it.
Death: Not literally about death; also the card I tend to pull the most these days. Er, hmm. Death is about change, transformation, endings — it's a pretty positive card and it is only rarely about literal death. One of my favorite books about tarot talks about accepting Death as part of life, and I think about it a lot in that context — there are constant deaths in the form of endings around us every day, and part of finding meaning and purpose in life is learning to accept this.
The Ten of Cups: Cups as a suit are meant to represent relationships and connections, both romantic and not. The Ten of Cups is specifically about having those relationships/connections in abundance and feeling connected and cared for — it's basically "happiness: the card".
At one point, one of my very good friends, who does tarot, offered to tell each of us what cards in her deck she associated with us. She left it to us to figure out the "why". Most of my friends were major arcana — I still remember being mildly jealous of the person who was told theirs was 'the Star' — and I was sort of upset at the time that I was the 10 of Cups.
Now that I do tarot, I think it may be one of the best compliments I've ever been given. So. Yeah.
(As per usual, I will do the writing ones when I get my shit together, preferably on a day when I'm not dealing with a migraine.)
I have a few favorite cards, less because of art, and more because of meaning. As per usual, in no particular order:
The Magician: The Magician represents ambition, manifestation, resourcefulness and inspired action. I have a lot of fondness for this one simply because it was one of the major arcana I used to pull most frequently when doing readings for myself. One of the potential interpretations of the Magician is that it represents balance and having the ability to do things because you have all the resources at your disposal — and, yeah, I liked that. Ha. In my favorite (goblin) deck, he's a juggler and it's quite pretty art, but it doesn't appear to be online (boo), so I suppose you'll have to take my word for it.
Death: Not literally about death; also the card I tend to pull the most these days. Er, hmm. Death is about change, transformation, endings — it's a pretty positive card and it is only rarely about literal death. One of my favorite books about tarot talks about accepting Death as part of life, and I think about it a lot in that context — there are constant deaths in the form of endings around us every day, and part of finding meaning and purpose in life is learning to accept this.
The Ten of Cups: Cups as a suit are meant to represent relationships and connections, both romantic and not. The Ten of Cups is specifically about having those relationships/connections in abundance and feeling connected and cared for — it's basically "happiness: the card".
At one point, one of my very good friends, who does tarot, offered to tell each of us what cards in her deck she associated with us. She left it to us to figure out the "why". Most of my friends were major arcana — I still remember being mildly jealous of the person who was told theirs was 'the Star' — and I was sort of upset at the time that I was the 10 of Cups.
Now that I do tarot, I think it may be one of the best compliments I've ever been given. So. Yeah.
Zootopia 2
Feb. 23rd, 2026 02:24 pmcalzephyrWe had a nice Valentine's Day at the giant outlet mall North of town. The official name is Cross Iron Mills, but I call it Mallzac because it's in Balzac. We had lunch at a new Japanese place whose specialty was udon soup served up cafeteria style. A guy pulled batch after batch of noodles from this giant boiling vat! Udon soup has a fish base, so I wasn't keen on trying it. I had a fried chicken rice bowl, which was okay. The curry sauce had some sort of flavour I didn't really like, but I was impressed with the perfect rice-to-sauce ratio :-D
As luck would have it, we were just in time for an afternoon screening of Zootopia 2. It was our first mainstream movie in a chain theatre since Avengers Endgame. Part of the reason was avoiding sickness, and part of it was that there were very few movies over the past few years that we wanted to watch in a theatre. The theatre was barely half full anyway, which was just fine!
I really enjoyed the winding plot--there was just enough action, adventure, and humour to make the time fly by. I wish I had rewatched the original to refresh my memory a bit though :-)
As luck would have it, we were just in time for an afternoon screening of Zootopia 2. It was our first mainstream movie in a chain theatre since Avengers Endgame. Part of the reason was avoiding sickness, and part of it was that there were very few movies over the past few years that we wanted to watch in a theatre. The theatre was barely half full anyway, which was just fine!
I really enjoyed the winding plot--there was just enough action, adventure, and humour to make the time fly by. I wish I had rewatched the original to refresh my memory a bit though :-)
James Bond ahoy!
Feb. 21st, 2026 11:31 pmcalzephyrWe watched a few more James Bond movies from our big DVD set over the Christmas holidays--I'm just woefully behind logging them.
We watched:
Out of the four, On Her Majesty's Secret Service was my favourite. George Lazenby really wasn't a bad Bond--and maybe it was the performances of Diana Rigg and Telly Savalas that rounded out the movie so well. George Lazenby brought a bit of softness to Bond, and I was not prepared for the ending!
It goes without saying that these movies seem campy to modern audiences — I wonder if they would have felt campy when they were released. The villains are just a step above being Batman henchmen. You Only Live Twice was pretty cringey and Live and Let Die had us reading up on blaxploitation afterwards. Diamonds Are Forever felt too long, although seeing vintage Vegas was pretty cool! In some ways these movies are travelogues from a time when travel was expensive.
When people complain about some of the stunts in a newer franchise, like Fast & Furious, they're forgetting things like the epic ski chase or boat chase from Bond--both of which seem a little silly today!
We watched:
- You Only Live Twice (Bond in Japan)
- On Her Majesty's Secret Service (with George Lazenby)
- Diamonds Are Forever (Bond in Las Vegas)
- Live and Let Die (first movie with Roger Moore)
Out of the four, On Her Majesty's Secret Service was my favourite. George Lazenby really wasn't a bad Bond--and maybe it was the performances of Diana Rigg and Telly Savalas that rounded out the movie so well. George Lazenby brought a bit of softness to Bond, and I was not prepared for the ending!
It goes without saying that these movies seem campy to modern audiences — I wonder if they would have felt campy when they were released. The villains are just a step above being Batman henchmen. You Only Live Twice was pretty cringey and Live and Let Die had us reading up on blaxploitation afterwards. Diamonds Are Forever felt too long, although seeing vintage Vegas was pretty cool! In some ways these movies are travelogues from a time when travel was expensive.
When people complain about some of the stunts in a newer franchise, like Fast & Furious, they're forgetting things like the epic ski chase or boat chase from Bond--both of which seem a little silly today!
Talking Meme Month - day 21
Feb. 21st, 2026 06:37 pmhafniaWhat is my favorite place in the world?
God. Uh. Hmm.
I want to toss some far-flung locales on here, but I haven't been there in over twenty years and God only knows if they're still nice, so. I guess we'll go with the places I have known well and loved.
It's a toss-up between:
The Salt Lake City Public Library, at least as I remember it circa 2010 (which, God, was a long time ago...!) — I went to a bunch of poetry readings etc here and always loved it and felt very in my element whenever I was there, and the rooftop garden is super neat.
Cape Perpetua, because it's fucking beautiful.
Swan Lake, Montana, because I spent just about every childhood here from the time I was 4 to the time I was 14.
Mesa Verde, because it's just fucking cool.
SF MoMA, because I adore it and have a lot of great memories of visiting different exhibits there (for several years in a row I had business stuff that took me to San Francisco at least once if not twice a year, and I always hit up SF MoMA when I went).
Anyway yes, I am Indecisive, you are welcome :D
God. Uh. Hmm.
I want to toss some far-flung locales on here, but I haven't been there in over twenty years and God only knows if they're still nice, so. I guess we'll go with the places I have known well and loved.
It's a toss-up between:
The Salt Lake City Public Library, at least as I remember it circa 2010 (which, God, was a long time ago...!) — I went to a bunch of poetry readings etc here and always loved it and felt very in my element whenever I was there, and the rooftop garden is super neat.
Cape Perpetua, because it's fucking beautiful.
Swan Lake, Montana, because I spent just about every childhood here from the time I was 4 to the time I was 14.
Mesa Verde, because it's just fucking cool.
SF MoMA, because I adore it and have a lot of great memories of visiting different exhibits there (for several years in a row I had business stuff that took me to San Francisco at least once if not twice a year, and I always hit up SF MoMA when I went).
Anyway yes, I am Indecisive, you are welcome :D
Talking Meme Month - day 20
Feb. 20th, 2026 10:39 pmhafniaA favorite or hilarious story from the TTRPG table?
Oh, God, there are so many little moments that are burned into my brain, but I think the one I have to talk about is the Desk Goat.
( Beneath the jump. )
I will say that the other "favorite" moments I have are all ones that had pretty serious story consequences, etc, and so aren't particularly funny (or easy to explain). Think along the lines of deciding to redeem villains, challenging certain narrative assumptions about where stuff was going (and forcing me to pivot on a dime, ha), etc.
Technically, the players becoming attached to and deciding to redeem one specific villain is what led to the weird poly romance novel I (mostly) wrote last year, but...yeah.
(I say "mostly" becauseshadaras was there the entire time and most of the worldbuilding etc was stuff done in tandem as, wouldn't it be fun if..., so though the prose is like 95% mine, the story is definitely a collaborative effort.)
Oh, God, there are so many little moments that are burned into my brain, but I think the one I have to talk about is the Desk Goat.
( Beneath the jump. )
I will say that the other "favorite" moments I have are all ones that had pretty serious story consequences, etc, and so aren't particularly funny (or easy to explain). Think along the lines of deciding to redeem villains, challenging certain narrative assumptions about where stuff was going (and forcing me to pivot on a dime, ha), etc.
Technically, the players becoming attached to and deciding to redeem one specific villain is what led to the weird poly romance novel I (mostly) wrote last year, but...yeah.
(I say "mostly" because
shadaras was there the entire time and most of the worldbuilding etc was stuff done in tandem as, wouldn't it be fun if..., so though the prose is like 95% mine, the story is definitely a collaborative effort.)Talking Meme Month - day 19
Feb. 19th, 2026 07:09 pmhafniaTabletop goals for the year?
In no particular order:
1). Finish the Bounty Hunter's Guild and give it a satisfying ending.
2). Run and wrap Goodbye My Darling.
3). Start the long-form Eberron campaign (name TBD).
4). Finish Space Heist and get it on itch.io, even if it's only as a public beta or something, because IT HAS BEEN LONG ENOUGH.
That's nice and concise, I think? :D
Will say that I do have a brief update re: sourdough — I made a successful starter and yesterday, I baked bread with it for the first time. Nothing fancy; I made two regular boules. The prove on it could probably have been a bit better, but dang, y'all, it tasted great. :D I ate sourdough toast this morning and it was everything I wanted. 10/10, would do again. ♥ So that's one thing crossed off my, "I want to try to do this" list, and now that I've done it the straight way, I can start playing with different flours and such (want to incorporate a bit of rye into it, for flavor), start thinking about inclusions, etc. I had this amazing fruit and nut bread at one point that I kinda want to try remaking...was like, walnut with dried cranberries? so, yeah.
We shall see!
In no particular order:
1). Finish the Bounty Hunter's Guild and give it a satisfying ending.
2). Run and wrap Goodbye My Darling.
3). Start the long-form Eberron campaign (name TBD).
4). Finish Space Heist and get it on itch.io, even if it's only as a public beta or something, because IT HAS BEEN LONG ENOUGH.
That's nice and concise, I think? :D
Will say that I do have a brief update re: sourdough — I made a successful starter and yesterday, I baked bread with it for the first time. Nothing fancy; I made two regular boules. The prove on it could probably have been a bit better, but dang, y'all, it tasted great. :D I ate sourdough toast this morning and it was everything I wanted. 10/10, would do again. ♥ So that's one thing crossed off my, "I want to try to do this" list, and now that I've done it the straight way, I can start playing with different flours and such (want to incorporate a bit of rye into it, for flavor), start thinking about inclusions, etc. I had this amazing fruit and nut bread at one point that I kinda want to try remaking...was like, walnut with dried cranberries? so, yeah.
We shall see!
Talking Meme Month - day 18
Feb. 18th, 2026 09:38 pmhafniaFiber arts project I've finished that I'm most proud of?
There's two that I'm really proud of, honestly — the rainbow afghan (pictures of which have been lost to time, alas), which was a queen-sized afghan I made from these blocks. It was, literally, red/orange/yellow/green/blue/indigo/violet flowers, yellow-centered with black edging about them to set it off (instead of white as in that pattern).
My ex pressed on me to give it to his mom, since she was going through a hard time, and so I parted with it and we shipped it to her. I have mixed feelings about that — on the one hand, it was so much work and it was really pretty (I made it all from thrifted yarn; it was jewel-toned and beautiful), but on the other hand, I don't tend to keep stuff I make, so who knows where it would have ended up otherwise? She was grateful to get it, so.
The other one that I'm very proud of is a cross-stitch project I did earlier this summer. It was the first time I'd actually cross-stitched anything in about five years, and I did it without a proper pattern (I did get instructions on how to do the worms and the dragon, but, you know). Pictures of it are up on Mastodon, so here. Perfect? Definitely not, but the person it was made for appreciated it, and I am still proud of it, so. ♥
There's two that I'm really proud of, honestly — the rainbow afghan (pictures of which have been lost to time, alas), which was a queen-sized afghan I made from these blocks. It was, literally, red/orange/yellow/green/blue/indigo/violet flowers, yellow-centered with black edging about them to set it off (instead of white as in that pattern).
My ex pressed on me to give it to his mom, since she was going through a hard time, and so I parted with it and we shipped it to her. I have mixed feelings about that — on the one hand, it was so much work and it was really pretty (I made it all from thrifted yarn; it was jewel-toned and beautiful), but on the other hand, I don't tend to keep stuff I make, so who knows where it would have ended up otherwise? She was grateful to get it, so.
The other one that I'm very proud of is a cross-stitch project I did earlier this summer. It was the first time I'd actually cross-stitched anything in about five years, and I did it without a proper pattern (I did get instructions on how to do the worms and the dragon, but, you know). Pictures of it are up on Mastodon, so here. Perfect? Definitely not, but the person it was made for appreciated it, and I am still proud of it, so. ♥
Talking Meme Month - day 17
Feb. 17th, 2026 06:43 pmhafnia(Day 16 was technically due YESTERDAY and I WILL DO IT, I just have a lot of thoughts on writing!)
1-5 novels/series I've read that I think other people should read so I can talk about them
Ha. Um. Hmmm.
This is always fun because it's like, "what DO I want other people to read, that isn't something they've already read?"
So!
A couple of pitches 'cos, you know, yeah.
1). Sunshine, by Robin McKinley. This is always one of those ones where it's like, "I feel like people were told to read it and bounced hard off the premise", because it came out when "vampires" was still "Anne Rice" and pre-Twilight. Post-Twilight (and I guess to some extent the Sookie Stackhouse books?), we're all kind of burnt out on 'em, and yet.
Sunshine — or Rae, to her friends — is a baker in the coffee house that's owned by her stepdad, Charlie. In a world where vampires, demons, and weres are common, she's about as normal as you can get. High school graduate by the "skin of her teeth", as she puts it, she's not exactly a deep thinker. A huge introvert with a desire for nothing more than to be left alone, the coffee house is her life, and she sees nothing wrong with that.
...until, you know, she's kidnapped by vampires to be used as an object of torment for a different vampire, and has to tap on the heritage granted to her by her extremely powerful sorcerer father to escape.
In other books I feel like this would turn into something where she learns to "embrace her dark self" or whatever, but no — she really does just want to go back to the coffee house and keep on Doing The Thing.
Alas, alack, the world has other opinions — and the vampires who nabbed her are very curious how the hell it is that she managed to escape...and why it is she took their other (vampire) prisoner with her.
2). Mudlark, by Lara Maiklem. Nonfiction. If you have no idea what mudlarking is, you need to read this. If you do know what it is, you should probably already have read it, and if you haven't, well, what are you waiting for?
(I know, I know, that's a hell of a review, and yet. I'm not wrong!)
3). Ombria in Shadow, Patricia McKillip. People who know me are probably going, "??" at the idea that I'm not recommending you read Riddle-Master; that's fine.
Ombria in Shadow opens with a death: the rule of Ombria, Royce Greve, has died, and a woman of unknown relation, Dominia Pearl, is taking over as regent for his heir. As her first act, she tosses Lydea, Royce's mistress, into the streets of Ombria.
This could be the beginning of some kind of weird revenge/redemption arc, but that's not where it goes.
Lydea is capable and clever, sure, and there is someone else who people want to see on the throne of Ombria, but there's multiple things at play, multiple factions at work, and much to consider going on beneath the surface. The politics are fun, the magic is wonderful, and the ending is entirely unexpected. It's lyrical and beautiful and I love it so. Finding a signed copy at a used bookstore was one of the best unexpected gifts I've ever gotten from the universe.
4). Strong Poison, Dorothy Sayers. It's in the public domain now! You really have no excuse not to read it. Er.
Warnings for the usual period-typical stuff to the side (and Sayers is not as bad as most), it's a book about a murder trial — specifically, murder by arsenic — that's laid out rather well and plotted in a way that's quite fun. It's dated as hell, of course, being as it came out in the 1930s, but it's fun, the characters are likable, and the plot itself is quite good.
Also I find that if people read it and like it, I can convince them to read Have His Carcasse and Gaudy Night, which are, I think, two of the best ones. :)
I think that's it, though of course I imagineshadaras will pop up and remind me about all the books I have been like, "?! you haven't read THAT?" at them about, so watch this space? :P
1-5 novels/series I've read that I think other people should read so I can talk about them
Ha. Um. Hmmm.
This is always fun because it's like, "what DO I want other people to read, that isn't something they've already read?"
So!
A couple of pitches 'cos, you know, yeah.
1). Sunshine, by Robin McKinley. This is always one of those ones where it's like, "I feel like people were told to read it and bounced hard off the premise", because it came out when "vampires" was still "Anne Rice" and pre-Twilight. Post-Twilight (and I guess to some extent the Sookie Stackhouse books?), we're all kind of burnt out on 'em, and yet.
Sunshine — or Rae, to her friends — is a baker in the coffee house that's owned by her stepdad, Charlie. In a world where vampires, demons, and weres are common, she's about as normal as you can get. High school graduate by the "skin of her teeth", as she puts it, she's not exactly a deep thinker. A huge introvert with a desire for nothing more than to be left alone, the coffee house is her life, and she sees nothing wrong with that.
...until, you know, she's kidnapped by vampires to be used as an object of torment for a different vampire, and has to tap on the heritage granted to her by her extremely powerful sorcerer father to escape.
In other books I feel like this would turn into something where she learns to "embrace her dark self" or whatever, but no — she really does just want to go back to the coffee house and keep on Doing The Thing.
Alas, alack, the world has other opinions — and the vampires who nabbed her are very curious how the hell it is that she managed to escape...and why it is she took their other (vampire) prisoner with her.
2). Mudlark, by Lara Maiklem. Nonfiction. If you have no idea what mudlarking is, you need to read this. If you do know what it is, you should probably already have read it, and if you haven't, well, what are you waiting for?
(I know, I know, that's a hell of a review, and yet. I'm not wrong!)
3). Ombria in Shadow, Patricia McKillip. People who know me are probably going, "??" at the idea that I'm not recommending you read Riddle-Master; that's fine.
Ombria in Shadow opens with a death: the rule of Ombria, Royce Greve, has died, and a woman of unknown relation, Dominia Pearl, is taking over as regent for his heir. As her first act, she tosses Lydea, Royce's mistress, into the streets of Ombria.
This could be the beginning of some kind of weird revenge/redemption arc, but that's not where it goes.
Lydea is capable and clever, sure, and there is someone else who people want to see on the throne of Ombria, but there's multiple things at play, multiple factions at work, and much to consider going on beneath the surface. The politics are fun, the magic is wonderful, and the ending is entirely unexpected. It's lyrical and beautiful and I love it so. Finding a signed copy at a used bookstore was one of the best unexpected gifts I've ever gotten from the universe.
4). Strong Poison, Dorothy Sayers. It's in the public domain now! You really have no excuse not to read it. Er.
Warnings for the usual period-typical stuff to the side (and Sayers is not as bad as most), it's a book about a murder trial — specifically, murder by arsenic — that's laid out rather well and plotted in a way that's quite fun. It's dated as hell, of course, being as it came out in the 1930s, but it's fun, the characters are likable, and the plot itself is quite good.
Also I find that if people read it and like it, I can convince them to read Have His Carcasse and Gaudy Night, which are, I think, two of the best ones. :)
I think that's it, though of course I imagine
shadaras will pop up and remind me about all the books I have been like, "?! you haven't read THAT?" at them about, so watch this space? :P